Many of you know that I have been increasingly frustrated with my secular job.  I've been working at Microsoft for just over three years now, and have been commuting more than 40 miles each way.  On a good day (a REALLY good day) the commute takes about an hour each way.  On an average day, I spend nearly three hours a day commuting to and from the office.

I have had a lot of flexibility in my schedule (I work from home one day a week and go in later and leave early to miss traffic and work from home to make up the time) and it has helped, but the simple fact is that Microsoft, though a very interesting place to work, will never fully embrace my core values.

Microsoft is a company that is built on the worlds standards.  They embrace many different ethnic backgrounds, religions, sexual orientations.  Though the world sees this as being "inclusive", I've found it - as a Christian - to be all but demoralizing.

To daily walk through the halls and see fliers for Swamis, Gurus. New-Age teachings and the like is frustrating.  To work in an environment where every "All-Hands" is accompanied by alcohol (bought and paid for by the company) and alcohol is permitted in personal offices (and is often consumed during the work day) is difficult for a Christian - and a bit harder for a non-drinking Christian.

Not to say that I have a right to complain.  I've never filed a complaint (I've simply dealt with it) and I've not allowed it to get to me...until recently.

Most recently, during a meeting with my current manager (I've had three in the past six months) and one other peer, my manager opened the meeting by pouring himself several fingers of bourbon into a cup (a Microsoft coffee cup just to add some irony) and topping it off with coke (also from the Microsoft kitchen).  He actually had a second drink before the one hour meeting was concluded.

At the time, it didn't really bother me too much...I was used to just dealing with it.  But as I continued to reflect on the actions of that day, I started to see the following:

1. This is an environment that I cannot endorse
2. This places me in situations that I would choose not to be in, had I been given a choice
3. His actions were not only disrespectful of me and my peer (though he did ask if we objected) but showed a lack of respect for the work that was being discussed.

With all of that in mind, I made a decision.  A change was required.

As I continued to pray for a change, God opened a door.  A door to a place that not only supports my Christian values, but is well known, reputable and is, as far as I have found, above reproach.  Not only is the company a great fit, but the position is perfect as well.  The offices are located about 30 minutes from home and are very accessible.

I have applied for, interviewed for and am being offered the position of Help Desk manager at World Vision.  This opportunity was definitely orchestrated by God.  The position I've been offered is not even the position that I originally applied for.  In fact, when I applied for a position, the Help Desk manager's position was not even listed on the web site!  The corporate recruiter offered to have me considered for it, and after a short discussion determined that I was a good candidate.

My new manager seems to be a great woman of God.  From the few comments I've garnered (during the interview process) she is greatly respected and well liked.  In my last interview, she asked how she could pray for me (and of course my answer was "Pray that God opens this door for me!) which shows a true interest in her people - not just a concern for their ability to do their job.

One of the qualifications is that I must be willing to participate in and potentially lead daily devotions with or for my staff.  Are you kidding me??? I get PAID to do my devotions EVERY DAY!?!?  Thank you Jesus for opening this door.

The final details are being worked out (they may already be complete by the time you read this) but as it stands now, my first day at World Vision will be on April 3rd.  Again - God's timing is always perfect (I will try to work for Microsoft through March 31st - which is a scheduled vacation day).  I have a Senior Pastor's retreat in Seattle from March 30th through April 1st.  This will give Rachel and I a day off on April 2nd before I start the new job!

I have never been so excited about any job that God has provided.  This is the first time that I remember pleading with God to open a door.  I am looking forward to March 3rd with anticipation of great things.

Stay tuned - more to come...

A truck driver with a lumberjack?  No?  Well the results are quite interesting, actually...  How do I know?  Well - let me explain why there was no message uploaded for March 2nd...

We have a nice trailer full of gear (lots and lots of gear) that we use on Sunday's to setup our church.  The trailer has everything from a shelving unit full of nursery stuff to our sound equipment, amps, microphones, seat cushions, poles and curtains, etc.  Okay - you get the point - the thing is FULL.

Well, we had decided to store the trailer on the side of my house since I have an RV parking area there.  What we didn't take into account is the fact that the trucks that I have always used to push and pull my trailer in and out of there have all been four wheel drive - and the one we're using now is TWO wheel drive.

Well, the trailer went in okay - sort of.  The truck bogged down a little bit while it was pulling the trailer in.  That should have been my first clue that something was amiss.  But the trailer and truck finally found their home along side of my house.  No problem.

The following Sunday (March 2nd) our regular driver was unavailable, so I decided to take the trailer to the school to setup.  When I got in the truck, I realized that when we parked it, we had left it on a slight angle towards the right side of the truck.  Not a problem, I'll correct it while I'm backing down the driveway.

So off I go... As I start down the driveway, I realize that I'm going to need to correct a bit more than what the gate allows room for, so I'll need to pull forward again.  That's where the problems started.

The trailer is full - and I mean full.  It is incredibly heavy and a bit difficult to maneuver under good conditions.  This was FAR from good conditions.  The ground was a little bit soft, and the weight of the trailer was headed down the slight slope away from my house.  The truck on the other hand was right at the crest of the slope - with the front tires on the level ground and the rears just starting over the hump.

As I tried to go forward, the truck started slipping into the soft ground.  It didn't take long to realize that the truck wasn't going forward with the weight of the trailer on it, so again I decided to try and push the trailer back down the hill - at least to some harder ground where I can start pulling forward again...

As the trailer continued it's journey backwards down the hill, it also continued (despite my efforts) to drift to the side of the driveway...which is lined with (or should I say WAS lined with) some skinny evergreen trees.

Okay, so you're tired of reading, and I'm tired of typing.  To make a long story short, the trailer wound up against the trees, totally beached and not budging.  Try what we may, we couldn't get the beast to move.  Others came over to help, but the message was the same.  "She ain't movin' the way she is..."

So - off to the school we go.  We had a bass amp, a guitar amp, one microphone and a bunch of chairs!  What more do you need?

As I got to the church, my attitude was far from perfect.  God, however, showed up.  Conviction of my attitude fell like a ton of bricks so I went to talk to the Father about it.  The prayer time that I had that day was absolutely amazing.

And so was the service...

Though I had a complete set of notes ready to continue our series, I really felt that this entire incident was nothing more than God reminding me that all I need is Him...and all He needs is me - as a willing vessel.  We don't need to worry about the trappings of the "church".  We are His church - and that's all that is needed.  This also meant that we couldn't record the message - which is what this entire post is about.

I know that most of you reading this already recognize the fact that you don't need much - but until you actually get there, in that situation, and experience it first hand, you may not realize just how un-important the "things" of the church truly are.

To close out the story, we had a few folks come by after service and they actually had the trailer freed by the time I got to the house.  They unloaded about half of the equipment from the trailer (which thankfully was mostly on wheels) and the truck was able to pull the lighter load back up the hill, get a better run at it and come back down.

From now on, the trailer sits out front.  Until we can find a paved - or at least level - parking space for it...

Stay tuned - more to come...