I'd been at my new job at my church for only a couple weeks when one day I walked into the reception area where two of my coworkers were chatting. One of them looked up at me.
"Everything you wear is green or brown," she stated, matter-of-factly.
I looked down at myself. "Yes," I replied, just as matter-of-factly.
***
One of the pastors stopped me a couple days ago.
"Kari," he said, "What's the leaf?"
I looked down at the charm around my neck, a real leaf dipped in gold and hung on a leather strap.
"A gift from my husband," I answered.
"But what does it mean?" He asked.
"I've always been inspired to worship God by his creation. I kinda like leaves...I don't know if you've noticed all my clothes are green and brown..."
He smiled and nodded, then walked away.
***
WikiHow's step #10 to celebrating Earth Day: "Wear green and brown."
I guess every day's earth day in the Faherty house!
***
ps - yesterday was John Muir's birthday.
22 April 2007
21 April 2007
Another recent evidence that I have the best husband in the world...
I was sitting on the couch one day reading when Stephan came deliberately out of the bedroom.
"I hope we live to be a hundred and one," he declared.
I furrowed my brow. "Why? What happens at a hundred and one?"
He smiled. "Then I'll have been married to you for 80 years."
"I hope we live to be a hundred and one," he declared.
I furrowed my brow. "Why? What happens at a hundred and one?"
He smiled. "Then I'll have been married to you for 80 years."
13 April 2007
Recent reason #1 that my husband is the best in the world
Me: "I love fairy tales...have I ever told you that?"
Him: "No, but it doesn't surprise me."
Me: "I didn't think it would."
Him: "What exactly is a fairy tale?"
Me: "I'd say it's a story with fantastic elements that has a happy ending."
Him: "Doesn't it have to have a moral?"
Me: "No, that's a fable."
...
Him: "Then we're living a fairy tale."
Me: "What?"
Him: "Yeah - because of Jesus we know we have a happy ending - and you're fantastic!"
Him: "No, but it doesn't surprise me."
Me: "I didn't think it would."
Him: "What exactly is a fairy tale?"
Me: "I'd say it's a story with fantastic elements that has a happy ending."
Him: "Doesn't it have to have a moral?"
Me: "No, that's a fable."
...
Him: "Then we're living a fairy tale."
Me: "What?"
Him: "Yeah - because of Jesus we know we have a happy ending - and you're fantastic!"
07 April 2007
The truth of the matter
I was at work the other day and we had to assemble some binders for a training seminar. We'd be training people to lead small groups of married couples, and small groups of single people. Each group got a different color binder.
When I started assembling the content of the binders, I put all the married materials in the green binders and all the single materials in the orange ones. Later in the process, my husband (who was helping me) noticed that I was stuffing the married binders with single content and vice versa. I stepped up to the counter and took a second look at the binders. Sure enough, the green binders were labeled "singles" in bold letters, and the orange "married". My stomach turned and I began to feel feverish and jittery.
"Who let this happen?" I said in disgust. EVERYONE knows married is green and single is orange! This was nothing less than a great a display of arrogance and disregard for the natural order. Intolerable. Absolutely intolerable. I wanted to march right into my bosses office and inform him of this terrible travesty. But I knew he would not be sympathetic. This made me feel even sicker.
"You change 'em," I said, pallid and agitated. "I can't be near them anymore."
My husband, servant that he is, changed all the binders so I wouldn't have to.
I just sat in the corner and brooded, upset that I was the only person in the world who knew the truth and had to watch it be defiled - right in front of me.
***
Synaesthesia - "From the Ancient Greek (syn), meaning "with," and (aisthēsis), meaning "sensation"'—is a neurological condition in which two or more bodily senses are coupled. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored."
The condition above describes how I perceive my world. To use Wikipedia's well chosen words, my 'coupled senses' are hearing and sight. When I hear music, voices, loud bangs or quiet breezes, I see color in my mind's eye. I also have strong grapheme-color synesthesia, it's so strong that 'incorrect colors' actually make me ill - like the situation described above. I still bristle and feel feverish when I have to handle those binders. When I park on level 3 of a parking garage and they've painted the walls yellow to try and "serve" me in finding my car again, I growl and grumble - because everyone knows that 3 is green. Put me in a room with another Synesthete and ask me to defend that 3 is green and I'll do it to the death. Why? Because it's the inarguable, unchangeable truth. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.
I hope you caught the reference to Martin Luther: I cannot and will not recant anything, he said. I say I'd defend the truth of 3 being green to the death - Luther was defending a much weightier truth."Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins and was raised again for our justification… therefore, it is clear and certain that this faith alone justifies us…"
We are rebels deserving punishment from a completely holy God, so lost in our sin we have no hope of recovering our standing through our actions. Given our inability to work our way into God's favor, he sent his son to be punished in our place, and now commands us to put our faith in that substitution, admitting we needed someone to meet God's standard of perfection for us. Luther was defending the Gospel itself.
He came to this most important of realizations by studying God's word. In a world of growing relativism, God's word is what separates white from black. In it we find clear definitions of right and wrong, and in the unspecified areas we find clear guiding principles to help us be discerning. My church says this about the bible in it's statement of faith: "...the Bible is free of error in all it teaches." I agree whole-heartedly with this - but it's not always easy.
When I first came to my church, I had a terribly proud attitude (I can still have a terribly proud attitude) and thought I was wise. There were some doctrinal stances that the church took that I disagreed with, and I proudly said to the pastors "show me in God's word where it says that and I'll change my opinion, but not before."
And whadduya know, they did just that.
Now I had a question to ask myself: was I really and truly basing my definition of truth on scripture or was I basing it on my own opinions? I was being confronted with scripture that ran consistently contrary to my stances - what was I going to do? After living for 22 years believing that 3 was green, believing it deep down in my bones, being so convinced of it that it made me ill to think otherwise - scripture was telling me 3 was red. What now?
By God's grace, I was able to submit those things to his word, and over time, my opinions really did come to aline with his. It wasn't easy, but over time, 3 became red - and I'm so glad it did.
The battle isn't over though. I fight it every day. Every day I wake up with my green 3s - with lies that I cling to and cultivate in my sinful heart, lies that I neglect to submit to God's word. Whenever I'm bitter I'm believing the lie that I have the right to judge others. Every time I'm angry I believe the lie that I deserve to be treated better than I have been. Whenever I feel lonely I'm believing the lie that God has left me alone. When I fall into the sin of pride again and despair of ever changing, I'm believing the lie that God is unfaithful to me and won't help me grow. In these moments, I'm totally convinced that 3 is green, because it's my nature to do so. It's my sinful nature to believe lies. It's my sinful nature to believe that God doesn't rightfully have a claim to every aspect of my life. It's my sinful nature to believe that I'm an accurate judge of my own and others' character. It's my sinful nature to believe I'm good enough, and therefore don't need a savior.
