Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that different people celebrate in different ways. Some buy flowers or chocolate or go out to dinner with the one they love. Others "celebrate" by wallowing in self-pity. Most (though not all) of those wallowing in self-pity are single. I thought I'd try and help out by offering a few reasons to avoid being depressed during Valentine's Day this year...
Reason #1- You don't see anyone despairing over the lack of a secretary to appreciate on "Secretary Appreciation Day"...
Reason #2- Statistics show that 100% of married people were single at one point in their lives. (Arranged marriages from birth were treated as outliers.)
Reason #3- Singleness is not a curse, burden or a phase to grow out of. It is simply a part of the place in life God has put you to best work in and through you. Singleness does not define you.
1 Corinthians 8:17a "Nevertheless each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them."
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Top Movies of the Year... in 2012!
So I love two things: lists and movies. This post combines those two things into one thing.
What follows is the list of movies I am most looking forward to next year. It's not healthy to constantly look to the future so I intentionally wait until the latest possible time to put together this list so that I won't miss out on enjoying the movies that are already here. Now that all of the movies on last year's list have come out, I can finally put together this one.
I hope you enjoy. :)
Honorable Mention: Skyfall (November 9th), The Lorax (March 2nd) and The Amazing Spider-man (July 4th)
Skyfall is the next James Bond film. I loved Casino Royale and was bored/nauseous while watching Quantum of Solace. I hope Skyfall is more Royal and less Solace. As for "The Lorax", I love Dr Seuss and loved Despicable Me (the studio also making Lorax) so it seems like I should like this one. That said, it's a story about cutting down trees. Even if I don't like it, I can get some serious street cred with my more environmentally conscious friends. Spider-man is Spider-man. I don't know why they're rebooting it already but I'll still see it.
5. Brave- June 22nd
Besides lists and movies in general, I love Pixar. The worst Pixar movie is better than 90% of other movies. This one has its pros and cons. The cons: It looks similar to "How to Train Your Dragon" other than it involves a bear. The pros: "How to Train Your Dragon" was a pretty good movie. Also, half of the cast was in Harry Potter at one point. (The Grey Lady, Mrs. Weasley, Professor Trelawney, Hagrid) That's not to mention late night host and hilarious comedian Craig Ferguson. Although Ferguson was in HTTYD so I'm not sure if that's actually a pro or con yet.
4. The Hunger Games- March 23rd
I'm currently reading "Mockingjay", the 3rd book in the Hunger Games trilogy and if the movie is anything like the book, it should be great. The books were pretty much responsible for me not getting any homework done or really sleeping much during the month of September. The premise, the plot twists, the characters... this book had everything. It's hard for a movie to get even close to matching the quality of the book that it is being adapted from but I have high hopes for this one. Why? This movie is the rare case where the author of the book not only is involved with the movie, she personally wrote the script.
3. The Avengers- May 4th
This movie would be the top on this list in a normal year. Fortunately, this is not a normal year. Growing up as a fan of comic-book superheroes you always wished that you could get other heroes to show up in the same world as other ones. This movie is finally making that possible. Being able to see Iron Man, Captain America and The Hulk all fighting at the same time is going to be pretty sweet. And it makes sense. I mean really, why wouldn't Superman just fly in and take care of people like The Joker for Batman? A perfectly good hospital was ruined in The Dark Knight... you don't think a guy that can fly faster than a speeding bullet couldn't have stopped that? (Yes, I know... none of the characters in this movie are in the same comic book universe as Batman or Superman. I just thought it was a good example.)
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- December 14th
This has occasionally been on the top of my list. It could be 1B. I'm not a fan of ties though. It's why I watch baseball. Anyway, this should be fantastic. I just saw the trailer after watching The Two Towers and Return of the King and I'd forgotten how much I'd missed these movies coming out. I won't be attached to it in the same way that someone who had grown up reading the books will be but I love the LOTR films so this is one that I guarantee I will be there opening night. (Probably not the midnight showing. I can't stand people giving the plot out loud as their watching it and that's typically the crowd you find at those. I've gotten old.)
