The Hole Plugger

Our music minister came in my office one day and said he was giving me a new name...the hole plugger! In November my bookkeeper took maternity leave for the next eight weeks and I am the fill in guy while she is out. Keep in mind that Dec and Jan are the two busiest financial months of the year. Then in the middle of that, my Facility Manger has to have a surgery and will be out 4 weeks. I am the fill in guy for that as well. In the middle of all this we are remodeling and I'm the acting GC, General Contractor getting bids and lining up all the vendors for the projects. Then right before the holidays I'm filling a new position in the office and running ads. I was doing interviews as soon as got back in the office on Jan 6th. My bookkeeper comes back on Jan 15th so I was just seeing some light at the end of the tunnel when out of nowhere my Church Hostess passes away in her home. I am now filling her position in the interim in finding her replacement. That's me...plugging holes!

• Associate Pastor of Administration and Operations - hat number 1
• Bookkeeper - hat number 2
• Facility Manager - hat number 3
• General Contractor - hat number 4
• Food Service Director - hat number 5

 Are we having fun yet?

Comments? Discussion?

Luijarick

Maternity Leave Blues

This is the first of a series of blogs about when my bookkeeper was on maternity leave for EIGHT WEEKS and I am filling in mostly. I did have a girl coming in each week to help with the big stuff though. However, nearly every day I was in her office sorting and posting and getting things ready.

The first week I show up early at the office to get all set up for the Count team and be ready. I arrived an hour early and went straight to her office. I went to open the safe and did not have the combo. I have it written down on a small piece of paper that I keep in my wallet. It was missing! I remembered that on Friday I opened the safe and in a hurry I placed the small paper with the combo... in my shirt pocket thinking... I will place back in my wallet later. Guess what?  I never did that. Now I have no way to open the safe. I texted my bookkeeper (it’s week one and I am already texting her) and she did not respond right away. Running out of time I drove all the way home to check my shirt pocket praying the paper was there. Right when I arrived back home I got a text message from my bookkeeper. I keep the combo written down in the office. Great! I am already all the way back home. I drive back to the office, now late, and rush around getting all set for the counters. Whew!

Comments? Discussion?

Luijarick

Missing Person Alert at Church

Every Wednesday night at church for dinner I looked forward to getting my meal and sitting down with Albert. He and I have eaten dinner together for the past year and enjoyed fellowship and getting caught up with each other on the activities of our week. Albert was a school teacher for 51 years and was retired but still substituted at the high school. I always arrived at 5pm when dinner started and Albert would already be there eating. As I got my meal and joined him I would always ask where he substituted that day. It was fun hearing the classroom stories and how his week was going. He informed me one Wednesday he was having open heart surgery and would be missing dinner for a while. Albert had the surgery and I visited him after and he was doing well. The surgery seemed a success. After a few days he went to rehab and things seemed good there too. Suddenly I received word he was back in ER with some complications and the next thing I know he was gone. Albert passed away on Dec 20, 2013. Now my friend and meal companion was gone.

Every Wednesday at 4pm I would leave my office after a crazy long day and go to the church kitchen to get a glass of tea before dinner. I would visit with the kitchen staff and Naomi, our Food Service Director, would be there with the volunteers. We joked and laughed and talked about a variety of topics. Naomi was there at church just about every day even though she was a part time employee. Serving was her life and spiritual gift for sure. Just about every event we did would involve food and so that meant Naomi was there helping.  We ministered together. I got a call on Friday, my day off, on Jan 2^nd from the Waco police that they were there at Naomi’s home and that she had passed away in the night totally unexpected. I was shocked! My wife and I made the visit right away to her home and met with family. This made no sense!

I attended Albert’s memorial service and learned many new things about my friend Albert that I had never heard. Many testimonies from the school and students gave me new insights into Albert’s life that I wished I had known. I spoke at Naomi’s memorial service being her supervisor I wanted to be a part of her service. While visiting with the family the night before I learned so many great things about Naomi I wished I had known.

I have come to realize that a funeral or memorial service is not the best place to learn about a person’s life accomplishments, joys, likes, and personal history. I found myself thinking in my mind that I wished I had spent more time with Albert and Naomi getting to know them and their life. That was the message I got from each service. Yes we celebrated their lives but I could have known them better if I would have taken the time. I have known Albert and Naomi for over six years. Naomi and I worked together, yet I really never took the time to really get to know her. I wish I would have! Both Albert and Naomi were amazing people had I known them better I believe our time here on earth would have been even better.

My Wednesday nights at church will not be the same for a long time!

Here is the real lesson to learn from all this! Take the time to get to know those around you while they are still alive. Celebrate life together, pray with each other, and listen to their story. Everyone has a story to tell! Make time to hear their story! Share YOUR story!  Don’t wait until they are gone and then wish you had known something about them. Learn it now and have fun with it!

Comments?  Discussion?

Luijarick

Avoiding Cyber Fraud

That's a big topic today being there is so much of that happening in the cyber world of on-line everything. What is amazing is the fact that with so much fraud in the system, we keep moving further and deeper into internet life. I have to admit I am one of those! I find my self enjoying the ease of Amazon one-click ordering from my cell phone and using debit cards more and more. However, I am moving in the direction of this cyber mentality with greater fear every day as we here reports of internet hacking. Just this week Target Retail announced their system was hacked and thousands of credit card holders info was stolen. So, what are we supposed to do? here are a few ways you can avoid fraud. Note the word choice of my word "avoid" and not eliminate!

1. Never let go of your debit / credit card. I mean when you shop and use plastic do not let it leave your sight. This will be especially hard when eating at a restaurant. I'll cover that a little later in this article. What could happen when your card leaves your sight? Some are taking pictures with a cell phone of the front and back of the card and then using that for making fake cards or just having your info to use or selling the info. Your 3 digit code, name, and card number is someones hands now. Some are using the cards in their hands for purchasing on the spot from their cell phone. The fact is when the card is not in your sight, you do not know how its being used.

2. Don't use credit cards anymore. I know that sounds crazy but Dave Ramsey says only use cash or debit. In response to the restaurant question above, I always pay with cash so I don't have to allow my debit card to leave my sight when eating out. Using cash eliminates the chance of fraud at restaurants. It also helps you budget and not overspend.

3. Only use a couple cards. Yes that's right, I do not have or use credit cards. the fact is, the more of those you have the increased chance of fraud may happen. You are just giving the hackers more to hack by having multiple credit cards. I use two debit cards. One for daily use like at the gas station and the grocery store; places I know and trust. The other one I use for on-line ordering. I keep a small balance in that account so if hacked, the lose is less. That's it! Just two chances of my plastic being stolen.

Ok! There is plenty more ways to avoid fraud but these are quick and easy steps you can take now. If you feel your cards have been used all over the internet too much, then call and cancel your card and request a new one. then protect the new one and use the 3 steps described here.

Comments? Discussion? Ways you avoid fraud?

Luijarick