Something New Every Day

With summer’s close fast approaching I thought I would help you look back & forward. It has been a great time to get away, and experience a change of scenery. I time to experience different things and go where you have never gone before, (sorry Star Trek Fans). But that is what many of us do every year. Several of us, do things that include changing our whole routine. Now that’s hard - almost. Strange as that may sound we can and do change for a week but would never consider changing the regular, comfortable, daily grind that we get all too used to the rest of the year. Especially at church.

Those snippets of something different can be very invigorating, challenging and even refreshing. Now there’s a word for you, refreshing. Some new and refreshing experiences can be that experience that energizes us and for brief moments in life we find ourselves saying, “I can get used to this”. The experience has us also thinking what it means for our life in general and to step out of the ordinary more often might just be what our live needs. God created a vast, amazing, diverse world to live in, and to see Him in it we just have to look.

What’s wrong with getting out of our comfort zone and doing things we do only once a year? Start off slow. Do something you have never done before - say once a month. An example could be to go and find all the waterfalls around our Niagara Escarpment. Believe me, you will find Him there. What we did differently was to decide 10 years ago we would try our hand at Stained Glass work. Took us long enough to get to it but three months ago we made a simple sun catcher one Wednesday afternoon with Kim and now we are doing full size windows. We also did something else last weekend. One part of our family (our mom’s side) has never come together for a family picnic. As the last one left they said, “We have to do it again, can you picked a date for next year”.

How about you? God didn’t just create this world for us to live a routine life and let all the others to experience this God created world. He did it for all of us. Sure as we live, God created everything, including us, and we can find Him in all we see, do and experience. Even with September on the doorstep, make plans, set a date, and as Nike said it best, “Just Do It!”

Something to think about

Rob

Driving Aimlessly In The Dark

Do you ever have your mind wander while you are just driving along minding your own business? It happened to me the other day while I was driving in the dark at 5:03am on the QEW. Here I am, just going along and bam, I started thinking about where all these other people might be going this early in the morning. Isn’t 5:03am the time to be in bed just thinking about getting up? The sun wasn’t even up yet.

Here is what I started thinking. Some are probably going to work and they are letting their minds wander on what they are going to do once they get out of work nine hours in the future. Others, just blankly listen to the tunes. At that time of the morning, I don’t even think anyone is singing along to “Who Let the Dogs Out”. That is when I noticed a plate on the back of a car that read, Iowa. They must be on holidays but what’s the hurry to be up and going that early. Oh wait, I do the same thing. Make lots of time when there is less traffic. But maybe they are thinking about how far they can drive today.

That is when God stepped in and started redirecting my thinking. We all may ask ourselves where are we are going? It’s who we are as humans always looking to the future. It’s another thing we think about as we blankly drive through our day. It’s about tonight, tomorrow, next week, even next month. Why some are even thinking about what’s happening next year.

Which had me asking, ultimately, where are all these people going? Where am I going? We decided to go on a long trip this year and the first thing we did was call our cousin and ask if they would like a visitor for a few days. She wrote, “I will prepare a place for you. Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you…” I believe there is a real place called Heaven and that is the place Jesus was talking about. We don't have to travel this life in the dark. After all Jesus told us that He is the light of the world. And, if He has prepared a place for you, for me, am I, are you, ready to go there? Have we called ahead?

Something to think about

Rob

More Than A Gold Medal

The Olympics are over for another three years 11 months.  But that doesn’t stop the athletes from starting to train today, the day after the closing ceremonies. For years they trained daily and for what? It’s all for the chance to go and compete and possibly win a gold metal that isn’t even gold and hasn’t been since 1912? What’s with that? All that time spent away from normal life, all the pain, injuries, late nights and early mornings when most people just want to have a relationship with their pillow. Just for a chance at a prize?

