Behind the Smile

Serving men across Canada for the past seventeen years has helped me increase my love for the book of Proverbs. This book is filled with the teaching of wisdom from a father directed to his son. I pray that fathers across Canada share wisdom like this with their children.

Television is filled with commercials featuring people who are smiling because of their latest purchase or experience.

Pursuing the Good Life

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to feel like you are stuck in a rat race? We dream about the house, car, vacation, clothes, and electronic devices that we see on TV or in the driveway next to ours. We work harder to obtain more, only to find out that we need to keep making more money in order to sustain what we already have and to strive for the next dream or goal that we have for our life.

In this passage of Scripture, the wisdom we are being taught is not that having material possessions is a bad thing, but that there is a better life to pursue.

Read More joy, poverty, peace, possessions @en

Achieving Your Goals

The lives of the rich and famous are consistently on display for all of us to see. Every day, we can be surrounded with stories of people we can see are moving towards success, and people who seem to be heading towards disaster. We talk about the path they seem to be on as if we know all of what is happening in their lives. If our lives were on display like those of the “famous,” what would people be able to see about the path we seem to be on?

Your Legacy

Someone once reminded me that the most important part of a gravestone is the dash that comes between the year someone was born and the year they died. That dash represents everything that happened over the course of that person’s life. Unfortunately, most people don’t stop to think about their legacy until long after their legacy has already been determined in the minds of the people around them.

Teachable

I knew exactly what I was doing. How difficult could downhill skiing be? After ignoring the instructor’s lesson on how to ski, I made my way up the hill and started going down. Panic set in when I realized that I did not know how to slow down, stop, turn, etc. What do you do when you realize that you are in trouble on skis? You just fall down and tear the cartilage in your knee. Did I mention I was on the bunny hill and my ego was forever damaged?

General Know It All

When I was a kid, my mom was having one of those parties in our home where people see samples or catalogues of items and then place their orders. In one of the catalogues, I saw a t-shirt that reflected exactly what I believed about myself. On this t-shirt were the words “General Know It All.”

I wanted this shirt as a badge of honour to tell the world that whatever my opinion was, it was the right opinion and plan.

Read More pride, plans, humility, attitude

Pride and Grace

Have you ever wrestled to make sense of something you have read in the Bible? I have.

Jesus walking on water, an axe floating on water, the sun standing still for an entire day; the Bible is filled with images that can be very difficult for people to wrap their minds around. This passage has one of those images.

Wisdom in Government

Do you remember the first opportunity you had to vote? Voting is a privilege and a responsibility that comes with being a citizen of Canada. For as long as I can remember, governments have been maligned for their decisions. Ultimately, we desire what is best for ourselves and when the government does not give it to us, we can become upset or even unruly.

As a king, Solomon wanted to be a good leader.

Read More wisdom, leadership, citizenship, politics

Warnings and Rewards

Warnings are not usually perceived as an opportunity. Instead, I often see them as an obstacle that is preventing me from experiencing something that I am very interested in pursuing. What if a warning was actually the opening of a path to a better way?

Imagine you were driving up a mountain and one of the roads on the mountain was closed due to falling rocks.

Read More obedience, instruction, warnings

Wisdom Brings Influence

As a father, I have often become frustrated when my children will not listen to my instruction. What about you? Are there family members, friends, co-workers, leaders, employers, or others that you just wish would listen to you?

The wise person is considered to be discerning in a conversation – speaking with gracious words that will help people understand, rather than words that create barriers.