Dear fellow Hive people, As a few of you already know, my dh had a minor stroke last April which resulted in his medical card being pulled by the DOT, disqualifying him from commercial truck driving. For the past nearly three months he's been assigned to working maintenance on the plant nursery farm that his employer owns. He's been given odd jobs, mainly grunt work and dirty jobs nobody else wants to do, but he's remained on the payroll as a truck driver earning the same pay. We knew that he would at some point be reassigned to another position, but haven't been sure what they would decide to do with him. It had been discussed here and there, and implied that they would go over his resume and review his skills and experience. That hasn't happened though. We know that by law they are required to make reasonable accommodation, and to asses his skills then offer an open position for him that he would be qualified to perform. Today HR handed him a paper at the end of the day with a position listed that is way below his skill level and we know that it would mean a significant drop in pay. He's been told that they will meet with him on Monday to discuss his employment, and we are both just sick to the pit of our stomachs. This is especially hard because dh was displaced from high tech manufacturing ten years ago and it took a long time to land on his feet. He finally found a niche in truck driving (although we've had a really rough go of it with economy related layoffs), and now this. He is 59 years old and feels at a complete loss. I was already looking to find another part-time job to do during the evenings because we need additional income even before the pay cut. This is another big challenge and a test of our faith. Please pray for us to stay strong and stay focused on the Lord during this time. Also pray that God will provide for our family and that dh will either find a job right away that fits his skills and experience -- or that he will find some sort of career guidance and counseling to help him retrain. The Lord has done some amazing, miraculous things for us through the years and we have never gone without. Our faith and our trust is in Him right now, no matter what may come. We would just appreciate some extra prayer to help us get through this. Thanks and God bless, Lucinda

I'd lean this way too. For one, I am dh's helpmate, and two, he helps me with so many things I couldn't even begin to list them. But in this case, in order for me to help him, he'd need to take part as well. Blessings, Lucinda

What wonderful news! Thanks for sharing yet another reminder of the faithfulness of God. Lucinda

Others have commented on your post, but I really need to say something too. I am inclined to believe that God looks deep within us, and when He blesses us it is based on the attitude of our hearts rather than on our works. I understand that God provided for you when you placed your complete trust in Him, and He saw your genuine desire to follow His will. From my own experience I could share a very long list of times that God miraculously, miraculously provided for my family as well -- and yet not each and every instance occurred during a time that we (or I as a single parent) were giving 10% of our income to the church. Over the years, beginning back when I was a single mom that had been abandoned by a husband, God has blessed me over and over. I have been the recipient of cash provided in amazing ways that I know were absolutely without a doubt directly from His hand. The Lord has also provided payment for bills when we were completely living on faith and had nothing, and at one time He even provided the gift of a very nice car. I could go on and on, and each and every time it was just as endearing as what you described in your post. I can only say that my faith has always been in the Lord, and He has always taken care of me and my family, and it is because we love Him, seek after Him and trust Him - not because we were afraid of being punished for not following the law to the letter. God is, after all, a God of grace and love. Blessings, Lucinda

This is as close to our situation as any I've read. We've got generous hearts, my dh and I, and in so doing we took my elderly mother (a widow) into our home to care for her. We also legally adopted our grandchild and are raising her as our own, saving her from a nightmare of a life with a drug addicted bio mother. I have given graphic design at no charge as a ministry to churches we've belonged to, painted large murals on walls as a gift freely given, I've taught Sunday school, led women's groups, etc. We donate to feed those that need help, etc. We are actively involved in our church, and believe that there are seasons of giving generously with finances, and other seasons of giving our time and talents generously. Although I've fought guilty feelings due to the message I heard in churches for a good many years, I have come to the conclusion that if a person cannot tithe money they can still receive God's blessings and even His intervention. He has blessed us with so much over the years that I couldn't even possibly list it all. We live an absolutely frugal lifestyle, but we are so rich! Lucinda

