So, my daughter, Erica, has been looking for another part-time job. She applied for one in town, at a local restaurant, and was interviewed and GOT the job! She told the woman interviewing her that she couldn't work until noon on Sundays because of Church, and that she couldn't work Wednesday evenings, because she volunteers at Awana. The woman interviewing her told her that it would "not be fair" to the other staff to have her not start until noon on Sundays and to not work Wednesday nights, and that the only way she could offer her the job was without those restrictions.
Now, Erica REALLY needs the extra money, so she told the woman "OK." Later that night, she told me that she made a decision, and she thought I might think wasn't "smart." She told me about the job offer and how she accepted it, but then it had been bothering her all day. She said that she has decided that she has to turn down the job because she doesn't want to miss church on Sundays and doesn't want to miss Awana on Wednesdays. She stood there in the kitchen, with this look on her face, like, OK, tell me how dumb I am . . . when I just HUGGED her!
All I could do was tell her how proud I was of her and her decision! She basically had to make a choice between God and a job, and she chose God! I know that this decision will propel her to the awesome things God has planned for her!
What really bothers me about all this is that this restaurant manager wanted my 18 year old daughter to make a choice between God and a job. That's just WRONG on so many levels! My daughter made the right choice, and can be proud of STANDING UP FOR JESUS to this employer! I can guaranty you that we will NEVER eat at that restaurant again. I'm so awesomely proud of Erica. My heart swells every time I think of the decision she made.
We've been dealing with some difficult issues right now, and our faith has just gotten stronger because of it. Every time we move closer to God, the enemy (Satan) is doing everything he can to come between us and God and try to destroy our faith. That's NOT going to happen! God is GREAT and is doing GREAT things for our family, even in the midst of these storms! The issues we've been dealing with have only made us stronger, and we know that they are not a "set-back" but a "set-up" for bigger and better things! The gracious hand of God is upon us and we will forever be singing His praises!
God Bless You All!
Julie
23 comments:
Julie - what a special young lady your daughter is! And she is exhibiting maturity beyond her years! She made the right decision! As a parent, I totally understand your comment regarding never eating in that restaurant - however, we also have to remember that we must maintain the right attitude and spirit in such things. If this man does not have a relationship with Jesus, there is no way he can understand Erica's decision. Also, you have to believe that he has probably heard every "excuse" under the sun for requesting specific hours. Some young people may have requested to come in later on Sundays - not because they wanted to attend church, but because they knew they would be "partying hard" on Saturday night and be in no shape to work on Sunday mornings. Your family may be the only real exposure this man has to Jesus. I pray that in some way, Erica's decision can be a witness to him of the love Jesus has for him and will draw him to the Lord.
I am so excited to continue reading about the blessings of God in your family - and especially how even in adversity you are drawing closer to Him and becoming stronger in Him!
Blessings to you and your family!
Susan
You may think that she made the right decision but if she keeps that attitude throughout her life she may never work. Its great to be in the religion and stuff but employers are not going to break their rules and give new employees benefits that many older employees would love to have. Who wouldn't want to have sundays off and nights?
god will always be there no matter what days or shift she likes, but to have her start out on a path of telling employers what SHE WANTS and what she will not do she will have a long history of unemployment. You may think she did the right thing but I as a business owner would NEVER have a new employee dictate to me when and what days she wants to work.
in this day and age of unemployment and poor economy people should take what they can get and god should be happy for them and accept them worshiping him at ANYTIME.
Do you really think that god would be happy with her decision and give up a job just so she can be selfish and have it her way? I don';t think so.
good to be on the god kick but you can't let it get in your way of making a living.
what if someday she has kids and can';t afford to feed them and has a chance at a job. would you feel the same way if she made the same decision?
if you really believe in god than i really think he would understand and want her to take care of herself first. JMO
Anonymous, I understand your position and you are entitled to your opinion. I respect that. However, I did not get the impression that Erica was "dictating" to her prospective employer when she would work. I think that she was making a decision that at this time in her life, she felt was best for her. Many part-time jobs (especially those that cater to young people) work around school, sport schedules, church activities, etc. etc. I know this to be true. When my sons were in their teens, they were not allowed to get their drivers license until they had a job to provide for fuel they used and insurance coverage so I'm not totally off base here. :)
I totally understand the need to work - and sometimes that work must be done on Sundays or other days that interfere with our preferences. However, as a young person, Erica made the decision that at this point in her life, her new-found relationship with God needed to be nurtured. I personally believe that God will honor her decision - I have seen it happen more than once.
