Jobapalooza: Things I will miss about being unemployed!

Welcome to Jobapalooza, where we are celebrating all things work. Why? Because I got a job!

[Reminder to post questions for our upcoming q&a here! Thanks to all who have participated so far!]

Things I will miss about being unemployed:

• Having the time to sit and read books, blogs, or whatever else I want in the morning times.
• Seeing my hubby alot!
• Hanging out in Starbucks in the morning times. There is just something about having a white mocha, my bible, and the sound of milk steaming that warms my soul in the morning time.
• Having such a clean clean house.
• Being able to dwell as long as I want in my quiet times.
• Spending lots of time with my dog. He is such a cute cuddlier!
• Being able to go and see my family during the day.
• Getting to grocery shop during the weekday mornings, when no one else is there!
• Perusing the internet for new recipes or books or home decor ideas.
• Having accountability to help me fight off my materialistic nature ("no sabrina, you cant buy that because you are unemployed"... works better than "you just dont need that sabrina")
• My house- for better or for worse I love this place. it gives me a sense of peace and familiarity.
• Staying in my pj's until 2 in the afternoon.
• Being able to watch HGTV on Hulu randomly!
• My home and husband being my only responsibilities.
• Being forced to solely depend on the Lord to meet our needs. That is one really cool part of being unemployed, you are forced to depend. I hope I will remember to daily depend on the Lord, even with a job.
• There are probably plenty more, but this is what I can think about right now...

It really has been a pretty cool time in my life. I mean, a weird and rough time, but a pretty cool time too!

Jobapalooza: Work and Our Spiritual Lives: How do they mesh?

Welcome to Jobapalooza, where we are celebrating all things work. Why? Because I got a job!

I love when God brings a word to you right when you need it... do you know what I mean? Like if you have been struggling with forgiving someone and you walk into church and the sermon is on forgiveness, or if you just can't make a decision about something and He brings like five people who don't know each other but all say the same thing to you?? Anyhow, I have been reading (for like two months now) Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community. And today wouldn't you know the part I was reading had to do with work. Ha. Why is this funny? Because God just provided a job for me, after four months of unemployment. I start next week. Apparently, He had some things He wanted to teach me before I got back to the workplace. SO of course I am going to share those things with you.

Ok so in the book, he has been going through the different elements of what should make up the morning family devotion, and after he talks about prayer he starts in on how after the devotion you go to work. He says "Prayer and working are two different things. Prayer should not be hinder by work, but neither should work be hindered by prayer." It sounds almost sacrilegious doesn't it? Surely prayer is more important than work, thats what most of us are taught to believe. But is it? He goes on to point out that God has commanded that man work for six days and rest on the seventh, that God expects and wants man to work. How often do you think about your work as something God wants you to do (SAHM's I am counting your staying at home a job too)? I think we have slipped into a common thought of work being something we have to do to get money, and not work being something God wants us to do in order to sanctify us (me included in this).

Work plunges men into the world of things. The Christian steps out of the world of brotherly encounter into the world of impersonal things, the "it"; and this new encounter frees him for objectivity; for the "it"-world is only an instrument in the hand of God for the purification of Christians from all self-centeredness and self-seeking. The work of the world can be done only where a person forgets himself, where he loses himself in the cause, in reality, the task, the "it". In work the Christian learns to allow himself to be limited by the task, and thus for him the work becomes remedy against the indolence and sloth of the flesh. The passions of the flesh die in the world of things. But this can happen only where the Christian breaks through the "it" to the "Thou," which is God, who bids him work and makes that work a means of liberation from himself. pg. 70

He goes on to describe that seeing the "Thou" through our work becomes what Paul calls "pray without ceasing". That in being able to see God and work for him and not yourself or others, this is where prayer becomes an every moment thing.

"Thus the prayer of the Christian reaches beyond its set time and extends into the heart of his work. It includes the whole day, and in doing so, it does not hinder the work; it promotes it, affirms it, and lends it meaning and joy."

Have you seen your "work", whatever it may be, as a way to please the Father? Have you thought of it as a way for Him to refine you? Have you worked at your job as if working unto the Lord? I think when we see it this way, it will be easy to talk to the Lord all day about it, about what we are doing, what we are struggling with and asking for His strength and character instead of our own.

What a good lesson for me before I return to work! I will be an "Office Associate", which is a nice and new way to say secretary. It will be easy to think this job doesn't matter spiritually, but that just isn't true. This is an opportunity for the Lord to refine me, and in the process to "bring many sons to glory".

How about you, have you ever thought about this? How do you view your job? What struggles do you have with meshing your relationship with God and the place you spend majority of your day at?

Jobapalooza: The Stats

Welcome to Jobapalooza, where we are celebrating all things work. Why? Because I got a job!

The Stats:

35+... The number of jobs I have applied for this summer.

20... The number of cover letters I have written this summer.

7... The number of interviews I scheduled this summer.

6... The number of interviews I actually had this summer (I cancelled the last one).

6... The number of interviews I felt really good about this summer.

1... The number of interviews that resulted in a job this summer.

So many I cant count... The number of times I have asked and rehearsed interview questions in my head.

So many I dont want to count... The number of jobs I have looked at on the internet.

Numberless... The blessings the Lord has lavished on me.

Jobapalooza!

Welcome to Jobapalooza! What is Jobapalooza you ask? It is my week long blog celebration because I got a JOB! So what will it entail?

• A post each day about work, looking for work, being unemployed etc.
• Things I will miss about being unemployed
• Things I won't miss about being unemployed
• A look at working and our spiritual lives, how do they mesh together?
• A Q&A with yours truly (but only if you guys participate and make it happen!)

Ready to party?? Haha!

The Q&A Post:

I realize that there are probably questions you have wanted to ask me over the course of the last four months like: why did you leave your job, why didnt you go get a part time job, why did you major in that??!! etc etc. Well now is the time to ask these questions! I am mainly doing this for me, I want to reflect as much as possible over what I have learned during this whole process. So please join in and help me do that! Ask anything related to me and a job and lack there of. Come on... don't be afraid... I don't bite... I am not easily offended... Bring it on!

I will answer the questions on Saturday, so please ask before then!

Why I Love This Week

Heather, who writes at Live.Love.Laugh., does a post each week entitled "Why I love This week". It is a neat concept, starting your week off with looking at the good things that are coming instead of dreading another week. So I wanted to join in this week...

• Fall weather has finally showed up and I love it! It is crisp outside and I have turned off the air conditioner and opened windows! Yay!
• I finally have a week where I do not have to worry about finding and applying for jobs! Instead I get to spend the week enjoying myself and doing projects I want finished before I head back to the workforce.
• Mr.Pate is no longer sick (he had strep throat AND the flu last week!), so we get to actually touch and sleep in the same bed and enjoy each other!
• I get to enjoy my youth group! I have missed the last two wednesdays, so I am pumped to get to hangout with them again!
• Did I mention I have the peace of knowing I have a job??!!

What do you have to look forward to this week?