Month: October 2015

God Does Bless.

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

BIBLE

Yes, I do believe God grants blessings. We must understand that some blessings are granted and some might not be recognized as blessing. An unanswered prayer might even be a real blessing. When you see the little old lady at your forty year class reunion, you remember asking God to help set you up with her. You sure are glad He overlooked that one. God always knows what is in our best interest when he receives our prayers. He probably checks out how humble our worldly attitude is as he makes his final decision, on granting a blessing that has been prayed for.

Do you answer the common greeting how are you? “I am blessed.” If you do, you’re probably aware of God’s blessings in your life. We spend much of our time trying to sort out what blessings are and if they are from God. Many of the things that happen to us daily seem like blessings, because they make us feel good. We might take for granted our real blessing coming from God.

God is in the business of granting blessings. We just have to trust Him with how they are received by us. Satan also grants things to happen. He would have us think that some of those things that make us so happy are from God. Winning the lottery might seem like a great blessing. If it ruins your life after a binge of selfish, extravagant living, it surely is not a blessing from God.

It is God’s wish that people trust him with their daily lives. He has a life plan for each one of us. God gives us the freedom to choose how our life walk will be carried out. He is not a dictator who demands certain actions from us. It is his wish that we live lives according to his commandments. Living that life is an impossible task, our human nature usually finds us following the easy road. When we do trust God with our daily lives, he will bless us by showing us the way and giving us the strength we need.

Our wants and our needs are always in conflict. Our wants usually cause us to go the wrong way, our needs can become adjustable. When we finally trust in the fact that God will supply all of our needs we are home free. We then start to recognize that the blessings we receive are from God and we can be happy in all circumstances.

We are living in a sinful world were traps and snares can easily catch us and lead us in the wrong direction. Problems of modern day living can keep us from even thinking that there are such things as blessing. Each new day will have troubles of its own, only through trust in God’s blessings can those troubles be overcome.

As long as we are in this world, we will continue to wonder about blessings. Being able to get out of bed to greet a new day can be a blessing. Good health is a genuine blessing. Be thankful for all your blessings everyday, not just on turkey day.

God Provides

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

BIBLE
God provides much for many people in many different ways, if they only would realize it. He always provides everything for those who trust him with their tithes and offerings.

Some people don’t trust God to provide for their daily needs. Satan guides some people to put their trust and faith in the use of credit for their needs. Most people find out that the bills become overwhelming. If they did attend a church there would be very little income left over to put in the offering plate. They might even ask the congregation for prayer and assistance while their new car is parked out in front of the church. Many people have their priorities mixed up and are searching for a way to turn their lives of debt around.

God provides for people at food pantries because some of the food was donated by people who felt blessed in their own lives, food stores also donate. Federal assistance programs offer infant care, rent money, food stamps, health care and even income. God and taxpayers provide all of these things. We have to wonder if God wants people to depend on these programs permanently? People have to decide what their real needs are if they want to feel happy and blessed with their lives.

God provides a special personal relationship for those who trust him with their tithes and offerings. People who give to God’s work from their gross income before anything else is bought begin a life changing experience. They will start to manage their money and time better. The things that they used to ‘think’ they needed or wanted change dramatically. They will quickly learn that God does provide, everything.

One fellow said, ‘he found a used fishing boat that was just like new but didn’t think he could afford it.’ The fellow selling the boat said, ‘I don’t know why I am selling you the boat for this price, I could get twice that much for it.’ Another tither said, ‘I have never bought a new car, God has always guided us to a good used car.’ ‘I bought enough new siding to do my whole house at a lumberyard auction for $300.’ “Yes, stuff happens and God looks out for those who trust in him.”

God will provide, anything and everything from widgets to wardrobes to those who believe. God also provides a health program. There is no guarantee of good health while living in this world. Walking with and trusting God daily brings better health, because you don’t have stress and fear bothering you daily. When a sickness or accident does happen to you, God heals through prayer too.