1. The Dark Knight Rises- July 20th
When I doubt that this should be on the top of my list I just rewatch the trailer. I love love love Batman. Grew up watching the cartoon. Went to go see Batman Forever and Batman & Robin in the theatres. (They were much better when I was a kid.) Went to go see Batman Begins at 10:30am the day it came out because I'm pretty sure they didn't bother doing a midnight showing. Saw The Dark Knight at midnight and several other times in the theatre after that. When someone does something well for awhile, they earn your trust. Christopher Nolan has my trust going into this movie that it will be a fitting conclusion to his Batman trilogy.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Change of Plans
Who? Uh... me.
What? Taking a semester off of grad school and working at Panera Bread in Caledonia, MI to save up money for the fall.
When? Today (December 28th)
Where? Michigan. It's the one that looks like a mitten.
Why? Well, that's a little bit harder to answer. I'm definitely glad that I went to TEDS this fall (assuming that I passed my classes.) I've enjoyed the friendships I've been able to have with my friends here. I've enjoyed working at the Panera Bread here in the suburbs of Chicago. It really came down to two things: church and money.
The money aspect is easiest to explain. I love Panera... but it's hard to pay for grad school on minimum wage hours. I knew that I needed to take a break from school to save up money because while I will probably go into some debt to pay for grad school at some point, I don't want to have to go into so much debt that I'm regretting going at all for years afterwards.
The role that church played in my decision was that while there are many great churches within reasonable driving distance of where I'm living, I didn't have any that I fell into place with. While I could have done better at putting my foot in the door to get involved, it wouldn't have been to the degree that I will be able to do so when I'm back home.
There's also the fact that I will hopefully be headed back to school in the fall of 2012. I wasn't really motivated to get involved with a church at this point only to head to some other area a few months later. My church back home is already used to me coming and going over the past few years and the friendships still remain so it's not quite as tough to do.
I'll be taking my 2nd semester of Beginning Greek through Moody Distance Learning so that I can stay on pace with that for wherever I am next fall. (Again, assuming that I passed Beginning Greek I.)
I've been doing a lot of thinking during the decision process and I thought about the verse that we often cling to in Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." The biggest thing that this has reminded me of is that we're often walking crooked paths. Life isn't expected to be easy even when we're obedient. Situations get messy. Hard decisions have to be made.
God could promise us here that He'll make life easy for the obedient. He doesn't. He calls His children to trust Him and then at some point, not determined by the amount of our trust, He'll make the paths that we're on... the ones that don't make sense... the ones that don't go according to "plan"... the ones that we can't see if we'll be able to reach the desired end... He'll make them straight.
I think that if we could look back after He "makes our paths straight" we'd see that they really were the whole time. That's why we have to give up on our own ability to make up plans and trust Him to know what He's doing. I can already attest to the way that God has worked in this situation. I practically got hired for the job at Panera in Michigan just for saying that I'm working at Panera now. In this economy, even a job at Panera can't be taken for granted.
I'm thankful that this seems to be the crooked path that God is making straight in His timing. :)
What? Taking a semester off of grad school and working at Panera Bread in Caledonia, MI to save up money for the fall.
Where? Michigan. It's the one that looks like a mitten.
Why? Well, that's a little bit harder to answer. I'm definitely glad that I went to TEDS this fall (assuming that I passed my classes.) I've enjoyed the friendships I've been able to have with my friends here. I've enjoyed working at the Panera Bread here in the suburbs of Chicago. It really came down to two things: church and money.
The money aspect is easiest to explain. I love Panera... but it's hard to pay for grad school on minimum wage hours. I knew that I needed to take a break from school to save up money because while I will probably go into some debt to pay for grad school at some point, I don't want to have to go into so much debt that I'm regretting going at all for years afterwards.
The role that church played in my decision was that while there are many great churches within reasonable driving distance of where I'm living, I didn't have any that I fell into place with. While I could have done better at putting my foot in the door to get involved, it wouldn't have been to the degree that I will be able to do so when I'm back home.
There's also the fact that I will hopefully be headed back to school in the fall of 2012. I wasn't really motivated to get involved with a church at this point only to head to some other area a few months later. My church back home is already used to me coming and going over the past few years and the friendships still remain so it's not quite as tough to do.
I'll be taking my 2nd semester of Beginning Greek through Moody Distance Learning so that I can stay on pace with that for wherever I am next fall. (Again, assuming that I passed Beginning Greek I.)
I've been doing a lot of thinking during the decision process and I thought about the verse that we often cling to in Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." The biggest thing that this has reminded me of is that we're often walking crooked paths. Life isn't expected to be easy even when we're obedient. Situations get messy. Hard decisions have to be made.
God could promise us here that He'll make life easy for the obedient. He doesn't. He calls His children to trust Him and then at some point, not determined by the amount of our trust, He'll make the paths that we're on... the ones that don't make sense... the ones that don't go according to "plan"... the ones that we can't see if we'll be able to reach the desired end... He'll make them straight.
I think that if we could look back after He "makes our paths straight" we'd see that they really were the whole time. That's why we have to give up on our own ability to make up plans and trust Him to know what He's doing. I can already attest to the way that God has worked in this situation. I practically got hired for the job at Panera in Michigan just for saying that I'm working at Panera now. In this economy, even a job at Panera can't be taken for granted.
I'm thankful that this seems to be the crooked path that God is making straight in His timing. :)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Back to Blogging
I normally have gaps between posts because I don't have enough to write that I could pump out one every day but it has been an abnormally large gap since the last post. I'm writing this to say... I'll be back. Soon.
I've actually already written a few posts but haven't had the time to edit them enough to publish so they'll be coming within the next few days. Mainly after finals are done. It's hard to believe how much these classes get in the way of something as important as blogging. :p
I thought I'd give a little glimpse of what's to come with 10 titles for future blog posts.
Ok, most of these are ones I'm not actually writing...
But a few are.
(Ooooohhh. Suspense!)
Here they are:
I Liked Newt Gingrich Before it was Cool: A Hipster Take on Politics
Would You Still Want to Go to Heaven if it was in New Jersey?
Finding Nic Mc: The Story of the One Guy Who Doesn't Use Facebook
The Gospel According to Kermit the Frog and/or Bill Cosby
The Top 5 Movies of the Year... in 2012!
Why the Detroit Lions are Going to Win the Super Bowl... in 2057!
It's Hard to go through the Drive Thru at McDonald's When Your Windows are Frozen Shut.
The Top 12 Books that I Bought but Never Read
French Pressed: Why the Best Tasting Method of Making Coffee is Also the Messiest
Believe it or Not, Soccer is a Real Sport
The Chuck E. Cheese's for Adults: Chuck E. Cheese's
Hope you enjoyed. I'll be back with something more substantive after finals! :)
I've actually already written a few posts but haven't had the time to edit them enough to publish so they'll be coming within the next few days. Mainly after finals are done. It's hard to believe how much these classes get in the way of something as important as blogging. :p
I thought I'd give a little glimpse of what's to come with 10 titles for future blog posts.
Ok, most of these are ones I'm not actually writing...
But a few are.
(Ooooohhh. Suspense!)
Here they are:
I Liked Newt Gingrich Before it was Cool: A Hipster Take on Politics
Would You Still Want to Go to Heaven if it was in New Jersey?
Finding Nic Mc: The Story of the One Guy Who Doesn't Use Facebook
The Gospel According to Kermit the Frog and/or Bill Cosby
The Top 5 Movies of the Year... in 2012!
Why the Detroit Lions are Going to Win the Super Bowl... in 2057!
It's Hard to go through the Drive Thru at McDonald's When Your Windows are Frozen Shut.
The Top 12 Books that I Bought but Never Read
French Pressed: Why the Best Tasting Method of Making Coffee is Also the Messiest
Believe it or Not, Soccer is a Real Sport
The Chuck E. Cheese's for Adults: Chuck E. Cheese's
Hope you enjoyed. I'll be back with something more substantive after finals! :)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Why I gave Newt Gingrich 10 bucks... (less political than you're expecting)
No really, I promise... this isn't a campaign post.
A couple of weeks ago, sometime late at night, probably after watching a little too much Hulu, I gave Newt Gingrich 10 bucks. Why, besides the fact that I have a serious lack of judgment late at night, would I do that?
Simple.
I think Newt is smart, a good communicator, has detailed answers...
and probably isn't going to win.
Don't get me wrong, there's some Newtmentum going on out there. He made a big deal few days ago when he moved into 3rd place... 7 percentage points behind 2nd place... 15 percentage points behind the leader... in a single poll. Needless to say, there's still time in the race but there's he's going to need a lot more Newtmentum if he actually wants to be a contender.
So, if he's such a long-shot, why donate the money?
It's easy. I spend money on what I believe in.
I believe in Newt $10 worth.
Just take a step back and look at where your money goes... What do you believe in?
