March 8, 2023 · 11:48 pm

“The Buck Stops Here”

One evening I looked at the dirty dishes. I wanted to do them, but I didn’t want to do them. Know what I mean? I wanted the result–clean dishes and a clean sink–but I didn’t want to do the work to get the result. Finally, the thought “The Buck Stops Here” came to mind, and I rolled up my sleeves, filled the dishpans, and got to work.

US president Harry S. Truman popularized the motto “The Buck Stops Here”. He kept a plaque engraved with those words on his desk. He used it as a reminder that although he could seek advice from others, in the end, it was his responsibility to make the decisions.

Now I use the phrase as a motivational aid. Most of the time, I use it to get myself to do household tasks that need done and don’t take long to do, but I just don’t feel like doing. As I plan this year to get rid of clutter and do more intensive cleaning, I know I’ll want to keep that phrase in my figurative “back pocket” to pull out.

P. Booher

Author’s Note: If you’d like to read another blog post on this subject of motivation, check out: Wake Up and Be Amazing! here:

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March 3, 2023 · 11:01 pm

Friday “Walks”–The Power of God’s Love

Photo Credit: P. Booher

One evening as I helped a relative a question/prayer came to the forefront of my mind: “Lord, what can cure dementia?” Immediately His answer came, “Love”.

I don’t know what brought that question to my mind. I don’t know if the person I was thinking of actually has dementia or not. I don’t know if the Lord meant divine love can actually cure dementia to the point a person no longer has it.

I do know divine love in all its facets: forgiveness, long-suffering, gentleness, patience, kindness, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness and self-control–along with a good sense of humor–can mitigate the effects of this heart-rending disease. God’s love helps the patient and the caregiver. His grace supports both people in the face of difficult, uncertain conditions. He can bring in help from many places.

Some Scriptures to take in: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5b, NIV) which is a quote of Deuteronomy 31:6.

“Do everything in love.” (I Corinthians 16:14, NIV)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” (Romans 8:35, NIV)

P. Booher

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March 2, 2023 · 9:45 pm

Diving Into A Sea of Books–Southern Storm

Photo Credit: Pexels.com

As an avid reader, I get excited about the great number of books out there to read, either for entertainment, education, inspiration or with some books, all three. The quantity available in print, audio, and e-books reminds me of the vast amount of life in the oceans, so I call these book reviews “Diving Into A Sea of Books”. As with diving into an ocean looking for interesting objects, diving into books means you come across mixed results: over here, a book you don’t bother to finish, over there, a “treasure”–one you like so much you can’t wait to reread it, and over there, a book you read and think, “Meh”.

A library puts books in the laundromat I use. A sign invites people to choose a book to read while they are waiting for clothes to finish.

One day I picked up Terri Blackstock’s Southern Storm. A chapter or so later, and after some debate (I have a lot of books here at home to read, so why bring another home?) I decided I had to know how it ended!

From the start of the book to the finish, I was on an emotional roller coaster. Just when I thought the protagonist was out of trouble, I found that wasn’t so. New complications and difficulties quickly emerged, leaving me wondering how he was going to fare.

Along with the protagonist’s problems, his friends faced their own share of difficulties, some relating to him, others not. Some characters were not who they seem to be, further complicating matters.

The novel is in the Cape Refuge series. I had never read any of that series, but enjoyed reading Southern Storm as a stand-alone.

Also, for anyone wanting to try his or her hand at writing a thriller, reading Terri Blackstock’s book is like attending a writing class. You see a good example of how to do it:

the tension starts on the first page and doesn’t let up until the end

fast-paced action

description just enough to help reader place the scene

dialogue works to keep story moving

characters and situations are realistic

If you want a book that’s hard to put down, try Terri Blackstock’s Southern Storm.

©P. Booher

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February 3, 2023 · 10:10 pm

Friday “Walks”–What God Did

Photo Credit: P. Booher

God moved some mountains for us recently.

  1. He fixed a sidewalk through the Men’s Ministry of the church I attend. My mother’s balance is not as good as it used to be, and any time she walked on our old sidewalk I held my breath. I knew it needed replacing, but I didn’t have the resources to do it. God did. The men used what they could from our old sidewalk, and placed new slabs where needed. They took out the two steps and sloped the sidewalk at a slight grade. It is more like a ramp now and much safer to walk on. The men also fixed a spot in our driveway. All this was done at no cost to us–the Men’s Ministry took up collections at their meetings. Any time I look out the door, I see God’s work through the Body of Christ. God said, “Here is a blessing for you and your mother.” Every day it is appreciated. It is such a relief to have it done!
  2. I have a job now, and I believe God opened the door. I walked into the local supermarket as a customer, and walked out with an informal job offer! I didn’t see a product I like on the shelf and wondered when it would be in. I saw two managers talking and asked them about it. In the course of the conversation, I mentioned that I used to work in retail. One of the managers said, “Well, if you ever want to get back into retail…” I replied that my legs hurt; I need to sit a lot. The manager said, “If you get a letter from your doctor stating that you need to sit, you can work as a cashier and we’ll provide you with a stool.” That is the way it worked out. This, after I looked for work and ran into roadblocks. Then, I walk in as a customer and walk out with a job practically handed to me!

