Do You Hear What I Hear?

I stood in front of several thousand people at the end of last year and talked about God. I talked about how God loved us before we were born and made an entire universe just for us. I talked about how Nature could not do that and wouldn't/couldn't care. And I talked about how powerful, how huge and how consumed He is for our behalf.

And then the next day I promptly forgot what I said and ignored the Creator of the Cosmos whispering in my ear.

Oi, what a dunce!

Let me explain. After my talk in the main sanctuary at church, a wonderful lady came up to me and commissioned me to build a telescope for her beloved's birthday (I had introduced myself as an amateur telescope maker).

Oh joy! I've prayed for this for years! So she sent me a nice check and we swapped emails and phone calls on plans and ideas...what fun! I thought I had prayed for God's permission, but I think in my excitement I missed that step...

So the project started out with the wood I had purchased flying off the car and getting ruined. Then I couldn't find the time. Then when I found the time I had not one brain cell left over from my job to make an accurate cut, drill a clean hole or glue one board to another.

I prayed. And failed. And prayed. And failed.

Finally I cried out to God, "I don't want to tell her that I'm quitting! She's so excited!" In response, I clearly heard God say, "Don't worry, she needs the money. Tell her." I argued with God for a week and heard the same answer.

Finally, I got the guts up to tell her the "bad" news. She just laughed and told me that right after she sent me the check, she lost her job and God had clearly told her to cancel the order. But in fear of disappointing me, she let me flounder along for a month.

The point? If God created an entire universe just for me, and cares enough to speak clearly to me, I figure I ought to pay attention. And the same goes for my friend who heard but disobeyed as well. I won't have the fear of man, but rather the fear of God instead!

As the children's rhyme on ice cream goes, "She heard, I heard, we all hear what we heard!"

~Silly Jack

In the Beginning...

It's been quite the while since I have posted. I miss it very much. I will resume soon, because it is so good for my heart.

I do have two exciting announcements! The first is that we just sent our papers back for our house. As soon as we make our payment on January 1, 2010, the house is settled. Praise God forever more.

My second announcement is, "In the beginning..."

I have the incredible privilege to be speaking in the main sanctuary at Calvary Chapel Oceanside this weekend. I am inviting all of my friends and asking you to bring your friends (especially those that don't know Jesus) as we launch from Genesis 1:1 to outer space.

I will be speaking on how God's creation, His stars and planets and galaxies and astronomical evidence, all speak toward's God's unfathomable love for us.

If you'd like to take a ride through space and see God in it all, you may enjoy this. You can see a sample of the talks I give at www.StarryHost.com.

The services are:
Saturday, Dec. 26th @ 5:55 pm
Sunday, Dec. 27th @ 8:55 am
Sunday, Dec. 27th @ 10:55 am

You may also watch live on streaming Internet at: www.calvaryoceanside.org/recentsermons.html.

I hope to see some of you there.

Jack

Would You Rub My Feet?

As I adjust to my new life, I wonder and I ponder and I consider. I say to myself, "God, what do you want me to do? Am I doing all that you are asking of me? Am I doing enough? Am I touching the right people?"

In the midst of these Mt. Everest-sized questions, God is speaking in curiouser and curiouser ways.

"Would you rub my feet?" He asks.

Recently I went to my pastor's house who lives a few doors down. He had become very ill and I wanted to help the family.

So I show up at the house in grubbies with my mind set on something momentous like digging a new foundation for the house or taking out an oak tree with a dull plastic knife, or perhaps single-handedly re-working all of the plumbing in the house.

As I stood over my pastor, who had his legs elevated, he asked not for a mighty deed of heroism, but only this small request, "Would you rub my feet?"

What? Rub his feet? That's just plain weird. One man does not simply rub the bare foot of another man, particularly if that man is his pastor. It's just weird. And uncomfortable. And not manly like digging foundations.

"Really?" I stumbled. "Rub your feet?"

"That'd be really great, Jack. It would get my circulation flowing. Would you please rub my feet?"

So faced with the options of wimping out or showing my stupid manly hang-ups, I bent down, took his foot in my hands and begin to rub.

