I turned in my resignation at Winstead this week...turns out I'm getting out of here just in the nick of time. I was so nervous going into my manager, Gwen's, office to tell her. One of the other accountants, Jennifer, just left 2 weeks ago. Gwen, Jennifer and I are pretty well cross-trained on things, but no one else really knows our stuff. And there are a few things that I do that no one else knows much about at all. When Jennifer left, I pretty much acquired almost all her stuff. I knew when I left, all the stuff for both of us would fall into Gwen's lap and I was feeling pretty guilty about it. Except, that's not what's going to happen. Gwen responded so enthusiastically about my New York adventure. Genuinely excited for me and the job up there which she agreed sounded like the perfect fit for me. And then, Gwen proceeded to tell me that she, too, had just turned in her resignation. HOLY CRAP!! Thank goodness I'm out of here. I know I would not want to be doing my job, Jennifer's job, AND Gwen's job. Gwen will be gone the Friday before me, so I guess I'll have to put up with it for a week, and it is right when we're putting together month-end financials, but I can handle that for the short time. I'm just glad I'm going. I have NO idea what Winstead will do without all three of us. The situation looks almost impossible to me.
I just recently did a Bible Study lesson that has helped me to not feel so guilty about this situation or worried about what I'm doing to the people I'm leaving behind here. We were studying Genesis and the story of Abraham. Abraham had two son's...Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac was the long-waited for son of his wife Sarah. Ishmael was the son of Haagar, Sarah's helper. When Abraham thought it was impossbile that Sarah was ever going to become pregnant, Sarah told him to sleep with Haagar and have a son through her. Haagar resented Sarah for this and later, Ishmael resented Isaac. The Lord told Abraham to send Ishmael away so that they wouldn't all have to live under such strife. Abraham felt horrible sending his own son away, but the Lord reassured him that when you are doing what He asks of you and are living in His will, He will take care of those who are affected. God did take care of Ishmael and Haagar-- He provided for their needs and blessed them in many ways.
So, that's what I have to trust right now. I know that going to work at The Journey is exactly where God wants me to go right now, so I'm trusting He'll take care of my co-workers and provide for them in ways that seem unimaginable right now.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
It's Happening
So, it's for real now. I am going to be a New Yorker! The Journey offered me the job, and I accepted immediately. I am SO excited that I found this opportunity in New York. Like I told John (the guy who will be my direct boss and who offered the position to me), this job is really better than anything I expected to find. Plus, it was SO easy. I don't know why, but all my jobs since college have almost seemed to sort of fall in my lap. I thought this would be a longer, harder search, especially with doing it from so far away, but I guess God already had this one figured out for me. The timing isn't exactly what I had planned, but in a lot of ways it has worked out perfectly. I have never prayed harder than I have about this and I really have felt God's guidance throughout this process and that makes it so much easier to drop everything and move-- in LESS THAN 4 WEEKS!!
I think with being put immediately into this type of community, it will make my whole New York experience totally different than if I had ended up with another corporate job. I'll be surrounded by people with similar interests and common goals, morals, beliefs, etc... Because I'll be working at the church, I'll probably get involved in some things I wouldn't have otherwise. I think it's going to be a blast! Part of me feels like I'm going to summer camp! But, this'll be a little more permanent than camp.
I think with being put immediately into this type of community, it will make my whole New York experience totally different than if I had ended up with another corporate job. I'll be surrounded by people with similar interests and common goals, morals, beliefs, etc... Because I'll be working at the church, I'll probably get involved in some things I wouldn't have otherwise. I think it's going to be a blast! Part of me feels like I'm going to summer camp! But, this'll be a little more permanent than camp.
Granola Bars are Poison
On Saturday afternoon, I met up with a group of folks from The Journey to do what they call "Servant Evangelism" (SE). A few of the staff and volunteers from the church do SE two Saturdays a month. This time, we were standing on the streets of New York handing out granola bars and flyers that gave details of the church and Nelson's new sermon series on prayer. We split into groups of four, each grabbed two 48-count boxes of granola bars and a stack of flyers and headed towards our assigned intersections. I went with Sarah, who is on staff at The Journey and two women…Josephine and Tammy.
Tammy and I stood on one side of the intersection, while the other 2 girls stood across the street. Tammy gave me some insight into just how diverse the congregation at The Journey is. Tammy is African-American who works as a street vendor and lives in Jersey City. Honestly, if you had told me 1 week ago that one of the first people I would meet in New York would be a lady who sold hot dogs on the street, I wouldn't have believed it. But, I am so glad I met her. She was a sweet, vibrant woman who was so excited to be there serving for her church and the Lord. She told me that she started coming to The Journey about a year ago when she was one of the people who received a pack of gum and a flyer on an SE Saturday last spring. She was baptized by Nelson in the ocean last July!
