“The RoseBouquet”

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Phil. 4:4).

We need to know that to be joyful or to rejoice, is not intended to be optional. God wants us to rejoice. Not only to bless and please Him, though it will surely do that, but as we shall learn as we go along, it is for our own good, our health, when we are glad.

From personal experience I know that good things, and kindness from others will be attracted to us when we go about cheerful, contented, and singing God’s praises in the midst of whatever is happening to us that day.

Have you read the book, Pollyanna? It’s about an orphaned daughter of missionaries, who was sent to stay with her bitter maiden aunt. Pollyanna had been taught to rejoice and see the positive in every situation. By this attitude she influenced a number of people in that community and eventually her aunt had a change of heart too.

I loved that old classic. So I am always upset when someone says rather sarcastically, “Oh, don’t be so Pollyannish!” As if that’s a bad thing to be. The American Heritage Dictionary says for Pollyanna: n. A person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic.

Hummph!

The Online Etymology Dictionary defines it a bit better; “one who finds cause for gladness in the most difficult situations,” 1921, in allusion to Pollyanna Whittier, child heroine of U.S. novelist Eleanor Hodgman Porter’s “Pollyanna” (1913) and “Pollyanna Grows Up” (1915), noted for keeping her chin up during disasters.

I just learned a lot more about this classic and the sequels that were written, on this helpful page; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollyanna And if you want to sample the book, it is online here; Bibliomania.com/0/0/39/77/frameset.html However, reading the whole thing may become awkward as it is in frames that are too small.

Let me get back on track with my thoughts. I’m convinced that I have great peace and contentment when I keep constantly in mind that God loves me, and is looking after me, and no serious harm can befall me when I’m doing the work He has given me to do. You will always attract more friends and help from strangers when you have a glad or satisfied attitude, and just brighten the corner wherever you are.

Tell me, are you attracted to those who are morose and ready to talk about their troubles in a bitter or resigned way as soon as you appear to have a moment to listen? Don’t you try to escape from them as soon as you can?

My conclusion is that I would rather choose to be glad and win people than to drive them away. I would rather make the mistake of being too cheerful than not enough - at least to the degree I’m able. It will keep me in better health, and surrounded with good friends, and it will please the One who made us in the first place, intending us to shine like sunbeams and stars.

Just as Ruthe in my novel sets an example of someone who enjoys intimacy with God, Pollyanna in Eleanor Porter’s book, set an example of a glad and winsome attitude. Let’s follow both of them. It is so much easier when you can watch someone modeling a lifestyle.

Read sample chapters of my first novel online, starting at the index

Order the e-book to download and read on your computer; Order page

You can order the softcover paperback from Booklocker.com

Yesterday, the second Monday of October, was the Canadian national holiday, Thanksgiving. In this area many people pick and choose which day of the weekend they will celebrate it with the big Thanksgiving meal. Married couples have to juggle family gatherings for both sides of their family, usually one day for the wife’s side of the family and another for the husband’s parents and siblings - and their families. If the couple have grown children who are married, they have to juggle schedules to have a gathering for their own family and the families of their sons and daughters-in-law. Some folks eat big meals on Saturday, Sunday AND Monday!

In my case, things are quite simple. Except for my brother Tom, my siblings are too far away. Sometimes in the past they have come “home” for Thanksgiving, but that was because they wanted to connect with our parent(s). In recent years, I prepared a meal and then would take it and Dad into the city to visit Tom and spend a few hours with him. (That was easier than driving into the city to pick him and his wheelchair up, bring him home, and then take him back again).

Now it is just Tom and me right here in Saskatoon, so my routine was even simpler. I checked with him and decided that Sunday supper would be our time of eating the turkey meal together. I prepared it at home, and took it to his place, and because of the much shorter distance, I didn’t have to re-heat it in his kitchen.

My one problem was that since I had bought a very small turkey I started it in a crock pot where it ju-st fit. About 4 pm when I checked it, it was still bleeding when I stabbed it. So to speed things up I lifted the liner out of the crock, covered the bird with foil and put it into the oven. By 6 pm it was done nicely, and I had already mashed the potatoes and put them into a covered dish, made the gravy, and a topping for the pumpkin pie.

I told Tom that I’d heard on the radio there was to be a phone in show the next morning on whether eating turkey makes one sleepy. I felt it did. That night I found out it was so! My head kept nodding off while I tried to finish one regular email I always send out on Sunday nights.