And when God's world flies in the face of these lies - when it clearly states that 3 is red - it's not easy to submit to that. When bitter, it's not easy to forgive as God in Christ forgave me. When lonely it's not easy to believe that Christ befriended the sinner. When caught in recurring sin, it's not easy to believe that he who began a good work in me will carry it through to completion. It's not easy to believe 3 is red. It grates against everything in me. My very flesh wars against it - but truth is not subject to my feelings and opinions - my feelings and opinions should be subject to it - subject to God's word, the perfect standard of measure he has mercifully given us.
What are the green 3s in your life? The lies you believe that your flesh rails against submitting to God's word? I'd encourage you to root them out and submit them to the truth of scripture. It hurts, but this kind of struggle is purifying, and I can tell you life is so much freer when we aren't clinging to 3 being green, and so much more beautiful when we allow God to pick the colors.
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16 March 2007
Mail Merge
I'd never done a microsoft office mail merge before yesterday.
I'd tried twice before and was never successful.
But I had a deadline. This mailer had to go out the next day. It had to get done now. This mail merge had to work.
I thought about how I had struggled through one of these earlier in the year, how I'd pulled from every trick I'd ever learned about Microsoft Word, only to get to the end and be told my source document was bad, or something equally as cryptic. My knowledge of this program did not carry me then...
But this had to work today. It had to.
"God," I silently prayed. "This has to work. I trust you with it."
The mailer was successfully completed in 20 minutes.
Moral?
I'd tried twice before and was never successful.
But I had a deadline. This mailer had to go out the next day. It had to get done now. This mail merge had to work.
I thought about how I had struggled through one of these earlier in the year, how I'd pulled from every trick I'd ever learned about Microsoft Word, only to get to the end and be told my source document was bad, or something equally as cryptic. My knowledge of this program did not carry me then...
But this had to work today. It had to.
"God," I silently prayed. "This has to work. I trust you with it."
The mailer was successfully completed in 20 minutes.
Moral?
"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act." - Psalm 37:5
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6
05 March 2007
Humility...
I've been working at my church for 2 months now. Rightnow, we're having a Staff Retreat. It's been fun. We've talked about funny stuff. We've played get-to-know-you games. We've eaten Chinese out of big aluminum containers.
And now the whole staff - and keep in mind we're a bunch of secretaries and facilities guys - has been asked to critique how our pastors do what they do on Sunday Mornings.
I'm 24. I've attended the church for a 2 years. I've worked at the church for 2 months.
Beyond that, I'm proud.
And my pastors want my input on what they've been doing for decades.
My pastors are humble.
And now the whole staff - and keep in mind we're a bunch of secretaries and facilities guys - has been asked to critique how our pastors do what they do on Sunday Mornings.
I'm 24. I've attended the church for a 2 years. I've worked at the church for 2 months.
Beyond that, I'm proud.
And my pastors want my input on what they've been doing for decades.
My pastors are humble.
28 February 2007
Psalm 139
"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." --Psalm 139:1-6
27 November 2006
Another evidence...
...that my husband is the best in the world.
Last year he told me he was going to buy me a winter coat. I tried a Mountain Hardware jacket with a synthetic filler for a couple days. It fit perfectly, but it just didn't cut it. I was still ill then and really didn't handle the cold well. I was so sad to return it, because I loved the jacket. It was pink with a fun pattern embroidered on it, and it could be refersed to be a more subdued gray with pink boxes. Next I tried a Patagonia jacket filled with down that packed really small, but it was too short in the waist (I run into this all the time...). Next I broke down and bought the full-on, top o'the line Mountain Hardware jacket and it stuck. It served me well on all those below freezing mornings I was waiting for the bus.
And winter's come again - but I'm healthy this year, and I'm handling the cold alot better. So Stephan showed up the other night with a big bag in hand...
"Surprise! Happy Thanksgiving!" he cried as he produced the same pink Mountain Hardware I had to return last year! He remembered how much I loved it and got it for me again! I've worn it every day since!
Psalm 16
My email in box is overflowing because I haven't cleaned it out recently. My husband had to get up at 3:30 this morning and left before I woke up to go for a physical 5am at Fort Mead. He closes tonight and I won't see him until about 11 o'clock. I've got a big project with a due date fast approaching and I haven't had time to work on it. It's Monday. It's that icky part of fall where everything's cold and dead but there's no redeeming snowfall. I haven't been out in the woods in ages. I'm not exercising. My best friend has been in the UK for 3 weeks and I'm jealous. Another of my good friends just had a baby and I'm jealous. Another of my good friends is back in Misourri with her sister, whose due to have a baby any day now and I miss her alot. Another of my good friends is studying abroad in Mexico this semester and I just learned she's going to Guatemala for 2 weeks after exams. I miss her and I'm jealous. I may have to leave my church in a year or so.
And if that were't enough, I just noticed my stapler is jammed.
I'm a little down.
STOP - here I go with the neutral language. Scripture never uses the word "down". Let's try again. How about self-piteous? Looks like I've got a bit of a self-focus issue...
Time to bring out the weaponry. Paul refers to scripture as our sword. He's not kidding.
A couple weeks ago the girls in my caregroup helped me see some sin (specifically a lack of joy) and advised me to memorize Psalm 16. Let's see if I can get through it here...
Well, almost. I'll pin it down on the busride home. It's a good one to memorize and have in your back pocket. In God's presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more. So what if my stapler is jammed. Its hard to have my husband gone so much when everyone around me seems to have their husband home every night. It's hard to be "waiting for life to start" with children and travel and a house. But In God's presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. He instructs me and gives me counsel. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. He is my refuge. I have no good apart from him. This is truth, and a bad day doesn't change it.
This is the time when I've got to grab on to what's true and squeeze it until my heart beleives it.
And if that were't enough, I just noticed my stapler is jammed.
I'm a little down.
STOP - here I go with the neutral language. Scripture never uses the word "down". Let's try again. How about self-piteous? Looks like I've got a bit of a self-focus issue...
Time to bring out the weaponry. Paul refers to scripture as our sword. He's not kidding.
A couple weeks ago the girls in my caregroup helped me see some sin (specifically a lack of joy) and advised me to memorize Psalm 16. Let's see if I can get through it here...
Preserve me, Oh lord, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, you are my Lord, I have no good apart from you.
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another God shall multiply,
Their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out, or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my portion and my cup, you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.
Indeed I have a beautiful inheretance
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel.
In the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Since he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices.
For in your presense there is fullness of joy, and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Well, almost. I'll pin it down on the busride home. It's a good one to memorize and have in your back pocket. In God's presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more. So what if my stapler is jammed. Its hard to have my husband gone so much when everyone around me seems to have their husband home every night. It's hard to be "waiting for life to start" with children and travel and a house. But In God's presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. He instructs me and gives me counsel. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. He is my refuge. I have no good apart from him. This is truth, and a bad day doesn't change it.
This is the time when I've got to grab on to what's true and squeeze it until my heart beleives it.
25 November 2006
Christmas 0 and Christmas 1
Being as Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas season has official started, I thought I'd post some pictures from last year. Stephan and I got married in 2004. That Christmas has been dubbed "Christmas zero" because Stephan was sick and we spent Christmas week and Christmas day sick and caring for the sick. Last year was our first official Christmas - Christmas one. This year will be Christmas two!
So here are some pictures from Christmas 1 (we have none for Christmas 0).
But it didn't stop there. Down left you can see "Kite Cookie", and Stephan's "Accidental Animal" Series. He cut out a dog (well, the dog isn't so accidental), so that's "Dog Cookie", and the three below it are "Accidental Camel Cookie," "Accidental Anteater Cookie", and "Accidental Elephant Cookie". Down Right we also have "Lemon Cookie" (the blue blob in the top right of the rack) and "Stoplight Cookie."
So here are some pictures from Christmas 1 (we have none for Christmas 0).
This is the star on top of the tree. Anyone who knows me knows I love stars, and our star had to be perfect. I really like the filigree on this.
We really tried hard on Christmas 1 to instate some Christmas traditions of our own. One thing we decided to do was make Christmas cookies a few weeks before. I found a phenomenal sugar cookie recipe and it's become our family recipe.
We really tried hard on Christmas 1 to instate some Christmas traditions of our own. One thing we decided to do was make Christmas cookies a few weeks before. I found a phenomenal sugar cookie recipe and it's become our family recipe.
(the only down side is that it calls for 2 sticks of butter...)
We mixed colored frosting and frosted the cookies. I thought we'd have nice simple cookies, but Stephan got ahold of them and they kinda became modern art cookies. You can see below "S Cookie", "I HEART U Cookie", and "Pretzel Cookie". I figured I'd join in if he was going to deface our Christmas cookies and I couldn't stop him. "K HEART S Cookie" and "Rainbow Cookie" are my contributions.
But it didn't stop there. Down left you can see "Kite Cookie", and Stephan's "Accidental Animal" Series. He cut out a dog (well, the dog isn't so accidental), so that's "Dog Cookie", and the three below it are "Accidental Camel Cookie," "Accidental Anteater Cookie", and "Accidental Elephant Cookie". Down Right we also have "Lemon Cookie" (the blue blob in the top right of the rack) and "Stoplight Cookie."
Ah, relief. We also made it tradition to make a big star cookie apiece, decorate them, and give them to each other. I think you can tell who decorated which...
Stephan the Christmas cookie monster.
After the Christmas cookies we waited for Christmas Eve. After church service we came home and popped popcorn, and settled in for a game of Monopoly. (You can tell Stephan was absolutely elated.)
This has never happened before, and hasn't happened since, but I beat him to the point where he only had one dollar to his name. (That's one Monopoly Dollar he's holding).
After Monopoly we cleaned up and made the house look real Christmasy for then next morning. I can't wait to do it again.
Our dining room...
Our great room...
Here's our little tree! Perfect size - a gift from my parents who decided it was unacceptable for us to pass another year without a tree. We piled the gifts beneath it.
Stockings... (most of you hang them on a fireplace - we hang ours on a bookshelf!)
Our beautiful coffee table with some additional treats made since we'd eaten all the Christmas cookies.
And to bed we went. We had plans to get up early...
And go for a Christmas Wassail! Well, we aren't really Wassailing because we don't sing, but we do hike. We intended to get up and go to Sugarloaf Mountain to see the sun rise, but the roads aren't open before sunrise, so we just turned back and went in our local woods. This is my favorite picture from last years Wassail. After this we went home, showered, and went to church (since Christmas was on a Sunday last year!)
Then it was home for our Christmas Quiet time and presents. We always read the story of Jesus birth before we do anything with the presents. There's nothing more exciting than the savior of the world making his appearance on earth. That's the whole reason we have Christmas anyway! So after we read and and prayed, we open our gifts.
It's also tradition to get each other a teacup. These were the teacups from Christmas 1. Mine's the one with the dragonflies on it, but it had a crack in it, so Stephan returned it and bought me one with a cute kittie on it instead. It's equally as adorable.
...It's also tradition to make a horrible mess...
...and make a big dinner! Dinner for Christmas 1 was Rabbit in a cream sauce with fresh herbs, asparagus, dill carrots, mashed potatoes and mulled red wine. You can't see it here, but we had pumpkin marmalade on oaty bread before hand. It was a great meal.
So that was Christmas 1. Christmas 2 is on the approach!
This has never happened before, and hasn't happened since, but I beat him to the point where he only had one dollar to his name. (That's one Monopoly Dollar he's holding).After Monopoly we cleaned up and made the house look real Christmasy for then next morning. I can't wait to do it again.
Our dining room...
Our great room...
Here's our little tree! Perfect size - a gift from my parents who decided it was unacceptable for us to pass another year without a tree. We piled the gifts beneath it.
Stockings... (most of you hang them on a fireplace - we hang ours on a bookshelf!)
Our beautiful coffee table with some additional treats made since we'd eaten all the Christmas cookies.
And to bed we went. We had plans to get up early...
And go for a Christmas Wassail! Well, we aren't really Wassailing because we don't sing, but we do hike. We intended to get up and go to Sugarloaf Mountain to see the sun rise, but the roads aren't open before sunrise, so we just turned back and went in our local woods. This is my favorite picture from last years Wassail. After this we went home, showered, and went to church (since Christmas was on a Sunday last year!)Then it was home for our Christmas Quiet time and presents. We always read the story of Jesus birth before we do anything with the presents. There's nothing more exciting than the savior of the world making his appearance on earth. That's the whole reason we have Christmas anyway! So after we read and and prayed, we open our gifts.
It's also tradition to get each other a teacup. These were the teacups from Christmas 1. Mine's the one with the dragonflies on it, but it had a crack in it, so Stephan returned it and bought me one with a cute kittie on it instead. It's equally as adorable.
...It's also tradition to make a horrible mess...
...and make a big dinner! Dinner for Christmas 1 was Rabbit in a cream sauce with fresh herbs, asparagus, dill carrots, mashed potatoes and mulled red wine. You can't see it here, but we had pumpkin marmalade on oaty bread before hand. It was a great meal.So that was Christmas 1. Christmas 2 is on the approach!
More random photos...
This is Stephan at Cunningham Falls
Me at Cunningham Falls
Stephan at Cunningham Falls
Me at Cunningham Falls
This is a Great Blue Heron I saw early in the morning at Great Falls National Park while hiking with my friend Gloria.