And yes, you do make a point - we can (and do) worship God at anytime - but there is a time that fellowship with other believers is needed and important, especially for young people and new Christians. Erica make this choice at this time in her life and I personally respect and admire her for it. I will be praying that God directs her life and she finds another job that doesn't interfere with her relationship.
sorry still disagree, she is 18 and as stated REALLY NEEDS THE MONEY, so at what age does the nonsense stop? To give up a job (which are so hard to find these days) in this economy and really need the money are grounds to find other ways to do your worshiping. your life cannot always be centered around the things that YOU WANT TO DO. many things that I or my family have wanted to do but could not because of life's choices.
we have 6 kids all grown now but when they were in their teens and starting out working, we really needed the money and they helped us very much with the bills. and for one of them to turn down a job because they dictated to the boss that they wanted sunday's off and nights and than to sit home the rest of the week because they didn't take the job would have been unacceptable and not very responsible as a young person. and jobs back then were fairly easy to find , not like it is today.
at that age children should be taught that they will not always get what they want in life and that sacrifices will have to be made to survive in today's world.
if she was getting the job just for the heck of it than maybe she could have made that decision but as stated, if she REALLY NEEDED the money than adjustments should have been made in her life to accommodate her life style.
and than for the parent to state that since the boss did not ACCEPT a NEW EMPLOYEES TERMS they will not frequent that establishment again is TOTALLY WRONG. A boss or owner is trying to survive and run a business and cannot do so by having employees telling them what THEY WANT AND THE TIMES THAT THEY WANT TO WORK. No business could ever survive with that attitude.
Possibly the right thing to do would have been for the mother to tell the child to take the job and once working there maybe she could have made some other arrangements with other employees to switch days or hours off to accommodate her church time or at least one of times she needed off or possibly even other arrangements could have been made. but to praise her for flat out turning the job down and than to admonish the business for not changing their hiring and work practices does not show good sense and in my opinion sends the wrong message to your child.
i have always loved reading julies stories and have been for some years now and admire what they have had to deal with and how they have come through it but in this case, and myself raising 6 children i do believe that she may have overstepped her bounds in how this was handled. Children have to understand that there are ups and downs in life and you cannot always get your way, and again JMO.
Just one other thing Ms Sullivan about your remark about not DICTATING.
QUOTE:::: She told the woman interviewing her that she couldn't work until noon on Sundays because of Church, and that she couldn't work Wednesday evenings, because she volunteers at Awana.
to me, this is a not even yet a employee DICTATING to a boss what hours and days she wants to work. not a good way for any interview to go
I'm really torn as what to write. I applaud them for there beliefs. I just started another part time job. I've had one weekend off so far. So far on the Sunday's I have to work I start at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. I do have time too go to church.
When I worked in retail when I was in high school the company that I worked for was good about letting the high school help off for sports or for band.
Now that I'm back in retail at the age of 46 the company I work for works around the kids that are in high school if they need off.
I have to work today and can't respond to this right now, but will when I get home. Didn't want anyone to think I was ignoring this. Julie
To the first Anonymous.... I realize that children need to be taught that things can't always center around what we WANT - but that teaching needs to have been done long before a child turns 18. I admire your six children for helping out with family expenses when they were in their teen years. Julie didn't say why Erica "needed" the money. Was it for "teenage needs" (translated teenage "wants" i.e. special activities, clothing above and beyond that provided by parents, electronic gadgets, etc etc) or was it to help the family with "needs". If it was for "teenage needs" then maybe Julie applauds Erica for making the decision that some of what she considers "needs" really aren't and there are more important things in life. However, if it was to help support the family, I'm sure that Julie would have counseled Erica in such a way that the family would not suffer.
