Ok, I already have gotten three responses from the Mother job blog. My own Mum said to run like hell! Mom doesn't swear often......I couldn't handle something like this. I sorta already know that, but I wish I could be a superhero and rescue people from the hurt and pain, and show them love. How I wish I could give everyone Jesus, and have them see how real he is and how he has the power not only to forgive sins but to heal also.
Switching gears a bit here, I have done a lot of thinking lately about faith. I have had a person very dear to my heart, share with me about their own uncertainty about faith issues. I did some research on other faiths. It seemed to me that other faiths are focused on people, wether it about good karma, or reaching higher levels, the focus is on people (created things not the creator). I discovered something (I'm sure that it isn't something that only I have discovered). Christianity doesn't focus on people but on God. The story of the Bible is about God's love, his desire to bring people who have rebeled against Him back to Him. God is glorified not people. Believing in Christ Jesus death and Resurrection as God's way of having your sins dealt with and submitting to him as Lord and having a real living relationship with him, doesn't come by intellect. Of course you want to use your brain to understand what Jesus is all about and to see if he is a liar, lunatic, or Lord. But when it comes down to where the rubber meets the road, it is about faith. Faith is the conduit that jumps you from unbelief to belief. Faith is a personal journey between God's wooing you and your answer to that call. I can share what it all is to me and what the Bible says, but I can't argue anyone into believing all that I am telling them. Even though I want to be a superhero and save the world, I have to remember that the world doesn't need me to be a superhero, they need Jesus, he is the Super Superhero. He is the ultimate superhero. He is the only one who can save us from ourselves, from our selfish destructive living. I can't save a foster kid, or a friend, or anyone for that matter, only God can. I can live, only by the power of God, a life that shows the people in my life, Jesus. May God keep working on me, weeding all the selfishness out of me and make me more and more like Christ. Christ Jesus is the only one who can save a life.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mother Job
Much to my chagrin, I am on the hunt for a job. The current economic struggles has hit the Postma family and we are in need of more bucks. Darn it!
Jeff, found an ad on craigslist, and thought it would be a good job for me. The job is one of a "child care worker" at a teenage all girls group home. Okay, I had my doubts from the start, but have an altruistic desire to help people and be a good influence, so I applied.
I got a call the very next day, not even 24 hours later, and the owner of the group home didn't even see my resume yet. This should have told me something. I agreed to an interview the next day at 9:30AM. I'm strange and find interviews interesting and sorta fun. Maybe it is because it is the only time it is totally appropriate to talk about yourself!
So as I'm driving to the interview, I begin to think, is this safe? I'm going to a home in North Stockton (I have a very negative view of Stockton all together)could this be an internet scam, you know the kind where they lure you in with a job interview and then kill you? So I begin to pray and ask God to tell me if this is a bad idea. He says nothing, so I proceed ahead.
At the door of the house, I wait, after I knocked and then ringed the doorbell. A lady answers and looks at me with a look of "Yeah, what are you doing here." For a second I think I'm at the wrong house, then tell her I'm here for an interview. She lets me in. I sit at a dinning room table and start to fill out an application. The owner of he group home comes to the door, enters, and then greets me after talking to the lady I met at the door. Everything is casual and business like and I feel safe and just fine. The interview starts with me asking about the group home and the owner tells me all about how it started, funding of this non-profit organization and the like.
Then the conversations gets good. He starts to talk about the nitty-gritty of the down side of the job. Well over the phone he tells me these are good girls and they are high functioning, they just need a Mom. At the interview he tells me that they will curse me out, his language during the interview is peppered with words I would not teach my children to utter. The girls go on outings to the park, movies and the mall, ect. I would have to make sure they aren't drinking or going into the bathroom with their boyfriends and doing whatever it is that you do with you boyfriend in the bathroom (I'm sure taht my imagination isn't even hitting the tip of the iceberg). Red flags are popping up everywhere at this point.
He asks me a good interview question, "Let's say, your partner(a.k.a other female "Mom" child care worker) has been bitching with another girl all day. It's the end of the day and she is in the back of the house with the girl and they start going at it girl style. I'm in the kitchen washing dishes with another girl and I'm hearing the commotion in the back. The other girls in the house are all congregating in the back of the house to see the show that the other woman and the bitchy girl are putting on. The other woman has lost her professionalism and has "lost it" and is cusing out the girl."
