Love Him, Oh Love Him

We had an interesting Holiday Tea at school this week. Josiah told us he had written a poem and was chosen to record it for the program. He did not tell us what it said. So we heard it for the first time at school. Keep in mind this is a public school in Indianapolis. Several teachers pulled us aside and said how much they liked it. If you listen to the applause the parents and kids sitting around him liked it as well. Well, Merry Christmas!! More later.

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Love Him, Oh Love Him
(What Christmas Means to Me)
Letting everyone celebrate their religion
And having a great time.
It is not about the presents, it is about having fun with all.
So let out a SHOUT of joy that it is almost Jesus’ birthday.
So sing loud for all to hear about Him.
He is the One who died for our sins,
which He knew about all along,
Ever since he who made Adam and Eve.
So know He will let you play on Christmas Eve
And on His birthday!!
So celebrate and celebrate even if you don’t believe in Him.

By Josiah Sprinkle
Age: 11

"Day that shall live in Infamy"

Before I start I want to remind you that today is Pearl Harbor Day. Do not forget the Vets both from the past and those who are just ETSing from all the branches.

Hey, we went out on strike on October 23, 2007 and we are still at it with nothing to show. Negotiations are ongoing but it does not look like we will get anything better than was offered before we went out. So we now have been out 6 weeks plus the three week layoff prior to the strike. 9 total week, at least $9000 dollars lost. That is the first time I thought of it that way. That really is sad. But it is also uplifting because I can see what God is doing and how He has sustained us through this.

I walked the picket line again yesterday morning. It was 12 degrees when I arrived. The last walkers let the fires die down so there was not much warmth coming from them. But overall it was a good time. I am walking with two upbeat people who do not talk doom and gloom all the time. The news on the Union front is a contract will be reviewed today by our committee and more than likely be presented to us sometime next week. we may be back in the plant before christmas.

I am going to start substitute teaching next week anyway. I have applied at IPS and Washington Township. I think Washington Township will get back to me quicker. So I will be enjoying (?) working with kids. I really am looking forward to it. I will update my experience here for the humor of my audience (all 3 of you).

I delivered packages for UPS a couple of days but they only had me work 1-3 hours at a time so I decided it was not worth the gas to drive to Carmel for 12 to 36 dollars. It was a good experience overall and I got to see how much those drivers actually work. They get paid well but they work hard too.

Not so fast

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the Lord.

Do you ever get discouraged because you are not hearing from God? Here is some advice, keep it to yourself. Do not go to God about it because He may have you do something you may not be ready to do. I was in church last Sunday and asking God to speak to me. I needed guidance and direction in my life. The strike has lasted a month and I was laid off for three weeks prior to that, so needless to say we are starting to get a little concerned. So I am sitting in church and God says fast! Now with the extra weight I carry fasting couldn't hurt but He says fast through Thanksgiving. I say sure i can fast until Thanksgiving. No, He says, I said through Thanksgiving. Now wait a minute God, you do not understand. No, Chris, you do not understand. You want to hear from me then do what I say. Crap! Can't you just let me flip open my Bible and let me read something? FAST! OK. So I fast and God speaks. Not what I want to hear but what I need to hear. Man is God good. He lets us know exactly what we need to know and exactly when we to know it. I now have a new understanding, and a new direction. Thanks God. I do not have time or space to tell what was said, if you get a chance ask me.

Have a great Thanksgiving! Don't get too caught up in the rush to forget to thank God. And if you get a chance, FAST.

By the way, after about 56 hours of fasting God said go ahead. He released me to eat. I guess He was seeing if I was willing.

Thoughts from the picket line

OK, while standing on the picket line I noticed a few things that one may not know. We are standing on Brookville road which is a fairly busy street on the south side of Indianapolis. Did you know about 35% of people driving are on the phone? It was amazing to me how many people are talking to someone while driving. I use my phone alot while driving but I thought I was the exception, I guess i am not. Women driving alone tend to honk at strikers more than men or women driving with passengers. Maybe they are flirting or maybe they are afraid they will get an egg thrown at them if they don't honk. Bosses I have had for 13 years must not be able to recognize me outside of the plant because when they drive in or out they do not wave or even nod, they just keep looking straight ahead without looking at anyone. The union sucks/the company sucks. If I am freezing my a$$ offf with insulated carharts how does a homeless guy feel? If you smile at people they tend to honk more.

Just to let you know, God is great and He will be glorified through this situation. He already is being glorified even as i write this.

If you hear of any jobs, let me know.

Halloween

We enjoyed Halloween with our great friends once again this year. This makes the the fifth year in a row we have spent Halloween with the Krajewski family. It is great to have friends to hang out with and to create memories with for our children. The kids will always remember who we were with on Halloween. This time Susie and Nicole took the kids out while Jeff, Larry Mitchell and I passed out the candy. It was nice sitting on the front porch talking to those two.




