The Wait is Over

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You know that job I interviewed for yesterday? 

Well they already gave it away....

...to some 51-year-old lady who came back to the States from Indonesia ten months ago.  Yes, I got the job! 

I will be a school secretary for the principal who works with the students whose last names start from A-G. They divide the student body up this way so that students have the same principal throughout their years at Findlay High School.

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This is such an answer to prayer.  I can see God's hand all over this. It has been a challenging ten months since Rachel and I returned from Bali, but I have learned a lot. I have gained some new skills, met some amazing people, and done some interesting work. Now, I am ready to move on into the next chapter of my life.

This is a secular job, but in the life of a believer, everything is ministry. I trust that God will use me in this job to show His love to the students, parents and staff with whom I will work.

Job Interview Complete...and Now I Wait

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By way of a quick update on the job interview I had this morning, I feel like things went quite well. As it turns out, I was interviewing for two positions at the same time - one in the high school, and one at a local middle school.

I feel good about how the interview went. Most of the questions they asked were ones I had anticipated, so I had what I hope was a reasonable, intelligent answer. Several of the secretarial duties they described involved activities similar to things I did as a field coordinator in Bali. The fact that I have had recent first aid and CPR training seemed to be a plus.

I know they are interviewing quite a few candidates for these two positions. The start date would be July 22nd, so I should know within the next few weeks if I am hired or not. Obviously, the sooner, the better.

I appreciate all of you who prayed for me to have a good interview. God answered your prayers. Now, let's keep praying for God's will to be done as to the outcome. Also, please pray for peace as I wait for news.

Job Interview Coming Up

This will be just a short post tonight.

A little less than a year ago, Rachel and I returned to the USA from Indonesia. In these past 10 months, I have worked retail, worked as a substitute teacher in several local schools, and am currently finishing training to work as a substitute over the summer in a facility that provides care for adults with developmental disabilities.

I have enjoyed all these types of work, but am still waiting for God to open up work in a full-time position. This week is a big one for me. This Thursday morning, I have an interview for a secretarial position at the local high school. I believe I would fit well in this position. Even though I have never been an official, paid secretary, I have served as secretary in pretty much any organization in which I have served over the past twenty years.  Of course, I won't know this week if I get the job or not, but I truly hope and pray that I can present myself well, and that God will open the door for me if this is the job He has in mind for me.

For those of my readers who are praying people, I certainly would appreciate your prayers. Thursday morning, 9:30-10:00 EST. I'll let you know how things go.

Do I Really Want a Heart Like His?

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In my last post, I shared the lyrics of a song that really means a lot to me. The song is a prayer asking for God's heart, His eyes, His hands, and His feet. 

I wrote the post on Sunday. On Wednesday, I practiced the song with Rachel and her friend. Then on Thursday, the words of this song - especially the first verse - challenged me in a very practical way.

Give to me, Oh Lord
A heart that beats like Yours  
Full of compassion for the ones You love.

I'm training to be a substitute for staff who serve individuals with developmental disabilities. Sometimes this job is enjoyable. Other times, it is just downright difficult. Thursday was one of those difficult days. Due to privacy issues, I can't share details of how the day went. 

I will say, though, that I went home that night very tired. When I crawled into bed, a couple of the individuals who had been especially challenging that day kept coming to mind. Then, the words of the song came to mind. 

Give to me, Oh Lord
A heart that beats like Yours\
Full of compassion for the ones You love.

Were those words truly the prayer of my heart? Do I really want God's heart of compassion for the "difficult people" I sometimes have to work with? I can say that in this case...yes, I do. Not only do I want His heart. I need His heart in order to serve the people with whom I work.

A question remains. What about the other people around me? Around you? We all know people who are "difficult" in some way or another. Am I willing to ask for God's heart of compassion toward them? Are you willing to pray for a heart like His?

Give Me a Heart Like Yours

When I lived in Bali, Indonesia and worked with a terrific group of teenagers from the children's home, I had a favorite song. It was a prayer that I truly hoped would become the longing of the hearts of each of the teens in the group...and my heart as well.