Wow! That is the whooper of all interview questions!!! My answer. I would tell all the girls that are gawking at the verbal cat fight to flee the scene. I would tell my partner to go take a brake and then wait for the girl to cool off. Then I would go to the girl and talk to her to see her side of the story, then go to my partner to hear her side of the story. After hearing both out, I would offer to take over the issues with the girl for the rest of the day and keep them separated.
This all sounds like chaos to me. Part of me was pulled to wanting the job, so that I could be a sane loving person, to help these girls. The other part of me said, "You are not thick skinned enough to deal with that kind of stuff".
I'm grieved that peoples lives are so messed up.
When I was a teenager I wanted to be a nurse, so I thought volunteering as a Candy Striper would be a good way to see what it was like to do something in the hospital. I hated that I couldn't go around and pray over the patients and have God use me to make them well. It seemed to be such a huge responsibility, and it freaked me out.
I would love to be someone to go into a group home and turn around the lives of everyone there, for the better. But change is hard and slow, and I can't even begin to understand the lives of people who have lived in chaos and that is all they know.
So I drove away from the interview wondering if I could actually work in a situation like that. Would I survive, would I be able to make a difference, or would it eat me alive? I wish that I was tougher and thicker skinned, but I'm a Pollyanna who likes to think that all is good in the world and could cure any ills with a warm batch of chocolate chip cookies (I know this isn't true)!
I'm curious, for the people who know me well, what do you think, could I handle a job like that?! This will be interesting if you care to answer!
Jeff, found an ad on craigslist, and thought it would be a good job for me. The job is one of a "child care worker" at a teenage all girls group home. Okay, I had my doubts from the start, but have an altruistic desire to help people and be a good influence, so I applied.
I got a call the very next day, not even 24 hours later, and the owner of the group home didn't even see my resume yet. This should have told me something. I agreed to an interview the next day at 9:30AM. I'm strange and find interviews interesting and sorta fun. Maybe it is because it is the only time it is totally appropriate to talk about yourself!
So as I'm driving to the interview, I begin to think, is this safe? I'm going to a home in North Stockton (I have a very negative view of Stockton all together)could this be an internet scam, you know the kind where they lure you in with a job interview and then kill you? So I begin to pray and ask God to tell me if this is a bad idea. He says nothing, so I proceed ahead.
At the door of the house, I wait, after I knocked and then ringed the doorbell. A lady answers and looks at me with a look of "Yeah, what are you doing here." For a second I think I'm at the wrong house, then tell her I'm here for an interview. She lets me in. I sit at a dinning room table and start to fill out an application. The owner of he group home comes to the door, enters, and then greets me after talking to the lady I met at the door. Everything is casual and business like and I feel safe and just fine. The interview starts with me asking about the group home and the owner tells me all about how it started, funding of this non-profit organization and the like.
Then the conversations gets good. He starts to talk about the nitty-gritty of the down side of the job. Well over the phone he tells me these are good girls and they are high functioning, they just need a Mom. At the interview he tells me that they will curse me out, his language during the interview is peppered with words I would not teach my children to utter. The girls go on outings to the park, movies and the mall, ect. I would have to make sure they aren't drinking or going into the bathroom with their boyfriends and doing whatever it is that you do with you boyfriend in the bathroom (I'm sure taht my imagination isn't even hitting the tip of the iceberg). Red flags are popping up everywhere at this point.
He asks me a good interview question, "Let's say, your partner(a.k.a other female "Mom" child care worker) has been bitching with another girl all day. It's the end of the day and she is in the back of the house with the girl and they start going at it girl style. I'm in the kitchen washing dishes with another girl and I'm hearing the commotion in the back. The other girls in the house are all congregating in the back of the house to see the show that the other woman and the bitchy girl are putting on. The other woman has lost her professionalism and has "lost it" and is cusing out the girl."
Wow! That is the whooper of all interview questions!!! My answer. I would tell all the girls that are gawking at the verbal cat fight to flee the scene. I would tell my partner to go take a brake and then wait for the girl to cool off. Then I would go to the girl and talk to her to see her side of the story, then go to my partner to hear her side of the story. After hearing both out, I would offer to take over the issues with the girl for the rest of the day and keep them separated.