The key to how God provides depends on what we can be happy with. He wants us to be happy in all circumstances. When we finally trust the fact that God will provide everything, we will find his peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding. If you want to be free, your income should determine your lifestyle. You have to adjust to it or find ways to increase your income. God does not want you to be a slave to any lender and you don’t have to be. Your goal is true peace and happiness with your own personal lifestyle, determined by your means, not your wants.

You will never have peace or happiness, if you live a make-believe life built on debt.

Old Computers Or Dead Mules

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 8 Comments

I have always been the one in the family to call when something needed fixing. I was blessed or (cursed) with the ability to take stuff apart and put it back together and not have a lot of parts left over, the thing usually worked afterwards too. If you’re born a tinker, it just comes natural to get stuff back in running condition, obsessed may be the correct term.

When the first computers came out I was very fascinated with how they worked and knew absolutely nothing about them. I took a home study computer repair course and joined The Computer Book Club. The following picture shows my little workshop, I had it set up in our front porch. The one wall was full of computer repair manuals from the first computers on. I had even purchased several books about writing computer code, that maxed out my mind’s memory storage capacity very quickly. My little workshop looked a bit cluttered, because it was. I knew where everything was at though. The best thing I got out of my computer repairing years was the exercise required to lift them up on the desk to work on them and then hauling them out to warehouse number one, our old chicken coup.

Lee computers
I picked up my first computer at a surplus sale at one of our colleges. It was one of the first IBM’s with the 8 bit processor no hard drive, two 5.25 inch floppy drives, the RAM was measured in kilobytes instead of megabytes. I continued to collect many older computers and got them in running condition, then stored them out at our little acreage. Why? I thought they would ever have any kind of value is a mystery to me??? Kind of like investing in dead mules! The computers didn’t stink up the place, must by why I choose them. There really will never be any demand for old PC’s except for precious scrap metal. I spent several years at this and found it to be quite rewarding and challenging. I finally started to slow down as the new technology was traveling at a much faster pace than my mind could process. The last computers I work on were the early Pentiums.

We had to sell all of our stuff and move into an apartment two years ago. That sale was probably the saddest day of my life, most of these old working computers weren’t ever bid on. They went into a huge recycling dumpster. There is a link below to the Old Computer Museum. It lists part of my old collection. I sure was proud of it even if it had no value. I guess everything that we do isn’t always done for money. What kind of a nerd gets fulfilment out of tinkering with old computers raises many questions? I expect someone in a white coat will be asking me to put square pegs in round holes soon.

http://www.old-computers.com/club/collectors/ordis.asp?c=4902

The compter is the only invention of man that has continued to come down in price as it increased in the capabilities of what it can do. Today a wrist watch can process more information and handle more applications than a desktop computer did five years ago. Some of my old tower computers cost over $60,000 in the 1980’s when they were purchased new by our county government. They had 486 CPU’s and 8 MB of Ram, 220 Megabyte hard drive.There is no comparison, awesome in every sense of the word, that really goes beyond what we call awesome today. This link below will take you to a place where you can read about artificial intelligence.

http://blogs.microsoft.com/next/2015/07/06/the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-myths-realities-and-aspirations/

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Trees and Planting Rights

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Should trees have rights? When a good landscaper is planning which assorted trees and shrubs to plant on some newly developed ground, they certainly must have their own rule book to follow. I know absolutely nothing about planting different trees so they will compliment each other. Which trees are doing the others justice as far as blocking cold wind, creating too much shade, or creating a combination of colors that stand out at various times of the year, especially in the fall.

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My concern was for this lonely tree not far from our apartment window. I believe it is a red maple, a very nice tree. This tree just seems awful lonely to me. The only other trees nearby are long needle pine, blue spruce or white spruce and and one flowering crab apple. There is one bare naked tree way in the back ground, must be ash, the first to have their leaves drop off.

