The Post About God Telling Me To Quit My Job

God is good. God is great. God is aggravating.

Let me explain.

This summer I took a sabbatical to the Carolinas. Five days intended to focus on God and ponder how He designed me to impact the world.

I forgot God designed me as an extrovert who finds restoration and solace in the presence of people. So wandering alone in the Blue Ridge mountains left me crying over complimentary waffles at a Holiday Inn on Day 3.

Sabbatical over.

But the pursuit of God was not. I went home to my cozy Birmingham and dug into the process:
1. Study the Bible.
2. Read spiritual resources.
3. Seek Godly counsel.
4. Talk to God out loud in my living room.

I started in Genesis. There is no better place to start than the beginning. Plus, Genesis is where we learn that road trips with Jesus always take longer. I camped out in 50 chapters filled with obedience, rebellion and a Creator's commitment to always do what He says He'll do.

God told me to quit my job. 

I heard it in passages like Genesis 12 when God tells Abram to leave and go. I read it when God asked Abraham to lay down the very thing that defined him in Genesis 22.

Next, I read four books with a bent for stepping out in faith. I listened closely to Jen Hatmaker as she made room in her life for obedience and generosity. I highlighted all the sentences Chris Hodges used to explain the difference between having to serve God and getting to serve God. I reread Mark Buchanan's powerful exploration of how Jonah (and Jamie) live in a wonderless borderland. Finally, I wrote Bob Goff's words on my heart:

“Every day God invites us on the same kind of adventure. It's not a trip where He sends us a rigid itinerary, He simply invites us. God asks what it is He's made us to love, what it is that captures our attention, what feeds that deep indescribable need of our souls to experience the richness of the world He made. And then, leaning over us, He whispers, "Let's go do that together.”

God told me to quit my job.

I camped out with Godly people in two different weekly small group meetings. Old and new friends shared story after story of God miraculously providing in circumstances that would challenge the greatest of cynics. Rabbit Sidebar: I'm a ROCK STAR cynic.

God told me to quit my job. 

Throughout each of these steps, I found myself back on my loveseat in my living room in my house telling God what-for.

Me: Why would you want me to quit my job? I love my job and the people at my job and the snacks at my job.
God: {patiently listening}


Me: Who's going to pay my mortgage? Bank of America does not accept side hugs as payment.
God: {patiently listening}


Me: What kind of job will I get? I haven't updated my resume since 2006.
God: {patiently listening}


Then on a Monday night at 9:20pm, I put my foot down.


Me: YOU CAN'T ASK THIS OF ME. I'M NOT BRAVE LIKE BRAVE PEOPLE ARE BRAVE. 

And then my phone buzzed. This random text arrived from a friend at 9:22pm:

"Hey! I was reading in Deuteronomy 1 and Moses is reminding the Israelites of their disobedience due to fear and not trusting God. I don't know what God is speaking to you but thought of you when I read this and our need to be obedient when the instruction is clear."

God told me to quit my job.

On Thursday, that's just what I did.

Why does God want me to quit my job? Who's going to pay my mortgage? What kind of job will I get?

I don't know the answers to these questions. I only know that God and I will do it together.

God is aggravating, but He is also good and He is great.

The Post About Weaning Off Candy Crush

Candy Crush is the best and the worst thing that can ever happen to you.

For the pure in spirit, Candy Crush is a Facebook game that can also be played on your smartphone. It has more than 600 million game sessions daily and it generates over $875,000 in revenue EVERY SINGLE DAY.

My name is Jamie and I am a Candy Crush addict.  HI JAMIE.

Let me correct that...I WAS an addict.

This happened. Pinky swears.

It was absolutely necessary. An intervention was pending. I made 3 poor decisions.

1. I downloaded the Candy Crush app.
2. I spent $19.80 of God's money on app features while trying to advance in the game.
3. I altered my phone settings in order to get more lives and then broke my clock.

I knew it was time to stop. For the sake of my family and friends and pocketbook.

When someone stops using, he or she often experiences withdrawal symptoms. According to the internet, there are some common symptoms. I experienced them all after deleting Candy Crush from my phone. 

Anxiety: What do I do while I'm waiting in this line? What if people are staring at me? Why are they staring at me? What's on my face? Are they staring at me because I'm rubbing my face? 

Irritability: Why aren't my Words With Friends opponents immediately taking their turn after I take my turn? Are they not smart enough to figure out a SIMPLE WORD? 

Insomnia: How do I get to sleep at night if I don't have the drip drop sound of candy pieces? 

Depression: I was on level 200 when I quit. WILL I EVER EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS IN MY LIFE AGAIN? 

Social Isolation: I'm pretty sure clicking publish on this post will lead to this... I'll miss you.

What's something harmless you had to give up before it took over your life?

The Post About How To Fight Right With a Celebrity on Twitter

So I mentioned in my last post about attending this conference with these friends and hearing this speaker and buying this book.

The book, Dare To Be, has been a tool for God to be ALL UP IN MY BIDNESS.

The co-writers Charlotte Gambill and Natalie Grant do a fantastic job of inspiring a reader to be more, do more and live more. This is something John wrote about and something I want to be about.

In the meanwhile, I wander around the Internet and bump into 19 Genius Improvements To Everyday Products and this article.

Read full article...

Yes, that's the same Natalie Grant who cowrote the super duper devotional I'm reading. This leads me to a conundrum and a tweet.
 

Of course, someone whose bio includes "ADD survivor" should always be taken with a grain of salt. But if you're Ms. Grant wandering around the internet and bumping into a tweet about you then you might find yourself in a conundrum. 

Honestly, I was all goose bumpy arms and fidgety fingers when this reply popped up in my feed. You see, in my world, Natalie Grant is famous. Even if you've never heard of her, she has 189,000 followers on Twitter. That's well-known.

But I'm a firm believer you can't say something about someone without being prepared to answer for it when confronted.

So I answered for it.

I assume Natalie is now a rabbits subscriber. HI NAT! YOUR HAIR IS PRETTY.

There's a lesson in here for all of us who may encounter strangers who may not like us. When someone doesn't know you, you can't hang your hat on their opinions of you.

 

I meant this. I will watch the pilot. Sometimes things you think will be ridiculous like a show about dead people who shuffle around Georgia trying to eat not-dead people is FANFREAKINTASTIC.

  

And THAT my friends is how you get someone who didn't like you to like you in less than a dozen tweets.

Also, Twitter is a horrible place to have a discussion about anything. So let's not.

Thoughts? Concerns? Comments on Twitter debates?

The Post About The Conference and Friends and Speaker and Book

It all started with this conference, ReCreate. With these friends.

(l-r) Me, Kara, Katie, and Grass.

You can read Katherine's recap of the weekend at her blog Grass Stains.

This conference with these friends led to this speaker.

Charlotte Gambill, an author and speaker from England, brought THE WORD OF THE LORD.

You can listen to that exact message (The Gold Seats) through October 31 on the conference website. You can also listen to the other speakers, Lisa Bevere and Priscilla Shirer. I also highly recommend the one by PS called "He Sees Me."

And for the record, these two suggestions aren't "girlie" sermons. Remember what I said about THE WORD. And the OF THE LORD.

This conference with these friends with those speakers led to this book purchase.

I could not recommend a devotional guide with more gumption. Dare To Be has SO MUCH feisty that it led to a Twitter kerfuffle with one of the authors.

Learn about that drama by reading the next post: How To Fight Right With a Celebrity on Twitter.

In the meanwhile, what's a book I should be reading? Go.