Help Wanted
Well it is that time again. Time to look for a job……or jobs.
My time at The Orchard has come to an end (more on that later). If I thought the job market was bad 2 years ago, or even 1 year ago, it was nothing compared to now. The thing is, there are a lot of available jobs out there (supposedly) but none for a career changer such as myself.
I have been in mortgage/escrow/title insurance business since 2001 and have been laid off twice. Right now, no one his hiring for what I have been doing (escrow closings). Those that are hiring are only hiring people with specific experience. For instance, I could do the job of a loan processor. I know everything there is to know about mortgages and the process but I don’t have experience. It seems no one wants to train anybody know since there are so many people out of work. They can just seek out exactly who they want and get plenty of applicants with that experience.
So that has been my dilemma for awhile. I have been having trouble getting into other areas of finance (my degree is in Business Finance) because I don’t have any experience specifically in that area. Never mind that most college graduates don’t have experience. It seems experience in other areas means nothing right now. This is not just me. I have talked to many others who are in, or have been in the same situation.
At this point I have networked, filled out online apps and submitted as many resumes as I can right now. It is on to Plan B.
Plan B is to get a job…..any job. Now I don’t mean any job but my strategy is to look for good companies and get whatever job I can there. For instance, I interviewed at Lowes earlier this week. It would be entry level to start but if nothing else pans at, it could mean moving up to a management position.
I am just really open to do whatever I need to do to get money coming back in. More updates as things happen.
The Gospel
Normally Friday is my day off. I usually end up doing various things at Church on Saturday and/or Sunday so I really look forward to Friday. This Friday I gladly spent most of my day helping my very good friend Damian McCrink. He is our Student Pastor & Missional Champion. He was given the opportunity to share The Gospel with about 90 high school students from Naperville North High School. As part of their Religious Studies class they were going on a field trip to a Hindu Temple and a Christian Church.
It was a great event to be a part of. I did audio, 3 screens, lightning and video. It was fun to get everything set up and I forgot how much I missed working with media.
Damian shared the Gospel by taking them through several series we have done in the past. We showed several videos including one from our BBQ & Baptism a few years back (one of the best videos I think we ever produced). We also got to show our Gospel Series promo featuring me as a crazy preacher. Damian ended with a question and answer time. These kids had some great questions and they showed a lot of interest in The Orchard.
I am very fortunate to be able to work and serve at The Orchard.
Don’t get your THINGDOM confused with my KINGDOM
Today was week 3 of the series THE ULTIMATE QUESTION at The Orchard.
What is the ultimate question? Well, the ultimate question can be applied to anything in your life. Last week we talked about time, this week finances, but the question can be asked no matter what this issue. What is the question you ask? Well here it is……
What is the wise thing to do?
For example, in regards to time, last week we asked the question, “In light of my past experiences, my current responsibilities, and my future hopes and dreams…..what is the wisest way to invest my time?
It is as simple as that, any situation you are in, or come across, all you need to do is ask, “What is the wise thing to do” The thing is a lot of times we know what the wise thing to do, but we don’t do it.
Today we talked about our finances when faced with a financial situation, we need to ask “In light of your past financial experiences, your current financial picture, and your future financial hopes and dreams……what is the wise thing to do?
A lot of us approach our finances in this order:
- Spend It
- Repay Debt
- Pay Taxes
- Save It
- Give It
What if we turned that around?
- Give It
- Save It
- Pay Taxes
- Repay Debt
- Spend It
Matthew 6:21 ”Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also”
Our nations independence, a 737, and piccolo petes
Well California, you will be seeing us all real soon. That’s right, at the end of June, we will be arriving at LAX for a visit to our wonderful parents and to anyone else who wants to see us.
Maybe we will be lucky enough to fly on Illinois One
I am excited that we will be there over 4th of July as that is one of my favorite holidays, and as you well know, I love fireworks. Nothing is better than the smell of smoke on your clothes and the signed hairs on your hand.
I am a little bummed that I am missing a very important event happening on July 4th at The Orchard. For the first time ever, we are cancelling church that weekend and going out to serve in the community (as part of Generosity Challenge). We are trying to get a few more churches on board to make this a huge event and really make an impact in Aurora.
Another exciting thing that is happening at church is we are starting The Garden Project. We are partnering with Triple Threat to provide vegetables to under-resourced families in East Aurora. How you might ask? Well our church sits on 16 acres so we are setting aside some land to build a garden. We start prepping the plot next weekend.
How to make an exploding piccolo pete (a piccolo pete is a firework that just makes a blood curdling screeching sound)
1) detach from base
2) put in vice so that about a 1/4 inch of bottom is sticking out (or if you don’t have one, a good set of pliers and strong muscles will work)
3) squeeze as hard as you can
4) light and run. when it is finished screeching, it will explode.
Attach several together and light at the same time for added effect.