The famous heart shaped rock on the Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls
Gloria with the Potomac River in the background
This tree was too Tolkienian to pass up. We named it Gandalf.Some random pictures...
Hubby and brother playing Grand Tourismo! (...on my playstation)
Our first Beignets! (Thanks dad and mom!)
My attempts at artistic photography
The biggest strawberry ever
Jacques the frog, resident of Sugar Loaf Mountain
I witnessed this accident at the entrance to our apartment complex. This is one of the photos we took for the police report.
More proof I have the best husband in the world - not only did he by me a knew bike, he had the best mechanic in the world build it for me, then he put my name on it!
Pumpkin Carving
And now for the story of our Halloween Pumpkins this year. Blogger must have been instating it's new beta version during this time, because I couldn't publish a darn thing around Halloween.
Anyway, a couple days before Halloween Stephan text me to tell me he may come home a little early. I text back and asked if we could carve pumpkins that night. He said sure. We'd go to Butlers Orchard and get the pumpkins.
He comes home and I'm making dinner. After the normals hellos he asked if we could have 10 minutes to write up a job application. I said sure.
30 minutes later I asked him how much longer he thought he'd be. "Not long," he answered.
Dinner's cooling by this point and I asked if what he was doing couldn't wait. He finally said it could. "What time does Butler's close?" I asked. "Six," he answered. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes."
We ate dinner. Stephan must have gotten nervous because he decided to check Butler's hours right before we left at 5:45. "Oh..." he said sheepishly from the computer. "They close at 5:30..."
I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but I tried to be gracious. Stephan insisted we'd still get pumpkins. We'd go to Whole Foods. So we got in the car and off to Whole Foods we went.
We arrived there to see their pumpkin stock severely depleted. There were 5 pumpkins, all of which were either flat, moldy, or leaking. And they had not stems - and I believe every proper Jack O'Lantern needs a stem!
Stephan switched into superhero mode at this point. His wife would have a pumpkin! He insisted we'd go over to a Giant nearby and there would be pumpkins - he was sure. So in the car we got and off to Giant we went. On the way we passed a Michael's. "Would they have pumpkins?" Stephan asked.
I grew up with a very crafty mother. I know Michaels. "No," I said.
Giant's pumpkin stock was no better than Whole Foods. All their flat-sided, moldy, leaking (and stemless) pumpkins were in a grocery cart sitting lonely outside - not even holding it's illustrious place by the apple cider anymore. It had been banished.
At that point I just sighed and told Stephan we should go back to Whole Foods and get some of the little pumpkin pie pumpkins. We didn't need big pumpkins. But he was intent. He agreed to go back to Whole Foods, but he was certain two of the flat-moldy-leaking (stemless) pumpkins had to be ok. They just had to.
On the way back, he drove right in front of Michael's. "PUMPKINS!" he screamed and jerked the wheel to park in a parking space. I grabbed to "Oh shoot" handle and Stephan was out of the car before I could protest, running into the vestibule of the store, elated to have found pumpkins - crates and crates of perfectly shaped pumpkins! ...in three neat sizes...all with perfect stems and no flat sides or mold or leaks...
I walked up to him as he picked up one of the heavenly squashes and tried not to say anything stupid. His face fell into a confused scowl. He tossed the thing up and down, surprised at how light it was. He looked around at the signage and his confusion was dispelled.
"Ah man!" he cried, looking down at the traitorous pumpkin. "These are fake pumpkins!" He was aghast at the very thought. "Who would make fake pumpkins? Look!" he pointed to a nearby display. "You can even carve these fake pumpkins! Who would want to do that!" He tossed the pumpkin back into it's bin, totally disgusted.
I stepped in and tried to comfort him then. Pumpkins aren't that important, I said. We can stop looking and go home. We have cider. Let's go mull it and read together.
"Oh no!" Stephan said, leading me back out to the car. "We're finding pumpkins!"
So back to Whole Foods we went. I picked out one of the little pumpkin pie pumpkins that would suffice for my purposes and began thinking of the pie I'd make with the innards. Stephan was once again inspecting the dregs of the carving pumpkins. "Are you sure this one won't work?" he asked, bringing me one of the better specimens.
My heart gave in then. He wanted so badly to get me a pumpkin. He was trying so hard. He loved me so much and wanted me to be happy. Suddenly that pumpkin was the perfect-est I'd ever seen.
"Actually," I said, putting down my little stemmed pumpkin and taking the one he was holding, "this is a perfect pumpkin! I didn't see it the first time. Is there another one for you?" He found one for himself. "Are you sure you like that pumpkin?" he said suspiciously. I smiled. "Yes!" I said, taking his hand and walking toward the check out.
On the way there, something caught my eye. It was an impact display on the end of one of the aisles, full with spider webs, autumn leaves ... and pumpkins. Well preserved pumpkins. Well colored pumpkins. "Oh, look there..." I let slip. "Maybe they'd sell us their display pumpkins..."
Out came the cape again. Stephan was on the case. He threw his pumpkin into my arms and made for the customer service counter, where he asked if he could purchase two of their display pumpkins. They consented, and we took two of their display pumpkins and replaced them with our flat-moldy-leaking (stemless) pumpkins.
I was elated. My pumpkin was the perfect size, the perfect color, the perfect shape, and had a proper stem!
We went right home and set to carving them. I think the end results were very nice. We roasted the seeds and made pumpkin pies from the flesh. I also invented a yummy pumpkin salad recipe later in the week.
And as if a night of valiant pumpkin hunting weren't enough, my husband finished the night by carving the cutest but most frightening thing into his pumpkin... You'll see what I mean.
(Stephan valiantly made sure his pumpkin was dead before the carving began)
(my pumpkin had a proper stem!)
(I carved leaves blowing in the nighttime wind)
(Stephan carved me!)
I think they came out well. (You can see Stephan carved "I LOVE KARI" onto the side of his. I have the best husband in the world!)
Anyway, a couple days before Halloween Stephan text me to tell me he may come home a little early. I text back and asked if we could carve pumpkins that night. He said sure. We'd go to Butlers Orchard and get the pumpkins.
He comes home and I'm making dinner. After the normals hellos he asked if we could have 10 minutes to write up a job application. I said sure.
30 minutes later I asked him how much longer he thought he'd be. "Not long," he answered.
Dinner's cooling by this point and I asked if what he was doing couldn't wait. He finally said it could. "What time does Butler's close?" I asked. "Six," he answered. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Yes."
We ate dinner. Stephan must have gotten nervous because he decided to check Butler's hours right before we left at 5:45. "Oh..." he said sheepishly from the computer. "They close at 5:30..."
I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but I tried to be gracious. Stephan insisted we'd still get pumpkins. We'd go to Whole Foods. So we got in the car and off to Whole Foods we went.
