Now This Is Something I Can Do!

I have been looking for gainful employment in the New Orleans area, but my search has not been very fruitful. As Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans, bringing catastrophe and destruction with it, I am confident my job search will be even less productive as potential employers will be less concerned with hiring than with rebuilding their destroyed buildings. So, I have been thinking outside of the box and considering some interesting jobs that I might be able to perform. And I think I have found the one for me.

As soon as I moved into my apartment in New Orleans a few weeks before school began, I noticed these stickers on the inside of all of our cabinets. In every cabinet, someone certified that it was actually a cabinet. Now I could definitely do this job, and I probably could even do it without leaving my apartment! Give me an assistant with a digital camera and some stickers and I, too, could do this job.
I think it would be rather simple. My assistant could take pictures of things he thought were cabinets, forward those pictures to me in an e-mail, I could respond via e-mail confirming or denying that the object in the picture is a cabinet, and, if it is, my assistant could put the sticker on the inside of one of the doors. This would not be a difficult or time consuming job, which would be great for me! The only problem is I think I might have a lot of competition for this job, especially since most people can tell the difference between a cabinet and a countertop, a bookshelf, or armoire. Also, I don’t think the best pick-up line in the world would be, “Hey girl, I certify cabinets for a living.” So I will continue looking for a job, but if you hear of anyone looking for someone to certify that cabinets are indeed cabinets, let me know.

And this cabinet is in...

You guessed it! The bathroom.

P.S. Tonya, you can now post comments anonymously (I actually spelled that correctly without the spell check, go me!), but why would you want to do that if I know it is you? Please sign the comments so I know at whom to be mad. :->

All That Jazz!

This past Friday evening, I went to the French Quarter with some of my new friends from the apartments. On this little excursion, we ate at a relatively inexpensive restaurant where I had one of the best muffelottas I have ever had. By the end of the meal I was pretty exhausted from what was a fairly long day (I awoke early to bake some muffins, went to class all day, and then went out with the gang).

The second part of our trip took us to Preservation Hall. I have been living in New Orleans for two years and have visited on quite a few occasions, but I had never heard of this place. Well, the 45 minutes or so of music was well worth the price of admission ($5). The jazz band did a great job of performing classic jazz music, complete with solos and some singing. Their quality performance helped overcome the somewhat dilapidated building, which was extremely hot this particular humid, south Louisiana night.

Of particular interest to me was the drummer. He did an extremely good job of keeping the rhythm steady and excelled at his solos (which were often drum-less drum solos, using only the hardware of his set). He also used some interesting methods to produce funky sounding beats.

Preservation Hall certainly has all that jazz.

A Weekend to Remember

Disciple-Now weekend at Highland Baptist Church was most definitely that–a weekend to remember. I was privileged to participate in these activities but, in so doing, I was obligated to lead a group of ninth and tenth grade boys in a small group setting. These guys were a great group that taught me probably more than I could ever teach them. Our picture is included below.

The weekend was highlighted by an intense study of the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer led by our featured speaker Jon Gillis. Jon’s messages challenged the students to evaluate their commitment to Christ and go deeper in their relationship to Him. From these sessions we dispersed to small groups where leaders would ask the students to respond to questions related to that session’s message. The idea was for the small groups to find practical applications to the biblical truth expounded in the worship service.

While the D-Now was an exhausting experience for both students and leaders, it was a rewarding experience for all as well. The guys reminded me what I enjoy most about ministry–building relationships with individuals. Some of they guys in the group I led had brothers or sisters in the youth group when I interned there in the summer of 2001, so I got to catch-up with their siblings and their families. I also accompanied many of these students to children’s camp that summer, so I remembered them from that experience as well. The boys taught me many things, including how to “goose” someone, how to respond to any question with a completely different question (namely, “When are you going to stop asking questions, Jon?”), how to stay awake all night. They also reminded me of the many silly things that freshmen in high school do, like play doorknob and safety. It was a great experience and I look forward doing it again.

Home, Sweet Home

Today classes began for the Fall semester. I am attempting 18 credit hours, which is the most I have attempted at seminary thus far. Among the easy courses is an introduction to New Testament Greek and systematic theology. I anticipate that these two will be my two most difficult, with the others just providing busy work for when these get boring.

Also, I moved into a new apartment on campus, so I am experiencing new room mates and a new style of living–some may even say it is living in style, though I would have to disagree. The apartment style suite has some advantages over regular dorms in that it is much better to share a kitchen and refrigerator with three other guys than with more than 30. It is also much more pleasant to share a bathroom with only one other person rather than an entire floor of the dorm. However, the same problems exist-I guess guys will still be guys and not clean-up after themselves.

Well, I am hoping to find gainful employment in New Orleans so I can start spending more time closer to school, which would make this 18 hour semester go a lot easier. That means I will begin to make “The Big Sleazy” my home, sweet home. But I do hope to travel to my real home often, though I will have to see what happens with a job. Hey, I gotta go where the money there

I will leave with a few pictures of the apartment. First a view from the door of my room,

then looking towards the door,

and finally a peek at my workstation.