Well said! Well Said! I agree with this completely. I was raised with the 10% tithing concept, and I've been struggling with guilt for the past couple of years because we have just not been able to tithe regularly. Our church has helped us a couple of times during this period of time -- for which we've been extremely thankful -- but I have just felt soooooo guilty about receiving and not being able to give ourselves. I know it's because of my upbringing, and am trying to shake it. I also realize that my pastor's salary comes from people's tithes. He is a godly man that has ministered to our family time and again. Yet even he (who knows our situation) has said that we need to go ahead and pay our bills and not feel bad, but that if we choose to give that God will bless that too. He talks often of how religious we can get about this, especially those that were raised in the church and can struggle with legalism. The message that is given in so many churches is such a pat answer. You know, if you don't step out and give even when it hurts, then it simply means that you just don't have faith and God won't help you in your situation. I remember one pastor answering the question of should you tithe on the gross or the net of your paycheck, and his answer was, "Well, how much do you want to be blessed - by the net or the gross amount?" This was the same church where the Sr. Pastor once shared in his sermon that he always keeps a $100 bill tucked away in his wallet for emergencies, and then opened his wallet to show everyone the bill. I was a single mom at the time and thought to myself that I'd give anything to be able to do that! Honestly though, when people have been out of work and can barely pay the utility bills and the mortgage, is it fair to lay the 10% concept on them? I am beginning to believe we can trust God and put our faith in Him to carry us through even if we are going through a period of not being able to contribute as we have before. In my heart, things will get resolved and there can be a time of true generosity up ahead. And in the meantime, there are other ways of giving and ministering to the body as a sacrifice to the Lord. Blessings, Lucinda

:party:ChrissySC - You are absolutely my HERO!! :party: Thank you for all the help and the pointers and help in understanding this all better. I'm very thankful for your input, and I also hope this has helped someone else maybe in a similar situation. Blessings, Lucinda

Chrissy, do you mean Bootcamp when you say Bootstrap? And I don't plan to upgrade to Lion. Snow Leopard is where I plan to stay. So I guess my biggest question is this: Based on your Univ. of Wisc. article and my last post about using customer service programs, Bootcamp seems to be a good solution. (Especially since I will not be going back and forth between OS's. I will launch Windows in the evening, do my job, then shut down for the night. I wouldn't need my Mac environment except during the day when I wear my other hats.) So if that is the case and I choose to use Bootcamp, then would there be anything else I need to install other than a full version of Windows 7? I need to keep costs down as much as possible at this point. Oh, and what about this dual boot thing? Are you referring to the VM solution that allows you to run both OS's and go back and forth? Thanks so much! Lucinda

Thank you again, ChrissySC! I'm starting to understand better, but realize I still have a ways to go before I can make an intelligent decision about this. Bottom line is this: I need a job to earn income for my family, and this job needs to have the least amount of start up costs. I own a Mac with the right hardware, just need to see if I can get the virtual PC thing going for less money than buying another computer. Blessings, Lucinda

:D Sorry to be a real pain in the patootie, ChrissySC. But I'm not sure how to go about this. Am I correct in understanding that I use VMWARE (like Fusion) after I've partitioned with Bootcamp? And how do I go about setting it up as a dual boot system? Is that more software I would need to buy? By the time I do all these things, am I saving much money compared to buying a dedicated PC? And one last question....if you were doing what I'm considering, what firewall and security package would you buy for protection? Thanks again. Lucinda

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I'm sorry Chris, I can't seem to find any other way for you to see the video. Hopefully your dh can help you override the Vimeo. Blessings, Lucinda

=============== Well, thanks for all the input, everyone. Especially you, ChrissySC! It's starting to appear that a newer, dedicated PC is what I will need for this type of work. I was really hoping that either doing an upgrade to our PC or running Windows on my Mac would work because I think it would be less expensive than buying a new PC that is up to specs. Now - to find a low cost solution for what I will have to buy. Seems that we always end up needing to spend money in order to make money, right? :tongue_smilie: Blessings, Lucinda

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Please help me scope this out. I am trying to set up a home office so I can hopefully get a telecommuting job as a virtual customer service rep or something similar. There are certain requirements for this type of work, and one is that you need a PC with Windows rather than a Mac. It needs to have a Pentium 4 or greater, 2 GB RAM, etc. in order to support the software that is needed. A person also needs a land line phone, etc. I've had a landline installed recently, bought a new phone and a headset, but now I'm facing the issue of not having a PC with Windows that has a fast enough processor, the right amount of RAM, etc. Some people have advised me that since I own a MacBook that has all the specs needed for this job, with the exception of it being a Mac with Windows, I should utilize the Boot Camp utility software and install a parallel port with Windows 7. I'm considering this, but I'm not sure if its a good idea or not. My dh was in high tech for a number of years and is very leery of running both os's -- but he also realizes technology has come a long way in the past 10 years. He told me to find out for sure about security issues. For one, he asks if it would make our Mac system more vulnerable to viruses, hackers and other potential sources of corruption once it has Windows. I know some of you out there have done this, so am interested in hearing your input. What are the pros and cons? I'm also wondering how the price comparison would be in doing this vs. buying a new PC. Seems like adding Windows to my Mac would be much less expensive. Finally, if I decide to go the parallels direction on my Mac, is there anyone here that would be willing to stand by to hold my hand when I need it? I'm pretty sure I could do the installation myself, but would need someone nearby to coach me if I got stuck. Thanks for any input, suggestions and advice anyone may have to offer. Blessings, Lucinda