Yesterday and today I’ve been simmering the bones and trimmed meats, and juices in a crock. Just now I’ve added some vegetables. This should make a large quantity of turkey vegetable soup, which I can divide into containers for the freezer, and enjoy quick defrost and heat soups for some time to come.

Then there’s the left over turkey to cut up and squirrel away in the freezer too. That one birdie, costing me 6.80, is going to give me a lot of fine meals yet! Yum, (smacking my lips).

Do you do things that way too?

Besides cooking turkey the last two days have had me dealing with a computer problem again. You may recall that I had a rough Sunday and Monday in early September when I had updated my kernel, and that had messed up my bootloader, so I couldn’t even login to my linux operating system, (Suse 10.1.). I ended up having to re-install the whole system again. Well, on Saturday I was doing updates, and decided that since everything was working fine again, I should allow it to also update the kernel. (I know better now!)

Sunday morning I discovered that while I could login without a problem, I had no sound, and could not connect to the internet. So while my turkey was baking in the afternoon, I tried to solve my problems. Dead-ends at every try.

After I got back from Tom’s and had done my dishes, I logged in to my older system, Suse 9.3, which is still on this computer. (These experiences are making me a confirmed dual-booter!) From there I was able to keep my commitment to that regular Sunday night report email to certain missionaries. I also realized that the only solution for the 10.1 was to re-install it on Monday.

I had not planned for a prayer retreat on Monday morning, but decided to take off the morning first to do that. In a crisis I always need to go have a long talk with the Lord. At noon I tried another fix method, which didn’t work, and then settled in to do the re-install - very carefully! At certain stages it is possible to wipe out ALL my files. About 4 pm. I was done, and Hallelujah! I wept for joy when I saw that everything was back to normal, including the sound and internet connection.

Such experiences are not fun, but each time I learn things that I know will stand me in good stead when I start giving computer lessons.

Oh, and Tom had bought himself a brand new computer everything suite. Wow! 1 GB of RAM memory, and a big flat screen! He’s got more than he knows how to use! His older computer had quit on him, and out of curiosity I took it home to see what I could find out. While I was waiting for my computer to do certain stages of the install, I hooked up Toms, on the other desk, and discovered that the BIOS says there is no hard drive. It is toast too.

Otherwise that box is still sounding good. I was able to run some Live Linux CDs on it, but they got sluggish when they discovered there was no hard drive to attach to. - So now I’m thinking… if I could get some other used, but still working hard drives I should experiment and teach myself to install them. I could practice on Tom’s since that computer can’t do anything as it is, and then put one into this computer too. It would save me the cost of $60-80/hour I wonder where I could scrounge for hard drives? Maybe one of those electronics recycling depots?

Where would you look?

By the way, my article last week gave some folks a good laugh. Some thought it was good writing. Whew! Thanks!

Oh, how sweet to have a friend who’d drop everything and come when you need her. Ruthe, the heroine of this novel, dashes away from her own grad when her friend Muriel calls. Don’t you wish you had a loyal, caring friend like that? Buy and READ Ruthe’s Secret Roses! e-Book edition or - Softcover edition

You have a really great idea, but did God give you that idea, or is it a false tangent to His plan and purposes for your life?

If you have chased after some dreams only to discover they take you off the path of God’s better plan, and if you are committed to doing His will and pleasing Him above all others, then a new plan can present a dilemma.

Especially if, like me, you have a vivid imagination and ideas come unbidden all the time. Sometimes God Himself inspires them, but sometimes they are only my ‘cute idea.’ They always look appealing and have terrific value, but how do you discern if you should go for it, or whether you should hold back and keep the ground you’ve gained already?

A solution that quickly comes to mind is the one in the story of Gideon, in Judges, chapter 6, the Bible. Have you read that? An angel came to him with a fantastic idea that he should rally an army and get rid of the Midianites who were camped around Israel, and raiding their crops. But Gideon was a cautious fellow, and knew he was considered the runt of his family, so would anyone listen to him?

He was a man of prayer though, so he asked God to confirm this with a minor miracle. He would lay out a sheep’s fleece over night and in the morning, - if God was behind this daring plan and really wanted him to carry it out - the fleece on the threshing floor should have dew on it, but everything around it be dry.

It was. He could wring out that fleece and practically fill a bucket with the dew-water. But everything around it was dry. Unusual.

Gideon had not finished with all the angles. Maybe that could have happened naturally. (Or someone came and drenched it). He begged God to let him try again. This time he would ask for a bigger miracle. He’d lay the fleece out again, but this time God should keep the fleece dry and dew everywhere else around it.

