I've been analyzing my life over the past few months. I've been putting a lot of energy back into a firm foundation I had as a kid with my God. And I've been pretty confident that this is where God wants me to be. I know that my life has been pretty much a roller coaster of life's ups and downs. And at the lowest points, I have always relied on God to pull me out of the circumstances I was facing at any one of those "low" moments. But I am now, at an all time high! I mean, right now, I am facing some financial difficulties, and you would think I was at one of those "low" points, looking at my circumstances. But instead, I see it as a moment - once again, to trust in God for His providence. I see it as a moment to sharpen the steel, or remove the dross in my life. I see it as a defining moment, where out of the depths of this moment that should be devastating, I should be giving up, but instead, I am rejoicing.
I have been in places in my life where being alone, I had nobody to turn to. I had one choice. I have always been the one who had only himself to count on. And in my weakest moments, I turned to God and He brought me through out of what I consider, "pity." Yeah, my God had PITY for me. My God had pity for my circumstances and helped me because I asked. And I was grateful! Don't get me wrong. But now, I have others that I can rely on to help me. My mom has REALLY supported me through this whole trial and business start-up. But more so, I know what God has in store for me. It is more than anything I could face alone. It is more than pity that He is giving me here. It is a test, of sorts, to see if I can really rely on Him instead of others or myself. And on the other side, I know that I will be victorious in my faith, in my reliance on Him for my needs. Even when I am failing, He will never fail. Even when I don't listen to that still, small voice, I am confident that He is there, drawing nearer to me for me to hear Him better! His grace is sufficient for me! His love is never ending! And He wants the best for His children (of which I am one)!
I don't fear the outcome of my life circumstances right now. It is a time for me to meditate, to pray, to be drawn closer to His side, to make sure that I am not doing something that is displeasing to Him, and having been made righteous in His sight, because of what Christ did on the cross, I am able to come to the THRONE ROOM of heaven, right in front of the GOD of eternity, and know that He hears my prayers. I am able to be comforted by His Spirit and I am able to know what I need to do to get through each and every circumstance that is LESS than favorable. Even those most trying times, even those huge failures, even those moments when I am sad, or frustrated, or disgusted with what "life" is throwing at me, I can rest assured that my victory is secure! It's His gold, and it's His silver. He can bring business to me at His pleasure. There are 30 churches in this town! More than half of the people in this town profess a saving faith in Christ as their savior and lord. So if God wants to bless me, HE WILL! And when it does happen, I WILL KNOW - IT IS GOD! And at the moment that I rise, He can knock me down again, to show me that IT IS GOD! :-)
Until the day I die, I want these tests to bring me closer to Him. I want these tests to sharpen me. I want these tests to make me know that I have nothing to do with what is going on in my life! It's all HIM! Grace - undeserved kindness, is all GOD GIVEN! And I trust in God's grace to continue to follow me, all the days of my life!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
ASSETS & LIABILITIES
Over the past few weeks, I've turned over the longest holding staff I have had since we opened. First it was one kid who has worked for me and lived far from the restaurant. He drove into town from about 45 minutes away! He found a job closer to home. Then I caught one of my employees giving friends of his a discount on their food (stealing)! So I terminated him on the spot! (I had wondered how my inventory was so low all the time for some time, but never had any indications of who was responsible) And then most recently, one of my employees who was laid off her previous job got a call back and decided to take the job for the insurance benefits. She was a loyalist who told me that she would be here for 7 years (the amount of time I joked with her about how long it would take to pay off my mortgage on the building.
Now I am searching for new employees, all the candidates of which, I have a hard time dealing with as very few of them have any simple math skills to tell me what the change would be given from a $20.00 bill if the amount due was $16.45 and what 1/3 of $3.00 was! How can people be graduating from secondary school with no third grade math skills?
They also don't have foodservice sanitation licenses, which I was hoping to have in SOMEONE who worked at the restaurant so that I can have a legitimate day off! Someone who is a licensed foodservice manager has to be on all the time. And besides going to the store and such, I have to be there every day! Which I don't really have a problem with as such. But this past year, my mom took a spill and broke her leg, so I would have liked to go visit her or something. As I believe I wrote in a previous blog post, I sent two different employees to the sanitation class, and the one who passed the test ended up not working for me any longer, and the other, couldn't pass the test!
So now I am heading into our summer season with no trained employees. I am heading into this new week with one friend of mine, and a new trainee. I am completely screwed. And again, I am frustrated. It has to work. I have no other choices. I need to make it work! I am going to keep praying for help. And knowing that God will provide. I guess the good thing about this loss of employees is that I am able to save some money on payroll, and catch up on working! It is going to suck completely, having to work harder instead of smarter... but I will make it through. This fall we will hopefully have enough to start our food trailer operation at the school and factories. And by next summer, perhaps have some better trained employees who will actually STICK with us, and be loyalists!
