Prayers about work

[Blessed]

I had a job interview when I was 26-27 offering me 80k per year plus bonus, 401k , healthcare etc while I was trying to start my own business. I turned the job offer down and decided to continue my 80+ hour weeks trying to get away from the corporate plantation instead.


They called me into a weird rushed interview and said they examined me and needed me to start training underneath the man I was expected to replace. It's a long story but this man had been a loyal employee for 33 years. The VP told me point blank - they needed me to start ASAP in order to meet the time table in firing this guy otherwise they would have to pay his pension. At the time I was young and floored by their bluntness and sense of urgency. It felt like "treachery" to me.

"He was grandfathered under rules of a different time"
"Things don't work like this anymore"
"His pension comes directly out of our quarterlies"
"He's gotten too comfortable"
"He's just coasting along"
"He's got less than 2 years to go"
"We need a young go getter to fill his shoes"

After I left they would go back out to the office and smile work and talk with this guy as though nothing ever happened.

I refused the job. One of many experiences. Encouraged me to keep trying to go off on my own. Reminded me why I never wanna go back to the farm.

[Nicki]

Well,an update. Things are quite tough at the moment, Plan A is not working out as I'd hoped. I'm kind of at a crossroad in my life. Thankfully, I've got some savings, but I really don't know right now. I normally have a clear direction that I see to go in, but it seems that direction has just been shut down. Please pray I figure out or receive some direction. It's a lot harder when you just don't know what to do.

I found another Bible verse when things were a bit tough a while back - Ps 34:10 - in the CEV -

'Young lions may go hungry or even starve, but if you trust the Lord, you will never miss out on anything good.'

Situations can be turned right around. I remember when my husband started his current job maybe a couple of years ago now, it seemed like a pile of **** - his boss would give him a total bollocking for doing something wrong (like very picky things it seemed) and he'd come home very down. He must have proved himself though in the next few weeks to be a good worker and got into their favour, and he's been enjoying the job since then. His previous job really was **** - he was casual and supposed to get 50-60 hours work a week but soon ended up only working 3-4 days a week. So I was very thankful for the turnaround in this current job. Anyway, I just mean you never know what can happen.

[abelcainsbrother]

I'll be praying for you too.

[neo-x]

Prayers for you and Hana.

God be with you and hopefully show you which way to go on.

[Nicki]

So how's it going these days, K? Keeping head above water?

[Nicki]

Well,an update. Things are quite tough at the moment, Plan A is not working out as I'd hoped. I'm kind of at a crossroad in my life. Thankfully, I've got some savings, but I really don't know right now. I normally have a clear direction that I see to go in, but it seems that direction has just been shut down. Please pray I figure out or receive some direction. It's a lot harder when you just don't know what to do.

Just quoting you - see my question above

[Kurieuo]

Savings running out fast. Time will tell what will happen.

[Philip]

Continued prayer for you and your family, K - I know it's gotta be a scary time, with such uncertainty.

[Nicki]

[Nessa]

So how's it going these days, K? Keeping head above water?

Considering its toilet water, I would hope so

[Philip]

So how's it going these days, K? Keeping head above water?

Considering its toilet water, I would hope so

[Nicki]

Savings running out fast. Time will tell what will happen.

How are you going now? We've had a tough time financially ourselves since around Christmas - I don't really know why except maybe bills being higher than usual and me not having had lots of work during the year. Now I've hardly got any - making about $120 a week I've been trying again to get a different job but it's still pretty slow. Been feeling quite down about it this weekend As Kiwis we're not eligible for unemployment payments so it's just what we can earn and a bit of family tax benefit.

If it hadn't been for my dad passing away late last year (after my mum a while back) and being able to get something of an advance payment from the estate (the lawyers have to hang onto it for a while and won't be able to distribute most of it till later in the year), we'd be really in the hole now. I'm guessing that from the fact that we now have less in the bank than the amount we received... Most people might just be relieved and thankful they were able to stay in the black; I am thankful but I find it quite scary as well - what could have happened and might in the future.

Can you guess I just wanted to vent? Well, back to job-hunting and trying to promote my business tomorrow. Let us know how you're going.

[Kurieuo]

Appreciate the interest, but it's not something I like to talk about despite my original post. Some people in my life always played the victim card, seems a lot of people like playing the victim, and it's not something I like to do myself. Just, prayers in the past here, they seemed to help or at least provide some reassurance of sort.

Nonetheless, doing fine. Although we're now eating into mortgage, we had paid it down to zero in half the time, so there is quite some buffer we can redraw from. Bills though, I know... can be quite depressing. Between car insurance, house insurace, car maintenance, school, phone, internet, electricity, rates and water, GST instalments, tax, never seems to end. We're not on unemployment.

