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Criticism

7 Jan

Damned If You Do And Damned If You Don’t

Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, makes some good points about criticism. “A person can be criticized for saying something or for saying nothing. You can be blamed for doing too much or too little. Too often life is being damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

We can get infected with both praise and criticism, but criticism keeps us sneezing and coughing, feverish and cranky. Praise makes us light-headed and happy until it leaves us hungry for more or stuck on prideful.

Never in 2019

29 Dec

Never Give Up On What Is Good In 2019

In discussing the past holiday season with Ed, my old neighbor from Saskatchewan, I confessed that I never gave up eating all the treats that were available. It is incredible that I can be so eager to eat all the food I should bypass.  Ed said the answer is to never start on the junk food, chocolates, special baking, etc. Never is a tough word to obey.

I have heard that I should never snack in the evening, but I keep snacking like a starving man until I go to bed. A friend snacks in bed. I have never done that yet, but I will not say I never will. I seem to be too often on the wrong side of never.

Hungry for 2019

19 Dec

What Meaning Will Your Life Have In 2019?

Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, has trimmed his New Year’s predictions down to the bare bones. “It used to be that I could sense what the next year would bring, but now the weather, politics, and events are just plain crazy,” Ed informed me. I tried to tell Ed that a few good predictions for 2019 were better than many.

My old neighbor honored me with his 2019 predictions since I won’t be at his New Year’s party where he proclaims his predictions like a famous clairvoyant. According to Ed, bullies will run the world in 2019. Russia in Europe, China in Asia, and Trump in North and South America. In Canada, smoke from cannabis will be as thick as forest fire smoke all year around. It will be the year of earthquakes, volcanoes, and grasshoppers. Grasshoppers will be as numerous as mosquitoes.  On a personal level, Ed feels that I will go on a trip to Asia or Africa in 2019. They will refuse to let me stay there long because I cannot stop sharing about Jesus being the Savior of sinners.

Christmas Then and Now

12 Dec

A Big Fuss Over A Baby Born In A Barn

Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, says that Christmas is a big fuss over a baby born in a barn. The baby of the barn who was laid in the manager is worth a great bother.

A little more than 2000 years ago, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken and the entire Roman World. At the time of the birth of Jesus, a huge part of the world was controlled or ruled by the Emperor of Rome.

Dark Side

5 Dec

Dark Side

Admitting That We Are Self-Centered Can Be Healthy

The Christmas season is intended to bring out the best in us, but a recent Christmas shopping excursion proved the opposite for me. I told Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan about my failure in common sense. Last week the wife and I drove to the neighboring city of Abbotsford so that, I could shop at the House of James. The House James is a Bible Book Store featuring religious books, movies, music, etc.

I went to the store armed with a recent catalog from their store full of things on sale. After a lengthy search and the aid of the staff, I got to the till with precisely what I came to buy. The cashier took my gift card, but it was not registering so I could not purchase what I had brought to the cash register.

Grey Cup on Ice

30 Nov

Start The Season A Month Earlier, So The Grey Cup Game Isn’t On The Ice

Ed, my old neighbor in Saskatchewan, was disgusted with the slippery surface of the turf for this year’s Grey Cup Game at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. He had a twenty-dollar bet that the Redblacks would win the game, but he did not expect his team would be playing on ice. He was sure that everyone was cheated out of a great football game because both teams lacked traction on the icy field. Ed said that the players changed cleats several times, but they really needed to have skates.

Ed felt that it was time for the Canadian Football League to change their season so that the Grey Cup Game would be played the last Sunday in October not November. Everyone could handle football beginning a month earlier. I thought that Ed had a great idea. October weather could be less of an interference with the game. Changing the start and the end of the football season will not come quickly.

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