Why do people make "selling your soul to the devil" sound so bad?

So two weeks ago I was at peace with not becoming the new overnight coordinator. It keeps me free to be able to move to days soon. It allows me freedom in taking off Saturdays when I am going to preach that Sunday (which will happen on February 11 and 18). It will allow me to sleep at night and be awake during the day. I never realized how precious a blessing that actually is. The kids will be much happier, I will be much happier, and Shawna will be much happier.

But then...I read the job desciption and profile. It pays close to twice what I am making now (and it is salaried).

So here are the positives for taking the position: money and ego-stroking.
The negatives: read paragraph one again, stress of working overnight, being overworked more (I will be salaried; 13 day stretches like I just completed will happen more frequently), I will be committing myself to overnights even longer.

So to recap, I am still at peace with my decision. But being over-tired has clouded my perception a bit. Shawna is the one who brought up that whole selling your soul thing and I just told her that I wouldn't be selling my soul to the devil, just giving him a foothold. Two more things happened this weekend to remind me that God is working to move me in some way in my life: a second assistant was hired for me. I know have two. This means that if they both perform well, I will already have my replacement(s) in place and it will be easier for me to move. Second, I spoke with the director for the Orchard Group on Sunday and he is going to be passing on my information to churches needing fill-in preachers. This will potentially lead to more preaching opportunities now and more contacts for the future.

I know some people actually read this blog (for which I am grateful) and I know some of those who read it do not share the same belief in God I do, but I can shamelessly say, "God is good!"

We Will Suddenly Realize...

"We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves."

The bad news: I will definitely, absolutely, positively not be the Senior Pastor for Princeton Community Church. The current candidate preached there this past Sunday, and he was incredible. He is a gifted speaker, and although we did not have opportunity to spend time with him over the weekend, many of our friends did. They all speak very highly of him. Our understanding is the job is his if he wants it; and he apparently wants it. However, even if he turns down the position, I am no longer interested in the position. I make a two year commitment to Wegmans, I will fulfill that. Along those lines, Wegmans is creating a new position at work: Overnight Grocery Coordinator. It is a mangement position and it is salaried. The job description is what I am currently doing, while being paid hourly. I have been informed that I am not going to be allowed to apply for the position. They will hire someone new and I will have less responsibility.

The good news: I have been made aware that someone I have already met and truly like is the president of a loose association of churches. His organization has planted many new churches, and there are many opportunities to preach from time to time; through my relationship with him, I may have many more opportunities to preach while still working at Wegmans and not being a full-time pastor. I truly believe God wants me to wait a little while longer. The longer I wait, the more sober I am getting, and the more God is preparing/strengthening/enabling me for something. I do not know exactly what it is, but I am sure it is something great. Additionally, I informed my supervisor, his supervisor, and the store manager where I work that I would really like to get off nights. If possible, I would like to work closer to home, but at the very least, for the sake of my family (and my sanity) I would like to work days. Since they know that, they are going to work on two things: moving me to days soon (may be at least four months, but at least there is a plan in place), and either increasing my pay to help off set gas costs or even helping us move again so that we can move closer to the store.

Overall, the bad news is not really bad and the good news is (I think) really good. I believe wholeheartedly that God is caring for me and guiding me through life. I do not know what is in store, but that is okay. I do not need to. The title of my blog relates my spiritual journey to that of Jonah, and I am feeling closer and closer to what he said in Jonah 2. Thank you, God, for being the God of my life.

God bless you.

P.S. Marty Schottenheimer once said, "I would not coach again for 10 million dollars." Once Daniel Snyder offered him a $10 million contract, he got back into coaching. It is hard to feel sorry for someone who has a price. (Who knows, maybe I do, too, it's just that no one has offered it to me.) Same with Nick Saban. You can always be sure he is lying if he is speaking.

Why the Baseball Hall of Fame Stinks as Bad as the BCS

The most overrated player of my generation became the third highest vote getter ever. I wish I could be considered great for going to work every day.

Jim Rice is not now and probably never will be in the Hall.

A known cheater who actually broke rules and acknowledged it is in the Hall, yet someone who broke no rule ever will not make it. Someone else who broke a rule as a manager, not a player, is not allowed to have a plaque, but can have his name mentioned all over the place.

Voting sportswriters believe they are protecting some sort of valuable treasure.

Less than one percent of all players who have ever played are in the Hall, and people complain that it is watered down.

That's all for now.

P.S. Along BCS related lines, I do not understand why the NFL is wasting so much time and effort with playoffs. Obviously San Diego and Chicago are the two best teams because they have the two best records. Both teams should just take six weeks off and play each other. That's a true way to determine a champion; not actually playing any games to determine one.

There are two men I respect and agree with, mostly. The problem lies with the mostly. One of them is now and has been a great defender of families and family values for many decades now. But sometimes, in his fervor to make a stand, he paints himself into a corner fighting for extremes that I cannot accept.

The second man is a Christian man of science who also has done a wonderful job explaining the science of God. Contrary to popular belief, science and faith are not independent of one another. Evolutionists make as many "leaps of faith" and Creationists do. This particular person, however, states that if you cannot agree with something or someone 100%, than that issue of individual is 100% wrong. By that logic, I have to discount everything this guy says, because I do not agree with 100% of what he says.

I wonder how much other people feel that way about me. Where do we draw the line between standing up for what we believe in while being open to the possibility we may be wrong? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop?

AI vs. Vick

Has anyone besides me noticed that Michael Vick actually IS what people ACCUSE Allen Iverson of being? Iverson is a great player who has always given his greatest effort and has wanted nothing more than for his team to win a championship. He was more loyal to the 76ers than the big name gypsy coach of his who just did a masterful job with Knicks before Isaiah Thomas hired himself as a replacement. Is he a "thug"? Maybe. He has the tattoos, the corn rows, the lingo, and the rumors following him. (Does anyone actually realize that all charges broght against him about 15 or so years ago were dropped?) I would love to have The Answer on my team.

Now about Vick. He is all about himself. He is able to cheer himself setting a QB record while his team is in a tailspin that ultimately kept them out of the playoffs. He has called himself the reason his team wins. He is not a great QB, although he is a great athlete. He is basically Randall Cunningham without as much success. I believe his playoff record is equivalent to Jake Plummer's. I would not want Vick on my team. Ever.

I don't understand sports biases. I know I have some. They make sense to me, so I guess I should let other people have theirs. It's just really annoying when so many people are wrong!

Sometimes I Amaze Myself...

...but that is not always a good thing.

I got to work last night (Sunday) at 9:00 P.M. Since I was alone for two hours and then worked with only one other person, I chose the music station. I went with a rock station out of NYC, decent station, good mix of old and new rock. However, I could not figure out why they played the same U2 song over and over; almost every hour it seemed. You know the song, "New Year's Day." Every time it played I asked, "Why this song again?"

Oh well. I'll blame it on being tired.

happy new year