You can fully believe in something that you don't give your money to. I believed in my local Congressman a lot more than I believe in Newt but I've never given him a dime. I have canvassed the streets for him on two occasions (both times in flip flops... bad idea.) but never given him any money.
That's just to say that this isn't a hard and fast rule, but like Matthew 12:35 says "A good man brings good things out of the good stored in him and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored in him." In other words, in the long run your actions (including your spending) will reflect what's going on inside.
I don't know about you but if I looked at my bank statement I would have to say that the thing I believe in the most... is myself.
And that needs to change.
A couple of weeks ago, sometime late at night, probably after watching a little too much Hulu, I gave Newt Gingrich 10 bucks. Why, besides the fact that I have a serious lack of judgment late at night, would I do that?
Simple.
I think Newt is smart, a good communicator, has detailed answers...
and probably isn't going to win.
Don't get me wrong, there's some Newtmentum going on out there. He made a big deal few days ago when he moved into 3rd place... 7 percentage points behind 2nd place... 15 percentage points behind the leader... in a single poll. Needless to say, there's still time in the race but there's he's going to need a lot more Newtmentum if he actually wants to be a contender.
So, if he's such a long-shot, why donate the money?
It's easy. I spend money on what I believe in.
I believe in Newt $10 worth.
Just take a step back and look at where your money goes... What do you believe in?
You can fully believe in something that you don't give your money to. I believed in my local Congressman a lot more than I believe in Newt but I've never given him a dime. I have canvassed the streets for him on two occasions (both times in flip flops... bad idea.) but never given him any money.
That's just to say that this isn't a hard and fast rule, but like Matthew 12:35 says "A good man brings good things out of the good stored in him and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored in him." In other words, in the long run your actions (including your spending) will reflect what's going on inside.
I don't know about you but if I looked at my bank statement I would have to say that the thing I believe in the most... is myself.
And that needs to change.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Leading Without Being in Charge
So, this week I start working at Panera Bread. I realized this afternoon that this is my first job outside of a specifically Christian environment since I was 16. Even that job was a restaurant owned and made up of a majority of Dutch Christian Reformed folks and was closed on Sunday. Since then I've either worked with all Christians in a business owned by members of my church, at a Christian college or at my church itself.
This wasn't the plan.
I went to Moody so that I could work in youth ministry. I'm going to seminary so that I can work in youth ministry more effectively. There's a part of me that feels like working at Panera isn't fulfilling that calling very well. It feels like a misuse of stewardship of gifting. Misstewardship?
Things don't always go to plan though. Actually, it seems they rarely do.
What this job at Panera is, if I actually step back and look at it, is a blessing. I will be able to work well in an environment that isn't made up completely of believers. This can only put me in a better place to do evangelism, of building relationships with people and hopefully, by the grace of God, point people closer to knowing Christ. It is a job. It will bring in money. And I really love the broccoli cheddar soup. Especially with a discount.
The real issue that this raises is what to do about ministry? The beautiful thing is that God has called all believers to be ministers, not just the ones paid to do it. I'm still waiting on a church to get back to me about a position but at this point I'd rather deal with the situation I have than hypothetical situations in the future. The opportunity then to, after spending a few years doing youth ministry, after completing a degree in youth ministry, go into a youth ministry setting and not be "the boss" that I was applying to be presents some unique benefits:
1. It's God's ministry, not mine.
One of the biggest traps that someone in vocational ministry can fall into is when they start to think of a ministry as "theirs." Don't get me wrong, a pastor has responsibility for care for those under him. The danger of thinking of a ministry as our own is that it makes it seems as any of the fruit, any of the growth is our doing. Faith is a gift from God and so although it is an honor to be a tool in the process of seeing people come to Christ, we are not the ones that brought them there. The humbling experience of going and continuing to work under someone else in youth ministry will hopefully amplify these truths in my life.
2. If I stick in youth ministry, I'll always have a boss. (besides God)
Youth Pastors, by the nature of the job, are not the ones in charge. They are almost always working under a senior/lead pastor who has the final word on most big decisions. The senior/lead pastor has others that he is (hopefully) responsible to but the youth pastor (and other pastoral staff) have the specific responsibility to submit to the senior/lead pastor's leadership. This trait of submission is hopefully something that will continue to be cultivated in my life as I continue to submit to another youth pastor's leadership.