:thumbup: :iagree: :thumbup: Well said! Very well said!!! Lucinda

TT is the same price whether you buy from one of the very few retail stores that sell it, or if you buy it directly from them. You will find it on CBD.com and maybe save money if you have a coupon code for the shipping charges, but otherwise you will do well by just going to their website teachingtextbooks.com and ordering. The shipping is always free, and they give really great customer service. Blessings, Lucinda

I would recommend Artistic Pursuits as an overall art program that covers drawing, art history and more. But in addition, I've discovered some really great booklets that focus on drawing skills by a guy named Doug DuBosque. As an art teacher that teaches at a school and also to private students, I'm always looking for helpful ideas for lesson planning, and I've found that these books are really great for me to slip in now and then. I believe that as a homeschool mom with a kid that wants to develop specific skill, you could actually buy a few of these great books and have him/her work on them one-by-one during the school year. Here's a link to a whole list of DuBosque's books on Amazon. Let me know what you think. ;) Blessings, Lucinda

I'm an older mom who's raised two sets of children, and I used cloth diapers for my oldest three. What we all did back then was drop the poo in the toilet and flush. The softer stuff had to be swished in the toilet, wrung out and then the diaper was dropped into the diaper pail that was kept next to the toilet. (I was forever washing my hands and using lots of hand lotion!) Anyway, the trend then went to using cloth liners and that was a little easier. Both ways you would have to wash diapers every day or every other day unless you were blessed to have diaper service to your door. I was amazed at how quickly I got used to rinsing out poopie diapers when I was a new mom. As with anything, after a while you just don't think about it anymore. Well, that is unless they are extra, extra poopie. :tongue_smilie: But truly, it was just what you do when you are a mother. Now if my 80-year old mom read some of the posts on this thread, she'd laugh her head off and say that you all have it so easy and you don't even know it! How would you like to wash them all in a wash tub with a scrub board or use a wringer washing machine? We thought of disposable diapers as a luxury and most people could not justify the expense except for vacations or for newborns during the first few weeks, etc. But more and more people turned to them because they were so convenient. Oh, btw, did you know that the first disposable diapers didn't have those little tapes on them? You had to use diaper pins! Blessings, Lucinda

You do realize this sounds very condescending, right? As the mother of a very fine police officer I take offense at your statements. There are good cops and there are not so good cops. To group them all into one category is nothing but blatant prejudice. That makes as much sense to me as accusing you of being a dead beat dad because I've known a good number of men that are. Lucinda

Not positive, but I think it's something like this: If I'm wrong, someone please feel free to correct me. Oh, and the hearts. ♥♥ For Pete's sake, don't forget the hearts. ♥♥ Blessings, Lucinda

That is the exact point Marcia makes in the video I just posted about. Blessings, Lucinda

I just saw it, and thought I'd share on this thread because it seems like it may be helpful to some. The article has a really great video where Marcia unpacks a TOG planning session. It would be quite helpful for anyone new to TOG and feels overwhelmed with how to put it all together, making those buffet choices and matching the right assignments and activities to each student. Here is a link to the blogpost and video. Blessings, Lucinda

My FB friends and I have gotten a lot of mileage out of this one. The last sentence gets randomly quoted frequently. Blessings, Lucinda

I think of it as helping me understand my FB friend a little better, but on the most part I just ignore that type of post. It may be irritating, but in the big picture it isn't harming anyone. Most people's hearts are in the right place, so I figure I can just let it go. Now once in a great while I may borrow part of the quote, but I cut out the part that says, "If you agree, cut and paste this..." because I don't want to make people feel the way the op described. Blessings, Lucinda