Today was a day that went incredibly smooth. Aside from the fact that my daughter was sick today everything went pretty much according to plan. Every Sunday morning at Solid Rock Church we have prayer and worship practice at 8:30 am and I believe we actually made it on time today. I had a big lecture with the fam last week explaining that if something is important to us we must be on time and that working for God and within the Church is the most important thing besides our personal relationships with God and each other. I have to say my wife really stepped up in a big way. I'm so proud of her for getting things ready and being on time this morning so that I could make it to praise practice on time. Thanks Honey! I love you so much. :-)
Praise practice was a lot of fun and I could truly sense God's presence even as we worked through songs. I can never say enough how much I'm impressed with my Pastor's knowledge of music and how he's able to pinpoint things so accurately so as to avoid any issues that may come up with wrong chord progressions or clashing notes within phrases. Our vocalists are top notch and the harmonies they present knock my socks off every time (no, not literally. That would be so inappropriate in church. . .Unless we were having a foot washing service. LOL). Glad to have the chance to play with Osi and Alex too and when the complete rhythm section is there it really clicks. I'm so thankful to God for his love and his constant movement in the worship team's lives. I know that playing with these gentleman and ladies has made me improve as a player and as a worshiper.
Discussion in Sunday School was thought provoking too as the book of 3 John was examined a bit. We studied good and bad examples of leaders within the Church and what to avoid as far as that is concerned. The question of what a good leader is came up and I basically stated that good leader is a person that leads by example. Within the Church itself, if a leader wants soul winners, he has to be a soul winner. If a leader wants prayer warriors, he or she needs to be a prayer warrior. If he wants people to be compassionate he must be compassionate. It's not just doing it but living the example. Paul states in a few places to imitate him. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." If we make Christ our first standard I think becoming a leader worthy of having a following is sure to follow. We were asked to mention a person who exemplifies this in our life. I explained, "This may sound cliche, but my Pastor. . ." I personally have seen and felt Christlike compassion and love, along with patience and support throughout my time at Solid Rock. I was overcome with emotion as I told the class how my Pastor exhibited Christ's love to me on many occasions and that although I am human and have numerous faults and have sinned and made stupid mistakes in my life he didn't judge me but instead showed love to me, prayed for me when I did wrong, and stayed close to me. Someday, when he stands before God I know that he will be commended for his mirroring of Christ to his congregation. Is my Pastor perfect? No, and I'm sure he'd be the first to say it, but when it comes to being a shepherd he fits the bill and he exhibits an honest interest and concern for his flock. I'm truly blessed.
Spent this afternoon reading business communications information today and I realized that the majority of the material that I have read so far I have lived. Resumes? I've done tons of 'em. Emails? Megatons of those at work, at school, and in my personal life. Interview skills? Uh yeah. There have only been 3 jobs total in my entire life that I didn't get after an interview. One was at Burger King, and it was my first interview ever. The guy asked me if I thought I could do the job and I said, "Well, I guess so." I was young and naive and that interview taught me that enthusiasm about a job no matter how menial, is important. Another job, that I didn't get was on a phone interview with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. I feel much more comfortable with answering questions in person as it is much easier to gauge responses via body language and facial expression. The last job I didn't get was a job I was certain I had in the bag and unfortunately there was one other person whose school schedule was better than mine so they got the job and I didn't. On the other hand, I have gotten bigger jobs after just getting my foot in the door for an interview because I was able to upsell myself. This happened when I applied at a local retail store as a loader. Once I spoke with them, they decided I would be a better fit in a sales position working directly with customers instead of just doing the physical labor. Being able to present yourself in a fashion that highlights your communication and personal interaction skills is almost always a way to get yourself into a better job and a little more money. I know now that when someone asks me if I think I can do the job I say: "Of course I can do that job, and I also have other skills that will benefit this business as well."
Well, time to read some more about China's political system. 60 pages are calling my name.
No comments:
Post a Comment