Thursday, December 31, 2009

When a Young Friend Is In the Hospital

I know a little something about being young and in the hospital. I had just turned 6 years old when I contracted polio and spent the next 2 years in the hospital. No longer was I able to run around the neighborhood, or play in the attic, or visit the local store to buy candy.

Therefore when I learned the reason why a certain youngster hadn't been seen at church lately was because she was in the hospital, I had some idea of what she was experiencing.

 My wife has found fun web videos (like the Ugly Duckling song by Danny Kaye in a movie about Hans Christian Anderson) to share with the girl on Facebook. A few minutes ago she showed me how I could do that as well. Somebody had sent us an animated eCard that DebbieLynne then used a link to share it with her on Facebook.

The computer is a great way for keep in touch with people who we may not get to see due their being in the hospital or snow preventing me and my wife from getting out and around. It's really cool when more than just text emails can be shared.

That young friend is in a good hospital, and I'm hoping they'll get her fully cured and be able to be back home to stay in the coming months. I'll be happy when she can be back having fun with her friends at church.

Meanwhile we'll have to do what we can to cheer her up via Facebook.

Monday, December 28, 2009

I'm An Independent Representative of a Sales Company

Yes, I'm an independent representative of AVON products, Inc. I've been a rep for well over 10 years and it was one of my better business decisions.

There are many direct sales companies that market consumer products.through representatives. I used to sell business cards and wedding invitations for various printing companies. In fact it was because I contacted an AVON rep to sell her business cards that I first considered becoming an AVON rep myself.

That AVON lady showed me how the company sells a lot more than just make-up and fragrances. There are videos, clothing, jewelry, and even electronic gadgets. I figured that if I was the proprietor of a small store I would selling such merchandise, so why not give a try as a salesman?

In the coming year I intend to give greater emphasis on my online AVON personal website as well as my offline promotion of their products.

If you are looking to buy Avon products or sell them, let me know.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Gone With the Wind

My wife loves the book and movie "Gone With the Wind." Several years ago I gave her the VHS version of the movie and today I gave it to her on DVD.

The past few days she's had a nasty cold so we didn't go out anywhere today. Instead we stayed home and watched the Gone with the Wind together.

Have you ever seen the movie? I'm inclined to think may be the one of the best movies ever made in regards to the quality of the writing, acting, directing, and production.

The story takes place in the Old South, when slavery was considered necessary to operate the plantations. In order to maintain their way of life the Southerners determined it was necessary to succeed from the Union.

The movie stars Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. Scarlett is often infuriated with Rhett, but always interested in what he's up to.

Watching the movie was an enjoyable way to spend the day.

When We Aren't Able to Go to Church

My wife has had a bad cold this week and wasn't feeling well enough to go to church today. Therefore we stayed home and watched a couple of broadcasts of John MacArthur's Grace to You television programs on her computer. The website allows you to watch, listen, or download his teachings for free.

The broadcasts we watched today were the first and second parts of  "Christ: The Living Expositor" where John MacArtthur taught from Luke 24:13-32 about when the resurrected Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emaus.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers., 1982, S. Lk 24:26

Those two disciples were not members of the 11 chosen by Jesus to be apostles, but they had begun to follow the man they knew as Jesus of Nazareth.who they had known as a prophet. These two had hoped Jesus was the one who would redeem Israel. But since Jesus hadn't driven out the Romans and instead had ended up crucified, they had concluded he was not the messiah.

The trouble was that they did not understand what Scripture actually taught about the Messiah.. Therefore Jesus "beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:37)

Like so many others, those two had their own ideas as to what the Messiah would be like and what He would do. Their rabbis had taught them what they believed to be true. What they really needed was to be taught by Jesus Himself. And that's what Jesus did.

Jesus also taught the others, as we read in the beginning of the book of Acts.


"1The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers., 1982, S. Ac 1:1


If we want to know what to believe about Jesus we need to go to what was written by those who were taught by Jesus, Himself.

If Jesus is the Lord of all Creation then it would make a great deal of sense to learn as much about Him as was possible. A good starting point for learning about Him would be the Bible.


If you have a Bible, I encourage you to read it and study it. Read it so you know what it really says and study it so you don't make the mistake of those two disciples who thought they understood what the Messiah would do when He came, but were quite wrong.


Read the Bible and study it with the help of good study materials, many of which are available online at no cost at websites such as Bible.org and the Blue Letter Bible.

Have a great day. If you enjoy my blog, feel free to come back anytime.









Thursday, December 24, 2009

A New Blog On Christmas Eve 2009

I'm the happy husband of the webmaster of the blog known as Joyful Christian Lady's Museum. I'm one of many who enjoy the posts she makes on her blog. Hopefully she and a few others will enjoy what I write on this blog.

My wife is artistic and creative so it's quite appropriate that she calls her blog a museum, since she puts her artwork on display there.

"Ramblings" works well in the title of this blog. I'll be able to ramble on about matters of interest to me.

In this blog I'll share my thoughts about such things as movies I like, and places in and around Boston that I enjoy visiting. I'll share photos I take with my digital camera . I'll also talk about matters that interest me like earning and saving money.

I'll also share about why I'm a joyful Christian guy. That of course has to do with being a Christian who keeps learning awesome things in the Bible.

Oh, if you visit my wife's blog you'll see that we both enjoy day trips into and around Boston, Massachusetts. So you can also expect me to comment on some of those excursions.

OK, that's all for a start. I hope to add more posts at least twice a week, and maybe 5 times on some weeks.

This first post goes out on Christmas Eve, 2009. I hope all of you who read this have a wonderful Christmas Day and a New Year filled with joy that is beyond what you can imagine.