Soon we were joking about it and as his wife walked in and then his daughter, we all shared a smile and a tease. I simply quipped that this was Biblical and Mike asked me if I would then wash my feet with tears and dry them with my hair!

I realized that God had answered my prayer to serve. It wasn't service leading to the salvation of thousands and it wasn't in teaching from some pulpit. It was in the humbling act of responding to the request of a great man who needed his feet rubbed.

If the Creator of the Universe could wash His disciples' feet, I could tend to my pastor.

I recommend this. If you ever have the chance to do the smallest thing for the least of the Kingdom of God, jump out of your social boundaries and leap at the chance.

Mat 25:34 NKJV - Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I [was] naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

Mat 25:37 NKJV - "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed [You], or thirsty and give [You] drink? When did we see You a stranger and take [You] in, or naked and clothe [You]? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'

Mat 25:40 NKJV - And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did [it] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did [it] to Me.'

And Debbie, please forgive me for those times when I did indeed, not rub your feet. I was wrong. And I love you.

Jack

Good Food

Have you ever savored a plate of food? I mean just sat there with your eyes rolling in your head, closing your eyes and concentrating on each morsel in your mouth?

I have. I did it the other day during lunch at work. If anyone saw me, they probably thought I was nuts, with my little yummy noises and rolling eyes and such.

Heck. Let 'em talk!

Jesus once said, Jhn 4:32 NKJV - ... "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Jesus' food was His Father's will. And I've got God's will available to me as well.

All through the day, when my tasks require concentration, multi-tasking and wading through, and when I get panicky that I'm not smart enough, I turn my chair 90 degrees and just take 30 seconds to read another Proverb from the open Bible on my credenza.

And bam! My Spiritual eyes roll up in my head while my soul makes yummy noises. Every bite becomes a feast of delight. For the tidbits that don't make sense at the moment, I store them in my heart. And then a verse later, God spoon feeds me what I need at that very moment. Instantly I have peace and clarity.

How joyous! How scrumptious! God's Word is a feast to be eaten throughout a too-busy work day.

I don't throw my Bible at people at work, but it is quietly available to me throughout the day. And I can't tell you the thrill of holding it for a moment in anticipation of the next great morsel.

I'm learning not to leave God at home, that He wants to spoon feed me gourmet meals all day long. And He is blessing me for letting Him be available to me all day.

I'm not wacky, say what you want. I have food I hope you know of!

Chef in Training,
Jack

Two for the Money

I'm amazed, but God blessed us with a 2nd interview on NBC. Apparently there was a huge response to the first interview so they wanted to do a follow-up.

I was so proud of Debbie as she stood there and said that our turn of events was all God. She's so faithful. And my children know it as well and that makes me happy to boot.

So, once again, I say thank you to those friends, acquaintances, strangers and unknowns for your patience, love and support. God moves us all like chess pieces and He moved you all in our favor.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of this blog to see the interviews if you like.

Gratefully,
Jack

Don't Panic

For two weeks I've been a human sponge, absorbing, learning, absorbing some more, extrapolating, questioning and overloading. Big emphasis on the overloading part.

New job, new things to encounter and learn. It's a brainful.

And then they asked me to do some important things in front of the team leadership and to do it very quickly. I panicked. It's one thing to learn, and another to actually implement.

So as I sat in my office rapidly realizing I needed help just walking through what I had to do, in comes one of my new friends at work. She sat down and walked me through all I had in front of me. And this in spite of her working 70 hour weeks on a huge deadline.

Her comment? Only this, "Don't worry Jack, I've got your back!"

Instantly I felt better, calmer, and rather than guilty, I felt comforted. She knew I am new and she knew that it is important for the team that I come up to speed appropriately, otherwise my failure becomes every one's failure. In short, her job was to train me.

How often God does the same thing I realize. He gives us an impossible assignment and then brings us through it.

He says, "Don't panic! Isa 52:12 NKJV - For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel [will] [be] your rear guard."

In other words, "Don't worry Jack, I've got your back!"

I've faced this situation so many times in my new job, but daily I fight that fear with the PROMISE that if God brought me here, He will make me succeed. That is so comforting.

The key is in the fight. Holding on to God's promise of being my rear guard and meditating on it gives me strength.

Then the fear flees far from me.

Don't panic.

