Wanderings – Page 52 – The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

Slow Recovery

joe October 7, 2008 General

Computers are wonderful things…UNTIL they decide in their own way to strike back. Little things start to happen, and then bigger things go wrong and finally…

Well, that happened with my main computer. Took me most of a weekend (had to find time) to reinstall the Operating System (Windows XP), but not before getting a list of all the programs that were installed on it. It was a pretty hefty list, and that was three weeks ago and I’m still reinstalling as I go.

There is still a list of about twenty or so programs that need to be on this computer, but each program will get installed between everything else that has to be done. A long time ago, I learned the value of having my data on one drive and my OS on another. Also learned the value of keeping copies of my registrations for downloaded software.

In some ways, this is a little like life. We keep things in the “right place” and when a crash occurs, we just have to rebuild the area that was effected. Having a plan helps with rebuilding. Being prepared makes it even easier. Being prepared, to me means knowing where I’m going – what my goals are. What you know is what you know, and it becomes the core or root of how you live and how you recover. Maybe that’s why John in First John keeps repeating “I want you to know.”

Glimpse From The Past

joe September 29, 2008 Church, General

Saw a name on the TV screen, and it made me think of someone from my "kid" years that I spend in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. If you are interested, you can check it out on the internet.

Spent my early school years there with my grandmother, and did a search on the internet for that name from the past.

Up popped a website that mentioned that name, but led me to a page that celebrated 105 years of the little church where I accepted Christ. You can check it out – Bethlehem Baptist Church. When I attended there, it was a little wooden building right next to Dunbar School where my grandmother was teacher and Principal.

Looking through the Program, I immediately recognized names of people who have passed, and others who apparently are still alive. Wow!

Several things came to mind. One was that I did not realize that this church was 105 years old (alright, no comments about my age). Secondly, when we were in Paul's Valley three years ago, it was like no one remembered anybody I could recall. Maybe the history project got some people thinking. In some ways, I'm sorry that I haven't stayed in touch with anyone in PV, but I left when I was 12 or 13 (like 1948?).

Now this will start me on a search for more clearly defined dates – and I'm the only one that old in my family, so the research begins.

But it was in that little church when the invitation was given one Sunday night that I said "yes" to Jesus and a couple of weeks later, was baptized in a local pond (at the Dawson's I think. Thanks Bethlehem Baptist!

Where Ya Been?

joe September 29, 2008 General

The easy answer would be “lots of places”, but that would not really answer the question. Have spent time asking myself that question, and don’t really have hard answers. What keeps coming to mind is “letting too many things get in the way of my morning.” Simply said, that means that first things have not been first.

It’s hard keeping your mind going where you want it to, when things and people scream for your attention. Whether it’s the dead battery, the piling up of “little jobs” that need to be done or just plain dead tired. All those and more were the “squeeking wheel” that tends to keep us (me) from what really needs to get done.

So, I’m back – “first things first” doesn’t really work. It’s got to be what’s important goes first.