An American with a heart for the nations.
"And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said, Here am I; send me!" -- Isaiah 6:8
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Found A Job, T-Shirts, & Good-Bye AOL!
There's nothing worse than looking for a job. No, wait. There's nothing worse than looking for a job after you found one, and then getting laid off after working only two weeks. Right before Christmas.
But in a way, getting laid off has been the best thing that's happend to me.
After two weeks of work, I wouldn't say I found my dream job. I won't name names, but it's a well known employer with semi-good benefits. However, the work is down-right strenuous and physically demanding. one day, after being outside, pounding steel in the rain I started to think that maybe I should just look around for other jobs. Maybe even apply to something else.
Maybe the Man upstairs had to open my eyes. After getting laid-off, suddenly that pick & shovel looks a lot more inviting. Fortunately, I have the possibility of returning as soon as there's an opening. I'll keep calling a work hot-line to check on openings.
Meanwhile, it's back to the temp agency. They found me a spot right across the street from the glass factory I worked at before I found my 2-week-job ! Instead of processing glass, I'm now making locks for a company called Supra. I tell Suzanne jokingly that I'm making the world a safer place by building a better lock! Hopefully I won't have to stay too long, and I'll return to my other job and it'll last more than a couple weeks.
The Apostle Paul was called to do some pretty amazing things. He boldly evangelized in places that never heard the gospel once. He was imprisoned, beaten, and suffered. He also worked his day job. The Bible doesn't promise us a life of ease once we become Christians. In fact, we are bound to encounter more hardships as a result of our faith. But, Paul never gave up his vocation, never gave up his mission, and continued preaching and reaching out to a lost generation. Even while on his mission, Paul worked as a tent-maker, so that no one would hold him up to scrutiny as though benefiting from evangelism. So, our contemporary attitude should be similar. Work is good, and the workman is worthy of his wages.
Anyway. When I started at the lock factory they told us that we couldn't wear t-shirts with certain logos. That's fine with me, since I really don't care for t-shirts advertising things I don't care about.
the list they came up with said no shirts with:
I only have a few t-shirts, and a couple of them are religious in nature. I won't wear them to work, but to lump them in the same catagory as being equally offensive as the forbidden topics just seems crazy. How can you say that a religious t-shirt is equally offensive as a shirt that contains profanity? This twisted logic is beyond me. In this time of political correctness, has our society become too sensitive?
Well, Thankfully there are better ways to being a good witness than wearing a t-shirt.
Today is my last day of FREE AOL internet access! I may not post for awhile, until I find something cheap again. Free is nice, but I'm tired of the slow connection on dial-up, and there are better services out there. Zaijian AOL!
Happy New Year!
Here we are at the threshold of another brand-spankin’ new year. And it feels like last year was such a whirlwind. I can’t believe it’s over.
My life is now divided into neat segments like B.C. and A.C. (Before China & After China) My life B.C. was like anyone else’s: work, pay the bills, go to church, raise children, and take a nice vacation every once in awhile. But when God calls you to go somewhere, He begins to work in your life in more ways you probably imagined. Well, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the things we enjoyed B.C., but life A.C. shows us we are constantly On Mission with God. What was once so important at the time pales in comparison to God’s greater glory, and what He ultimately has in store for all His children.
Never in my life did I think I would live in China for a year. I guess if I wanted to go somewhere to do some “mission oriented thing” I would have chosen a place a little environmentally nicer—Hawaii, Southern Europe, or some other place with palm trees and warm beaches. But the best thing we can do is make our plans, then give complete control over to Him who can do more than we can ever imagine.
It’s this point of surrender to Him that we are most useful to His plans & purpose. It’s great to be back in America, and I still want to keep myself open to His leading. Some Greek Dude named Aristotle once said that an unexamined life isn’t worth living. I’ll take it one-step farther and say that a life not given to Jesus is just plain sad and wasted.
This New Year I have several resolutions: play my guitar more, learn Spanish, and get back into God’s Word. Proverbs 3:21,22 “My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you.” This can only be found in God’s Word. And what an awesome life we can have once given to Him who gives all life!
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