~Jack

My Beaumont Friends

If any of my wonderful Beaumont Teacher friends are reading this, I miss you all terribly! Take good care of my Helena and Morgan.

I miss you all and will visit as soon as I can.

Love for all you do,
Jack

Two Worlds Made One

I am so blessed and I am so torn.

God has delivered me...to two worlds.

I daily live here on earth. And yet I simultaneously live in Him.

I am so torn, yet I am so blessed.

~

My job is going very well. Yet it requires all my thoughts for most of my day. I am finding favor among people and for that I am incredibly grateful. But it is not my skill set that is accomplishing the job, but an entire career of experiences that God has carefully orchestrated for dozens of years to get me to this point.

So every moment I am torn between pride and humility, between a cold heart and one that remembers my first love, between self dependence and total dependence.

God multiplies my thoughts. Where I as a human only have enough brain cells to operate in this world for this job, He doubles those brain cells so I can simultaneously live in this world and yet not be part of it. I hear the words of my boss and instantly hear the words of my Lord. I am glad in the successes I have and concurrently rejoice in Him who gives them.

I have new understanding and appreciation for the Scripture:

Rom 12:2 NKJV - ...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Transform me, Lord. Transform me.

Jack

The Richest Man Alive - Joy

.


This picture is a summary of my first week at work. That's me. Good for 3rd prize at the Halloween contest at the office and a new company mug.

I Have found that joy can come from many sources and be directed in many different ways. In this case, I had joy in my heart from making new friends and it was directed towards those new friends. It made me silly.

Back at my desk, I got my first paycheck. Talk about joy. I walked into my office, looked at the envelope and simply stared. A paycheck! A real live, honest to goodness paycheck!

I was the richest man alive.

The most wonderful part of my little moment was not thinking that I could go buy a badly needed new mattress for my oldest child, or perhaps a new astronomy tool for myself, or even a good meal for my wife on a date. The first thought in my head was gratitude to God. He had seen me through 18 months of joblessness and kept my house and was now providing success at a new company and a paycheck.

I was simply and profoundly grateful.

Frankly, it could have been for $100 and I would have felt this way. The fact is, it was not from my company, it was from Him. And I had joy. And I was not worried that I still have huge debts and a very rough uphill financial road to travel. I had a paycheck!

I could not wait to go home to tell Debbie and for us to decide how much to give back to God. And we did decide. And we decided where it should go. And we had joy together.

God owns it all: Psa 50:10 NKJV - For every beast of the forest [is] Mine, [And] the cattle on a thousand hills. And He slaughtered one of those cattle for us.

My heart has changed from, "I've earned this so I get to spend it how I want." to "This was Yours dear Jesus! You transferred it into my bank account so how do you want me to use it?". That change gives me joy, too. We've always tried to be generous, but there is a subtle difference now.

I like the new Jack. Keep molding me, Master Sculptor!

Your lump of clay,
Jack

There but for the Grace of God

Wednesday was the day our house was to go to auction. Debbie went just to make sure there were no mishaps of our home actually remaining on the list and selling.

It was surreal for her that she was even there. As she arrived she was still reflecting on the fact that God had stopped our house from going to auction. She looked around and tried to figure out where to stand and what to do. Then she noticed a nearby woman.

Instantly she recognized who and what she was. The lady's appearance, her wig and her quiet conversation said it all: she is a cancer survivor.

And there she was at the same auction as Debbie.

Debbie's eyes filled with tears as she overheard the stranger tell someone the same story as ours: joblessness, cancer, foreclosure. The only difference was that Debbie was there to watch God's miracle. This cancer sister was there to watch her house sell.

Debbie tried to go and console the woman but she simply couldn't. She was overwhelmed with the huge "close-call" of it all and the amazing blessing we received that this woman and her family did not.

Debbie called me and tearfully told me the story and ended it with, "There but for the grace of God go I." My heart simply broke.

We do not know God's providence for our lives, and we certainly cannot claim it was solely our righteousness or our prayers or the thousands of prayers that were uttered on our behalf. What we do know is that God changed history for us and that the body of Christ pulled together on our behalf and we have grown closer to Him who is light and love.

