Interesting month

July has been an interesting month.... I decided to do something different this 4th of July and have a pool party at my apartment complex. This was the first party I've hosted since moving into my little one bedroom apartment. I've been going to other people's parties and thinking that hospitality was for people who live in nice houses, and my little apartment just wasn't conducive to entertaining. But my complex has a nice pool area that can accomodate several people, with a bar where food can be served. And I felt that God was leading me to be a host for once. It turned out great. Everyone had a good time, and some of us met up later to watch fireworks.

This past week, I spent time on a jury in a murder/armed robbery case. We delivered a verdict of guilty to 1st degree murder, with the defendent being a 24 year old African American man. He hasn't been sentenced yet, but he faces life in prison. This is a prime example of what can happen when you don't know God or have a blueprint for your life.

There's been some reorganization on my job and I'm reporting to a new manager now. When I first started working for my company back in 2003, I reported to a guy who was a total micromanager, always looking over my shoulder, which made me feel uncomfortable. Then he left the company in September 2005, and I was then assigned to another director, who really didn't know what my job responsibilities were, or had time to manage me, since he was over other departments as well. I expressed to the controller of the company my concern about this, and said I wanted to report to someone in Accounting, who understood the work I was doing and was able to give me adequate and fair performance reviews. An Accounting Manager named Randy was promoted to Director of Budgeting and Financial Analysis, and I now report to him. According to people who have worked for him previously, he's definitely not a micromanager. But you have to sometimes push him to make decisions, and keep the lines of communication open so that he knows what you're working on and what his priorities are for you, or else he'll blame you for not meeting your goals. At any rate, The Blueprint for Life has given me a better attitude toward my work, so I now have a fresh start with a new boss.

In the past couple of years, I've been feeling burned out in my profession. As a result, I started procrastinating on getting my continuing education credits to renew my CPA license. I even thought seriously about allowing my license to go inactive for awhile. But Blueprint has revived my sense of purpose concerning my career. And I don't think allowing my license to go inactive would be a good thing. So I purchased some self-study courses, and I have until Sept. 15th to get them all done in order to renew my license. So I'm going to be busy with that.

Yes, I still have to set my career goals. I've already started to think along those lines, and I'll get to it eventually.

Procrastination

I’ve been procrastinating about setting goals in the last couple of areas, and getting this blog wrapped up into some kind of conclusion. I'll get to it eventually, but for now, I'll just post my Financial Blueprint Vision Statement. Of course, this is still a rough draft:


I am handling God's money in such a way that my own expenses are provided for without going into debt, and my tithes are always paid along with offerings to further God's Kingdom. I am saving money to pay cash for cars from now on. I have an emergency fund to fall back on, which will prevent me from going into debt. I am saving 15% of my income for retirement. My goal is to have my residence paid for, and enough money in my retirement fund to be able to live off the interest when I retire at age 68. I am living a modest lifestyle, so that I am able to give to God's Kingdom at every opportunity. I will support missions, and give to charitable organizations that help the needy and spread God's word.