Niki Anderson ~ Author & Speaker

     While newscasters report the controversy about wishing people “Merry Christmas” or the alternate, “Happy Holidays”, I’m baffled. I’ll accept well-wishes of any sort. If it’s a Monday, I even appreciate, “Happy housecleaning, Niki!”

     Let’s not miss the spirit of the season with petty diversions about greetings. Who isn’t in favor of merriment? Wish me Merry Christmas! And of course, the happiest of days are holy days! God grant us Happy Holidays!

     My goal is to mix up merriment with holiness, and scatter well-wishes toward all. Five questions I’ve asked myself may also help you to keep the days cheery and sacred.

1. Am I remembering those commonly forgotten at Christmas?

The unemployed, the widow, the homebound; I’ll be visiting one dear person in each of these categories.

2. Am I respecting my gift budget?

Leave the credit card at home. Among new items, I’m also giving a couple 2nd hand books, some personal treasures, and selecting less non-essentials and more single gifts of “just-what-you-wanted.”

3. Am I over-extending my energy at the expense of body and peace?

Not a holy way to celebrate. It’s possible, really, to bake, invite, visit, and gift people in January, if you run out of time by December 24th.

4. Have I read the Christmas story yet? Luke 2:1-20

Don’t wait until the Christmas worship service. Ponder the scriptures now and share new insights with others at those holy-day parties. (My own fresh reminder? Angels don’t lie!)

5. What gift have I given to Jesus?

It’s his birthday, not ours. Make sure Jesus gets the biggest present of all by giving to someone in need.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holy Days!

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14

     I've always had a conviction about solutions. God’s got’em.

       As a teen, I was taught to face conundrums of life with the attitude that God knows the pathway out of bad patches. On the lighter side, he led me out of a thorny one, just lately.

       Did you know? His solutions apply even for methods of removing wallpaper—specifically, its extrication from the east wall of Bob’s and my master bedroom.

       Traditional solutions failed to loosen the dated décor. For starters, I tugged gently at a corner curled away from a seam, and grimaced as the strip only narrowed, its two layers separating and clinging to the wallboard (wallflowers do that, don’t they!). It was the first of failed attempts.

       So I visited my DIY friend, Sherwin-Williams, and asked for advice. “You’ll need a scoring tool,” Sherwin explained. “It perforates the paper so your solution penetrates the backside and breaks down the adhesive.”

       With sweeping round circles, I scored the 8x16 feet wall, preparing it for a mix of hot water and vinegar that I sprayed generously. Yet n'ary a bubble of loosened paper gave me hope. The only result was an aqua stream of moisture weeping down the wall and dampening my carpet.

       The following day, I returned with my report to Sherwin, the Williams guy. He furrowed his brows. “Hmmmmm,” he sung, as he led me to an enzyme product nicknamed DIF (An abbreviation for difficult?). “This gel dissolves adhesive." Purportedly, that is. I laid out a twenty-dollar bill and left, armed with a container of blue gel and a good amount of my “God-has-a-solution” faith.

       I saturated the wall with DIF(ficulty) and waited the prescribed 20 minutes, only to discover the punctured paper remained tenacious in its grip. About that time, I addressed God. “You always have a solution, Lord. I’m wasting time, money, and energy. Whadda-I-do next?”

       I returned to Sherwin’s. “Try this DIF concentrate, and mix it triple strength. No charge,” he said. Off I went.

       Feeling sure the concentrate would be God’s solution, I waited again the recommended 20 minutes.

       To my dismay (and other emotions), the triple strength enzyme dried quickly and activated like a glue, not a solvent. "Hmmmm." I wasn't singing.

       Steam was the last option. I rented a heavy metal (not as in music) contraption. An ungainly, big and heavy, red metal container, with a long black hose, side-mounted glass tube and two sizes of flat steam dispensers. I suspect it's a relative of R2d2. Bob and I went to work.

       To our amazement, the sticky wallboard conceded at last to free the paper from its 15-year union with the pink and blue flowers on my wall! As it gave way with ease, Bob and I sighed and smiled, while thanking God for the right solution! At last.

       Finding solutions requires patience, counsel, work and optimism. But when God is leading the search, you’re sure to hit on the right solution, be it blue gel, or stubborn trust that clings to his love when life is DIF-ficult.