I thought I would share this tree with everyone and see what your thoughts are on the subject. Do you think it is a rather lonely looking specimen?

Featured

Out of Your Reach

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 2 Comments
Taken by Edmond Wayrynen

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Out of Your Reach.”

DAILY PROMPT

Out of Your Reach

Was there a toy or thing you always wanted as a child, during the holidays or on your birthday, but never received? Tell us about it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Jen Rosenberry!

There was one thing that I always wanted as a kid but never received. Many birthdays and Christmas days came and went, but what I was searching for was never there. I could understand that they were relatively expensive, and it was just something that children in lower-income families didn’t get to play with often. I was fortunate to have a friend George Hestead whose parents even had a big sailboat. I hope I didn’t become friends with him because he owned Lionel Train sets. He had the most massive train set I have ever seen. It got spread over one whole room in his house. I can hardly describe it, almost enough track to get to Chicago. He had depots, bridges, tunnels, railroad crossings, flashing lights, smoke coming out of the engines. It was indeed awe, inspiring site for my young mind. I spent a lot of time at his house. He didn’t mind letting me share in his wealth, and it was a lot of fun. It would have been easy to covet that neighbor’s trains!

In 1949 my brothers Corky and Harlan and I rode the passenger train from Bryant to Watertown with mom. My love for trains made that a particularly, memorable day. We later learned it was a special day for sure. Our parents were in the process of getting a divorce. Our big house got sold, we said tearful goodbyes to our pigeons. Mother soon moved us to Watertown. That was a monumental change in lifestyle. We learned to tend a large garden before doing anything else, and do some cleaning and cooking. Cloths washing water was pumped by hand and heated on the gas stove in a washtub with lye soap cut into it. Harlan ran his arm up to the elbow in the ringer one day. Mother suggested we use more care after that.

Watertown was a busy railroad center. I soon concluded, I now had my train set, full size. We would go down by the tracks and play around the different trains while switching cars and being moved around, and changing engines. Oh, what a time I had! We occasionally hopped a ride, hanging onto the side of a car and riding for a way, that was quite an adrenaline rush. As we got braver, we rode out to the edge of town then jumped off before the train got going too fast. We walked back to town, walked everywhere in those days. A lot of men were out of work and hopped rides on trains everywhere. There was a hobo camp near the river, north of Riverside Park. They were mostly a friendly group and shared their meager meals with us.

We were living in the days before electronic games and TV, so we made our entertainment. One of my favorite places was the old roundhouse, where those big steam locomotives got turned around and sent back in the other direction. I would crawl down and hide underneath the turntable and watch all the action going on up above. Those were exciting and scary times. The railroad people were always trying to chase us away, but I think they probably concluded. Those kids don’t have much to go home for and overlooked some of our presence there. We were always careful. I remember any time we crawled underneath a train to get across the tracks. We were very, very careful. My brother and I still have all of our legs today, and some reasonably unusual memories. 

One of the railroad workers who lived next to the tracks was Sherwin Linton’s father. When he was motioning for me to get away from the trains, he didn’t realize that little hooligan would later become friends with his son Sherwin.

Ice got harvested by a large crew at Lake Kampeska all winter. There was a huge ice house at the lake and another one in town. They supplied ice for everyone during the long hot summer. Both were popular places to play on hot days. Ice got cut into huge blocks then stored in the ice houses with layers of sawdust in between.

Mother rented a house on the south side of Lake Kampeska one time. That is when I met George and his prized railroad system. We started to caddy at the Country Club, that’s where I met Sherwin Linton. He was the only caddy with a guitar. That old Tennessee Flat Top Box has served him well. He still maintains a tour schedule plus plays at county and State Fairs. At 80 years young he appears energetic and still plays great.

