Monday, December 5, 2011

Financial balance

"Say it isn't so..."
© Karen Kyle Ericson, all rights reserved.
Watercolor & Colored Pencils
So I was working on my PC Saturday and noticed I had 2 cursors on the screen instead of one.  As a programmer, I knew this was a bad sign.  Things would come up and then disappear, it took 3 clicks to close software.  My hard drive was maxed out quite a lot.  Then it happened.  The fatal blue screen appeared on my monitor shouting,  "Error!"  I rebooted and the machine came back.  But I've seen this before.  Soon the whole PC dies and everything inside.  I feared the worst, 153 gigabytes of photos could be wiped away.  It could be the Mother Board, the brains.   I took it to my PC repairman to run a diagnostic on the hardware. 

I was hoping I was wrong all Saturday.  My husband thought it was the perfect time to upgrade to a Mac.  I had to agree.  I can wipe out a PC pretty quickly with my software.  And, PC's just don't last as long as Macs.  But I was still hoping I was wrong.  Sunday I got the call.  I was right.  Don't you just hate being right at the wrong time?  The good news is I caught it before it wiped out my photos.  My husband picked out a new Mac for me- she's a beauty and will be strong enough to endure my hours and Adobe Creative Suite. It's an iMac and much nicer than I would've chosen for myself.  I can work on illustrating and writing a children's book.  It will be an excellent tool.

I used to see racks of servers when I worked in computing.  Now I'll have my own little rack of hard drives.  So, we stepped out in faith to order it.  All night I kept thinking, "What did I do!!?"

Then today, we received a small inheritance from my Mom's estate.  It was plenty to cover my new system and then some.  Sometimes it's wise to buy quality, avoiding the risk of losing your work.  You can spend more on replacing lower quality than just getting a good machine in the beginning. 

I remember so many times, when I put myself through college, Mom would say, "I sure wish I could help you out."  I felt so bad for her.  I helped her out as much as I could with my college work money.  Today, I looked up and whispered, "Thanks Mama.  This is the best system I've ever had.  You sure helped me out."


Sooo... I'm using a drawing I did on paper (instead of Corel Painter) for this post.  Lord willing I'll be setting up my new system tomorrow.  Soon I'll be working like a pro.   I'll try and keep posting but it may take a few days to learn the Mac.  Hoping to be back to normal by Wednesday.  I'm working on my laptop tonight but didn't want anyone to worry or wonder.

I'm really becoming a freelancer.  Go figure...

These verses from Proverbs 23 seem to fit my situation pretty well.  Thanks be to God for His perfect timing, our needs being met again, and for pointing out my PC's trouble before it was fatal and I lost everything.

Proverbs 23

These verses describe 2 extremes to me.  Either putting our whole being into work to earn money, or being too caught up in saving money.  Both lead to poor relationships with others and especially the Lord.  I want to be grateful for His gifts financially, enjoy and save.  I don't want to let work take over my life.  Even if it's something I love.  Jesus first, family second, work third.
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
   do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
   for they will surely sprout wings
   and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

 6 Do not eat the food of a begrudging host,
   do not crave his delicacies;
7 for he is the kind of person
   who is always thinking about the cost.
“Eat and drink,” he says to you,
   but his heart is not with you.

Pray with me that I'll conquer the Mac and be back soon writing and drawing on it.  I need to work on paper more too. God bless!
Karen

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

15 comments:

  1. Congrats on your new system! Indeed, He does provide.

    Blessings to you.

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  2. Thanks Clint! I'm very excited... been scrubbing all morning to keep the butterflies in my stomach quiet.

    God bless!

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  3. Wow!! A mac will be awesome! The bit about your mum touched my heart because I know my mum also struggled so that my sisters and I could get to where we are today!Every time I manage to get through finances I always remember her too. Lovely post Karen. :)

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  4. Hi Murugi! It's a fantastic tool. I've got it working now. So I just need to get my software inside : ) and photos. It came last night. I had just given up and saw the delivery truck! So I ran outside "I'm so happy to see you! Thank you." Mom's do have a special place in our hearts. Don't know what kids would do without them. God bless!

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  5. Haha I'm using a Mac too! But for blogging I'll still prefer using Windows... Blessed by your post anyway! :D

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  6. Thanks Joy! I'll still have Windows on my laptop too... But the Mac is very cool. I've got almost everything in the Mac now- took 2 hours to copy over my photos... yikes! God bless! Glad you liked my post.

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  7. Oh my, I can sooo relate!!! I have been having the same conversations with my hubby...who happens to be a programmer! So glad that you did not lose your photos, that would have been heartbreaking. How wonderful to see thing drawing of yours. you really are quite creative!

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  8. Thanks LeAnn! I love to draw and do crafts. I'm all set up in the Mac now. So... it's time to get some more work done and pick up my blogging next week : )

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  9. Congratulations on getting a Mac computer. You’ll surely be able to do lots of creative stuff with it. A Mac is a worth investment, especially since you seem to be turning into a freelancer of sorts. Good luck on all your future endeavors! Keep artsy!

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  10. Good for you, Karen. A Mac computer is a lot versatile when you're working on your important documents. Sometimes, you need to disregard the cost for efficiency, and a Mac can provide that for you. Also, it is the right computer for your job. Good luck on all your plans in the future!

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  11. “it's wise to buy quality, avoiding the risk of losing your work” – That’s so true! Sometimes, when you buy cheap products, you thought you saved a lot of money, only to find out that you’ll be spending more for repairs in a couple of months. My mom always taught me to put quality over quantity. I use my computer on my small business, and I can’t afford to lose any data there, so I bought an upgraded computer and reliable accounting software. It was a bit pricey of course but at least I got to use it for many years. It’s been five years and it’s still up and running.

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  12. I agree with Darcy and Jamie. Cost won’t always dictate the efficiency of a product. Just because something is inexpensive doesn’t always mean it will be the best for your needs, especially when it comes to software. Take your time in choosing, and base your decision more on which you think will work best instead of what will cost you less.

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  13. Thanks Darcy, Jamie and Carlene! I'm on the Mac now and loving it. It's very durable and efficient. God bless!

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