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Wow, can it be 7 years now that we Americans and the entire world experienced the horror of the violence made against us by Obama Bin Ladin. I don't even care to correct his last name. I hope he is dead, and has met our maker.
God values life, He created every human being in His image. Unfortunately, we live in a sin plagued world, where everything decays and dies. We were given free will to choose a relationship with God and to claim Jesus as Lord. Not everyone gets it, and think all religions are the same. But they aren't the same. Most religions speak of good works in order to get into heaven. Christianity is based on faith in Jesus and God's grace (unmerited favor), not on doing good deeds and adding up our good points. God doesn't look at that, he looks at our heart, our motives. Doing good deeds without love in our hearts and for the sake of appearance is fake. The thing is, it is hard for a Christian to live in this world because sometimes it's ugliness can filter in to your mind and soul, causing distress, anger and sickness. But God's grace is always available. The Holy Spirit indwells us, so we are not alone. We should try to remember to surrender those horrible feelings to God so He can take them and transform them. There is something to learn in our anger and hatred. God can do anything with that, He is, afterall very creative and a Creator.
911 was horrifying and affected me deeply. Seeing loved ones in a hopeless situation, some didn't have time to call their loved ones to say "I love you" or "I'm sorry for...." Someone lost a mother, father, brother/sister, wife/husband, boyfriend/girlfriend, cousin and friend. For that, I still grieve and at the same time, I hope that as survivor's we have meaning and purpose for living, and that we are choosing eternity with God so that if we were to die unexpectedly, we would be in the presence of the Lord and our loved ones can rest assured that they will see us again in Heaven.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Live out my Faith at work?
I recently went to work as a contractor for a start up in the Silicon Valley, filling in for a person on maternity leave. my assignment started Mid March and ended Mid July; then I moved into Online Ad Sales.
She had been with her company for over a year. I was quite surprised, coming from a high tech industry, expecially start up environments, you would never know that she was there for over a year. I did more in 4 months than she did in over a year. Case in point: I have a start up mentality, and I "thought" that this particular start up would welcome a sense of organization AND I thought that once the woman returned from her maternity leave, she would be thrilled to come back to a place that had organization, process and procedures in place and a very clean office!
Apparently I did my job too well. I already sensed from 3 women (who apparently are her friends) that they didn't like me. There was the underlying tension, a few catty words and even UNspoken words, that told me that no matter what I did, they would find fault. I have 20 years experience in the high tech industry, and they, well, didn't have that much experience, so I chalked it up to their own ignorance, and apparently I ruffled their self importance feathers.
I am a professional, when I come to work, I come to make things better. I truly enjoy organizing people, places and things. had no intentions of taking over this woman's job. I just wanted her to be "ahead" so that she wouldn't feel overwhelmed upon her return from maternity leave.
Heaven (and God) knows how many manicures I had to get per week due to the stocking of beverages into the fridge, & cleaning up after the kids dressed up in adult clothes; and much more. I was proud of my work, having brought in 3 gorilla racks to get the stuff out of boxes onto the shelves and make sense of the mess in the kitchen pantry. I created a filing system in her office, and put together New Hire Packets, as well as Exit Interview packets. I know and understand that this poor woman was pregnant and didn't feel like doing the work, so I thought she would be happy to see that upon her return, all she had to do was "manage it" and maintain her work flow.
Not a week after I left did the gossip begin. There were critical remarks made about me and the items i had ordered for the fridge. Never mind that that other 20 employees had NO issues with the stuff I ordered; yet the criticism came and the women were having a field day shredding my character. I guess I did my job too well. No one asked to take sides. As far as I know, I came to do a job and wasn't there to compete NOR was I there to take Gia's job. This company - based on my 20 years experience is a bit backwards. But then, it is a Start-Up. Upsidedown. But then, isn't the world when you measure it against God and His Word?