Some Scriptures: “Now to Him Who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!…” (Ephesians 3:20, 21, ESV)

“And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19, NIV)

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January 18, 2023 · 8:00 am

Trying Something New

Awhile back God gave me the thought of taking a Scripture verse to color/memorize (I’ve been coloring more often lately, and working on Scripture memorization). “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower…” is one that came to mind. That led to thinking about the fruit of the Spirit, which the Apostle Paul lists in the Book of Galatians. Tying the two verses together made sense to me, because the fruit of the Spirit describes the Lord. So I decided to try something, and this is what I came up with:

Illustration Credit: P. Booher

I am thinking of creating pages similar to this for anyone to color/memorize. Any comments? (Please keep them respectful and constructive.)

Thanks.

P. Booher

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January 13, 2023 · 8:00 am

Meditation Moments

Photo Credit: P. Booher

“But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7,8 NLT)

Such good benefits from trusting in God!

P. Booher

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January 12, 2023 · 10:37 pm

A Note About Posts on “Country Ripples”

Some of you may be wondering where my posts have been. I’ve been experiencing technical problems in getting posts published. Whether this is due to my internet connection (I live in a somewhat rural area, with lots of hills and valleys, so topography could certainly play a part) or something else, I don’t know. But I run into problems when WP is saving the draft–then the connection seems to “go in and out”. I don’t know how else to explain it. I may be typing merrily along, thinking the whole draft is being saved, only to find out later that just half of the post has actually been saved, and I need to input the rest all over again. That, my friends, causes much frustration, because I do want to publish posts!! Sometimes it produces enough frustration that I give up for the evening. It is also frustrating because I don’t know what to do about the situation.

Be assured that I do want to continue with the blog. I enjoy writing pieces and reading your comments. As the ripples in my header picture illustrate, the blog is a means to connection, and that means a lot to me.

P. Booher

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December 21, 2022 · 10:37 pm

Last-Minute Gift Ideas

Photo by G Gabriel Constantin on Pexels.com

Author’s Note: This post modified slightly from past years.

Do you have someone in your family or a friend who is “hard-to-buy-for”? Consider these ideas. Please note: these ideas work best if you are familiar with the recipient’s age, circumstances, likes and dislikes.

  1. Make a gift basket. Buy items you know the recipient likes and uses frequently (or conversely, likes but doesn’t buy for him or herself). This is what I do for my mother. I buy gift cards for restaurants or dollar stores (she enjoys browsing in dollar stores), and hide the gift cards among the tissue paper around small food items, lotion or other items she uses. Depending on the time and energy level I have, I either wrap each item or just wrap the whole basket. My mother enjoys opening her customized gift basket and finding the items. True, “everyday stuff” isn’t glitzy. But you know the recipient will use it. If the person comes into a situation where money is tight, the person will appreciate having those everyday products to fall back on even more! Also, a bonus to the gift giver is that everyday items are not hard to find in the stores—people are looking for the latest gadget, rather than something that’s around all the time.  
  2. Give the gift of time. If your recipient needs a certain project done and you have the skill and means to do it, consider scheduling a time to get together and do what the person needs. Your time is worth as much or more than the money you would spend on a gift for the person. You may be surprised at how appreciative the person is!
  3. Give the gift of knowledge and skill. If the person has expressed a desire to learn a particular skill, and you know that skill, consider “gifting” it. Set up a time to help the person learn that skill. Speaking from experience, I appreciate it most when someone takes the time to show me how to do something, then watches and guides me as I do it myself, as opposed to when a person does it for me. 

I hope these simple ideas help.

©P. Booher

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December 14, 2022 · 6:35 pm

A New Furry Friend!

Ever since Abby the Companion Cat (of The Abby Chronicles) died last year, we’ve been missing the company of a feline. Last month Georgie Girl, or just Georgie, moved in. Georgie Girl is about 1 and 1/2 years old, which in human years, makes her a teenager. She is truly a “people cat” which is unusual because she lived outside for most of her young life, but she knew the kindness of humans due to my friend Sue and her family.

(Georgie Girl, in a rare quiet moment, cat-napping on what has become her prime sleeping spot–the rocker in the living room.)

I expect Georgie Girl to make more appearances on the blog next year. For now, I thought it would be fun to at least post her picture.

P. Booher

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Quote

Thankfulness–Part of The Good Life

“And be thankful.”

Book of Colossians 3:15b

To be thankful requires humility. Thankfulness and humility go hand-in-hand. You can’t be thankful if you are prideful; pride steps in the way.

Pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness taint everything good about life. Those attitudes lead to cynicism, suspicion of even innocent people’s motives, and lack of joy. A prideful, arrogant person doesn’t find joy in living.

On the other hand, thankfulness automatically brings in joy. It may not be the kind of joy which has a person jumping up and down in celebration, but it will be the kind of joy which gives sparkle and meaning to life. It will be the kind of joy which spills over and affects even the harder parts of life. Being deeply thankful can not only help bring about answers to problems, it can keep you from many problems. If you are thankful, you aren’t going to be envious, jealous, self-righteous, and so many other attitudes that lead to problems with yourself or others.

In many places, the Bible commands us to be thankful to God. When we are thankful to God, we are focused on Him, not on ourselves and our problems. Focusing on God keeps us away from problems, and leads to victories we thought we’d never see.

Thankfulness is part of The Good Life.

P. Booher

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November 24, 2022 · 9:42 pm