and really, when are my thoughts not random?
First up, it has been forever and a day since my last post. But things have been stupid busy. Work especially. The past two weeks at work most especially.
Which makes me remember one thing: if a decision you make has a direct affect on me, and I express frustration at the situation but not you, and you de-friend me, I find that funny. Thank you for making something frustrating funny instead.
I have friends who are at Catalyst right now. I was pretty jealous this morning, and then it felt like God literally spoke to me and said "There's nothing for you there this year." Fair enough. Not that I wouldn't hear anything encouraging or challenging, but that I don't need to be there right now.
Jars of Clay's new album The Shelter is amazing. I still have an idea for a video to their song "Headphones" off of their last album The Long Fall Back to Earth. If you've never listened to THAT album, do yourself a favor and pick it up. It was the best album I heard that year by far, and I can still listen to it all the way through and smile.
About 6 weeks ago I did something I had all but sworn I would never do: I started training for a marathon. A good friend of mine has run several marathons and kept bugging me about trying it. The group he is leading was about to start training for our local (and awesome) marathon, so I decided to give it one shot. I won't say that I did well that first run/walk, but I got further than I thought I could. So now I'm in, and running 3 times a week. You have to know something: I used to HATE running. But it's been a fun way to get back into shape. Thanks to that and cutting back on calories (I entered a weight loss competition at work, just to get motivated), I've lost over 11lbs in the last 6 weeks! I'm not doing so well on the weight loss this week, though... did I mention it's been crazy at work?
I need to make a super-awesome playlist for a 5K. I have one upcoming, which will be my first 5K (even though I usually run that far on my mid-week runs), but I need to craft an entire playlist for awesomeness purposes.
Hey, maybe I can get sponsored by Nike someday... sorry, I just lol'ed at myself!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
A little pinch
I don't usually post political thoughts on my blog because they can be very polarizing. I did have a post about the last Presidential election, but I took it down shortly after the election. It was just my thoughts and I didn't want it to get in the way of other things I had to say.
I'm noticing a loose parallel, though. You may not feel that this is true, and you might even vehemently disagree with me. But just think about it.
(Disclaimer: I'm writing this quickly and from memory, so if you see any errors please put them in the comments and I will try to fix them later - sorry)
Greece is a country in dire trouble. They have spent themselves into such a hole that the country is in danger of becoming insolvent. So they have asked for help from the European Union and the World Bank. In order to get this help, they are going to have to make some drastic cuts - otherwise other countries would simply be giving Greece more money to continue spending at an unsustainable rate. Kind of like giving someone who is about to go bankrupt money to pay their credit card bills without watching them cut up the credit card.
Some of the most drastic cuts are to government workers. Now, on average (and this is true for many countries) a government worker makes more money and has better benefits than a private industry worker. For instance, there are some government workers in Greece who are paid monthly, but they are paid 14 monthly paychecks a year. So the Greek government tells them that their pay will be cut to 12 monthly paychecks a year (you know, monthly meaning once a month and all). So what do the workers do? They riot and burn down a bank with three people still inside!
Now, no one wants to even go any amount of time without a raise, much less be told that you can keep your job, but only for less money. But murdering people over it?
Now to switch storylines.
In New Jersey, the new Governor is in a massive political fight. New Jersey doesn't have enough money for it's budget. Cuts are being made. One proposed cut was for a one year salary freeze for teachers and freezing aid to schools. Now, any cuts will be met with resistance. And proposing cuts to teachers and education seems like a move only a crazy man would make. But the budget is $2.2 billion short. And the pension fund is $90 billion behind. Something has to change.
Where is the parallel? We have people (who are understandably upset over not getting a raise, possibly losing their jobs, and seeing benefit cuts) jokingly asking God to kill Gov. Christie. Really?
No one wants their job to be the one that is targeted for reduction. But if money is to be saved, it has to be someone's. My concern is that the root issue in both Greece and New Jersey is that we have groups of people who are used to their jobs being protected at any cost. But the cost may simply be too high right now.