No one knows better than me that a person can't always do what they "want" to do. My husband and I recently retired for several different reasons - and believe me the life we are living now is NOT what we had dreamed of for our retirement years. But.... we do what we feel is the right thing to do - although not what we wanted to do in our golden years. Other people need us right now and we are taking care of those situations. I have given up many "wants" in my life to sacrifice for the real needs of my family and others. But again.... I was taught that as a child.
If you really read my entire first post, you saw that I gently tried to express to Julie my thought that maybe she was being too strong in refusing to patronize that establishment. I didn't want to come right out and tell her she was wrong - that is not my place, but I hoped that my comments would give her pause to think about the possibility that she was wrong.
All in all - there is probably way too much to this for any of us to make a judgement call. Maybe Julie's response in not patronizing the restaurant had more to do with the way the owner or manager dealt with Erica's response that she couldn't accept the job.
However, I will have to say that I honestly and truly believe that God cares about every aspect of our lives. I'm not saying that the road of being a real follower of Christ is always an easy one but I am saying that He will honor our decisions to always put Him first in our lives. I strongly feel that the Bible teaches good stewardship and taking care of our families and "needs" - the Bible teaches that a man that won't provide for his family is worse than an infidel - but I also know that "I've never seen the righteous forsaken."
Regarding your comment about "dictating": I understand where you are coming from. However, do you hire young people? If so, do you at least try to accommodate their activities (school, band, sports, etc)? If you would accommodate that, then specific church services should be accommodated as well. If not, that is your prerogative and I understand that not all businesses can work with young people in that regard. However, I would hope that the young people know that up-front your policy regarding this.
Blessings to you and your family!
OK, I've had a chance to review all the posts here and will comment to everyone, in general.
Erica already HAS a job. She was looking for another job to make more money. This was not money to help pay our bills, it was money to help pay HER bills. She has a car that she has to finish paying for, a cell phone to pay monthly, and some car repairs to pay for. She needs the money as any other "normal" 18 year old needs money. We have not gotten to the point where we have requested she help US out with bills. She has her own bills to pay, so needs to make more to pay them. She also WANTS "stuff" that I won't buy for her, partly because she's 18 years old now, and should be responsible for her own make-up and hair products, and partly because our budget is VERY tight.
As for the employer, Susan, I DID take your post to heart, and hadn't thought about the fact that maybe we should go there to spread the word of God to these people. Maybe this was a sign that that is what we need to do. I will keep that in mind.
Now, as for DEMANDING time off, I must say that employers in this area have NO PROBLEM when it comes to high school kids who are involved in sports and giving them time off or special hours for games and practice. High school sports are HUGE in this area. Many employers even have space on their applications to let them know what days/hours kids have practice or games so that they can be accommodated. Many business owners attend sporting events and concerts at the local schools, even though they no longer have children in high school.
Knowing this, and understanding that it's OK to have time off for sports, it seemed a no-brainer that my daughter's hours could have been scheduled such that she could attend church Sunday mornings and volunteer at Awana on Wednesday evenings. She did not ask for the entire day off. She asked to be scheduled after noon on Sundays and to not be scheduled Wednesday evenings. She could easily have been scheduled to work the day shift on Wednesdays and the afternoon/night shift on Sundays.
With regard to the comments about my stating that she really needs the money, and turned down the job, I will tell you this. God was smiling down on my daughter when she made the decision to not take the job. God will provide for Erica and she will somehow obtain the funds needed to pay her bills. God has never let us down! Obviously, this was not the job that she was meant to have, and God has bigger and better things in store for her. The fact that she turned down this job so that she could go to church and volunteer at Awana will only cause her to be blessed even more by the gracious hand of God.
Something better is in the works for Erica and has been preordained by God. He knew that this would happen, and He caused it to happen. He caused the manager's heart to harden and deny Erica the schedule she wanted because He has bigger and better things in store for her.
Just like when I lost my job in November, after only one month, after thinking it was the PERFECT job for me. God used that job as a stepping stone to the job I have now that I truly love, and love the people I work with (most of them, anyway), and have a boss who loves ME! God had me apply for and get that job as a stepping stone, because if that had never happened, I would have never applied where I now work. What may have been meant for my harm was actually a step UP that put me where God intended me to be all along.
