ink

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The Case Of The Disappearing App

We all know what disappearing ink is like, but I have an app on my phone that sort of behaved the same way.

When I was a kid it was fun to try to make a secret message that no one could read, except the person you wanted to get the message because they had the formula to see what was written on the paper.  

Disappearing ink is made with lemon juice and to read it you need to get the paper close to a heat source. Then what was written in invisible ink can be seen.

There are also other ways to get ink to disappear. For instance, over time, in certain light ink starts to fade. 

On the wall of my office hangs my ordination certificate, signed by the six men who interviewed me and agreed that I should be ordained. That was almost thirty years ago and the signatures on that certificate are quite faded. In fact, they will likely disappear completely in the next few years. 

The proof that I’m a Reverend will be gone. I may have to retire. 

Ink doesn’t last forever. I shouldn’t expect more of it. 

But the other day, six pages of notes suddenly disappeared on me – notes that I’d made in writing my sermon. 

I probably have a peculiar way of studying, but I stand and make notes on a white board. When the white board is full, I use an app on my phone to scan the contents of the white board and turn them into a PDF. 

Then I erase  the whiteboard and start writing more notes. 

By the time I’ve finished making my notes, which I do over three days, they are all saved into my app as a PDF. I then refer to that PDF on my tablet as I write my sermon. 

Well, this week I opened the app to view my scanned notes, and the app opened as if it had never been used before. There was a splash screen and then some “let’s get started” slides. I thought that was strange, but I also figured that perhaps the app had updated during the night. 

But when I went to find my scanned whiteboard images, there was nothing. 

Nada. None. Nowhere to be found. They just all disappeared. … and I had no intention of making them secret notes! 

I searched the app for a way to get them back. Nothing. 

I started an online chat with a representative from the app, but couldn’t help but notice how much time was ticking by. 

I should have been well into writing my sermon, but I hadn’t started. Instead, I spent two hours trying to recover my disappearing scans. 

In the end, the person I was chatting with had to pass my problem off to more technical employees who would get back to me sometime after they investigated my problem.

I couldn’t wait for that to happen, so my notes were lost to me in writing my sermon. 

… I still haven’t heard back from the company. I’ve finished writing my sermon, so I don’t really need them, but there is still no sight of my disappearing notes!

Here’s the thing: Guilt can be disappearing on us. You might think that’s a good thing – it is and it isn’t. Guilt serves a purpose to draw us back to God in repentance – that’s good. But if we don’t act on that guilt, it begins to fade and will completely disappear, leaving us in our sin and drifting away from God – that’s not good. Don’t let guilt disappear. Act on it and draw close to God. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you let disappear that you want to get back? Leave your comments below.

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I Wish My Printer Could Talk

Last week my printer stopped working. A red light came on indicating there was a serious problem.

360 printer

My printer is not that old so I was a little upset thinking that I might have to replace it. If you’ve had to replace a printer, or even purchase ink or toner for a printer, you’re probably having the same gulping reaction right now that I had when that red light came on.

Now I didn’t panic – I know there are things you can do to trick a printer into extracting ink on a page beyond its normal capabilities.

If it’s a laser printer, you can take the toner cartridge out and shake it from side to side, and that usually extends your printing ability for at least another hundred pages or so.

If it’s an inkjet printer, the best trick is just to buy another printer because you will pay more for replacement ink than you will for a new printer!

We have a colour laser printer; I really like it, but it’s more complicated than a plain monochrome printer. When the red light came on, unfortunately it didn’t speak up for itself and tell me exactly what was wrong.

In the Bible God caused Balaam’s donkey to speak, to inform Balaam about serious danger ahead. … It didn’t matter how long I looked at that red light or abused the buttons on the machine, no word came forth to tell me what was wrong!

I had to resort to the manual, which of course was not printed, though you might think that a company that makes printers would print their manual.

I found the manual online and looked up troubleshooting. It was a pretty weak troubleshooting section because it didn’t seem to cover the red light problem I was having.

I had to resort to google. I typed in my question and it was there that I found the solution to my problem.

My printer doesn’t just have toner cartridges that need to be replaced when they are empty; my printer also has a toner waste container that needs to be replaced when it’s full.

Get that – the printer has you coming and going. It’s like double dipping in the printer world!  They charge for toner AND they charge to take the residue away.

What I needed to purchase was a new toner waste container before my printer would work again.

I have lots of toner; I can print for another half a year or more before I will need to replace any.  But I couldn’t print because I had to remove the waste the toner leaves behind.

Once I found that out, I was off to the store. I found a container that looked just like mine except the number was different and it seemed bigger. I looked harder and found the right one.

That’s right, the one I needed was smaller and ten dollars more! Figures.

Here’s the thing:  Life can be complicated, difficult to figure out. Often we try our own solutions (tricks) to get us back on track again. Some solutions may work for a little while. But when a red light shows up in your life the best thing to do is investigate with God what the root issue is that needs to be solved. Let Him reveal that to you and help you find the right solution.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you tried to solve yourself rather than seek God’s help? Leave your comment below.