I walked and lived my faith as best as I could. Deep down I know I did make some mistakes and didn't exercise the best judgment, but I confessed that to God and asked for His forgiveness. I knew that if I should air any of my "issues" to this person, that I would be giving her and her hens ammunition to continue on their destructive path of my character. I knew that God loved me and forgave me, yet there are consequences to my choices and actions. I did my best to remedy it, too BUT I didn't want to give them any reason to continue gossiping about me.
When I moved into Online Ad Sales, I could sense in my spirit a sense of dread, even though I wasn't physically at the company, I could "feel" the assaults made against me. I prayed and asked God to help me.
Today I met with my boss who gave me a check for the whole month, and basically said that I was or that we were swimming up against the stream. I agreed with him. I told him that in the long run, it is God who opens and closes doors. I told him I didn't feel right staying on considering the horrible gossip made about me. he told me that the woman in question was reprimanded for her (actions). apparently she had sent out an email to the entire company accusing me of things, and saying all kinds of horrible things about me. Then many emails started going around in response to her email. I was told that the CEO shut that down immediately, and that they were told to stop acting as children. They were all told that they cannot make or give any references about me, good or bad, and to refer all calls to Finance. He did say he would provide professional reference for me, and that there were others who valued my performance. They are sane, while some others are insane. Some of the employees are immature, ignorant, lack life and work experience and are not professional. I have over 20 years while most average at 5 years or less. Go figure.
It felt good to know that some people knew in their hearts my value, and that this woman obviously felt threatened by me, and therefore, wanted to strip me of any favor that was left with other employees. At the end of the day, she told on herself when she blasted that email. I hope my boss told me the truth, that the CEO shut it down, that she was reprimanded for her actions, and that the others were told to grow up. But this is the first in my 20 years of service to be hated by a group of women for no reason other than that I showed up and did a good job.
When I look at these women, especially one of them, I can't help but see how much God loves these lost people. From that perspective, it is difficult to hate them. They are lost, they don't know God or Jesus, haven't experienced his saving grace, mercy and compassion, especially complete forgiveness from past, present and future sins. We need God's mercy and compassion, even as a believer I struggle with my own issues. The battle to take matters into my own hands vs. letting God handle it. I KNOW God can handle it, but I want it handled NOW. In this situation, all that kept coming to me was how much God loves the lost people, and this one person keeps coming to my mind, not the woman who went on maternity leave, not the Harvard grad engineer or the business developer manager. But this one woman, she keeps coming to mind and she is the one God put on my heart, that HE loves her, which makes me realize how much he loves them all. I can't hate these women. All I have is a sense of compassion and hope for them. God takes care of his kids. Today I got a check for a whole month, not the two weeks I worked. I felt that God was letting me know that he forgives me for my part, and he gave me enough money to help me and my husband get our special needs met...and that perhaps He is still doing a work long after I left on the hearts of the hateful. The world hated Jesus, and Jesus said to expect that the world would hate me too. I felt misunderstood, falsely accused, misjudged, casted out, ridiculed...but Jesus went through it too, but it was much worse.
Can I live my faith out at work, the answer is yes; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
She had been with her company for over a year. I was quite surprised, coming from a high tech industry, expecially start up environments, you would never know that she was there for over a year. I did more in 4 months than she did in over a year. Case in point: I have a start up mentality, and I "thought" that this particular start up would welcome a sense of organization AND I thought that once the woman returned from her maternity leave, she would be thrilled to come back to a place that had organization, process and procedures in place and a very clean office!
Apparently I did my job too well. I already sensed from 3 women (who apparently are her friends) that they didn't like me. There was the underlying tension, a few catty words and even UNspoken words, that told me that no matter what I did, they would find fault. I have 20 years experience in the high tech industry, and they, well, didn't have that much experience, so I chalked it up to their own ignorance, and apparently I ruffled their self importance feathers.
I am a professional, when I come to work, I come to make things better. I truly enjoy organizing people, places and things. had no intentions of taking over this woman's job. I just wanted her to be "ahead" so that she wouldn't feel overwhelmed upon her return from maternity leave.