I firmly believe that is the same with Erica. I hope this helps clear some things up and appreciate everyone's comments.
Julie
Julie, Thank you for taking the time to respond! I totally agree with everything you have said. God DOES have something great for Erica and He WILL guide and direct her in the way she should go.
"Trust in the Lord with ALL thine heart and lean NOT to thine own understanding!" Sometimes the things that don't make sense to us are the perfect will of God for our lives. I will trust Him!
Blessings to you and your family!
Susan
Thanks, Susan! I've been doing more reading and listening to my Bible CD's, and this one also stands out to me when it comes to what Erica had to deal with.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:33
Blessings to you, as well!
Julie
I will just make a short comment and have to admit that many of your responses are disturbing. But God helps those that help THEMSELVES. like stated before if this was my child and they were so called into religion that much i would have told them to take the job and try to work our the hours at a later time. Missing 2 or 3 weeks of church is not going condemn them to hell. please stop with all this god has better plans. they are not in this day and age. in this world today people do what they have to do to survive and if extra money is needed than you do what you have to.
if you really believe in god so much as you are trying to portray, DO YOU REALLY THINK GOD is going to curse or condemn your daughter to a life of misery because she takes a job to make extra money for herself to pay bills instead of attending a sunday worship??? if so, i believe you don't have the true meaning of what god is suppose to be all about and you should re=evaluate your thoughts of how and what god stands for.
and as far as you stating that you will not frequent that establishment because of what they did, what does that teach your daughter? its hard enough these days to run a business and since they will not conform to your daughters demands and need her for the hours that they DEEM necessary (thats why apparently they are hiring additional help for certain hours) i think it is a shellfish statement and instilling in your daughter that in life if she does not get her way well than just throw a tantrum and that will make everything all better.
i am sorry but worshiping a god if all fine and good but one must do what they have to do to survive in todays world and not depend on a unknown figure to and dreams to make it in this world. You yourself make it in this world and should not by pass opportunity when it is knocking at your door
It says in the bible that God will supply all of our needs. I will pray that the right job comes along for your daughter.
Anonymous, my children are not "into" religion and this is not some sort of fad. Since we started attending our church and reading the Bible and volunteering at church and volunteering at church activities and doing all the other things we can to create the relationship with God that was lacking in our lives, and bring glory to Him in everything we do, we have been blessed by the gracious hand of God in so many ways. If you've been reading my blog, then you already know about the almost loss of our home, our new furnace and our new roof. These were all things that God provided for us. There is no doubt in our hearts and minds and the hearts and minds of many others that this could only have been because the gracious hand of God is upon our lives.
The fact that my daughter chose to honor God by turning down a job that would not allow her the time she needed to worship is one of the most amazing things my daughter has ever done. I could go to my grave tomorrow, happy in the knowledge that my daughter is honoring God with her choices in life.
I never stated that God was going to curse or condemn my daughter for taking that job. I stated that I would PROUD of my daughter for standing up for God and putting her faith in God above a job and standing up for God by telling this woman she could not take the job if she could not have the hours requested so she would have time for worship and volunteer work. Of course, my God would not condemn my daughter for taking that job! However, because of what my daughter did, my God has already set her up for something bigger and better. She WILL find a better job and she WILL find a better job that pays more money. You see, "when you diligently seek God, he will reward you and bless you." (Matthew 6:33). That is what happened with my daughter. She continues to diligently seek God and He will reward her and bless her.
Because of the character limit on comments, I had to break this into more than one reply. . . .
None of us have thrown any sort of "tantrums" other than you. This job was not posted specifically for the hours that Erica wanted to not be scheduled, as you are implying. You are making assumptions based on nothing more than your desire to denigrate the Lord. I didn't realize I had to post the fact that this particular restaurant is ALWAYS hiring and they have ads in the paper every week looking for cooks and waitresses. It seems to me that in this economy, a restaurant that is ALWAYS looking for help is most likely doing something wrong that they cannot keep employees. Obviously, this was NOT the job that was meant for my daughter. The fact that they cannot keep employees and would not assure my daughter not be scheduled so that she could attend worship services and volunteer tells me a lot about why this restaurant always needs help. As I stated before, high school sports are not an issue in this town. Why is worship an issue?
Susan's comments to me have made me re-think my statement that I would never frequent that restaurant again. As for doing what we have to do to survive in today's world, that is exactly what we are doing. Before we had God in our lives, they were a mess. A BIG mess. Things happened in our lives that made us realize we were missing something, and that something was God. I have never been more fulfilled as a mom, more fulfilled in my job, or more secure in my life than I have been since we started going to church and forging a relationship with God. He is not an "unknown" figure. He is Lord of all creation. I am always amazed when I reflect on His sending His son to us to forgive us our sins and offer us redemption. All we have to do, even at the hour of our death is ask for His forgiveness and it is given.
Yes, God helps those who help themselves, but He is the one that paves the way for us. We are constantly tested by the forces of evil to put other things before God and the closer we get to God, the more Satan fights us. BUT, when we put God first in our lives, He will reward us and good things will come our way. He will make sure we get that good job, that we earn not just the money we need, but the extra money we want. This is not by of our own hands, but by the gracious hand of God.
I must thank you, Anon, because you are really helping me to understand my faith even more and helping me to show the favor God has shown us and the continued favor that is coming our way. We are very blessed children of the most high God, and there is nothing that can change that and nothing can stand in our way when we have God on our side.
. . . those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isiah 40:31.
My family is SOARING and it's not because we are doing this all "ourselves." It is only because of the gracious hand of God on our lives!
And, just for the record, although I debated about whether or not to say this, and am sorry to post it, but feel the need, as I believe it to be true. I have a sinking feeling, that, with the way this country is pandering to all the nations that want to do us harm, that if my daughter was of a different religion, that her requesting not to be scheduled for worship services and volunteering, would not have been an issue.
I will continue to thank my God for everything he has done in our lives. He has put our dreams and desires in our hearts and He will fulfill them -- all we have to do is seek Him.
To the second Anonymous, thank you! God WILL supply everything we need and more! We have big dreams that God has placed in our hearts, and He will see to it that they are accomplished, as long as we continue to believe and have faith. I will be sure to add you to my prayers.
May God Bless Us All
Julie
just have to say that i feel sorry for you and the family if you continue to think that a so called supernatural has changed your life. your life has been changed by the state and govt. grants that you had the wisdom to apply for. the heavens did not open up and replace your roof or give you the aide to keep your home or repair your furnace. millions of people get this same assistance as long as they ask for it and doesn't really matter what religion or faith they follow or don't follow.
keep believing in what you think is the grace of god but some day the reality will come back and bite you you know where.
as i said as a parent of 6 i believe your handling of this situation was wrong and for u to admonish this restaurant or any business that did not conform to your daughters demands was not the proper way to show your child how the world
revolves, it was a shellfish way on your part and your daughters part in the TRUE facts of life
one last question, before your new found faith in god what kept your husband and son safe throughout their ordeals all those years? no god was thanked then just the trials and tribulations of life. some survive and some don't, god has nothing to do with it except in your own individual minds.
Julie, I have "followed" you since the latter part of 2002. I first "knew" you on RV.net. I just commented to my husband after reading your responses that I am amazed at the change in you and at your growth in the Lord. Thank you for giving us more info regarding this situation - and I am believing for continued blessings in your lives!
To Anonymous, Each of us are entitled to our own opinions. You "feel sorry" for Julie? I feel sorry for you. Obviously, you have never experienced a REAL encounter with the God of this universe. For that reason alone, you cannot comprehend or understand some of the things that Julie has experienced. Yes, I will keep believing in the "grace of God" because there is no salvation otherwise.
I will not try to convince you otherwise - for a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. ---- I can only pray that at some point in your life, before it is over - you encounter the one true God - Jesus Christ - and you experience the overwhelming love of God and His saving grace.
