Mom's Devotion

So my mom emails me these devotions see...? This one was pretty good so here it is reposted. Enjoy!

Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18

Jesus is constantly stretching me. You, too? Of course, you, too! And it’s enough to make you sometimes wonder what kind of bargain you got when you gave your life over to this Man. He is so convinced of His capacity to make us people of large purpose, genuine significance, and high destiny that He keeps on leading us forward.
E.M. Bounds had words for it when he often used the expression, “We must always be on the Stretch for God.” It’s not a rack of torture, but it certainly is a path of growth.
But whatever the demand there are resources, because Jesus is here…right now. When this sheep named Jack is accompanied by His Great Shepherd, the whole meadow lights up.

Moments With Majesty

Finally

Have you ever just gone on and on and wondered when will I get there, when will it end? I have been searching and wondering what God has in store for me and I feel like I am finally emerging from the desert to start anew. Yes, I got the job. Ill be an admissions advisor at Colorado Technical University next week, and I will also be starting my first master's level class Creative Leadership.
I honestly have been just holding on to hope. I kept plugging away with different sales and management jobs knowing that it was preparing me for something. I knew this was what God was drawing me too, but I was never clear on why He took me this direction when I could have went that direction. Even in hindsight a lot is left unclear, but I continue to trust in God to provide and show me His way. He is ever more faithful to me then I am to Him, but I try to grow in faith more and more each day. Faith like a mustard seed, right?
Thank you God for your Mercy and for your Providence. I am so excited to see what You have for me because I know You are leading me to the joy that You have already put into my heart. Amen!

The suspense is....

I did my last interview today and I believe it went extremely well. I have so many emotions invested into getting this job that I don't know what I will do if I don't get it. I have faith in God that this is the way I am meant to go, but I guess my faith doesn't reach to 100% like I wish it was. I still have my lingering doubts. It reinforces the notion that faith in the power of God has more to do with Gods will then what our earthly logic and reasoning allows us to believe. Really, its not logical that I get this job. Its not logical that I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Its not logical that all my needs will be provided for in abundance. And to whom much is given much wil be expected. I will have that much more of an ability to give back the gifts which God has given me for His loving service.
As always, I read articles wherever and I stumbled across a good one that I took this quote from. "Finding your personal mission starts by identifying the need to which you are repeatedly drawn, the societal problem you most want to see fixed, the human sorrow your gifts might help relieve. Your life's irreducible purpose is found at the intersection of your specific gifts and the needs your life's work will address." Answering that question is something we all need to do. We can't just live our lives on a whim. We need purpose, we need to follow the passion that God has instilled in our hearts. I think one of my biggest missions is to help people find the passion God has instilled in their hearts. And encourage them to let it out. I really don't know exactly what capacity I will do it in, but I know that I have been doing it when I feel Gods leading in my life. I know I have helped encourage alot of people to follow their passions and I pray I will continue to have a greater capactiy to do so again in the future.
All in all, I am still searching for the exact purpose God has for me in His will, but I see the pieces coming together so beautifully that I cant deny the workings of God in my life. Its can be scary though. Its like that trust exercise where you close your eyes and fall backward hoping that the people behind you will catch you and you will be safe. It takes trust. And I have to admit that I haven't put my 100% trust in Him. I have let my fears get the best of me. But as for this job, I am all in. Once again, I honestly dont know what I will do if I dont get this job because everything in my life seems to have been leading up to this point. Im so excited to get started. Its not easy, but Im trying to lean wholly on God and not on my own understanding. Ah, that one verse makes me rest easy because I know God has me in His hand.
Anyhow, time to get some sleep and get some painting done tomorrow. ;-)

Grad School

So I finally did. I applied, got financial aid, got enrolled, and I start classes in October at Colorado Technical University to get my MBA. Im so excited. I cant wait. And the best thing? Im in the interview process to work there as an admissions advisor. How cool is that? Get to work at the school Im attending and help other people go as well. How sweet is that? Can you tell Im excited? AHHHHHHH!
Ok, Ill give you the update later...

Ahhh Life

So I had a job offer in hand. Pretty sweet deal paying more then I have ever been paid before. And then I give it up for an uncertain potential job that I still have one more interview for that I might not get, and be stuck with what I got now, which isnt much in the way of the job department. Ahhh, time to have faith in God and know that no matter what His will is being accomplished in my life. Here is some good stuff on that...

THE WILL OF GOD

It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13

So many people sit in my office and moan, “Oh, if only I could find the will of God for my life!”

Yet the will of God is found in your own heart.

You can get good counsel, read helpful books, and diagram your life on the kitchen table, but ultimately, the answer is in your heart. And when your heart is totally committed to follow Christ and walk in His ways, you can’t miss the will of God. He’ll get you there one way or another. Yes, the route may be roundabout. It may include a climb over some jagged mountains and dip down through some dry, rocky valleys. But God, who knows both the beginning and the end of your days will get you there!

A New Time and Place: Preparing Yourself to Receive God’s Best (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishing House, 1997)

As always, may Gods will be done in my life. Amen!

Personal Emails & Calls at Work

Wow, the statistics are true. Most people really do "waste" a lot of company time on personal things at work. Case in point... So Im getting rid of an air hockey table on craigslist for free. So far Ive gotten about 50 plus emails of people interested in it. And it hasn't even been a 24 hour time period since Ive posted it!
Anyhow, Im just reading some of these emails for amusement since Ive already told one guy he can have it, and soooo many of them are emailing from work. Since they are emailing from work they must also be surfing the web at work. Looking at craigslist and who knows what else. Gosh! The internet is amazing. People are amazing. Ah, thats just my story for today. Now go back to work you slackers!!! j/k ;-)

Crikey!!!