I just wanted to add this picture to show how the boys interact with each other. Sure they argue and fight once in awhile but they mostly get along and enjoy each other. We sure have been blessed with these two. I thank God for bringing them into my life.


I am still on strike!! It does not look good. But God will still be glorified and I trust Him to take care of us in His own way.

Brag Board and John 11

"This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's son may be glorified through it." John 11:4

I believe God will not allow my current situation to end in failure (death). No, it is for God's glory so that Jesus may be glorified through it. Is this hopeful thinking from a man who needs some hope or is it a word form God telling me to look at things differently? I believe it is the latter. How can I glorify God in my current situation or better yet, not how will I glorify God but how can He glorify himself through me. Without Him, I can do nothing.
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Now, for my bragging. Susie and I went to our parent teacher conferences today. Both boys made honor roll. Josiah made high honor roll with all "A's". Noah got A's and B's and best of all he got high marks in conduct. He is actually quiet in class, that explains why he is non-stop at home.

The Talk

I had the talk with my oldest. Yea, the talk. I figured I should be the first to tell him and when he asked a question about DNA and genes I was able to approach the subject. I asked him if he wanted to know more. He said, "Go on." So I told him. After I was done and some questions were asked and answered he said, "Awkward..." and was really quiet. After a minute or two I said it is very quiet in here (we were in the car driving to house church) and he said "too quiet, could you turn on the radio?" And that was that. I am sure we will have more conversation in the future. Now, he does not have to hear it from a school "friend".

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the sea, though the waters roar and the
mountains quake with their surging.

Trust God. That is all I keep hearing and that is what I am trying to do. I also heard that God puts people through suffering in order to be glorified. Well, I have not been glorifying my God. I have been praising my own merits. You seem to do that when you write a resume. My God wants to be glorified, and I want to glorify Him. I am beginning to understand Paul more and more. When he says I do the things I do not want to do and the things I want to do, I do not do. Well, I, at 40 , am still in the learning process. It is kind of cool to constantly learn how Gods world is an opposite world. I am to the point now to think of what I am suppossed to do according to the world and then do the opposite. Ok, this is a rambling blog, I am trying to work on that. I feel this is not as much as my blog but an online journal to throw my thoughts into and hope something comes out of it.

I guess I am done, I can only ask for your prayers. Pray that God gets glorified through my crap. Pray that my relationship with Him is strengthened.

STRIKE

The day has come, we are on strike and it does not look good. I have a feeling this is going to be a long one. I think the company wanted us to do it and we fell for the trap but we really had no choice. I have decided that it is time to look for another job. it would have been great to get another 16 months so I could complete my degree.

Today I walked the picket line for the first time in my life. Boy, it was cold. I know it is only going to get colder and I will have to dress appropriatly. It was nice getting aknowledged by people with the honks of their horns. It is such a small jesture but means a lot to the ones who are walking, so when you see someone walking give a little toot on your horn to let them know you at least see them. My shift is from 6am to 10am so I get to watch my former supervisors drive into work to perform my job. Most do not even look at us. This week I kind of feel sorry for the good ones, they have to make a living.

I love the teamsters. The union drivers will not cross lines. One trucker dropped his trailer in the entry of our plant and left. He said he would not have taken it that far if he would have known we were on strike. An independant trucker came in today. He was very polite and apologized for driving in but did not know about the strike and he needed to drop off the load. We told him to come on in, he has to make a living too.

I trust him, but.....

I know God is great and I know he will has more in store for me than I can imagine, but what do I do about it? Here's the deal. I am laid off, for only thre weeks, this time. The lay off is not the problem. I am currently working for Navistar. Been there 13 years. It is a UAW shop. Our contract is also up and a lot of changes are going to take place. None of that bothers me either, most of the changes need to happen. The problem with the changes is the atmosphere in the plant is going to be terible. I will have to live with constant complaining and people trying to mess over the new system. That is if a contract is signed and we still have a job.
My dilemma is my trust in God. I know he is in control and i place my trust in Him, but what do I do in the mean time? Do i search for another job? Do I stay put and look at the next year as a mission field within my current place of work. Should I stay or should I go? (I love the Clash). OK, that was stupid. Seriously, when putting your trust in God, how much do you do to prepare for the answer? How much self do you add to the equation?
I don't know, at this point I am really unsure how to feel and how to act. I have never been through this before. Thank God Susie is working, that help tremendously. Maybe this is good for me, since everything has been laid out before me for years. A lot of things happen and then I get perspective. I have not been able to sympathize with others going through a lay off or job uncertainty. now I can. Who knows!! Pray for me. not that my job works out, pray that I develop an understanding of Gods will for my life, Gods will for those around me and that I know how much self to throw into this situation.
Thanks