Luxury

There's no place like home.  Those are the words many of us speak on our way home from vacation.  Sure, we love to get away, but after awhile, for most of us, the cottage, the tent, and the hotel rooms get old and we long for a good night sleep in our own bed.  However, the "stars of Hollywood," often enjoy luxury we could only dream of.  Do you think you could, "rough it," in some of these trailers?

Little Things Matter

Opening a door for someone and shovelling snow for an elderly neighbor seem very simple.  You do not necessarily think they will bring you any kind of a reward.  But you don't care.  You are not doing it for the reward.  You are doing it because it is the right thing to do.

We never know how God is going to use us.  Here's proof...

Unbelievable Voice

In my position, I get to listen to a lot of music.  Whenever you hear an album, mp3, etc you are hearing a song in its "perfect form."  If the producer is good, all of the imperfections are removed.  Sometimes, that means you can be very disappointed to see a live performance.  You hear the band mess up, the lights don't work, or the lead singer misses a few notes.  I'm not criticizing at all, I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be, "on," every night.

Maple Noise 2013 was Friday night at Timothy Christian School in Barrie.  Kevin Max is the new lead singer of Audio Adrenaline.  I was a DC Talk fan from back in the day and figured out that Kevin is an amazing vocalists.  He never misses a note.  So I was curious this time to see if he had lost anything over the years.  He lost nothing.  His range, dynamics, and presentation is unbelievable.  He also shared a bit of his testimony.  It sounds like God has been doing a real good work in his life.

If you couldn't make it, too bad.  Kevin and the rest of the band put on a fun show.  However, if you did miss it, it sounded just like this:

Smoke Detectors

Have you noticed that smoke detectors always let you know that the battery is low between midnight and 6am?  That shrill, loud beep, along with some loud instructions in French, let us know that our battery was low earlier this week.  My two-year-old even got caught up in the action by letting us know he heard a noise and people talking outside his bedroom.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the reminder, but I wonder if they could get more creative and "quiet" on future units.  When there is a fire, I want the beep to be loud and shrill. Whatever it needs to be to wake us up.  But a warning?  Why not a rapid flashing light?  Why not the soothing sound of ocean waves lapping up against the shore?  Or what if you could program it to play your favourite song?  It may not wake us up in the middle of the night, but the gentle reminder would be just as helpful...and might allow us to get the few extra hours of sleep we need.

To all of the smoke alarm companies...my suggestions...free of charge.  You're welcome!

Back To School

One of my favourite things about the end of August was Back To School shopping....seriously.  I loved shopping for new books, pencils, pencil cases, lunch kits, etc.  I would do my best to track down supplies featuring my favourite super hero or favourite sports team.

But I do wonder how much better supplies are now?  Here's the proof.  Were these available when you went shopping back in the day?

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/cool-school-supplies-00100000063508/index.html
 

Treat

This video is for anyone who is a big fan of:

• An upbeat fun tune
• An acoustic playing guitar clinic
• A classic tune from Steven Curtis Chapman

It is also pretty cool to see Steven play with his sons.

Piano Lessons

I grew up as a pastor's kid.  What is something that all pastor's kids have to do for at least a short period of time in their childhood...take piano lessons.

I would like to say that I played hard, practiced hard, and now travel the world showing off my skills. Unfortunately, that is not the case.  Like so many, my biggest challenge was practicing.  Maybe, just maybe if I had been able to use my feet more often on the keys I would have enjoyed it a little more.  Here's what I mean: