Thursday, September 24, 2009

Furlough Fridays No. 7

These furloughs are blazing by so fast.

As I sit here, working on this particular post, I'm amazed that it's already been 7 weeks since these furloughs started.

I am thankful to say that God really has been overshadowing everything from our finances to other situations during this whole time.

And while there have been some stressful times, those seem to be over and I can honestly say that things are going pretty good.

Could they be better? I guess that depends on what angle you're coming from.

Everyone has some sort of dependence on one thing or another.

Most of us have many things we depend on.

And our individual financial situations seem to be the areas that cause us the most grief.

Why is that?

I think it's because we like to be comfortable.

Or perhaps it's because we like to be comforted.

And for many people, money seems to be the one place they find that relaxation or relief.

Thankfully I have a greater source of comfort than money.

I'll be honest: money helps things go easier.

But even when I'm out of money, I still have peace.

Now let me set something straight: I'm not some sort of crazy person who doesn't stress out about anything. I get worried about this or that just as much as the next person.

What I do with those worries, however, may not be as common.

Peter writes in his first epistle, "Give all your worries to God, for He cares about you."

Now that's a lot easier said than done.

When I have my worries, I have a sense of control.

Well ... I think I can at least control how I handle the situation.

But even then I'm unsure.

When I try to figure stuff out on my own, even if I think I have the right answer, there's still that small piece of doubt in the back of my mind.

I question myself.

So to give up that control, and to hand off that worry (or group of worries) to Him, and to trust He will handle my problem(s) ... that's always a tough thing to do.

And I'm not sure if my brain will ever learn to remember all the times He's brought me through.

But my heart reminds me. And His Holy Spirit reminds me.

And so I let go.

And He takes care of me.

And for that I am thankful.

This last Friday was uneventful.

I'd really tell you about it, but there's not much to say.

I'm enjoying the time off with my family.

My wife is awesome, and my girls are amazing.

What else can I say? :-)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Furlough Friday No. 6 ::: Furlough Interrupted

Furlough no. 6 was pretty different than the others in that it was on a Thursday instead of a Friday.

A friend at work need to swap days so she could do some wedding planning stuff, so I took Thursday off and went in on Friday.

And what a Thursday it was!

Personally, I thought it was the best Furlough yet!

Around 8am, I received a call from my boss letting me know that there was no power at the building, courtesy of some crazy person crashing into one of the utility boxes on the back corner of the property.

Right away he remembered that I wasn't coming in, so he said not to worry about it.

And I didn't :-)

To be honest, I went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

When I woke up around 10am, I brushed my teeth, went downstairs and started the grill.

We cooked some carne asada (or "skirt steak" for my lighter friends) and it was awesome!

Susie made some beans and rice, and the meal was on!

Why does food cooked at home taste so much better than anywhere else?

Anyways, while I was at home enjoying the best meal ever, my coworkers were busy trying to get a paper out.

Oh the joys of working. When you're not working. :-)

I may have to take more Thursdays off!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Furlough Friday No. 5

Another furlough has come and gone.

This last Friday, however, was the beginning of a super-long weekend, thanks to Labor Dabor.

And this Friday was pretty nice.

Susie and I did a little running around with the girls, and even had dinner again at B.J.s.

Overall, the long weekend was really nice.

Now I can look forward to a shortened work week.

Nothing to crazy to note for this one!