Laurie Beth Jones Blog

I have a dear friend who recently initiated, coordinated, and implemented a program that will save her company about six million dollars a year. When she told me about it, I told her to immediately draft a memo detailing the work she did, the steps she took, and the annualized cost savings to the company, multiplied out over the next ten years. She could include the humble words “glad to be of service” and of course add congratulations to the team, but she needed to ROAR about her terrific accomplishment, in writing, to her boss.

She smiled and said a Spanish phrase that roughly translated means, “That must have been a very big egg that was laid, judging by the alert given by the hen.” (Rosters aren’t the only ones who can crow).

Nehemiah did the same thing. Consider this passage, written presumably by him: “So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the first fruits. Remember me with favor, O my God” (Nehemiah 13:30).

King David was not shy about celebrating his accomplishments out loud. In Psalms 26 he says, “I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering” (v.1).

This cry, this ROAR if you will, is not about boasting, but about confirming our accomplishment of work that was undertaken to honor God.

In the workplace, it is important to remember the value of the work you are doing, not only to stay motivated but also to remind your busy boss that you are on the job, doing worthwhile and worthy tasks.

What are you called to ROAR about this week? Who is listening? What actions will you take?

Blessings as you lead, AND roar this week,
Laurie Beth

The overwhelming majority of  Biblical characters were either self employed, or worked in a family Business.

For example, among the Self employed were:

Nathaniel, Samuel, Jonah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Elijah

Mordecai, Rahab, Micah, Balaam, Malachi, etc.

Those who owned or worked in a Family Business included:

Abraham, Noah, Job, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, Saul, Jonathan, David, Solomon, Jacob, Isaac, Laban, Lot, Boaz, Ruth, Jesus, Peter, Andrew, James, John

A number of them were employees of larger organizations, such as:

Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, Joshua

And Most of them experienced major career transitions.

A brief overview illustrates the transitions.

Family business to employee:  Joseph, Jacob, Moses

Family business to self employed: Satan, Adam and Eve,  Jesus

Self employed to family business:  Rahab

Employee to self employed:  Nehemiah, Joshua

Family business to employee to self employed to employer:

King David

This shows that God does not necessarily need or even want people to stay in the same job or career in order to accomplish his purposes.  There is a pervasive fear among parents, I am told, that their child will not get into the right school or get the right teacher or scholarship, and if they don’t their lives are ruined.  To them I say if you are afraid of every step you take, the path you are on is too narrow.  It fails to consider the almighty power of a knowing and loving God to help guide willing souls into the proper harbor.

“You will hear a voice behind you saying ‘This is the path, walk ye in it’” says the scripture.   Career planning involves listening and relationship, not fear of failure.

How many jobs have you had?  How many career changes have you made?  Are you getting closer to your mission or further from it?

Laurie Beth

Recently, as I walked in a park in Scottsdale, Arizona, I noticed a young man in shorts and a tee shirt wading waist deep in murky water. His head was down and he moved each foot slowly, diligently searching. Two of his buddies were standing on the shore, chatting and smoking, sometimes calling out encouragement.

I circled the complete park and when I returned I asked, “What is he looking for?”

“A $100 frisbee,” they said. “He’s not going home without it.”
Then while walking, in Balboa Park in San Diego, I noticed a life sized statue of a woman holding a pine cone in one hand, and a garden trowel in the other. This was a monument to Kate Sessions, a horticulturist who planted most of the flowers, trees, and plants in the park over a twenty year period.

These two images are powerful visuals that depict what my upcoming book is about. The first, someone searching waist deep in murky water for a valued treasure. The second, a person holding a treasure in one hand, with a digging implement in the other.

It occurred to me that many people do not spend as much time searching for a worthy career as that young man did searching for a frisbee. He was willing to stop the game he was playing, inconvenience his friends, get into muddy water that was waist deep, and ruin what he was wearing, all to find that which was lost.

How much time have you spent — are you willing to spend — to find the valuable work God has for you? Are you willing to take time and make the effort even if it means wading waist deep in “murky water?”

Post your thoughts or comments here or follow on Facebook or Twitter to join the conversations.

Finding your perfect work!
Laurie Beth

Thank you for your interest in my newest book that is to be released May 4 with Simon and Schuster.  I believe this book is a timely book for many who are facing a variety of life transitions.  It is my goal over the next several weeks to begin sharing with my readers some of the contents and concepts from this book.  I would enjoy jumping into the conversation with any of you as you feel the need. Here are some of the reasons you might want to join into the conversation or get the book:

You’ve just lost a job

You’ve been wrongly terminated

You’ve been laid off for reasons you don’t understand

You have an ignorant boss

You are inheriting a family business

You want to leave a family business

You have inherited sudden wealth

You have suddenly lost wealth

You feel different than your co-workers

You are being called to relocate

You refuse to relocate

You don’t want to keep doing what you’ve been doing

You feel burned out

You are in a fog about next steps for your career

You are trained in one thing but want to do something different

You realize you are living out your parent’s unlived lives

You are just starting out and feel overwhelmed by possibilities

You need to learn a new skill set entirely

You are feeling irrelevant and passed by in the workplace

If any of these questions pertain to you right now, this book is for you.