Ok, YES John Massie John Massie! It HAS been forever! I will update now, I promise!
Fun and exciting times in my world these days! Ready for the Reader’s Digest version? I can’t really promise this will be short, but everyone knows I am long-winded…
First, on the Job Front: Work is going very well at Ashland. I finished my training and started taking phone orders in May (nice little pay raise included!) and time flies now with the business of processing these orders. The customer service department is really more logistical than call center as far as environment. When I take an order over the phone, I have to follow it and track it’s progress until it reaches the customer. If it isn’t in stock, I have to find stock. If it’s in a different warehouse I have to get permission to take it from that warehouse and send it on a carrier. If the price is in question I have to work with the Sales Rep. for that customer to get it straightened out. The stress comes from knowing that if we screw up an order and it doesn’t deliver on time or correctly, we could shut down a business for a day or even more, not to mention lose a customer’s patronage. So instead of taking a million calls, I take fewer calls that are projects that take days, weeks, or sometimes even months to complete. I am a detail oriented person, and I enjoy organization and problem solving. I have just never done it on this grand of a scale before! I enjoy the people and I am happy here.
Second, on the HOME Front: I GOT MY OWN PLACE!! I will have to provide some pictures once I can get someone with a digital camera in there! I love it. It’s a very comfortable 2 bedroom, it brings me about 10 minutes closer to work, and we have a pool! It’s a nice area, and I love having my own space. It’s been five years since I lived on my own, and it’s nice all of my things out of storage and in the one place! I had to pack up things from three different locations to move, and that a bit of a logistical nightmare. But thanks to AMAZING friends I was able to do it all in one weekend. God has provided so much for me, and I feel very peaceful about where I am. God has sent me money for moving, groceries, free furniture, even a beautiful mattress set…all through His faithful followers. I have been so blessed to see how it has come together. I have been in my place one month and I am LOVING it. It was like Christmas opening all those boxes that had been in storage for years...
Third, on the FAMILY front: This past weekend the family got together in my parents’ home to say goodbye to my brother and his wife. They are embarking on a journey to SRI LANKA with an organization called SAWSO . They will be working in several different facets of Tsunami relief aid, including construction of homes, community health, education/awareness of human trafficking, and job skills. They have committed to a year, however, we all believe this will open up more doors for them. They are both enablers; they want to see health and wholeness, physically and spiritually, being maintained by nationals. I can see them in project related work all over the world, and know that their hearts have been transformed by God to see the world through His eyes. Hearts such as that are not content to stay home, but need to venture out. Goodbyes are hard. But my heart rejoices with them on this amazing adventure. I can hardly contain myself when I think about what God is going to accomplish through them as they give hands and feet to the love of Jesus.
Fourth, on the PHYSICAL Front: I had an episode with a kidney stone last week, and found myself in the local ER in the middle of the night. It’s not easy to rouse people from sleep at 4:30 AM, but I finally got a hold of some friends to come get me because I could not have driven myself. It really is as painful as everyone says. I am thankful however, the pain was gone by the time I left the hospital around 7:00 AM, and I have not been in pain since. I am following up with specialists to make sure everything is alright, but I am thanking God for healing me.
There is it in a nutshell, my friends. The good times are definitely out-weighing the bad, and God is blessing!
