When Will I Learn?

 Yesterday night I was working the floor and before Sally (the manger, my sister) left she asked that I help Mollie (my other sister) finish the truck since it came extremely late, once I was doing putting up all the candy and medicine. Finally, two hours later I was finished with that. So I went to see what Mollie needed help with, turned out she was almost done. She had me start picking up trash and boxes and putting them on a cart. I wasn't really paying that much attention and picked up some small bags of what I thought was normal ice and threw them on the cart.
  "Hey, be careful with that. That's dry ice, it'll burn you if you touch it."
  "Oh, okay, I didn't realize it was dry ice."
 As the day went on, Mollie left and I had completely forgot about the dry ice, until I got hungry... Sally had gave me an avocado earlier in the day, I remembered about it, so I took a quick five minute break to eat it. I went into the back, back where all that trash was at and sat on the floor and ate my avocado. As I was eating it, I noticed something, a small chunk of the dry ice had fell out of one of those bags and was bubbling on the ground... I remembered Molly's warring about the dry ice. Yet, as was stuffing my face with the avocado I couldn't help but stare at the dry ice. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to see how it felt to just touch it. I knew it would hurt, but there was an overwhelming desire for me to touch it. I was auguring to myself whether I should or not. Finally, I just got up, told myself no, and walked away. Even then, every time I passed that chunk of dry ice I still had the desire to touch it. Once it melted all the way, I was disappointed I no longer had the opportunity to touch it.
 I know I probably sound crazy for having such a desire to touch something that would only hurt me, but when you think about it, my story is no different then the way we are with sin.
^James1:14-15 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.^NLT 
  I knew there would be consequences for touching it, which is ultimately why I didn't end up touching the dry ice, but so many times in my life I couldn't care less about what the consequences for my actions are. My desire was to touch something that I shouldn't, just to see what it felt like. I was enticed and all I wanted to do was touch the dry ice. If I would have actually touched it, I would have felt awesome, until the pain of the burn came. Sin always feels awesome at the moment, but once sin is over, once we allow it to grow in our lives, it just brings death, separation from God forever. Now, that's a scary thought.
  Right now I have this huge sin in my life, it seems like it doesn't matter how hard I try, I always give in and touch that chunk of dry ice. I touch it knowing I'm displeasing God, I touch it knowing that touching it only brings me farther from God, I touch it knowing I'm not being a good example, I touch it knowing I'm being a hypocrite. When will I learn that I'm only going to get burned every freakin' time I touch the dry ice? I wish I could just learn to walk away from my sin just like I did with that dry ice...

                                                                                                                                                05-27-2015

Just Keep Waiting...

 God taught me a lesson of patience yesterday. Over the past two weeks or so, someone had put a taped up Busch Light 12pk of bottles in the cooler. Everyone always hates buying any beer if the box is taped up. I never will understand why, the beer drinks just the same, and they are gonna tear up the box anyways. But whatever.
 The only person who buys the Busch Light 12pk of bottles, didn't want this 12pk, so he kept grabbing the one behind it and leaving the other pack somewhere it didn't belong. This drove me crazy, but I made sure he didn't see my frustration. Every time he saw me, he joking told me if I'll take two dollars off he would buy it. I refused, I'm not the person to talk to, to discount an item. I knew it was bothering him to move it the three times a day he would come in to get a 12pk, more then it bothered me.
 Finally yesterday as I was stocking beer I decided to put a hot 12pk behind it. If he came in and didn't want that one I would have got a cold one in the back. His girlfriend came in for him instead. She tried to get the one in the back, but she realized it was hot, so she finally bought the broken up package 12pk! This was the highlight of my night! I'd waited two weeks for someone to buy this one pack, and I finally sold it. Woahoo! The entire time I was ringing her up I kept smiling inside thinking "I win!". I had won. I finally after two weeks sold it. The person who refused to buy it, finally ended up with it. Haha.
 I know patience is a hard thing, but like in this story, I knew if I kept putting that 12pk pack in the cooler, eventually somebody would buy it. I waited two whole weeks. Unfortunately, most things that require patience will take longer then two weeks, but don't worry. God's timing is perfect. If I sold that 12pk the same day someone broke the packaging I wouldn't have experienced the happiness I did when I finally sold it. The reward of sticking through that guys annoying comments and complaints paid off. It doesn't matter what you're waiting for, whether it is as small as waiting for someone to buy something, or as big as waiting for the person of your dreams, being patience is always worth it. So, stay strong and just... Just keep waiting. Just keep waiting. Just keep waiting.




                                                                                                                                                  4-31-2015

Priorities

Pack of smokes. $3.26. Emergency, emergency.

  What's wrong with this picture? If you guessed what's wrong with it; is that it's all change, you're wrong. I don't care this guy gave to two bags full of counted change, I am actually very appreciative that he actually counted out the change for me, instead of what most people do. *Dumps a bag full of change on the counter and makes me count it, with a line of customers behind him.*
 As this guy gives me two bags like this, he began to tell me how he hasn't worked for almost two weeks. He told me he works all the way in the city, which is at least 30 miles away. He said whenever his work calls him back, he won't even be able to get there. He has no gas money.
 I'm sorry, but there are some things in life that I just don't understand, this right here is one of those things. He just spent $6.52 on cigarettes. Why the heck doesn't he just save up the $6.52 for gas? That's almost three gallons. I know that won't get him far, but that's at least a start. If he would have saved all that other money he wasted on cigarettes then he would have a whole lot more money for gas.
 So many times I'll see situations like that at my job. So many broke adults will feed their addictions before they'll feed their kids. I can't even comprehend that. I've never had a true addiction, but I do understand addictions are a very powerful, but nothing is too powerful to be overcame.
 It's a matter of priorities. Which is more important: Cigarettes, alcohol, and lottery, or gas money to drive to work, food to feed your family, etc.




                                                                                                                                                05-11-2015