Progress

I have always heard that necessity is the mother of invention. I didn't really understand that until just recently. I need extra work and no one is hiring so it is necessity that I get this new business underway. I need to get it going by summer because it looks like summer will be very rough otherwise!

I guess that is the way God has to be sometimes. He has to push us into trying new ideas, that we might not otherwise try. This idea is very uncomfortable for me, but I guess my biggest fear is failure, or looking like a fool. If I don't ever try, I will have had a good idea. If I try and fail, I won't have even had a good idea. I will be a total failure.

Anyway, I do now have at least one location that I can afford. That is a big step forward. Up until this week the biggest stumbling block was an affordable location. It is out of the way though. That is why I might also look for an alternative location, too.

Baby steps. I am taking baby steps.

My deadline is Mid-May.

Today's The Day

I have an idea for a part-time business, a way to earn extra income and help my community. It may be a risk, though. Right now money is tight.

I have been putting this off for awhile. I guess I am a bit afraid. I know there are a few steps I need to take, but I'm not sure which to take first.

I made some calls and a couple of contacts. I spent some time on the Internet to do research, but since my computer is down, that is difficult, too.

Anyway, I am tired of not doing anything. Today I am going to make up a questionairre. I won't be working on President's Day, so I think I will make a few calls then.

Hopefully I can visit some support groups this summer so people will know me. Then maybe I can drum up some customers and get things started before the fall.

FYI: It is a good thing to have special friends who pray for you. I got a call from a good friend, Susan, who said she had been praying for me. I believe her too. After talking to her, my spirits are always lifted. Surround yourself with good people. It does make a difference.

After the Snow

I live in the South and we just don't know how to handle snow here.

The South and snow is a lot like San Diego and rain. I was in San Diego a couple of years ago and had to laugh when the noon news did a special alert because there was a summer shower. It wasn't even enough rain to wash the dust off the roof of the apartment.

I heard they have been getting a great deal of rain lately.

--And we have gotten some snow, too.

My dogs, Dixie Belle and Taz don't like it either. They sniff the ground and get snow on the tips of their noses and then want to go inside. They look at me, blink their eyes, and cock their heads as if saying, "Can't you make it go away? I know you can. You can do anything."

You just have to love dogs.

* * * * *

Now about my New Year's Resolutions:

1. I went to a training session for work and hoped I would make some contacts. I am not sure I made any, but one has to try.

2. I made some follow up visits to the doctor. Without going into detail, things didn't really go as I hoped and I found one problem I didn't know I had.

I am like an old car. You don't know anything is wrong with the car till you go to the mechanic. He can always find something wrong to fix.

On the plus side, now that I have a name for the problem, I can be proactive and fix things a bit.

--Oh, and I can't forget, I think I lost the 3 pounds I put on during the holidays.

Yeah, for me!

Who Decides

Let me preface this post by stating that I have all ready made a donation toward the Haiti relief effort. I have several other organizations that I support on a regular basis.

Two nights ago I flipped through over thirty channels on my TV to see the telethon for the Haiti relief effort. This isn't the first time that celebrities have come together to "guide" or "enlighten" us about a specific cause.

This all got me to wondering, with all the natural disasters on our planet, who decides which ones get the media attention. Stars gathered to sing about famine in Africa and the earthquake in Haiti, but not for the Tsunami in Ecuador. Why? I mean, who decides? If there are 2 big disasters in one year, does one cancel out the other?

--And after the Red Carpet is rolled up and overhead is paid, who benefits more--those who needed the relief, or the careers of the stars? I don't know, but there is no harm in asking.

Don't get me wrong, agencies need money to do their good works. Right now I have school children collecting pennies to buy chicks for families in undeveloped countries. The kids won't get Red Carpet treatment and they won't appear on a telethon, but I know their hearts are in the right place and I pray that the money they collect will help change lives.

Faith and Hope

I have decided to jump into the deep end of the swimming pool, so to speak. I sent a manuscript to a publisher. Now I play the waiting game.

I have been down this road many, many times. Why? After all, there are more failures than successes. I guess I just don't know how not to write. It is in my blood, something I must do.

I have been working on my resolution and heard a sermon that really touched me. The key scripture was Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen.

Hope gives us a goal, a vision for the future. Faith is acting upon that vision. I guess I had been getting it wrong all these years and what this man preached made real sense to me.

It reminded me of the story about the farming community that was suffering through a drought. All the ministers and community leaders planned a prayer meeting. Everyone in town attended and prayed great prayers asking for rain. One young child, however, brought everyone else to shame, for that young child was the only one to arrive with an umbrella in his hand.

It is our hope that gives us the vision that causes us to pray. It faith that causes us to find our umbrellas.

I guess that is why I continue to write and try to publish articles and books. I hope to make it as a writer and faith is what causes me to keep at it.

If this attempt doesn't work out, there will be another down the road.

Doing Things Differently

My Sunday school teacher, Al, says that he writes his New Year's resolutions and mails them to himself after about 6 months so he can see if he has made any progress. I realize that I am going to need more than one reminder to hold myself accountable to my resolutions. That is where you, my friends, will come into my plan.

I have decided this year that I will use my blog, not only to display my writing, and connect with the world, but to hold myself accountable to my resolutions of self-improvement. I plan to do this on 2 fronts; economic & career wise, and physical health.

The economic problems that hurt so many people last year and the year before, have left me struggling. I am not as young as I used to be either. I plan to do something on a regular basis that will somehow help to improve me and make me more valuable to the job market. I also want to explore ways that I can increase my earning so I can stand solvent in a struggling economy.

I also want to increase my health. I lost some weight last year. I would like to do more in that area, but I need to explore other health mattters. I have already had some tests run--now that I have healthcare again--and am all ready seeing some relief for some constant pain I was enduring.

I want to keep this all in a spiritual perspective. I have believed for many many years that the year 2010 would be a special year for me--that God had a special blessing for me that would come to fruition at this time. Holding on to that hope has helped me through these past 2 troublesome years. --And I do plan to blog about both hope and faith in the near future.

Resolution 2010

I am still working on my computer problems, but with holidays out of the way, I may be able to take care of the more mundane problems in my life now.

I have been thinking about how the economy really sent me for a loop. I have been scrambling to keep my home, find a new job, be able to regain health care, put food on the table. God has been good, but maybe he wants me to take more responsibility. I haven't moved forward fast enough. When I was younger, I was able to rebound much more quickly.

This year I have resolved to change things a bit. How? I will let you know more later.