“The RoseBouquet”

Since the Wednesday before Christmas Snowflake and I have been waging a war against mice! That’s when I saw my first one jump down out of my kitchen cupboards when a measuring cup fell out. That evening Snowflake caught one but had not killed it, so it got away, and we both hunted for it earnestly. I saw it later, going under my bed, and you should have seen me try to locate and stomp on it with an empty boot. I saw another one in the bathroom, so I set some traps even though it was past midnight.

The next morning I found one dead mouse in a trap. I was away all day, but that evening Snowflake brought me a dead one to show. I praised him highly. “You’re catching on! These are NOT toys!”

Then began a week of setting traps, sometimes both morning and night, and I began to keep score. That Saturday and Sunday I dispatched two from the traps to the garbage each day. By Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, it was three a day! One night I had just reset the trap (under the sink area in the kitchen was the most effective), and when I went around the corner into the bathroom I heard that trap go snap, and a squeak-squeak!

Goodness! I thought, they are lining up for a try at that peanut butter in the trap!

Then the numbers went down again. On Saturday I stepped on a dead one lying by the dryer down in the basement when I went to check my laundry. At the moment that’s the last one, making a total of 18 dead mice.

I sure hope that’s the last one. I was beginning to think all the neighbours were sending theirs over to my house!

And yes, it’s the bitterly cold temperatures that are driving them inside - I know.

As I said the week before Christmas, I was tackling a big painting job at Western Tract Mission offices. My cousin Gary offered to help and I’ve been very grateful, or I wouldn’t be done yet. But we have managed to paint the large common office area, two stairwells, the postage room, the back entry area and the utility hall and alcove next to that.

Yesterday Gary and Allen, one of our Board members began to lay the laminate flooring in the large office room. They got about a third done after we spent the morning clearing out the room and ripping up the glued down carpeting and scrapping it down. They hope to finish that today if possible.

I plan to paint the baseboards and door frames.

If we don’t get done today, I’m sure we should be able to finish tomorrow and get it all done this side of New Year’s Day.

I do confess that the physical work all day has made me sleepy and tired in the evenings, so I have not got much done in the way of answering emails. I did spend some time on Sunday plotting my business agenda for the new year, and I hope to do some more work on that on New Year’s Day. Things should settle down to a more cerebral lifestyle for me then. Right now I’m looking forward to that! But I was taught to finish what I started and so I will hang in like a dirty shirt until the painting project is all done.

Last night I managed to stay awake long enough to create a photo story on the Western Tract Mission site for a report to supporters. I think it is okay to send you there to get a glimpse of what I’ve been doing. At least if you are curious. Christmas Break Refresh Office

Oh! Guess what. Due to all that work and the mouse war I did not get a quick RoseBouquet out with my Christmas card and letter to you. I hope you don’t mind if I give you the link right here, and you can still see and read it. Christmas Card and Letter

Now, with my apologizes, I’m going to skip the Tips & Solutions item and the article for Ruthe’s Roses this week, and hurry to get this posted so I can go down and unlock the doors. The men should be arriving any moment about now.

Let me just wish you a very blessed and Happy New Year, and much joy. For sure the world scene doesn’t look like it has great prospects, but for those who believe God and His promises, there are many wonderful Joy Gems all around us. I’m totally convinced of it!

Oh my, but it is cold in our area these days! I’m grateful for my new furnace. It works hard, but the house leaks heat, so as soon as the furnace stops blowing up hot air, the house loses heat again. My next big reno goal will be to get the windows replaced, and new Styrofoam wrap and vinyl siding around the house.

I have managed to walk to the office and back again each week day since about August. Even at -19 Celsius (-2.2F) I have managed a brisk walk and not complained. Mind you, I dress sensibly in many layers. However, on the weekend our temperatures plummeted to -33C, (-27F), with windchill factors making it feel like -44C (-47.2 F). It was not a problem on Saturday as I worked inside all day, but I did go out to sweep my back steps, and plug the car in.

(I heard on the news that the Eastern seaboard states in the USA have had a doozer of a winter storm - the worst in several decades, including the loss of electricity. My adventures will seem tame compared to their stories).