Workin’ for da’ Man

Well, you wake up in the mornin’,
You hear the work bell ring,
And they march you to the table to see the same old thing.
Ain’t no food upon the table, and pork up in the pan,
But you better not complain, boy,
You get in trouble with the man.
(Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Midnight Special)

For the past two months, I have been working at a local pharmacy where I have worked intermittently since high school. Since I began working at the pharmacy, I have taken sabbaticals to intern at a local church, to intern at a research facility in Texas, and to attend seminary. This recent stint at the pharmacy was the result of leaving a ministry position and needing to have gainful employment while looking for another job–preferably one closer to school.

The pharmacy work has also reminded me of the joy I have working with people. At the church, I would minister to youth and young adults often, but there were times when I would not see the students for several days (i.e., Monday-Wednesday afternoon and Thursday-Saturday afternoon). Most of my work was preparation, study, and planning–times not often directly spent with others. Working at the pharmacy rekindled the joy I get by helping people. Whether it’s helping them locate an item they are requesting, assisting them in selecting a product, or aiding their proper use of medications that will save their life or increase their quality of life. However, often it is asking them how they are doing, inquiring about their family, checking the progress of their treatment, and wishing them well on their way. It is amazing the way a little courtesy and a little concern brightens one’s demeanor. Having the opportunity to cheer up a person’s day has been a great advantage of seeing many more people on a daily basis.

However great this type of work is, there are other types of work that must be done at the pharmacy, and when you work for “da’ man,” you are going to do almost any type of work that you can imagine. Just this summer I have helped pressure wash a deck, painted benches, built picnic tables, painted shutters and then the house on which the shutters are hung, trimmed trees, moved trees from the yard to the road, and ripped out carpet. Previously, I have had to pressure was a house, paint the house, put down carpet, do yard work at a cemetery, clean the dumpster, etc. When I arrive at work, sometimes I have no idea what I will be required to do that day.

With that being said, while my bosses son and I were pulling out carpet from a flooded room in one of my bosses rent houses, the renter ask, “How does he get ya’ll out here when you are supposed to be off?” My simple response was, “Because when he asks, you do.” It is not because he threatens us to do these extraordinary jobs and respond to these additional requests. It is because he is a fair man and he is willing to compensate us for hard work. If the question is why are we ready to do what he asks, the answer is because he is a great boss.

In a sense, this is exactly how it is when we serve God. Often He may ask an individual to do something outside of his job–his gifts or abilities, his skill-set. This often causes the individual to push the limits their faith, requiring that they depend on Him to be their guide, even when their work may seem to make no sense. The fact is that my God is great, that He is using individuals to do His work, and in the end the reward for faithfully following His direction is going to be great. I may have a great boss at the pharmacy, but I serve an even greater God.

That Kinda Girl

She's that kinda girl,
Different from before,
'Cause I know she loves the Lord.
She's that kinda girl,
Virtuous in every way,
The kinda of girl that makes you say,
I hope she comes my way.

Michael and Amy Smalley in their book Don’t Date Naked (Tyndale House Publishers, 2003) suggest making a list of the qualities you feel are important in a future spouse before becoming involved in a dating relationship. They advocate this practice to help those seeking their soul mate contemplate the characteristics they feel are important in someone they are going to be spending the rest of their life before being blinded by love in the midst of a relationship.

Well, since I am not involved in a dating relationship at this moment, I find myself in the proper mental condition that Michael and Amy describe necessary to prepare this list. My wife must possess a…

Vibrant Relationship with the Lord. Of paramount importance is my wife’s spiritual condition and surrender to the Lord’s leading. She must be growing in her relationship with Christ, ready to communicate her faith with others, and share the deep sense of calling that I have. We will be partners in ministry and she must be called and willing to follow God’s leading.

Superior Intellect. I hear you mumbling, “Jon’s no intellectual heavyweight himself.” I think you are correct, but I think if I’m making a list I should aim high. I know I’m not the sharpest crayon in the box, but I can outwit a four-year-old. My wife should be intelligent, bright, and a “process thinker”–one able to envision the results of a multi-step process. I love to gain knowledge and anticipate marrying a girl that will share in that pursuit.

Great Sense of Humor. I like to laugh. I can be a little sarcastic. I dream of having a quick wit. The woman I marry should be able to roll with the punches, not take it personally, and shoot back a little sarcasm at the same time. Look, I’m a big boy and I can take a little good natured humor; I expect my wife to understand sarcasm and use it appropriately.

Love of People, Especially Children. Ministry in service to God requires a large amount of time spent with people, primarily building and developing relationships. To do this effectively requires a love for people, regardless of their appearance, race, or socioeconomic status. I love people and my wife must share in that love. I also love children and look forward to the day I will have my own. My wife must love children and be willing to have some of our own, especially a son, who I would suspect would look just like me. I have only one question: Can the world handle another guy as good looking as me? While the jury is out on that question, I will have to enjoy the time I get to spend with my nieces and nephews.

Chaste Life. Purity is something for which I strive, and I would expect my wife to have a pure life. That includes a purity of heart and mind, though it would also include a sexual purity. I can think of nothing greater in our relationship than knowing that we have only given our selves to each other and no one else.

Beautiful Body. Okay, I am a guy–how long did you think it was going to take for me to get to this quality. I do not want to marry someone who is unattractive, but many of the other characteristics are more important.

I am convinced that the lady to which God leads me will have all of these characteristics. She will be that kinda’ girl.