New Job

It's been a year, and I did get that new job that was mentioned in that last message.  

My son James was born September 26.  He is awesome.

Jen is spectacular and mind-blowing, as always.

One big reason for this post is to make sure this blog isn't shut down for some unexpected reason.

Ok, back to work!

Differing Anticipation

So the potential for a job still exists, but the reality of it is not so close.  

I spoke with the gentleman today and he said that there is not a position as of yet, and that it would have to be created before I could fill it.  However, I'm still going to play bass there.

So I have step one down: get in the door.  Inside I'll find every single thing I can get my hands on and do it.  Once I've worked my butt off hard enough they may finally realize the need for a new man on board.

I'm going to make an arbitrary list of steps now:

Step One: Get in the Door

Step Two: Get Down to Business

Step Three: Lose Sleep

Step Four: Lose More Sleep But Still Work Super Hard

Step Five: Brief Nervous Breakdown

Step Six: Hired Out of Pity!

Well, with this Road Map, who could lose?

Gave In

I gave in and emailed the fellah.  

No response.

But then again, it is wednesday and this is a job at a church.

Patience

Patience is not my strong point.  I have a job opportunity that is potentially coming up, all I have to do is wait for the phone call.

But what if he is forgetting to call?  What if I need to jog his memory?  What if he changes his mind about me because i didn't call and show initiative to....

And my pulse quickens and blood pounds in anticipation.

Then I read today's "My Utmost for His Highest," and realize that it's ok.

"Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue - a matter of obedience.  Then we must act to be obedient..."

God gave me some inspiration and I acted on it.  Now I must be patient again, as I almost was before.

But if you read any previous posts you will notice that patience hasn't been my strength before.

Conviction, Future

I talked with Dad about stuff today at lunch. That's the kind of thing we do every week: we eat lunch and discuss things. Sometimes we merely consider the importance of weather, but often we discuss more weighty things. Today was weighty.

We talked about Dad's trip with my brother John. They went up to a pastor's conference led by John Piper that was held in Minnesota, it was for fathers and sons. They had a great time hanging out and being encouraged by the brothers that shared the word. But that wasn't where the weight of the conversation was, it was in work.

I don't love my job. I don't love my vocation, just not my meal ticket. What I do is tedious, mind-numbing and I am a little ashamed of it, too. But my vocation is awesome: I'm a missionary. In my mind.

I'm a missionary, but I'm not "down range." I'm waiting for an opportunity.

But how am I waiting? I'm just sitting around. I'm not praying, I'm not furthering my studies, I'm just sitting and waiting for something to happen. That is foolish.




And the real kicker is found here.

Rehashing

There always seems to be new things in the church, until we find that those things that seem to be new are not. The church is continually recycling ideas, and this is usually done by the historically ignorant. I am ignorant myself, so please keep that in mind. House churches, strict membership, family centric, each of these ideas have all been in the church from its inception. The truth is that nothing is new, just the people experiencing it.
This is a reminder to myself and an admonition to others: let us not be overbold in our opinions. Though we think we are hitting on something superbly grand and new, we are not. Though our hearts scream that everyone must follow this brand of fellowship, we are wrong. Instead, pursue your passions for the glory of God and not yourself.

The latter is the trap into which I fall too often.

2008 election

I stopped paying attention a while ago. It turns out that even with Romney accusing McCain of not being conservative enough, there is no real conservative out there. Though Romney has a little something going for him, McCain sure doesn't. It's so lame that there is no one out there that SCREAMS conservative.

It looks like we're all going to be stuck voting for McCain or Clinton. So instead of voting for a candidate, I'll be voting against Hillary.