Power of Prayer & My PC

My PC is my life—it represents all my writing and my being able to get out in the world electronically when I can’t physically (because I’m too fatigued or whatever). You could say it’s as critical as paints and brushes are to painter or a favorite reel is to a fisherman. And  when it goes down...

Okay, it’s not the end of the world and life goes on and I would cope, but it wouldn’t be pretty. It would be just a minor little heart wrenching, gut clenching, headache exploding, nooooooooo-not-now-not-today-I-need-to-write-please-please-please-start mini melt down kind of thing.

And what would cause such a disaster? How about repeatedly flipping the power on and off because a good friend was replacing all the smoke detectors and we wouldn’t want him to get electrocuted? And did it even occur to me that the same circuit that controls the lights and the detector in my creative cave also powers my Precious Baby? And that it would be a good idea to power off and just leave it off said Precious Baby while all of this electrical work was being done? Heck no! I totally, completely spaced it out and forgot.

So when I sat down at my desk this morning and saw that Precious was stone cold and quiet with none of the comforting, all-is-right-with-the-world, whirring of fans and hard drive and that the little beacon of hope, aka the power indicator, was not on, it was like, oh yeah, we were turning the power off yesterday. No problemo, we’ll just hit the power button and... Ummm, okay, we’ll just make sure the heavy duty surge protector is on and reseat all the cables (just to make sure), hit the power button and... nothing.

I opened the damn thing up, vacuumed it out (even though it really wasn’t that dusty), made sure the stupid lithium battery was okay, put the side back on, hit the ol’ power button and... well, it wasn’t pretty (see second paragraph). After Precious’s life flashed before my eyes and I saw the long trail of tears to my having to go out and buy a new PC, get use to the new operating system and load in all my gazillion backups of all my writing, which would take all day, I did what any God-fearing Christian would do. I fell to my knees and cried out to God.

All right, I’ve made light of all this with all my (hopefully) pithy prose about Precious, but the truth of the matter is, I did pray. I said: Lord I am not worthy, but you know my heart, you know how important my PC is and how I’m too tired and too broke to have to go out and buy a new one. What else am I going to do? Only You can give me a miracle and thank You very much if You do.

As soon as finished with “amen”, my PC came on. I am not kidding, I am serious.

I don’t know why some prayers are answered the way we ask and some are not. But I do know that regardless of the outcome, prayer is never a waste of the heart and are always heard. If I’ve done all I can—which turned out to be not much—isn’t it better to take it to the Top any way?

So here I am with my precious PC, writing and on the net. All is right with the world for now—at least my world, that is. The only thing left to do is thank the Lord and tell somebody because miracles are always better when they are shared.





*originally posted 12/20/11 & was recently accidentlly deleted, so I'm reposting it. And one of these days, I'll finally get to write something new...

(No comforting whirring fans, surge protectors or favorite fishing reels were harmed during the production of this post.)

Rick's annual pumpkin carving...

As you can see, we're not talking a triangle-eyed, crooked smile jackolantern. This is truly a work of art by a skilled craftsman.

Rick is a friend at work and I hope to post a picture every year.
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(No carving knives, candles in the pumpkin or Rick were harmed during the production of this post.)

He made it!! History was made!

Wow, it took 70 days to do the entire length of the Mississippi--on a paddle board! Of course the map is down, but the website is staying up (www.alexlinnell.com) and if you haven't already, you should go back and read some of the blogs of all the little adventures within the big adventure.

Congratulations, Alex Linnell! It is truly an amazing achievement!
~~~

(No paddle boards, Alex or the Mississippi were harmed during the production of this blog.)

History in the making!!!

This is huge!!! Alex Linnell is going to be the first person to paddle board the entire Mississippi!! And how am I connected to this awesome event? His mother, Jean, is my friend at work, so I'm living it all through her. Are you kidding, it's a huge undertaking!!! The Red Cross is involved as major supporter because they are using it a fund raiser for the flood victims.

But what I think is really cajun is the GPS tracking system they're using on his website. It's from findmespot.com and he's got this little gizmo with 2 buttons. When he presses the green button, this dot appears on the map of his exact location from the satellite relay, so you can track his progress all the way down. I guess it's called a "check in". The other one is the red "panic button". Pressing that one will immediately dispatch the nearest search & rescue team to his aid--much to the relief of his family and friends.

This is the link to the map: Where is Alex now?

And this is the main website:  www.alexlinnell.com

He left June 1st and they estimate it will take 2-3 months. It's huge! Ah yes, to be young and adventurous...
~~~

(No panic buttons, GPS trackers, or the Red Cross were harmed during the production of the post. Alex referenced with permission, of course.)

Thoughts on Stuck Cars and Good Samaritans

Ah yes, the third snowiest winter—gotta love here in Minnesota.

Anyway, coming home from work, I rounded the bend to find two cars facing each other—not good when traffic is suppose to be facing the same way. A skinny white guy was walking to the wrong-way sedan. My first thought was an accident, but then I saw the sedan’s front driver-side wheel was stuck in the snow bank and heard the all too familiar squeal of a spinning wheel with no traction whatsoever.

