When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And, it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

I cannot tell you how many times in 30 years of singing in choirs, that I have sung that wonderful old hymn.

As I’ve gotten…older, the truth of those wonderful words, has hit home, this year, more than ever.

Yes, I did my share of whining and crying after the Presidential Election, but, then, I realized, God is in control.

I am still His and He is mine.

I still have my wonderful Bride, my children, my grandson, my loving sister and her family, and all my friends, who are my extended family.

Plus, since June of this year,  I have a wonderful new job. I am blessed beyond measure.

I said to myself, self…this would be a wonderful time to, once again, give my testimony of how a 53 year old, working at a Government Internship to try to help ends meet, became a Vice-President of Marketing, literally overnight, through the Grace and Mercy of God.

As we all know… (originally posted 6/9/2012)

Obama’s feckless Economic Plan has done about as much good for our country as a screen door on a submarine.

I know.  I was one of those affected by it.

Beginning in January of 2009, I attempted to sell Health Insurance, first with AFLAC, then as an agent with an Independent Broker.

I gave it my best shot, battling against Obama’s war on the American Healthcare System.  However, as I soon found out, creditors don’t take promises as collateral.

Desperate to try to bring some money into the household, a good friend of mine told me about an opportunity for a technology internship, working with a quasi-governmental non-profit agency that came in from Canada to work with the schools after Hurricane Katrina.

At the age of 52, I became the world’s oldest intern.

I began with them in January of 2011, working at a local school for 30 hours a week and the local branch of the state Employment Office for the remaining 10 hours each week.

It was a good experience.  The Lord taught me humility, while allowing me to catch up with technology, such as Skype and interactive whiteboards.  I also had the opportunity to work with some great professionals, and some great young interns.

While at the Employment Office, I was able to observe folks down on their luck, struggling to find work and survive in this economy.

I also saw American families whose existance living on the Government Dole, had become generational.

It is these people whom Obama and the Democrats have hypnotized into believing that Uncle Sugar loves them, and is their only solution to surviving a stifling existence.

They are so, so wrong.

The strength and vitality of America does not come from the benevolence of a Nanny-state Federal Government.

As the greatest American President of our lifetime, Ronald Reagan said:

The nine words you never want to hear are:  I’m from the Government and I’m here to help.

Being enslaved to the Government Dole steals one’s ambition.  It takes away any impetus or desire to create a better life for yourself and your family, to challenge yourself to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and pursue the American Dream.  It makes you reliant on a politically-motivated spider’s web full of government bureaucrats who view you and your family as job security.

I watched American citizens trapped in this web of government bureaucracy,  so numbed of any initiative that they once had, that they seemed offended that they actually had to prove that they inquired about three jobs that week in order to keep their “benefits”.  Others seemed puzzled that they had to search through the state data base and pick out a job that they wanted to talk to an interviewer about receiving a referral to, and weren’t just simply handed a job when they walked through the door.

My last day as an intern was yesterday.  This Monday, I begin an new adventure.  Thanks to another very good friend, I was given the opportunity to interview for a position at a 100 person, 5-company corporation.

Last Saturday, my friend called me with the good news:  I got the job!

The title:  Vice-President of Marketing.

I’ll be doing some Internet Marketing, including Blogging and Tweeting, writing press releases and newsletters, attending Chamber of Commerce Meetings, and, of course, other duties as assigned.

It wasn’t Uncle Sugar/the Obama Administration that gave me this job.  

It was a God thing and I hope you understand.

Epilogue:  Now, don’t be mistaken, we are  still struggling paycheck-to-paycheck, to get out of the debts we accrued, during my period of unemployment and underemployment. 

But, with the help and encouragement of family and friends, and the Grace of God, I know we’ll male it.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31 (ESV)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until He comes,

KJ