Something to consider

Brer Rabbit

That's right, I feel like Brer Rabbit living in the briar patch, or maybe it's Eeyore who eats thistles.

Why so gloomy? Not gloomy, just matter of fact. Speaking of facts, here they are:


Fact 1- Ted should never wear a ring when working on the battery of my truck
- electrical burns are nasty! The ER visit was fun - he was the hero

Fact 2- Closed the store, and finishing up cleaning it this week

Fact 3- Justin decided to go to the Army Recruiter's to start the process to see if he wants to join the military

Fact 4- James was dismissed from his job today

Fact 5- I start a brand new job with a new company next Monday

Fact 6- Ted has a doctor's appt next Tuesday


This doesn't feel like a valley, just a rocky stretch in the road, I just keep plodding along and kicking the pebbles out of my shoes. So yes, rocks and thistles hurt, but they don't knock me off my feet. Besides, the Shepherd's rod and staff comfort me.

Be Steadfast

Be Steadfast, settle yourselves, wait on the Lord, have peace.... these were the words that God gave me this weekend. Then, today, I was able to watch the Lord very clearly shut doors that He didn't want me to go through and clearly directed my path to where He was leading.
Tomorrow, I fill out new hire paperwork for Hamricks who is NOT open on the Lord's Day!

Thank you for your prayers!
To God be the glory, I have victory in Jesus!

Wait On the Lord

After a busy day at work, and good resolve not to take the job at the children's store, I received a voicemail from that large retail store that is not open on Sundays. They too want me to work for them. So, I will go to my interview with BB on Monday see what they offer, and if it's going to affect my Sunday's then I will start paper work and the hiring process with the large retail store instead. I would prefer to take a pay cut then to give up my Sundays.
Pray for me, and have a blessed Lord's Day.

Prophetic

Although my mother in law is in Heaven, God has sent a wonderful second Mother-in-love to fill the void. I miss Momma, but Gayle has been wonderful! She, like Momma, has vast work experience and wise counsel. When I started this whole job interview business she told me that I would end up having to choose between jobs, and it might ruin my liver. I inwardly scoffed at the idea. Now I know exactly what she meant!


My phone interview with the DM of the children's store went very well. They want to hire me immediately! So what is the problem? Well, no matter how much I discuss it with them it seems that I can only get 1 Sunday off a month. The other Sunday's I would still end up missing nearly both services the way they work their schedule. I did NOT have peace about this at all. I ended up telling her that I would think about it over the weekend and give her an answer Monday. She did not want to wait until then, but I told her I needed the weekend at the very least. I was so distressed over it, and searched Scripture for help and peace. God gave me 2 Peter 3:17, and I ended up falling asleep praying over it. I woke up from a short nap and read an email from my husband. I had already talked with my mother in love and my boss. All three of them counselled me NOT to take the job.
As I paged through Scripture to read my verse again, the phone rang. Again, it was the manager of the children's store wanting to know if I had made a decision yet. I let it go to voicemail as I did NOT appreciate the abrupt interruption of my time with God. I thought the timing of it was way too sudden to be coincidental. I kept getting more peace about NOT working there then I did about working there. In the meantime, I was so tore up over a job that I did not even have yet, that I lost my appetite and my old ulcer pains returned! This did not seem to be anything that would come from my Heavenly Father.

I waited a bit more while getting ready for work tonight, and my husband called me. We talked at length and another call interrupted me. I was dreading that it would be the manager yet again. I let it go to voicemail and finished my call with Ted. My voicemail was from the very first interview I had(see my previous posts about this), and I now have a second interview set up with them for Monday! Do I know what God has in mind? NO! but I DO know He doesn't want me out of church every Sunday!

I went into work and my boss said the manager had also called her and couldn't understand what my issue was. My boss carefully tried to get her to be patient and told her to wait until I had an answer on Monday. In the process of the conversation, it was mentioned that maybe if I closed EVERY Saturday night I could work out my Sunday schedule. REALLY???!!!

As I thought and processed all of this- quiet words "Wait on the Lord" rang through my heart. That is what I will continue to do. I will not rush into anything that will compromise my values and my worship time with God. I have yet to hear from the large store that does NOT operate on Sundays, they were to call me by the end of this week, so there is still time for them to also offer me what they mentioned in the interview.
Pray for me, and for my gizzard!

Don't Hold Your Breath

I won't hold mine, but I will keep praying. Since I last posted, I had a great interview with a second company. They are supposed to call me by the end of this week to let me know. (It's nearly the end of this week, so like I said I am not holding my breath). The first company did NOT call me for a second interview (glad I didn't hold my breath)-- I did stop in there today and basically let them know if they snooze, they loose. I received 2 more applications that I just have not had time to fill out. I must admit this whole application filling out and then going to interviews is a bit.... ok, too may words come to mind to describe it.
Today, I was at work when a store manager from the same mall comes dashing in begging for recommendations for a part time sales manager. My manager directed her to me and we had an immediate interview right then and there! I filled out the application afterwards and she is faxing it to her district manager tonight. I am to have a phone interview with that DM tomorrow morning. I am not holding my breath! I have absolutely no clue where God wants me to go. I keep praying He closes all the wrong doors and directs me through the one HE has for me.
Holding my breath is just not going to get me anywhere. Prayer changes things.
So for all of you that pray for me and with me.... PRAY for wisdom.