We arrived there to see their pumpkin stock severely depleted. There were 5 pumpkins, all of which were either flat, moldy, or leaking. And they had not stems - and I believe every proper Jack O'Lantern needs a stem!
Stephan switched into superhero mode at this point. His wife would have a pumpkin! He insisted we'd go over to a Giant nearby and there would be pumpkins - he was sure. So in the car we got and off to Giant we went. On the way we passed a Michael's. "Would they have pumpkins?" Stephan asked.
I grew up with a very crafty mother. I know Michaels. "No," I said.
Giant's pumpkin stock was no better than Whole Foods. All their flat-sided, moldy, leaking (and stemless) pumpkins were in a grocery cart sitting lonely outside - not even holding it's illustrious place by the apple cider anymore. It had been banished.
At that point I just sighed and told Stephan we should go back to Whole Foods and get some of the little pumpkin pie pumpkins. We didn't need big pumpkins. But he was intent. He agreed to go back to Whole Foods, but he was certain two of the flat-moldy-leaking (stemless) pumpkins had to be ok. They just had to.
On the way back, he drove right in front of Michael's. "PUMPKINS!" he screamed and jerked the wheel to park in a parking space. I grabbed to "Oh shoot" handle and Stephan was out of the car before I could protest, running into the vestibule of the store, elated to have found pumpkins - crates and crates of perfectly shaped pumpkins! ...in three neat sizes...all with perfect stems and no flat sides or mold or leaks...
I walked up to him as he picked up one of the heavenly squashes and tried not to say anything stupid. His face fell into a confused scowl. He tossed the thing up and down, surprised at how light it was. He looked around at the signage and his confusion was dispelled.
"Ah man!" he cried, looking down at the traitorous pumpkin. "These are fake pumpkins!" He was aghast at the very thought. "Who would make fake pumpkins? Look!" he pointed to a nearby display. "You can even carve these fake pumpkins! Who would want to do that!" He tossed the pumpkin back into it's bin, totally disgusted.
I stepped in and tried to comfort him then. Pumpkins aren't that important, I said. We can stop looking and go home. We have cider. Let's go mull it and read together.
"Oh no!" Stephan said, leading me back out to the car. "We're finding pumpkins!"
So back to Whole Foods we went. I picked out one of the little pumpkin pie pumpkins that would suffice for my purposes and began thinking of the pie I'd make with the innards. Stephan was once again inspecting the dregs of the carving pumpkins. "Are you sure this one won't work?" he asked, bringing me one of the better specimens.
My heart gave in then. He wanted so badly to get me a pumpkin. He was trying so hard. He loved me so much and wanted me to be happy. Suddenly that pumpkin was the perfect-est I'd ever seen.
"Actually," I said, putting down my little stemmed pumpkin and taking the one he was holding, "this is a perfect pumpkin! I didn't see it the first time. Is there another one for you?" He found one for himself. "Are you sure you like that pumpkin?" he said suspiciously. I smiled. "Yes!" I said, taking his hand and walking toward the check out.
On the way there, something caught my eye. It was an impact display on the end of one of the aisles, full with spider webs, autumn leaves ... and pumpkins. Well preserved pumpkins. Well colored pumpkins. "Oh, look there..." I let slip. "Maybe they'd sell us their display pumpkins..."
Out came the cape again. Stephan was on the case. He threw his pumpkin into my arms and made for the customer service counter, where he asked if he could purchase two of their display pumpkins. They consented, and we took two of their display pumpkins and replaced them with our flat-moldy-leaking (stemless) pumpkins.
I was elated. My pumpkin was the perfect size, the perfect color, the perfect shape, and had a proper stem!
We went right home and set to carving them. I think the end results were very nice. We roasted the seeds and made pumpkin pies from the flesh. I also invented a yummy pumpkin salad recipe later in the week.
And as if a night of valiant pumpkin hunting weren't enough, my husband finished the night by carving the cutest but most frightening thing into his pumpkin... You'll see what I mean.
(Stephan valiantly made sure his pumpkin was dead before the carving began)
(my pumpkin had a proper stem!)
(I carved leaves blowing in the nighttime wind)
(Stephan carved me!)
I think they came out well. (You can see Stephan carved "I LOVE KARI" onto the side of his. I have the best husband in the world!)24 November 2006
Some thoughts to ponder on Black Friday...
A picture of human greed...
- On November 17th Sony released it's PlayStation 3 gaming console.
- In Hartford, Connecticut, at 3am on that morning, two armed thugs approached people lined up to buy it outside Wal-Mart and demanded their money. One patron resisted and was shot.
- About 30 miles away in Manchester, another shopper was beaten by 5 men and robbed of his console 3 minuts after he bought it.
- In Fresno, California, a frenzied crowd trampled a few people in a parking lot as they stampeded when the store's doors were opened.
- In Sullivan, Indiana, a man was sent to the hospital with a critical stab wound after he and a friend (weilding a tire iron and a chain) tried to rob a man of his PS3, which he'd waited in line 36 hours to buy.
- An Englewood, Ohio store was held up by two men in ski masks and sunglasses, who made off with 5 of the consoles.
- In Allentown, Pennsylvania, a teenager was also robbed of his new PlayStation by a man who tapped on his car window with a handgun.
- Police had to fire a talcum powder ball at the ground outside a Target store in Henrico, Virginia, to get the attention of an unruly crowd of about 350 people who were waiting to buy one of the shop's eight consoles.
- Sony's PlayStation 3 is now selling on Ebay for as much as $4,500.00
Some indicators that Jesus knew how badly we'd be tempted to greed...
- Jesus addressed money and material posessions more than any other single topic in scripture.
- He talked more about it than about the topics of faith and prayer combined.
- He talked more about it either heaven or hell.
- 15% of all of Christ's recorded words were devoted to the topic of material wealth and how we relate to it.
- Sixteen of Christ's 38 parables were devoted to the topic of money (and he was talking to the poor of his time).
God's kindness to Americans inspite of their greed...
- Americans, since 1950, have used more resorces than the Roman Empire at it's height, the entire Third World population, and all the Americans who have lived before us.
- If you brought in a mere $1500 last year, you made more money than 80% of the world's population.
- If you have adequate food, sufficient clothing, live in a house or an apartment and have reasonably reliable transportation, you're among the top 15% of the worlds wealthy.
- If you have all these things plus a savings, more than adequate clothing, a hobby that requires any kind of regular expenditure or gear, and own your own home, you are among the top 5% of the worlds wealthy.
- America is the wealthiest society that has ever existed.
God's instructionss concerning greed...
"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." --1 Timothy 6:6-12
Black Friday gets its name from the retailers' belief that their stores will go from red with debt to black with profit. Let's remember what Christ had to say about money and material posessions on this, the biggest retail day of the year, and not blacken the 'black' in this Friday with our greed.
