I received a notice today from a friend of mine.  She is involved with a new non-profit called the Greenhouse Project.  This organization is based through an orphanage in Uganda, striving to survive in a country that has been torn apart by civil wars for longer than these children have been alive.  They are using funds from an art grant to go to Africa, teach the kids art, bring back those pieces that the children create, and sell them as support to keep this safe haven alive.  For some, it is a chance to have their voice heard in a world that seems determined to shut them up.

As soon as I saw that my friend was still raising funds, I asked my husband how much we could send.  I wrote the check in that same sitting.  I am so proud of her heart.  She has a heart for those who need help and she is doing something about it.

That is Christianity at work.  My friend taking the summer to assist and determine where the need is in this orphanage is a step of faith.  She is being the salt of the earth and light in a dark world.

“Christian” has quickly become an adjective as opposed to the verb that it is.  How we can sit around as the world crumbles on all fronts is beyond me.  I suppose this is why I find myself at such peace right now.  I don’t have a job, I live in an apartment complex whose prices raise significantly each year, etc…there is a plethora of “stuff” that I could easily allow to drown me in sorrow, worry, and depression.  But I have my hope in Jesus my Lord.  I have a home.  My husband has a good job.  We are blessed to have friends and family who love and care for us.  Even our puppy brings a smile to the faces of the passersby as he appears to always have one on his.  Now, I have a friend who I have seen go through the trenches, also known as high school, and has come out, a semester from graduating college with a degree in theology, and has focused on others–loving and caring for those who are considered unlovable.

That is peace.

I joke about the unrest in Israel, asking my family if they are ready to go home.  They smile and say ‘better believe it.’  How about you?  Each one of you has a choice.  Choose Jesus or Choose hell for eternity.  Jesus=peace, hell=well, hell, eternal suffering and unrest.  Simple choice, simple answer.  The unrest, the deteriorating of morals and of “Christians” standing for tolerance rather than Jesus and the Bible…it is a very clear sign of the second coming of Jesus.

But for anyone who has not made the choice for Jesus, beware, in the twinkling of an eye, he will be here and gone.  When you go to work or to school and see the empty chairs, the missing people, you can no longer say that you were never warned.

Jesus is coming and this time, the devil is going to be allowed to take over and put hell on earth-unlike any destruction and misery that you can ever imagine.  I would suggest choosing the peace now, but that is just my opinion.

Most people are at least familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you…” It is printed on every graduation card known to man and written in every graduate advice book ever published, but what about the rest of the 65 books or even the rest of Jeremiah for that matter?

We focus all of our energies on this one verse hoping that it will somehow hold all of the answers and when we feel lost and confused we can’t seem to understand why God’s promise to Jeremiah no longer brings us hope and promise to our future.

It’s not because God has left us. It’s not because the promise has changed. It’s because we have become so short-sighted on this one verse of promise that we fail to see where exactly it is that God is leading us in our future.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” In our own visions and ideas of the future, we are in control; we know how to handle every situation that we face. But, if we were to let go of our strong hold on life and truly lean on God in trust and faith beyond what we know, then God would lead us straight past what we plan for ourselves and into some much greater.

David said something similar to Solomon as he knew he was at the end of his life. “Get to know the God of your ancestor. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and with a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and understands and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him you will find him.” (1Chronicles 28:9). We don’t serve some ambiguous God, disconnected and uninterested. We serve a God who loves us enough to die on a cross so each and every one of us can not only have a plan and a purpose, but so that we can spend eternity with him once we have lived out that plan he created us for.

I don’t believe that we were necessarily created for one thing, perhaps thousands of little things that affect lives beyond our scope. But whatever it is that we have as our purpose, we will not only change other people’s lives, but have our life changed. From a doctor who saves a life to a teacher who changes a child’s heart to a sales associate whose smile brightens the day of someone stuck in depression.

Lives are changed everyday by you and by me beyond what we see.

The plans that God has for us will be revealed as we seek him, love him and live for him day by day.

In the mornings I, despite griping about the early morning wake up that is required for work, greatly enjoy driving to work because for the first time ever, I catch the sun rise every morning.  I use this glorious sight as my reminder that I am not in control (very obvious by my rushing and running about in the early morning dash to attempt to get out of the house by 6:40 AM) but rather that God is in control of this universe (thankfully) and he has painted this beautiful masterpiece just for me (or so it seems at that moment).

Also in that same moment I often take a breath and begin by simply saying, “Good morning.” I figure I need to get myself squared away before the day truly begins with the general public and the best way to do that is to have my first conversation be with my Father in heaven.  He and I talk all the way into work.  Sometimes just praise for his beauty, and thanksgiving for everything he has given me, sometimes it is a plea for something I feel I need or desire.

This morning I began with a thankful heart, but it was greater than I normal.  For whatever reason I was overwhelm with how much my God has given me and done for me (and human kind) and then I began talking with him about rational and how I just could not understand it.

What was interesting was that I kind of began ranting, not at God but about different topics such as my desire to learn more about the language and context in which His word was written.  Then how some people see the need to dissect each and every word to the point of taking it out of context beyond what was ever actually said.

Interestingly enough, I took that thought to the Constitution, particularly with regards to the first amendment.  We all know “Freedom of religion.”  Our Founding Fathers came from a country whos government was butting into the business of the church, restricting how they were  worshiping Jesus Christ.  When they came and developed  America, they never said to keep Jesus out of the government, ironically, to keep the government our of worshiping Jesus (a little backwards from how it is today interestingly enough).

By the time I got to work I realized I had ranted about several different items but they were all a reflection of my heart.  I love God and I love the thought of defending him in some manner be it through government action via activism or through writing which I havent had enough down time to even stop and grasp them in a single coherent thought (as one might notice here).  I pray for further direction that I can serve Him more.

to know the heart of God…to be in the secret place where He no only en-wraps his loving arms around me–but speaks his words to the very depths of my spirit, my soul.  To have his say to me, “You are mine!” (Isaiah 51:16)  This is my prayer, my longing, my desire.  Each day that I live, I live to further his kingdom; “set my face like a stone determined to do his will.  And I know I will triumph.” (Isaiah 50:7)  My heart cries out to do more…to change the world.  My soul longs to relish in the challenge of…adversity…strengthened by Jesus who says, “I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hands.” (Isaiah 51:16).  What is this longing for?  Why do I have this unrest in my spirit to do so much more than where I am?

I take offense to every man and woman who decides that it is now “uncouth” to say “merry Christmas” and force me at work to say “Happy Holidays” for fear of losing my job or other retribution.  I take offense to every person who decided that suddenly we are no longer allowed to sing carols in schools or hang Christmas decorations, such as a tree, at the risk of a child who doesn’t celebrate Christmas feeling intimidated or pressured by the greenery or pleasant music that most people have waited all year to hear.  I take offense that suddenly the holiday that I celebrate as the birth of my Savior, which had already been commercialized and celebrated by the majority of Americans unless Jewish or otherwise religious (in other words, not the ones complaining) is just now offending people that grew up celebrating the same holiday and will probably receive presents and get a Christmas tree (not a holiday tree).

I take offense that Christmas is now a political issue rather than a spiritual issue.  But most of all I take offense that it doesn’t matter what offends me, because I am Christian.  I take offense that my rights are not the same as atheists, agnostics, scientologists, or whatever else people want to call themselves.  I take offense that I am told to keep quiet about my views but am expected to hear others shouting profanities where my children are playing and learning.  I take offense that 5 year olds come home saying the f-word having learned it at public school from a classmate and I am told by others that it is simply freedom of speech, despite how I would want a child raised.  I take offense that I have to lower my morals to meet everyone elses.

I weep for this country that I love because when the men that created it wrote our constitution, they PRAYED TO GOD for guidance and for direction.  I weep for this country that I love because that same constitution is being walked all over by judges who have decided to overstep their boundaries and start creating laws (because our elected officials aren’t doing it anyway).  I weep for this country that I love because I see it falling to pieces and crumbling before my very eyes.  I weep for those who are lost and yell to throw me in jail because I speak against homosexuality (I don’t hate the homosexual..I hate their sin…the act of their lifestyle, I love them as persons and if that is worthy of a hate crime then I am guilty).  I weep for those who are lost and yell that they not only hate this war but hate the soldiers who hate been risking their lives to fight for their freedom to yell.  I weep and cry out to God to come save us from this and yet give us more time to save those souls who are so incredibly lost.

So here I stand wishing everyone a politically incorrect Merry Christmas, praying for the lost, and weeping for my country that is so lost in the sea if sin.

I finally just sat down and took a breath. I suppose having my music blasting, jumping around, doing push-ups and sit-ups is all a little random-especially in the middle of my hotel room. You see, tomorrow I have a test (go figure, I graduate and I get tested). Enterprise tests their MT at the end of training, asking that you get a minimum of 80% on a 53 question short answer test.

Now, I procrastinated a lot in school but I really did mean it when I said that when I began my job I would try my best to do well, exceptionally well if at all possible. Now, I have a test that I “have” to pass!

I’m not narrating all of this to you to tell you of a stressful end to an enjoyable week. It’s more of our evaluations that I am observing and making note of in my own life. Like I said, and like anyone who knows me would happily contest, I am a procrastinator. From term papers to laundry, if it did not need to be done that exact moment-it could wait. I always viewed work a little differently however.

I pride myself in good work ethic and in doing so, can not procrastinate for work. I arrive early and stay until the job is done (not excessively mind you, but I make sure to do a good job). Now, as I face a “test” in coordination with work I am faced with a conundrum that leaves me somewhat…psychotic and generally stressed (see starting paragraph).

As I grow further away from my lovely days of college (*tear*) I am beginning to understand the importance of my priorities. Not to say that work is #1, but it is higher than I put some of the papers I didn’t write until the night before(which, yes-to my parents reading this-should have been higher, I know). I sit here and evaluate where I am right now and I am trying to configure a conceptual picture of where I want to be in the next year, because in reality my career-unlike many others-moves in a monthly basis for the first 5 years (or so). In two years I can be promoted three times, managing my own branch with a handful of employees and a fleet of cars that I am responsible for, driving a company car and living comfortably, able to give back more than I dreamed I would ever be able to. When I sit here, in this moment, it is a little hard to imagine that (especially seeing as I will still be under 25, the age that you no longer have to pay an extra fee to rent a car-ironic isn’t it?).

So as I finish up tomorrow I begin to compile my goals (which I’ll start to make more specific as I meet with my branch and area manager) but starting with a 6 month time frame for my first promotion (that is given after passing a comprehensive evaluation…a test)

Today was my first day at work (and the rest of my life flashes before my eyes…sigh).  No, I’m just kidding.  As a vibrant young 21-year-old I cling to the hopes of the new and exciting, the unexplored terrain and uncharted territories- in this case, the branch office of Enterprise Rent-a-car at 905 US 1 Vero Beach, FL.

Truthfully, I am excited about my new job.  It is my first salaried job and even now, tired after not sleeping well last night, getting up early to make sure I got up, and leaving home at 7 to make sure I beat traffic since I am not familiar with the flow of it at those hours, then working until 5.  I am anxious and a little frustrated because today (and tomorrow) I can’t do anything but observe interactively.

Basically, I am going to work but because I don’t have training until next week I can not do 3/4 of my job so, I stand around, feel in the way and useless and some-what bored.  I try to pay attention as they verbally and visually explain things to me (which everyone there is great, thank God for that).  And some things I get (I can do the first step for checking in the car, by that I mean check it and write down the mileage) then I know what to do if someone needs their car checked out for Geico (I can do that!).  I’m hesitant to answer phones because it is one of three things: 1. reserve a rental (can not do yet) 2. ask a question (I typically do not have an answer that would be adequate or appropriate at this time) or 3. have a diver pick them up (I could do that, but with odds of 1 in 3 I figure it’s not a good bet).

In all, it makes for a hard day for me (not hard as in difficult, hard as in frustrating).  I am excited and thrilled to start (kind of, I mean, now that I’ve begun who knows when it will ever end!) but, there are some kinks and yes, yes, I know I have only been there one day, but I want to do well.  I want to succeed and get promoted and not sit around waiting for people to do things for me, which basically makes this, as I said difficult.  But now, I am tired and I need to try and go to sleep again (I got up to write this because I couldn’t get to sleep before).  So probably until next week after training, I say goodnight.

