Brain Pickins

Well, tomorrow is the day for the big interview with Dave Ramsey at Financial Peace Plaza in Nashville. 

Ironically, today I received a completely separate email in my other email account from Dave Ramsey's people requesting a phone interview with another guy (I used my old application which had my less-used email on it) for the same position.  This is good news!  I believe this points to the fact that they were going to pull my resume anyway for an interview. 

Many of you do not know this, but a few years ago, I interviewed for a similar position with Dave Ramsey's Lampo Group.  I was living in Florida at the time and flew in just for the interview.  That is when I found out how great the company was to work for!  But, in God's providence, I did not receive a follow-up interview. 

I will be better prepared this time as a result of that experience. 

But I need some advice, especially from those of you who interview people at your jobs.  Already, I have received some great tips from Michelle's cousin and it was so good that I want to ask you for some more. 

Specifically:

1. How should I dress?  The company has a casual dress with most of the employees and even Dave wearing jeans and flip flops.  However, this is an interview where I want to put my best foot forward.  How much is too much?  How little is too little?
2. What are some questions I should anticipate from the HR guy (he was very easygoing last time) and the sales staff (they were very tough)? 
3. What are some questions I can ask about the company?
4. How much energy should I bring to the table, considering that I used such an unusual and somewhat pushy method to get the interview in the first place?

I will be leaving early tomorrow (Wednesday) morning for my 2pm interview.  So any responses before then would be of great benefit.  Thanks again for your prayers, support, and wisdom. 

In Christ,
Jay

A Special Night of Caving In!!!!

It has been many weeks that I have held out on knowing the gender of future baby Richardson.  But going to the ultrasound appointment was just too much for my frail resolve to withstand.  While I showed enough strength to look away while the gender was revealed, the pressure has caused me to crack. 

But I still NEED it to be a surprise!!!  It's very important that this occasion is marked in a memorable way. 

Now it just so happens that some friends of ours have invited us to go the Tennessee Smokies game tonight for free.  And also, Michelle's mom decided that she was going to come and visit tonight and stay for a few days to celebrate her birthday with us.  There's just enough tickets for everyone. 

All of these events coalescing caused my mind to think of some possibilities.  And it clicked. 

I called the Tennessee Smokies and asked them if they would be involved in revealing whether the baby is a boy or a girl. 

So tonight, in the top of the 9th inning, they are going to have our kids on the field popping pink and blue balloons with confetti shooting out of them.  The last balloon they pop will either have blue or pink confetti and we will all find out together at that moment whether we have a boy or a girl.

Cool, huh?

We did it!!!!

Never in my history of looking for work (and I am quite experienced at this my friends) have I received such a fast response inviting me for an interview!!! 

Let me recap the day for you because, like it or not, you are invested in my life now.  I can share the sorrows, but Boy Oh Boy I can sure share the victories too! 

First, I want to admit something else to you.  The "Job Mob" was my main strategy to receive an interview with Dave Ramsey, but there was another part of my plan.  Providentially, I was scheduled to pick up my car today in Tullahoma (it broke down there last week).  That is quite a ways from me, but only another hour or so away from Brentwood, TN.  Why is that important?  Because that is where Financial Peace Plaza is located, the site of the Dave Ramsey show and the Lampo Group.

Knowing this, I wanted to attack this job search on one more front.....Dave Ramsey himself!!!  Last night, I stayed up late crafting a 1 page plea for a job interview.  In it, I told him about the "Job Mob" so that he would know that I possess the creativity needed for a job like this.  Being such a crucial part of my qualifications, I really needed you to come through for me, to show that I could do what I said I would do, namely flood the inbox of Rick Perry.  And you did!!!

Rick Perry (the main HR guy of the Lampo Group) called and left a voicemail within about an hour of us leaving the facility!!!  He was quite impressed with the sheer volume of emails.  He told me to call off the "Job Mob" and that he surrenders.  In his email, he quoted some specific phrases that I only wrote in my personal letter to Dave Ramsey, so the attack on that front succeeded as well! 

In short, he was overwhelmed with requests, by me, you, and apparently Mr. Ramsey himself to check me out for this position.  On the phone, he was quite jovial, chuckling a lot, and telling me how much they like to see that kind of enthusiasm and creativity. 

