I planned to write this weekend to get ahead with my posts. My goal has been to post by 9 am. That has only happened once, which was on my site launch day. I had a post ready to go the night before. This weekend, I wrote many things over the course of several hours. None of it I am interested in posting today. I am the kind of person who produces under pressure. Give me a goal or deadline, and I will work to meet it. For me, I follow the scientific theory that an object in motion stays in motion. I have been trying to write since 7 am this morning. Now it is 8:30 am. I am now motivated. I can feel it. The act of driving my kids to school and having my brain stimulated by mundane discussions with my kids and just the act of driving has motivated me. I do like driving.

Here is how I have made a living since I was 13 years old:

• Newspaper Route
• Lawn Mowing
• Animal Hospital – Kennel Attendant, Technician ( today they are called Nurses)
• Phlebotomist
• Chemical lab Technician, Inside Sales, Territory Sales Company 1
• Territory Sales Chemical Company 2
• Territory Sales Chemical Company 3
• Retail Business Owner Water & Health
• Science Museum Maintenance
• Manufacturers Representative Company – Aggregates
• Substitute Teacher Vocational Technical Schools High School Level
• Adjunct Professor Community College – Electro Mechanical
• Battery Plant Maintenance
• Territory Sales Chemical Company 4
• Territory Sales Chemical Company 5
• Account Management and Business Development Service Company 1

After you read the list, one could surmise that I am a Jack-of-all-trades. While I do like that term, I will cautiously prefer to refer to myself as a Jack-of-many trades. I have a unique ability to learn something and then mirror it back to others. This skill comes in quite handy.

My favorite job from all the jobs on the list was teaching as an adjunct professor at my alma mater, the Community College. I had been substitute teaching in the Vocational Technical Schools on a high school level, and it was just not my thing. At the end of the day, most of the kids just didn’t seem to care. I was bored out of my mind with babysitting in most cases, so it was time to find something more fruitful.

My neighbor had done some adjunct teaching at the college and knew the Trades Program Director. All I needed was a name to get me started. There was no irony that his name was Jack. I went over to the community college to make an appointment with the director, and he met with me immediately.

The meeting started with him giving me a history of himself and how the trades program got started at the college. The root was a college coordination with Bethlehem Steel. Many of the old Bethlehem Steel guys with many years of experience ended up as professors at the college. He was one of them and now the Trades Program Director. Then he asked me why I wanted to teach at the college. The final question was about my experience. In my mind, I had plenty of experience working on electro-mechanical equipment. Additionally, I had five years of experience leading crews to install the same equipment. While I knew my background was not exactly what he was looking for, I figured it was worth a shot. To my dismay, Jack turned to me and said, “You have a lot of courage coming in here to ask for an adjunct teaching position. We don’t even have any openings. Your enthusiasm and drive to want to teach are impressive. However, your education level and degree type just don’t match up with the skills and background we require for you to teach here. Thank you for your interest, and if something changes with either the school or yourself, let us keep the door open for the future.” He then advised me to return to school to further my degree and to find work in the trade that I wanted to teach.

I soon found myself at the registrar’s office of the college not too long afterward. I signed up for Electrical I. Within the first week of me being in the building, I ran into Jack. He was pleasantly surprised to see me as I explained how I took his advice. We continued to see each other, and I put myself in front of him whenever the chance presented itself. I finished my electrical course and was waiting for the next semester to start. I had signed up for Mechanical I.

It was winter break at the college. I was still substitute teaching at the Vocational Schools, and I had gotten my worst assignment yet—in-school suspension. I was just so done with that gig. However, I needed to keep going. Or so I thought. My phone rang, and it was Jack. He said he wanted to meet with me. I cleared my schedule and made it over to his office.

We sat down in his office, and he told me he had an opportunity for me. The college had received a grant for a new trades program that was hybrid. They were creating a certificate degree program that was hybrid learning, both online and in person. This was cutting edge at the time. The first class they needed to create for the program was a basic class called Hand & Power Tools. Jack felt he had heard and seen enough from me, and that I also had the personality to be able to teach this class. Of course, I agreed, and we set a date for me to show him my mechanical skills. If I passed that test, I was going to be the new Hand & Power Tools adjunct professor.

We met in the shop, and Jack gave me the materials and directions. I needed to build a drill gauge. Honestly, I didn’t even know what that was. He explained that one can keep using their drill bits by sharpening them. This fact I knew. What I did not know was what a drill gauge was used for. When you sharpen a drill bit, it is done on a bench grinder. To keep the drill bit balanced, you use a drill gauge to keep the tip even all the way around. Jack liked what he saw, and I got my very first Adjunct Professor teaching contract.

While I kept attending classes as a student, I kept picking up other classes to teach. I not only had done well in my classes but also retained large amounts of information. In addition, I was taking copious notes. The process went like this: I would take the class, and the next semester Jack would end up needing a teacher for the class I just took. He liked what I was doing with my classes and the results he (the students) was getting, and he continued to give me opportunities. In the end, I was unable to secure long-term employment as a Program Manager, which was my ultimate goal. There is a story here, but it is more related to the college putting on a hiring freeze after Jack retired.

I didn’t tell you this story about me teaching as an adjunct to boost my ego. While I am proud of myself for what I accomplished, I tell you this as an example of the old saying, “You can do anything if you set your mind to it.”

I am on the job hunt. I need to make a living for my family. As I have offered my situations to those around me, prayers are being said for me and my family. The bigger thing than job opportunities that keeps presenting itself is Romans 8:28.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”

This verse was offered to me over the weekend three times. The number 3 in the Bible represents divine wholeness, completeness, and perfection. I also believe it represents the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the hope that I seek. This is the hope that we all need.

My post today is about making a living. I am betting that when most people hear the question, “How do you make a living?” they immediately think about their jobs. I sure do.

However, this weekend as I sat in church and listened to the message, I gained a new perspective.

“How do you make a living?”

My living is for a larger purpose. God has a plan. While I do not know what that plan is just yet, I have faith in Him. The job is just the means by which God gives us to provide for ourselves and our families.

How have I made a living?

I have made a living being a better husband than I used to be. I have made a living by being a better father than I used to be. I have made a living by helping others out of the pit of sexual addiction. I have made a living by being of service at my church.

I am making a living today right now at Give Your Story with a commitment to keep writing here for the sake of God and for the sake of hope for you.

I have not been saved to do good works. I have been saved TO good works.

From this, the result of the harvest will be given for us to feast!

How do YOU make a living?