I came to the Lord when I was very young, 11 years old to be exact, at a Salvation Army youth camp. I had read the bible cover to cover for the first time by the age of 13, but I was not walking with the Lord. I labored under the delusion that private acts of worship were enough to atone for consistent and blatant disregard for God's intention in my self centered, pleasure driven life. This lead me to a very dark place which I did not emerge from until I met my wife to be in 1999.
Shortly after graduating from college, the Lord put a real calling into my life to rejoin the church family. I started by volunteering at the local Salvation Army in Denton, TX where I was responsible for organizing the Sunday Worship music, playing guitar, and singing in Sunday service. My wife, a music teacher, soon began playing piano in our little group, but after Felicity was born, we moved to a more local church that had a childcare program to ensure the entire family was being fed by His word.
My walk with Christ has continued to become deeper and deeper over the years. I pray frequently, multiple times per day. I read the bible daily and journal my thoughts during private bible study, and most recently I have begun to experience the hardships that are required to bring us closer to God by testing our faith. I am currently unemployed, having left a very lucrative career with a Fortune 100 company amidst an nationwide economic turmoil that has placed incredible difficulties before anyone seeking employment today.
I began attending "job clubs", which are weekly meetings of job seekers who attempt to partner together to keep up spirits, build social networks, and share job leads in an effort to help penetrate the glass walls of technology and policy that most companies put up to automate the hiring process. I've met well trained, experienced, and college educated men and women ranging from their mid 30-s to their early 60-s who have been desperately seeking gainful employment for over a year to no avail. This opened my eyes to a darker side of my local community, a situation that my safe suburban lifestyle and church had shielded me from. As I began to look around, I saw several other truths that I had been missing, which left me questioning the true commitment I had in my journey with Christ.
This collection of writing had three purposes:
- To share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the "Good News" that he instructed us to pass on to all nations and people in hopes of bringing encouragement and hope to those who need it.
- To point out opportunities to help those in your own community and act as God's hands and voice by sharing with you needs and opportunities to serve in His name that you might not be aware of.
- To make a personal commitment to remember these trials, the people in similar circumstances, and the call to serve and help those in need once I have found employment.
Thank you for reading. It is nice to meet you, and I would love to learn more about you should you care to share it.
Prayer for The Day:
Lord,
Thank you. Thank you for my family and the love we share. Thank you for the joy that continues to radiate around us. Help each one of us to see the beauty you've placed in our lives.
We are a broken people, Father, only made whole by your Son's atoning sacrifice. Help the negativity, the pain, the trouble and fear which fills each day pass by us, and let your perfect peace and love fill us with hope and optimism. In You, all things are possible. In You, who created the universe, who filled the sea and air with all manner of creature, we can find the true purpose for our lives. Forgive us of our doubts, of our weakness, and fill us anew with your Holy Spirit that we might mirror your glory for all to see.
In the precious name of Jesus Christ we ask this of you and give You praise and thanks.
Amen.
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