TAKING INVENTORY

      In less than one week, I will be moving to the Columbia, SC area! This is a huge step in my life but it's a brand-new opportunity for me. I am very excited and nervous at the same time, but I know God is with me and He will direct me. I am so looking forward to the change, but I will definitely miss my friends and my family very much!

     Since I decided to make this huge change in my life, I knew I had to prepare and get ready for the move. In the house I was living in, I had a lot of my personal and ministry items stored in the garage. I took one day off from work to go through all my things I had stored. I went through every box one by one as well as every item. I went through clothes, picture frames, pictures, magic tricks, object lessons, puppets, books and kitchen utensils just to name a few. I made three piles...keep, throw away or not sure/ donate. I had stuff all over the driveway and as I went through each box, I had to make a decision as to what to do with that item. Should I keep it, throw it away or donate it? Hard decisions! Some of the things I went through I definitely had no use for it. What would I do with a VHS tape from 1992, or slide pictures? How about copies of photographs from Fall Fun Fest 2002? There were pictures of kids I have no idea who they are. There were books written about Puppet Ministry from 1972. The author was wearing a polyester suit. Not exactly up to date! 

     I threw away a lot of things, I kept what I needed, and I tried very hard to condense what I own. I didn't want all my belongings to take over the garage. I have moved several times in my life. In fact, this is my seventh time since 2013. Each time I moved it was very memorable. I had to take inventory of everything I owned, and I had to be sure it was necessary for me to pack it and send it to a new location. Taking inventory was not easy, but necessary.

     This makes me think about life. How many times do we take inventory in our lives? Do we check on how many times we do an "act of service?" Do we take a deep look at where our relationship is with God? Do we take inventory on our prayer life or how much time we spend reading the bible? Do we take inventory on the importance of going to church? What about how much time we spend watching TV or the many hours we waste on social media? We need to take a long hard look at these things and "take inventory" with our own lives. The time is now for all of us to get rid of those things that are hindering us and to take more time to reflect on what can help us. Taking inventory on our own lives will help us and it will give us a better focus on the positives in life as we remove the negatives. Life is too short! It's time to make necessary changes. Let's all take a moment to take inventory and make those necessary changes!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND!!        

WHAT DO YOU SAY????

 

     My parents taught me a lot in life. I have to say one thing they instilled in my brother; sister and I is to appreciate anything and everything that is given to us. It could be receiving a present, getting a check in the mail from a relative or Grandma or Grandpa handing you a $5 bill before they drive home to New Jersey. I can still hear my mom or dad's voice in my head saying, "What do you say?" I am so so glad they instilled in me an appreciation for anything AND everything!

     Of course, we all know the answer to that question is "Thank you!" How many of us really say that? I have noticed that the group referred to as "Millennials" rarely will say "Thank you." I'm not saying all of them but there is a good majority who do not. I have seen this occur when you open a door for someone, when I hand a tray of food to a guest at work or when you are on the road, and you let a car go ahead of you as you let them pull out of a shopping center (sometimes they wave "thank you" but many times they ignore you and drive away). Whenever someone does any kind of "Act of Kindness", we should always immediately respond with a "Thank You!" I remember once being in a Deli at breakfast time. It was very busy. A gentleman in front of me dropped his wallet by accident and started walking away with his bag of food to the door. I yelled over to him "Sir, you dropped your wallet!" Instead of saying "Thank you" he quickly grabbed his lost wallet out of my hand and walked away. I wasn't expecting a reward obviously, but I did think it would have been nice for him to thank me! Another time when I started working for Chick Fil-A in Port Jefferson, and older lady walked up to the counter and said "Give me a refill of lemonade!" I took her cup and as I did the refill of her lemonade, she yells over to me in a nasty tone "I said Diet Lemonade!!" I wasn't about to correct her, so I got a new cup, filled it with ice and refilled it with Diet (New Yorkers pronounce it "Doyet") Lemonade. She never said, "Thank you" and walked away from the front counter glaring and snarling at me like I was her new enemy. I think she wanted a fight! Sorry, I don't fight old ladies in fact I don't fight anybody! These are two examples of when people don't appreciate or go out of their way to thank you for an act of service or kindness.   

     The Thanksgiving holiday should be a day to give thanks to God. My feeling is it should be something we should say to God every single day and not just on the last Thursday in November. I always think about the families right here in America who can't afford a turkey pr even a decent meal the other 364 days of the year. I think about the restaurants and families who throw away food which is such a huge waste. I think about that homeless man or woman who is rummaging through garbage cans trying to find something to eat because they are starving. I thank God that every day of my life, I have always had a meal. I thank God that I have a nice bed to sleep in. I thank God I have a job, a car and a roof over my head. So many times, we forget to say "Thank you" because we truthfully expect everything. In America, we are spoiled! This Thanksgiving, as we sit around our tables with turkey and veggies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes...okay, I'll stop! It's making me hungry! We need to say thank you to God for all He has provided for us. It says in Psalm 118:1 - Give thanks to the Lord for he is good: his love endures forever. 

