Tag: blog

Keeping Connected

Photos show two earlier ways I stayed connected with family and friends. Some kids now don’t know how to use a rotary phone, and they learned the position of keys on a computer instead of a typewriter. Years ago in Mississippi when the parsonage had a party-line connection, it was a rotary phone. And we couldn’t take the phone with us when we left the house. Now we have access to people via cell phones in our pockets. Getting in touch with someone can be easy. I’m now typing on my computer and get to style this message as I see it on the screen. I don’t have to shift to the next line; it’s done automatically with my settings. Corrections are easier also.

As you can tell I grew up with these ancient tools for the purpose of communication. Now, even though it’s easier, it’s often less frequent and messages are quickly sent and replied. The postal carrier has fewer hand-written or typed letters to deliver, because I’m getting in touch with people in more modern ways.

With all this at my fingertips, I still want to stay connected with family and friends. That’s why I named my blog “Connections” (www.abcoker.blog). It’s that important to me. It’s why I write posts on my blog and collect email subscribers and put a new post on my Facebook page. I want people to read what I write, and I want responses so I can know what’s happening in their lives. This is the age I’m living in, and it’s good.

Recently, in an attempt to get more listeners to Bill’s podcast, Words of Endearment with Bill Coker, I decided on extra promotion methods. I didn’t know it would be fun. First, I had help from a fellow writer who knows her way around podcast tools. In answer to my question, she instructed me and then encouraged me when I applied one method. It meant copy and paste, a favorite I’ve used in other ways. After I wrote about a new episode of Bill’s podcast, I copied it to my Facebook page and added the link with the icon.

Next I used my email server, Kit, wrote a broadcast, and attached the link and icon. Easy. Kit emailed this to my subscribers. What happened next was the fun part. I first heard from a former member of a church Bill pastored while he was in graduate school. She was 17 years old when we were there, and the Lord saved her after one of Bill’s sermons. She took the time to contact me and it was sheer joy. The next email came from our nephew in Louisiana. Then I received an email from a graduate of Asbury College who had gone with “Dr. Coker” to Israel with other students. When she listened to the podcast episode, she noticed the music score at the beginning and end: “And Can It Be?” Her memory connected with how they sang that Charles Wesley hymn each evening as they got ready for bed.

I’ve also received brief emails from folks, letting me know they are ready to listen to the podcast. This simple promotion has connected me with people from our past, as well as those with whom I’m currently in touch. Sometimes I have to ask for a bit more information to connect with past friends, for it’s been a while since we’ve written.

All is good! God is good! All the time! I thank God for keeping me connected in this now age.

It Will Be Different

Becky’s homemade stockings are hung again for 2024. Photo taken in 2017.

Christmas will be different this year, and it’s not only because Bill has gone Home. Last Christmas I noticed Bill watched others open gifts instead of attending to his own. After Becky’s special dinner, Bill tried out all her sweet selections. Later we sat and gazed at the decorated tree. This year Grandpa’s stocking will not be hung with the others. That’s as it should be.

Gearhart family plans are different. Chrissa, Leo, and Joana will leave for Brazil, South America, on Christmas Eve to visit Leo’s mother and family. Michael and Morgan continue to live in California, and it’s a long trip for a short visit. Stephen and Emily will join us for the day. Added is another change. Paul’s mother, Ruth, in Illinois, now lives with her daughter. While Bev and her husband visited family in California, Becky spent a month with Ruth. That meant Becky was not here for early Christmas decorating. Paul’s main job is outdoor decorations and they are special. He put up our tree with lights, but we’re saving the ornaments for Becky so she can connect with memories. I set out their nativity display along with arranging manger scenes in my living room.

The rest of my family will celebrate in their own settings, scattered in other states. My family also has its changes. My two sisters and I are now widows, and we enjoyed a September visit together in Mobile, Alabama, my birthplace. We shared past memories and made new ones. My children and grandkids live in OH, PA, MO, TN, IN, KY, CA, MD (now in Japan). I send Christmas cards to family in eight different states. I love sending and receiving Christmas cards and letters. It’s a great way to connect with friends we’ve made over the years.

While family plans are different this year, the “reason for the season” remains clear. The story of Jesus’ birth is never worn out. I learned recently that the manger in Bethlehem was made of stone rather than the wood we see in Nativity sets. Shepherds kept their lambs in mangers, safely wrapped and ready for sacrifice. Mary wrapped her son Jesus, our sacrificial Lamb, and laid Him in a manger. In this I rejoice, for Christ has made the difference in my life. I trust it’s true for you.