Somehow, someway, and for some reason God blessed His body today and we all (us and the hundreds who have prayed) have been blessed by our unfathomable and all loving Creator.

Thank you to Him and thank you to you.

Humbly,
Jack

Checking in with Work

It's time for my report on work.

Wow.

It's been a long time.

The job is excellent, the facilities pleasant and easy to get to and the people are great. I'm completely comfortable with the tasks required of me.

It's just a complete change of lifestyle! Being at home for so long over the last, actually 6 years, and then stepping back into the corporate lifestyle takes some getting used to.

I miss my Debbie, Helena and Morgan terribly. They're neat people to spend time with. And I miss seeing my house in the daylight. The gardens are beautiful and the light turns golden in the afternoons as it lights up the small hills and valleys like a painting.

It's good to be at work though. After Adam, we are meant to work hard and this is a good place to do it.

I pray for my family because this is the same big adjustment for them. Debbie does not have my help and the children do not have my guidance during the day. Debbie has been so wonderful to have their baths and homework done by the time I get home so I can spend the evening with them. It's been very special.

So my prayer is that I am a light at work, being the best God intends me to be. And I pray the same for Debbie and protection for Helena and Morgan.

Jack

Here we go!

After a day of unrest yesterday, I am prayed up and ready as ever to start my job today.

I will not be afraid.

Deu 31:6 NKJV - Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

Jack

The Day After

Here am I, counting my blessings: 1) I have stood faithful to God for 19 months; 2) I have received a good job; 3) My house is not going to auction next Wednesday (postponed by the bank for 30 days); 4)Debbie's cancer is gone (should be listed as #1); 5) The mood in my family has lifted. Nice list.

And I sit here depressed.

This afternoon I find myself angry, irritable at the slightest provocation, sad for the dumbest things and feeling empty. I do not have joy nor even much gratitude to God for His miraculous string of miracles. And to top it off, I feel fatter than a hippo in a Speedo (sorry for the image); every tug of my shirt makes me claustrophobic.

And I'm OK with all this.

I'm in good company with Godly men who have gotten depressed. One day the prophet Elijah faced 400 prophets of Baal. Elijah challenged them to make an altar and have Baal burn up the bull on the alter with fire. He teased them and cajoled them while they prayed for a full day until they bled. Of course, Baal never answered their prayer.

Then Elijah built an alter, put a bull on it and soaked the altar with water and built a watery moat around the offer. Upon his prayer, God sent down fire and consumed the offering. God won.

And Elijah won an incredible victory. The spiritual high he must have felt as God answered his prayer and brought fire down upon his soaked sacrifice must have made Elijah positively giddy.

But once the battle was over, Jezebel threatened to kill him within 24 hours. So Elijah fled into the wilderness in great fear. He sat down on a rock and cried out to God to take his life.

1Ki 19:4 KJV - But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I [am] not better than my fathers.

So much for the mighty prophet of God and so much for the mighty man of faith--Me. I'm depressed and feeling fat. I wonder if Elijah ate fist fulls of chocolate?

At any rate, God made a full range of emotions for us and He Himself felt joy, anger, laughter and despair. I believe what I'm feeling now is just that...only a feeling. I am feeling the loss of adrenaline from the fight that is temporarily over, the immediate battle which is won. I have received this crown for this race. Depression is not who I am and I won't let it be.

So today I eat fistfuls of chocolate. Not exactly a godly response, but at least it's tasty. After Elijah's battle with depression, God immediately used him to anoint both the next king his protege and successor, Elisha.

Tomorrow is a bright new day. In fact, Psa 118:24 NKJV - This [is] the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

So I choose to rejoice, despite what I feel. That's not hollow and hypocritical. It acknowledges my humanness and God's holiness. Tomorrow I know I will feel better because my heart goes where my thoughts go and I turn my thoughts to God.

In the meantime for today, the chocolate still looks pretty good.

:-)

The End Intended

I've often thought of what God intended to do in my life during these trials over the last 19 months. In fact, I've pleaded, cried, rebelled and been depressed while asking Him to reveal those intentions in my life over this long, long, way too long period of time.

And then I found James' encouragement:

Jam 5:10 NKJV - My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end [intended by] the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

People have called me a modern day Job. But with so many people in similar circumstances, "Job-itis" seems to be a common disease! So I looked at the end intended for Job and it blew me away.