I love my trains but will stay away from the tracks when I see 

“The Long Black Train” coming.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=josh+turner+long+black+train&docid=60803607182409939

 

https://lelandolson.com/

Trio No. 3

/ Leland Olson Hoel / Leave a comment

Trio No. 3
Today you can write about anything, in whatever genre or form, but your post must mention a dark night, your fridge, and tears (of joy or sadness; your call). Feel free to switch one ingredient if you have to (or revisit one from previous trio prompts).

I was in bed, it was the darkest night, blacker than black, darker than pitch. The power was off, what can I do now? I want a sandwich made from that left over roast beef that is down in the fridge. I say to myself, “self, what can I do, what can I do?” “Self replies, get your flashlight and go make the damn sandwich.”

Excellent idea, it should be a piece of cake. I make my way down the hall with my trusty flashlight, as I started down the stairs my flashlight went dead. I got a gorilla hold on the railing and carefully made my way down the stairs. I tripped on a pajama leg about half way down, then rolled the rest of the way and landed right on my face at the bottom of the stairs.

As I crawled toward the kitchen there was a miracle. The lights came back on, I stood up and did a quick self examination for injuries, there were tears of joy as I found nothing broken. I strolled over to the fridge and made my roast beef sandwich, I also I had a piece a cake!

Deer Hunting Is Not Dead

/ Leland Olson Hoel / 3 Comments

Holding onto and expanding the sport of deer hunting is important, it is a great part of our American heritage. Deer hunting was thought to be a dying sport until recent years, busy lifestyles pulled many people away from outdoor things in their lives. Almost all states now have programs to teach youth hunters about gun safety, hunting ethics and being responsible . Hunting organizations and gun clubs assist the states in getting the youthful hunter off to the right start. There are youth hunting season when young people can hunt without competition from other hunters. There are just about as many girls as boys interested in hunting today.

Anti hunting groups would love to see all deer hunting stopped. They have used propaganda films like televisions Guns Of Autumn to turn the public against hunting. That should have been an easy task with the majority the people living in metropolitan areas, far removed from the sights; sounds, serenity; and smells of the country. That false, high-pitched anti hunting fervor, film started in 1975, the deer hunting lives on.

The American deer hunting heritage can be traced back to the days of the pilgrims. Many changes have taken place, from how the deer are hunted to how they are processed and consumed. Deer hunters for the most part love the outdoors as much as the deer hunting. The healthy low-fat meat that they bring home is just a bonus to go along with the memories of the hunt. They work to enhance the relationship between the land, the deer and the hunter.

The South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks, the deer hunters and the landowners are a prime example of teamwork. There were no deer in eastern South Dakota until the nineteen forties. Now it is necessary for the state to have an extra reduction season to thin out the herd, In 2007 181,000 deer licenses were sold. There were 70,000 whitetail deer and 17,000 mule deer harvested. The population of the state isn’t much over 800,000. There is no reason to let any harvested deer go to waste with the program Sportsmen Against Hunger, with assistance from the Game Fish and Parks Department the meat processing costs are paid. The meat is donated to the needy and food pantries.

Most hunters will help police their own ranks to preserve their sport of deer hunting. There is a small minority of slob hunters or iron pony hunters who never get out of their new four-wheel-drive pickups. Trespassing and poaching deer is still a problem in some areas. The faithful deer hunters help keep those people in check. TIPS turn in poachers hotlines helps the state control that illegal act.

Economic conditions today will no doubt cause some people to come back to deer hunting. A lot of people who didn’t live close to hunting areas drifted away from hunting during the busy booming economic years. Putting meat on the table might have people considering methods other than the local supermarket again. Meat prices have become extremely high and will continue to stay that way.

Deer hunting like everything else costs a lot more in 2015, cost is a very important factor for most hunters. Access to hunting land is another issue for hunters in some areas of the country as land falls into the hands of fewer private owners. Many states have federal land that is open to hunting and state wildlife agencies continue to purchase land for public hunting with funds from hunting and fishing revenue. There will be places for the average Joe to hunt deer for many years to come.
Deer hunting is not a dying sport http://www.feedtheneedsd.com

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