Moving is one of those facts of life that I haven’t gone through too many times in my whole life. I’ve lived in Sarasota for more than 28 years, for instance. So, this move to northern Georgia has become a bit traumatic.

Pat and I were fortunate, in a way, in that the folks who remediated our home for mold, packed everything we owned into cardboard boxes. That saved us the job of packing everything. However, there is a downside to this. Pat and I didn’t want to move a lot of stuff that we no longer needed, wanted, or frequently used. So, we’ve been sorting through more than 200 large boxes. About half has gone to Goodwill, Salvation Army, a yard sale to benefit missions and various other Christian organizations.

We know we’re going to be so much better off not moving a lot of accumulated junk. The process is what nearly kills! (g)

Last night, I was up very late (pretty much par for the course for me). This time, it involved fixing the toilet in the master bathroom. A few weeks ago, I occasionally heard the water come on for thirty seconds or so. I figured that the clapper rubber ball was not seating properly and the float kept thinking it needed to add just a smidgeon of water. We don’t support wastefulness, so I trekked out to our local Home Depot and bought a replacement.

The problem I discovered was that no matter how I hooked the chain from the lever to the clapper, the rubber ball wouldn’t stay afloat long enough to allow the stool to totally flush. So, I would hold the lever down until I could see that the job was done!

I called and talked to Ed at Home Depot. He gave me a lot of good tips. I still had to go see Ed eyeball to eyeball. Ended up that I needed a different clapper AND a new handle/lever assembly.

So, here I was at 12:30 am, straddling the seat backwards and fumbling around with my favorite crescent wrench. Pat came back to offer her help, but I was determined to make it work myself. Typical maleness coming out, I guess.

Well, it DID work. Perfectly. Now, here’s my whole point: The old lever was pretty hard to push down when I wanted to flush. I guess I thought ALL handles pushed hard. The new lever takes the slightest touch and works so easily. Stuff often deteriorates so slowly that we don’t notice how bad things have become UNTIL we put new stuff into play. Amazing difference. Made me want to go change everybody’s toilet lever mechanism in the neighborhood! (g)

What lessons might the Lord have brought to your mind while you read this piece? Please share with me by using the “Leave a Reply” box below!

SOME RESPONSES TO “CELL PHONES…”

– Hey, Uncle Jerry. Yes, I thought the cell phone piece was really cool. Maybe that will help teens because a lot of them have cell phones or there getting them. Well, I will let you get back to whatever you were doing, ok?

– I’m so thankful that you all are okay. It has been so hectic around here lately, and I must have missed out on something about your move! The picture of your house is very nice. How is Pat doing? I enjoyed your article on Cell Phones. I’ll pass by the things I don’t like about them and tell you something that I love.

We don’t have one but both of our sons do. I can e-mail them messages right to their phones at no charge with a 140 letter limit. But they really look forward to that morning message. M___ is in Indiana and T__ is in South Carolina and they both call everyday. Boy, do we look forward to those calls, especially when the grandchildren get on the line!

I think that is wonderful about you calling older people on the weekend. I can imagine that those people look forward to that call. It is surprising what a call from someone means to people. Keep up the good work, I’m sure you are reaching many souls for the Lord.

– I recently got a cell phone for my daughter. She is in school & works after, sometimes late. Anyway, she has a friend in Minnesota. I pay her regular bill. Anything over, she pays. She learned the hard way that those “roaming” charges hurt. This month, she was charged about $40 for roaming. That will certainly eat into her “clothes” money.

– Know what I thought about? Just like “roaming” charges will get you if you get out of a certain call area, “roaming” with the devil will get you in trouble if you get out of God’s call area. Let that happen and a person could be faced with a BIG BILL. Isn’t it just like Jesus to write “PAID IN FULL” on the bill once you present it to Him?

– Beautiful house but I can see why you want to leave. Hurricanes have not been kind to Florida this year. Good luck, God bless.

– Good piece and a very nice pic of the sign in front of your house. You know that you will continue in our prayers wherever you are – at least I hope you do. Know that we are praying much that all those little details get taken care of appropriately.

– Cellular phones have been a contention in my backbone for a long time… to see the danger that folks put themselves into by using them while driving. Plus, no matter where ya go, (shopping, restaurants, libraries, etc.) there is always someone walking around with one stuck in their ear. No one has time to just relax and be “out of touch” anymore. Thank goodness, we don’t need something special to stay in touch with the Lord. He is right there with us and tries to keep us on the right road…. smiles…

– I have the same problem here. The mountains are in the way so I don’t get good reception. When we are camping, it’s usually out of range of everything. Then, while I am talking to someone, they cut in and out on me depending where I am sitting. I love it otherwise. LOL! As for talking to my Jesus, I just talk to Him no matter what I am doing. I don’t see how He has time for anyone else. LOL! Just kidding of course.

– This is one of those stories that I know little about. But, my kids know more than they want to. They, like you, have ended up owing too much and struggle to pay. I am so grateful that God is always right there when He is needed or we just want to chat with Him. Right now, I am begging God for help physically. My hemoglobin is a whopping 8.5. That is lower than it was when I got home from the hospital a year ago. So, chemo is on hold. Please pray that the remainder of my cancer vanish completely and I return to good health.

I do understand fully that either way I win. If God calls me home, I will have no more pain and no more cancer. If God heals me, I will be free to spend the rest of my life serving Him with no worries. It is just that as a human, I am frail and weak and want to be healed right now. LOL

– I don’t have a cell phone. Since I don’t see well, I would have trouble seeing if some little triangle was blinking or solid. First thing that hit me was the TRIANGLE. It reminded me of the Trinity concept of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Of course God is kind enough to let us talk to Him without any added gadget, like a cellphone. And no batteries needed! The only way our lines to God would be down would be if we had unconfessed sin. Sin = dead batteries or no signal. No tower or satellite in sight!

Praying doesn’t come with all those fancy rings like a cell phone has. My friend B____ is so tickled with them. She has a music/barking dog one. Her phone rang and I thought I had entered the funny farm or something…… weird sounds.

Then there are the people walking around in stores, while driving, etc., with tiny cell phones I don’t see at first glance and they are talking– NOT to themselves or me but to whomever. Christians talk to God in any situation too, but as far as I can tell, our talking is more meaningful then most conversations I’ve heard from cell phone people. In society, talking on a cell phone in public is okay, but praying in public sometimes isn’t so okay.

– Thanks for writing, Jerry. We appreciate the education re: cell phones. The cell phone is certainly a convenience to our family members and friends. When they visit us, they are still as accessible by phone as if they were home. They can call long distance freely without sharing our line.

Moving! What an exercise. Decisions, decisions. But you’ve already made plenty because of having to pack up stuff while your home was worked on for so long. We were very fortunate during Jeanne. Only lost power for a few hours. Our unit was protected from the driving wind and rain, because it is on the east side. We only have 1 outside wall. We count our blessings!

– Well Jerry, I can certainly commiserate with you and Pat. I had a $95.00 cell phone bill for September! How? I don’t know! Boy, was that painful! Same deal; in and out of the “roaming” area, and didn’t even know it! Oh well………….

I find myself talking to God whenever and wherever. When I see a fire truck or an ambulance speeding down the road, I know that someone is in a lot of trouble and immediately say a prayer for their safety.