My friends, I have a question to ask. Why does man crave great things? I do not refer to large houses, expensive art, or nice cars. I refer to the great things of the natural world. The Ocean. The Mountains. Things that show man how truly small he is. How little he can really affect his world. Yes, there are some who attempt to tame the ocean, to conquer the mountains. But do they succeed? No.The ocean is still there, powerful and stronger than anything we could invent. The mountains still stand tall, unshakeable, surrounding us with their majesty. Though man can scale these giants, can we change anything about them? No, we can’t. They are greater than we are.

How does man respond to their relative tininess? Some men seek out ways to gain power, to make themselves seem more important. But at the end of their life, what have they gained? Nothing. All the power and importance they gained during their visit here on earth is left at the door. They will be judged according to the most important choice in this life. Whether they chose God, or self.

Yet, there are others, men who realize that they don’t need to feel important. God created each and every one of us. In His arms, man doesn’t need to be great, because we are His children. That is all that matters.

To me, the ocean is not a beast to be tamed. The mountains are not enemies to be conquered. Instead, they are pictures of the greatness, the splendor, the majesty, and the immeasurable Love of my Lord. He is our Creator. He is all powerful, without Him there is nothing. When I see the ocean, I see the indefinable depth of God’s Love for me. When I see the mountain ranges, I see God’s arms surrounding me, protecting me.

Isn’t it better to rely on God’s strength, and trust Him? He gave His precious Son to die for us, so that we might live, if we only trust in, and rely on, His Love. He will not fail us, why should we fail Him? Don’t rely on your own strength. In the end, nothing you can do will save you. Allow God to guide you along your path. You won’t be disappointed.

Alright.

So, y’all know I work prep/expo/cook/bussing at Fuddruckers in Idaho right? Yup. Been getting about 40 hours a week, which is quite pleasant, as the weather is brightening up and I only work two evenings. 

So it’s annoying that I now have an issue.

See, I don’t wanna be stuck in a restaurant job forever(well, unless I’m RUNNING one I OWN), so I’ve been looking for more work. Note “more”, it comes in later.

I applied for an entry level IT position with World IT Solutions, partnered with HP. The Navy and Marine Corps outsource their IT support to this partnership, and they like to rotate grunts through the junior level positions yearly. So I most likely have a job, provided all goes as my contact assumes it will(I’m told I just have to wait on the paperwork actually going through, but I most likely have the job in hand). I’m on pins and needles waiting for this to come through!

When I get this job, training starts on April 18th. Soon! The job description warns me that I could have any shift during their 24/7 operating hours, and I’d be working up to 20% overtime. That’s roughly 48 hours a week! Could be a graveyard shift, could be midday. Won’t know for sure til… April 18th.

Anyhow, recall that “more” I dropped a little bit ago? Well, it comes in here. I plan to continue working at Fudds! Of course, I will need to drop my hours a bit, but I don’t mind going down to 20ish. It’s nice my boss really likes my work!

So that adds up to 68ish, or to round it to a nice sounding number, 70 hours a week. All summer.

This begs another question: How on earth am I going to hold two jobs, work on finishing the last little bit of my degree, AND spend time with my girlfriend???

Well.

:’(

She’s gonna go home to her parents this summer, and spend some time there while waiting for me to get myself together. It’s gonna suck(especially since they have slow internet and barely any phone coverage), but I think it’s for the best. *crossed fingers* I can bring her back to Idaho soon!

So what’s new in YOUR life?

Izzy

So I realized a few things tonight. First, I really do not like almonds in my chocolate bars. Second, I absolutely LOVE english toffee in my chocolate bars. Third, no Symphony bars I have ever found have only english toffee. So I must suffer through the almonds. :(

Ok, on to the real point(or two) of this post. =]

I was writing an email to a dear friend of mine, and I mentioned a few struggles I’ve been having. As I wrote the email, I realized two very important things. First, it’s best not to leave your chapstick too close to a lit candle, and second, that God is NOT strongest when we are weak. I seem to hear that a lot, that God is content to watch us up until a certain point, at which time He jumps in and picks us up. Sorry to break the news to you, but He doesn’t do that. Instead, He walks beside us, daily offering all of His Perfect Love and Might to us. But when we think we’re doing ok, we like to push Him away. It’s when we are weak that we finally allow our barriers to fall down, and accept His help. Isn’t that kinda backwards? Why do we wait until we have nothing left to ask for His help? Maybe we should be on our knees daily thanking Him, and accepting His gifts. 

Then another thought came to me. So often people complain about growing up(or maybe it’s just me. I do it. A lot). But think about it. There are what, 7 billion people on this planet right now? And there have been a lot before… You know, 5-7 thousand years we’ve been around, and so far, people have kept on growing up and becoming men and women. What different for us? Oh right. No one is standing there saying “Buck up and be a man.” That applies to you girls too. I’m pretty sure. 

You see, back before we had political correctness, and hundreds of self help books lining bookstore shelves, people weren’t afraid to actually talk sense to kids. You could tell a kid “Suck it up” when they were whining, and didn’t get criticism from the woman the next aisle over(this actually happened). You could raise your kids to be responsible and not expect everything to be given to them, and not be afraid of people telling you how badly you were sacking their childhood. In short, you could raise men and women, not boys and girl. Why can’t we do that now? Here’s a hint: Start telling yourself to buck up and deal with it.

Izzy

Love… It’s not an option. Nor is it a feeling. So often people see love as just that; a feeling that comes and goes, when in reality it’s a decision. When I say I love someone, it’s because I’ve made the *decision* to love them, regardless of their behavior or decisions, right or wrong. But, what about those others, those I haven’t decided to love? Are they any less deserving than those close to me? No. Everyone deserves to be treated the same way I treat my family, the same way I treat my friends, the same way I treat my coworkers, the same way I treat my customers. Respect, Love, Kindness. There is no other option.

Izzy