I have had to cut employee's hours before because of money issues. I have seen layoffs before. Believe me, those decisions are not easy. But sometimes they are necessary. Teachers in New Jersey get (on average) a 4% raise every year and pay NONE of their own health costs. Are they underpaid? Almost certainly. Do they need to face cuts anyway? Yes.
Let me demonstrate a different attitude for you. There were looming layoffs at a job once. No one knew whose job was going to be eliminated. I saw one lady offer to be laid off instead of the employees who worked for her. I saw a man offer to switch jobs so that his position could be eliminated, but someone wouldn't have to lose a job. Everyone was willing to evaluate their responsibilities to reduce cost so that no one else would go home jobless.
No one used death threats or burned the building down.
I'm noticing a loose parallel, though. You may not feel that this is true, and you might even vehemently disagree with me. But just think about it.
(Disclaimer: I'm writing this quickly and from memory, so if you see any errors please put them in the comments and I will try to fix them later - sorry)
Greece is a country in dire trouble. They have spent themselves into such a hole that the country is in danger of becoming insolvent. So they have asked for help from the European Union and the World Bank. In order to get this help, they are going to have to make some drastic cuts - otherwise other countries would simply be giving Greece more money to continue spending at an unsustainable rate. Kind of like giving someone who is about to go bankrupt money to pay their credit card bills without watching them cut up the credit card.
Some of the most drastic cuts are to government workers. Now, on average (and this is true for many countries) a government worker makes more money and has better benefits than a private industry worker. For instance, there are some government workers in Greece who are paid monthly, but they are paid 14 monthly paychecks a year. So the Greek government tells them that their pay will be cut to 12 monthly paychecks a year (you know, monthly meaning once a month and all). So what do the workers do? They riot and burn down a bank with three people still inside!
Now, no one wants to even go any amount of time without a raise, much less be told that you can keep your job, but only for less money. But murdering people over it?
Now to switch storylines.
In New Jersey, the new Governor is in a massive political fight. New Jersey doesn't have enough money for it's budget. Cuts are being made. One proposed cut was for a one year salary freeze for teachers and freezing aid to schools. Now, any cuts will be met with resistance. And proposing cuts to teachers and education seems like a move only a crazy man would make. But the budget is $2.2 billion short. And the pension fund is $90 billion behind. Something has to change.
Where is the parallel? We have people (who are understandably upset over not getting a raise, possibly losing their jobs, and seeing benefit cuts) jokingly asking God to kill Gov. Christie. Really?
No one wants their job to be the one that is targeted for reduction. But if money is to be saved, it has to be someone's. My concern is that the root issue in both Greece and New Jersey is that we have groups of people who are used to their jobs being protected at any cost. But the cost may simply be too high right now.
I have had to cut employee's hours before because of money issues. I have seen layoffs before. Believe me, those decisions are not easy. But sometimes they are necessary. Teachers in New Jersey get (on average) a 4% raise every year and pay NONE of their own health costs. Are they underpaid? Almost certainly. Do they need to face cuts anyway? Yes.
Let me demonstrate a different attitude for you. There were looming layoffs at a job once. No one knew whose job was going to be eliminated. I saw one lady offer to be laid off instead of the employees who worked for her. I saw a man offer to switch jobs so that his position could be eliminated, but someone wouldn't have to lose a job. Everyone was willing to evaluate their responsibilities to reduce cost so that no one else would go home jobless.
No one used death threats or burned the building down.
Monday, May 10, 2010
What kind of week has it been...
Well.
I told my boss the other day that I wouldn't be so stressed out if I only had to deal with one emergency at a time. But life doesn't happen that way, does it?
