One Man's Junk - Bruce Atchison

A friend at church gave me a CD-ROM more than a decade ago. He had no more use for it so he gave it to me. I found it to be extremely useful since I used Windows 98 on my PC at that time.

Though I don't have the key to unlock all the resources on this disk, the QuickVerse King James Version Bible is free to read. I've found it most useful in finding verses which I need for my blogs and books.

For example, suppose I want to find all the verses with "forbear" in them. I type the word or phrase into the search box and all the verses with what I requested show up in a dialogue box. I can select just one or all the verses and send them to the clipboard or the printer. It can also create a file with the texts in it.

This function is handy for copying and pasting direct quotes into documents. Instead of having to type each letter from a print Bible, I merely use the copy and paste functions of NotePad to insert the text into my writing. In fact, I can even have the QuickVerse program insert quotes around the verses I choose.

And though it won't work in Windows 7 or newer, I use it on an old PC with Windows XP on it. The local library gave me that computer and I use it to do all of my writing. It isn't connected to the Internet either so I don't feel the temptation to check e-mail or what's happening on social media.

Since we need to be good stewards of what we have, we shouldn't turn down out-of-date equipment and resources. I've certainly benefited from discarded items and I believe we all need to do the same.

Fair Well MS DOS - Bruce Atchison

Like many older folks, I began using MS DOS back in the early nineties. Learning its commands was difficult but I managed to do so. At the time, I bought WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS because my IBM clone didn't have enough memory to run Windows 3.1. There also weren't screen readers capable of operating in Windows at that time.

My old PCs and WordPerfect served me well for more than fifteen years. With both tools, I wrote many freelance articles and my three books.

Until XP, I felt that Windows was too unstable to rely upon, especially Windows 98. It was the worst operating system I ever used.

Recently, I find myself relying more on Windows-based programs for my writing. This is because converting from ASCII text to .DOC or .RTF files is a bit of a chore. I had to spend time tidying up improper carriage returns and line breaks. Even WordPerfect 12 for Home was somewhat clunky, in my estimation of course.

As time goes by, I find myself using old technology less and less. I now write with a Windows-based program called Jarte and I store files on USB drives rather than floppy disks. Since the new PCs come without floppy drives, I use an external drive if I do need to read from that old format.

In a similar way, I'm learning new things about our Lord. I've unlearned old ideas which I was taught at a toxic house church. I now know the heavenly Father much better than I once did. This has made a powerful difference in how I pray and study. God isn't the miserly being I once assumed he was. The Holy Spirit is a person and not, as the wicked house church leader taught, composed of departed saints. And Jesus isn't alone in the Godhead as that blasphemous leader claimed.

I now understand that  providence is far more miraculous than the miracles Jesus and his followers performed. So many divergent factors must line up in order for God's will to be done.

Though I still love MS DOS and WordPerfect 5.1, I have grown to enjoy the new technology. In the same way, I no longer view God as somebody to whom I must beg for blessings. Neither do I worry about having enough faith power to satisfy him. Just knowing the real characters of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a blessing.

WRITING IN THE SUNLIT LAND - Bruce Atchison

It has been a dream of mine for years. As I sat indoors on many beautiful days, I wished I could sit in my yard and write. At long last, I bought a laptop.

I must admit that it's difficult for me to get used to a laptop. Having began my computer experience with MS DOS, typing in commands seems more convenient than moving a mouse pointer around.

I eventually surrendered to Windows in 2000 when I bought a new computer. It had Windows 98, an operating system designed by a masochist. Freezes and crashes were a common occurrence as I struggled to learn this new system.

How I wish I'd switched to Windows XP sooner than 2008. It worked much better than 98 for starters. Though the command prompt was hidden in a nested directory, I made a shortcut to the desktop so I could have easy access  to it. It was most useful for scrounging files from old CD-ROMs which a friend sent me. I've now amassed a large folder of images for my blog. I also found other useful file types.

Now I'm exploring Windows 8.1 and my new laptop. Though I'm slow when it comes to adopting new technology, like the cell phone a friend gave me last year, I expect to find many new features which I should have availed myself of years ago.

My computer experiences have also given me an understanding of people who feel reluctant to become a Christian. After all, it's a totally different operating system from that of the world.  My hope is that God will work through me to help those reluctant souls to see the benefits of being a follower of Christ.