Prayer for Greg's Job and Photography

Hi All,

I have a prayer request that has been on my heart for a while. Actually, I have several, but I know that if I were to share everything then some of you might start going to sleep while reading this. (I know I probably would nod off.)

The request I have now is about my full-time employment and my "hobby" of photography. (Actually, I don't know what photography is for me anymore. I don't know if it's a hobby, ministry, or whatever....it's just something.)

Anyway, I have been at my place of full-time employment since August of 1999...almost eight years. That's a milestone for me. I haven't been at any place of employment for eight years until now. The longest I've been other than my current job was my part-time job during high school and some of college. That was from 1989 to 1995...and there were a few summers in which I had another job in between. So, even that part-time job wasn't completely as solid as my current full-time job.

Well, it's been five years since I've had any sort of pay rate increase. (I actually almost didn't feel like sharing this due to embarrassment, but it's been weighing on me.) I've discussed this matter with the business production manager whose bosses are the two owners of the company. The production manager (who has a great personality) has been understanding about this and he did mention this to the owners. That was in mid-June.

In late June, there was a meeting and the owners mentioned about how poorly the company has been performing (in a nutshell) and mandated that every hourly-rate employee (such as myself) would have their hours cut back due to cost-saving measures...and that's AFTER the owners spent quite a bit of MONEY remodeling some of the interior of the shop and even expanding into an adjacent vacant space which requires more rent. Obviously, in a way, it seems nice to have some break, but then again for someone who has been waiting for a pay rate increase, that's not the best news. Just think, GASOLINE certainly costs MORE now than it did five years ago!!! Health insurance premiums go up each year along with some "new" prescription meds which I didn't have five years ago. Some of you might remember that my car died on me in December 2006 and I actually bought a new automobile...one which will be more hardy and reliable over the years...and one which actually has more expenses within itself due it being new and needing to be paid off and all...along with the gasoline. (A Jeep Liberty consumes more gasoline than an Oldsmobile Alero. Duh!)

Having the pay rate increase procedure being on hold once again has not been all that encouraging. There have been other frustrations at work too. Within the past eighteen months, there has been quite a bit of employee turnover at my full-time job due to some employees not feeling as though they were treated fairly. (Forgive me if I'm bashing.) A few of these employees had been with the company for at least seven years....give or take. They left on their own will.

I'm in the process now of searching for another job. I haven't lost my job and I'm sort of reluctant to leave since I've been there for eight years. I'm sort of used to a few things...and I should be (very proficient) by now. I'm also in the process of refinancing my current automobile and one of questions is how long have "you" been at your current job. Eight years is a long time. It's NOT the longest for everyone, but it is for me....and it would take me another eight years to be able to say that I've been with a company for eight years.

I'm now working on my resume and it's sort of more of an outdated "mess" than I realized. It was updated about five or six years ago. I can't use ALL of the honors and awards I received in high school and college on my resume. I haven't received any outstanding recognition at my current job. It's been a mediocre job....one which has proven to be dead-end for me now. Fortunately, I do have friends and some of them have been assisting me in working out my resume. It's been hard to be motivated to see some of my skill-set. (At times, I think it's just so set and can't be changed!)

Now...as for the photography...if some of you haven't realized by now that I do photography for fun, pay, or as a volunteer, well then, I don't know. Most of my photography is on a volunteer basis and it does not involve financial compensation (even though there have been a few exceptions in which registration fees were waived due to me being a photographer of an event, etc.). I've also done PAID photography jobs in the past. Currently, I'm also in the process of trying to get MORE photography jobs which actually pay. I've put an online ad on CraigsList and fortunately, I've had a few leads and probably some of them will work out. I've also been encouraged to try to really sit down and work out a business plan for my photography. (I have a few good friends who have been trying to motivate me in regards to that.)

I will admit that lately within the past six months or more, it's been sort of difficult to be motivated in regards to any sort of photography and hardly anything. Those of you who have been used to my photography over the years might remember when I would seem more eager about it than I do now. In dealing with a few things (including my full-time job), I have been tired, burnt-out, and discouraged to the point of even wanting to just take a break from the photography...or just letting go of it almost all together. Fortunately, the latter hasn't really occurred....and just sharing this "request" has actually made me stop, think, and listen in regards to the photography. :-)

Thanks so much for reading this and for keeping me in prayer about this. (I'm sure all of you are busy with so many other things.) I also know this e-mail message is long and some of you might remind me of that, right? Even though I've written quite a bit, I'm sure I probably might've missed a few points which probably would've made some things more sense.

Well, I guess I better get going now. I'll be in contact with you again later...and if you reply to me and I don't reply back to you in a decent amount of time, please don't think I'm ignoring you. (At times, it has been hard to actually be motivated to sit down and do e-mail even though I might mindlessly web-browse for time on end while I'm becoming seriously drowsy. Honestly, there are times in which I'm so sleepy that if I don't go straight to bed then I start thinking like I'm all "out of it" or something. Hey, please don't think I'm THAT crazy, though. Ha!)

Sincerely,
Gregory <><

PS - One of the better things which has resulted (in spite of some crazy emotions, etc.) is that I have felt urged to draw closer to God throughout this and begin to rely on Him more...and I could still use more work in regards to this...and I really can't give up. That is a praise.