God Is Good All The Time

I had prayed that I could see the path that God has put us on. Well If you look back the path is quite clear. Just this week so many things have gone right for us.  That is very impressive with all the stuff that has happened to Oklahoma in the past month.

This has been a pretty good week! I have been working with John Miller Homes and we have started work on a storm damaged home.  This is the house with the new roof, but all the windows were still broken

 
 

 They all looked like this...

 
The cool thing about this project is that is the house of the parents of a friend from High school. It’s sad when tornados do so much damage, but I am very happy to be part of the crew that is putting the home back together. Part of the roof was torn off almost all the windows in the house were broken and the work shop in the back yard was leveled. All in all not bad for what happened in Moore. The house next door had plywood sticking out of the walls

and the house across the street is just gone.  The trees that were on that lot were ripped out of the ground. The house sat behind the telephone polls and the pile of rubble next to the driveway, is all that is left of this house.

That is the difference between a direct hit from a F5 tornado and missing that tornado by 200 yards.                                                                                   Working with Lonnie has been great.

He really knows what he is doing, he is another survivor of Yukon High and he always has a smile. His good friend Jonny worked with us most of the week until the band he plays for went on the road. Jonny is a drummer... Jonny Walker is a drummer... What an excellent name for a drummer. So for most of the week it was Lonnie, Jonny,... and Bob.  Wow it's like the new stooges.

 

Other great news LRDezine, the business Linda and I started last week has been active. Less than 12 hours of sending our web page live, we had booked our first consultation. Thursday night we picked up our new business cards and pamphlets,

and Friday morning we participated in the Yukon Chamber of Commerce’s Friday coffee. This week’s coffee was called Stores without Doors. Normally a store hosts the coffee and everyone goes there and checks out their business but for all the home based business in town we go to the Dale Robertson Center and put up tables and highlight our business to the rest of the chamber. It was a great time we gave out lots of cards and brochures and booked another consultation. Now let’s turn the consultations into jobs.

 

Linda has applied for a position as an office manager for a company in the city if that comes through that will be a blessing. They know she homeschools and they are ok with Josh coming to work.

 

So overall a good week and I can see the starting points to the path that God is leading us, income right away, a business, and hope. Now if you would like to check out the new web site for LRDezine then go to LRDezine.com or go like us on Facebook.

 

Warehouse 13 ?

So what is it like working in a warehouse? First thing it starts a lot earlier than Mini Storage work.  Second, even though it is a big warehouse, it is not anything like “Warehouse 13”.  Now that would be cool, but a lot more dangerous.  This is not so cool but much less dangerous

Yes we use shopping carts to help pick parts.

What do I really do? I check things in, I store them, and then I ship that stuff out.  Some of this stuff is very heavy, so heavy my muscles tell me about it quite often.   The real eye opener is the cost of this stuff. Packing and shipping becomes an art form when you think how much it cost to replace damage goods. 

Here is a look at some of my handy work.

 

Would you believe this is a bunch of chainsaws?  So the next time you receive a package that is not just padded but way overkill padded, don’t think of it as a waste, think how concerned the shippers were for the safety of your stuff.

A Day in the Life

I have now started the second week of my new job and it is going well.

Ok, it is going well, but boy am I tired at the end of the day. This is tired, watch out for the signs of tired, If you feel the signs of tired coming upon you, please seek a bed as soon as possible. Remember friends let friends sleep.
Last Friday one of the long term temps was let go.  When working as a temp the employer does not need to give you warning.  An employer can just say don't come in tomorrow and that is the end of your job. Now get a load of how this new company works.
On Monday morning the boss went to this temp and said your in the reorder of the company your job did not get picked up Friday will be your last day.  She could have bolted for the door right then, and that is the risk my boss took. Since he was stand up to her she responded by being disappointed, but stuck it out all week. During that week she got all her work done and helped others to get situated for when we did not have her to go to.  One of those people was of course me.
On Friday the boss brought his smoker and his grill and cooked up a great chicken lunch to say thank you. The other workers brought sides and made it a feast.
This is the way to let someone go

On a side note you will notice I will not use names when discussing my new job, the reason is it is a big company that has their own PR department.  The PR department likes to control what goes out and does not need or want my help.  You know... I am OK with that. This job has been a lot of fun so far and I like the people I am working with so I can play with their rules.

