I'm not even gonna start on what's been going on in my life in the last seven months. What I will do, though, is talk about what's going on in my life right now.
Where to start??
First and foremost, I guess, I'll say this: I am SO blessed!! Life is crazy and hard, but it's never too crazy and it's never too hard. I am working to overcome trials and temptations all the time, but I'm never alone in this and for that I am always grateful. The help of my Heavenly Father and Savior is the greatest blessing and I will never betray that.
That being said, I'd like to quote an amazing movie:
"My shit is a mess."
(pardon my French)
But it's true. Between dating relationships and jobs and school and where I'm living and what I'm doing with my life... I've kinda been all over the place. And not necessarily in a bad way, but I'm definitely looking for more stability.
My District Manager at Salon Centric came to visit my store manager a little while ago and she brought our Regional Manager. It could have been an intimidating morning with so many managers around, but I hadn't seen them in a while so I switched shifts with my friend so I could be there to see everyone. It ended up being the perfect thing to do. While Tina (my RM) was there, she gave me one of the best compliments I think I've ever gotten from a supervisor. We were all talking about sales and discussing my ability to sell and Tina said "I don't doubt Lauren. She was the top salesperson in my district when I was the district manager." I was kind of in shock. I do feel like I'm a great salesperson, but I was surprised to hear something so nice from someone so high up on the totem pole. I don't know if I've ever felt so valued as an employee, which is really saying something because I have had some of the best and most appreciative managers. It was awesome. That comment got the wheels turning in my head. Ideas were flowing and the feedback I got about those ideas were all supportive so I came up with a plan and emailed Tina about creating a position in Salon Centric for someone like me. "If you think I'm such a great salesperson, hire me to train others how to do it." That was the jist. (Jist?? Yeah, it's a word.) Everything had fallen into place so perfectly for me to ask for this position. I waited for a reply, going back and forth between feelings of "I totally got this. She'll see the value in it. Why haven't they thought of this before" and feelings of "Who am I kidding?! She's not going to go for this. Who am I to request a job like this?" It was a week of roller coaster feelings. I'm not used to feeling so much insecurity and I was ready for it to be over. Luckily, feedback came quickly and (sort of) to my surprise, they went for it. They created the job. Just for me. Because I asked for it. It was amazing!! It's not exactly what I asked for, but it's a start and if it goes well it'll move into a more permanent position. What more could I ask for, though?! I don't have a college degree. I'm just a part time sales associate. But I have the knowledge and experience and I think I've got the personality to go with it. I'm stoked!! The only thing is that they need me to move up to Salt Lake... which I can totally do. I'm making some sacrifices and it'll be a pretty big adjustment, but this is exactly the kind of stability I've been looking for. Overall, how could I complain about any of this?? I absolutely won't. I have worked hard and have been blessed with jobs that have developed in me a certain skill set. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to teach that to other people. And hopefully the feedback is good so that this dream job of mine can turn into something more permanent. So I have a new job!! I'm excited.
I'm also excited about this book I've been reading about what it means to be a man of God, which is what the pastor in this book calls Biblical Manhood. Now that might seem a bit strange for a girl to be reading, but what I love about it is the clarity it provides for me on what I want in a man that I marry. For the last 9 months I have been studying Biblical Manhood. The story starts last summer when I was on my way to Texas. I stopped at my cousin, Rachel's, house on my way to Houston and we talked all day. I loved it so I was more than happy to have another opportunity to spend time with her on my way home. It was then that she introduced me to Biblical Manhood. It's a series of sermons her pastor, Matt Carter, gave about what it means to be a man of God. Rachel and I talked about it for a long time and she told me about how her husband and Matt had teamed up to write a book on the same subject. I listened to the podcasts over and over and began looking for more information on the subject. A few months later I discovered Jolene Engle, a woman devoted to "bringing biblical guidance and practical instruction for godly women and wives." So here I had two great resources. One about men. And one about women. And what I loved most about them was the different perspective they provided on the subject of marriage, preparing for marriage, and strengthening marriage and family. The sermons (found at austinstone.org/resources/sermons/category/biblical-manhood), the blog (joleneengle.com), the new book that just came out (The Real Win by Matt Carter and Colt McCoy), and all of the wonderful information found at lds.org have become my new obsession. It's interesting, for sure, to listen to religious podcasts and read religious blog entries from people who aren't Mormon. There's some terminology used that I wouldn't normally use and there are some phrases used that I wouldn't normally hear, but that's what's been so great about them! In addition to scripture study and the information on lds.org, these resources have become priceless as I've been studying how to better prepare myself for marriage and how to better strengthen my marriage once I am married. It's amazing and I would totally recommend all of this information to my married and single friends and family members. :)
My last thought for the day...
Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to a friend. I was talking to a friend at work last week about this and it seemed foreign to her that we should treat ourselves with love and respect. It boggles my mind how some people talk to themselves. So just as a reminder, if you aren't happy with who you are or what you look like then you should probably change that, but don't beat yourself down. Be positive and be nice. Because when you love yourself you're more likely to take care of yourself. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment