eAction

Has your business sort of tumbled into the ditch over the summer? There are so many things going on in our personal lives over the summer, and if you have children who need entertainment and direction, it’s harder than most of the rest of us can imagine.

But the summer is winding down and the fall season of school and schedules is going to start soon. Take hope from the fact that you can always set yourself a new pace and schedule at such times of change, and you CAN start over! Fresh starts are always in order, and often they are the turning point for your improvement and success.

I’m rejoicing these days because as life starts up over for me in a new place and pace I am seeing God’s hand of blessing and provision over and over again. The last couple of weeks I had a sore thumb to slow me down, but now that is clearing up and my energy and enthusiasm is revving up. I’m eager to get on with all my business plans.

I’m still clearing up some loose ends, but aside from caution in case I take on too much at once, I’m rarin’ to roar!

Hello. Remember me?

Thank you for your patience as I’ve taken off the last two and a half months to focus on moving to my new home, and to wrap up my Dad’s estate. It has all taken longer than I had expected, but the heavy-duty work stage is now behind me, and I’m returning to my full-day office hours. This comes with considerable joy.

If anything, I have a thing about finishing the things I start. I did all this moving and estate cleanup work willingly enough, (and discovered that my strength increased from all the effort, thanks be to God), but - at the same time, I reached a point of being very glad that it was coming to an end. Enough is enough.

Perhaps you are in a situation which is wearing you down. Do not give up just because you feel tired of it. Determine what your goal is, and when it will be over, then keep at it doggedly, and eventually it too will come to an end.

That’s when we can stop to celebrate, and shift our attention in a new direction.

I’m just pondering now, how to add this accomplished task to my resume. I don’t want to open myself up to another project like that, but it would be nice to put up a marker to celebrate that I did it.

(Incidentally, I did a number of photo stories showing my progress. If this interests you, poke around on my blog; RoseBouquet )

Yes, spring has arrived in our area and the snows are gone, the strong winds have died down, and the sun is shining warmly!

That’s outside. In my heart spring has come too, as doors are opening this week to get financing so I can buy that certain little house I’ve been taking about for two months now. It looks like everything will be in place shortly!

You’ve found this true too, haven’t you? Our lives have seaons, and sometimes we have to tough out the difficult ones, knowing that the seaons will change, and the sun will come out again.

“But God has promised strength for the day,
rest for the labour;
light for the way, grace for the trials,
help from above,
unfailing sympathy, undying love.”
(Annie Johnston Flint)

You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him. (Theresa of Avila)

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (I John 5:14 NIV)

These quotes encourage me today, and I hope they do the same for you. I’ve seen many answers to prayer in the past, but these days I’m asking for the largest financial gift I’ve ever asked of God - $48,000 to buy a little house. The more I pray the more I am confident that He will answer this large request too.

If a parent dotes on their child, will he or she resent the child climbing up into the arms to ask for something?

“When reasons are given, we don’t need faith. Where only darkness surrounds us, we have no means for seeing except by faith.” (Elisabeth Elliot)

Isn’t that the truth? I am having major lessons and experiences right now in faith. In trying to sell Dad’s house and praying for funds to appear out of thin air for the little dollhouse I now have my heart set on - there are some up and down days with my faith. Although, this week I confess is much better. There were several ups yesterday, and I’m waiting for a few more over the next few days and weeks.

Even in our business ventures, wise as it is to plan and work our plan, there are times when we simply live by faith that God will work things out. Instead of an advice article, I will share my story and hope it encourages you to keep on trusting and obeying the Lord.

It pays to have our answers ready, doesn’t it? We never know when someone is going to ask, “What’s your line of business anyway?” or “What do you do to make a living?”

Do you shrug your shoulders and make light of whatever it is that is your passion and main occupation?

Oh no! You’ve just missed a good opportunity to gain perhaps a customer, or a contact who knows others that can be referred to you. Let me encourage you to think carefully how to describe what you do in a cheerful and succinct manner and so the other person will think, “Ah-ha! Someone at last who can solve one of my problems!”

I see that exactly one month ago I wrote the last issue of eAction, and I was apologizing there. Now I’m doing it again, but perhaps for more valid reasons. My Dad got cancer and died, fortunately before too much suffering, on February 24.

If you have experienced a death in the family you know that is when things really get busy! The family gathers from afar, funeral plans need to be made, calls and visits come interrupting everything you try to do, and you just have to give up your normal routines for the situation at hand. On top of that, your emotions go to extremes and you are not able to think like you usually do.

In my case, I’ve had all that last week, and now I’m running errands to the Executor of Dad’s will, and I’m dealing with a stressed out back. I forgot I have osteoporosis, and I did some lifting I should not have done.

However, the dust is settling and I’m slowing getting back into my business routines here at the computer. Answering many, many kind emails is one duty I’m allowing some precedence, but it will take a while to catch up yet.

Since this house needs to be sold and I must move into some new place, there are extra duties to add to my day. What makes it all bearable is that I have many kind friends and even business associates and contacts, who are willing to give me time. That means a lot!

Blushing today I must confess an error. I am sorry. I’ve been alternating this eAction blog week by week with the Linux Learning Curve blog. Early this morning I took my Dad to the city for a CT-scan. In my mind I knew when I got back I’d have to catch up here, but somehow I thought it was the LLC blog’s turn this week. Lo, when I got home and checked the files I see that I’ve already given LLC two weeks in a row, and skipped the eAction blog/ezine last week.

Okay, I’m done slapping myself. I have had things like Dad’s terminal illness and family communications on my mind, but don’t think that’s a valid excuse. .. Oops, I was going to assume you forgive me, and to go onward. Help me to do that instead.

If you’ve been holding off on listing your web pages in the social bookmarking sites until I can say whether they work, I’ve got a progress and news flash for you. Yesterday, while searching for something else, I found a link in the search engine to my bookmark at Deli.cio.us, entered just last week. So apparently that effort is paying off. It’s a dull routine of copy-pasting the links and info, but my method, once I got a long list of URLs and their title, description and keywords lined up, is to open two bookmark sites at a time, and to copy and then switch window and paste into one, switch window and paste into the second one. When done, save each, and go back to do the next one.

Extra tip: Could one of your kids do this for you if you have a long list of URLs to promote?

Sometimes out of the blue, we do get some information that seems important enough to pass on. The piece in the Feature section today came from Fred Miller, the man who persuaded me to change my computer over completely to SUSE, a linux operating system. He keeps very well informed on the news aspect of the conflict between Microsoft (which he refers to as MickeySoft) and the Open Source world which is growing in popularlity almost daily.

But this piece he found in the news is very disturbing and I feel that I should help stir up a warning to all I touch. What happened to this teenage boy, a good, clean kid, could happen to anyone who does not see that their computer is secure and safe. I present it for your information and encouragement, and with Fred’s blessing.