New Job

I have a new job. Well, sort of.

As of last Tuesday, I accepted a new job on Southern Seminary's campus. I will no longer be working as Student Life Secretary for Boyce College, but will instead be the Secretary to the Senior Associate Dean of the School of Theology. It's quite a long title, although I assure you that length does not translate into importance.

I will officially make the switch to the new job early next week as I wrap up things at Boyce and finish training my replacement. The Lord was so gracious to provide a replacement for me within a matter of days, and she is going to do a wonderful job. God knew what both of these offices needed and He provided for them both perfectly.

The decision for me to accept this new position was not an easy one. I have loved my time at Boyce, getting to know my co-workers and the students, and enjoying the variety the job offered. I learned new skills, made new friends, and never once dreaded going to work. This job was a gift from the Lord.

With that said, I trust that this new job is also a gift from the Lord. To remind myself of this gift and thank God specifically, I have listed (below) just a few of the good things about this job...

1. Financial Provision

Just a few days before I was offered this new position, Dave prayed that the Lord would continue to provide for us financially and meet all of our upcoming financial needs. And this is just what He did!
Sometimes it's easier to attribute God's financial provision to those one-time, surprise gifts in the form of a check from Grandma or the IRS, but God also provides (and probably more often) through employment. That is what He did this time, and we can thank Him for it. He knows our needs and is faithful to provide for them.

2. Location

Even though I am only "up the hill" from my old job, this means that Dave can easily visit me while he is on campus for class. This might seem minor, but in the heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter Dave won't have to trek outside to visit me, as he did while I was in my previous job. So, really, Dave will be the primary beneficiary of this perk of the job!

3. New Relationships

A new job provides opportunities to make new relationships. I am thankful for this, and pray that I will be faithful to pursue these relationships as well as maintain existing ones formed while in my old job.



I am so thankful for this new job and the Lord's provision of it. Praise Him, who is the giver of good gifts! Now...may I be equally thankful on Monday when I am humbled by all that I have to learn to do my new job well!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, we've been back in Louisville now and back to normal life for 4 days now. I guess I lied when I said "more updates to come" in my previous post on our vacation. Sorry.

The end of a vacation is always bittersweet. I am usually a little sad to leave wherever we are or whoever we're visiting and return to normal life, but there is also a twinge of relief to be back home in my own bed. I'm thankful for this feeling of relief (however small it may be) because it reminds me why life should not just be "one big vacation". It is good to love my home and want to return to it. It is also good to have work and responsibility to return to. By God's grace, I was actually looking forward to returning to work and being productive. Rest and vacation are wonderful things - gifts from God - but all of life is not meant to be spent in recreation.

The Bible speaks to this in Proverbs 21:25, which says, "The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work."

Proverbs 12:11: "Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense."

There are plenty of other places in the book of Proverbs as well as the rest of Scripture that attest to the Lord's good design for people to work.

Now, obviously, work looks different for different people. I am not speaking here of only the "conventional" definition of work. Dave's 84 year-old grandma is a beautiful example of one who fills her days with "work" without bringing in a paycheck. She spends her days volunteering at various non-profit organizations and functions at her church, as well as knitting scarfs, baby blankets and other items for her great-grandchildren and people in her church. She is always on-the-go and is incredibly committed to all her various activities. It is so encouraging to me to witness her use the gifts God has given her to be productive and to benefit others when she could just as easily (and understandably) spend her days resting her aged body. As a side note, she is also the healthiest 84-year-old I have ever known, and I'm sure this is due in large part to her days spent in productive activity all her life.

I am thankful for the way the Lord uses vacation time to remind me of His goodness in normal life. I am reminding myself of this even now as I anticipate going home from work and having to finish unpacking our suitcases (from 4 days ago!), pay bills, and attend to dishes and everyday work.

I can thank God for sweet and restful vacation time, but I can also agree with the author of Proverbs that it is good for my hands to work!

Oh, and just for fun, here's a little video - inspired by the title of this post - for your viewing pleasure: