Pass It On

I know you know this but I will say it anyway. We are all good at something. Yes we are. This past Sunday I had opportunity to interact with one of the young girls at church. I asked her what her favourite subject was. Her reply, Phys. Ed. Now I’m not very good at sports. I thought I was at one time and then I accepted the inevitable and just ran. After all I was getting good at running from things.
While studying education I learned we need to encourage students to excel in their favourite subject, and all the rest will take care of themselves. So, I let her know. Then I showed her my marks from school. After seeing my marks I believe she thought I needed help . . . By the way, they did get better.
But isn’t it great to have something that we grow to be really good at? My dad had no idea what he wanted to be after the war, but he knew he loved to work with his hands. His solution we to enroll in the government trade’s program and learned to be a carpenter. He was very adept at doing anything with wood. Me, I would have to say I’m good at making sawdust and getting slivers. Practiced making sawdust for years and will be going out on the front porch this week to make some more.
But seriously, all of us have something extra ordinary that we are good at. It could be cooking, wood work, organizing or sales. There are others out there who can do anything with computers and others who love to grow wonderful flower gardens. I was told a long time ago that to discover your life long occupation is to find something you love to do so much you would do it for free. Then get someone to pay you to do it. I’m living that dream today, are you?
As I talked with this young lady on Sunday, I encouraged her, if she loves sports that much to pursue it and then take her love of sports and instill in others the same love. What and amazing thing to accomplish. To take what you know and pass it on.
God has asked us to do the same thing. In our minds and hearts He has placed a spiritual gift. It is the ability to do something extra ordinary for His kingdom. Yes, God has given to each one of us a gift He wants us to use for Him. One special ability that we are so good at, no one else would be able to do it as well as we can. He wants us to take that gift, to use it and share it with someone else who will take over from us in building the kingdom.
The second thing we received from God, which is actually the greatest gift, is His unending love. A love He has asked us to share. As we internalize His love, it motivates us to share it with everyone we know. When we use our gift, and share His love, we fulfil what He has called us to do and accomplish. How about you? Sing with me;
I wish for you my friend, this happiness that I’ve found.
You can depend on Him, it matters not where you’re bound.
I’ll shout it from the mountain top - PRAISE GOD
I want the world to know; the Lord of love has come to me,
I want to pass it on.
Something to think about
Rob

Something I Learned At The Park

Children are so much fun to watch. And no matter where you are today, they are all around. Especially in the summer with school out. By watching them we can learn many things. Our biggest problem is, we think we are the teachers.
A good number of years ago, Robert Fulgham wrote a wonderful book we should all read. It is titled, “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” In his book he shared a number of wonderful things to always remember. Here are the ones I like: Share everything,
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody, Flush, Take a nap every afternoon, When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. My favourite is, Remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.
And so we LOOK. We look outward, we look inward, and some of us even look upward. That’s a sermon for another time. Step back and watch those children. At the park you will learn something if you just watch. I have taken my grandchildren to the park on many occasions. Inevitably the same thing happens every time we would go. They walk right up to one of the other children and ask, one of two questions. “Will you play with me?” And the second one is, “Can I play with you?”
Amazingly our children teach us much about others. Most of us walk into the park, see the life dance the children engage in and sit down, without talking to any of the other parents. We start assessing them. Mentally writing a personality profile that would go well in one of Danielle Steele’s novels. And there we sit. Afraid of the monster parents . . . Wait a minute, they brought their children to the park. They can’t be all that bad, can they?
Every church I have ever been in has said, “We are a friendly church.” Hogwash. There have been a couple in forty years of ministry, but not many. In my experience, less then 5 percent. The same think happens in the church you attend. Maybe friendly to each other. Someone new walks in, they are handed a bulletin and go through the service of worship, leaving without one person saying hello. Well except for the one person who yells across the parking lot, “Thanks for coming, hope to see you again.” Really? I know this happens because it has happened to me in just that same way. Maybe just maybe people need to learn from the children that we need to just go up to someone new and say, “Hi, can I sit with you?” Or how about “Hi, I’m . . . ., I don’t think we’ve met.”
A few years back, I was standing near the door of the church when a new family came in. The usher said hello and handed them a bulletin. And I stepped forward to introduce myself. Before I could get each of their names, one of our church children ran up to the little daughter and asked if she would come sit with her. The family is still there and the girls hold hands each Sunday.
What have you learned from your children lately? Our children come home from the park almost every day saying, “I have a new friend.” How about you?
Something to think about.
Rob

Heat Of A Different Kind

Are you warm yet? Or are you dodging the heat by planning your day around air conditioned places. Like going from the house to the car to the mall to the car to the house. For the young people life would be unbearable without the air conditioning. Me, I never had air in my car until I bought the one I am now driving. Oh, and I like it!
It wasn’t too many years back where it was considered a luxury not just in cars but in homes as well. I sold one house very quickly because it had central air. Not that we used it, but the younger couple moving in, bought because it was there. It is something people can’t live without today, or so it seems. The next home we lived in did not have central air but we saved up and bought a used window air-conditioner for the kitchen window being we almost lived in that room.
Here comes one of those stories we said we would never tell. When I was young! To cool off, we slept outside. Too hot in the house, go outside and sleep. That is if there are no pesky mosquitoes to attack us. Our generation bought fans. Remember them? Heavy, cumbersome things all because manufacturers thought then needed to be heavy so they wouldn’t take off or something. They only had one speed and not much of a guard on them. Why a young child could put their whole hand in there and get it chopped off. Not really but it looks like you could.
At Dofasco where I worked many years’ back they would put large blocks of ice in front of fans to cool the workers off. Life was different then. We did what we could and learned to take things in stride. No matter what was thrown at us.
Yes life is different now. Most kids have no idea what it is like to be hot and the only way to cool off was the garden hose. Today they have different types of heat. Each generation has its own trials. This is my theory. Each generation has its own heat to deal with. Each with its own irritations, its own problems and its own extreme heat. Some of the difficulties I hear children have to deal today, makes me realize how well we had it. I don’t remember too many bullies when I was a kid. I didn’t have to worry about getting emails that threaten . . . I didn’t have to worry about wearing the right thing and going to the right places and saying the right things. We didn’t have to worry about going to a party that would get crashed by a bunch of kids who carried knives and guns. Today’s heat is different.
And because it is different, we need to step forward into the lives of our children, grandchildren and help them make it through a heat wave of live.
I’m glad Jesus said to me, and He has said it to every generation; “I am with you always . . . ” even when the heat is on. Oh, and being a friend of Jesus is very cool.
Something to think about.
Rob