God keeps giving me good interviews, but those don't pay HAHAHAA!

Oh! and I didn't mention that I am helping my own manager get her resume ready, get her connected online, and help her search for jobs for herself. She still hopes and prays for a store that she can manage and bring me in to be her assistant. May God's will be done.

Ok, I wasn't holding my breath, I promise, but I do feel breathless!

Found Faithful

I probably already have a post or two entitled this, yet God has burdened me so profoundly lately that I need to be found faithful when He comes. So many times I feel like quitting, whether it's looking for jobs, going to work, keeping my marriage working, etc..... When I get so worn out and feel like I just can't tackle the next issue, God comes alongside of me and reminds me that it's HIS strength I should be using and not my own. I can't be found faithful, if I am not faithfully relying on Him to get me through.

I had a great interview from everyone's point of view last Thursday. I am waiting to hear if I get a second interview with them. Friday, I got a call from the place that I really thought I wanted to work at, my interview is this afternoon at 2pm. Since then, I have heard so many comments about how bad the management is and how I may not really like it there even if I get Sundays off. I have experienced some of the same issues just in handing in my application, so I am not sure what will unfold today as I go to be interviewed. Praying that I will be who God wants me to be and go where He wants me to go. There are many other places on my list to apply at and see if anything unfolds as well. I am not worried, just maybe "wearied".
My current boss is coming over tonight, so that we can work on her resume.

James got certified on forklift at his job, Praise the Lord, another milestone he was working towards.

Justin really wants a different job that is no longer third shift.

Ted is swimming as fast as he can with all his job duties and obligations... I am concerned he will burn out. Pray for him.... he doesn't get to punch a time clock, he is always on the job.

My nephew Jordan graduated basic training from the Marines, we enjoyed having him around for the week and to see that some of the rough edges were smoothed over. He is heading back tomorrow to his next stage of training. Pray for him!

Birthday Greetings to Ted, my dad, my nephew Luke, and if I have forgotten someone, I am sorry.
Anniversary greetings to my parents, as well.

Don't tell anyone, but I have really loved all the rain this summer, but then again I haven't had to suffer through the damage and problems that so many in our state have dealt with recently.
Well, laundry is going, dishes are washing, I have swept half the house and folded part of the clean clothes. I need to sit down and eat something, plan supper menus for the week, and then shower and get ready for an interview.

Pray for us, so many times I feel like the hairball that the cat just hurled instead of a vibrant, faithful servant of our Lord and Savior.

You can dress it up, but it's still me

Got a call today for an interview at Brooks Brothers.... this is that second intimidating store that I just did not think the job process would even progress that far. Now, what does a country girl put on for an interview without making them think I am something that I am not? I do not have time to shop Thrift stores before my interview either.... it's a good thing I have a Heavenly Father and Best Friend Who cares about my concerns.... gonna let God tell me what to wear.....
Wow, can you imagine what we would all look like and be like if we decided to do that every day? Let God tell us what to wear???? hmmm, I think we would be much better off!

Blah, I am only me... I just need to remember that... be myself and try to be as Christ like as I can possibly be...

Walk down memory lane

Wild and Crazy... that was my week! Work during the day and then VBS at night. For the past three years, I have been the refreshment coordinator for VBS. I had a great crew, both the faithful ones that come every year and the new ones that had to endure my leadership. :) Everything with the refreshments went very smoothly, and best of all, 10 children were saved during the week!!! We averaged 200 people in attendance each night!

Saturday was also Ted's birthday, and I didn't know what I was going to do to commemorate his day. After some mad surfing and brainstorming, I decided to take him for a walk down memory lane. When he turned 40, he felt depressed at how old he was getting. Last year when he turned 41, it was barely celebrated although we had great intentions. I wanted him to feel special, so I found a huge antique mall nearby. We barely walked a quarter of it, but it was enough to see all the things that we had played with or seen as children. Yes, we are both getting old, but not as old as some of the antiques in there.

It was odd though to see things from our childhood considered antiques! They have an amazing cafe there inside the mall with everything homemade. DELICIOUS!!!

On the day of his birthday, we spent the morning together before I had to run off for work, and then he and the boys went out and did their own testosterone shopping together.

Ok, so here is what is happening on the job front.
Human Deadline: September 1
God's deadline: ???
Turned in 2 applications and picked up yet another application after speaking with the manager.
Secret shopped another store and was sorely disappointed with the service.... since they belong to the same company I am with, it sort of reaffirmed that I needed to part ways with them altogether.

Oh-- that other application for the local store.... uhmmmmm just not feeling it yet, but I guess I should fill it out anyway. I have one more place in mind to apply at now that I have experience they might be interested in using. Meanwhile, I go to work each day, thanking God for the job I have and how He has blessed me all these years. I won't doubt Him now.

Oh!! and huge kudos to the Rowan County commissioners for not agreeing to the Supreme Court decision that they couldn't pray in Jesus' name at their town meetings! Instead, citizens rose up and prayed instead! The ACLU and Supreme Court may not know it, but WE are on the winning side. We as Christians have Victory in Jesus!