I am back in Ohio now, and my church in having a 40-day prayer focus. This Indonesian song came to mind, and I searched the web to see if it had perhaps actually been translated from English. When I could not locate any song with English lyrics that went with the same tune, I decided to translate the song myself. Rachel and a friend of hers will sing it in church, probably sometime next month.

I'd like to share the words with you.

Give to me, Oh Lord
A heart that beats like Yours
Full of compassion for the ones You love.

Give to me, Oh Lord
Eyes that see like Yours
Open to see the harvest all around.

Give to me hands like Yours
Strong for the task You set before me.
Give to me feet like Yours 
Ready to walk the path You show me.

Give me, Lord
Give me, Lord
Give me a heart like Yours.

I don't know about you, but I think this would be a good prayer for all of us.

Chuckling at the Speed Bumps of Life

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When we lived in Indonesia, one of the "delights" of driving was the presence of polisi tidur -- sleeping policeman. No, I'm not talking about human policeman asleep on the job. I am talking about the speed bumps that existed in plenty to control the speed of traffic in residential areas.

Don't get me wrong. These polisi tidur are needed. Without them, cars and motorbikes would have zoomed through areas where small children played in the streets. Those who fail to heed these "sleeping policemen" might very well find their motorbike airborne or the transmission on their car getting the worst of the experience.

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Some of these speed bumps are not too bad. They do the job without doing any damage. Others, though, resemble ten inch diameter pipes buried in a shallow furrow in the street and barely coated with cement. These are the ones that every driver hates.

Not everybody minds the polisi tidur, though. When my daughter was about two years old, she absolutely loved those bumps. We had to cross probably ten or so of these whenever we drove to a certain friend's house. I would slow the car down to a crawl when I approached each speed bump, but no matter how slowly I crossed them, it always resulted in a good-sized bounce. With each bump, Rachel giggled, chortled and chuckled in the back seat. "Again, Mommy! Again!" (As if I had a choice in the matter.)

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God gives us speed bumps in our lives from time to time. Sometimes, we are set on our own plans. We want to race ahead with our own plans. If we do, we may very well end up in trouble. God's speed bumps slow us down and keep us (and sometimes others) safe.

We may not like them. We may view them as inconvenient obstacles.  OR...we can view them as gifts from the hand of our Father. When we see one ahead, slow down. Cross safely. And just maybe, in some strange way, you can be like Rachel and get a chuckle as you experience the bump.

Be Careful What You Let In

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Last night, I was attempting to figure out how to do something in Microsoft Word that I didn't yet know how to do.  In the process, I found an online tutorial to help me. Unfortunately, my computer lacked a particular file that would allow me to fully use the tutorial.

I attempted to download the file. I failed to notice that I also gave permission for the computer to download a number of other programs -- malware that wreaked havoc on my system. 

I spent hours tonight undoing the damage. I deleted the programs that I had inadvertently downloaded last night. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro went to work to seek out and destroy all the little files that those unwanted programs had spread through the system.

Thankfully, I seem to have succeeded. I hope I have succeeded.

Here's the thing. I was careless with my computer, and I allowed things in that didn't belong. I wasn't vigilant, and I ended up with a mess.

How like life. How easy it is to get so involved with our plans and goals that we allow things in that shouldn't be there. Perhaps we focus so closely on a particular goal that we compromise. We do or say things that we know we shouldn't.

In the process, we create messes in our own lives, in our relationships with others, and in our relationship with God. How delighted our Enemy is when we fall for these tactics.

Thankfully, God has provided a way to get us back up and running. When we confess whatever it was that got us into the mess to begin with, we "delete" those files. Then God's "Malwarebytes" and "HitmanPro" goes to work as the Holy Spirit leads us through the process of forgiveness and restoration. By the time He is finished, our hearts are right with Him again, and there is hope of restoration of relationships with others.

What is our job after that? Be more vigilant next time, and don't let the malware in.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

1 Peter 5:8