To anonymous I will pray for you. I have been underemployed since October 2008 when I was laid off from my full time job due to the economy. I've had 8 different part time jobs since October 2008. I can't get any assistance from the government what so ever. My girls were turned down for free and reduce lunch because the government thinks my wife and I make too much money. Who has been supplying my needs since October 2008? It ain't the government at all it's totally been the Lord who has supplied my needs. Try the Lord out once and see what he can do for you. Ok?
To the first anonymous, I must say that not only do I feel sorry for you, but I feel sorry for your children, who have never known the beauty and grace of Jesus Christ.
As for what kept my husband and son safe, truth be told, it was God. You see, I always believed in God. I always prayed (not as much as I do now), but I always believed. We KNEW that God was involved in Greg's transplant, and we KNEW that God was involved in keeping Aaron safe in Afghanistan. We went to a Catholic church for many years, and our children were all baptized in the Catholic church as infants. So, God has never been far from our lives. We were Catholic all our lives, but we were not "good" Catholics, in that we stopped going to church. We stopped going because it wasn't helping our spirituality. In the last year and a half or so, we've come to realize that we needed more spiritually and we found the perfect church for us.
As for my handling of my daughter's job, I'm sorry you feel that way. What you're not seeing, is that you're posts are giving me the opportunity to proclaim my faith. You are giving me the opportunity to praise God and to give Him the glory for what has happened in our lives. I must thank you for that. The reality, for my family, is that God is blessing us. As long as we stay in faith, there is nothing that will "bite us" at any time.
As I've stated before, my daughter will get another job that will be better than the one she turned down. She knows this, and I know this. It is because of God's promise that we know this.
Susan, I wish I knew what your "name" was on RV.Net so I can place you! Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad that you enjoy reading my blog and the goings on in our family! :-) We've been very blessed, especially since finding our church. The church feels like home, and we feel like everyone is family. There is not one person in our church family that I would not go out of my way to help, and I know they feel the same way. It's amazing, how beautiful life is, when you know you have God on your side, and your friends and family praying for you. It's truly amazing!
To the second anonymous, I'm pretty sure that I know who you are, and appreciate the prayers you've said for us. We have been praying for you, as well, and I know that you will also find the job that will not only provide for your family, but fulfill you as a man and husband and father. Keep the faith and know that God will continue to provide and a great blessing is coming to you!
Prayers for all!
Julie
no need to feel sorry for me or my children, we are doing quite well without any pretend or phoney help from some money sucking group. like i said what ever happens in life is because you or me or whoever made it happen not because you spent 3 hours in a church or listened to 4 cds or gave your hard earned money to some group. it happened or didn't happen because that is life and you or anyone else cannot change that by praying to some supernatural. they are all in it for the money and as long as you keep giving they will keep feeding you the bull
Anonymous, I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it's certainly not from me! We do not belong to any "money sucking" groups. If we choose to donate to our church, that is what we do. It is no different from donating to any other group or charity. We do what we can when we can. Whether we give or not has nothing to do with our faith, and our pastor and church family love us and pray for us whether we donate or not.
Look at it this way. What have you got to lose? If I am wrong in my beliefs and there is no God and no afterlife, then what have I lost? I haven't lost anything. I've been able to live my life believing that there is a God who loves me and who wants what is best for me and be joyful and giving and loving and caring and trying to live a life that I can be proud of. No harm, no foul, right?
However, on the other hand, if YOU are wrong and I am right, then YOU will be subject to an eternity in hell.
Not that the reason I believe is so that I won't spend an eternity in Hell, I believe, because I truly believe in the Bible and I truly believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, and I truly believe that God the Father loves me and only wants the best for me and will take care of me and has been taking care of me.
So, who has more to lose?
Seeing as you keep bringing up other objections, I'm going to close the comments on this post (assuming I can). If I can't, please know that I'm not going to continue this discussion any longer. I will continue to pray for you and for your family and pray that some day, you will find that Jesus Christ IS your Lord and Savior.
Thank you to everyone for your comments on this post in my blog. I appreciate all the kind words and the opportunity to explain my faith to a non-believer. I know that God is looking down on me and my family and smiling at us. The very best thing is that I know that I am a very loved child of the Most High God! I will pray for all of you!
Julie
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