Tri-Cities, Faith & Work

Happy Monday, All! There are lots of updates to get to.... but life's been good, I really enjoy life most when I'm busy! This weekend I had an incredible opportunity to join the leadership of the church to scope out the Tri-Cities. We are hoping to plant another church there sometime in the next year or so, so we had a leader's retreat there to check out the people and the area. Having grown up in Central Washington (don't call that Eastern Washington anymore because now I really DO live in EASTERN Washington), it was very exciting to get to know the people and the area of the Tri-Cities. First of all, I have to thank God for making it possible for me to make the trip at all. I was able to get a free room at the Red Lion Hotel as a result of some work I've been doing at my new job. As of early last week, I was officially a "Gold" member of the hotel's reward program and I even got free breakfast. It was really a great buffet! I digress... I was also able to drive with three other single/campus brothers who were able to share the cost of gas. I was able to do this trip with very little expense, so thank you, God for being able to afford to go!! We did a scavenger hunt, looking for people and seeing some of the favorite places of Tri-Citians (?). It was fun and inspiring filming and photographing places and people all over the area. We went to donut shops and a university campus and had our church service Sunday morning on top of a hill with INCREDIBLE views of the river and the whole area. It was amazing to take some time to pray with Ryan G before the service, see jackrabbits (and NO snakes!) and be able to hear Jermaine preach overlooking the cities. I won't soon forget that service or the whole weekend. Had some great talks with brothers and sisters and lots of fun! I have also decided that for now it might be good to live alone.

My roommate situation is challenging at the moment and feel strongly that the situation needs to change. I have prayed a lot about it and got advice on it as well and think this is the best for all involved. As a result of this, I am resolved to getting my non-house-related debt paid off. This excites me a great deal, however it means a huge sacrifice. I currently have about $15k in debt I have been trying to pay down, but unfortunately without roommates, I would not be able to survive without taking the money off my 401k. I have gotten advice from someone I respect a great deal and he had to do the same thing. I believe that I have been irresponsible with debt which has become very obvious now that I can't afford to make the payments on those loans. I am grateful that I have not been significantly late on my payments to date. That WILL change unless I take care of this right away. I know this is very controversial and I would guess nearly all financial counselors would advise against this route. I agree that this is not an ideal situation, but I can't see any other alternative at this point and God has blessed me with having something with which to remedy the situation and the ability to repent from my irresponsibility. I believe that is more important to God than me having "comfort" in my later years. I hope that if I can eventually find a good or great paying job, or if my business takes off, that I can make up for this withdrawal. See Mark 10:29-30. Again, it is not my first choice, but challenging times often require sacrifice and I believe that God blesses sacrifice and repentance. Now, if you are reading this and you don't know me as a result of church, please bear with me as I rant a bit on a subject of a spiritual nature. The past two years have been very challenging for me. I don't mean that in a bad way, because I think I am actually becoming a better person as a result of a lot of life stuff. I say this because I am grateful that God has helped me to stay strong through this time and I know at any time, I could fall, so my hope is that by staying close to God, that I will weather these storms and be a stronger man of God.

With that being said, I have to admit that I am feeling pretty discouraged about something I see around me a lot these days. I am saddened and disappointed in people's lack of love and faith. There have been too many of the people that I love leaving their relationships with God and going back to the world. I hate it when people that call themselves my friend and I find out they have not been honest with me. I begin to wonder if our entire friendship was based on such deceit. It is frustrating and extremely sad. Unfortunately they have allowed the challenges of this life to harden their hearts and it breaks my heart. More importantly, I remind myself that it also breaks God's. Why can't people see how AMAZING God is and how much he's done for them? Why don't they make the effort to get to know him, even after studying the Bible? The other thing is seeing people that call themselves Christians grumbling about little things. God was upset with the Israelites grumbling in the desert, to the point that he vowed that not one of the people that he led out of Egypt was able to see the "promised land" (Numbers 14:20-25). If you aren't fighting to help people get to know God, then you can't understand how amazing this life is. I heard someone complain recently at church that the Starbuck's they went to didn't have a microwave to heat their pastry! Really? Is that what makes you unhappy? Then you've already lost the battle! Be grateful that God has given us a rich life here in America. People all over the world go to bed hungry, fight to earn $1/day to put food in their family's stomachs. People die every day for lack of having food and clean water and a roof over their heads! This kind of selfishness does not make God happy. Find ways to love people and not seek your own comfort. Then write down things that you are grateful for. I'll step down off my soapbox now...

I've been trying to simplify my life lately by selling a bunch of stuff that I don't need and that have some value so that I can pay bills. It feels so good to get rid of stuff! Having too much stuff weighs me down and I have a hard time feeling joyful because my temptation is to take on another project. I am getting rid of projects and working hard to make my life a little easier. I still have a lot to do. I don't know how those guys on the show "Hoarders" do it. I don't have anywhere near that amount of stuff, and it is still hard! I have also been having a fair amount of health issues. Mostly they have been related to the cold that I had for two months, and back problems which I have no idea how I injured it, but at least it's getting better now. It was a challenge there for a few weeks! I started going back to the gym today, did about 20 minutes of fast walking on the treadmill (which I did much better than I thought I would) and then did some core stuff, chest and legs. It was a great workout and I already feel a little better. So I definitely need to keep that up. To date I have lost a total of 13 pounds. I am also very excited about my new work schedule. The last few months my job has been GREAT with working around my schedule... unfortunately, it meant that I worked late two nights a week and early the next days. By Thursdays I would be just completely wrung out and had a hard time focusing and being giving at Bible Talk. So, I changed my "availability" at work and they started scheduling me for early morning shifts! Now, I have to be honest, there will likely be a short period of transition because I am a night owl, but I am so excited to have some evenings free to spend with people... Woo hoo! Well speaking of which, I do need to start getting ready for work... I am happy that it's only been about a week since my last update and hope to continue to update every week or two at the most. So thanks for checking in and stay tuned for more updates...