If you're interested in diving deeper into the topic of greed, my church did a great preaching series on it called "Affluenza". You can access it by going to my church's website, clicking on "tools for growth", then "sermons - past". Scroll down to January 8, 15, and 22.
Thanksgiving
"...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." --1 Thess 5:18
There's a guy here at work who, when you ask him if he celebrates Thanksgiving, will tell you that every day is Thanksgiving to him. That's a good attitude.
God didn't set up Thanksgiving to be the only day of the year when we're to be focused on how much he has blessed us. He calls us to give thanks in all circumstances, regardless of date, time, place, or comfort. Good times show us his mercy and generosity. Bad times show us his committment to making us more like his son and less like the world. The inbetween times show us his forbearance with our sin. There's never a reason not to give thanks.
Instead of having separate quiet times on Thanksgiving Day, Stephan and I spent some time praying together and thanking God for all our blessings. I'm always amazed at how much I have to be thankful for when I really purpose to think about it.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for my salvation. I have the hope of heaven thanks to what Christ did for me on the cross. There's nothing I praise God for more than this.
Second, I'm thankful for my husband. I know I should feel guilty that the absolute best husband in the world is now off the market, but I don't. Stephan, I don't deserve your love, your patience, your encouragement, your care, or your example in godliness. I need look no further than you to see how much God loves me. Thank you for extending his love to me through your constant service and sacrifice for me. You're my greatest gift under my salvation. Thank you for marrying me.
Next comes my family! I have the coolest parents, the coolest parents in law, the coolest brother, the coolest siblings-in-law, the coolest extended family, the coolest extended family-in-law, and the coolest pets-in-law. God has shown me so much kindess and generosity through each of them. I hope to be more like each of them before I die, by God's grace.
Friends are certainly on my list. I've been blessed with so many friends from all over the world throughout the years. I wish I had the time to spend every evening with each of them. Lucky for me they understand busy schedules...and time differences! I'm so grateful for them.
And of course, I'm thankful for all my material blessings - food, clothing, water, shelter, not to mention the trillions of extras. God has been lavishly kind to me. I should be more grateful.
I've also been aware lately of how God has been particularly faithful to make good on his promises. Promises for provision, guidance, and growth have all come true in my life, just as God said they would in his Word. I'm grateful for that.
Oh, I guess I should talk about dinner. I spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my husband, parents-in-law, uncle-in-law, and their two dogs-in-law. We had green beans, curried pumpkin soup, cranberry salad, baked ham, mashed potatoes, and crab cakes (we're not an orthodox bunch). Dessert was fruit tarts with fresh whipcream. The best part though was getting to be with family, and see my uncle's woodwork and hear his stories again. I love his stories.
So, make sure to sit and think about what you have to be grateful for if you haven't already. It really brightens your day!
There's a guy here at work who, when you ask him if he celebrates Thanksgiving, will tell you that every day is Thanksgiving to him. That's a good attitude.
God didn't set up Thanksgiving to be the only day of the year when we're to be focused on how much he has blessed us. He calls us to give thanks in all circumstances, regardless of date, time, place, or comfort. Good times show us his mercy and generosity. Bad times show us his committment to making us more like his son and less like the world. The inbetween times show us his forbearance with our sin. There's never a reason not to give thanks.
Instead of having separate quiet times on Thanksgiving Day, Stephan and I spent some time praying together and thanking God for all our blessings. I'm always amazed at how much I have to be thankful for when I really purpose to think about it.
First and foremost, I'm thankful for my salvation. I have the hope of heaven thanks to what Christ did for me on the cross. There's nothing I praise God for more than this.
Second, I'm thankful for my husband. I know I should feel guilty that the absolute best husband in the world is now off the market, but I don't. Stephan, I don't deserve your love, your patience, your encouragement, your care, or your example in godliness. I need look no further than you to see how much God loves me. Thank you for extending his love to me through your constant service and sacrifice for me. You're my greatest gift under my salvation. Thank you for marrying me.
Next comes my family! I have the coolest parents, the coolest parents in law, the coolest brother, the coolest siblings-in-law, the coolest extended family, the coolest extended family-in-law, and the coolest pets-in-law. God has shown me so much kindess and generosity through each of them. I hope to be more like each of them before I die, by God's grace.
Friends are certainly on my list. I've been blessed with so many friends from all over the world throughout the years. I wish I had the time to spend every evening with each of them. Lucky for me they understand busy schedules...and time differences! I'm so grateful for them.
And of course, I'm thankful for all my material blessings - food, clothing, water, shelter, not to mention the trillions of extras. God has been lavishly kind to me. I should be more grateful.
I've also been aware lately of how God has been particularly faithful to make good on his promises. Promises for provision, guidance, and growth have all come true in my life, just as God said they would in his Word. I'm grateful for that.
Oh, I guess I should talk about dinner. I spent Thanksgiving in New Jersey with my husband, parents-in-law, uncle-in-law, and their two dogs-in-law. We had green beans, curried pumpkin soup, cranberry salad, baked ham, mashed potatoes, and crab cakes (we're not an orthodox bunch). Dessert was fruit tarts with fresh whipcream. The best part though was getting to be with family, and see my uncle's woodwork and hear his stories again. I love his stories.
So, make sure to sit and think about what you have to be grateful for if you haven't already. It really brightens your day!
22 November 2006
He is Faithful
On the 15th of September, our church had our first Family Room meeting, which is a time when families can join to hear biblical teaching specific to family life. One of the things we were encouraged to do was to prioritize two or three big things in our lives and point both barrells at doing them. One of the things Stephan and I picked was praying together daily. We chose to do it first thing in the morning - and starting September 16th we did. One of the things we started praying for was a job for Stephan with better hours, better pay, and some tuition assistance - and before the holidays. We prayed this prayer every day, and nothing happened.
On the 16th of October, I was waiting for my turn to be issued a special computer access card in the ID office of the hospital. Two hours had passed and though I was completely engrossed in The Count of Monte Cristo, I noticed when an older military couple walked in. The husband was obviously a high ranking officer in the Navy, and his wife was very obviously an officer's wife. She was very regal and elegant, dressed in a beautiful crayola blue angora sweater. She called to mind all the duties and sacrifices an officer's wife is called to, and a thought crossed my mind. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was harmless. Whatever it was, it was simple.
"I could do that..."
Another question followed immediately. "Perhaps you could - but would you?"
It's not often I can say with confidence that I know the voice of God when I hear it, but boy, did I hear it then. Would I? Well, if there's one place you have unlimited, undisturbed time to think, its in a military pass and ID office. I turned the question over and over in my mind, I a most remarkable thing happened - in an instant, I felt my heart change.
I'd walked into that office as a woman who'd grown up in a military family and hated it. I felt I'd done my 20 years and had retired - I'd paid my time. I had forbade my husband to even consider the military because the cons outweighed the pros. It was a terrible way to raise kids. It kept families apart. It could be dangerous. It was just out of the question.
