photo: weekly snaps
Having a healthy computer doesn’t seem like it would have a connection to healthy anywhere else does it? But I’m finding there are some relationships!
Last week, my son-in-law took over my computer on the snow day to clean it out. I didn’t realize how slow it had become. My problem seemed to be with my email, or so I thought! He decided to scrap my present mess that was full of malware throughout my computer. Then he reinstalled my computer again…hopefully with a cleaner memory than the present one.
He also put me on some restrictions to keep me from adding more malware unintentionally. Wouldn’t you know, I went to use the program I usually use to doctor my photos and it needed an installation of Adobe Flash Player.
I wasn’t able to download it from the safe source I’m allowed to, so I contacted Brandon. He told me I was going to have to use both a different instrument to edit my photos instead of PicMonkey. But I was tired of having to learn so many new things! I begged, I pleaded.
He recommended an app I can use on the phone and on the computer. I tried it out and so far it is great! It is called Fotor Photo Editor. It does much of what PicMonkey does only totally free…at least on the computer. I think for some things on the phone, there are extra charges. Who knew? I didn’t even have a learning curve!
I also have to stay away from apps that use Adobe Flash Player because it seems to attract malware and other junk. (my explanation, not his!) To keep me from installing it, he has my computer set so only items from the apple store will be allowed to install. I can’t even cheat! Ever!
Why is it our unhealthy, often sinful, behavior carries over from one area to another?
Basically, I have found that the problems I have found with my home and my collections of clutter and too much stuff, has plagued me on my computer. As I got trying more and more things on the computer and with my blog, I wasn’t certain about which things to keep and which to get rid of…so I kept almost everything!
Now, I have a better idea of what I need to save and what I can get rid of. I don’t need to let the mail and advertising pile up in my mailbox into the 1000’s! I can deal with the mail on a daily basis and unsubscribe the junk mail to get it to stop coming…or label it as junk and it will soon stop coming to my box.
The more I clean out…whether it is my house or my computer, the easier it is for me to think in a more organized way.
I think health is coming…in new places. It’s a good thing. But I also find that the more I clean out and clear away, I also find more places of ill health (if it is internal).
As for my house, I find that more needs to be cleaned out as I open more boxes and find more stuff…some is luggage I have been carrying around for years that I needed to toss. But hidden away in the mess, I have also found a few treasures that reminded me of things I haven’t done in a long time. Things I need to work back into my life!
Learning to be generous now and trust GOD for the future (while saving too!) is wise. I am not to hoard an inordinate amount of stuff “just in case.”
Sometimes, taking care of my stuff, treasuring it, lugging it around and storing it isn’t worth the effort I am going to…or the effort it takes to finance doing it! As I go through old files, boxes of stuff, closets and miscellaneous craft supplies, I stop and think about how I use these items or the time used to care for them…or the money needed to maintain them. I have been called on to steward what GOD has given me…not to hoard it.
My study in Deuteronomy has only reinforced that teaching! I am to be generous with what GOD has given me and help those in need today. In doing that, GOD will care for me if the time comes when I am in need. So far, He has met all our needs. It is easy to forget that when we look to the future.
Martha, a few tech follow-up thoughts: 1. Having lots of emails slow things down if those emails are in folders and synced to a mail server. This is because with IMAP accounts, it is possible for multiple devices to modify the same email folders This was the majority of your issues.
2. Flash is an internet plug-in (and not something that is really needed anymore) that slows down your computer because it makes the GPU/CPU work harder. This also drains you computer’s battery. 3. Another reason to avoid Flash is because it is not very secure. Apple now ships all of their computers by default sans Flash plugin. In a similar way, we should model our digital life like our spiritual one (and yes, this is a stretch): Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7
and this is why i should never write anything about technology…ever:) thanks brandon…for your help, and your comments:)
I find it most difficult to trust God with my children. But he’s teaching me. I know he is faithful (my head knows it), but my heart hurts when I see them making bad choices. Thank you for the reminder to let God keep my relationships healthy! Now…you’ve got me worried about malware and stuff that slows my computer down!
anita, trusting GOD with our children is certainly not easy. seems it should be, but for many it takes time to realize we can trust HIM with them on an emotional level.
maybe it has more to do with our view of GOD. on a gritty level, He isn’t big enough. yes, we intellectually believe He is, but in the crush of life, we really don’t. (i speak from true life experience here!)
my belief in an omnipotent GOD doesn’t really extend to the fact that HE is the only one who has the power to change my child in the ways needed. of course i can take that down to any of the other attributes of GOD, but you get the drift:)
as for the computer, you may not be having the trouble i was. maybe you keep your mailbox cleaned out, your spam under better control, you don’t download much. i just wasn’t as smart as i tho’t i was. if i hadn’t had an apple, it would have died long ago!
each time he cleans things out, i learn a little more. he sets a few more barriers. we progress. 🙂
Martha,
Thanks for introducing yourself over at my blog…and how I could relate…such a process of getting rid of junk and sin…Grateful for God’s Presence and patience in the process 🙂
thanks for stopping by dolly:) yes, i’m grateful for GOD’s forgiveness and patience with me while i’m in the process of growth…it will be continuous while i’m here on earth for sure! i just want to learn to forgive others as well when they let me down!