Sunday morning the car started okay, but driving to church I realized that the heater was only blowing cold air. My hands and feet were icicles by the time I got there. Fortunately, the half hour I had the car running warmed up the engine enough so that I had no trouble starting it later, and I was able to enjoy a lovely lunch at the home my my new friends, the McBrides. I went home for a short while in the afternoon, and then headed back to the church for the Christmas program by the Sunday School. Our ESL class was singing a special number and the children had been prepared to put on a fine musical called the Christmas Spelling Bee. (I am truly enjoying the making of many new friends!)

The fact that the car heater was not working right and sometimes I smelled anti-freeze, led me, first thing yesterday morning, to try to make an appointment to have the heater examined and repaired at a service station. Imagine my surprise to find that one place didn’t even answer the phone and the second place said they had customers lining up with the same problem. They were already booked up into Thursday. I should call later in the week.

Much as I’d like to walk to the office again, I caught a ride with my neighbour, Joe, yesterday. Later, realizing that I needed groceries and so did my brother Tom, who is handicapped and not feeling well these days, I started up my car when I got home and went to do the shopping, thankful that I was only driving short distances, and that the car still works besides not heating well enough.

This morning I really weighed my options but decided to drive to work and go out at noon to start the car for a few minutes so that I can be sure it will start at 5 pm when I want to leave.

Do you have to make such lifestyle adjustments for winter where you live? Not much fun, is it? However, I often remind myself not to grumble as that makes it worse. Instead, remember that these unkind winter days will help us to have so much more anticipation and joy when spring comes! Let’s just get through this with a clear conscience, and honorably.

Besides still sending out Christmas snail mail (it’s those personal notes that slow me down), this week I’m trying out an assortment of used printers that have been given to me. Yesterday was not a very encouraging day in that regard. But I want to make a brave effort to see which ones can still be got to work reasonably well, so that I can either use, give them away, or take to SarCan for recycling.

It has been a bother to me that none of my printers are working at this time when I need to run off more and more of my cards and letters. If they really cannot be brought to a productive state, then I want to clean them out of my office. By spinning my chair around I can see nine of them in this room. Just like my Dad, I hate to discard something if there is still some potential, but I’d like to clear out the duds, so that I can buy a new one with a clear conscience.

The tricky part is that some of them might work if they had new cartridges. That could be the case with two, maybe three of the ones I tried yesterday. So I may have to go buy some cartridges and risk the waste if it turns out they won’t work even then.

I had one printer given to me on Friday that was dripping ink no matter how you touched it. I dashed off to wash my hands and a sleeve several times, and finally dropped it back into a bag and asked the donor to drop it off at SarCan. (Our provincial gov’t encourages us to bring them there for recycling the parts instead of filling the landfill sites).

Thursday, Joe and Penny, my neighbours and co-workers here at Western Tract Mission, are heading down to Michigan to spend the holidays with their family. That will leave only Priscilla and me working here, so I’ve offered to paint the two stairwells, and the one large meeting, work-room, and lunch area. Funds have come in for a new laminate floor for that room, and we’ve all agreed that the walls should be painted first, but no one else has time. Seeing I don’t have family begging for me to stay home, (aside from Snowflake), I thought this is something I could do. My cousin Gary Friesen has offered to come help me. That encourages me because I was a bit leary of doing that one narrow and steep and very high stairwell. He’s not afraid of heights, so he’ll be a big help.

Because of the prep work on Thursday and the amount of wall space, I am guessing it will take about four days. Maybe even more. I have things I’d like to do at home to prepare for the new year, but if need be, we can use the days after Christmas too. Priscilla will be on Christmas break then.

Therefore, I’m not sure if I should promise to publish an issue of the RoseBouquet next week,or announce a holiday break. Let’s put it this way, IF I have time I might put up a few photos on the blog. I will provide a link to my Christmas story/card and my letter, if I have not sent that out sooner. We will skip next week for a full, regular issue, because I’m sure I’ll have plenty to do - and so will you! Next Tuesday is only two days before Christmas.

I think I should be back to full-issue pace by the Tuesday after Christmas, Dec. 30th.

I may also be less available to answer emails over the next week or so. But don’t let that stop you from writing. I hope to get all caught up by January 1.

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 Softcover edition.

You could still order and it before Christmas! In the USA your order is filled within 48 hours and delivered in about five days!

