I have been overly frustrated this year because of my lack of patience for nature. Just when you thought you could go out and enjoy the whether on a nature trial you will find yourself attacked by the bees that everyone thinks are unnecessary for the beautiful flowers we have. If everyone is so keen of these small insects than why are we so willing to continue to chop down trees for homes. Think about it, we would rather destroy the oxygen that gives us life than to kill hornets, yellow jackets, and wasps that do nothing but sting.

Furthermore, I am upset because of a couple of birds trying to build a next under my porch. To begin, birds live in trees. For the last couple of months I have been knocking down these birds nest in hopes of regaining my territory. I am not going to allow my dream of enjoying the weather be short lived by some territorial birds. What started with a broom has led to spikes and now results in the use of a air-soft gun. I have been overly patient with these creatures, and I must make the next steps of serenity in my own back yard.

There are some people who really need to work on their strategy in life. Last summer when I was pumping gas off off Keystone I was asked by a guy who needed some money in hopes that he could make his way to Kentucky. I was reluctant, his body language and the Bible in his hands convinced me he was too good to be true. Anyone with a Bible in their hands looking for something other than the Gospel, a Christian believer should be weary of. As I was standing outside of his vehicle I remember asking him if he would start his car to show me how much gas he actually has, as I told him that I have on numerous occasions been lied to in order to get money. Just today as I was making my way to the Meijer gas station the same man out of his window speaks, “Sir do you have a second, I am in need of some money I am lost”. It took a fraction of a second from when I saw his face to my next reply, “Last summer you tried to get money from me and when I asked you to start your car you had over 3/4 of tank of gas, I cannot help you.” To my surprise, the young man in his nice Cadillac makes his way around the gas station and starts asking everyone else for money.  It was then that I realized that it would be an injustice if I stood there and did nothing. As two other men gave me strange glances as I walked over to his car, I yelled, “You need to leave, you are fraudulent in your actions. If you do not leave now I will call the Police.” His only response was that he was actually lost, as I continued to yell. He finally left and I pridefully walked away paying for my gas and catching up with my past friends at Meijer.

It is in situations like these that we allow fear to take the best of us. I wish that as a nation we would not be consumed by inner turmoil, but instead we would do right based upon the morals that we are taught. My only conclusion is this, if we are not willing to live for the truth, we will die for a lie.

I have not been out on the streets sharing the gospel in over two months. However few stories come to comparison to the one that was shared by a friend that I go out with. I believe that it is important that we see the consequences of our actions, see the reality as to why we do what we do.   Here is a story of the sharing of the gospel and how it has the power to change lives.

Hey,

I just want to brag on our Lord and encourage us by sharing this story that happened recently,

A couple friends and I went to the mall to witness a few weeks ago and we walked up to a guy our age who was just chilling in the mall. We approached him saying we were talking about God and asked if he had a minute. He said that he did, and we went through the Gospel 2-3 times together.  He was very receptive to it and I asked him if he wanted to talk more and he said he did. So we walked over to some tables and started going through the book of Romans, We started breaking down each chapter from chapter 1 to 3.  He was very engaged in the conversation and was asking a lot of really good questions.  One of them was where does sin originate from and stuff like that.  We also started talking to him about regeneration and what happens when God gives us new hearts to obey him.  He was telling us how he had been with a girl the night before and was actually going to be meeting up with a different girl that afternoon, but he said he was definitely not going to meet up with her anymore.  He was getting really excited and was saying stuff like, “You guys are making my day!”  I asked him what the way to heaven was again, and he asked if it was by following the will of God. I told him to read Romans 3:21-26 again, and he did in the NLT version. As he was reading that it was by trusting in what Jesus has done to be saved, he exclaimed “OH WOW!!!” he was truly overjoyed about the gospel.  He was telling us, “I want to come out and share the Gospel with you guys too!”   We asked if we could pray for him and we did, he closed the prayer with a prayer confessing his sins to God and wanting to live a life following Jesus.  The conversation lasted about 2 hours and he was extremely thankful for it.

He was supposed to go to church with me the next day but he slept in, and left his phone in the other room.  He apologized later in the day multiple times when he woke up.  I tried to connect with him the next few weeks but I was not able to meet up with him.  I was gone for one of the weeks in Florida, and later he was going through a rough time as his cousin was found in a ditch.