All I can say is thank you so much!  I will be calling Mr. Perry tomorrow to set up an interview and when the time comes, I will let you know when it is so that you can pray for me. 

That's how it works, folks.  My sorrow is your sorrow.  My joy is your joy.  One body, one Savior, one hope!  All praise goes to King Jesus who blessed me and you with our authentic fellowship over these past few days! 

Getting this position is still quite uncertain, but I know this for sure....God heard your prayers this day and answered with a resounding, "Yes!"  And we all benefitted from seeing Him work.

Let it not be mistaken in any way, God opened this door today.  But He uses means too.  Thank you for being His tools today. 

Now leave Mr. Perry alone, will ya?!!!!!! 

Jay

You've heard of Flash Mobs, welcome to the Job Mob

Over the past few days, I have shared quite a lot on my blog.  (As of this morning, I have taken down my last 2 posts so that I can now focus on moving forward.)  Those of you who have read it know that there have been many painful things happen to me as of late.  But "to everything there is a season" and I am now trying to put one foot in front of the other.  

Many of you have messaged me with such encouragement and support, but when someone you love is going through a trial it is natural to try to think of practical ways you can help.  Much of the time, there might not be anything you can do.  But I have thought of one thing, just ONE THING, which might help me out more than you know. 

As you can imagine, not having a job or any source of income only serves to magnify every other problem in life.  And it is a pressing need for me and my family.  So I need help finding work. 

Finding a job in today's market is extremely difficult for so many, and I am no exception.  It is hard to even get an interview because resumes are screened to such minute details, that only a select few ever get to the desk of the hiring manager.  I have not yet figured out the key to standing out, having my resume reviewed, and getting an interview.  So I am forced to try to be creative.

In all of the best sources of information for how to find work, I find that the most effective way to get an interview with a company is to know someone who can help you get in front of the one responsible for hiring.  I have moved so many times that coming into new places does not afford me much time to build up a network of contacts which can help me to branch out. 

So I am attempting to do something a little different.  I want to CARPETBOMB  my target with so many requests for an interview, that my name cannot help but to stand out.  I want the sheer amount of my references to come in such a short period of time so as to make the human resources manager take notice of me. 



I have a very specific target in mind.....Dave Ramsey. 

 

If you have not heard of him, Dave Ramsey is a Christian financial expert who has:

• a top-rated radio show with millions of listeners every day.
• many NY Times bestseller books
• and an organization based in Nashville which employs hundreds of people

His company is annually voted one of the best to work for in the Nashville area.  And I am personally a fan of his ministry (having gone through Financial Peace University, attended a live event, and listening to his radio show via podcast), which is why I want to work for him, because I believe in his mission.

I have continually looked on his website (daveramsey.com) to look for jobs which would be a good fit for me.  And I have found one......Sales Advisor for Hosting Simulcast of Events. 

This involves contacting churches and businesses to host a Simulcast of a Dave Ramsey event.  With my background working in churches, my belief in the product, and my passion to help people, I strongly believe that I would be a great fit. 

But I don't want to be another resume-screening casualty.  So Here's the plan and what I would ask you to do to help me:

1. If you want to do something to help me, I want you to email the H.R. manager  (REMOVED FOR PRIVACY) a very brief note (no longer than one paragraph total), stating (in the body):
1. Your name
2. Your occupation (so that he knows these are serious references)
3. Why you think I would be a good fit with Dave Ramsey.
4. Personal qualities I possess which would be of benefit to Dave Ramsey.
2. Most importantly, in the subject line of the email, I want you to write :
1. "Why (REMOVED FOR PRIVACY) should get an interview"
3. Since I want this to be impossible to avoid, I would ask that you do this tomorrow (Thursday, August 23rd) in order for him to receive these messages all in one day!

I am hoping that the sheer volume of emails with the repetition of my name will cause me to stand out and receive an interview. 

Folks, I really want to work!!!!  This is the first step I must take in beginning to put things back together and I am running out of time before we will have to move in with family. 

Admittedly, this is probably a long shot.  But I can't sit idly by anymore waiting on my phone to ring.  I want to use my creativity to the best of my ability to hopefully get out of the mess I'm in.   I just want a chance.  Would you help me get an interview?

