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Greetings to each of you,
Since my computer will remain off on
Easter, you are being sent your ecard greeting early.
I have been thinking of adding something different to our
Easter meal prayer this year. Instead of all of us going right to “Amen”
after “through Christ our Lord,” I will interject “I hear (or I am told) He
is risen.” To which others who wish will respond with the traditional,
“He is risen indeed.” I will then add, “This is Good News for everyone.
We should let people know.” At that point we will finish saying grace
with our “Amen.”
Some might see it as silly to bother with such, but I think
we really need to acknowledge the Good News of the resurrection when we gather
this day. We need to emphasize that it is meant for everyone, not just
those who sit in church pews on Sundays (or Saturdays). I think it is
important, especially in our country right now, to proclaim that the resurrection
story is not just another us and them situation. It is an all-inclusive
message of redemption. Easter is indeed a day of Good News for every
one of us, whether you currently believe it, disbelieve it, ignore it, or
could simply care less. God did something spectacular on what we call
Easter morning (and, of course, on the day we call “Good Friday”). Our
belief, lack thereof, or total indifference, does not change that in the slightest.
It will ultimately impact every single one of us.
Besides being a day of Good News, Easter is also one of
our holidays of gathering together. Most of us share a meal with family
and friends, or perhaps spend it serving others in the joy of His resurrection.
As with Thanksgiving and Christmas, each year I try to think of those we know
who might be alone on Easter, so Donna and I can extend an invitation to join
us. Often, it is not until later that I remember someone else I could
have called or emailed. I decided I can go a long way toward solving
that problem right now. So, this is your invitation. If you are
not going to be with other friends, family, or serving somewhere, you are
invited to join us. Our entire life together, Donna and I have had
an “open table” policy for each of the three major holidays mentioned.
You need not be a long time or close personal friend to come. The invitation
is genuine for each of you. There is no need to celebrate Easter eating
alone, except by personal choice (bad choice
 by the way). Our holiday meals are around 2:00 in the afternoon.
All I ask is that you let us know no later than tomorrow (Saturday) evening
that you will be joining us. This allows us to gauge food amounts and
how many places we will need to be setting around the table. Since I
would not see an email until Monday morning at this point, please call
our home number (517 627-3462) and leave an RSVP message (only for a “yes.”
I do not need to know if you will be elsewhere
). Ham will be the meat on the table, but there is never a shortage
of other stuff if ham (or meat in general) is not your thing.
Again, Happy Easter. May God’s many blessings flow
abundantly into your life on this day and always. Be well. Enjoy.
God’s peace,
william
Acts 5:29
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General Notes:
My computer is usually kept turned off from sundown on Friday (beginning of
the Sabbath) until very late on Sunday (end of the Lord's Day). Therefore,
I typically do not see, nor have the opportunity to act on, reply to, or send,
emails except on weekdays. Plus, I normally only check emails once each weekday
morning, so later emails are not seen until the next day (or Monday if sent
on a Friday). Please keep this in mind when deciding whether to email or phone.
I am not on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media site. In addition
to creating and maintaining the wsharing.com website (have you visited it
lately?), I maintain one personal email list for sending information, updates,
and various greetings. This list, created in 2016 as a simplification endeavor,
combined a number of prior lists (atow/CBTC work list which was formerly the
poet’s circle, Family & Friends email list, our Christmas card list, my birthday
ecard list, and other items). It is used for holiday greetings or other home
life related communications, but also keeps you apprised of basic information
from a touch of william and Cherokee Bill's Teaching & Trade Center, as well
as updates, changes, and new additions to my wsharing.com (.org and .net)
website. While everyone receives all emails sent, the subject line of each
email clearly identifies what it relates to, so you can easily decide if it
is of interest to you. Those on my list also normally receive a birthday greeting
by email. If you are receiving my other emails but not a birthday ecard, I
probably do not have your birth date in my files. I would very much like to
acknowledge your birthday, so please email me the date. This single combined
list is my (and Donna’s) own separate list and unrelated to the T&SC corporate
list (still called the poet’s circle). Simply reply to my email address
to request addition to or removal from william’s list.
I would like to emphasize that if, for any reason, you feel the need to
be removed from my list, this is fine, just let me know. All I ask is that
you please not block or designate my emails as 'spam.' They are
not that. Doing so could sidetrack them for others who wish to receive my
emails. I have never sent spam and never will. If you are on my list,
it is because you requested it, or our prior contact or relationship seemed
to deem it appropriate. Since there is but one list now, however, also please
be aware removal eliminates all general emails, including Christmas and holiday
greetings, family updates, any direct sharing of my photography or poetry,
and virtually all informational emails.
Helping to identify and stop spam: All emails from me clearly state
the topic in the subject line. If there are any links, the complete URL is
shown and the reason for the link described in the body of the letter. If
I am including any attachments, they will be identified and mentioned in the
body of the letter as well. When mailing to my list, I always use the blind
carbon copy (Bcc) line so your email address does not appear in the email.
My address books are kept only in my computer and not online anywhere. I do
not forward petitions, lists, or similar items that show addresses, as these
can be bogus attempts by spammers to collect them.
If you add me to a list of yours, or whenever you are sending me multiple
recipient emails, I would appreciate it if you would please use my wsharing.com@gmail.com
email address. It is my most public address.
If you are replacing a working computer system or laptop with a newer one,
live locally enough to drop your old one off at the Center (or have it picked
up), and would like to donate it to my a touch of william outreach rather
than try to find where to recycle or dispose of the old one, I freely place
functioning used systems (Windows XP or later operating systems) with my slide
shows into nature centers, museums, and other places where they are desired.
Call me (627-7366) if you have a system or laptop to donate.
“Overcome evil with good,
falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” - Peace Pilgrim
“You can show your love to others by not wishing that they should
be better Christians.” - Francis of Assisi
“We must bear patiently not being good . . . and not being thought good.” - Francis of Assisi
www.wsharing.com
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