The journey continues

Hello friends/family/others,

I recently began a new job search.  This has been a trying time.  Time without benefits to help keep up on health care, and minimal income to sustain myself with.  But this time of being in the furnace has helped further tune, motivate and allow myself to leave behind any dross or slag from the furnace as my 'metal' was tested and purified.  I can't say I enjoyed every minute, but I know for sure I am better for it and can now begin enjoy myself better now that that time is coming to an end.

I't is hard to say this, but I definitely had a spiritually difficult time during this.  I became upset as I felt that I was not getting responses to my intense time of difficulty and calling for help.  It is through this and from the persistence  in pursuing the throne of our God that I found the answers staring back at me.  "Continue to do what is right and I will come along side of you as you find your path."  This process brought me peace as I continued on that path and eventually (in fact, this past week) started a new job.  I am so excited as the possibilities begin to open up in front of me.

These good things will not, however, allow me to take my eyes off the path behind me for stragglers thtat sometimes need to be stopped from following me.  I hope and pray this new job opportunity can continue to bring the blessing I have hoped for.

Thanks for all your love, support and prayers.

Sincerely,
Leif

Time to refine - not always easy to know when or where to start.

Sometimes, we do not get to choose when or how to rifine ourselves.  I learned this recently when I had lost my job of 10 years to a company I had devoted some of my finest efforts to.   Having taken most of the time since october to get unemployment benefits going, I have had to refine a great many things.  Namely, the following:

• My sense of gratitude
• My sense of purpose
• Feelings of contentment, joy and thankfulness
• Forgivenesss
• Feelings of love and relationship provided by my dear girlfriend Sheli who has been nothing but a blessing and encouragement during this trial period in my life.
• I truly feel that I am better off having gone through this and had sheli with me than to have failed to see the benefit of working hard through adversity.

Thank You Lord, for providing a way for me to continually improve myself in this tough time and showing me that you are ALWAYS there, despite my worries and other feelings of insecurity.