Hold Out for Good Works

All the days of my struggle I will hold out

until my change comes.

(Job 14:14)

As a young girl, I knew that my great-grandfather was a good provider for our family. By day, he worked on someone else's farm, and on nights and weekends, he built houses in the community. In times of plenty, he was able to create residual income from rental properties. In times of struggle, he could sell one of his well-constructed houses to a neighboring family. Well into my teenage years, I could look down and around Lowe Street and see the results of his good works. My lesson learned: knowing how to work with your hands dramatically improves your ability to never be without work.

The U.S. employment numbers were released today. 148,000 jobs were added in September. The largest gains were in the fields of construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing. (A summary by the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be located at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm). The unemployment rate held at 7.2%, which happens to be the near the average rate for a high school graduate. Consider these statistics for unemployment based on attained educational levels. Unemployment rates for

High School Dropout = 10.3%
High School Graduate = 7.6%
Some College = 6.0%
BA or higher = 3.7%
My lesson learned: having an education dramatically improves your probability to never be without work.

In spite of what has happened in recent weeks, I feel that we are on brink of economic recovery relative to jobs in industrial manufacturing and construction. While the manufacturing numbers remained flat in this report, my anecdotal evidence (based on my travel schedule) is that activity is picking up. Of the 148k jobs added in September, 20,000 of those were construction related. And if the Gulf Coast region is any indication, that number will see dramatic increases in the foreseeable future. Our bid activity also reflects this trend. For all those naysayers, growing weary from worry about the days of time and toil, my advice is simply to keep the faith and wait patiently. My lesson learned: holding out and enduring during trials dramatically improves your tolerability to never be without work.

In the words of Rev. James Cleveland: The way may not be easy/ You never said that it would be/ But when I get tired/ Can’t find my way/ You told me to put my trust in Thee/ Help me to hold out/ Until my change comes. That song gives me motivation to get through these struggling times on the journey to good works. Instead of worry, I put my hands, mind, and faith to work reading, thinking, studying, praying, and praising Him in advance for the accomplishment of His purposed work, learning to hold out until my change comes. How are you holding out until your appointed time for your good works? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

The Light of Good Works

Let your light shine before children

So that they can see your good works and glorify Your Father

(Matthew 5:16)

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Oh, this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. This song touched my heart as a kid, but suddenly has new meaning to me as an adult. In ancient torch races, the goal was to complete the race with the light still burning. I am constantly reminded that life is not a sprint, but life is a marathon. The race is not given to the swift, but to the one who endures. I do not have to finish my race first or fast, based on my self-inflicted timeline. Instead, I want to do the works I was commissioned to do, to be a light that shines through eternity.

It seems that everywhere I turn there is a 5k event. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the life of me, I do not remember such communal involvement when I worked a corporate job. I gave annual financial donations, but I do not remember the most important thing, giving my time, or more importantly, involving our son in real acts of good works for a worthy cause. But since I have become independent, I am more aware of how the community supports this momentous effort. Even our middle school football team wears pink socks during the entire month as a sign solidarity and support. That’s probably what caught my eye: the number of children participating in voluntary games or voluntary races in showing care for such worthy causes.

I advocate leading by example, yet I have never attempted to run a 5k, nor have a challenged my family to participate. I asked my son if he would be interested in taking part in a 5k race, and he quickly retorted that he is a sprinter, not a distance runner. Then I had to remind him of the purpose of the races, to train to endure and complete, in support of the named cause. I told him the story of the ancient torch race and we agreed to run 5k before the end of the year as a family. I am excited. Before 2013 ends, our family will participate in a race, not for time, but to complete the event with our familial light still burning.

I want my light to shine before My Father and before children. I feel the best examples of grace that we can demonstrate begin at home with our own children. We try to involve our son in voluntary efforts as a sign of doing good works. Before the year ends, we have challenged ourselves to participate in a 5k. What are you doing to let your light and your good works shine before your children? Feel free to comment, or, send me an email at latanyua.robinson@gmail.com. If you like this post and want to catch up on some of my previous discussions, please visit the full Purposed Work blog at http://ltr-latrobe-mfg.blogspot.com/.

Don’t Quit on the Road to Good Works

I just can’t give up now.
I have come too far from where I started from.

Nobody told me the road would be easy.

I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me.

(Mary  Mary)

On Friday, my family traveled to Northwest Arkansas to attend the induction ceremony into the Arkansas Academy of Industrial Engineering (AAIE). The plan was for us to arrive early so that we had time to tour the campus, particularly Bell Engineering Center, and to locate my name on Senior Walk. By 5:30 am, the plans changed: Our local flight was cancelled without notification; the only flights available with three seats required us to drive to Houston, connect through Dallas, fly into Tulsa, and drive back to Springdale. At one point, I looked at James, ready to give up, when a still small voice said don’t quit. So we made the journey and arrived as the banquet began. Throughout the ceremony, I realized that this journey leading me back to the University of Arkansas began years ago.

 

The thing is, I never planned to attend any in-state college. If I had my way, I would have gone to Duke. I first started getting info from Duke in junior high school, based on standardized test scores. Later, in high school, after expressing an interest in engineering, I began to get correspondence from the School of Engineering. At that time, I had not considered the cost of going to Duke...I simply wanted to go to Duke because the school expressed interest in me.

Senior year rolled around and the reality of paying for college set in. I grew up in Stuttgart, a low-to-moderate income community, and I was first generation college. Thankfully, I had a dedicated guidance counselor who worked tirelessly to assist those of us who needed help finding scholarships (a big shout-out to Mrs. Ferguson). I had no idea how I could afford college, so I only applied to in-state schools... thinking I could not afford out-of-state tuition and unaware of any other options. On graduation day, I learned that I had been selected for the Ruth Reiger Scholarship, renewable for four years at an in-state institution. I started classes at the UA in June 1988 and completed my coursework by December 1992.

We make our plans, but God orders our steps. The road to good works has not been easy. There were a lot of nights when the load of you-name-it seemed too much to bear and I wanted to give up, but that still small voice would speak to me and say don’t quit. I am so thankful for the blessings and the lessons learned along the journey. When the banquet was over, I had the pleasure of meeting two very prosperous members of AAIE, who informed me that I was only the fourth person born in Stuttgart to become a member of the academy. (That makes me the first woman from Stuttgart to be inducted and motivates me to become an ambassador for more women to pursue Industrial Engineering.) To learn more about what’s happening at the University of Arkansas, visit http://www.ineg.uark.edu/

So, as I get ready for another workweek, I close this post with a verse of inspiration:

 

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

To read the poem in it’s entirety, visit http://www.thedontquitpoem.com/thePoem.htm