A New Calling…

A new beginning, and a new season in life, seems like an appropriate time to start up the ol’ blog again. There is a new mission; a new calling. I won’t go into all the details in this first post to keep it short, but I’ll cover the gist of it.

After a period of 6 weeks, that included 3 rounds of interviewing, much thought, and much prayer, both EMI and TeamNeal feel confirmed in God’s calling me to join them. (EMI = Engineering Ministries International) My first day was on Wednesday, and I’m going to be working in the office three days a week while I get started on raising support.

Although I’ve worked in a ministry setting before, at Whittier Christian High School, this is a very different kind of ministry, and my role is one that is new, and will be evolving a lot. I’m the Human Resources Manager – a role that didn’t really exist at EMI until now. I am very blessed that the leadership is well aware of some of the vagueness of what I will be doing initially and how long it may take for me to get a handle on all things “HR”. So it will be a gentle, long entrance ramp onto this train.

But I am very excited to be part of such a great Kindgom-building mission, and have already connected with several colleagues, and have had a few light bulb moments as visions of “what could be” start to surface. I look forward to sharing more in future posts!

Read Full Post »

The Word of the Day is: Blessed

Wow. Just…wow.
I’m blessed in a lot of ways. After day one of the new job, I wanted to post this update because I’ve had such tremendous support and interest on Facebook, so I hope to answer most (if not all) of your questions here.

So here’s the facts…
Jaxon Engineering & Maintenance is a small company that started in August by people that have actually been doing this kind of thing for years. “What do they do?” you ask…Understandably, I’m still getting to know the company myself, but here’s my basic explanation for now:

Jaxon designs/builds/maintains (but I think mostly maintains) radar installations. The kind that look into space, and monitor national defense. We already have several contracts, with locations across the country, and a couple overseas. (One of the exciting things is that it looks like I will be traveling to some of the locations.)

My title is Human Resources & Security Director. So I handle all the HR stuff, and am starting the learning curve to become the company’s FSO (Facility Security Officer) – which has to do with security clearances and things like that for defense contracts.

For the locals: our building is behind the huge USAA building at Research & Voyager…so I’m available for lunch in the North Academy area. 😉

It’s also very cool to be working with some really great people. There’s definitely a sense of a close community here, and several of the people are actually at Vanguard too.

I definitely have that “looking forward to work in the morning” feeling.
So here’s to the exciting new adventure…and I’ll try to get some photos tomorrow to post.

Thanks, God, for your awesome, unpredictable timing and predictable faithfulness!

Read Full Post »

Unemployment is Fun!!

Wow….since my lay-off last Wednesday, I feel like I’ve been pretty darn busy and active. Guess I don’t fit the welfare stereotype of sitting at home collecting unemployment checks. Seeing the comments on Facebook alone is proof how covered in prayer we’ve been….we are so blessed to have so many friends/family thinking about and praying for us. I can honestly say that I have experienced nothing but peace and joy during this whole process. Thanks to our friends/family, and thanks, praise and worship to our Jehovah Jireh…our Provider.

I even forgot to do an update as to what happened with Acacia Park last week. As I was driving there, I was thinking about how every single visit has been different, so I had every reason to believe that it would again be a unique experience and I would encounter something unexpected.

So here’s what was different:
•Apparently, I arrived a few minutes after most of the “regulars” had cleared out
•I was disappointed at first, fearing the food would be wasted (silly Josh, you
should know better)
•I was pleased to get to spend time in conversation with Matt again (wheelchair)
•We were interrupted when cops started chasing one of Matt’s acquaintances down the
street on foot. (“Africa” apparently had swiped a laptop)

Of course, God still moved. I have faith that although I may not be seeing immediate results of “Kingdom impact” I know that we are ministering to people by providing physical needs with food/coats/scarves…and ministering to their souls by talking to them and (hopefully) making it clear that I’m interested in who they are and listening to them.

It was great to have my brother spend the evening with me side-by-side as well. And in my weekly conversations with Matt, I’m starting to get an Idea…I’ll expand on that as I flesh it out a bit.

As for the job situation…again, nothing but praises as we sit back in awe of God’s hand. I was officially laid off on Wednesday, 9/30. On Thursday, 10/01 I had an interview with Jaxon Engineering. It’s a newer company, owned/operated by the parents of friends from church (and other Vanguard people work there). Then on Monday, they call and ask if I can come in again on Tuesday to talk again for a little bit. Sure! At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, they say they will discuss it over the weekend and get back to me on Monday. Orrr….maybe less than 24 hours later they call and offer me the position!! Whaaa? How’d that happen?

Here are several key factors I see playing into this:
•The owners/CEO (as well as most employees) are believers
•I had a fantastic chat for a good 20 minutes or so with the CEO
•The position is a combination of HR/Security/Purchasing – they need someone who
has at least some experience/exposure with these (which I have), but more
importantly someone who is willing & able to be flexible (which I am)
•Timing: when I suddenly became available “conveniently” coincides with when the
company started feeling a need for someone in this capacity
•They hadn’t advertised the position; no other candidates – they just heard my name
and situation and wanted to “feel it out”
•X factor – the unknown variable that I will just attribute to God knowing & seeing
far more than any of us can.

