Marathon

Tomorrow I start my own personal marathon.  My marathon is not the running kind, as me and running do not get along.  My marathon is work related but will require pacing and endurance nonetheless.

Last week I started my new job as Clearinghouse Coordinator for Love In the Name of Christ of the Cedar Valley.  I am in the office almost the entire day on Mondays and from about 8-1 on Wednesdays and Fridays for a total of 15 hours each week.  My basic duties include overseeing the volunteers that staff our phones during the Clearinghouse hours (MWF 9-12), reviewing client information, making determinations on the requests we receive, and fostering relationships with our partner churches and agencies.

There is a lot to learn and not much time to learn it since 9 of the 15 hours I am at work the phones are on and I have be completely available for the volunteers.  My first day was particularly harrowing as we received an inordinately high number of calls.  I basically sat back and just watched how the process works and started to learn how to make decisions about client needs (there was also a lot of wondering what I'd gotten myself into....).  God gave us a break on Wednesday and Friday, giving me the chance to really engage in the process.  So far I am enjoying the organization and the volunteers and I feel like I can do a lot of good in this position.

The only real downside to my new job is the fact that I still have my other job.  There are some days that I work 13-14 hours between the two positions.  Thankfully that is not every day, but between the two I am working practically every day.  Tomorrow starts a stretch of 17 straight days of working one or the other or both.  While it may sound like it, I am truly not complaining.  I know I am young and that it's good for me.  I know the experience I am gaining at Love INC is invaluable.  I know I'm building character.  I know God won't give me more than I can handle.  And I know I'm probably going to be exhausted.  Prayers for stamina would be appreciated.

Other happening in my world include beginning a small group class at church.  The class is called Emerging Journey.  We meet Tuesday mornings from 7-8:30 to discuss three primary questions: Who is God?  Who am I?  What does God desire to do through me?  There are two group leaders and about 8 students.  I am the only female in the room every week.  We also have two guys who are currently competing for the same position at church.  We have a guy who is eerily similar to Marshall.  We have an ex-con.  We have a farmer (he warned us he may miss a week or two as harvest really gets going).  We have a guy who helps run a stock car race track.  We are an incredibly varied group of individuals who would probably normally have nothing to do with the others, but we come together every week to discuss incredibly personal topics.  I am really enjoying the class, despite the early hours.  The only struggle I have encountered so far is finding a mentor.  The structure of the program relies both on the small class group and the input of people outside the class.  Each student is supposed to have a mentor they meet with every week to discuss the week's lesson one-on-one.  I have yet to find a mentor, but I am sure that will change in due time.

The only other major news is that my store is being converted into something called a Dual Store in November.  A dual store is similar to the Dress Barn model; both missy and plus sizes in the same location.  We used to carry a small selection of the plus line in our store, but the merchandise was pulled out of our location at the end of July.  After receiving a large number of complaints and coming to the realization that the plus did very well in our store, the company is giving it back to us and giving us way more than we ever had before.  We'll pretty much be half and half starting November 10.  We get to close for a few days in preparation of the change, which will be nice.  We are super excited for the conversion and can barely wait for November to arrive.

Clearly there is a lot going on in my world right now.  Thankfully it's all good.  Blessings abound in my life and I am incredibly grateful.

I should be getting off to bed so I can get up and go to work tomorrow!  Much love to you all!

~g

(Btw, the gospel text at church today was the text that inspired the name of my blog.  I realize I have never really explained why I record my life under the heading "Be Subject To One Another", but that's for another time.