What's up?

My mom and dad are in Poland, and they said they are checking our blogs everyday to see what is happening back home. I haven't posted for a while, and although nothing too out of the ordinary has occurred since then, I thought that for their sake, I'd write about what has been going on.

At work, three people have recently left or moved to other positions. Two of them are extremely competent people who have been with the real estate division since the beginning. The third has been there for over two years and had also grown into an excellent resource. When I heard this was happening, I pretty much knew that my time with them was coming to an end. The majority demographic of our clientèle is 50+ year-old women. Most of them don't handle change very well, and few of them are technologically savvy. They have outstanding people skills and they are drawn to vendors with the same ethic. They are used to hearing a familiar voice on the other end of the phone telling them that it will be taken care of.

To further compound the problem, the person who was "hired" to replace our main customer service person was actually just moved from another department and will be returning when a permanent hire is found. This means that a recent trainee will train a new person - effectively wiping out years of good customer service relationships. And, this person still is working in the other department, so the response time to communication has been severely affected.

This week has been awful on the work front. On Mon-Wed, I did the amount of work that I used to do in one single day. I have no jobs today or tomorrow. It is very depressing to think about because I really enjoy what I do, and in the past, it provided for us very well.

So, rather than sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I have tried to be more productive in other ways this week. I went surfing with my friend David three times this week. We are planning on going again tomorrow. We both have skin rashes from the salt water. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with him. He's a great friend, and he is a lot of fun just to be around. He is one of those people who can find the joy and the wonder in just about anything, and I really admire that trait in him. Simple things like a good bagel or a good cup of coffee or a nice left that you expected to close out but didn't bring a huge smile to his face, and his spirit is infectious. I sort of felt like I was a kid out of school in the summertime as it is not often that I hang out with the same friend three days in a row. That was pretty cool.

I have been applying for jobs like crazy, and I've decided I need to get more organized about that. I've gotten some responses back from companies, and I can't remember what type of job I applied for since there are 4 distinct positions that I feel qualified for. (4 different resumes - countless different cover letters.) I think printing out each job I apply for and writing some notes on it will help with that. I'm going to a job fair down in the city next week. I'm hoping that since it is hosted by Monster.com and is being held in San Diego, that it will be more productive than the small one I went to last week up here in Escondido. Jenetta found a book for me to read, and I think it will help a lot. She feels like it was written directly to me. Here is a link to the book and reviews on Amazon, and here is a link to a google summary/partial content posting.
Hopefully reading this will help.

Jenetta and I went on a great hike last night before sunset. I enjoyed it more than she did because part of the hike had some really steep hills. But it was nice to hang with her and talk about things together.

In a few minutes, I am going to have lunch with my friend Geoff. He is the youth pastor at our church, and we meet together to pray regularly. He is the guest preacher this week while our main pastor is on sabbatical. It will be interesting to get a sneak peak into his thoughts for Sunday, and I always enjoy hearing about his life and encouraging him in the challenges he faces. There's nothing like focusing on others to get over whining about yourself!

There is kind of a recurring theme or conversation that goes on in my head sometimes many times a day. When I look at the calendar and the bank account, I start to freak out about what we are facing. We usually are able to save in the summer for the lean winter times, but now we are earning less than we need to get by at this time. Without significant changes, the winter will be terrible. I don't see how we can keep the house. I don't see how we can keep up with bills and mounting debt. It is so awful and menacing that I could just sit in the corner and cry about it and not do anything.

Or, I can reflect on Matthew 6:25-34. I can think about the fact that God knows what we are facing. I can remember the times He provided for us in the past. I can meditate on the truth that He is my Father and He loves us. I can then use that lens to look at today and tomorrow (or through the end of the week for that matter!) We have enough for today. We won't starve or lose the home today. Instead of focusing on what I don't have (namely gainful employment), I can focus on what I have been given. I have lots of time, and I have ears to listen and a heart that cares about other people. I'm going to kiss Jenetta goodbye and then go spend time with Geoff.