3. If I ask for God's leading, I need to be willing to be led.
I often pray for God's leading. I believe that God has ordained the steps that I'm taking but I want to be taking them in obedience. It's funny that a lot of times I'm really consistent about praying for God to lead me in His paths and then I am angry/grumpy about the paths that He seems to be leading me down. I'm not actually praying for God's leading, I'm praying for God to implement my leading. The plan was to find a youth ministry position. For reasons that are clear to God and not to me, He sent me to Panera instead. I pray that I will learn to submit more fully to God's plans and that I'll look for the opportunities and relationships that He is sending in my life both at Panera and at whatever youth ministry I start volunteering for.
This wasn't the plan.
I went to Moody so that I could work in youth ministry. I'm going to seminary so that I can work in youth ministry more effectively. There's a part of me that feels like working at Panera isn't fulfilling that calling very well. It feels like a misuse of stewardship of gifting. Misstewardship?
Things don't always go to plan though. Actually, it seems they rarely do.
What this job at Panera is, if I actually step back and look at it, is a blessing. I will be able to work well in an environment that isn't made up completely of believers. This can only put me in a better place to do evangelism, of building relationships with people and hopefully, by the grace of God, point people closer to knowing Christ. It is a job. It will bring in money. And I really love the broccoli cheddar soup. Especially with a discount.
The real issue that this raises is what to do about ministry? The beautiful thing is that God has called all believers to be ministers, not just the ones paid to do it. I'm still waiting on a church to get back to me about a position but at this point I'd rather deal with the situation I have than hypothetical situations in the future. The opportunity then to, after spending a few years doing youth ministry, after completing a degree in youth ministry, go into a youth ministry setting and not be "the boss" that I was applying to be presents some unique benefits:
1. It's God's ministry, not mine.
One of the biggest traps that someone in vocational ministry can fall into is when they start to think of a ministry as "theirs." Don't get me wrong, a pastor has responsibility for care for those under him. The danger of thinking of a ministry as our own is that it makes it seems as any of the fruit, any of the growth is our doing. Faith is a gift from God and so although it is an honor to be a tool in the process of seeing people come to Christ, we are not the ones that brought them there. The humbling experience of going and continuing to work under someone else in youth ministry will hopefully amplify these truths in my life.
2. If I stick in youth ministry, I'll always have a boss. (besides God)
Youth Pastors, by the nature of the job, are not the ones in charge. They are almost always working under a senior/lead pastor who has the final word on most big decisions. The senior/lead pastor has others that he is (hopefully) responsible to but the youth pastor (and other pastoral staff) have the specific responsibility to submit to the senior/lead pastor's leadership. This trait of submission is hopefully something that will continue to be cultivated in my life as I continue to submit to another youth pastor's leadership.
3. If I ask for God's leading, I need to be willing to be led.
I often pray for God's leading. I believe that God has ordained the steps that I'm taking but I want to be taking them in obedience. It's funny that a lot of times I'm really consistent about praying for God to lead me in His paths and then I am angry/grumpy about the paths that He seems to be leading me down. I'm not actually praying for God's leading, I'm praying for God to implement my leading. The plan was to find a youth ministry position. For reasons that are clear to God and not to me, He sent me to Panera instead. I pray that I will learn to submit more fully to God's plans and that I'll look for the opportunities and relationships that He is sending in my life both at Panera and at whatever youth ministry I start volunteering for.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
The sanctifying process of looking for a job...
I'm not a big fan of rejection. I know, I know... few people are.
Unless you're a previously established superstar in a specific field, looking for a job is full of rejection. You give someone your resume, you lay out your experience, you try to make an impression and then more often than not they say "Thanks so much for your interest..." (That happens to be the worst opening line of an email to read. It's like asking a girl out and as soon as she responds "I'm really flattered..." you know that you're toast.)
Part of the problem is that interviewing for jobs seems to go completely against what we hold to be true the rest of the time. "Be humble!" and yet interviews seem to be centered around self-promotion. "Think of others higher than yourself" and yet job searching seems to be a process of looking out for yourself rather than others.
Is it possible to look for jobs and still be Christlike?
Well, here's the best answer I could up with.
Keep in mind that it's not like I've actually been successful in finding the job. :p
1. Represent yourself accurately but positively
This is a tight rope for me. I have a hard time trying to make a case of why I should get a job without straying into exaggerations of experiences and skills. The truth is that more often than not I actually undermine my giftedness, skills and experience in an attempt to not come across as full of myself. It isn't a sin to be accurate about those things though. Confidence in who God has made me, the things He's allowed me to do and the skills He's given me to do them is not the same as self-confidence or over-confidence. It's confidence in God's calling.
2. Keep the glory of God as the motivation
This is the easiest to say and the hardest to practice. God's glory is much more motivating than looking for a job out of necessity or because I'm looking for acceptance. Even when I'm hit with the dreaded "We're going in another direction" response I can take joy and satisfaction out of a job pursuit done to please the Lord. If I am truthful in my self-representation and faithful in my taking advantage of the opportunities that I am presented than I can find satisfaction in God and His love for His children.
3. Remember that God is the one who creates jobs
That's right, I can't blame President Obama or Congress because they are just the tools that God uses to do His Will. While I am responsible to go and pursue job opportunities and go to interviews, it is God Himself that provides the job. I can't count on my fingers how many times I have really wanted something only to realize later that it would have been terrible for me. While it would be really nice to be cashing paychecks already I don't necessarily want to be given everything I want. I want to want what God wants for me.
Like #2, this is easier said than done. There really is sanctification found in realizing that I'm at wit's end and need God to provide my needs though. I can't do this myself. I spoke to a youth group last week about clinging to God in the midst of hard times and it is a blessing to say that I need to preach that truth to myself.
Like David in Psalm 13 I'm not sure why God hasn't worked in the way that I need Him to yet. In spite of that though, I can cling to Him and praise Him for all of the ways that He is already blessing me and trust Him to continue His good work. Even when His timing isn't what I'd like it to be, knowing that He is there and that He cares is more than enough for now.
Unless you're a previously established superstar in a specific field, looking for a job is full of rejection. You give someone your resume, you lay out your experience, you try to make an impression and then more often than not they say "Thanks so much for your interest..." (That happens to be the worst opening line of an email to read. It's like asking a girl out and as soon as she responds "I'm really flattered..." you know that you're toast.)
Part of the problem is that interviewing for jobs seems to go completely against what we hold to be true the rest of the time. "Be humble!" and yet interviews seem to be centered around self-promotion. "Think of others higher than yourself" and yet job searching seems to be a process of looking out for yourself rather than others.
Is it possible to look for jobs and still be Christlike?
Well, here's the best answer I could up with.
Keep in mind that it's not like I've actually been successful in finding the job. :p
1. Represent yourself accurately but positively
This is a tight rope for me. I have a hard time trying to make a case of why I should get a job without straying into exaggerations of experiences and skills. The truth is that more often than not I actually undermine my giftedness, skills and experience in an attempt to not come across as full of myself. It isn't a sin to be accurate about those things though. Confidence in who God has made me, the things He's allowed me to do and the skills He's given me to do them is not the same as self-confidence or over-confidence. It's confidence in God's calling.
2. Keep the glory of God as the motivation
This is the easiest to say and the hardest to practice. God's glory is much more motivating than looking for a job out of necessity or because I'm looking for acceptance. Even when I'm hit with the dreaded "We're going in another direction" response I can take joy and satisfaction out of a job pursuit done to please the Lord. If I am truthful in my self-representation and faithful in my taking advantage of the opportunities that I am presented than I can find satisfaction in God and His love for His children.
3. Remember that God is the one who creates jobs
That's right, I can't blame President Obama or Congress because they are just the tools that God uses to do His Will. While I am responsible to go and pursue job opportunities and go to interviews, it is God Himself that provides the job. I can't count on my fingers how many times I have really wanted something only to realize later that it would have been terrible for me. While it would be really nice to be cashing paychecks already I don't necessarily want to be given everything I want. I want to want what God wants for me.
Like #2, this is easier said than done. There really is sanctification found in realizing that I'm at wit's end and need God to provide my needs though. I can't do this myself. I spoke to a youth group last week about clinging to God in the midst of hard times and it is a blessing to say that I need to preach that truth to myself.
Like David in Psalm 13 I'm not sure why God hasn't worked in the way that I need Him to yet. In spite of that though, I can cling to Him and praise Him for all of the ways that He is already blessing me and trust Him to continue His good work. Even when His timing isn't what I'd like it to be, knowing that He is there and that He cares is more than enough for now.
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