This all sounds like chaos to me. Part of me was pulled to wanting the job, so that I could be a sane loving person, to help these girls. The other part of me said, "You are not thick skinned enough to deal with that kind of stuff".
I'm grieved that peoples lives are so messed up.
When I was a teenager I wanted to be a nurse, so I thought volunteering as a Candy Striper would be a good way to see what it was like to do something in the hospital. I hated that I couldn't go around and pray over the patients and have God use me to make them well. It seemed to be such a huge responsibility, and it freaked me out.
I would love to be someone to go into a group home and turn around the lives of everyone there, for the better. But change is hard and slow, and I can't even begin to understand the lives of people who have lived in chaos and that is all they know.
So I drove away from the interview wondering if I could actually work in a situation like that. Would I survive, would I be able to make a difference, or would it eat me alive? I wish that I was tougher and thicker skinned, but I'm a Pollyanna who likes to think that all is good in the world and could cure any ills with a warm batch of chocolate chip cookies (I know this isn't true)!
I'm curious, for the people who know me well, what do you think, could I handle a job like that?! This will be interesting if you care to answer!
Friday, July 4, 2008
A Great American Idol Concert!!!!
I am not one to have too many out of the ordinary opportunities. For some reason, unknown to me, God has for me a simple life. I would love to travel and experience the world like some are able to do, but instead I am challenged to be content with where I am at. I look forward to heaven, and living in the new earth as the Bible tells us that God will create. I'm hoping to see the whole earth, after all I will have eternity! Thus said, opportunities for out of the ordinary in my life are much loved.
My husband had American Idol tickets to use as incentives for the stores that he works with for his job at Kellogg's. Fortunately, he was not able to give away 5 of the tickets and we were able to go to the American Idol tour in Fresno, CA last night!
For the past three years the boys and I from January to May have religiously followed the show. The first time (2006 season) was thrilling and confusing, not understanding why the judges were so hard on the contestants. The year after that (2007) was less interesting because nothing could beat the first time we watched and the talent wasn't as good, in my opinion. This year was a blast! The night the show had the top 24 performers, the boys and I chose who we thought would win, one guy and one gal. I told them that if their person won they would get a prize, the prize ended up being $10 (a lot of money for the boys)!
For my two contestants I chose, David Archuleta and Brook White; Devin chose: David Cook and Amanda Overmyre (Devin is 12 and into Rock music); Drew chose: David Archuleta and Shyesha Mercado, and little Jake chose: Jason Castro and Alaina Whitaker. All of these people except Jake's gal was at the American Idol Tour last night. We picked good!!!
For the boys, this was their first concert (unless you count Devin going to one when I was pregnant with him)! We drove for two hours from our home in Lodi and arrived at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Ca at about 7pm. We found our seats right before the concert started. And if we had seat belts we would have had to strapped them on because we were in for a wild ride!
Devin was so excited to be in such close proximity to "Famous People". I had to remind him that they were normal people (knowing that fame is cool, but we are all people just the same). He was just so pumped about being so close to "Famous People". The arena was packed, the lights were low and the show began. The lights, the thumping sound, the excitement was taking us into an exhilarating high that would last for about two hours. We screamed, and cheered, with the rock out songs and we sat quiet and listened when the music and singer were more thoughtful and mellow. As each new singer came out the crowd would cheer. The show started with the number 10 finalist and slowly progressed to number 1, the American Idol. As we got closer to the top final five, the crowd would be more and more excited as the new "Idol" would come out. We were excited and having the time of our lives, I can't even imagine what it was like to be the recipient of all the cheering and screaming. When David Cook, the AI winner came out, he directed the crowd to cheer and cheer louder and louder. Then he got out his tiny new video camera to record the crazy crowd. He said he wanted to record this so that when he gets lonely he could relive the experience. Smart guy! Fame only last for a time and then the new guy takes the stage.
As David Cook, rose from the floor of the stage, I had a thought.........would we cheer so exuberantly if that was Jesus up there? David Cook is merely a young man with a great talent to sing and perform (a God given talent non-the-less). So this thought leads to another.........what if it was acceptable to raise hands, sing loud and cheer in church meetings to show our Lord Jesus how we adore him?! Strange how I have no problem yelling at the top of my lungs for the people who sang at this concert, and wave my hands back and forth and dance in front of my seat and yet in other parts of my life I'm scared to make a move. I guess because it is okay at concerts to get a little crazy I feel more free to do so.
