My Three Most Important Professional Goals

I had to basically free write about my "professional" goals... So in case you are interested, here you go. If not, I highly recommend watching some Homestar Runner instead :).

When asked to define my top three career goals I have to take a step back and look at what I feel like God has given me a passion to do. I ultimately want to serve God in all that I do, which includes not only my personal life, but also what I do as a profession and how my attitude carries out in my work. I believe that my top three professional goals reflect the passions that God has given me in my life and tie into my desire to serve him.

My first and most important professional goal is to work in ministry vocationally for a church or Para church organization. I fully believe that we are called into ministry in the sense that we should ministry to those around us regardless of what vocation we work in. However, since becoming a Christian over ten years ago God has laid it on my heart to work in ministry vocationally. I have never sensed God calling me to be a head pastor in a church, but do feel like God has given me a desire to focus on the areas of marriage and family ministry, counseling, and/or community service outreach. I would like to reach this goal in the next few years and have been working hard to obtain the education and experience I feel that I need for working in these ministry areas.

My second professional goal is to work and contribute to a team environment in ministry committed to using creative and innovative ways to accomplish goals. I strongly believe that having a team approach to ministry is crucial for most of the areas I want to work in. I also believe that continuing to use creative ways to solve problems such as how to stay relevant in your teaching to younger generations is essential for success. Having this approach also fuels my creative side and keeps teams engaged in solving problems collectively.

My third main professional goal is to be able to financially retire from vocation by the age of 60. I don’t want to stop working in ministry at that time though. Instead I want to do this so that I can give more money away or work on ministry projects that can’t afford to pay me. Not having to accept a paycheck for my work down the road would provide me with a great amount of freedom. If I am financially stable from my lifetime of saving and investing wisely, then I will be able to pick and choose which organization to help based on where I feel the Lord leading me a little easier. I do not want to have to worry about getting a paycheck and the organization could use the money to reach more people for Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, my three main professional goals fit well with the man I am trying to become. I am working hard to continue seeking God’s will for me so that I can discern which vocational opportunities he wants me to explore and move in the direction he is leading. My plan is to always evaluate where I am at professionally and make sure that I balance my personal life with my career in ministry. If I am successful at doing this, I know that the Lord will take care of me.

good quote

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant??
I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God....
I could be eating a slow learner."

--Lynda Montgomery

this song is stuck in my head and heart today

Jars of Clay
Worlds Apart

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all adds up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
To give and die

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
More deeply than the oceans,
More abundant than the tear
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow

Take my world apart
I am on my knees
Take my world apart
Broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

Additional lyrics:

I look beyond the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
And wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
The battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain,
Wash the feet and cleanse my pride
Take the selfish, take the weak,
And all the things i cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
This sin-soaked heart and make it yours
Take my world apart
Take it now, take it now
And serve the ones that I despise
Speak the words I can't deny
Watch the world I used to love
Turn to dust and fall away
I look beyond the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
So wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
So steal my heart and take the pain
Take the selfish, take the weak
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
Take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, and I pray, and I pray
Take my world apart

Worlds apart.

Big Day

So today is a big day for me and Karen. I have a conference call with AMFM (Association of Marriage and Family Ministries) tonight to discuss more graphic design work. I've been helping them a lot for the last month with updating all of their graphics and even getting to design a few new pieces for them. It's been very exciting working with them and may be heading down a road that can lead to much larger work. I will be working on a piece for them that will be published in a book written by the founders of AMFM and will be distributed to all AMFM members for their use. This is a huge deal for me and Karen as we want to work in marriage ministry full time someday and this will be the foot in the door to several awesome ministries that we respect so much! We are rushing to put together our design company, which is Simply Seen Design, LLC (www.simplyseendesign.com). Once we finalize the paperwork, we'll be able to do a lot more work for AMFM members as a resource provider. We're excited about being able to help ministries get their messages out in a more professional way without being charged an arm and a leg for design services.

In other news, we finished our indoor volleyball tournament last night and finished better than we expected. We played the best team in the semi final round and almost beat them! I'm confident we could have beaten the other team in the finals, if we had made it. Either way, it was so much fun playing with this team. It's been the best season we've had with all the teams we've assembled over the last 3-4 years. Now we start the sand league season next week and we're all pumped up to be playing outside and sliding around in the sand. So much fun!!

been busy

I appoligize for not posting recently. Karen and I went on vacation and I've been overwhelmed with design work to get done before we leave for our next trip, which is in 9 days. It's gonna be awesome! We are also working on our new websites for Simply Seen Design and Enriching Marriages. Some of our future blogging regarding relationships and couples ministry will go on the Enriching Marriages site.

Michael and Toni's wedding is this weekend! Be praying for things to go smoothly for this awesome couple.

life is good

Things have been very busy lately, but for good reasons. I am working on my first full graphic design side job and it's been a blast! I'm learning a lot and feeling good about the project so far. This is a field of work that I greatly enjoy being in and learning more about as I go. I get to have my creative brain stretched again (it's been a while!) and get to help other people develop their business in the process.

In other news, Michael and Toni's wedding is quickly approaching. I told Michael that we should have gotten the white tuxes with pin stripes. They came with lime green ties and vests. We could have been pimpin' like a Sprite commercial! But seriously, I'm excited for the two of them and can't wait to see how God blesses them in their marriage.

And finally... This may come as a surprise to most people that know me (yeah right!), but I like coffee. Crazy huh? I am particularly excited about going to the City Dock Coffee shop in Annapolis, MD. in a few weeks. I'll be there sipping on a cup of toasted southern pecan coffee, if you are looking for me. You can watch a 2.5 minute video promotion about City Dock here: http://www.citydockcafe.com/home.html.

EVERYONE farts...

Ok, my sister-in-law told me my blog has been sad recently... So let me tell you a good story.

What is it about dudes? Most of us barely talk to each other if you stick us in a room together without something we HAVE to talk about (especially if you say we can't talk about sports). However, when a man walks into a bathroom, he all of the sudden doesn't care what anyone thinks about him or what he's about to do regardless of how sophisticated he is outside of the bathroom. For example, while I was in the bathroom here at work the other day a doctor walks in and without any (and I mean ANY) hesitation at all he lets out this monstrous fart.

Bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrmmmmp!

How am I supposed to respond?? Congratulate him on a job well done? Thank him for his work as a fine doctor trying to help people? Laugh at him? Ask him if he needs to take a vacation day after birthing whatever that was out of his system??

I did what any other man would do... snickered like a 5 year old girl when her Ken doll proposed to Barbie for the first time. I tried so hard to hold back laughing at this well respected doctor that makes $200,000 a year or more, but all of the sudden reminds me of my kinda redneck uncle that sells cars at one of those classy establishments with gun holes in the "Buy Here, Pay Here" signs and grunts loudly after every meal.

You'd be surprised at how often this actually happens. Most of the time I don't bust out laughing, but this time I was feeling froggy.

Can you imagine if these doctor dudes would actually let go like this in meetings and presentations? Would they still get the same respect?

"So I'd like to tell you about our trial "A Randomized Phase II Trial of Pre-chemotherapy Leukine vs Leukine-Dexamethasone in Combination with..." Bbbbbbuuuuuuuurrrrrrmmmmp! Sorry, I had breakfast burritos."

How awesome would that be?