Again it was as he asked. God had not scolded him either time, but gave timid Gideon the encouragement to trust for the biggest miracle he would witness, the routing and destruction of the whole Midianite army camp. He obeyed and just used the clever idea of torches hidden in clay pots, and trumpets to make a lot of noise. His small gang of volunteers spread themselves in a circle around the enemy camp, and at one signal, dropped the clay pots, and blasted their horns. All that light and noise caused the Midianites to panic and kill each other.

I’ve heard preachers say that Gideon did wrong to ask for confirmation from God. He should just have believed straight-away. I beg to differ. I can identify with Gideon. When I get wild and wonderful ideas I can get so enthused. But I’ve made a few bad moves, so I’ve learned to be cautious and to seek confirmation when I realize there are great consequences at stake.

One prime example comes to mind. After Mom died I wanted to pursue self-publishing my novel, and reading about the internet, it caught my fancy. But did God want me to do that? After much prayer I decided to ask for something that would require a minor miracle. Mom had said I could have her china cabinet. I knew she had once paid over $700 for it, and I needed that kind of money towards a computer that could go online to the world wide net. I also needed that cabinet out of my way for my desk. Dad was sure I would never find a buyer willing to pay $700 for that cabinet. I insisted that if I got that much, I would KNOW that I should get a computer and teach myself to publish online.

I couldn’t afford to pay for classified ads, but I created some posters and put them up on bulletin boards of the local restaurants and service stations. Before too long a young woman came to see the cabinet and she thought $700 was very reasonable. She and her husband were going to move to his parents’ farm near Christmas, so she would send some men for it then. They came on Christmas Eve, and I got my check for $700.

I was online by the end of January 1999, and look what a long ways I’ve come since then!

So while I don’t recommend laying out of fleeces willy-nilly about every little decision you want to make, God is not offended if you ask Him for confirmation when a large decision looms before you, and you are more afraid of disobeying God than anything else.

I’m laying one out myself these days…. I want to make sure before I make a bold business start.

Read sample chapters of my first novel online, starting at the index

Order the e-book to download and read on your computer; Order Page (or if you email me, we can make a deal and I’ll send it to you on CD).

You can order the softcover paperback from Booklocker.com

On Saturday morning I managed to get a my eavestroughs cleaned out. It hadn’t been done for years. Messy job! I got a lot of mess on me, but fortunately I’m washable. It was misting while I did it, but just as I finished, it began to rain in earnest. I went inside praising the Lord, and worked at cleaning myself thoroughly.

Then I focused on organizing one end of my bookshelves and my desk. I didn’t finish but I feel great about the amount of work I got done. I made major progress!

A week ago Sunday I took a supper over to my brother Tom’s and he wanted me to take away two used microwaves that had been left behind when others died or moved out of his apartment building. I put them in the trunk of my car, thinking to offer them to the sponsors at my church, who are looking after some refugees from Thailand that arrived a few weeks ago. But when I checked with the woman in charge at church, she said that they didn’t feel they needed the microwaves, but they wouldn’t mind the two chairs of Tom’s I’d told her about.

Well, I’ve been helping by picking up the refugee family of six the last few Sundays, so while we were driving back to the city I ask “my family” if they would like a microwave. They said yes. So when I got to their apartment address I opened the trunk to give them one of the microwaves.

Just then another family arrived at the car. These, I believe, were the friends of theirs, that they told me had just arrived the previous week. I asked if they’d like one too. They chattered among themselves, and suddenly one of the first family’s young boys piped up, “They said Yes.” So I gladly handed over the second microwave.

I drove away feeling the joy of giving, and was quite pleased that it had been so easy to give them away.

The next morning it hit me; what if they don’t know how to use them? They might burn themselves or break dishes that shouldn’t go in! Oh well,

I’ve just been plodding away at routines, making creeping advances on several fronts. For one, I’m trying to sell my sister’s stereo credenza and speakers (see the article below). I want to get it out of the way before I start another site.

I’m working at promo, and have been more than two weeks at setting up reciprocal links on all my sites and those I look after. Now I am shifting into writing classified ads, and posting them. Yes, I am determined to learn to be an effective promoter of my sites and business ventures. I know this will take some plodding work but I trust that I will learn to do this wisely and effectively.

I’m also working on a new daily devotional to send out like I did the study of Matthew called, the “Kingdom of Jesus” which finished in May. More subscribers keep signing up even though that mailing list has been lying dormant. This motivates me to get this going again.

The next one will be a study of Joshua with an emphasis on the lessons we can apply to our own spiritual warfare on a daily basis. It’s only 24 lessons because that’s how many chapters are in Joshua, but this time it will include some study workbook questions that you can answer to get more benefit than when you just read a few short paragraphs.