But my heart changed. Suddenly my answer to "would you" switched from "absolutely not" to "yes".
Don't be confused here folks. This wasn't just me maturing. It wasn't getting more information to make a better judgement. I didn't finally 'see things logically'. I still think it's a terrible way to raise kids. I still think it keeps families apart and that's bad. It could still be dangerous. The difference isn't that the military suddenly became appealing or good - it's that God imparted faith to walk through that lifestyle.
So what was I to do? Jump over to the recruitment office? Certainly not. I prayed and asked God, and I felt he wanted me to simply call my husband and release him to consider the military as a career choice if he thought it was best for our family.
So I did - and Stephan told me he'd been thinking about it for years but would have never acted on it without my blessing. Now he had it and he would.
So he found a recruiter and began a dialogue. There were tests to take, physicals to do, interviews to hold. It was going to be a process. We had no idea how long (or short) it would be. We kept praying.
One Sunday during this time I saw an advertisement in the church bulletin. The Alpha administrator was vacating her position and they were seeking to fill it. I elbowed Stephan and pointed.
"You have to apply," he said.
I nodded. He was right. I hadn't been looking to change jobs. I liked my current job. My coworkers were awesome. My boss was fantastic. But this was the Alpha administrator position. The Alpha ministry is a 10-week intro to Christianity. I loved this program. I already volunteered for it. I loved seeing unbelievers come and get to ask their questions without feeling pressure. Some of them came to faith in Christ, some just left more knowledgeable. Either way, they heard the gospel, and I loved seeing that happen. Ever since my first Alpha session I'd wanted to have the administrator job. That had been almost 3 years ago. Now it was open. I couldn't not apply. But I was nervous about it - what if the military called us away in a couple months?
"We'll just walk through it in faith," Stephan kept telling me. "God will put the perfect person into that job."
And that became another of our morning prayers. "God, give Stephan a job with better pay, better hours, and tuition assistance before the holidays, and please put the perfect person into the Alpha admin job, even if it isn't Kari."
October turned to November and the first week passed. I applied and had two interviews in that time. Then came election day - my birthday. I was sitting at my desk when a vaguely familiar number showed up on the caller ID. I couldn't place it, so I just picked up and answered as I did for my office.
"This is Stephanie," I said.
"Hello, is this Kari?" a man's voice asked.
I gripped the edge of my desk. It was the outreach pastor - he'd be my boss if I got the job. I knew the number now. "Yes," I said.
After awkwardly asking if I could call him right back, I took my cell phone and ran down to the courtyard. My thoughts were wild. What if I got the job? The military might call me away. We just didn't know. I should probably turn it down. It wouldn't be fair to accept the position only to resign right after. I was excited to think I might have gotten it, but a little wary - and almost hopefuly that this wasn't an offer.
I called the pastor back once outside.
"I'm calling to let you know that after prayerful consideration we've decided to offer the position to someone else."
"Oh! Great!" I cried.
"Pardon?"
"I'm sorry, go ahead."
He went on to say that I wasn't being hired, but asked if I was willing to be considered for other positions if the church had need. He knew of some changes being made in the office and forsaw the church needing to hire again. "Would you like to be considered if something comes up in the next few months?"
"Yes!" I said. "This actually works out perfectly. My husband and I have a decision to make in the next few weeks, so I'll be in a better position to give the church definite answers then. I'd love to be considered later."
I was glad to have been turned down. My prayer was that God would put the perfect person into the job - and I really had faith that he had.
November waned. Stephan was getting signals from work that they may fire him. He was nervous, but still a pillar of faith. He knew no one could touch him unless God had allowed and planned for it. He had applied and interviewed with both Verizon wireless and Starbucks for jobs, and we were waiting to hear back. We kept praying our prayers, thinking the military would be the answer to them.
During that time Stephan continued to pursue the military. We got a time frame. We'd be in the area at least another year. Apparently it was a long process. But at least now we knew. We were pretty much committed to giving the Military a real shot by this point.
An offer finally an offer came from Verizon wireless. Stephan would get a raise in base pay, plus the potential for commission and bonuses. His hours wouldn't be as harsh. They even offered an amount of unrestricted tuition assistance. And it was still a week before Thanksgiving. He had to do a background check and then they could give him a start date.
A couple days after that the mysterious phone number showed up on my caller ID at work again.
"This is Kari," I answered.
"Recognized my number?" the outreach pastor said.
"Yes sir," I replied.
He went on to tell me that due to some changes in his team he was in a position to hire again. The Alpha admin job had been vacated and he wanted to offer it to me.
I had to come clean about the military with him then - but because I had a time frame to give him he said it wasn't a problem.
"I--This is--can I talk to my husband and call you back?" I asked.
Another run down to the courtyard to talk to Stephan.
"Well, you prayed that God would put the perfect person into the job. Maybe it's you," he said.
We decided we were in faith to accept the offer, but that we wouldn't tell my office until Verizon got back to us about Stephan's background check and gave him a start date.
The week of Thanksgiving arrived. No word from Verizon on Monday. On Tuesday I looked at the calendar and called Stephan.
"I know we haven't heard back from Verizon yet," I said, "but I'm looking at the calendar, and it's the week of Thanksgiving. What if they don't get back to you before the holiday? I wouldn't be able to give a proper two weeks notice here."
"You're right," he said. "Go ahead and tell your boss. We'll step out in faith that nothing will have gone wrong with my background check."
I hung up and told my boss I was resigning. Then I told my officemate. Then I waited and told the course director. Once they all knew, I sent an email out to my department. Everyone knew. It was official.
In the early afternoon my phone rang. It was Stephan.
"My background check cleared. I start on the 7th."
We both marveled at how hours after I resigned in faith that his background check would clear, it cleared.
And all before the holidays.
On the 16th of October, I was waiting for my turn to be issued a special computer access card in the ID office of the hospital. Two hours had passed and though I was completely engrossed in The Count of Monte Cristo, I noticed when an older military couple walked in. The husband was obviously a high ranking officer in the Navy, and his wife was very obviously an officer's wife. She was very regal and elegant, dressed in a beautiful crayola blue angora sweater. She called to mind all the duties and sacrifices an officer's wife is called to, and a thought crossed my mind. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was harmless. Whatever it was, it was simple.
"I could do that..."
Another question followed immediately. "Perhaps you could - but would you?"
It's not often I can say with confidence that I know the voice of God when I hear it, but boy, did I hear it then. Would I? Well, if there's one place you have unlimited, undisturbed time to think, its in a military pass and ID office. I turned the question over and over in my mind, I a most remarkable thing happened - in an instant, I felt my heart change.