Are You a Good Recipient of Gifts? How do you react when you receive a gift? Do you break through the wrappings like an excited child to see what it is? Do you carefully remove the tape and fold the wrapping paper for re-use, and methodically examine every detail of a gift before you say anything to the giver? Or, do you try to refuse unexpected gifts, and pull back because –

Well, why exactly, would you refuse a gift? I can think of a few reasons. See if any of these resonate with you:

1. Some gifts seem to be intended as charity, and your pride tells you, “I am NOT a charity case.”

2. Some gifts are so wonderful that you feel you can never give that person a comparable gift in return. You don’t want to be seen as the poorer, needy cousin. By declining it, you think you are keeping the ground level between you.

3. Maybe the gift comes with some strings attached. Accepting the gift will mean that you have a special bond with that person - and you may not be ready for that level of friendship. An example would be a boyfriend who gives you an expensive gift, hoping to persuade you to commit to marriage. If you are not ready I agree. Much as the gift may be attractive to you - say, “no thank you.”

We should not blindly accept every gift. Some might be a bribe, and some might be downright unethical. However, I believe there are many people who have trouble accepting a gift because of pride, or because no one has ever shown them that there are graceful ways to receive a gift.

It has occurred to me more than once, that although I want to be a generous giver of gifts, the Lord may, in His wisdom, be bringing me through a long period of being the recipient of gifts, so that I will learn some important lessons in giving from the other end - the recipient.

If someone’s presentation of a gift makes me feel small and like “poor cousins” from across the tracks, then maybe I need to learn from that negative lesson, how to give in a more thoughtful, gracious way. A way that leaves the recipient’s pride in tact. I used to think an anonymous gift was the solution, but through experience I’ve learned that is not always the case. It can scare the recipient into the wildest imaginings.

Gifts, like love, should be given openly, and the thanks given sincerely as soon as possible. It is a relational transaction. If left incomplete, it only gives rise to more problems in the relationship.

On the other hand, sometimes the giver means well, and really wants to show love but is tentative in the presentation, afraid of being rejected. This has happened so many times that I now make a point of being enthusiastic about most if not all gifts from givers like that. The gift may not be very useful to me, but I can see the giver has invested of her or himself, and the cruelest thing would be to reject that gift. I am giving something valuable too, when I receive it with thanksgiving, and take time to send a thank you note afterwards.

Money gifts are almost a topic alone. Some hesitate to give them, thinking they will be cold and impersonal. In some circumstances they can be, but that is tied to the relationship the giver and receiver have to each other.

I have found money gifts to be a tremendous blessing. I receive more of them, since coming a missionary status, but I used to get some during my years as a caregiver for my parents too. Instead of having more unuseful (to me) gifts for my stash to give to others, I can buy things that I really need, or put some money gifts together for a larger item.

Although I have much to learn yet about both receiving and giving gifts, I am paying attention, and trying to practice better methods as I learn them. Perhaps the most important one, is to acknowledge a gift with a verbal thank you when possible, and also a written one. It makes the giver feel like they did the right thing, and perhaps they will give more readily in the future to us - or to others.

For a while I thought it was important to tell them how I had used their gift, but then I got some with instructions attached - this was for myself alone and not for me to give to others, or to spend on my business. Well, I do my best to follow that instruction, but I’m learning that I don’t always need to give great detail in saying how their gift was a great blessing to me.

One more thing. I vowed at one time that I would not go around begging or hinting for gifts, but would receive anything (when ethical) offered to me as a gift from the Lord. This has brought about the marvelous feature of the Lord prompting people to offer me gifts when I have a need that I have not mentioned to them. It adds a touch of the miraculous to the gifts I receive.

Again, that teaches me that when I have funds in hand, and He prompts me to give to someone else in need, that I not hesitate to obey and do so as quickly as I can. It’s a chance to be the hand of God’s provision in someone’s needy situation. I do it quietly, privately, without flaunting it before others, and God in turn meets my needs as they arise. What wonderful balance!

You would see a mess of Christmas projects here and there and there. This is not a good time to entertain visitors at my house as I need to finish some of these projects before I can clean them up. Maybe you know all about this scenario?

My main project is getting out my Christmas card (with the new gift of a story) and my Christmas letter, and for some, I tuck in a thank you card (home-made, of course), and sometimes a wee gift. I used to have a monthly pen pal mailing list of at least 36 friends and relatives, but at Christmas that would easily double and triple. When I got serious about my online business ventures I gave that up, but some of those people still look forward to my chintzy, home-made cards and letters. Well, most of them. Then, in the last ten years or so, I’ve gained a number of internet friends all over the world.