I think I’ll produce it as an e-book right away. (I had done that once already and printed out some copies to use in church). That way, if someone wants to buy it and make copies to use in a class you are teaching, you are welcome to use it that way as well.

But because it will be over in 5 weeks, I need to be starting on the next one after that too.

I’m planning to buy myself a SiteBuildIt! (SBI) web business package as soon as I can clear space in my schedule to work on it. If you’ve forgotten, or never heard before what that’s about, you might want to visit a quick slide show to see some sample sites done with SBI.

It will show you the possibilities in site design variety, and what you can do with limited time, whether you are already a web designer, or totally new to this. May I challenge you to get one too, so we can pace each other, and see if a few hours a week invested in this will really do what I’ve come to believe it will?

What’s my expectation? That in about 3 months - like by the end of the year - I’ll have a fine, polished site up and running, and it will be bringing in a steady income for me. From what I’ve been reading at the forums, I gather that for most people it takes about that long to get it productive enough to support you. But you do have to invest the time to follow the Guide and set it up. Because of the built in features, like automated submissions to search engines, the specific traffic will come, people who WANT what my site will offer!

In 1976 my sister Elsie married Jack Peters. His brother-in-law, Darryl, an electronic engineer, decided to build them a gift of an eloquent stereo suite from the inside out. He valued it at $1000 at the very least. This teakwood stereo credenza and full size speakers made a grand gift.

But with various moves, and the family break-up, it has become a white elephant in my care, as I have looked after Elsie’s things in storage in Dad’s house since 1995. That’s when Elsie and her two children moved to Burnaby, B.C. so she could train for a career and be able to care for the children without going on welfare.

But this year I have had to move to a smaller home, and no longer have room for this elegant suite. Elsie has asked if I would try to sell it for $500. That’s my challenge right now.

By the way, what’s a white elephant?

Investopedia Says:
The term ‘White Elephant’ is derived from Thailand, where an Albino (white) elephant was given to unfavored people by the ruler. Because these elephants were sacred and not permitted to work, it was a burden to the owner as it would eat up all the owner’s money until he/she became destitute.

Wikipedia says:
The term “white elephant” came, in English, to mean a thing which is more trouble than it is worth, or has outlived its usefulness to the person who has it. While the item may be useful to others, its current owner would usually be glad to be rid of it. By reason of this, commercially, a “white elephant” might be available to purchase at a very favorable price. An example of such an item might be a mansion whose maintenance costs exceed the capacity of its owners.

Okay, maybe I should not throw that term around so loosely. But I am on the brink of having to pay for this stereo’s storage, and I’m not getting any use of it where it is now. I don’t think it should be such a hardship to someone who has the space to keep it in good condition until there is a demand for it as an antique.

In preparation to sell it, I’ve done some research. This stereo credenza and speakers set is now 41 years old. In nine more years it will be 50 and will qualify as an antique. I’ve also learned that many people have trashed their 1960’s - 70’s stereo cabinets to make room for the current electronic items in vogue. This means that in nine to ten years, there will be precious few of these handsome stereo cabinets and credenzas to find. Even if you hunt for them diligently - little to no luck! It would seem a very wise move to store this one for one more decade and then settle on the highest price it will fetch.

What does it look like? What it’s features?

The cabinet is built of teakwood, and all the electronic parts are only top quality Philips stereo components. The credenza is 28 1/2″ tall, and 42 1/4″ long, and 18″ wide. The two identical full-size speakers measure 28 1/2″ high, and 13″ wide and 20″ long.

The upper lid opens to a long playing (LP) record player with lots of extra space for the most frequently played records.

The long narrow door on the front opens to the controls for a top quality AM/FM radio which also uses the large Philips speakers. The builder told me that it would not be difficult to hook a CD or DVD player into this same system.

Below that are two folding doors to the spacious cabinet area for a large collection of LPs, (or CDs and DVDs).

All three parts of this suite have their own caster-wheeled dollies, so that they can be rolled easily to another position.

The suite is presently stored in some vacant office space. If you wish to see it in person, you must call to set up an appointment time to meet there. Please call me, (Ruth) at 306-956-7785. If you are sympathetic, but unable to take any other action, maybe you would be so kind as to offer up a prayer that a buyer will show up, who loves the teakwood stereo credenza and speakers suite and is willing to pay the $500 to take it away. I would appreciate that a great deal! Thank you.

You can see photos here of the Teakwood Stereo Credenza and Speakers