Heaven (and God) knows how many manicures I had to get per week due to the stocking of beverages into the fridge, & cleaning up after the kids dressed up in adult clothes; and much more. I was proud of my work, having brought in 3 gorilla racks to get the stuff out of boxes onto the shelves and make sense of the mess in the kitchen pantry. I created a filing system in her office, and put together New Hire Packets, as well as Exit Interview packets. I know and understand that this poor woman was pregnant and didn't feel like doing the work, so I thought she would be happy to see that upon her return, all she had to do was "manage it" and maintain her work flow.
Not a week after I left did the gossip begin. There were critical remarks made about me and the items i had ordered for the fridge. Never mind that that other 20 employees had NO issues with the stuff I ordered; yet the criticism came and the women were having a field day shredding my character. I guess I did my job too well. No one asked to take sides. As far as I know, I came to do a job and wasn't there to compete NOR was I there to take Gia's job. This company - based on my 20 years experience is a bit backwards. But then, it is a Start-Up. Upsidedown. But then, isn't the world when you measure it against God and His Word?
I walked and lived my faith as best as I could. Deep down I know I did make some mistakes and didn't exercise the best judgment, but I confessed that to God and asked for His forgiveness. I knew that if I should air any of my "issues" to this person, that I would be giving her and her hens ammunition to continue on their destructive path of my character. I knew that God loved me and forgave me, yet there are consequences to my choices and actions. I did my best to remedy it, too BUT I didn't want to give them any reason to continue gossiping about me.
When I moved into Online Ad Sales, I could sense in my spirit a sense of dread, even though I wasn't physically at the company, I could "feel" the assaults made against me. I prayed and asked God to help me.
Today I met with my boss who gave me a check for the whole month, and basically said that I was or that we were swimming up against the stream. I agreed with him. I told him that in the long run, it is God who opens and closes doors. I told him I didn't feel right staying on considering the horrible gossip made about me. he told me that the woman in question was reprimanded for her (actions). apparently she had sent out an email to the entire company accusing me of things, and saying all kinds of horrible things about me. Then many emails started going around in response to her email. I was told that the CEO shut that down immediately, and that they were told to stop acting as children. They were all told that they cannot make or give any references about me, good or bad, and to refer all calls to Finance. He did say he would provide professional reference for me, and that there were others who valued my performance. They are sane, while some others are insane. Some of the employees are immature, ignorant, lack life and work experience and are not professional. I have over 20 years while most average at 5 years or less. Go figure.
It felt good to know that some people knew in their hearts my value, and that this woman obviously felt threatened by me, and therefore, wanted to strip me of any favor that was left with other employees. At the end of the day, she told on herself when she blasted that email. I hope my boss told me the truth, that the CEO shut it down, that she was reprimanded for her actions, and that the others were told to grow up. But this is the first in my 20 years of service to be hated by a group of women for no reason other than that I showed up and did a good job.
When I look at these women, especially one of them, I can't help but see how much God loves these lost people. From that perspective, it is difficult to hate them. They are lost, they don't know God or Jesus, haven't experienced his saving grace, mercy and compassion, especially complete forgiveness from past, present and future sins. We need God's mercy and compassion, even as a believer I struggle with my own issues. The battle to take matters into my own hands vs. letting God handle it. I KNOW God can handle it, but I want it handled NOW. In this situation, all that kept coming to me was how much God loves the lost people, and this one person keeps coming to my mind, not the woman who went on maternity leave, not the Harvard grad engineer or the business developer manager. But this one woman, she keeps coming to mind and she is the one God put on my heart, that HE loves her, which makes me realize how much he loves them all. I can't hate these women. All I have is a sense of compassion and hope for them. God takes care of his kids. Today I got a check for a whole month, not the two weeks I worked. I felt that God was letting me know that he forgives me for my part, and he gave me enough money to help me and my husband get our special needs met...and that perhaps He is still doing a work long after I left on the hearts of the hateful. The world hated Jesus, and Jesus said to expect that the world would hate me too. I felt misunderstood, falsely accused, misjudged, casted out, ridiculed...but Jesus went through it too, but it was much worse.
Can I live my faith out at work, the answer is yes; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
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