What if we made as big deal every time we saw someone we loved? How amazing it would make someone feel to open our arms and yell there name when they came. Imagine the love a father feels when his children yell, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy's home!" when he gets home from work every day. When I see someone I haven't seen in a long time, I open my arms for a hug and smile real big letting them know how special and important to me they are! Wow! To feel so excepted and loved by others would be such a boost! Angels celebrate when people believe on Christ as their own savior, I wonder if they celebrate like we did last night?!
Something else I notice last night was that although each performer was amazingly great they all had a different appeal. Some of the singers were dynamic! Two were very sweet and their style was much calmer than the dynamic rockers. All of the performers could sing great, but some of them commanded the whole stage and energized the crowd, and others pulled you into their songs intimately and spoke words to give meaning to their songs. The diversity of this group of 10 young adults was amazing. There where five men and five women. Two of the performers where from two different countries originally. The group included people not only from different original countries but also from different nationalities. All of the diversity made for one amazing group and an equally amazing show.
This reminds me of how talented my God is in making people and especially how wonderful diversity (that is pure) is such a beautiful thing. This thought bleeds perfectly into what the Bible teaches about the body of Christ, how each of us has a different part, are equally dependent on each other and each are important. As I grow older, each day, month and year I realize how I do not embody enough talent and ability on my own to do it all (that is such a no brain-er)! Okay, here is an example, as much as I love to write and share my point of view I equally need someone to edit what I write because of my terrible disability in spelling. I have never, ever been able to spell well, it is a literary thorn in the flesh of the paper (or screen) that I write on. I would hate to see today, notes and letters (even yearbook signings) of the past, I would die of embarrassment for my lack of spelling skills! God has given many people such a command of the grammatical English language that they can spot a grammar or spelling error like I can spot a photographic opportunity. What I have in the latter I do not posses in the former. So, if you are a reader, and spot an error, e-mail and let me know, so that I do not embarrass myself any further.
What inspired me the most about last night, was that repeatedly I heard these young people speak of dreams, having them, not giving up on them and then living them out, like they were the very moment they spoke of them! I love dreams! Dreaming today and then seeing with your own your eyes your dreams come true in the future is amazing! I live that every day. I dreamed since I was about 15 of being a wife and a mother, I am in the midst of living that dream right now! Praise God! I have more dreams for my life and hope to see them come true like the people who we went to see perform last night! Do you have a dream that you care to share? I would love to hear about it!
After the show, we went to Denny's for dinner at about 10pm. We headed home after that and made it back to Lodi at about 1:30 am today. Although the ride home gave me a feeling of claustrophobia and nausea, as I sat in the back seat trying to help Jake sleep comfortably and trying to keep him from putting his feet in Drew's ears, it was well worth the wonderful experience of going to the American Idol tour!!!
My husband had American Idol tickets to use as incentives for the stores that he works with for his job at Kellogg's. Fortunately, he was not able to give away 5 of the tickets and we were able to go to the American Idol tour in Fresno, CA last night!
For the past three years the boys and I from January to May have religiously followed the show. The first time (2006 season) was thrilling and confusing, not understanding why the judges were so hard on the contestants. The year after that (2007) was less interesting because nothing could beat the first time we watched and the talent wasn't as good, in my opinion. This year was a blast! The night the show had the top 24 performers, the boys and I chose who we thought would win, one guy and one gal. I told them that if their person won they would get a prize, the prize ended up being $10 (a lot of money for the boys)!
For my two contestants I chose, David Archuleta and Brook White; Devin chose: David Cook and Amanda Overmyre (Devin is 12 and into Rock music); Drew chose: David Archuleta and Shyesha Mercado, and little Jake chose: Jason Castro and Alaina Whitaker. All of these people except Jake's gal was at the American Idol Tour last night. We picked good!!!
For the boys, this was their first concert (unless you count Devin going to one when I was pregnant with him)! We drove for two hours from our home in Lodi and arrived at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Ca at about 7pm. We found our seats right before the concert started. And if we had seat belts we would have had to strapped them on because we were in for a wild ride!