So, what do we say?????

I hope you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, but I also hope you do take that time to thank God for all he has done for you!       

HAPPY THANKSGIVING A WEEK EARLY AND GOD BLESS!!

LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED WORKING AT CHICK FIL-A

 

     No, don't worry! I am not leaving Chick Fil-A! Of course, I would love to down the road work full time at a church either as a Children's Pastor, Assistant Pastor or Lead Pastor. Maybe some time real soon? Since October 2015 I have been an employee of Chick Fil-A. I have certainly learned a whole lot! When I walked into the Port Jefferson restaurant's Grand Opening on October 7, 2015, I had no idea what I was walking into. Being in full time ministry and working in a church office, I never had to deal with working with the general public (except my stint at driving a limo full time!). Working at Chick Fil-A has taught me so much about life, dealing with people and dealing with life situations. In this blog, I am going to list the many things I have learned.

1. Hard work pays off - When you give 100% at your job, not only is it a thrill to be noticed it's a great feeling when you see our guests are happy!

2. A soft answer turns away wrath - Just like the bible verse in Proverbs 15:1, when someone is being difficult or complaining to you about being upset that their order is wrong, they could never get angry if you answer nicely. I have learned to smile and try to understand what the problem is.

3. You have to lead by example - I work with young kids. Some are in high school. They need a role model, and they need to see me, the adult working hard. I have to lead by example because I know they are watching me. If I don't, they will be lazy and never know what hard work is.

4. Guests appreciate it when you "go the extra mile!"  - Good customer service is showing that you care. Guests want to know you are taking good care of them. When you carry their tray, refresh a beverage, clean up garbage around them or even just share a smile with them or talk to them, it means the world to people. That doesn't happen at McDonalds!

5. Guests want to experience something positive in their lives - Working during the pandemic was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I believe people sat in line at the drive thru for quite some time during that time because they wanted to experience something positive. They wanted to be treated well after having to be quarantined. Even wearing a mask, guests wanted to see a smile even though it was a smile with our eyes.

6. Don't let people get to you! -  I always remember that analogy with a duck and water. When you pour water on the back of a duck, the water rolls right off. It's the same thing when guests make rude comments that can be hurtful or insulting. You have to just let it roll right off you and not let it affect you at all. It's a hard lesson to learn but an important one! 

7. Chick Fil-A is not a church - I will never forget walking in the dining room past 2 young guys. One of them blurted out some profanity. The other one looked at his friend in sheer horror and said, "You can't curse in this restaurant! It's a holy place!" I laughed to myself, but I knew that comment was innocent and, in all honesty how many people feel. Chick Fil-A was founded in 1967 but a Christian man, Truett Cathy who wanted to implement in his restaurant many Christian principles. Chick Fil-A sells chicken to the general public but although there are some Christians like me who work there, it is certainly NOT a church. 

8. You need patience with those who don't speak English - Every single day I have to deal with many Door Dash and Uber drivers who don't speak English, and they also can't read English. Even working at the register or being on headset I also deal with many who either speak broken English or no English at all. It can be difficult to be patient, and you sometimes wish they could speak our native language, but many don't. That's why you need to have patience with them. Trust me when I say it is very hard, but it is necessary especially working in a restaurant.

7. I have experienced serving every walk of life - In my 9 years, I have served every walk of life. From the family who has young children to the World War 2 veteran, I have seen it all. Even being on register, you can have the following walk up to your register...From an older lady to a biker to a young teen boy in a basketball uniform to a Jamaican lady with a thick accent to a Hispanic family where only the kids speak English to a middle school aged girl to a construction worker to a cross-dressing male, I have seen it all. In all honesty, this has given me a burden for people and has changed my outlook on ministry. It's amazing to see how diverse our world really is!

I am still learning and growing, and I will continue to learn and grow as long as I am alive. It doesn't matter if it's at Chick Fil-A, in a church office or working any other job. I enjoy my time at Chick Fil-A and I would recommend to any young ministry or Bible College student one piece of advice. Before you accept any ministry position, you should work at job that deals with the general public. It will give you experience dealing with all types of people, but it will also give you a burden for people. Thank you, Chick Fil-A for giving me and continuing to give me this opportunity!

HAVE A GREATWEEKEND EVERYONE!!