I pulled over immediately in case they needed my shovel. After some brief and all too familiar hand signals exchanged in such situations, Mr Skinny started pushing on the car. My second thought was there was no way he was going to move that sedan with the big black guy behind the wheel. If anything, they should switch places. But sure enough, they got into a rhythm of rocking the car and pushing until all of a sudden, the sedan popped off the snow bank on the second try.

Wow. To say the least, I was impressed. Obviously, it was all muscle under that skin and bones. Grateful Driver pounded on the wheel, gave a whoop and clapped like the Vikings has just won the Super Bowl. Mr Skinny gave him a thumbs up and turned to head back to his SUV, when the driver jumped out of his car. He ran over and grabbed Mr Skinny’s hand, shaking it vigorously and giving him a manly clout on the shoulder. Mr Skinny actually seemed embarrassed and you could just see the “aw shucks” expression on his face.

Then Grateful Driver reached for his wallet, but Mr Skinny waved it off. Grateful Driver insisted, but then Mr Skinny actually backed away from him, hands up in protest. Grateful Driver shrugged, exchanged another round of hand shakes and clouts and off they went their separate ways. My final thought? Oh man, it sure does the heart good to see people still care and willing to help someone else without expecting a reward.

We need more of them in this world...
~~~

(No snow, spinning wheels, or skinny guys were harmed during the production of this post.)

Second Chances

How do I paint this garden I’ve destroyed green?
(Seal, “People Asking Why” from Seal 2)


Yes indeed, how do you—especially when the garden gate is locked and all you can do is stand there lamenting the damage and hope the person will come around? In other words, especially when all you have is email and you have no idea if they’ve been reading your emails of apology (3 total over several months so as not to be a pest but still trying to make amends) or are they just being automatically deleted without a glance?

Even just a short reply saying, “you’re forgiven," would be great; kind of like a handshake across the gate with nothing more to say, but a second chance would be the ultimate. If I could get back in with them and work to make the garden green again. Of course it would never be the same, but something good—maybe even better—always comes out of second chances.

However, as it stands now, my email inbox feels like a locked gate and the garden is abandoned.

Back to the how: I’d like to believe this is where Mercy and Grace come in. Mercy in that some day you’ll cross electronic paths again (like maybe they’ll stumble upon this blog...?) and Grace that you’re right there ready to make amends at the opportune moment. It’s all I’ve got and I’d like to think God’s Grace is the best thing to have anyway.

Why should I care and keep trying? How could I not? You break something, you pay for it, you hurt someone, you try to make it better—even if it was accidental and you had no clue what you wrote was going to shred the garden to pieces. That’s also why it’s so important to be clear on what you are communicating and how it might be taken (writing rule #3—but that’s for another bloggish muse—and second chances are a part of life rule #3).

Anyway, I will always have my bucket of garden green paint at a hand and will always hope for a second chance...

Okay, gotta go check my inbox again.
~~~

(No Seal CDs, green paint or my inbox were harmed during the production of this post.)

"My Sanctuary" (poetry)

The sands are still warm heated from the earth
I sit here on my rock, measuring my worth
This is my sanctuary, my own little beach
It settles my soul and puts Him within reach

He paints the sky, blending the sun kissed reds
The colors play a symphony in my head
The diamond peaks of the waves glitter and break
Such is the beauty only God could ever make

I remember the darkness and wanting to escape
Getting so smashed until my mind cried rape
And there’s no real love getting banged in the dorm
The fire keeps burning, but you never get warm

But the Son shines in my heart now, I’ll never be alone
I’m not perfect, but the Seeds have been sown
I only know what is real, how God's changed my life
I’ll never go back to the world’s empty strife

Here I am, a mere speck in His Eternal Sea
But life has meaning because He also made me
So now what do I do, how do I belong?
What’s going to be my life's song?

He plucks the diamonds from the sea and hangs them in the sky
The moon comes alive with a yawn and a sigh
Someday, my starship will fly and I'll be on board
Roll me out over the waves and take me to my Lord


(46. my response to becoming a Christian)
~~~The entire chronology of poetry (aka the manuscript, “Chronologically Filed Stanzas”) is available as a pdf on my website or you can email me directly.
~~~

(No sands, diamonds or starships were harmed during the production of this post.)

"The Darkness of Pain" (poetry)

I stand in darkness
There is pain
But the pain isn't in me
It is around me
It is the darkness

I reach out and touch nothing
I run, but it is still there
I shout, but there is only silence
I cry, but there are no tears

Stop!
I will do nothing then
I will just be
I am my own light

Then I light the darkness
From my heart
And the pain is healed


(86. chronic pain, pain of the heart—doesn't matter—pain is pain... but maybe you can overcome it like you can overcome darkness...?  And the second poem to win the contest a year later after writing it.)
~~~The entire chronology of poetry (aka the manuscript, “Chronologically Filed Stanzas”) is available as a pdf on my website.
~~~

(No darkness was harmed during the production of this post.)