So let me show you what I can


A small Part of the warehouse where I spend most of my time.

and the leftovers from the farewell feast.

I hope to post some Boy Scout news soon.

Change is in the air

There is a time for a change and that time is now.  First Change will be the name of this blog.  I am leaning toward “The Life of Bob” and that will be the working title, but if you have an idea I will be open.  

Now for the rest of the story.

Two weeks ago (that would be 3/18/13) the day before my 50^th birthday, Storage Management Associates, the management company my old boss hired at the first of the year sent an area manager to Yukon Oklahoma to relieve Linda and myself from our servitude to the company. In other words we got fired. Ok not really a big deal I didn’t trust SMA anyway. Now I will let you know I do not hold any real grudge with SMA I could tell from the beginning it was never going to work.  The style of business that they do and what I have been so successful with are diametrically opposed.  So in the big scheme of things it was not a big surprise. 

Now on that day they fired us they also gave us 7 days to move out, and that did give Linda and I a fairly blue night.  Remember Tuesday is my Birthday and on my birthday for the past 6 years I have baked cookies and given them away last year I did 21 dozen.  This year I really wanted to make 50 dozen so Linda jumped in and started baking. Hey job or no job my 50^th birthday only comes once. That is when we got the call from a real close friend in California that her husband had passed away.  No matter how bad your problems seem there are always people whose problems are worse.  Anyway God is the one who is ultimately in control and he will lead us where he wants.

Tuesday happens and since Linda and I no longer have Jobs we could spend the whole day handing out Bob day cookies. The actual name of my Birthday is “Unofficial International Bob Day” I have networked this day with friends of mine to reach people on six continents.  It is crazy to think on March 19^th people all over the world are making and giving away cookies just to bring a smile.

 

 

Armed with 50 dozen cookies in 100 Red solo cups Linda and I gave cookies away from the north side of Oklahoma City through Yukon and ended up in El Reno.  We spread as much joy as possible and promoted the Military Prayer Group of Yukon an organization that prays for our men and women who serve our armed forces.  Bob Day ended very well.

 

Wednesday we woke up and started packing like crazy.  With the help of our friends lead by the unstoppable Joyce Roper

 

 

 we moved our 300 Square foot storage and our 200 square foot shop to 5 Star Storage owned buy one very honest and honorable man Rick Opitz.

 

Thursday I put my wife on an airplane to California to be with her best friend at the funeral of her husband.   Joyce and Samantha Matthews continued to move wood and boxes from Guardian to Five Star and Started packing up the house.

 

Friday we had more help come in and continue packing the house up. Once again Joyce led the charge and kept me focused.  Without my wife I can get bogged down in the little things it is nice to have someone step in and help.

 

 Saturday night Danielle and her son Gavin came by and packed like crazy. It was the final touch that made me feel ready for the morning.

Saturday was the big move our son Bobby brought the Red Neck army over to help.

 

My dad stopped by and lent a hand packing cleaning and moving.  My body had taken as much abuse as it could stand and it was nice to have the help. Saturday also brought the rain. So it looked like it was going to be a soggy move but Pastor Ron Rasmussen from Christ Church of Yukon brought a line of pickup trucks and we had the house cleared in no time. At one point it felt like we had so much help that I could easily lose control. God is so good he blessed us with an overflowing cup.

Monday I did some cleanup work in storage and ran errands around town. Then spent a long night at scouts explaining what just happened to Linda and me.

Tuesday I started work with John Miller doing some work on a home he was refurbishing. I also received a call from a company to come in for an interview.  Then I spent a long night at Joshua’s Karate class explaining what happened to Linda and me.

Wednesday I came in late to work on the house because of the Job interview.  Then I received a call that afternoon offering me the job.

Thursday I never made it to the house due to the fact it took most of the day to fill out employment paperwork and take a drug test. I then had the great pleasure of picking up my wife from the airport.

Friday I spent the day working for John and the evening with my family.

All that to bring us to today, we are staying with friends, my new jobs starts Monday,  we are blessed with more friends than you can imagine, tomorrow is Easter and God is good… all the time.