Every one of those Olympians gave up most everything for one thousand four hundred forty four days just to compete for sixteen days, and in most cases, for one day. Never forget there was no guarantee because so many other individuals were doing the same thing as they are. If you think about it, your chance of winning gold is not good. There were eleven thousand athletes vying for 306 gold medals. Think about that, is it worth it?

What drove them? I’m not totally sure but a verse in the bible gives us a glimpse, but a better prize.  Paul said it in Philippians 3:12-14: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul was giving up everything to win the prize, which is being with Christ in heaven. He may have been writing this as the World Games were going on Rome. He knew what the athletes went through to get to the games and he wanted to do the same for the sake of knowing Christ in his heart. One major difference between the Olympics and the prize Paul was going for, with Paul, everyone us will receive the prize. Now take a moment and go read the whole chapter.

It takes work to be a follower of Christ, Paul knew it, we know it and man, it’s better than any gold medal the world could ever present us with.

Something to think about.

Rob

Our Own Web

Have you noticed there is an abundance of cobwebs this summer? It might have something to do with the dry weather.  The good thing about the dry weather is not as many mosquitoes. And that’s a good thing. The bad thing is I seem to find myself walking into some web wherever I’m walking. Of course you have seen the web dance many times. Oh, you have done that dance yourself? Nice.

My next door neighbour does not like cobwebs. In fact, when I have invited him over to do some plumbing work for us in our basement, he lets me know he won’t go downstairs without me going first. I have to knock them down first before he follows. I understand fully. But can you imagine how a fly feels when he flies right into one and can’t get out?

The same thing happens to us in life. Walter Scott wrote in 1806 about “the tangled webs we weave”. Maybe we do. Unfortunately we believe we need this web to protect us as well. Maybe our lives develop into the mess they become because we control it ourselves. Not so when we hand our lives over to God. You see, Scott wrote more than these five words. He continues on with six more, “what a tangled web we weave. When first we practise to deceive!” HMMMMM.  And there you have it. We put up an intricate array of threads in our life that may eventually entrap us themselves.

To protect our heart, we don’t need a web for protection. Another echo from the past is found in Job 8: “Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.

What they trust in is fragile; what they rely on is a spider’s web.

They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold.”

All we need is to accept Christ in our hearts. He will watch over us. It says so in Psalm 121:8

“The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”.

Something to think about.

Rob

TGIM

Don’t you just love to receive good news. know I do. Did you know that a few people we know from USA told me last week that we are so lucky to have a long weekend right in the middle of the summer and they wish they had one as well. Good news to me. We didn’t invite them to move here. And good news is not just having an extra day off, as there are many more ways of experiencing good news. A friend bought a new car and told me all about how great it is. Another smiled as they told me their due date is one week away. Someone else sold their house and have downsizing and they are excited.
You know and I know full well that everyday is not always full of good news. Some news is, well, not that good. Take those same friends in USA who don’t have a good choice of candidates in November. Some of us have Mondays. Not me but I know others who just can’t get excited about Monday morning. Some kids are like that when school come, right Emily?
I read something this last week that came through the screen at me. I read, “I hate getting up on Monday morning, but I thank the Lord I can.” It reminded me that with every thing that comes along, there might be that silver lining that my mother always told me about. Life is full of ups and downs, Some downs can just be our perception and turn out to be in reality a good news thing. I have to let you know there is good news that rockets us to the sky and we feel amazing.
Just like knowing Christ and realized that there is nothing we have do to get to heaven. The Good News of the gospel is, Christ paid the price of our sin. Our sins are remembered no more and we have a one way ticket to heaven. I really don’t have to earn that ticket. No Monday morning work to get God’s favour. God’s grace, the best Good News of all, is a free gift we just have to ask for. Maybe that is the reason way back, someone came up with a new translation of the New Testament and named it “Good News For Modern Man” So when we are not experiencing any great news, just can pick it up and read all about God’s Good News. I have some more great news for you, Jesus Loves You!
Something to think about
Rob