Joyful Noise

I'm super-excited that the movie Joyful Noise is coming out in January. This is the first movie I got to be a background artist in (that's an "extra" in cinema-speak). The movie trailer for the movie just came out and you can see it on You Tube (or by clicking on the photo above if you're reading this directly from my blog site).

The scenes I filmed in this movie were shot back in March in Conyers, GA and at the Atlanta Civic Center. Thanks to my good friend John Ridings, a veteran background artist, we ended up on the second row for the entire three days we were filming at the Civic Center. We were right in the middle of the action and could practically reach out and touch the folks on stage. On some shots from the stage there are close-up shots that I'm sure we were in. All in all, it was a lot of fun, I made a few bucks, and I also got royally entertained while filming it.

The best part of my short stint in the movie industry was the people I met. I have shared this before, but there is a whole sub-culture of people who make their living and otherwise spend their time as movie extras, er...background artists. Most of these folks - at least the ones I got to know - are wonderful people, and very interesting. I got to know many of them and to hear their stories - believe me, when you spend 14+ hours on set with someone for several days, you get pretty up close and personal. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these actors; they may never win an Oscar, but they'll always be stars in my eyes.

For now my movie days are over - with my new job I can't make the casting calls I could when I was unemployed. Regardless, I met some great friends making movies and, who knows, maybe someday my grand-kids will be watching an old movie on TV and see their old grandpa on the screen. Here's hoping for this movie to be a hit!

P.A. Another screen adventure I'm in also comes out next year. That movie is a Disney film called the Odd Life of Timothy Green. In Odd Life I spent a couple of days sitting right next to Jennifer Garner.

Vocational Adjustment Syndrome

As some of you know I started a new job about two weeks ago. Starting a new job is something people do every day, but it's been a while for me - and it's been quite an adjustment. Fact is, I'm pretty sure I have an acute case of VAS, Vocational Adjustment Syndrome. I'm not sure what part has been the most difficult.

There's the fact that I went from the church back into the business world, and the fact that I'm going against the tide of most folks my age. Many people get to the "second half" of their lives and feel it is time to switch from the hamster cage "race for success" and turn to the "significance" side, going to work for charities and non-profits in their sunset years. I did the reverse. I got off the wheel in my early thirties, prime earning years when most people my age were just gearing up and moving into the corner office. Now I'm climbing back on the wheel, while many of my peers are considering getting off.

There's also the fact that I went from having 100% of my time be my own, to now putting in 40 hours a week at the office. Granted, a 40 hour workweek is better than the "always on call" life of a pastor, but it's also quite a jolt from my last 18 months of Saturdays.

Then there is the adjustment of going from being the leader of the organization I was a part of, to being low man on the totem pole. I am not complaining about this part though; I was more than ready for a work situation where I have my piece of the puzzle that is my responsibility, leaving someone else in charge of making sure all the pieces fit together (or that the pieces are even in the box to begin with!).

And then there is the steep learning curve of jumping into an industry I know very little about (industrial construction). Add to that the petty annoyances everyone experiences in a new job like how to operate the copy machine and phone system, navigate new software, etc... and you've got a whole lot of adjustments to be absorbed into the old gray matter. And speaking of gray...well...I won't even mention that I'm not the youngster I was when I started my first "real" job right out of college back before they had electricity.

So...that's a heaping helping of change and adjusting. But it's coming - and God knows I'm grateful for the opportunity to make these adjustments.

Honestly, my biggest concern right now is making sure I'm being helpful and productive to my new employer and those on the team I work with. I've certainly been busy, but being busy and being productive are not always synonymous.

So here's to the working class! Thanks be to God I'm again out there among you! And for those of you who may be still looking for work, hang in there. It's coming...

Hummers!

I don't know about your house, but at mine the hummingbirds are going through almost a 10 oz feeder a day (I've got three feeders out). Most of the birds at our feeders are Ruby Throated Hummingbirds. Reading up on them I learned that these birds migrate each year northward in the Spring from Central America and then back southward in the Fall. Yes, that's right, those tiny little birds fly all the way across the Gulf of Mexico. Amazing huh?

The peak of their southward migration is right about now (late August and early September). By now almost all of the birds at the feeders around here are migrating through from farther north, and not the same birds we watched this summer. Some of the birds migrating south are immature birds that hatched during the summer. For these newly hatched hummers, there's no memory of past migrations, only an urge to put on a lot of weight and fly. Once a bird learns such a particular route, it may retrace that route every year as long as it lives. Hummers have great memories; that means the birds at your feeder will return again and again to your yard if you put your feeders up each year and keep them up until the migration is over.

