My manager returned to work 2 weeks ago after being off for three months. She was being all lazy and thinking that being in active labor for five weeks and then actually giving birth earned her the right to sit at home. Sheesh. There's just no understanding how some people's minds work. In all seriousness, though, after a very troubled pregnancy, compounded by the fact that this was her first, Dani gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Although the baby had to spend her first few days in the NICU, all is well now.
In Dani's absence, the running of the store fell to me. For the most part I think I did a decent job. I ran into a few issues here and there, but with the support of my district manager and the manager of the Cedar Falls store we made it through. We managed to win not one but TWO company contests in the 12 weeks Dani was away, both of which had prizes of extra cash in everyone's paychecks. I'm always up for extra money!
I am quite glad Dani is back, as I missed having her around, both as a coworker and a friend. And I am happy I am no longer responsible for everything. Yes, yes, apparently I'm lazy.
On the spiritual front, there wasn't much to report, especially in the month of July. In truth, I was waiting for the church I had been attending (Nazareth Lutheran) to show me some of the same attention and concern as they did when I first came through their doors last year. After I accepted Christ into my life this past March I was anxious to get more involved in the church and made my wishes known to the pastor, but then heard nothing for months. I was feeling invisible and unimportant and was quite happy to blame it on the church. Luckily I came to my senses a few weeks ago (OK, let's be honest, God kind of scolded me for wanting everyone else to do all of the work) and so I approached the pastor after the service. When he asked me how things were going I was straightforward with him.
"Well, I haven't lost my faith in God, but I'm losing my faith in the church, and I'm feeling like a one-night stand. It's like the church wined and dined and seduced me and got what it wanted (a convert) and then left before dawn and never plans on calling again." (I should say at this point that I know some of you may be scandalized to know that I talk to my pastor that way, but he's a good guy that values incredible honesty and he and I established this very blunt relationship right from the get-go). He was very concerned to hear how I was feeling so he and I set up a time to meet and talk more in-depth. Through the course of that conversation I learned that my information had been passed along to several people in the church last March when I asked to get involved and connected, and the pastor, not hearing further from me, thought the connections had been made. And since I didn't follow up, the issue only got worse.
We don't want the same thing to happen this time, so, working together, we pretty much laid out an action plan for getting me plugged in to the church. I will be joining a 16ish-week class/Bible study that meets ridiculously early on Tuesday mornings (i.e. my ever-changing work schedule will never interfere in being able to attend class). Additionally, Nazareth is distinctly lacking in programming and activities for people like me... post-college, mid-to-late-20s and 30s, and childless and/or unmarried. A few people are starting to work on this problem and I will be joining in to help fill this need. As my work schedule allows I am also attending various church functions. Just this past Sunday there was an end-of-summer church picnic that I volunteered to help with. It's easy to get acquainted in a kitchen! And finally, my pastor directed me to a local Christian non-profit that has a job vacancy.
Which transitions me into the job interview I had today! The organization is Love In the Name of Christ, or Love INC for short. If you are unfamiliar with Love INC I highly encourage you to check it out. In a nutshell, Love INC organizes churches of all denominations in a community to work together to meet individual and community needs. Requests are made of Love INC for services, and after verifying the legitimacy of the request, including finding out if the need is already being met or if the person has made an effort to meet the need, Love INC basically figures out how to meet the need by using the resources of the various churches affiliated with Love INC. The idea is that no one church/social service agency can meet every need, but working together, with each church contributing something (be it money or time or some type of special service) the need can not only be met, but the underlying cause of the need can be taken care of.
The more I have found out about Love INC the more I have gotten excited about the possibility of actually working for the organization, although I'll be volunteering with them no matter what happens with the job I interviewed for. The job is Clearinghouse Coordinator. Right now it is only a 15-hour-per-week position, so I would be keeping my retail job, but the schedules work well around each other. The Executive Director and I talked for an hour and a half today about the job and I have a very good feeling I'm going to be called in for a second interview. Over the next few weeks, if you have the time, I would appreciate a few extra prayers regarding this job. I feel very strongly that I can do this job and do it well, and it's a step toward the type of career I hope to ultimately have.
Other things of note in my life lately include: being pulled over for the first time (speeding, verbal warning), getting new glasses (two pairs... pictures following at some point), blowing out a tire on my car while travelling on the highway (at 60 MPH around 9:15 at night), buying two new tires (you think the two events were related somehow?), planning for my first-ever paid vacation (Colorado, Sept 10-19), turning 27 (EEK!!!!), attending an air show (see previous post), getting a really good haircut (ladies, you all know a REALLY good hair cut is a thing of note), and.... actually, I think that's it.
Oh, and Facebook just reminded me that two years ago on this date I was eating an amazing giant piece of cake. Another point in favor of deleting my Facebook account...
Love!
~g