Thanks for considering doing this. 

In Christ,
Jay

P.S.  Yes, (REMOVED FOR PRIVACY), is my first name.  I need you to put that so that they can match my name with my resume and application which I've previously submitted.

If you have any friends who know me and want to help, please let them know for me. 

Ch...ch...ch...changes

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  But we are not.  He has nothing that needs improving, we do.  Because of that, I feel like so many of the things we do are somewhat drastic:  losing weight, trying to go to Poland, homeschooling, and on and on.  However, these changes are not born out of a desire necessarily to improve, rather they come from a recognition of the holiness of God, Christ living in me, and the distance my life shows between the two. 

Yes, I want to improve my life, but the irony is that I cannot.  As much as I pull, prod, and cajole, I just end up rearranging the mud.  I must realize that I am muddy first so that I finally look to a pure, outside source of cleanliness who is willing and able to do the necessary cleaning.  And another irony is that the alien source of purifying me (Jesus Christ and the atoning work of His blood and the righteous life He imputes to me through justification) lives within me because of His choice, not mine. 

That means that Jesus loves me based on His sovereign pleasure alone.  And what He loves, He doesn't leave unchanged. 

What ends up happening is war.  War within me.  I long to live and serve this amazing God who has done everything to present me spotless before Himself, yet I drift back towards that pile of mud. 

The yo-yo of my life and the constant changes that I have and will continue to undergo is that movement on the continuum between holiness and unholiness.  It's a process called sanctification.  Up and down I go, but comfort comes in looking back and seeing more up than down.  Not from my exertion, effort, and good work, but by the Holy Spirit in me. 

Paul even wrote about this in Romans 7:19, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."  He was fighting a bigger enemy than the Romans, the Pharisees, or even Emperor Nero who ended up killing him.  He was fighting his own flesh.  And I am fighting mine.  Yet not I, but Christ within me.  He fights and He wins!

Because you know what else Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

Paul wasn't the hero of his own story, Jesus is.  (Yes, I know I switched tenses in the previous sentence, but the point is that Jesus still is Paul's hero because He lives.)  He allowed Paul to swing up and down on the pendulum to demonstrate His power within Paul, to show that He is a mighty God who is able to preserve His children and keep them to the end. 

Jude 24-25 says, "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Jesus Christ gets all the credit, all the accolades, all the glory! 

Yes, I'm on a yo-yo that sometimes produces drastic changes in my life, but the ride is not pointless.  It strengthens my faith in the String Holder.  And let's not forget that the crown of righteousness, which He earned, awaits.  For the past 2,000 years of sinless glory in heaven which he now lives, Paul most assuredly would tell us that all His earthly struggles and the sometimes painful process of sanctification (growing in Christlikeness) was worth it.

Let the Holy Spirit continue to tear down your strongholds and you can trust that He will fill you up with something far greater than you could ever imagine....Himself. 

The war rages on, yet the outcome is secure in Christ!

What does this look like for me, for now?  I war with my appetite every day to honor and bring glory to Christ.  I war with my desire for gossip and my tendency towards pride by trying to judge my motives for using Facebook and am staying off of it until I am better prepared to let Christ reign in me there.  I war with my total inability to provide for my family while watching God drop manna on me every day.  I war with my desire to remove myself from the front lines, by watching a pretend world on television where life happens to them and not me.  I war with my pride as I march somewhere with my kids to pass out gospel tracts because I don't want to seem like a crazy man and I don't want my children to see their dad get tracts slapped out of my hands, but Jesus compels me to proclaim the good news which I myself have received.  I war and I war and I war.  But no war lasts forever, my wounded and numb friends.  There is a consummation one way or another. 

At the end of it all, we will all see Jesus.  Every knee will bow before Him and every knee will confess that He is God.  Either you will bow as a defeated enemy, or you will bow as a grateful co-heir of His inheritance. 

I love Jesus Christ. 

