Lessons From Job

Have I mentioned how much I appreciate our assistant pastor, Josh? He is a guy that has passion, knowledge and practical jokes flowing from every part of him. Great guy. Excellent leader. Has patience to work with middle and high schoolers on a regular basis.

Josh is teaching an Old Testament class this year. Last week was Job. Ah, Job. Miracle upon miracle, Job finally made sense to me last week.

This book is considered one of the books of poetry (hebrew poetry, not english) in the Old Testament. Though it comes in the middle, the actually timing of it is probably between Noah and Abraham due to a couple of cues in the book. 1) Noah is considered the priest of his household. Formal priests were not established until the 12 tribes of Isreal were born from Jacob- particually the Levites. 2) There is no mention of a temple, tabernacle or commandments which would place this before Moses and the time in the wilderness after the exodus.

Job is described in the first chapters in a prelude as a righteous man in the eyes of God. Despite this, God allows the devil to test Job by taking away his family, livelihood, possessions and health. Job does not turn his back on God despite these great losses, and is joined by his wife and four friends in this time of desolation.

His wife is the most direct of the bunch. She simply says he should just curse God and die. His friends are a little more wordy, but they can be summarized as follows:

Eliphaz thinks Job must be guilty of terrible sins for this to happen. Job says that is not the case (remember, God says Job is righteous at the beginging of the book)

Bildad says Job is a hypocrite. He looks like there is nothing wrong on the outside but God knows his true heart which is not good. Job defends himself a second time.

Zophar says Job is a sinner and a liar. He must be hiding something. For the third time, Job refutes these accusations.

Lastly, Elihu speaks many words but says nothing at all. After reading him go on, it makes me wonder if Shakesphere based some of his clowns off of this guy. Its acutally pretty humerous.

38 chapters later, God steps in to set the record straight and lays out who he is.

Chapter 42: 1-6 (NIV) sums up the whole point of the book: 1 Then Job replied to the LORD :

2 "I know that you can do all things;
no plan of yours can be thwarted.

3 You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?'
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

4 "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.'

5 My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.

6 Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."

Summary- You are God. I am not and sometimes I get a little ahead of myself. I'm sorry.

Everything that was taken in the begining is restored two times over and the friends are required to repent and Job is given authority over them.

That's the summary. I will post more thoughts a little later.

My Personal Crusade

I will spoil your puppy and kitten rotten because it makes me giddy every time they come to the office and wiggle with excitement.

Down with white coat syndrome!!

We Plan, God Moves Our Feet

My twenties were unfathomable when I was seventeen. As hard as I tried, I could not see any future beyond high school. Time continued to press on despite my lack of foresight, and the journeys it has taken me have changed me in ways I never expected.

Ten years ago I was trying to emulate women and men I admired. Now I'm becoming a woman that others emulate.

Ten years ago I had no desire to even date. Now I'm blessed with a marriage that has exceeded all my expectations.

Ten years ago I shirked organized relationship. Now I've discovered faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ I used to laugh at others about.

There have been highs, lows and everything in between. Yet despite the season I will never deny that it has been interesting.

And the journey continues...

Thought of the day

I haven't posted in almost two months, but Holly hasn't posted in 4. I take comfort in that fact. = )

Generation X Encouragement, continued

About two weeks ago, I sat down with a couple of volunteers from my workplace and we discussed what would be encouraging for them. I enjoyed it immensely.

We came up with some great ideas, and even better, my boss liked them. I think one of the most frustrating things is when you are asked for ideas and get either a) no feedback or b) get positive feedback with no action. The general ideas are as follows:

-They were on board with the idea of individual recognition. We discussed doing this in the way of a peer award/feedback, individual thank you notes, etc.
-We also discussed an employee of the month award where a different department is responsible for it each month and they cannot pick within their department.
-More tangible yet less expensive prizes were discussed: special parking spot, clinic credit, gift certificates, etc.
-It was reiterated that encouragement and recognition should be a lifestyle. It is something that a 'thank you' here and there makes all the difference in the world. It also helps balance the negative feedback (which is necessary) when lately that is all most people have been getting.

We shall see what comes with these suggestions. Honestly, I'll be disappointed if nothing comes of it, but at a minimum, it is helpful for my growth as a potential business owner.

In the mean time, I'm starting on my next project: How to market dental cleanings to pet owners and present a consistent, solid message from start to finish at an appointment. Any questions or thoughts, pet owners of the blogging world?

Frozen Bliss

Though I grew up in the suburbs, we had a decent sized back yard- big enough to play soccer comfortably with 10 kids. The yard was the lowest on the block, much to my father's dismay, but to our great joy. See, rain and snow would flood the yard temporarily creating lake front property. Spring weather made attractive property for migrating ducks until the dogs were loosed. The proud pooches would come back to the house soaking wet and muddy, much to my father's dismay. Freezing weather kept the mud off the dogs, and transformed the water into a different form of entertainment.

On cold days, my brother and I would strap on our used skates from 'Play-It-Again Sports' and glide around until our noses glowed and digits tingled. In my white, worn figure skates, I would imagine being Kristi Yamiguchi while my brother was emulating Steve Yzerman. This is one of my favorite childhood memories, and a little nostalgia came my way this weekend.

Sure, the man-made skating rink in Millennium Park was a little better maintained and much more crowded, but those differences did not stifle the ridiculous giddiness that overtook me as I glided around in circles. This treasured joy was the beginning of a wonderful weekend in Chicago, but I'll write more about that later. Right now, I'm going to bask in the glow of a wonderful memory.

Crying Again

I love this picture. That was the Brad I knew through church band- always a little late and in love with his new Taylor guitar. He was one of the 'kids' I found myself surrounded by at our new church.

He died yesterday in a car crash. He was 19. It didn't really hit me until I saw that picture, because that is how I will always remember him. No more memories to be added other than the visitations and memorial service that will follow in the coming days. At least, not on this side of heaven.

In these times, the secular and Christ believing part of me fight internally. The secular part goes, " What a waste of such a young, spirited life." The "Why God???" part of me angrily shrieks. But that is one of the many great things- God lets me question (with as much profanity as I chose), and so far, has always brought me back to what I know is true.

The Christ believing part of me goes, "It was the time he was called home. His work was done. He's with Christ in a way I can't even imagine. This is not the end. God uses all things for his good. I know this. I've experienced it. It may not always be obvious at the time, but I know that to be true." As I type this, the conviction becomes stronger, and I find peace.