Woodridge

Hey all.
It's been awhile, so I'll catch you up.

I'll be heading back to Woodridge this week as far as work's concerned. I've learned alot during my time in Hinsdale, and quite frankly, I've been pretty wiped and that's why posts to the blog have slowed to a standstill. As I head back, I anticipate stepping up what I was doing at my home store before I left. I think that in the last two months I've really tightened up the shifts I'm on. No more guesswork, I know what needs to be done, and I feel much more confident getting things done.

We had our small group from church over to our apartment on Sunday. It was a really good time, and we even gave a little tour of our area... When you attend a church of thousands, it's sometimes hard to feel that "personal" touch, not to mention that there's no accountability.
We've really been blessed by the support and friendship of these folks.

Sarah is working full time now. She will be cranking out resumes soon. I look forward to seeing what kind of career she will get into. She's so smart and sincere, and I really anticipate a great job for her. One where she can truly help others, and take home some fulfillment for herself. I remember the feeling of pride in my work that I had at the newspaper, and the idea that "I did that" with different ads in the newspaper. It's something that you don't get in many jobs, but is a definite plus. I get that feeling to a certain degree at Starbucks as I continue to build relationships with customers, and people within the company. I'm sure that if I continue down this path, that "I did that" feeling will increase when I can see places I've helped make better. But for now, I'm praying that Sarah finds a job that she can be challenged at, and be proud of a job well done.

My parents found a new house in Ohia. They are moving soon, and hopefully this will be a great place to live. I've always liked the town they're moving to. The boys seem to be doing well, and while my Dad's health is a little shaky at times, I'm really happy for them at this point in their life. You can really see God's hand on their lives, and I feel that they will be able to look back and say "We didn't waste our lives, fiddling around, trying to make ourselves happy..." That's really what I want, when I think about it. I want to be able to look back on my life and see people I was able to help, sacrifices I was able to make, unselfishness... of course, every day I see evidence of the opposite in my life. I see the decisions made for me, manipulations of loved ones, and things I'll regret. Ah, regret. We love to dodge it here in America. Act like it doesn't exist... say you don't have them... Bull... You have them, as do I.
Regret is the wonderful device that tells us to NEVER DO THAT AGAIN. If faced with similar circumstances "I will do the right thing" next time. My advice, regret's not going to go away any more than gravity, and so next time it rears its head, listen to what it says, and make the decision to do what's right if that situation ever happens again. Pretending that regret doesn't exist is unfortunately something that few people are able to do at the end of their lives, and had they listened to its voice of warning earlier, they'd have alot less to regret. Period. For details, watch Magnolia.

Well, that's enough for now.
I hope this wasn't too heavy, but I'm so tired of people happily skipping off of cliffs in their lives. WAKE UP! Life is fragile and short! Live it right!

Peace and thank you,
Jim