SETTLE (A Five-Minute Friday Post)

What's the first thing that comes to mind when I consider the word "settle?"  Oh, I couldn't achieve the best, so I settled for something less.  That "something less" could be lifestyle, relationships, address, employment, skills - any number of things.

Have I settled?  Yes, but in a positive way.  

I've settled down from the immature thrashing around that young people do.  I've settled differences, resolved struggles and conflicts, and remedied bad situations throughout my life.  I've finally become peaceful in my own head and settled into who I genuinely am.  

I've come to rest, finally, secure in God's love for me, even though, and maybe because, I'm not perfect. 

settle

verb

verb: settle 3rd person present: settles past tense: settled past participle: settled gerund or present participle: settling

1. resolve or reach an agreement about (an argument or problem).: "every effort was made to settle the dispute".
   synonyms: resolve, sort out, solve, clear up, end, fix, work out, iron out, straighten out, set right, rectify, remedy, reconcile, patch up
   antonyms: prolong
2. adopt a more steady or secure style of life, especially in a permanent job and home.:"one day I will settle down and raise a family".
3. sit or come to rest in a comfortable position.: "he settled into an armchair".
   synonyms: sit down, seat oneself, install oneself, ensconce oneself, plant oneself, park oneself, plunk oneself, land, come to rest, alight, descend, perch, light.

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "SETTLE."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.

The Heat is ON! - Part II

What's that smell?

No, this is not a Febreeze commercial.  That was me when I arrived home from the most recent jaunt to Florida.

There was this smell. Not strong. Kind of like...burnt plastic?  Not like overheated electric motor burnt plastic, but somehow familiar.

I couldn't identify or locate it.

Hmmmm...  A mystery.

Well, something would have to give eventually, right?

Five days later, I came downstairs in the morning and...why the heck is it so COLD down here???

Oh, the joy, the ecstasy, the rapture of home ownership.  Yeah, right.

I checked the thermostat.  The heat was on, the fan was running, the setting was for 71 degrees, the temperature was 63 degrees (!), and the thermostat had a message - "SYSTEM MALFUNCTION - CALL TECHNICIAN."  It even displayed the company name and phone number of the furnace installer.  Wow.  Big Brother lives in our furnace, by golly.

Long story short, I called.  A service technician came, saw, and diagnosed the problem, supervised by one of The Animals.  The burner box was overheating, the exhaust pipe had melted, the secondary heat exchanger and the main limiting switch were toast, and the primary heat exchanger was compromised.  New heat exchangers and limiting switch were prescribed.

The parts weren't immediately available.

Of course.

However - good news! Another service tech arrived the following morning with parts, and after much grunting and banging and whirring, ta-da! The furnace runs like a champ once again.

Here's some of the damage:

And here's the technician's
attentive (nosy) supervisor:

ROUTINE (A Five-Minute Friday Post)

There are two ways to look at the word "routine."

To many people, routine means an ordinary, dull, blah, boring, fenced-in, mind-numbing rut.

But to me, routine, or rather, MY routine, is freeing!

Things that are "routine" don't take any thought, like brushing your teeth.  If I had to decide to brush my teeth every day, I'd go crazy!  And probably lose all my teeth in the bargain, because I really don't WANT to brush my teeth - how boring!!!  I'd rather do something FUN!

My routines keep my mind free for other things, fun things, creative energies, REAL decisions!  It's like writing a sonnet.  There are certain rules - a certain number of lines, a particular rhyme scheme, a specific number of syllables per line.  Some people would say that's restrictive, but it actually helps the creative process.  You have to come up with something to say, but you have to fit it into all the required parameters.  It forces you to express yourself clearly and succinctly.

My routines keep the everyday stuff running in the background so I'm free to branch out in other directions.

Routine - please, fence me in, and take me away!

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This post is part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up.  Today's writing prompt was "ROUTINE."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.

PROVIDE (A Five-Minute Friday Post)

Provide was LAST week's writing prompt, but I was driving home from Florida.  I decided to go ahead and write to it - VERY late!

In Acts 2, after Pentecost, the disciples and other believers came together and shared in common what they had - food, money, clothing - providing for everyone in the group.  Isn't that at least a part of what Christian care is about?  Shouldn't we take care of physical as well as spiritual needs?  After all, it's hard to think about the spiritual when you're hungry, cold, or homeless.

My church's organic farm, where I help take care of our little herd of chickens, provides fresh vegetables to a local food pantry and for a free community meal the church has every Thursday evening for anyone who shows up.  No preaching, just a shared meal.  Each family is also given a half dozen eggs (from "my" chickens).  Kids can choose a book to take home - for keeps!

Some of the church women make "ugly quilts" from old quilts, comforters, blankets, and sheets, which are then given to different community agencies to provide to homeless people.

In the fall, a group from our church goes to Guatemala to work in a native Mayan village.  One year they dug a well to provide clean water for the village.  Another year, they built a clinic.

When I really consider the different things our local church provides, I'm amazed and awed.  And what's most amazing, I'm part of it!

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This post was supposed to be part of the Five-Minute Friday link-up, but I was too late!  This writing prompt was "PROVIDE."  For more information on Five-Minute Friday, click here.