Its a sad day on Earth when one of our most beloved dies. Steve Irwin, otherwise known as the Crocodile Hunter died today from the barb of a stingray off the northeast coast of Australia in the Great Barrier Reef. This is one of the most dangerous yet most beautiful places to dive, and its most infamous character is the great white shark.
If I was Steve Irwin then I would be happy knowing that I left this Earth doing what I loved to do best. Hopefully we can all live in such a way, and I am sure his only regret would be that he left alot undone. Steve we will miss you dearly.
News sure travels fast with the internet and tv and everything. I happened to hear about it first from my sisters when I called home to say hi to the family. Courtney and Bre are going to make a movie to commemorate Steve's life. Im looking forward to seeing it. Then Jason told me he had seen it on CNN this morning. Then I got a myspace bulletin about it. And here I pass it on Blogger. One can only hope to live a similar life in whatever ones calling happens to be, and do it big time like Steve did. Steve made the world a better place, even if just a little bit, for all of us. Hopefully more and more people will learn to find and live out their passions to the fullest like he did in his lifetime, and make the world a better place, even if its just a little bit.

Ideas

Ideas are what make the world go round. Ideas are what new businesses are formed on and what drives the economy. So I give an idea that I came up with talking to my friend Roger at lunch today. Here it is.
Everyone who knows anything about alternative energy resources knows that in many places if you have your own solar and/or wind energy you can use that energy in your home and sell back excess energy to the power companies and even make money. Problem is, most people will never invest in them anytime soon. Why?
One, its just not the thing to do...yet. Come on now. Who do you know has solar panels on their roof? Thats what I thought. Heck, I live in Colorado not too far from Boulder and I dont personally know anyone with solar panels on their roof. And Colorado is one of the sunniest places in the US.
Two, the big up front cost. Yep, gas is still "cheap" enough that we keep using it to heat water and our houses. In the winter time I "only" pay a maximum of $300 per month to use it. And we usually keep our house at a toasty 65 degrees!
So, here is my proposal. We need someone to form a company that will install, for free, solar panel systems in people's houses, charge them a rate about half of what the gas and electric companies charge, and sell any extra energy back to the power grid. Is that genius or what?
I haven't really worked out all the financials, but the company should recoop its original investment in 3 to 5 years (which is longer then most investment firms want to wait), and be making straight profit after that with minimal upkeep. The best thing for a business wouldn't be the immediate R.O.I. The biggest thing is building an infrastructure bigger then energy companies over time, and continue to have new business and rising profits as energy prices continue to rise. Talk about stability and potential future profits would be enormous. The energy companies would be forced to change their ways or die.
You dont think it could happen? Believe me, something a lot like it is coming where good business practices and ideas continue to help the community more then the government ever could. Give me your thoughts...

p.s. I have to think about Jasons comment in my previous post and post something about it later down the line.

Inflation

As some of you may know the Feds have consistently raised interest rates for the past couple of meetings they have had until this most recent one. Finally, a breather from rising interest rates to stem off inflation. It got me thinking. What exactly does inflation look like and what is causing it? Costs of goods and services continue to get higher for a few reasons. Rising labor costs and rising energy costs are the big culprits. What keeps inflation in check normally? Innovation and increased productivity. We have reached heights in productivity that we could have only imagined 100 years ago. Im sure we will continue to find ways to be more productive but only in certain areas. We are very efficient and will continue to be so. "Offshoring" seems to be the current option to increase producitivty on a per dollar basis. If we can get someone in another country to produce something that an American will produce at double the labor costs, dollar for dollar, most companies will be better off even if they have to ship things further rather then produce things where they are consumed. Ultimately, this will prove to be unsustainable and its one of the major reasons energy costs continue to rise. A serious compounding factor.
I forsee a political battle over energy issues very soon because it really has to do with the mighty dollar and how we live. Energy will soon supercede all other issues politically and I am curious to see how this next presidential election plays out. I seriously smell a Democratic victory.
But I digress. Simple as it is I have some ideas to help make a more sustainable economy that keeps inflation in check. One issue. Currently, VC firms and Banks are sitting on vast amounts of money they don't know what to do with. Why? Because they cant find enough good ideas to invest in. The world still lacks enough entreprenuers to successfully sustain innovation at a rate fast enough to sustain the economy. Crazy notion, no? Why again? People can't be educated fast enough. Dumping alot of that money back into the economy in a form that adds value would help deflate, but thats just it. It doesnt have an avenue to flow.
And thats my biggest economic theory that I adhere too. That once the money stops moving and being useful we get stagnation. The biggest fear right now is the fear of an economic term called stagflation. Increased inflation with little to no growth in the economy. Basically this means that for every dollar you earn today you have less you can actually buy with it, therefore, you purchasing power is decreased. In essence, you are now getting paid 95 cents for what you were previously paid a dollar to do. And the other bad thing? As if that wasnt bad enough... is that the government cant control them both directly at the same time. It can only stimulate growth or reign in inflation. More and more the ropes that tie the two together are coming apart as it matters less and less what interest rates are set at. Money will flow where it will when it will.
Of course, all this is at the aggregate level and in theory. On an individual basis, some people barely notice and some people are greatly affected. Whats my point? To a certain degree these things are uncontrollable and we are all just going along for the ride. Yet, some things are controllable. Using strategic intiatives we can combat these issues head on and subdue this world even further. I feel like we have already put the bridle on the horse, now we just need to keep practicing the riding part and we will do just fine. ;-)
Side note: about the MBA. I just love business in general so Im not sure if I will go after accounting or not. We shall see, as always. Finance continues to interest me because Im so interested in the startup phases of any business. Its where a lot of the action is at too. Anyhow, off to ponder my thoughts further...