21 days until until I get the blessing of enjoying this...
41 days until my CPCU exam- yikes!
47 days until I get to serve here...
And in between there's Go and Be, Nica Team meetings, baby showers, leaders' meetings, intro nights, communion dinner, BSF, seminars, mentor lunches, fellowships, presentations, parents' night out, friend time, Nica garage sale, Mother's Day, singles nights, Memorial Day...
A lot of really GREAT things going on, but I am definitely looking forward to some time of rest. I am praying for the strength to finish well, the patience to endure the endless schedule, the wisdom and selflessness to love those around me in the process. Just a few more weeks...I think I can...I know the Lord can...
I can't believe that it has already been a year since I started my new job...I know it's cliche to say, but... my, has the time flown! Haha. This time last year, I was starting a new journey into the world of commercial insurance. It still makes me laugh a little...from events to insurance :) God can be so funny sometimes...
I now know more about commercial property and casualty insurance than I ever thought I would, and I still have a lot of learning left to do. In the span of a year, I have earned my P&C license and 2 designations (CISR and CLCS), and I have started working toward 2 more designations (CIC and CPCU). So much for not wanting to study anymore LOL. It still amazes me that this company was so willing to take a chance on me. I remember that I pretty much tried to talk them out of hiring me in my interview because I kept trying to remind them that I knew absolutely nothing. I still don't know a whole lot, but I am grateful for the time and resources they have poured into my training and insurance education. I absolutely LOVE the people I work with, and I couldn't ask for a better boss.
I am SO grateful for this job. Many of you know the process that led up to me taking the job and know how much of a relief and a surprise it was. And while it's still a learning process for me, and I can't help but miss events most days, I wouldn't trade this past year for even the best event job in the world. The amount of work that the Lord had to do in my heart for me to be able to say that...well, let's just say that it was no small feat. I am so humbled and grateful that He's not through with me yet...
Over and over, the Lord has confirmed that this is exactly where He wants me right now. While brokering commercial insurance is not my idea of "advancing the kingdom," let's be honest- events were not really either. But one of the things the Lord has taught me is the importance of relationships- even business ones. I have been encouraged by the few believers I do work with, and I have been challenged in my conversations with unbelieving co-workers and clients. And I have blogged countless times about my 20s group. I know that I would never have been able to get so involved if it were not for this job. Because of this job, I have more time for ministry opportunities than I ever would have in events. Even if for that reason alone God gave me this job, I praise Him for it all!
I am not sure what the future holds and if this will be a lifelong career. I am at complete peace with the idea that I could be here for awhile. Or He could decide to move me again in a few years. But I do know that God has brought me to this particular job for this specific time in my life. And I am confident that His plan is good and perfect and He will take care of me wherever He sends me. I trust Him wherever He leads...
I praise God for my precious Lord and Savior! I praise God for my King, my Rock, my Salvation, my friend...Good Friday has always been a special part of Christian history and celebration. And it has always held a special place in my heart, not only because I am a Christ-follower, but because it was Good Friday when the Lord began tugging at my young heart, drawing me closer into a relationship with Him. To this day, it amazes me how much the Holy Spirit was working in my young heart and mind to reveal truth to me.
One of the traditions in my family growing up was to go to Good Friday service with my grandmother. They had a passion play that we would go to every year, so I knew the story of the cross. I knew that this man Jesus was sentenced to death on a cross. The acting was powerful, the music made the whole thing dramatic...and after we would clap for the actors and sing a song. But I remember one particular passion play. It was the same one they played the year before and the year after. But that was the year that God was speaking to my 8 year old heart. That year I truly listened to what was going on and began to understand that this wasn't just a play, this was real. Jesus really came to die on the cross. I remember feeling so overwhelmed because I couldn't understand why the people hated Him so much, why they wanted Him dead, why they beat, bruised, humiliated, tortured, murdered Him. All I could do was sit and cry for what was happening to Jesus. I remember that my dad had to take me outside after the play to calm me down because I was so overwhelmed with sadness. I kept saying over and over, "but he didn't do anything wrong!!!"
From that point on, God began drawing me to His heart, helping me to understand that the sinless Savior, the loving man who "did nothing wrong" came to endure all of those horrible things for me. I will never forget that Good Friday, and I hope that I never lose sight of the sacrifice that was made on my behalf. I can't even put into words what that actually means for my life. The "good" part of Good Friday is that (as a friend put it) it was the great exchange: the sin of man for the life of Jesus. My sin is why He endured the beating, the bruises, the humiliation, the torture, the death. Even writing about it now, my heart is overwhelmed by the love of my Savior. But the story didn't end there, and as believers we can rejoice in a risen Savior! We can rejoice in the fact that Christ died for us, then rose again on the third day as He conquered death and made a way for me to have life.
This is one of my favorite videos and pretty much sums up all that I can say about my King...do YOU know Him??
And I thought this was just beautiful. I will never be the same since I gave my life to Christ...