His,
Jay

How water can help the unemployed

I have always loved gazing into water.  Back when I lived in San Diego, whenever I wanted a bigger sense of what life was all about, I would often head out to the beach just to watch the waves roll in and out.  What I drank in, as the horizon swallowed up the ocean or vice versa, was the sense that God is very big.  But even more important to me was the peace that I derived from watching the powerful and loud crashing waves rhythmically dancing with the shore line.  (Side note:  I guess that's why I didn't enjoy living in Florida because the ocean waves were so wimpy in comparison to those of the Pacific.) 

It's hard to imagine that something loud and powerful brought peace to my soul, even as I've encountered those same adjectives in other scenarios (traffic, screaming children, jackhammers, or all 3 at once).  But what I've discovered is that power IS peace. 

Not my power, mind you.  For after 38 years, it has become strikingly apparent that I have none of my own.  Ironically, my powerlessness still stuns me.  When jobs don't appear and when finances seem to choke the living daylights out of me, I kick against the goads until I'm left completely exhausted in every way.  And then I turn to the water to remember. 

There's a river that flows in my backyard.  Oh, how I praise God for that river.  No matter how bad my day has been, or no matter what turmoil my heart won't let go of, that river is unaffected.  It flows back and forth, to and fro, doing what God has called it to do.  And my God is that way too.  His perfect plans for me remain unaffected no matter how I perceive the daily chaos.  He doesn't worry, because He already has it all figured out.  His flow of grace never ends and His ability to deal with me and my problems is unquestionable.  He is power, and He is peace. 

And I see that in my river.  I think it's why the song "It is Well" gets to me so deeply.  "When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well, with my soul."

The man that wrote that hymn penned those words as he was sailing over the spot where his daughters drowned in a shipwreck.  The same sea which submerged his precious girls, reminded Him of His precious Savior.  Oh, praise Jesus that He goes with us!

Folks, I am hurting so bad right now with so many things.  And I know that many of you, if not most of you, are hurting too.  And I know that many of you probably have much bigger problems than I do.  But though our pains might look different, our answer is the same.  Every problem, every tragedy, every hurt, every heartache, is meant to take you to the River of Life, the Living Water, Jesus Christ. 

And while the pain will remain, the balm will be applied and reapplied, and our Great Physician will tell us that the story is not over.  And He will point to the seal of the Holy Spirit over our hearts to remind us that we are indeed His.  And then He'll send us back to those same situations, same cancers, same lost jobs, same mean coworkers, same disrespectful children, and same crosses with different eyes to see with.  And what will we see?  We'll see Him in the fiery furnace with us, and we'll see the divine fire hose in His hands and we'll know that it's just a matter of time (His time) before He douses it forever. 

And then we are to share that Scriptural vision with others, not without sharing our pain, because people need to see that we are indeed powerless so that when God's power carries us, He gets the credit for being the amazing God that He is. 

Again, let me say that I hurt so bad today.  I couldn't sleep, I couldn't talk to my wife, I couldn't even think straight.  My needs are so, so many and I feel like I am drowning.  But God has used that river in my backyard tonight to remind me that His power is my peace and His peace is my power! 

Thank you for hearing my soul, friends.

J

Poland bound, me and YOU?

I will be leaving for Poland this Tuesday for 2 weeks.  The main purpose of this trip is to survey possible areas where the Lord might have our family to serve Him.  Also, I will be participating in a number of ministry opportunities (speaking at a Soup Kitchen, preaching in various churches, teaching in small group settings, food distribution, etc).  I am extremely grateful for the support I have received to help me and my son, Austin, to go on this exciting journey together. 

In addition, there is an opportunity to bless a local pastor (Henryk Podsiadly) who I will be working closely with.  I first met Henryk on my first mission trip to Poland where I saw his heart to serve the Lord by serving those in need.  He has been used by God to serve the poor by:  helping to start orphanages, distributing food to the poor, running various camps, and witnessing to people on the streets.  I would love to bless and affirm his ministry by bringing a financial gift to help him with his ministry.  If you would like to contribute towards the ministry of Pastor Henryk, you can make a check out to Basswood Church in Knoxville, TN.

Thanks again for your prayers and support.  I look forward to bringing back a full report upon my return.  In the meantime, if you should have any more questions, feel free to email me at our new email address:  richfam2u@gmail.com.

Sent to be spent,
Jay Richardson