That seems to be Mitt Romney’s stance when he claimed that Mike Huckabee’s campaign would have to raise an additional $20,000,000 this quarter to be in the so called “top tier.”  I don’t know about you, but Romney continues to give me new reasons nearly every day why I DON’T want to vote for him!  Washington is so over-run with money-hoarding politicians, why would we want to continue the cycle?  I would rather vote in my president by the issues than how much money they can raise in the first half of the race and then have to be burdened to hear the lies that they try to play off after receiving the party nomination.  I want to see a change in the presidency.  I want to see a president who is more concerned about the people they will be serving than the money those people have to give.  I want to see a president who doesn’t try to win people over with outlandish campaign promises rather knows the limitations of the presidency and respects those limits, still accomplishing the goals they set out to better the people and country as a whole.  I spoke before about not speaking my support for anyone until just recently because I was waiting to see if anyone would actually be worthy of that support (which extends to my friends and family full force) and I was watching and waiting with an open mind to see if the candidates were going to be true to their word or fall into the unfortunate category of the typical “dirty politician.”  I was sorely disappointed as I began to have some hope for several candidates (even a couple democratic candidates) and on the surface, most things looked pretty good.  The deeper I got, the worse it got.  Then I found past Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.  I have not heard him say anything that he can not support with later action.  He knows the seriousness of the issues we are facing in todays society and doesn’t shy away from dealing with them head on.  I know that there are flaws in every person and most people expect the president to be perfect (despite the fact that they are just the same as the rest of us, only elected into their job), but from research and a critical eye, Mike Huckabee ($20,000,000 shy of the “top tier” or not) is the best man for the job, hands down.

Last week I went with my parents to a meeting at church because, well, I had nothing else to do.  We ate in the cafeteria (some of the best fries and diet coke mix ever) and brought my computer along for the ride.  I figured that as much time as I burn on-line doing nothing, I could entertain myself for a couple hours in a different environment and at least get out of the house for a little bit.  What transpired amused me.  The Internet was running slow so I pulled up an empty Word document and just started typing.  Rather than going back to the mindless Internet nonsense that I was wasting my time with, I began writing and writing (much like I do on here).  It wasn’t about anything in particular, but had an interesting focus toward teenagers and achieving dreams (no real surprise there, huh?).  But what was surprising is that I wrote for the full two hours straight (about four pages worth) with only a few distractions.  That made me think, how amazing would it be if I could compile my thoughts coherently so that I could write on one topic every time that I wrote.  That way as I wrote those four pages in a couple hours I had on hand, I could then write a few more, multiplying it faster than I could ever imagine and actually think about putting it into a book form to begin editing (something that I do need to work on).  Just thoughts to pass the time, but what could possibly be useful to someone else…here now after only 10 minutes or so I’ve already accumulated a total of 288 words (well it was 288 at the point that I wrote the number obviously now it is over 300, but I imagine that you get my general point).  What an amazing thought…

I am a qualified recent graduate from the University of Florida.  I have my Bachelor’s in Political Science and have a passion for making a difference (as naive as it might be, I still care about people).  I have tremendous leadership skills that I have been fine tuning throughout my college years by volunteering for my young adult program, called Origins.  This pushed me to think outside the box on a creative team for ideas that would appeal to other 18-40somethings and pull them into the program, interested and more than intrigued.  I also had to be outgoing, talking to people of all cultures and backgrounds; letting them know what we were all about, why we were doing what we were doing and what made us different from everyone else (another creative streak).  Besides this, I have excellent work ethic.  I loved college but still graduated in only three years.  I accomplished this by starting early through duel enrollment my senior year of high school, then scheduling classes each summer.  This required incredible responsibility early on as well as learning the jewel of time management.  This allowed me to not only schedule my classes well (my last semester I didn’t have classes on Fridays) but allowed me time to work when needed and to volunteer as wanted.  I did a lot during my time in school and loved every minute of it.

What I didn’t do excessively was work.  I was blessed to not have to work and so besides holding a couple part time jobs, I didn’t.  I was at college for my education and that was my job.  What upsets me now is that I am being penalized for that decision.  Every employer I have interviewed with tells me, “well…you’re experience is a little weak…”  I’m sorry if this is rude and some-what out of line but when I hear that all I can think is, yeah and what’s you’re point?! I just graduated from college for crying out loud!  I can’t get a job where I want to because I haven’t worked and they wouldn’t have hired me there before because I didn’t have a degree!  Am I missing something?  No, I don’t have any famous connections or incredible networks to get a job for me so I’m trying my best to do it myself and I’m coming up dry.  I’ve been looking for a job for over a year and I still can’t find anything.  Right now I’m struggling to work out a second interview with a sales company (because that is the only experience I have at all much to my dismay).

If you are an employer, please tell me what I am missing because I am obviously missing something huge.  I know people that don’t care, that don’t want to work, that just do the job.  I want a job where I can love what I do, to want to go to work.  Even if it is a administrative assistant position for a company that I care about, that works for me.  What am I missing?