If you don't know the story of Job, it goes a little like this: Job was the richest man alive with family, friends, health and wealth; and he loved God. So Satan asked God to let Him destroy Job so Satan could prove Job's love for God was only skin deep. God then let Satan touch Job within limits.

Satan destroyed Job's wealth and then his family and then his health. Finally, Satan burdened Job with a few horrible compadres who gave rotten, accusing, condemning counsel. In the end, God finally appears to Job and His friends and reads them the riot act in a loving/holy/terrifyingly humbling encounter. Through all this Job did not sin against God with his lips. This does not mean to say that Job did not question God nor wail in his pain, but he trusted Him.

What was the end result intended by God? There are two things that happened. The second is less important than the first: God multiplied Job's possessions and family exactly twice as much as before. That is of course always a pleasant thing to happen to one, I suppose. May it happen to me! May it happen to all of us!

The most important thing that happened is reflected in this confession from Job:


42:5 NKJV - "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You."

Job knew and feared God before, but now after the trials, Job met God face-to-face. Job became intimate with God.

So I look back on these 19 months and see if that has happened:

• My "Starry Host" presentations have taken on a deep-felt passion and legitimacy
• Debbie and I prayed on our faces...together
• Our family has committed more resources for God because we know who our rescuer is...
• We are praying about opening our home to a Bible study because it is our reasonable service to Him who delivers
• Debbie and I are seeing more of God in each other
• We are finally understanding how God moves on people's hearts in compassion so they pray unceasingly, give unselfishly and encourage endlessly
• Our hearts are changing so that we can do the same for others

So has the end intended by God been brought about? As with all things of God, it is a work in progress. But I wouldn't miss the ride for the world!

May God's intended end for you be as fruitful.

~Jack

Taste and See

I have seen the Lord, and the Lord is good.

You may have heard the news from us already, but...I am now EMPLOYED!

In a miraculous way, the company that I had not sought out but rather God brought to me has made me an offer I can't refuse. I start on Monday, October 26th. The company is relatively close by (30-45 minute commute) and I have performed the job before so I am relatively comfortable in the duties.

The end of our struggles is not over. We still need to save our house from auction in 9 days; we still need to overcome the huge debt incurred (it will be paycheck to paycheck for a very long time); we still have to get through medical issues resulting from the cancer.

But when all is said, I have tasted of the Lord and seen His work; and He is good.

[Psa 34:8 NKJV] - Oh, taste and see that the LORD [is] good; Blessed [is] the man [who] trusts in Him!

~Jack

The Widow's Tithe

My friends, I am taking a moment to give my absolute thanks to you wonderful folks who have, and are, supporting this family.

Every day (or two or three or four) a check comes in, or a gift card, a set of movie tickets, a day's work or a word of encouragement. I can't even decide which is the most valuable except that God has moved on your hearts and you have responded, which makes every gift as valuable as the next.

I know times are so difficult for many of us. And even though some of us are doing better than others, our budgets have never been tighter for all of us.

And yet...you give.

Some of you I know and some of you are complete strangers to me.

And yet...you give.

Some of you have enough to eat and some of you do not; some have jobs and some are jobless; some are healthy and others suffer.

And yet...you give.

Some have no time to spend reading these blogs and responding with encouragement and advice.

And yet...you give.

Jesus was watching in the Temple as all the people put their tithes and offerings into the box. Up came a widow who put in out of her poverty. She came away the richest of them all with a blessing from the Lord.

I tell you, my family has been that offering box and ALL OF YOU have put in your offerings. I could never have asked for more love than what each of you has shown us.

Luk 21:1 NKJV - And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had."

I ask our holy God to return to your heads 100 times what you have given us.

And He is the God to do it.

~Jack

Whose Child Am I

I am waiting to hear from the job interview process day by day. The HR Director said she'll try and call me before she boards the plane home from Chicago. That was last Friday. No call.

I'll try and not be anxious.

I have gone over the interview in my head a dozen times. I met with the HR director first. It was a good and pleasant conversation. Then she called in my direct boss (if hired) and we had another very interesting conversation. And then I met with two potential peers. Again, a great talk with lots of good questions.

