If You Ain't Thinkin', You Ain't Thankin'

Happy Sunday everyone. Long time no see. All is okay over here, still ready to go back to work (only 25 more days til the first day of school and 17 til the return of teachers). Went to chuch this morning and received the Good Word from yet again, Minister Reginald Sharpe.

This message was short and brief, but really touched me. He started by bringing up the book turned movie, The Help. Its about these two African American women who work as maids and housekeepers for wealthy white families. These women work together not only to get the job done, but also to keep the wealthy family together (click here for more info). He related the movie to 1 Samuel 7:12---

¹² Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer,^[a] saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

From this verse, he came up with the Topic, The Help. As anyone knows, when it comes to a problem that we has human beings can't solve, we get bogged down with life's ups and downs, we usually call on a friend, coworker, or relative for help. Majority of the time, they are willing to help. But there are those times were you just don't have anyone. There's no one around, or your "reliable" friends aren't really that reliable. Who else can you call on? Who else is available to help? The one and only.... Jesus.

After hearing this exhilarating sermon, I always take time to reflect (mostly when I'm typing this blog...LOL) about how He has helped me when there was no one else around. One quote that Minister Sharpe said before he started, "If you ain't thinkin', you ain't thankin'." Read it carefully and it'll sink in.

While sitting and thinking about what He has done for us and our loved ones over the years, we should also be praising and thanking Him for doing just so. I can't tell you how many times, especially during college and this summer, where I didn't know what was going to happen since my finances were low. I'm never the one to ask friends for much and I've gotten to the age that asking my parents for anything hurts (even though my Mom will do just about anything for me). Yet, relying on Him and praising Him has definitely given me positive results and I make sure to thank Him every single time.

I hope that you remember to thank Him for being your Help when no one else is around. Until next time....

BJ... out.

Guess It Wasn't Meant To Be

So about 3 weeks after school let out. I've began looking for summer jobs. When it comes to me being picky, this is the one thing I am really meticulous about. When it comes to a job:

1. I don't to food service/restaurants. I don't like working around other peoples' food and can barely stand them working around mine.
2. Retail (Target, Wal-Mart)...um no. If someone walked into a store and decided to catch an attitude with me looking like 'who shot john in a pig pen', I will probably tell them about themselves. Also, kids go there a lot with their parents and I may know the kids. Ain't got time for that.
3. I like customer service and interacting with people. I'm a very social person, which is why I was heavily involved in college.
4. I want something that's a little more than minimum wage. I hold a full time job with benefits that pays wayy more than a full time job in a restaurant or retail. Ain't got time...

Giving my guidelines, I decided to look into hotels and stores that sell specific things (Office Max, Office Depot, Staples, Teaching Stores). Hotels would be fun because you meet all kinds of people from other states and countries. Specialty stores are cool because instead of worrying about where this piece of clothing is, or this section in the massive store, you can focus on the key thing of that store and pin point them to that location.

I've applied to all of those places and have yet to hear back from either one of them. I've given the 1-2 week waiting time and made the phone call to check the status of the application, I've even emailed the managers. Yet, it seems like no one wants to hire a teacher for a full-time position for the summer and part-time during the school year.

But then I sat back and thought... maybe this was a way for God to say, "BJ... Enjoy your summer. Don't worry about anything and things will work out." Which is, scary enough, the exact same thing my mom told me when I went home the other week. I have enjoyed my summer; I've visited the people I wanted to see, did some of the activities I wanted to do, and now I'm just ready to go back to work. I hate sitting at home. I wake up, fix breakfast, walk around the apartment, clean here and there, fix lunch, nap, clean, watch television, fix dinner, watch tv, and do it all again the next day. I feel like I'm going through cabin fever.

Majority of the teachers I work with think I'm crazy because I want these last 39 days to hurry up but in all honesty, I love my job. I'm on a constant routine every day. Plus, kids are hilarious and you never know what's going to unfold in the classroom.

A friend of mine convinced me into doing tutoring. I don't mind it, the sucky thing is that it's not a constant schedule. Its this day, or that day; this time or that time, and I hate that. I'm a very structured person. I'll give it a shot and see how it goes...

BJ....out.