"BLESSED is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7

     I'm usually in the PINK. Only occasionally am I feelin’ GRAY.  But lately I've been thinkin' GREEN.

     What images does the color green bring to mind?

       A litre of Mountain Dew, the light that signals ‘go,’ a dollar bill, envy, inexperience, jade, Ireland, or the first sprout of spring?

     When I asked Myles, my cat, he answered with one word: “catnip.”

     But for us two-footed, globally responsible folks, thinking green means preserving the earth. Sure, I recycle aluminum, plastic, and glass. I use alternative shopping bags and fit my lamps with CFLs. But I’m not, however, pitching an environmental topic today.          

     Out of curiosty, I searched the Bible for the word green and here's what I found. Check out these seven references from Genesis to Revelation.

• “I give every green plants for food.” Genesis 1:30

• The righteous “will bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.” Psalm 92:14

• The tree planted by a river doesn’t fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. Jeremiah 17:8

• The beloved to the lover spoke, “our bed is green.” Song of Solomon 1:16 KJV

• Before feeding the five thousand, Jesus told the disciples to ask the crowds to “sit down…on the green grass.” Mark 6:39

• Jesus’ said to the women following him as he carried the cross, “For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:31

• In John's vision, an angel dispensed God’s judgment and “all the green grass was burned up.” Revelation 8:7

     Green symbolizes a variety of things in these verses: color, freshness, vitality, livelihood, readiness, comfort, peace, and favorable times.

     But my favorite green passage is the song composed by David, son of Jesse.

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.”

Psalm 23:1-3

     Recently, I've found reprieve in green pastures.

     When competing demands pull me every which way and I struggle to decide, or am fretful with anxiety, distracted by confusion, and suppose that more depends on me than on God, the Shepherd bids me to lie down in pastures of rest.

     Perhaps, like me, you need a break. God doesn’t need your service at the cost of your peace. Available in green pastures is the peacefulness of rest beside the quiet waters of the Shepherd's presence.

About Cats page: Topic this month is Petsitters

Upcoming Booksignings at:

Sat. Nov. 21, Tinman Art Gallery, 811 W. Garland, Spokane, 1:00 pm (View the extraordinary cat sculptures by Rhea Giffin and Virginia Carter)

Fri., Dec. 4, Hastings Book & Video, E. 29th Ave., 3 to 8:00 pm

Whiskers, Wit, and Wisdom is available as a download to your Kindle or Sony Reader at Amazon.com

     Saving the lives of 100 Africans thrilled my heart more than all that happened this past summer. An amazing feat? Yes, and I did it at no risk to my skin.

     In August, I stopped at a yard sale halfway through my bike ride. I positioned my kickstand, and surveyed the tables of trivia like a vulture circling above a fresh kill. I love a bargain.

     In an envelope at home were a couple twenties remaining from the stimulus check. Bob had said, "Designate what's left for yourself." I could bicycle home for the money.

     I'd forgotten about my little reserve until moments after spotting a velvet-lined chest of gold-trimmed silverware, complete with serving pieces for a shocking 20 dollars. For a couple years I'd envisioned this perfect match for the china I inherited from my mom.

     Understand that I already owned Mom's Reed and Barton sterling with extras ranging from gravy ladle to olive tongs. Oh, and I had a second-hand set in a different pattern I'd picked up for picnic and patio use. In another drawer, I had my everyday stainless, still in fair shape after 35 years of use and a few mishaps in the garbage disposal.

     Yet there before my longing eyes and my greedy heart was precisely what I wanted to complement the gold-trimmed dishes in the sideboard at home.

     I paused. My selfish desire was suddenly opposed by facts I'd learned from rock star Bono. Speaking to a satellite audience of thousands, Bono informed the healthy populous of listeners that it costs 20 cents for an inoculation that immunizes a woman or child against HIV Aids in Africa. That computes to five vaccines per dollar. Or the more startling equation of five lives per dollar to protect human beings from a fatal disease.

     I hate to confess it; I hesitated. A box of fancy forks, knives and spoons weighed against the livelihood of a fellow human being? I could go home, get the 20 dollars from the envelope, buy the silverware, and still give to World Vision for immunizations, but that wasn't the point. My decision needed to be a victory over self-interest.