Tammy and I had a blast handing out our total of 192 granola bars. The reactions of people on the street was pretty entertaining. The organizers had targeted residential areas in order to reach out to the people living in the city, rather than tourists. I'm sure that New Yorkers get pretty tired of people handing them flyers on the streets and most seemed to react instinctively to us. We would say "Would you like a free granola bar?", as we began to hand the bar and a flyer in their direction. Most people would shake their head or wave a hand signaling "no" without even looking at us and keep walking. But, they would only make it about 2 more steps before stopping dead in their tracks. They would turn their head in our direction, look down at the granola bar, look back at our faces, trying to decide if we were really giving away a free granola bar. Most would then take the bar and flyer and head on their way. However a few would stop to read the flyer right there. Most of these people had very positive responses. One girl told me the concept was "brilliant" because she took the flyer only because of the granola bar, but since she had it, she actually read it. However, another woman read the flyer, then handed both the bar and the flyer back with a disapproving shake of her head. (This made me said and I could only pray that God will be revealed to her in another way).
Finally, came along the most intimidating person of the day. He was an older man and before I could even get my entire offer of the free granola bar out, he began his stern lecture to me. "This is poison," he said. He went on to tell me that processed foods are poisoning our children, that cereal is very, very bad, etc, etc, etc…. I wasn't prepared for such an encounter so I think I stood there with a blank expression on my face until I finally got out an "I'm sorry" and he finally went on his way. Yikes! I was glad that part was over!
Overall, SE was great and fun and I truly hope it is something I will consistently be involved with when I make my move to New York.
Oh! Celebrity-sighting alert! (Although, not my own)! One of the girls at SE saw David Hyde Pearce! She yelled his name and he waved and she tried to hand him a granola bar, but he wasn't interested. Shucks! How cool it would have been to have David standing next to me singing praise songs on Sunday morning!
Tammy and I stood on one side of the intersection, while the other 2 girls stood across the street. Tammy gave me some insight into just how diverse the congregation at The Journey is. Tammy is African-American who works as a street vendor and lives in Jersey City. Honestly, if you had told me 1 week ago that one of the first people I would meet in New York would be a lady who sold hot dogs on the street, I wouldn't have believed it. But, I am so glad I met her. She was a sweet, vibrant woman who was so excited to be there serving for her church and the Lord. She told me that she started coming to The Journey about a year ago when she was one of the people who received a pack of gum and a flyer on an SE Saturday last spring. She was baptized by Nelson in the ocean last July!
Tammy and I had a blast handing out our total of 192 granola bars. The reactions of people on the street was pretty entertaining. The organizers had targeted residential areas in order to reach out to the people living in the city, rather than tourists. I'm sure that New Yorkers get pretty tired of people handing them flyers on the streets and most seemed to react instinctively to us. We would say "Would you like a free granola bar?", as we began to hand the bar and a flyer in their direction. Most people would shake their head or wave a hand signaling "no" without even looking at us and keep walking. But, they would only make it about 2 more steps before stopping dead in their tracks. They would turn their head in our direction, look down at the granola bar, look back at our faces, trying to decide if we were really giving away a free granola bar. Most would then take the bar and flyer and head on their way. However a few would stop to read the flyer right there. Most of these people had very positive responses. One girl told me the concept was "brilliant" because she took the flyer only because of the granola bar, but since she had it, she actually read it. However, another woman read the flyer, then handed both the bar and the flyer back with a disapproving shake of her head. (This made me said and I could only pray that God will be revealed to her in another way).
Finally, came along the most intimidating person of the day. He was an older man and before I could even get my entire offer of the free granola bar out, he began his stern lecture to me. "This is poison," he said. He went on to tell me that processed foods are poisoning our children, that cereal is very, very bad, etc, etc, etc…. I wasn't prepared for such an encounter so I think I stood there with a blank expression on my face until I finally got out an "I'm sorry" and he finally went on his way. Yikes! I was glad that part was over!
Overall, SE was great and fun and I truly hope it is something I will consistently be involved with when I make my move to New York.
Oh! Celebrity-sighting alert! (Although, not my own)! One of the girls at SE saw David Hyde Pearce! She yelled his name and he waved and she tried to hand him a granola bar, but he wasn't interested. Shucks! How cool it would have been to have David standing next to me singing praise songs on Sunday morning!
My Journey to….The Journey??
