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Why I Do What I Do,? February 10, 2020 |
HiAloe Vera Tips n' Solutions - February 10, 2020avavavavavavavavavavavavavavavavAloe Vera Tips & Solutions newsletter/ezine of www.aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com avavavavavavavavavavavavavavavav Vol. 9 #100 February 10, 2020 Contents: Why I Do What I Do - My MotivesThings are looking up! Now I have three subscribers responding to me. I'll get to those dialogues a bit further down... But first I have this burning question to answer; why do I do what I do? My motives are...? I know that I KNOW the answer. I just need to think a bit before I try to summarize my answer, or I'll be dodging up various rabbit trails just because I like to be thorough when I tackle a topic. If you find yourself checking for your motives too, - well, that's all to the good, isn't it? We all need to do this from time to time. I recall that as a teen-ager in high school, I saw so many directions my life could take that it was almost overwhelming. If someone asked me what I planned to do or be in the future, I hesitated to answer, as I really couldn't decide and hoped I could have it ALL! At this point I have quite a number of decades behind me and can review what happened. However, I bristle when anyone suggests that I should get my name on a waiting list for a retirement centre. What? I'm not ready for retirement!! Let me be! In fact, I just talked with an old high school friend on the phone this morning, and she complained that I talked too fast. Slow down. I sighed. That has been my problem all my life. My mind goes about 300 miles per hour, and sometimes on two or three highways at once. As long as I can remember my family and friends have had to remind me to slow down so they can understand me! See? Another proof I'm not at the last stage of life yet! That's another reason I like to write: you can read as slow as you wish! So what has driven, or motivated me all these years? Let me count the ways; 2. My parents were poor; Dad wanted me to drop out of school and work to support the family, but Mom stuck up for me until I finished high school. I had to find work to help out the family and to NOT be a burden to my parents. 3. I was secretly writing my novel, and once things eased up for my parents, and I got my 2nd car paid off, I decided that I had to go east to London, Ontario, to make it easier to find a Publisher. 4. I ran out of
money, so I had to stay, but I soon made friends, and got involved in a church there that offered me opportunities to get into childrens' ministries. I found that quite fulfilling, and soon had a number of leadership roles there. 5. God answered prayer and provided me with a boring job as a switchboard operator and receptionist at a light bulb factory. That gave me time to prepare lessons and crafts for the clubs at church, and also to become the church secretary and do up minutes, reports, and letters for the pastor from my reception desk. Yes! That's where I learned to multi-task in a big way! 6. That was where I also had time to spend hours in reading and in journalling my prayers, so I grew spiritually, and my motives became more refined. I began to really want God's will over my desire to make friends, be a published author, or marry my dream husband and have a huge family. It took some adjusting though when I found that He wanted to
send me back home to care for my parents in their old age. I struggled with that decision for two years, before I came to a peaceful acceptance. 7. It was a hard decision, but once made I was resolute (even though I cried for 48 hours on the greyhound bus going back). I knew that I would be living by faith as my parents could not pay me anything for my services. I didn't know that I would learn many further lessons in faith over the 23 1/2 years it took before both parents had died. 8. Yet - during those years I learned to be a caregiver, and I learned to research family genealogy, and produced a 4 lb tome that I published myself on an old Gestetner, and bound by hand. I also got a computer that could go online after Mom died. Dad was still around, but I had more time, and got my novel published with Booklocker.com, and I learned to design and build websites... which has become my means of having contacts around the world and even making
something of a living. So my motives have changed over the decades. Today they are boiled down to this; I want to make many passive streams of income from my websites, so that I can give generously to missionaries, ministries, and friends in need. (I even have a plan to keep all this going after I'm gone home to Glory). I live simply so that my own needs are minimal enough so that my wee pensions and work contract for one paying client cover my basic budget. Anything over and above that budget amount is for giving away. At present that giving amount is still fairly small, but I get great satisfaction and joy from doing that! I get excited at the prospects ahead of me. So while others my age, look for a good care home, I work a full business agenda that allows for a bit of domestic work here and there, and gets me to bed well after mid-night most nights. I want to GIVE MORE! If my health holds up, I look forward to some visits to mission
stations and ministries to discern what they really need and what are they capable of handling. (There's no point in giving thousands to someone who can't manage $100. :) Oh, and if I can train some employees to keep up the grunt work of my businesses, then I should write the books I have rattling around in my busy mind.
Moving the AVTS to a Better Sending Place?Thank you again, to Bob, Michelle and Sue, who wrote encouraging words. Yes, Bob, I've read and heard that story before, and that is what inspired what I wrote above. I've got what I want, so all I need to work at is to give to others. Michelle, I hope my journey in downsizing will inspire you to get yours done too. It has taken me months of seeing the need to get started. But since I enjoy working in my garden I know from other summers that I won't get to the basement work then. I've GOT to get it done from January through April. If spring comes in April, I may want to seed my garden then already. Making discoveries once you get started - can help to keep you at it. I've found stuff I had totally forgotten I had. Hey, Treasures! Sue, I appreciate your kind words! They made me eager to get this issue out today! That reminds me, the STATS show that my subscriber list has dwindled down from 430 to 418 and only 11% are opening the ezine when it arrives at their email address. Hm... I think I need to make a business decision to move this list to a different service, where I already have about 13 lists. Here I have to set each mailing up as a webpage first, but I cannot add photos or images. I can only provide a link so you can go see it on my website. At the Trafficwave site, I can just paste in the text, and add images right in the email. The big problem to consider - as I've learned with two other mailings lists I've moved there - is that I cannot just transfer email addresses. I have to ask my subscribers to re-subscribe to the new list, and then they will have to click a link in a confirmation email to prove they want to be on the list. Many folks are too lazy to do that. If only 11% of my subscribers would do that, I'd have a list of just 75 people. Or less. Hopefully, over time it would grow again. Dear Current Subscribers - please consider this a time to speak up and let me know if you would be willing to move with the AVTS to a new and better location? The extra security means that I wouldn't have to worry about so many bounces, and every subscriber would have to Double opt-in, so at least I'd be sure they are really there and reading this ezine.
Contact & Policies - Constant CONTACT INFO: Ruth Marlene Friesen (306)856-7785 Ruth@aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com
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