On top of that, I have people who have become my missionary supporters. I have friends in the church I attended for 25 years, and now I am fast gaining new friends here in the city.

I really don’t know how many letters and cards to produce! Where shall I draw the line? Sure, for some of them I can send them a link to my Christmas card and letter on my website. At least where I have an email address. But some are really special and I’d like to send them something in the mail. Again, where shall I draw the line?

Well, I’ve plunged in, written the story and letter, and designed the card, and Joe at the WTM printed out about 50 + for me (that’s how much of this certain cardstock I had), and I’ve begun addressing and adding P.S. notes. Yesterday I bought more paper, so I can ask Joe to print out some more, but my dilemma is - how many more? Should I limit myself to 100? It will take some extra hours of effort, which means some sacrifices in my schedule. Hmm… Well, hopefully I can come to a conclusion later today or tomorrow.

How about you? Do you struggle over this too, or have you ditched the whole process? It is an effort, but it is also a gift of ourselves and our time that we can give to those we love. Somehow sending them each a dollar, just wouldn’t have the same touch.

Back at my place, there’s a row of jars on the table now with peppernuts and a handful of chocolate kisses. Tonight I hope to dress the tops up, and then I’ll have some gifts to give to those I see regularly. It’s not terribly expensive, but it has taken time over my supper hour for a couple of weeks to bake them, and it will give me a chance to give a small token of my love and friendship. (Last night I was asking myself if I should start another batch).

Actually, I can think of more to say about gift-making, but let’s save that for the article further down in Ruthe’s Roses.

Remember the brochure I was telling you about last week? Guess what. I’ve decided to cancel that course.

How come? While I was working on that brochure I had this niggling feeling in the back of my mind that I was going to be EVEN MORE busy next year, especially if I was going to try to keep all my commitments to current clients and friends. Then a friend came for a computer lesson the next day and we talked about having to make these hard career decisions, and how to hear God’s voice helping us make the right choices. She also mentioned several others that she had told about me, and who wanted to take private tutoring with me.

If I carried on with my course-teaching plan, I would not be able to take such one-on-one projects. I started praying more earnestly about whether to proceed with that plan or not. I held back on my advertising efforts to determine this first. Saturday morning I spread out the pros and cons as I could see them before the Lord. It didn’t take that long after that to see what would be my best course of action.

Once I made that decision, the tension just flowed out of me, and I’ve had this happy humming in my spirit. So this week I’m mainly pressing on my Christmas mailing efforts and towards the end of next week, when most of the staff go on Christmas holidays, I’ll take on a volunteer job of painting two stairwells, and a large office room for WTM. My cousin Gary has offered to come help me.

It would still be wise to train others to help me with some of my work projects, but if I can order my days’ agenda aright, I’m hoping some of my sites will start to bring me a steady income, and also the extra one-on-one freelance tutoring jobs I’ll take in the afternoons. Beyond that I’ll trust the Lord to bring in sufficient income so I can start hiring one employee at a time, and give that one some specific training to take on the work I can most easily delegate, and thus divide my load.

Otherwise, I will set aside this worry about who will look after everything if anything happens to me. The same Lord who saves us, also keeps us, and I’m convinced Jesus is coming soon to take His Bride, the Church away. There will be such pandemonium for those left behind that it will all be made ineffective anyway. I’ve decided to trust the Lord for the future and not to make myself responsible for more than He gives me.

Hey, some of the segments of my course would lend themselves to one-day seminars. I may try that, but I’ll wait until the doors seem to open naturally rather than forcing it to happen.

Most people enjoy receiving books for gifts. I know I do! Best of all would be to give a New Testament, and I can tell you where you can ask for as many as you think you could give away. They come in many different covers so that they can be appealing to say, a refined woman on one hand, or a teen in blue jeans on the other, and a construction worker on yet another.

To be able to order these booklets you simply sign up and open an account at the New Testament League site. Then you place your order and start to give them away when they arrive in the mail. PowerPocket.org.

The NTL would appreciate donations when you are able to send something, but even if you can’t - don’t hesitate to get involved. This gift contains words to lead to the Gift of Eternal Life.