Male hummingbirds are very aggressive; I love to watch them dive and zoom at one another. A male will set up his territory chase off any other male that comes near. This is mostly about food, but it also helps the male hummers eliminate the competition for the female hummingbirds in the area. Male hummingbirds will also attack a female hummingbird that enters his territory that he has not mated with. Until she mates with him, the male will continually chase her away. After the female mates with him, she will be allowed to roam his territory and feed at his feeder freely. Sounds pretty fair to me!

Oh, and about the so-called "fights," don't worry - no one usually gets hurt. They are mostly just aerial dogfights with a lot of buzz and bravado and very little actual contact. I shot the short video above with my iPhone this evening. I almost got run into several times and the five birds swarming around me must've wondered what I was doing, but it was fun to be right there in the action. Enjoy! (P.S. You can see the video better by clicking on it and viewing it directly at YouTube).

Week One of Work

I've wrapped up week one at my new job now, and things are starting to make more sense to me. I am beginning to understand more of what the company I work for does, and why and how they do it. This is pretty important stuff to know when you're working for someone!

Accomplishments for my first (short) week at work include:

• Met some really great co-workers
• Got a new work email address, phone number, etc...
• Got a new lightning fast Lenovo Desktop PC to use at work
• Talked to a lot of contractors hoping to work for us across the Southeast
• Solved a major issue with an Access 2010 database I have been creating
• Attended a DOT Reasonable Suspicion Training for Supervisors Course

Unfortunately there were setbacks this week as well. The transmission went out on my "paid for" 1999 Buick Regal with 154,000 miles on it - but as my ever-optimistic wife reminded me; the car got me to and from Mississippi last weekend (900 miles) and it didn't go out until my first day of work at a new job. Who is complaining? Not me!

Enjoy your weekend - I'm meeting old college friends for breakfast on Saturday and the rest of the weekend will be devoted to Forsyth Family Fest 2011 at the Cumming Fairgrounds. Hope to see you there!

Job!

I got a job yesterday! Hurray! - it's been a long time. Yes, I have been working various places since January, 2010, but I have not received a paycheck since way back then. I know some of you reading this can relate. It's been tough.

My new job is with a specialty construction company in Alpharetta, GA and I will be working in human resources and purchasing. I'll get the opportunity to dust off and use my old UGA business degree from the dark ages! My boss is a long-time mentor and supporter of my church and mission work. I can't tell you how wonderful it is not only to have a job, but also to work for someone who is a believer who encourages his employees to live out their faith and calling from God every single day.

I've had a flood of emotions since I was hired. Prominent among those feelings is gratitude. Gratitude for family and friends who stood beside me and prayed for me through the dark days. This especially applies to my wife who has been an amazing spiritual, emotional (and financial!) supporter of mine since the day I resigned from my last pastorate. Those of you who know Donna won't be surprised by that.

For those still looking for employment, let me share this prayer I found recently; it's wonderful.

Take my hands, God,
and use them for the work
you want me to do.

Take my feet, God,
and lead me to the places,
you want me to go.

Take my voice, God,
and give me the words
you want me to say.

Take my eyes, God,
and train them to search for the things
you want me to see.

Take my mind, God,
and fill my thoughts of those things
you want me to think.

Take my soul, God,
and fill me with your spirit that
I might always be in your presence.

Take my life, God,
and use me for the purposes
of your heart.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Source: Prayersforthunemployed.com

Lee-ve Me Alone

I just got back from Mississippi and a visit with my family there. I loved the visiting part, but Tropical Depression "Lee" left me majorly depressed by his appearance in South Mississippi at almost the exact same moment I arrived there. Seriously - it was bone dry for 431 of the 432 miles I drove down there; then about a mile from my destination raindrops began pattering on my windshield. They haven't stopped since. Lee arrived when I did, stayed while I was there, and I drove home in him the whole 432 miles home, only to find he had arrived here before me. And he is still here!

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This was my first trip back to MS since my closest cousin died (other than for his funeral). I suppose the trip was tailor-made trip for a tropical depression, dreary skies, rain, bluster, yuck... To top it off, I missed most of my Bible reading while there. Catching up meant reading all twelve chapters of Ecclesiastes this morning. Old King Solomon really knows how to inspire the down-hearted!

"So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" Eccles. 2:17.  "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." Eccles 4:4. "'Meaningless, meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Everything is meaningless!'" Eccles. 12:8.  Solomon uses the word "meaningless" about 250 more times in his inspirational epistle. Blech!

The good news is we have begun a new month, Lee has about blustered himself out, Family Fest is less than a week away, and new opportunities abound right here at home. And so, even though "misery may weigh heavily on me" Eccles. 8:6, I think I'm going to follow what Solomon calls the "conclusion of the matter:" "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." (Eccles. 12:13).  Bring it on world! Whatcha got?