This afternoon Barry, Joelle and I met some dear friends for lunch at Chick-fil-A. After eating, Joelle and her friends went into the play area and played for quite some time. When it was time to leave, it was brought to my attention that Joelle was up in one of the tubes crying. My friend's son told us Joelle wasn't hurt, but that another child (someone we didn't know) had yelled at her causing her to cry.
Joelle later explained that this young girl had thrown a piece of trash on the floor of the play area in a hard to reach spot. Joelle gently told the girl that she should've thrown the trash in the proper place so as to keep our "environment" clean. The girl disagreed, because it wasn't "her" trash, and she didn't care what Joelle thought about it. Joelle and the girl commenced to arguing about the situation until the girl finally yelled, "You're not the boss of me!" Not only was Joelle upset that the girl had yelled at her, but she was also sad that the girl didn't care about our environment.
After Joelle shared all this with Barry and I, she was quiet for a time and finally said, "I should've told her about Jesus. I'm going to be a Missionary that cleans up our environment and helps animals. I want to help our earth."
I thought it was really neat that Joelle seemed to recognize our spiritual needs in relation to our actions towards our earth. Maybe she didn't actually come to THAT conclusion, but it's what I took from the conversation. :) Isn't it SO true that our relationship with Jesus influences every decision we make!? What we believe about Jesus guides our choices - big choices, small choices, every day choices. If we don't see Jesus as Loving, Caring, All-Knowing, Trustworthy, Creator God, etc... we will not care about others, we will worry in our circumstances, we will fear the unknown, and we will have no care for His precious creations.
And, if we don't see Jesus as needed Savior we will not recognize our sin, turn from it and repent. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32-33, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven."
As she matures, Joelle will learn tact and discretion in sharing her opinions with others, but I certainly see the Lord leading her to be bold for Jesus; not just our environment! :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
...a love like Jesus...
This new chapter in our lives began on June 28, 2011. That day Jason had had an interview at a local plastics company. His painting business had been steadily declining since January and the past 6 months had been a literal day-to-day faith in Jesus Christ for provision (I'll share more of those stories later). :) The interview went poorly and Jason was less than optimistic about it. I was voicing my concerns that afternoon to a special friend, Amy S. I was explaining that I was so disappointed that Jason had worked so hard for the past 15 years gaining experience in management and it seemed that none of it mattered. The job at the plastics company was in management, but all they were concerned about was that Jason didn't have plastics experience. It felt absurd to me.
Later that evening Amy forwarded us an email with the job postings for My Father's World, a homeschool curriculum company. More out of desperation than anything, I forwarded it on to Jason. Jason took interest in a couple of the positions and we asked Amy what the next step would be to check it out. She sent an amazing letter of recommendation to the owner, David, and within the next couple of days we were in contact with David; phone interviewing, sending out both our autobiographies, Jason's resume, and a family picture.
The following Saturday, July 2, while we were attending our Life Group's get together, Jason pulled me aside and shared that David had just called and wanted us to come out as soon as possible for interviewing! We were so excited and scared! Thankfully (to our surprise), God had worked it so that Jason had NO work the following week. We left the afternoon of the 3rd and were interviewing by the 5th. The decision was made by the 8th and Jason was offered the position and we accepted.
It turns out that David was looking for an individual that had corporate experience but the willingness to step away from the corporate money - and wouldn't you know - God had prepared all that for us in the past two years! Jason's 15 years experience is exactly what David feels his company needs.
So, back to my awesome friend, Amy! She recently told us that she held onto the job postings for five days, trying to decide if she should send it or not. I personally think this is SO beautiful. Those actions portray that she loved us so much that she couldn't bear for us to leave. But, with an even greater, sweeter, unconditional love she put aside herself, took up her laptop, and showed us Jesus Love by choosing to forward the postings. We are forever thankful to Amy and her obedience. I love you, Amy!
Later that evening Amy forwarded us an email with the job postings for My Father's World, a homeschool curriculum company. More out of desperation than anything, I forwarded it on to Jason. Jason took interest in a couple of the positions and we asked Amy what the next step would be to check it out. She sent an amazing letter of recommendation to the owner, David, and within the next couple of days we were in contact with David; phone interviewing, sending out both our autobiographies, Jason's resume, and a family picture.
The following Saturday, July 2, while we were attending our Life Group's get together, Jason pulled me aside and shared that David had just called and wanted us to come out as soon as possible for interviewing! We were so excited and scared! Thankfully (to our surprise), God had worked it so that Jason had NO work the following week. We left the afternoon of the 3rd and were interviewing by the 5th. The decision was made by the 8th and Jason was offered the position and we accepted.
It turns out that David was looking for an individual that had corporate experience but the willingness to step away from the corporate money - and wouldn't you know - God had prepared all that for us in the past two years! Jason's 15 years experience is exactly what David feels his company needs.
So, back to my awesome friend, Amy! She recently told us that she held onto the job postings for five days, trying to decide if she should send it or not. I personally think this is SO beautiful. Those actions portray that she loved us so much that she couldn't bear for us to leave. But, with an even greater, sweeter, unconditional love she put aside herself, took up her laptop, and showed us Jesus Love by choosing to forward the postings. We are forever thankful to Amy and her obedience. I love you, Amy!
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