Ahh, Life.

As many of you know, I have moved to the Seattle Area to start a job in a home theater company. We act as a manufacturer's rep of sorts for some companies that make high end electronics. These are not the items you buy off the shelf at Walmart or Target. These are true technophile fantasy pieces, many of the single components beginning in price at $5000 each.

I was hired as the Director of Operations for this company by the owner, a good friend of mine. This was a solid company, doing more than $3.5 Million in sales last year alone. I started on the second Monday of January.

I was so excited, because I was coming off of many years in a ministry position, and, frankly, I was very tired of struggling financially. Taking care of a family of five on a pastor's salary is no picnic, and we were actually forced to receive a number of different forms of assistance from you, the taxpayer, just to make ends meet. Now, I had finally landed a job that paid well. VERY well. This was to be a bit of a sabbatical for me, allowing me to work with the electronic stuff that makes me a real nerd, but I wouldn't have the emotional drain that comes from full time ministry. To be honest, I really needed the Gospel to be Good News for me again. I had gotten to the point where my livelihood relied on preaching. We were always broke. Therefore, since sharing the Gospel was what was to feed my family, and the Gospel seemed to need the help of the state food stamp assistance program to do so, I was finding that I was rather disappointed and disillusioned with the lackluster "good news" that seemed to apply to my own life in Jesus.

Now, I know this is faulty thinking. I also know that at least one of the readers of this will respond that this kind of thinking is heretical and blasphemous. So be it. I see a long and healthy tradition in Scripture of people approaching their God with questions and serious seeking of Truth. There is no blasphemy here. As to the charge of "heresy", I say this: What did you expect when you read a blog entitled "Heresy of the Month"? Get over it. :)

So, I thought I would work during the day making enough money to no longer struggle, and in the evenings I could pursue my writing dream. By the way, all this talk about money, you'd think I was into a prosperity gospel, where blessed people are rich people. This could not be further from the case. I'm merely saying that I was burned out on always being poor. I was not burned out on ministry itself.

I moved here, feeling like a bit of a drug dealer. In a recession, with people jobless and hungry, I was selling overpriced home theater equipment, frequently at a price of $40,000 for a whole system, to people with too much money. I'm quite the opposite of prosperity. I came out alone, and I quickly missed my wife and 3 kids. They were planning to move here after the school year was out. It got to the point where my son was surrounded by a surplus of estrogen, and he was really missing me. I was missing him as well, and I was starting to talk to my dishes. So, last week I moved him out here with me. He loves the local school, and we both fell in love with this city.

The first three weeks were an extremely tough transition for me. To go from a life of ministry to this was a huge leap. However, I was writing down and developing some great ideas for increasing out customer base and growing the business. That is, until I was laid off this morning.

Our main supplier decided to cut us off, because, apparently, selling product the way we were selling it is against their internal rules. They had so many, it was difficult to know which one, if any, we were actually violating. It was more of a general suspicion that, since we were selling so much product, we must be somehow cheating. We weren't, but they can choose who they will supply with product. Without any proof or any hearing, the company that provides 90%+ of our products had determined that we could no longer sell their stuff.

So, my wife has been packing the house. I have a lease on a place out here. My son is thriving in his new school. We are not going back. So, what the heck is the deal with my inability to ever make any money? I've raised money for others fairly successfully, but I could never do it for myself.

Now, I am not negative about this, because this is way too much of a coincidence to be coincidental. I believe God used this job to get me out here. What comes next? I don't know. We have rent and a mortgage. We have been cut off from aid, because I started making too much to qualify. Now, I qualify again, but resending all of our info can be a chore.

I'm sad, because I think this company could have been great. However, I'm starting to think that God may have other plans for me. God is good like that.

So, please pray for me. I am right back at square one, and that is after burning my ships and deciding to stay here. Very practically, I need a job. Soon! I will take any prayer you are willing to bring before God. If some of you want to fast, that would be great also.

Thank you, my friends. I have a lot more time to write again, so you will hear from me soon.

Peace.