Job Listings

Where does your job fit in on the "best and worst jobs" list?  Last year Forbes magazine published an article that pointed to a study that CareerCast.com did of 200 jobs in America.  The analysis looked at salary, job outlook, work environment and stress and ranked the jobs at the top and at the bottom.  Here are their top jobs:
- Actuary
- Biomedical Engineer
- Software Engineer
- Financial Planner
- Occupational Therapist

My first thought after reading that list was, "What is an Actuary?"  My second thought was, "It is church budget time, I'm glad pastor was not on the top jobs list.  It would not bode well for a raise."

So what makes a job a "worst job?"  Such things as always being on call and facing a deadline, working in a high stress environment, little pay, routinely working outdoors on the hottest and the coldest days and putting yourself in constant risk of serious injury or death.  My thought after reading that was, "Pastor is not going to make that list either."  Sure enough it didn't, but these are the top five jobs that made the "worst" list:
- Butcher
- Dishwasher
- Roofer
- Meter Reader
- Dairy Farmer

Hey, I grew up doing that last one.  My Dad was a dairy farmer for about 30 years and seemed, for the most part, to enjoy what he did.  I did not think it was that bad of a job but I am glad on these 100 degree days that God called me to be a pastor and that I live in the days of air conditioning.  I am also thankful not to be in a hay field in August.

In the end, though, I think it is not about a best or worst jobs list or even about the conditions you work under.  It is the attitude you have toward the work you do that is most important.  There are probably some unhappy Actuaries out there, whatever it is they do.  I have known some pretty happy people on the "worst" job list.

This Sunday we will look at "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."  Paul was writing this to those who were slaves.  I think that slave would have made the "worst" list. There was a way that God has for us to face our work with purpose, even if your job is on the "worst" list, perhaps even to let Him make you as content as an Actuary.

for the journey...

Tim

The Toughest Job

What is the world's toughest job?  Watch this video as people hear about it and discover what it is (hint: it is not being a pastor).  Also notice the impact it  has on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93rXbY

for the journey...

Tim

Labor Days

Last week as I returned to the town of my first church to do a funeral, I was reminded of a story that a member there told me.  Vernie, the church member, was in Houston visiting a granddaughter in a hospital in the Medical Center.  She had been severely injured in an accident.  After a long, anxious day Vernie and some of the family were driving out of the parking garage to go home for a little rest. 

This was back in the day when there was an actual person in a booth that you paid as you exited the garage.  The attendant was an older African American man with a pleasant disposition.  Vernie told me these details of what this man did because they made such a deep impression on him.  After receiving Vernie's ticket and cash payment the attendant looked behind Vernie, there was not another car in sight.  The attendant held on to Vernie's change and asked, "How are your loved ones this evening?"  Vernie briefly told his story and the attendant listened and asked questions about his granddaughter, including her name and condition.  Then he asked, "Would it be OK if I said a word of prayer for her and for all of you."  Of course, Vernie agreed. 

After the prayer, which brought Vernie and his family to tears, the attendant asked if Vernie had a relationship with Jesus and Vernie said yes, they were all Christians.  Then the attendant handed him his change, shook his hand and told them he would be praying for all of them.

It made a deep impression on Vernie and on me.  I cannot imagine a job with less potential in being a witness for Christ than a parking lot attended, sitting in a booth in the middle of the night.  Yet here, this man found a way to turn it into a ministry.  Vernie also told me that his granddaughter was being treated by the some of the best doctors in the country, but no one made them feel better in that hospital than the parking lot attendant.

I am sure that man was replaced by a machine in that parking lot.  But where ever he his now, I know a man with that kind of dedication has found a way to make his job a ministry.  Our challenge this Labor Day weekend, is to "go and do likewise."

For the journey...

Tim

Dewberry Proverbs

One of the things that my mother passed on to me was a love of dewberry jelly.  She was good at making it, I was good at eating it.  Now for those of you who are not wise to the ways of dewberries - a dewberry is a wild berry, smaller than but similar to a blackberry, that grows on a thorny vine along the fence lines and out of the way places of south Texas.  They are rare, fleeting, difficult to pick but wonderful when prepared right; much like the best things in life. 

We are right at the end of dewberry season.  Judith and I were able to make one brief trip to pick berries after our return from Israel.  While picking berries I thought about our Proverbs Project and some dewberry wisdom began to take shape in proverbs form.  Here are a few proverbs (along with commentary)...

One person can pick a dewberry vine and find berries;
   another person can come along behind them and find what they missed.
(No one sees it all, we all see a part of reality and we miss other parts that perhaps others will see.  We need others to see everything).

Sweet and rare things often grow among thorns.
(When you look back on life, don't you see some valuable lessons learned from some pretty prickly places you had to go through)?

A man's pasture may have many berries,
 but a sluggard says they are too much trouble to pick.
(The best things in life are not easy.  That is why they are the best things).

To pick dewberries you must stoop down; dewberries do not grow in "safe" places.
(To get things done with integrity you must be humble and be willing to stoop low in some places.  You also must be aware there are snakes out there too.  That is the way life is in this fallen world).

You can take dew berries from the vine, but the vine will leave its marks.
(No one can pick dewberries without getting scratched a little. Any thing in life worth doing will also leave a few scratches on you too but in the end it is worth it).

If a man finds a wife who picks dewberries and knows how to make them into jelly, he should brag on her at the city gates...or in his blog.
(My wife made four jars of jelly and we still have enough for a pie.  I am a blessed man).

Happy Mother's Day weekend.

For the journey...

Tim