Devin was so excited to be in such close proximity to "Famous People". I had to remind him that they were normal people (knowing that fame is cool, but we are all people just the same). He was just so pumped about being so close to "Famous People". The arena was packed, the lights were low and the show began. The lights, the thumping sound, the excitement was taking us into an exhilarating high that would last for about two hours. We screamed, and cheered, with the rock out songs and we sat quiet and listened when the music and singer were more thoughtful and mellow. As each new singer came out the crowd would cheer. The show started with the number 10 finalist and slowly progressed to number 1, the American Idol. As we got closer to the top final five, the crowd would be more and more excited as the new "Idol" would come out. We were excited and having the time of our lives, I can't even imagine what it was like to be the recipient of all the cheering and screaming. When David Cook, the AI winner came out, he directed the crowd to cheer and cheer louder and louder. Then he got out his tiny new video camera to record the crazy crowd. He said he wanted to record this so that when he gets lonely he could relive the experience. Smart guy! Fame only last for a time and then the new guy takes the stage.
As David Cook, rose from the floor of the stage, I had a thought.........would we cheer so exuberantly if that was Jesus up there? David Cook is merely a young man with a great talent to sing and perform (a God given talent non-the-less). So this thought leads to another.........what if it was acceptable to raise hands, sing loud and cheer in church meetings to show our Lord Jesus how we adore him?! Strange how I have no problem yelling at the top of my lungs for the people who sang at this concert, and wave my hands back and forth and dance in front of my seat and yet in other parts of my life I'm scared to make a move. I guess because it is okay at concerts to get a little crazy I feel more free to do so.
What if we made as big deal every time we saw someone we loved? How amazing it would make someone feel to open our arms and yell there name when they came. Imagine the love a father feels when his children yell, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy's home!" when he gets home from work every day. When I see someone I haven't seen in a long time, I open my arms for a hug and smile real big letting them know how special and important to me they are! Wow! To feel so excepted and loved by others would be such a boost! Angels celebrate when people believe on Christ as their own savior, I wonder if they celebrate like we did last night?!
Something else I notice last night was that although each performer was amazingly great they all had a different appeal. Some of the singers were dynamic! Two were very sweet and their style was much calmer than the dynamic rockers. All of the performers could sing great, but some of them commanded the whole stage and energized the crowd, and others pulled you into their songs intimately and spoke words to give meaning to their songs. The diversity of this group of 10 young adults was amazing. There where five men and five women. Two of the performers where from two different countries originally. The group included people not only from different original countries but also from different nationalities. All of the diversity made for one amazing group and an equally amazing show.
This reminds me of how talented my God is in making people and especially how wonderful diversity (that is pure) is such a beautiful thing. This thought bleeds perfectly into what the Bible teaches about the body of Christ, how each of us has a different part, are equally dependent on each other and each are important. As I grow older, each day, month and year I realize how I do not embody enough talent and ability on my own to do it all (that is such a no brain-er)! Okay, here is an example, as much as I love to write and share my point of view I equally need someone to edit what I write because of my terrible disability in spelling. I have never, ever been able to spell well, it is a literary thorn in the flesh of the paper (or screen) that I write on. I would hate to see today, notes and letters (even yearbook signings) of the past, I would die of embarrassment for my lack of spelling skills! God has given many people such a command of the grammatical English language that they can spot a grammar or spelling error like I can spot a photographic opportunity. What I have in the latter I do not posses in the former. So, if you are a reader, and spot an error, e-mail and let me know, so that I do not embarrass myself any further.
What inspired me the most about last night, was that repeatedly I heard these young people speak of dreams, having them, not giving up on them and then living them out, like they were the very moment they spoke of them! I love dreams! Dreaming today and then seeing with your own your eyes your dreams come true in the future is amazing! I live that every day. I dreamed since I was about 15 of being a wife and a mother, I am in the midst of living that dream right now! Praise God! I have more dreams for my life and hope to see them come true like the people who we went to see perform last night! Do you have a dream that you care to share? I would love to hear about it!
After the show, we went to Denny's for dinner at about 10pm. We headed home after that and made it back to Lodi at about 1:30 am today. Although the ride home gave me a feeling of claustrophobia and nausea, as I sat in the back seat trying to help Jake sleep comfortably and trying to keep him from putting his feet in Drew's ears, it was well worth the wonderful experience of going to the American Idol tour!!!
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