     Despite my surprising reluctance, at the outbreak of my conflict between materialism and self-denial, I knew which side would win. I could ensure the lives of 100 people with 20 dollars or be the guilty owner of a fourth set of silverware.

     I peddled home smiling.

     A couple days later, the topic of yard sales came up while I sat for a haircut. The end of the conversation ended with this request from my hairdresser. "Don't tip me, Niki. Throw it in with your donation to World Vision."

     World Vision got a heftier tip than I normally give my girlfriend for trimming my tresses. We bumped up our lifesaving act to 150 people. From now on, when I handle a couple dimes I'll see a Kenyan waiting in line for a lifesaving injection.

     KA-CHING! The sound of coins landing in an antique vase that now serves as my coin bank. Every two dimes buys a cheap shot that saves a life.

"...continue to remember the poor." Galatians 2:10

World Vision - PO Box 9716 - Federal Way, WA 98063-9716 www.worldvision.org OR www.CureAfrica.org

   It's time to pluck immature peaches from my fruit-laden tree. However, I don't have a peach tree to thin.

     What I have are numerous projects and expectations, plus a bushel basket of peachy ideas to implement, suggestions in my journal to fulfill, paper stacks of lovely intentions, business options to explore, and a meowing cat begging to be brushed, every morning.

     In August when I visited my cousin's backyard garden, she placed in my hands a gift of two perfect peaches and placed in my heart a lesson in balance.

     "At a certain point, my peaches stopped growing," said Carol. "They were miniature and green, though plentiful. So I called a professional and asked, 'Is this right?'"

     "Remove half the fruit," I was told, "so those remaining will mature."

     "Picking 50% of my young produce felt brutal," Carol admitted. "But later, I reaped a tree full of large, delicious fruit. Without thinning the excess, I'd have grown under-developed, small, inedible peaches."

     My ears picked up on the peachy preachment Carol didn't realize she delivered. Too many activities, ongoing or potential, will weight my life, weaken the branches of my outreach, and prevent the maturity of all the fruit.

     Over-burdened limbs can't support the growing weight of too much fruit or supply sufficient nutrients to an overly large crop. The load will stunt development and none will reach their pink and yellow, firm and juicy ripeness.

     I got it. My branches were heavy. I needed to thin out some false hopes, unrealistic goals, and a few premature dreams.  

     Now the hard part. What activities do I cast aside? It's all fruit!

     What peaches should I doom? What great idea will I ignore and let someone with more time, better skills, greater passion, or special calling, nurture and bring to fruition?

     You may be wondering the same thing about yourself.

     I'm thoughtfully examining my lists and will pluck and toss a lot of plans and possibilities.

     Here are a few questions to help us decide which peaches to pluck.

1) Is the activity or commitment timely?

2) Will it employ your strongest talents?

3) Is it a constant stressor?

4) Can it wait?

5) Are its benefits worth the effort?

6) Is enthusiasm sufficient to sustain you until it's finished?

     If you're yet uncertain about what fruit to pluck, you can be certain of what to leave on the tree.

     Three things to keep in place always are self-care (exercise and nutrition), family relationships (care and fun), and daily fellowship with God (prayer and scripture). These peaches gotta stay. Oh, and you better brush the cat!

     Please leave me a comment. Tell me about your orchard.

"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life." Proverbs 11:30 NIV

MAKE RESERVATION FOR "Everything Cats":

   Click http://www.nikianderson.net/autographparty.htm

NEXT BOOK SIGNING:

   Hastings Book & Video, 101 Best Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID,

   Saturday, Sept. 12th; 1:00-5:00 pm

ABOUT CATS PAGE: Three of the real cats whose stories are told in Whiskers, Wit, and Wisdom are pictured at the bottom of the "About CATS" page here on my website if you wish to see them. The pictures in the new book were thoughtfully selected because they look much like the cats whose stories I told.  

A KIT-TEA: Spokane's own Brambleberry Cottage & Tea Shoppe is hosting Niki for a book signing and high tea on October 24th from 11:00a.m.-3:00p.m. by app't. for $18.00. Book purchase not required. A special tea blend called "Kit-tea" will be available for sale, also. Bring a can of cat food to receive a box for free. A portion of proceeds will pay for initial vaccines for a cat owned by a family in need.