I'd walked into that office as a woman who'd grown up in a military family and hated it. I felt I'd done my 20 years and had retired - I'd paid my time. I had forbade my husband to even consider the military because the cons outweighed the pros. It was a terrible way to raise kids. It kept families apart. It could be dangerous. It was just out of the question.
But my heart changed. Suddenly my answer to "would you" switched from "absolutely not" to "yes".
Don't be confused here folks. This wasn't just me maturing. It wasn't getting more information to make a better judgement. I didn't finally 'see things logically'. I still think it's a terrible way to raise kids. I still think it keeps families apart and that's bad. It could still be dangerous. The difference isn't that the military suddenly became appealing or good - it's that God imparted faith to walk through that lifestyle.
So what was I to do? Jump over to the recruitment office? Certainly not. I prayed and asked God, and I felt he wanted me to simply call my husband and release him to consider the military as a career choice if he thought it was best for our family.
So I did - and Stephan told me he'd been thinking about it for years but would have never acted on it without my blessing. Now he had it and he would.
So he found a recruiter and began a dialogue. There were tests to take, physicals to do, interviews to hold. It was going to be a process. We had no idea how long (or short) it would be. We kept praying.
One Sunday during this time I saw an advertisement in the church bulletin. The Alpha administrator was vacating her position and they were seeking to fill it. I elbowed Stephan and pointed.
"You have to apply," he said.
I nodded. He was right. I hadn't been looking to change jobs. I liked my current job. My coworkers were awesome. My boss was fantastic. But this was the Alpha administrator position. The Alpha ministry is a 10-week intro to Christianity. I loved this program. I already volunteered for it. I loved seeing unbelievers come and get to ask their questions without feeling pressure. Some of them came to faith in Christ, some just left more knowledgeable. Either way, they heard the gospel, and I loved seeing that happen. Ever since my first Alpha session I'd wanted to have the administrator job. That had been almost 3 years ago. Now it was open. I couldn't not apply. But I was nervous about it - what if the military called us away in a couple months?
"We'll just walk through it in faith," Stephan kept telling me. "God will put the perfect person into that job."
And that became another of our morning prayers. "God, give Stephan a job with better pay, better hours, and tuition assistance before the holidays, and please put the perfect person into the Alpha admin job, even if it isn't Kari."
October turned to November and the first week passed. I applied and had two interviews in that time. Then came election day - my birthday. I was sitting at my desk when a vaguely familiar number showed up on the caller ID. I couldn't place it, so I just picked up and answered as I did for my office.
"This is Stephanie," I said.
"Hello, is this Kari?" a man's voice asked.
I gripped the edge of my desk. It was the outreach pastor - he'd be my boss if I got the job. I knew the number now. "Yes," I said.
After awkwardly asking if I could call him right back, I took my cell phone and ran down to the courtyard. My thoughts were wild. What if I got the job? The military might call me away. We just didn't know. I should probably turn it down. It wouldn't be fair to accept the position only to resign right after. I was excited to think I might have gotten it, but a little wary - and almost hopefuly that this wasn't an offer.
I called the pastor back once outside.
"I'm calling to let you know that after prayerful consideration we've decided to offer the position to someone else."
"Oh! Great!" I cried.
"Pardon?"
"I'm sorry, go ahead."
He went on to say that I wasn't being hired, but asked if I was willing to be considered for other positions if the church had need. He knew of some changes being made in the office and forsaw the church needing to hire again. "Would you like to be considered if something comes up in the next few months?"
"Yes!" I said. "This actually works out perfectly. My husband and I have a decision to make in the next few weeks, so I'll be in a better position to give the church definite answers then. I'd love to be considered later."
I was glad to have been turned down. My prayer was that God would put the perfect person into the job - and I really had faith that he had.
November waned. Stephan was getting signals from work that they may fire him. He was nervous, but still a pillar of faith. He knew no one could touch him unless God had allowed and planned for it. He had applied and interviewed with both Verizon wireless and Starbucks for jobs, and we were waiting to hear back. We kept praying our prayers, thinking the military would be the answer to them.
During that time Stephan continued to pursue the military. We got a time frame. We'd be in the area at least another year. Apparently it was a long process. But at least now we knew. We were pretty much committed to giving the Military a real shot by this point.
An offer finally an offer came from Verizon wireless. Stephan would get a raise in base pay, plus the potential for commission and bonuses. His hours wouldn't be as harsh. They even offered an amount of unrestricted tuition assistance. And it was still a week before Thanksgiving. He had to do a background check and then they could give him a start date.
A couple days after that the mysterious phone number showed up on my caller ID at work again.
"This is Kari," I answered.
"Recognized my number?" the outreach pastor said.
"Yes sir," I replied.
He went on to tell me that due to some changes in his team he was in a position to hire again. The Alpha admin job had been vacated and he wanted to offer it to me.
I had to come clean about the military with him then - but because I had a time frame to give him he said it wasn't a problem.
"I--This is--can I talk to my husband and call you back?" I asked.
Another run down to the courtyard to talk to Stephan.
"Well, you prayed that God would put the perfect person into the job. Maybe it's you," he said.
We decided we were in faith to accept the offer, but that we wouldn't tell my office until Verizon got back to us about Stephan's background check and gave him a start date.
The week of Thanksgiving arrived. No word from Verizon on Monday. On Tuesday I looked at the calendar and called Stephan.
"I know we haven't heard back from Verizon yet," I said, "but I'm looking at the calendar, and it's the week of Thanksgiving. What if they don't get back to you before the holiday? I wouldn't be able to give a proper two weeks notice here."
"You're right," he said. "Go ahead and tell your boss. We'll step out in faith that nothing will have gone wrong with my background check."
I hung up and told my boss I was resigning. Then I told my officemate. Then I waited and told the course director. Once they all knew, I sent an email out to my department. Everyone knew. It was official.
In the early afternoon my phone rang. It was Stephan.
"My background check cleared. I start on the 7th."
We both marveled at how hours after I resigned in faith that his background check would clear, it cleared.
And all before the holidays.
"...if we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself." --2 Timothy 2:13
21 November 2006
2 weeks notice...
I resigned today. I've been offered and have accepted another position, and I gave my 2 weeks notice today.
It's a very very bitter thing to do. When you're about to drop out of someone's life, they say alot of nice things to you - like you're dying. I've been telling people all day "I'm not dying", but they go on saying the nice things, sure they won't hear from me again. I kinda feel like I've been sentenced to death...
I'm a little too mixed-up feeling to pen a proper post today. I'll just say that I adore my coworkers here and am very sad to leave them.
It's a very very bitter thing to do. When you're about to drop out of someone's life, they say alot of nice things to you - like you're dying. I've been telling people all day "I'm not dying", but they go on saying the nice things, sure they won't hear from me again. I kinda feel like I've been sentenced to death...
I'm a little too mixed-up feeling to pen a proper post today. I'll just say that I adore my coworkers here and am very sad to leave them.
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