The Final Countdown

Remember that 80's song by Europe, "The Final Countdown"? Ah, the days of the big hair, 80's bands! I thought that was an appropriate title for the blog today since I am in Europe and I am on the final countdown of my time here. I officially put in my travel request today and should get my return travel itenerary in the next few days. I'm still having trouble imagining actually getting on that plane to come home. I think that it won't fully sink in until I am stepping foot on the airplane.

Update on the issue with my boss. Mark Twain once said "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." Of course long before Mark Twain came along, Jesus had already told us that the Truth was the only way. Well, I told my boss that I thought this whole situation was not right and I included some excerpts from some e-mail traffic from Greg also talking about how wrong it is to possibly have to make him leave the office with only 5 years left until retirement. I'm praying that my boss will see our point and not hire the full time position. There isn't enough work for two people in my office and if it will harm Greg's career then it just isn't right. I haven't recieved an e-mail response from my boss as of yet, so we'll see what he has to say. I only share this with you because it took a lot of courage for me to stand up to my boss and say that what I thought he was doing was wrong. Maybe some of you are experiencing something similar in your own job? I think it is our duty as Christians to stand up and speak out when something isn't right. Now, I'm not saying go out and get yourself fired from your job, but pray that God will give you courage and strength to stand up and voice your opinion when something just isn't right. Nothing may change, because it may not be in God's plan for the situation to change, but you never know, it just might, all because you had the guts to stand up. Please continue to pray for this situation. I know it seems trivial, but it affects my work environment for many years to come.

I don't normally share my thoughts about Signs of Life because, I wanted you to form your own opinion and thoughts but today was so close to my real life situation that I had to share some of my journal thoughts with you all. Signs of Life today focused on humility. For years I have always thought that Humility equated to meekness or quietness, however, I see now that humility is not that at all. Look at Jesus, he was humble, but that didn't mean he didn't speak or act forcefully if needed, and when He did, people agreed that His actions were needed or justified. Read Matthew 23: 1-39 to see how Jesus spoke out when something wasn't right. Jesus rebuked the scribes and Pharisees in a time when the punishment for such a thing could be imprisonment or even death, calling them "Hypocrites" and actually using some pretty strong words. It's hard to be courageous sometimes in the face of adversity, but then I got to thinking, why should I be afraid, I certainly don't think the punishment in these times is death on a cross and God promises to always provide for us. Even with that thought running through my head...It's still tough to find the courage to do the right thing when nowadays it's so easy to simply walk away and say "I'm glad that's not me in that situation!" Unfortunately in our society today, saying "That's not my problem!" seems to be the norm.

Life Sign, Day 28: Humility is the hallmark of my service.

Life in Action, Day 28: What actions could I take to -like Jesus- live with humility in front of the people around me?