We have our business bringing in income, even if our expenses far outweigh our income right now. You wouldn't want to go on Centrelink, better to remain motivated to get work. It's a horrible system that. But, like me, you'll be taken care of i.e.,

25“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27“And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

You'll get there. Feel free to PM me with your business details or like. No promises, as I'm quite short of time lately, but I don't mind advising some things, helping a little if desired. Can discuss more privately.

School we send our kids to halved our fees. Basically said to put forward a sum we feel comfortable paying, and they'll approve and review in a years time. That was quite unexpected, we were considering just moving kids to another school, their cousins' school, but now they can stay.

Without divulging much, what I was hoping would do well is a separate business venture I was giving a go. It didn't go as I planned, that is, began rather stillborn. It has since progressed slowly, but much more slowly than anticipated. I have been brought down to earth a little. Yet, I still believe it'll work out, and work out for the best. I am quietly confident it'll be successful, and then without giving much away, it'll feed back into my main business.

[Nicki]

Thanks, K. Am I playing the victim? Maybe but it's hard to overcome the despairing feeling sometimes. I guess I've been forgetting those verses you mentioned - and there's the other one I posted for you a while back - but y'know, does God really prevent all Christians from being made homeless or starving to death? Okay, that last is not likely in this country, but the thought of being homeless with the kids is bad enough. Waah I'm setting myself off again. I am hopeful that we'll make it because our expenses are less than they were last year (like, we've paid our two car loans off). Good job on the mortgage - we were ahead on ours because we'd been paying some extra (set that up when I had plenty of work, then I lost some shortly after ), so we were able to stop the repayments for a few weeks and have started again now on just slightly more than the minimum. It's a bit crazy that hubby's had a mortgage for about 30 years and I've had one for about 15, but we've still got over $200,000 to pay off on one.

I meant to say about the inheritance thing that I know things aren't random and God's in control, that's why we were able to access that money when we needed it, but I kind of waver between that and thinking, hey, maybe things really are random and we're on our own in an uncaring universe. Faith and doubt. My business - it's family day care so pretty small and simple, and I have the support of my very good coordinating service, but things have been quieter than they had been across the whole service for the last few years. We're blaming the economic downturn. I know I'd like to have a steady job where I have the same income every week, and I know what kind of job - the day care is not really the right thing for me in some ways. I'm trying to trust God for my dream job - just something practical a lot like the one I had in NZ for five years would be great, even though I didn't get paid much.

It's good to talk I talked to some people at church about it but, y'know, don't want to get too serious at morning tea time and bring people down. Sorry Still praying for you

[Kurieuo]

Some of those same doubts are what I've thought on too, and certainly, the paths God sets for Christians can be very different. I.e., homelessness, or getting a job I really don't like, etc. I mean, consider the range of Christians who form the different churches in Revelations. Is God really looking after those in the Church of Smyrna who end up dying for Christ? Well, yes, in their own way, I believe He is in the midst of Christians dying -- His relationship to such is different, perhaps even often supernatural.

What path has God set before you and me? I think the best indicator is looking back over our "footprints" in life. To date, where has your walk with Christ taken you from and to? Has it lead you to homelessness, or did something end up happening at the right times? Our walk with Christ is personal, and each our own. We know our own walk best, and all those times we felt His guidance and touch, and I don't see reason to doubt such experiences, especially if you see a consistency.

So then, based upon your walk to date with Christ, I see there is a basis for trust going forward. That is, you can trust in Him going forward that such won't change. At least, not unless there are major signs to the contrary. Of course, I'm here kind of creating a general rule, and the general sucks when it gets upset by specific cases.

That said, I know based upon my walk to date, I don't expect God's hand in my life to just stop. So I trust in the Lord based upon the past. Things may not always be pretty, and indeed we're told they often won't be because it's more important to God we be refined like precious gold. (1 Peter 1:7) I don't know what lays ahead, and I'm certainly noone good that I should expect God's blessings in life more than other Christians who aren't so blessed, but I'm confident based upon God's own personal dealings with myself that the footprints I see looking backwards will continue to be made in the sand going forward.

Make sense? I think the best indicator you have of the future is the past and direction you've gone in. What significant events have happened in your life, and your hubby's, where you just know God was at work? Cling to those moments and rest assured of your future. You know, I lost my job as my first born arrived on the scene. We had just signed off on purchasing a new home. Though my wife had her maternity leave, things could have really gone awry. But, God looked after things. I could take credit myself, thinking myself all good, but there's often a lot of "luck" in life. In that "luck" I've seen much divine providence and know God's been at work. That gives me much faith. And, perhaps I'm being assuming here, but I'm sure you'd have your own examples, where you just know God was guiding things in your life for good.

PS. The victim thing wasn't aimed at you, but I'm conscious about such in myself due to certain people who modelled such in life to me as I grew up. Talking about my problems, is just something I'm not comfortable doing, as it can seem like playing the victim. But, then, there's playing the victim and just being real, open and honest with your situation and feelings. I certainly don't think you're playing victim.