Busy Days

Hey All! Let me tell ya I have been extraordinarily busy here lately. I mentioned the manager that quit in my last post. We finally have a new guy starting in that position tonite. That's not really what's been keeping me busy though.

Last week, I went to Phoenix, AZ for some training for work. It was basically a paid vacation. I think the longest day I was in class was about six hours. That was fine with me. I lounged by the pool and talked with others in the class a big part of the time. We decided as a group to take in an Arizona Diamondbacks game too. It was a fun game. The Rockies beat the D'backs 2-0. Good pitching matchup. Either that or pathetic offenses. Either case can apply in this case.

The fun part of the trip was getting to hang out with Anna, a friend of mine. She is a good friend of Greg and Lisa, a couple that I know in Connecticut. She worked in CT for a while and then went out to AZ. Somewhere along the way she and I began exchanging emails, calling and just becoming pretty good buddies. She was in the process of moving, so I went over one night and helped her pack up her truck to take some things to Goodwill. We went to dinner a couple of nights and took in a movie (Spiderman 3). I had a really nice time with her. She is a very sweet girl and a very strong Christian. I'm glad that we met and am lucky to consider her a friend :-) She even convinced me that we should try to eat rattlesnake at dinner one night. I was hesitant but thought "why not?". It wasn't bad! Definitely a new experience!

I got back to Alabama late Friday night. I hung out at my apartment washing clothes and cleaning up all day before leaving for Livingston, Tennesee to see the aforementioned Greg and Lisa over the Memorial Day weekend. We had a good time. It was good to see them. I have known Lisa for about seven or eight years now and known her hubby for about four I guess. It was good to spend time with them and see them.

So now here I am back at work and getting back to the grind. Temporarily. In three weeks I am heading to Pittsburgh for more training.

That's about all that is noteworthy going on in my life. Try to contain your excitement!

Hope all is well!

~Greg~

Happy Mother's Day!

I will start off this blog by wishing ALL of the mothers out there a very happy Mother's Day. I hope and pray that today brings you much happiness and joy.

Work lately has been extraordinarily crazy. Two weeks ago my boss was on vacation and in the middle of the week, the part-time manager that was on our night shift got upset and quit. I was the only other one who knew the whole evening shift process so I had to fill in. It wouldn't have been so bad had my boss not been on vacation because we could have split the duties. Nate (the other manager who I work with a lot) and I ended up putting in some seventeen and eighteen hour days before it was all said and done. This coming week will be busy because (a) we haven't hired a replacement on nights, and (b) Nate is on vacation. So it's all up to me and my boss to do the responsibility of four managers. We'll manage just fine. My boss is the one catching the brunt of it actually because when he got back he decided to work nights until the replacement is hired so that he has the process down pat to train someone. Then you throw in the fact that next week, I will be going to Phoenix, Arizona for some training and again, that is going to leave only two managers. I tell ya, life at FedEx is FUN :-)

In church, we have been doing an extensive study of the book of Luke. Today in class we were discussing Jesus' Sermon on the Plain. The question naturally arose as to whether or not it is actually the same sermon as Matthew's account of the Sermon on the Mount. In reading both of these accounts, I am prone to believe that they are indeed one in the same. Yes, there are some subtle differences in each account, but the basic message is the same. I believe that Matthew and Luke were each writing to a certain segment of the population. Matthew's use of "blessed" would naturally appeal to the whole "glass is half full" personalities while Luke's "woe is he.." approach would 'appeal' to the glass half empty crowd. We all know people who are always looking on the bright side of things, just as we all know those who are more pessimistic about life and it's occurances.

When you compare the two lessons, the message is basically the same, just worded differently. You have to take into account that the Gospels were written by men. Yes, it is the inspired word of God written through these men, but they are still men. They each had their own personalities and probably interpreted Christ's sermon the way they did for good reason.

The teacher in class brought up the fact that one says "mount" and then Luke's account says that Christ came to an level plain. Mountains have level areas, and who is to say that Christ didn't come down the mountain, find the multitude at a level spot and deliver his sermon there? Technically on a plain yet still on the mountain. Who knows? It's really not all that important. What is important is that we get the message that is intended. Both are great writings and can lead to a lot of pondering the message and its application.

There's really not a lot going on. I hope to have some summer vacation plans ironed out within the next month. My dad and I still want to go to Colorado this summer. I am almost certain that we'll be able to manage it in June or July.

I hope that you are all doing well and I welcome feedback from you on this, or any other post.

~God Bless~