Almost every workday in the last two weeks has felt like an episode of 24: either an emergency or the consequences of an emergency must be juggled and dealt with as quickly as possible before the situation spirals out of control. But it's not like I could simply drop what I was doing to deal with the new emergency, because I was still resolving the last emergency. All while trying to do the job tasks that have to be done everyday. And training someone, because one of our office has been out very sick the entire time. There would be a point every day where I would simply stare at my desk trying to triage all the tasks that I had to take care of immediately.
It's almost funny now, because the story doesn't end there. All week I fought insomnia. On one particular day, a truck driver decided to call my cellphone at 2:45 in the morning because he couldn't find our facility. Why he didn't call his dispatcher, I don't know. It took everything I had not to tell him off! He said "All they gave me is an address." I wanted to tell him to buy a map. Anyway, I never got back to sleep. So I decided to work a half day, go home at lunch, catch a nap, and live to fight another day. Quite literally 5 minutes before I was planning on leaving someone walked into my office with a huge problem that I needed to handle. I just shook my head.
Days like these offer my worst temptation for questioning God. I'm tired, harried, and using every ounce of mental effort I own to just keep my head above water. I want to ask why God couldn't space things out just a bit; after all, some days I'm really not busy at all. Is it too much to ask for one fire to fight at a time?
I managed to sneak away for just a couple minutes to grab lunch before jumping back into the fray. And that's when I got a phone call. One of my best friends called just too say that he had been praying for me but wanted to know if he could pray for something in particular. That's why I don't believe in coincidences. That timing is just too perfect. I think I was at the end of my rope. I was really ready to just let God have it when He extended a hand.
I told my friend a few days later that he saved my week. It's not like my week got any better. He just helped me with some perspective. And the realization that someone else is praying for you is powerful.
I would encourage you to pray for your friends. Pray often. And occasionally let them know about it. It can't hurt. Drop them a card, send a text, call them and tell them that you are thinking about them and prayed to God for them today. Isn't that what family is all about?
I told my boss the other day that I wouldn't be so stressed out if I only had to deal with one emergency at a time. But life doesn't happen that way, does it?
Almost every workday in the last two weeks has felt like an episode of 24: either an emergency or the consequences of an emergency must be juggled and dealt with as quickly as possible before the situation spirals out of control. But it's not like I could simply drop what I was doing to deal with the new emergency, because I was still resolving the last emergency. All while trying to do the job tasks that have to be done everyday. And training someone, because one of our office has been out very sick the entire time. There would be a point every day where I would simply stare at my desk trying to triage all the tasks that I had to take care of immediately.
It's almost funny now, because the story doesn't end there. All week I fought insomnia. On one particular day, a truck driver decided to call my cellphone at 2:45 in the morning because he couldn't find our facility. Why he didn't call his dispatcher, I don't know. It took everything I had not to tell him off! He said "All they gave me is an address." I wanted to tell him to buy a map. Anyway, I never got back to sleep. So I decided to work a half day, go home at lunch, catch a nap, and live to fight another day. Quite literally 5 minutes before I was planning on leaving someone walked into my office with a huge problem that I needed to handle. I just shook my head.
Days like these offer my worst temptation for questioning God. I'm tired, harried, and using every ounce of mental effort I own to just keep my head above water. I want to ask why God couldn't space things out just a bit; after all, some days I'm really not busy at all. Is it too much to ask for one fire to fight at a time?
I managed to sneak away for just a couple minutes to grab lunch before jumping back into the fray. And that's when I got a phone call. One of my best friends called just too say that he had been praying for me but wanted to know if he could pray for something in particular. That's why I don't believe in coincidences. That timing is just too perfect. I think I was at the end of my rope. I was really ready to just let God have it when He extended a hand.
I told my friend a few days later that he saved my week. It's not like my week got any better. He just helped me with some perspective. And the realization that someone else is praying for you is powerful.
I would encourage you to pray for your friends. Pray often. And occasionally let them know about it. It can't hurt. Drop them a card, send a text, call them and tell them that you are thinking about them and prayed to God for them today. Isn't that what family is all about?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Remember
My birthday is Monday.
I will be 31.
I probably won't do anything of consequence that day.
I just found out that January 11th (my birthday) is also Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
I used to be a title abstractor. That meant that I traveled to courthouses and researched property for companies that were refinancing homes. Usually it was pretty easy, but if I had to research a farm or something difficult, where the title did not get out of family for generations, the search could easily stretch back into the 1800s. I remember that a co-worker once brought a copy of a deed into the office. He had found it in Lowndes County, Georgia while looking at a property. Included in the deed was a "negro woman" with here children. I was shocked. I was holding in my hands a copy of a legal document detailing the sale of human beings just as coldly as the land that was included.
This problem is just as real today.
Please don't be naive or turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the fact that humans are bought and sold every day in this world, and possibly much closer to home than you think. And this slavery often takes the form of sexual slavery, in which human beings (often VERY young girls) are abducted and then sold to brothels.
You can help.
You may have seen or heard about International Justice Mission on tv.
Please visit their website and see how you can help fight this injustice that plagues our world.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than to fight for other's freedom.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
::throws up hands::
I've been trying to upload videos of our kitchen remodeling project, but it's not going well. My internet provider, who shall go nameless (but is the same company that provides the cell service for my iPhone), has not made me very happy lately. It took a week just to get internet after they promised it, and now it doesn't want to let me upload videos. I shall valiantly press forward and find a way anyway.
On a complete side note, it's been a crazy month. I don't know why that surprises me anymore - it's always crazy in December!
Our worship team sang in a couple programs, which is fun but time-consuming and stressful to prepare for. And it didn't help that I've been fighting a cold for a week now.
We weren't sure how big a Christmas we were going to be able to do because of the house purchase, but that all worked out, so now we've been trying to get everything ready for Daniel's birthday and Christmas and an open house I (accidentally) volunteered us for.
The nice part is that it seems like work is actually calming down. I'm training a new employee who is catching on very quick and that will let me focus on some more specific projects. And I'm getting some extra time off because of the holidays, which isn't something I'm really used to, so that will be VERY nice.
This has also been a nice season for me to remember how far we've come in a year.
A year ago this week we were finishing getting ready for Christmas, blissfully unaware of the present we would get. We even went to church that morning, and then out to eat after church, convinced that Kellie was having a "false" labor. That afternoon I was holding my newborn son.
It has been a year of challenges. Kellie has had some postpartum emotions that I don't think either of us anticipated or really knew how to deal with. Daniel had colic, which is an experience that has got to be trying to even the best parents. Daniel burnt his hands a few months ago and it just broke our hearts.
And yet his smile is something I'll never fail to joy in.
His sense of humor gets me every time.
The way he lights up when we clap for him is humbling; it reminds us of the impact and influence we have over these young ones.
There are characteristics of his, though, that I need to watch, and make sure that I focus on the positive side.
His determination is awe-inspiring, but can be frustrating.
He has a constant need to explore (even more so than is normal - he would set out on an Arctic expedition right now), which means we have to watch for danger EVERYWHERE.
His passion is captivating, but can turn to anger very quickly.
This is the best job in the world.
Kellie and I did not want to know the sex of our babies before we had them. It just seemed like a fun surprise to us. Yet for some reason we thought we were having a girl this time. So when I was handed Daniel I just remember breaking out into the biggest smile, because I knew that God had a reason for giving us another son, and I just remember reveling in that moment. It was a great surprise and a great Christmas present!
And so it has been a month of remembering for me. Remembering where I was a year ago, and how much has changed since then.
I interviewed for a job on the other side of the country.
I later changed jobs (but stayed here).
We went from tag-teaming one kid to man coverage with two.
We bought a house(!).
It's been a good year.
P.S. Daniel took his first step on Sunday, and then just took off walking tonight!
P.P.S. We won a really cool contest, and I'll tell you more about that soon! (sing with me: "Just keep swimming...")
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