January 6 – “Service Pack”

Out of the vast array of knowledge hidden away in my brain regarding the realm of computers, I decided to try to figure out a way to have the words to songs available for our home group.  Actually, I have tried several times and been unsuccessful.  It seems the version of powerpoint on there couldn't read the files of songs that I saved on the other laptop.  Strangely enough, it still couldn't when I tried this time.  But I had an idea.  It was a strange one, and pretty much a totally unfamiliar concept with my entire breed (that would be males).  I pushed the "Help" button.  It directed me online to the internet web help desk.  Hey, don't those guys know everything?  I was encouraged.  As long as I didn't have to talk to anyone in India or Pakistan, I could say I figured this thing out "on my own."    To my amazement, the exact same error message appeared on the first set of possible responses, so I quickly jumped there.  Of course it took page after page of saying the same thing in PC and MAC talk, but there it was.  The first thing I had to do was see if this version of Microsoft Word had received all the updates.  Now, I didn't really care of all the security things were there.  It was doing what I needed it to do.  But maybe, just maybe, I would get lucky and there would be an update somewhere in there that would teach the program how to read the language of the future.  Well, of its future, anyway.  The stuff I needed it to read was all done on Office 2007.  Still old news, I know.    So I downloaded the "service pack number three to Office 2003" program onto the laptop.  It took the expected 15 or 20 minutes.  I remember those service packs to Windows XP that took forever to load.  Then I had to restart.  And then … Amazing.  Now it can read the powerpoints I created back when I had office 2007 on the laptop that had the monitor that died.  Now all I had to do was figure out how to switch the screens over so I could use two monitors at once.  The old laptop was simple.  All I had to do was push one button on the keyboard and it switched over.    Wait a minute.  Another idea began germinating in my head.  If I could remember which button that was, maybe I could hook up the old laptop to the monitor of the now-dead desktop and have access to those file again.  I plugged in the monitor and plugged in the computer.  The battery was dead from sitting for so long.  It slowly whirred to life.  I took a chance and pushed one of the keyboard options, and pow! - it came up on the desktop monitor.  That at least gave me access to whatever was on the laptop.  But more importantly it allowed Chris and me both to be online at the same time.  Chris said she had gotten spoiled by having that option, so that will make her very happy.  And when I load her solitaire game on that computer she will be in hog heaven.  It looks strange, and it feels weird to type at one keyboard and look at a different monitor.  But it serves the purpose for the time being.   If only it were so easy with living life.  Load a service pack program.  Plug in a new monitor and push random buttons until it pops to life once again.  I don't know.  I'm more impressed with the way Jesus did it.  Less need for customer support if he lives inside of you instead of in a foreign country.  Automatic updates – for eternity.  Yeah.  I still have to decide about which new computer to get.  But I think I'll stick with Jesus with Jesus on the life stuff.    1 Peter 1:3-5 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."   Father, thank you for being the ultimate in service packs.  Amen.