Yet I keep going back to the session with my peers and my boss. My peers had read too much into me and my boss had asked a tough question which led to a tough answer.

My peers queried me on this and that and I answered honestly. But at one point they said how excited they were that I was so knowledgeable on healthcare data, calling me passionate about it. "Whoa!" I said. "I do understand some things about the data, but please don't get the idea that I am a data junkie. There are dedicated professionals who do that and I am not one of them. But I am happy to share what I do know."

I was taking a risk by being honest. The point is that in the world's eyes, I had them hook, line and sinker and I could have reeled them in on an issue that was obviously important to them. But setting up an expectation like that is basically a lie. And it would only be a matter of time before it hurt me. Besides, I'm not to lie...ever.

Then my boss asked in her session with me, "What motivates you?"

My first answer was entirely "business" appropriate and something like, "...building relationships and working on business process improvement." This job requires a lot of both of those so the answer stuck and she made a note.

Then she repeated the question, "What else motivates you?" Hmm...what is she looking for? "Mentoring people so that those around me want to come into work the next day. I value enabling people to do their jobs better." Again, a nod and a note.

Then she repeated the question, "Tell me what really motivates you?" By now I'm stuck. What else is she looking for? What is relevant in all the things I've heard from her thus far in the interview that I can bring to bear? What?

Then I heard a still, small voice: "I do."

That was God's voice. I recognized it clearly and knew what to say. "My only other answer is Biblical."

"How so?" she asked.

"Do all things as unto the Lord."

Finally, she smiled. This was the moment: would I sell out with a canned interview answer or would I stand up for an honest answer, spoken respectfully and quietly in the face of someone who has the power to hire me or not when I desperately need a job.

Taking the clue from her smile, I continued, "If you hire me, I'm not only working for you, but I'm working for God." And I looked her straight in the eye.

Then she smiled broadly and said, "That's a good answer. That shows character and integrity. I like that. That's good."

I need this job terrifically. But I need my Lord more. I was respectful and I was thoughtful and I was instant in prayer, but I was truthful.

In the end of all things, I will have to remember whose child I am. I my Father's child. He watches over me and will never leave me. He loves me and like any child of ours, He longs for us to be proud of Him.

So Daddy, into your hands I commit this interview. I pray you always give me the strength to say, "I am proud of you!" in the eyes of the world.

[Mat 10:32 NKJV] - "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.


Your Adopted and Loving Son,
Jack

Coffee and a Muffin

Today started out with the most wonderful surprise. Debbie showed up at my client's site and brought me a coffee and a muffin. And then she said, "I am proud of you."

That one phrase and that one act was one of the best gifts I have received in a very, very long time. I have told three men about it several times today, almost bragging.

My wife is proud of me.

Pro 18:22 NKJV - [He who] finds a wife finds a good [thing], And obtains favor from the LORD.

Thank you, Debbie! I love you.

Jack

The Interview

The interview I had on Monday went well. Well, actually all three interviews I've had with the company went well.

So what does that mean? Absolutely nothing!

It only means that I did my best and God will now either open this door or close this door. I can do no more and no less.

Whew! That was easy. I only had to endure 3 hours of grilling and many hours of preparation. Now the hard part is God's. He's got to get busy shaping plans, molding hearts, guiding thoughts and organizing human chess pieces.

I got the easy part.

[Pro 16:9 NKJV] - A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

Jack

This and a Buck-fifty...

I am pleased to report that tomorrow, Monday, October 5th, I have an interview. An actual face-to-face with real people who are not looking to make me an insurance agent or sell multi-level marketing plans.

It's a good job and one I'm very qualified for. And interestingly enough, I did not find them, but they found me through their system of recruiters.

Very good. I'll do my level best and be as positive as possible because I am excited. And I promise not to get those, "This and a buck-fifty will get me a cup of coffee blues" because I've been down this path so many times where the job is perfect for my experience but I still remain the bridesmaid at the end.

I ask for your prayers for good preparation, wisdom, humility, open ears of the interview team and faithful understanding.

Jam 4:13 NKJV - Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what [will happen] tomorrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you [ought] to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."

So Lord, if You will, I will.

Jack