Busy crazy life

Hey All! Thanks for checking in. I'm sure you all could say the same of me. :) Where has the last four months gone??? I really love blogging, but life has sure been busy lately. I have not had a lot of energy left over to do things like this... HOWEVER, I am still committed to this blog and am thankful that you are following me! So I'll start where I left off in December.... At that time, I was having an interview with ACS, the company that Red Lion Hotels outsourced (locally!) to handle their reservations. I was hired (yay!) and have really enjoyed the job. I went to training starting Jan. 17 and was very sick with the crud that's been going around, and like many others, it took a very long time to get rid of. I finally went to the doctor and the antibiotics finally seems to have taken care of it. I had been sick with that crud for two months and was so miserable. I am grateful to be healthy again!!! Anyway, I'm loving the job and the people I work with. The company is great and I have been able to make use of the hotel once (for free even!). I am very impressed with Red Lion Hotels and this coming weekend I get to try another hotel, in Pasco. I'm very excited! So the job has been great and I've been happy. My schedule has been a little crazy, but I'm very grateful they have been able to work around my church schedule. They have been great! The people are amazing and it has been a good experience. My only real struggle there is the pay. They DO have a great incentive program, so the better you do, the more you can earn. Unfortunately, I am earning about $4 less per hour than I was making on unemployment. It was more important for me to work for my money than to be on the dole in a challenging time for our state's budget shortfalls. I hate to say it, but I am still looking for work so that I can make enough money to pay my bills. I have never been past due on any bills until the past year and that has been a tough pill to swallow. One of my two roommates moved out and has made my finances a real challenge. I am grateful to work, truly. Unfortunately I really need to try to make it financially... I am considering applying for food stamps as well. I never thought I would have to resort to that, but reality is reality. As much as I don't want to be on the dole, I am earning just over half my former salary and I need to feed myself and Wolfi... All in all, I am still very happy and enjoying life, and trying to learn how to live on what I do earn. The past year and a half has been challenging, but I feel like God is teaching me to really trust him and to rely on him and not on myself and my talents (which HE gave me anyway)! So, on a brighter note, I am very excited to say that I am officially a business owner! I haven't sold anything yet, but that's okay... I just started it about a week and a half ago but am very excited to be a representative of market america. A friend introduced me to a product last year that has had an amazing effect on my stomach. I had a lot of reflux and was in a LOT of pain and this is an aloe product you take internally that is really incredible. I am also trying other products and can feel more energy and vitality! They have lots of avenues to get discounts on products for myself and others and the health products are the best on the market. Back in September I purchased a 1987 Toyota Corolla Hatchback, FX-16. It's a sports model of the Corolla and is such a cool and fast little car. After I bought the car I realized I really couldn't afford it with my salary so I decided to sell it after doing some things to fix it up. I decided to post it on eBay and sold it for $500 more than I bought it for. It sold before the auction was up and the buyer flew in from Massachusetts and drove it home. Due to the windshield being badly scratched, I replaced it so they would be able to drive it back safely. I picked up the buyer and definitely felt like I made a new friend. He and his girlfriend were really cool. They took off and I mentioned to them that the only concern I had with the car was that the heater wasn't working very well and didn't know if it would be an issue. Well, I regret to report that it apparently was a problem... The car overheated in Montana, but he was able to patch it and still get it home (how, I'm not sure, but that's AMAZING!). I felt terrible about it, because it had never overheated on me. I don't drive a car that I don't trust and I certainly would have never let him drive it across country if I felt it was an issue. I just felt terrible about it. Life has definitely been challenging lately but I am convinced that God still has everything firmly in control. He sees my suffering and will bless me and I believe he will not give me more than I could handle. I could use some good news soon, so please God, hear my wish! I have found a couple jobs that I have applied for recently, including a job with Spokane County as a Liability Claims adjuster. It sounds extremely interesting and challenging. I love my current job, but it's not really pushing me very much. This job would be fun and I would learn a lot, but be able to use a lot of years of experience in claims handling to be successful in it. Prayers would be greatly appreciated! I have also been paid a GREAT honor by one of my very best friends, Lionel. He and Autumn are getting married next month and he has asked me to be his best man. I am so humbled and honored that he asked me. I'm so grateful for him! He asked me to help him pick out some songs for his reception because he wants an "80's Dance Party" for after the wedding. We spent some time Thursday night listening to all these great 80's songs and now I can hardly wait for it. The songs are danceable and many are very meaningful as well. It's going to be soooo much fun! I've never been a best man either, so I'm a little intimidated. I hope they're encouraged! Well, there are a lot of other things I could discuss so I may have to do another update soon. Anyway, I wish everyone a great week! Thanks for checking in on what's up with Tim!