Comfort

If there's one comfort in life, it's being able to pray.  Being able to give things over to a higher God who is more powerful and strong than I could ever be.  A God who actually knows what's going on, who cares, and who can do something about it.

The past couple of days, I've found myself doing a lot of praying.  Some prayers are for things that directly affect me, others are for things that have nothing to do with me but are on my mind nonetheless.

This Virginia shooting of two reporters...that was really sad.  Perhaps being in the media makes this story hit home even more, but I'm not so sure; I think we are all affected - and shocked - by this one.  The one peace I've found though, is to pray.  For the victims' families, their co-workers, viewers who saw what happened, and for the shooter's family.  It's comforting to know that God feels our pain with us, and that He can provide peace in such heartache...the kind of peace that doesn't make sense (look at the victims in the Charleston church shooting as an example).  I've been praying for some sense of peace through the pain.

The past couple of days, I've been praying for some people I know who are on vacation.  I'm not sure why I've been praying so much for them, but they've been on my mind.  And I believe that if someone is on your mind, perhaps there is a reason.  Maybe God is bringing them to mind so that you will pray for them.  So I've been praying for them, asking for an awesome vacation.

I've been praying a lot for my parents.  They are going through the terrible debate over whether to sell their home of 30+ years. They can't take care of it anymore and they can't afford it...and yet, there are too many memories to just up and leave.  There have been dozens of honest, difficult, heart-wrenching conversations over the past few months.  There have been lots of tears.  There has been lots of debate - and no decision.  So I pray.

Someone (Joyce Meyer I believe) once pointed out that too often, we treat prayer as a last resort.  When all else fails, pray.  It should be the other way around.  Step ONE - pray.  Step two - try everything else.  Pretty good priorities, I think.

Gotta love social media...

I am admittedly not a huge social media user.  But stories like this one are when I love social media.  I saw this last week and have been laughing over it since.  This is perhaps one of the funniest things I have seen in a very long time.  Check out the link for the full story, but the jist is that a dead raccoon was left on a city sidewalk in Toronto for about 14 hours until a city worker finally came and picked it.  However, it's the reaction from city residents that's so great, catching like wildfire and just getting better and better.  This is definitely something that never would have happened without social media.  It's nice to a see a good sense of humour...  A little morbid, yes.  A dead raccoon, yes, that's sad.  But nonetheless, this response by the people of Toronto remains priceless.

Seriously, one of my favourite stories of 2015.  Poor racoon...but so funny.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/deadraccoonto-honoured-by-toronto-with-sidewalk-vigil-1.3146036

Can't complain

Today...today was a good day.  It started out with a lot of laughs this morning between Todd and I on the All New Breakfast Club, both on and off the air.  We joked around about funny videos on the internet (which of course meant we that had to watch them...and laugh more).

We had a wager with Steve Jones on what our Promotions Coordinator Pip Lucas would be wearing today (I lost, I thought he'd be in a tie).

We took a silly video on a selfie stick (you can check it out on our LIFE Facebook page - it's inspiration from Shia Labeouf).

And we got a call about a Batmobile sighting on Highway 400.  Seriously.

About midway through the show and after lots of laughing, I said to Todd, "We're having too much fun this morning."  And it hit me...I'm pretty lucky.  How many people get to say that, that they're having too much fun at work?  I get to do something I love.  I get to laugh and joke around on the air, and I get paid for it.  I get to work with a really fun guy who usually gets my day off to a great start.  I get to hear from people all across Central Ontario about their lives. I get to encourage those same people - and thousands more - to start their day off with Christ.  I get to work for some pretty great bosses who genuinely care about their staff.  Most importantly, I get to do something I believe in.  It's not just a job to us.  We work at LIFE because we get to spread Jesus.

After jumping off the air, I went to the Georgian College Auto Show with the LIFE Street Team, and it turns out the Batmobile rumour was true!

(He told me to stick my chest out and keep my head up.  I tried, but it's still not worthy of a Batman pose)

I not trying to brag.  I'm not that guy.  The truth is, radio can be a lot of work sometimes.  You are always working to perfect your craft.  You are always "on" because you're a personality.  You sometimes work long hours, and often on weekends.  But that's just part of the gig.  You know that going in, and you take the good with the bad.  And in the end, the good easily wins.

I don't like to write posts like this because they can be take the wrong way...oh look, my life is so much better than yours...  That's not my intention here at all.  I'm just taking an honest look at my life and reflecting on the fact that I'm a pretty blessed guy (and I haven't even touched on my family - I'd brag about that though!).

Thanks Scott and LIFE staff.  Thanks Todd Gale.  Thanks God.

Diet

Todd was off this morning and Maria Lopez jumped into the co-host chair.  She did a great job, and something she shared is going to stick with me for a long time.  She talked about a sermon she heard this week from Joel Osteen, who was discussing what to do when you're down or depressed.  That's always a tough place to be, so it's a great message.

Maria/Joel started off by talking about self control - when you're on a diet, you refuse a slice of chocolate cake.  When you're on a budget, you don't go clothes shopping when you don't need to.  And when you're in a bad state of mind, you need to take a 'diet from negative thoughts'.  That was Joel Osteen's phrase, and it hit me.  I've never thought of it that way before.  When you're on a diet, you abstain from certain things.  You stay away from things that you know are not good for you, and load up on what IS good for you.  What a great analogy for where our thoughts should be.  Positive and negative people alike, we all have moments where we need to make sure we're thinking about the good stuff, and not focussing on the bad stuff.  Of course you'll have bad days on your diet, you'll cheat here and there.  But you get back up and keep going.