Almost every day for weeks, I’ve been praying for wisdom and clarity in searching for a job, and especially when faced with a decision like this. I had another job possibility that I was getting ready to dive into if the Jaxon thing didn’t pan out. I was waffling a bit as to which way I should go, but then in my conversation during the 2nd interview, and when they called and made the offer, I felt like I got slammed in the face by a 2×4 made of wisdom & clarity. It was almost – dare I say it? – easy!

There is still plenty of uncharted water out there. On Monday I start my new job doing….umm, not sure exactly what. But I’m confident (and apparently so is Jaxon) that I’ll get it figured out and look forward to looking back at this a year from now and continue the marvel and praise at how God works in our lives.

My heart is so full, and I feel like I could ramble a bit more, but I’ll tie off this bleeder for now and come back. Heading out to Acacia Park again tomorrow night! (With no set expectations, of course)

Read Full Post »

Wheel…of…Fortune!!!

So, through a Craigslist ad, I was able to pick up 4 hours of work at the Double Eagle casino up in Cripple Creek. (4 hours today, 4 on Sunday – setup/tear-down) I didn’t know what the event was until after agreeing to work. It’s the Wheel of Fortune’s traveling contestant search thing. They do a mini-version of the game show and stuff. I mostly moved boxes, unpacked stuff, help setup the heavy stuff on the stage.

I didn’t get many pictures, but I’ll try and get some on Sunday before tear-down.
It was beautiful today…here’s a view from highway 67 looking down on Cripple Creek. (It was safe for me to take, cuz I was stopped by road construction workers)

Here’s me and Cardboard Vanna:

Unpacking the categories for the game board:

And on the way back, I stopped at Jonie’s Deli in Woodland Park for lunch, and had a very de-lish turkey melt.

Reap the rewards – I was given some Wheel schwag to keep.

(I had to do those last two photos as links, cuz blogger wouldn’t upload anymore)

Read Full Post »

Today was a good day!

In light of my current circumstances, it may seem counter-intuitive, but I have to say that I had a really good day today. I’m writing this at 11:30pm on Wednesday, Sept. 30 – the day I got laid off from my job. I wanted to post this earlier, but so much is going on. I could probably babble ad nauseum, but will try to do this in list form to keep it succinct.

* It was the end of a hard week of long-hours and lots of stress
* I had a great time this morning with the Lord, reading through Psalms
* Someone bought lunch for me again (two days in a row)
* Several people on-site and off, in person, in email, and on the phone had a lot of nice things to say to me
* I laughed often
* Throughout the day, I had a great amount of peace and calm
* I have (had!) such great bosses, who have pledged references, help, encouragement, etc. whenever I should need it
* I got to leave at 3:30
* Someone bought me dinner
* Set-up to run sound was eerily straight-forward and worked more easily than usual
* I was able to worship
* While taking communion, I was overwhelmed with a sense of God’s love for me, and I felt nothing but gratitude, peace and joy
* I got to have a great time of conversation throughout the evening with a friend
* I got to chat with (and pray for) my brother whom I have been continuing to grow closer to
* I got to see my kids run up yelling “Daddy!” with smiles
* I got more ideas and vision for how to build this homeless ministry adventure
* I rec’d an incredibly generous gift from someone at church to help buy food for the homeless, and for my family
* I rec’d wedding anniversary card & gift from my parents so Wendy & I can go on an anniversary date! (Bro is watching the kids!)
* A friend offered to take our kids overnight so Wendy and I can have time for just the two of us!
* I have a couple interviews and job leads lined up over the next week or so
* I have 8 hours of work this weekend doing setup/tear-down for a special event that will bring in some cash
* I’m excited about the all-day Prayer workshop on Saturday
* I get to sleep in tomorrow!
* I have so many things to be thankful for, that I’m having a hard time remembering/thinking of them all!!!

Can you see why it’s impossible for me to be anxious, depressed, etc.? I’ve been in such a good mood today.

Thank you Lord for loving and providing for me and my family!!
=)

Read Full Post »

Interview, Schminterview

I wanted to pause in my Retreat posting to talk about my job interview yesterday before I find out the result. First of all, I was told to try and get there early, as it would probably take longer to get on base due to the welcome-home-troops stuff going on. My interview was at 10:00, so I got to the base right at about 9:00 – and was through the gate and parking by 9:05. Wha?! Oh well….so I’m super early, but didn’t want to go in THAT early, so I sat in my car and read my Bible which I conveniently (and intentionally) had brought. It was a great way to steady any nerves…but then, come to think of it, I realized I wasn’t nervous!

And when I walked into the office, I was about 10 minutes early and was able to hang/chat with the HR assistant there who I’ve been friends with these last couple years as we work on a lot of things together. She asked if I was nervous, and I was happy to answer “No.” I think that has been one of the benefits of interviewing for jobs, is that the experience has boosted my confidence, despite the rejections.

It went really well, they said they had heard a lot of good things about me, and were planning on making a decision soon, so we’ll see!

Read Full Post »