This whole moving to New York idea just became very real. I just spent the weekend in New York interviewing for a position at a church called The Journey. I really wasn’t planning to start my job hunt until May, but I came across the job opening at the church and felt it might be too good to pass up. It would be a part-time accounting, part-time “other stuff” position. I really didn’t expect it to go anywhere—why would they need to hire a girl all the way from Texas? But, after two phone interviews, they decided to fly me up so we could meet face-to-face, so I could see their office, and so I could attend a church service. I LOVED it! The people were great, the pastor, Nelson, is so funny. The girls in the office were so kind and were so sweet to take me to lunch and dinner and answer any questions I had. The bonus about the church office is that movie stuff goes on on other floors in the building. Celebrities have to come in for their costume fittings. Benecio Del Torro has been in and out over the past few weeks. One of the girls on staff at the church rode up the elevator w/ Drew Barrymore last week! How fun is that?
I loved the church- it was exciting and contemporary and full of people from all different places and backgrounds. The music was great, as was Pastor Nelson’s sermon on prayer. There are a lot of people there who seem like me—young, professionals, some single, some married, so it is a place where I’d hope to make friends quickly. But, the congregation is also pretty diverse—at least a whole lot more than my church in HP Dallas!! And I’d welcome such a change.
I got to spend a lot of time Saturday just walking and checking out neighborhoods to get a better idea of where I’d like to live. I could walk forever in that city- I love it!
Overall, it was an excellent weekend. Nothing is definite yet, but they seemed pretty positive and I should hear about the job in the next day or two. If things work out, I’d have to move in less than a month! That is a scary thought! But, I really have felt God leading me through this and am sure He will continue to do so and will provide for all my needs!
I loved the church- it was exciting and contemporary and full of people from all different places and backgrounds. The music was great, as was Pastor Nelson’s sermon on prayer. There are a lot of people there who seem like me—young, professionals, some single, some married, so it is a place where I’d hope to make friends quickly. But, the congregation is also pretty diverse—at least a whole lot more than my church in HP Dallas!! And I’d welcome such a change.
I got to spend a lot of time Saturday just walking and checking out neighborhoods to get a better idea of where I’d like to live. I could walk forever in that city- I love it!
Overall, it was an excellent weekend. Nothing is definite yet, but they seemed pretty positive and I should hear about the job in the next day or two. If things work out, I’d have to move in less than a month! That is a scary thought! But, I really have felt God leading me through this and am sure He will continue to do so and will provide for all my needs!
An Introduction
FYI—It’s going to look like I wrote my first three entries all at once, but I actually wrote them over the last few days and am just now posting.
Since this is my first time as a writer in the blog world, I thought I’d give a quick introduction of myself and this blog before I post my first real entry. My name is Susan. I currently live in Dallas, but am planning a move to New York in the near future…possibly nearer than I had planned or really even want. I came across the blog world about 6 months ago and now have a few blogs I read almost daily—including ones of people I’ve never met! I’ve decided to start my own blog because I wanted a place to capture my memories of the time I will spend in the City. I also want a place to keep track of all the places I go, restaurants I eat at, and things I see so that I will remember the places to go back to or places to take my friends/family when they visit. Finally, I wanted a place where you, my readers- friends & family- can keep up with my life in the City, if you’re interested, that is (I won’t be offended if no one is!). It will serve as a journal—it might be serious attimes or I may turn spiritual on you in certain posts, but, hopefully, it will often be filled with exciting or funny stories of my adventures. And for those who know me best, you know that I hope it will be full of celebrity-sightings!
I will warn you… I tend to get wordy in emails, so it’s likely that will happen here, too. I’ll try to keep it short because I don’t want to bore you!
Since this is my first time as a writer in the blog world, I thought I’d give a quick introduction of myself and this blog before I post my first real entry. My name is Susan. I currently live in Dallas, but am planning a move to New York in the near future…possibly nearer than I had planned or really even want. I came across the blog world about 6 months ago and now have a few blogs I read almost daily—including ones of people I’ve never met! I’ve decided to start my own blog because I wanted a place to capture my memories of the time I will spend in the City. I also want a place to keep track of all the places I go, restaurants I eat at, and things I see so that I will remember the places to go back to or places to take my friends/family when they visit. Finally, I wanted a place where you, my readers- friends & family- can keep up with my life in the City, if you’re interested, that is (I won’t be offended if no one is!). It will serve as a journal—it might be serious attimes or I may turn spiritual on you in certain posts, but, hopefully, it will often be filled with exciting or funny stories of my adventures. And for those who know me best, you know that I hope it will be full of celebrity-sightings!
I will warn you… I tend to get wordy in emails, so it’s likely that will happen here, too. I’ll try to keep it short because I don’t want to bore you!
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