When I was working as a receptionist and switchboard operator in London, Ontario, Canada, I was bursting with generosity and having just received a Woolco charge card, I decided to really enjoy selecting and buying gifts for relatives back home, the relatives I was going to spend Christmas with in Toronto, and also my new friends. To my chargrin, I had to live on a very tight budget for myself all the next year and part of the year after just to pay for that shopping splurge. And honestly, I wasn’t buying terribly expensive gifts. More like books, games, and chocolates.

That taught me a valuable lesson, one that I notice many in our society have not learned yet. I hope you are one of the fortunate ones who knows that you do NOT have to go in debt to buy Christmas gifts. There are better ways to go about giving gifts.

In case this is new to you, let me offer you some helpful gift-giving tips.

First of all, sit down and think things through. Scribble notes and clarify in your mind a few basic perspectives.

1. Who exactly are you responsible to give gifts to?

Your children, your parents, perhaps some siblings. Just one or two good, close friends? If they already have everything they want, maybe you should consider giving to people in real need instead Your city, or the one near to you, probably has a lot of needy people they are collecting for. They would be thrilled with any size financial gift, no matter how small, or any practical used clothing, etc. that you have in your home ready to give away.

Ask yourself if some of the people to whom you usually give gifts really appreciate them, or only feel like they are obligated to reciprocate. In the end you are both just going through motions. Perhaps you could talk to that friend about discontinuing this charade. Agree to go together on a gift to someone who needs practical help or a gift to show them they are not forgotten. Or, offer to do a favour, so you can show the friend you really care.

Remember that the giving of gifts is suppose to remind us of the greatest gift of all time, which God gave us when He sent His Son to be our Saviour. Christmas is NOT giving or receiving the biggest, the best, the most desired object. Let’s forget trying to compete with God in being the Biggest Giver.

2. Determine just how much money you can fairly spend on gifts without hurting your living expenses.

If that comes to a zero budget, do not worry about it. I learned long ago that necessity is the mother of invention, and a lack is the father of creativity. It was only after I decided that I would no longer spend any more on Christmas gifts if I could avoid it that I really began to discover my ability to make gifts. It has taken longer to learn to budget my time for this. For some gift-making you need to start weeks and months before Christmas arrives. In some cases there are some materials to buy. If you can afford it safely. If not, there are many gifts that you can make with the things you find in your home, or recyclables headed to the garbage any way. Settle on an amount that you dare spend on gift purchases, or raw materials for gift-making, then stick to that budget. Don’t let impulse buying mess you up.

3. Now make a list of things that are in your power to make or give. Take time to research.

I used to go to the public library and take out all kinds of craft books. Even the simple crafts in a child’s craft book, when done neatly and with an extra touch of flare by an adult can make suitable gifts. I also found that once I was making one gift, it was easy to make another and another of the same type. So give thought to what kind of gift would be useful or appreciated by most of the people you want to give a token of your love too.

But if you don’t feel confident of your creative skills, or you simple do not have the time to invest, there are other easier things to prepare. How about some coupons (whether computer designed or hand-made) for special favours or treats. Folks especially like the recurring ones, where you offer to do something at least once a month for them. That gift provides more contact and can lead to other things throughout the year. Again, it’s a matter of some deep thinking time, where you consider what your recipient likes and would appreciate, and whether you have a skill or a block of time you can offer to meet that goal.

Last year after Dad’s estate auction, I was stuck with several boxes of jars. I decided to take them with me, and this year I’m filling them with small baked goodies, dressing up the jars, and once they are gone I will feel good about how I disposed of them. At the same time, the people who receive my jar gifts will not have to feel it was such an expensive gift that they must dash out to the stores to buy something of equal value for me.

4. Now work your plan

Give up some activities if you must, because sensible giving is a gift of your time and effort too. This may take longer than roaming through a mall for a day or two of shopping. (Though I suspect that those who go shopping spend more time than I do with my making of gifts). Involve your children, if you have some, because they will learn some important life-values about generosity and giving from taking part.

Make secret notes if you can, on how people responded to your gifts as that can help you in the future to refine and improve your gifts.

I think I can promise you that you’ll feel better about this kind of giving and will want to continue with this pattern even when you can afford store-bought gifts. You will also appreciate the gifts you receive a lot more. The expensive ones for the cost, and the handmade ones for the time and skill invested in them.

We’ll have to talk another time about more specific ideas, and also how to be a good receiver of gifts.