The following is the text conversation I had on Friday,
Me: Wassup man?
Him: Hello who is this
me: Austin, I talked to you about the Gospel like 3 weeks ago
Him: Sorry but are you looking for (*guys name*)?
me: Ya. Is this not his phone anymore?
Him: Well… He passed away three days ago shot at Lafayette Square Mall
me: Oh wow… Did they catch the guy? Somebody random?
him: Haven’t caught the right one but have ppl in questioning
me: oh wow, do they know what happened?
him: Random he didn’t bother nobody but its like he knew it was his time he came home from the mall one day and all of a sudden began acting “different” his walk, talk, look became more of God’s work and he stopped smoking and began getting closer then was killed
me: Oh wow, so you saw a change in his life a few weeks ago?
him: yeah a lot kind of weird
me: r u a family member?
him: his dad
me: Im really sry to hear about ur loss. r u doing ok?
him: holding on
me: I don’t know where you stand with God. But I just want to say that God loves us even when we go through trials and tribulations. Man is evil and our God is good so we can trust Him. God gives us the promise of eternal life through the work of Jesus dying for our sins. Sounds like (*guys name*) trusted in that sacrifice and is for sure in heaven as a result of his faith in Christ
him: Amen ! Thank you !

Stories like this remind us of the Power of the simple message of the Gospel, as it truly is the “power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes” as Romans 1:16 puts it.
It also reminds us that the news is urgent as you never know when it is people’s time to meet their maker.

For His Glory,

-Austin

Today has been a day of aggravation  Starting with the stress of work and building up to the chaos of interstate driving. It is difficult to figure out how to build a reputation with a company and show a great impression. It hangs on the balance between being yourself or having more anxiousness about your actions. For me being cautious is of more importance.

This implies my desire to not provide any sort of excuse to either my boss or another employee. I would really hate to end up having my foot stuck in my mouth. Though everything seems like a play of words in the end, I have a great desire to make the most of what I say and do while on the job. What is more, I want to become more of a peacemaker in the office.

The other aspect  is driving 1/2 hour to the job. The drive is not that long, it is the other driver. Just today, I was heading home from work when a motorcyclist almost killed himself passing my up between another car. In just a fraction of a second I had to move into the shoulder to prevent a serious accident. It stumps me as to why anyone would travel over 100 miles per hour without any thought of safety. I reported what I saw to the police and later saw the rider picking his motorcycle up from the side of the shoulder. My only question is what will happen next after I called about what I have reported. Will someone come out and question me about what I have seen?

Stress is the keyword. I have been overly concerned about both my career and my safety. Lets see if the ancient saying can prove the test of time, “April showers bring May flowers”.

So here I am sitting in front of a computer screen, rather staring, wondering the choice of words I should use for my readers to know where I am and where I am going in the near future. I am not the  best at writing blogs, but it beats creating dozens of personalized emails to dozens of my friends and previous co-workers. Every time I skip to another stone in my life people keep asking me to keep in touch. As such, I have created this new blog for that sole purpose. I want my friends to get a better understanding of where my life is taking me and get a better perspective as to what defines me.

To start, work is not the defining purpose in my life, however it makes up a large portion of my time. I worked with Meijer for almost 3 years and can still replay the memory of being hired on. From the beginning  I was given the title of working in the Deli, Bakery, and Starbucks. However, my passion for Starbucks shone through and I became a certified Starbucks Barista in just a couple of weeks. I remember being overly stressed about the number of customers that would walk in and then questioning myself to know if I could keep up with the crowds. My only excuse was to stock in the back so I could regain my sanity. As time went on though, I became more patient with others and was better able to manage the stress of retail. Sure it wasn’t always pleasant with upset customers, but I kept telling myself that life was more than a job. I worked at Starbucks throughout college and graduated with honors. The job supported me when times were either good or bad and most every other co-worker would put a smile on my face. Meijer was a great starting point. With that, I need to continue to realize just how far I have come in life and remember not to become discouraged.

Which brings me to my next point. Working at Site Strategics has had its own stress. Just like working at Starbucks I am still learning my way around, and am getting used to the culture in which the job sits. At the moment the lesson I am learning is the opposite from working at Meijer and that is to keep my mouth shut. I need to remember to create the best impression so I can work with Site Strategics for many years.