So do you need to be on a diet from negative thoughts?  I'm sure it would do me some good sometimes.  From now on, consider me permanently on a diet :)

God is in control

It's nice to know that God is in control.  Sometimes we get so nervous about...everything...and I think God is up there saying, "Hey.  Breathe.  Chill out.  I got this.  Breathe again.  Relax.  And think about the fact that, really, I got this!"

This is similar to last week's post, but I suppose this my my stage in life right now.  I think God has just been reminding me, "Hey Tim, relax.  I got this."  And even though I know that, I still have nervous moments.  It's funny that we know that God is in control, we can look back and see how He's worked in our lives in the past, He reassures us that He is STILL working...and yet we still get nervous or anxious sometimes.  I suppose that is just our human nature, but that is the wonderful blessing of grace - that God understands our human weaknesses, and He walks with us and comforts us anyway, and tries to remind us along the way that yup, He's in control.

So, hey you, relax!  Oh wait, that's just a mirror.

More Faith Please

This past Sunday, I lost my cell phone.  The last place I remember having it was at the grocery store after church.  Since then, I looked EVERYWHERE for it.  I called it over and over, searched my house, my car, my office at LIFE, even went to the grocery store and all the neighbouring stores to ask if anyone had turned anything in.  Nothing.

I talked about this on the radio two days ago, and got lots of helpful calls and tips...but still, no phone.  Then a friend emailed me this:

Tim, I know someone who knows where your phone is......

God does!!!!!!....He will show you!

I saw the first line of that email and I was so elated!  Finally, someone who knows where my phone is!  Then I saw the second line...and I wasn't too happy.  In fact, I was irritated.  I thought, Urg, I know God knows where my phone is!  But a lot of times I pray and nothing happens, so is He really going to bring my phone around?  Besides, I've looked everywhere in my house, I can't hear it vibrating, and it's two days later and no one has turned  it in.  So let's face it.  It's lost.  And I was literally 100% sure nothing would happen.

A couple of hours later I was sitting in my office and I thought, "Okay, I really should pray.  My friend is actually right."  (I had been praying about it since Sunday, but not as intentionally as I decided to do it at that moment.)  So I prayed then, and when I got home from work, I talked to my wife and mentioned the email, and we prayed again, intentionally.

That evening, my wife walked past our couch and stepped on something that was under it...and lo and behold, the phone!!!  I could not believe it.  I couldn't believe that it was in my house.  I couldn't believe that we'd actually found it.  And I couldn't believe that God actually heard our prayer and brought it to us.  I felt so much joy...and a bit of shame for not trusting God to answer my prayer.

It served as a great reminder for me that yes, God is in control, and yes, He does care - even about the small things.  I actually have something else in my life that I'm a bit nervous about right now, so this phone incident has served as a reminder of God's presence, and because of that presence, I have a lot more peace.

I hope this helps you out if you're nervous about something.  Pray!  God does care!

Contentment

I've been wresting with this issue for the past few years...actually probably all my life.  What is contentment?  What does it mean to be content?  Is there a certain level where we should all be content?  Is there a different level of contentment from person to person?  (This discussion is specifically about finances.)

Let's start in the bible.  Philippians 4:11-12, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

Paul clearly was content.  Despite being shipwrecked multiple times, beaten, whipped, starving, on the run, cold, imprisoned, etc., he was content (1 Corinthians 11:23-28 for Paul's struggles).  He had God, he lived for God, and that's all that mattered.

Now in the 21st century, is the same?  Can we be that content through all circumstances?

Let me elabourate a bit.  If you make enough money to pay your bills, put food on the table, and stay out of debt (with wise budgeting and spending), but you can't afford to put your kids in swimming/skating/music lessons, you can't afford to go on vacation, and there are no extra frills in life...should you be content in the fact that your bills are paid and "that's good enough"?  Is it okay to want more money to do the things mentioned above?

What about if you can't even pay your bills?  The point where you are relying on God to meet your daily needs, and help you pay your bills at the end of the month?  Is it okay to want more then?  Or should you rest in the fact that God is providing for you and "that's good enough"?

Then there's the other end of the spectrum - you make enough money to pay your bills, and then some.  You can take a vacation each year, put your kids in sports, fix up your car, go out to dinner once in a while, etc...  Is that contentment?

There are missionaries who have nothing and yet are the happiest people you'll ever meet.  And there are wealthy individuals who have everything, and yet have nothing.

I know that the answer is God.  We find our contentment in God and not in worldly things.  Yes, thank you.  Good Sunday School answer...that is annoying but true haha.  But I guess the question comes down to this - when is it okay to want things?  If someone is in one of the first two scenarios, is it wrong to want more money so that you can live a little bit more comfortably, or so that you can give good things to your kids?  I can't imagine that there's anything wrong with that.  And yet by wanting more, does that mean that we're not thankful for what God has already given us, and not trusting Him for the rest?

I don't know.  I see both sides.  What I do know is that we should be content in all circumstances.  The 'want' part is where I'm confused.  Any help is welcome.