Something is wrong with this generation. You have a 15% unemployment rate in this area, and you are still able to steal from your employer, or job hop from one place to the next with no loyalty to your employer. Those employees who leave voluntarily, I have the option of rehiring if I wanted to. But if someone is going to leave me for another job, why would I consider taking them back? They WASTED my time and money to train them so they could go elsewhere. In my darkest moment, we get to the point where we HAVE to catch ourselves so that we don't fall. The economy is poor, but we can struggle through it and end up on the other end of it, with a LOT of great things! I look forward to this moment. When our sales are up, our payroll and expenses are lower, and we are actually making a profit, rather than borrowing money from mom to get through the next month.
Now I am searching for new employees, all the candidates of which, I have a hard time dealing with as very few of them have any simple math skills to tell me what the change would be given from a $20.00 bill if the amount due was $16.45 and what 1/3 of $3.00 was! How can people be graduating from secondary school with no third grade math skills?
They also don't have foodservice sanitation licenses, which I was hoping to have in SOMEONE who worked at the restaurant so that I can have a legitimate day off! Someone who is a licensed foodservice manager has to be on all the time. And besides going to the store and such, I have to be there every day! Which I don't really have a problem with as such. But this past year, my mom took a spill and broke her leg, so I would have liked to go visit her or something. As I believe I wrote in a previous blog post, I sent two different employees to the sanitation class, and the one who passed the test ended up not working for me any longer, and the other, couldn't pass the test!
So now I am heading into our summer season with no trained employees. I am heading into this new week with one friend of mine, and a new trainee. I am completely screwed. And again, I am frustrated. It has to work. I have no other choices. I need to make it work! I am going to keep praying for help. And knowing that God will provide. I guess the good thing about this loss of employees is that I am able to save some money on payroll, and catch up on working! It is going to suck completely, having to work harder instead of smarter... but I will make it through. This fall we will hopefully have enough to start our food trailer operation at the school and factories. And by next summer, perhaps have some better trained employees who will actually STICK with us, and be loyalists!
Something is wrong with this generation. You have a 15% unemployment rate in this area, and you are still able to steal from your employer, or job hop from one place to the next with no loyalty to your employer. Those employees who leave voluntarily, I have the option of rehiring if I wanted to. But if someone is going to leave me for another job, why would I consider taking them back? They WASTED my time and money to train them so they could go elsewhere. In my darkest moment, we get to the point where we HAVE to catch ourselves so that we don't fall. The economy is poor, but we can struggle through it and end up on the other end of it, with a LOT of great things! I look forward to this moment. When our sales are up, our payroll and expenses are lower, and we are actually making a profit, rather than borrowing money from mom to get through the next month.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
IDEALS
I have this movie collection. It is actually less than I once had. I used to have over 1,000 dvd's in binders which I used to bring to the Salvation Army in Massachusetts to have movie day, once a week in the winter. They had a movie day once a week, so they didn't have to go face the harsh weather in the winter, so I brought my laptop and some speakers in for an after lunch movie theater in the cafeteria for them.
Anyways, someone stole my binders one day. And I was out my thousand movie collection. And have since started rebuilding my collection, which isn't nearly as big as it was.
In this collection I have the complete series of the West Wing. It was a portrayal of the President of the United States and the ideals and dreams of the American dreams and leadership roles of those who worked with him in the west wing of the white house. There are moments of victory and moments of defeat. And it shows the undying loyalty of those who wanted to keep fighting for the best of the best for those who they served. They were visionaries. They were dreamers. They were people who had a legacy they wanted to pass on to future generations. And I watch this series non-stop every time I get a bit frustrated with business. I watch this series every time I need to re-educate myself on leadership roles, and I watch this group of people who want to leave a legacy of greatness for future generations.
I learn a lot from those who have led me in the past. I watched my managers at restaurant chains I have worked at and gain something from them. And I try to incorporate those ideas, and I try to incorporate their work into my own. Obviously, when McDonald's started, Ray Kroch (sp.?) didn't have any idea of the multi-billion dollar industry he was about to encounter someday. Even Portillo's hot dog shack didn't recognize the great hot dog seller he would once have. But yet, today, there are no better places with which to get a burger for a buck or a hot dog the "right way!"
And even amongst the giants in the fast-food world, they all had humble beginnings. I am humble now. I am giving my blood, sweat and tears every day and wondering if we will succeed or fail, triumph or defeat, win or lose. And I know that on the other side of this challenge, on the other side of this poor economy, on the other side of this next couple years, we will come out better for just trying!
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) said that he failed 1,000's of times before he started winning. And those 1000's of times we will fail, those 1000's of practices, those 1000's of times we fail will help us to make the right moves to start the winning game. To take the lead, I need to be inspired and motivated. To win, I need to keep my head in the game. To win, I need to focus on the past and bring to the table, those things that make us all winners. I was reading a scripture passage, it was really great, it said something to the effect of "God will be there to give you everything you need! And when you have everything you need, you will be able to give generously of that which you have excess." I look forward to that! I know it is His to give! I know that we will be there!
I look to the West Wing - for the ideals and the motivation to be a visionary. To be a leader of those who work for me. And then I think, who do I look to when I want to learn who I want to be? I wonder what type of person I want to be and I remember the greatest commandment given by Jesus. It was simple, "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself!" And I look to Jesus, as a representative of who I want to be like! He fed thousands at a time. He brought wine to the wedding feast! He gave to all - those things that they needed. And yes, he gave them enough to share with all those who needed it! And that is the type of leader I want to be. I want to be one who relies on God's providence. I want to be a winner. I want to know that I will be taken care of, to exceeding abundance. And it will happen. And I want to love God, and love people.
So I look back at those leaders I have had in my life, and I remember Dave Broome, and Bill Newman, and Bill Giovanetti, and I remember my friends, Mike Gorr, and Brian McLaughlin, and Sam Knottnerrus, and I look at the great love which they had for God and for others, and I want to be like Jesus, as they were like Jesus. I know this is the way. There is no other, in living my life, in conducting my business, and in experiencing complete joy, by living my life - loving. And that is it.
I was listening to a Christian radio show one day, and there was this caller who called in and I think he was all of 15-16 years old. He said, "It's about Jesus, and nothing else!" And those words, are what I want to fill my life with! At the name of Jesus, one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that He is LORD!
Sometimes, my blog posts are a bit "preachy!" I DON'T CARE! I am not ashamed of who I serve! I am in love with my God who loved me first! And I will share that love story with anyone who will listen!
Anyways, someone stole my binders one day. And I was out my thousand movie collection. And have since started rebuilding my collection, which isn't nearly as big as it was.
In this collection I have the complete series of the West Wing. It was a portrayal of the President of the United States and the ideals and dreams of the American dreams and leadership roles of those who worked with him in the west wing of the white house. There are moments of victory and moments of defeat. And it shows the undying loyalty of those who wanted to keep fighting for the best of the best for those who they served. They were visionaries. They were dreamers. They were people who had a legacy they wanted to pass on to future generations. And I watch this series non-stop every time I get a bit frustrated with business. I watch this series every time I need to re-educate myself on leadership roles, and I watch this group of people who want to leave a legacy of greatness for future generations.
I learn a lot from those who have led me in the past. I watched my managers at restaurant chains I have worked at and gain something from them. And I try to incorporate those ideas, and I try to incorporate their work into my own. Obviously, when McDonald's started, Ray Kroch (sp.?) didn't have any idea of the multi-billion dollar industry he was about to encounter someday. Even Portillo's hot dog shack didn't recognize the great hot dog seller he would once have. But yet, today, there are no better places with which to get a burger for a buck or a hot dog the "right way!"
And even amongst the giants in the fast-food world, they all had humble beginnings. I am humble now. I am giving my blood, sweat and tears every day and wondering if we will succeed or fail, triumph or defeat, win or lose. And I know that on the other side of this challenge, on the other side of this poor economy, on the other side of this next couple years, we will come out better for just trying!
Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) said that he failed 1,000's of times before he started winning. And those 1000's of times we will fail, those 1000's of practices, those 1000's of times we fail will help us to make the right moves to start the winning game. To take the lead, I need to be inspired and motivated. To win, I need to keep my head in the game. To win, I need to focus on the past and bring to the table, those things that make us all winners. I was reading a scripture passage, it was really great, it said something to the effect of "God will be there to give you everything you need! And when you have everything you need, you will be able to give generously of that which you have excess." I look forward to that! I know it is His to give! I know that we will be there!
I look to the West Wing - for the ideals and the motivation to be a visionary. To be a leader of those who work for me. And then I think, who do I look to when I want to learn who I want to be? I wonder what type of person I want to be and I remember the greatest commandment given by Jesus. It was simple, "Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength. And love your neighbor as you love yourself!" And I look to Jesus, as a representative of who I want to be like! He fed thousands at a time. He brought wine to the wedding feast! He gave to all - those things that they needed. And yes, he gave them enough to share with all those who needed it! And that is the type of leader I want to be. I want to be one who relies on God's providence. I want to be a winner. I want to know that I will be taken care of, to exceeding abundance. And it will happen. And I want to love God, and love people.
So I look back at those leaders I have had in my life, and I remember Dave Broome, and Bill Newman, and Bill Giovanetti, and I remember my friends, Mike Gorr, and Brian McLaughlin, and Sam Knottnerrus, and I look at the great love which they had for God and for others, and I want to be like Jesus, as they were like Jesus. I know this is the way. There is no other, in living my life, in conducting my business, and in experiencing complete joy, by living my life - loving. And that is it.
I was listening to a Christian radio show one day, and there was this caller who called in and I think he was all of 15-16 years old. He said, "It's about Jesus, and nothing else!" And those words, are what I want to fill my life with! At the name of Jesus, one day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, that He is LORD!
Sometimes, my blog posts are a bit "preachy!" I DON'T CARE! I am not ashamed of who I serve! I am in love with my God who loved me first! And I will share that love story with anyone who will listen!
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