MichaelJ – Page 20 – "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might"

A Proven Fact

‘Blogs are a wonderful thing, because you can look back and see changes in yourself, that aren’t apparent as you live life.

I’m sitting on the back porch on Thanksgiving morning, thinking back over the past year. It was a test of my faith and the result was amazing.

It all started with this sermon [audio:http://michaeljpierce.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/TheShepherdandHisSheep.mp3]

The main message is that you are not alone and God will take care of you. This last year has proven to me that this is true.

So this morning I give my gratitude to my Shepherd and rejoice in being his sheep.

My last day at NBA-Digital

The time flew by so fast, because I had work that I enjoyed, and great people to work with.

Erica, Shani, Mollie, Valli, Manuel, Josh, Ed, Michael, Evgeny, Eric, Chris, Trung, and John-> I will miss you!

Here are the final stats:

Summary of code — Checked in code on the 2nd day, and the last day

Lines of code over time

I made commits every day of the week between 7AM and 7PM

Time to turn my thoughts to my next job: Digital Ads

A timely devotional

Numbers 11:11

He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?

Our heavenly Father sends us frequent troubles to try our faith. If our faith be worth anything, it will stand the test. Gilt is afraid of fire, but gold is not: the paste gem dreads to be touched by the diamond, but the true jewel fears no test. It is a poor faith which can only trust God when friends are true, the body full of health, and the business profitable; but that is true faith which holds by the Lord’s faithfulness when friends are gone, when the body is sick, when spirits are depressed, and the light of our Father’s countenance is hidden. A faith which can say, in the direst trouble, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him,” is heaven-born faith. The Lord afflicts his servants to glorify himself, for he is greatly glorified in the graces of his people, which are his own handiwork. When “tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,” the Lord is honoured by these growing virtues. We should never know the music of the harp if the strings were left untouched; nor enjoy the juice of the grape if it were not trodden in the winepress; nor discover the sweet perfume of cinnamon if it were not pressed and beaten; nor feel the warmth of fire if the coals were not utterly consumed. The wisdom and power of the great Workman are discovered by the trials through which his vessels of mercy are permitted to pass. Present afflictions tend also to heighten future joy. There must be shades in the picture to bring out the beauty of the lights. Could we be so supremely blessed in heaven, if we had not known the curse of sin and the sorrow of earth? Will not peace be sweeter after conflict, and rest more welcome after toil? Will not the recollection of past sufferings enhance the bliss of the glorified? There are many other comfortable answers to the question with which we opened our brief meditation, let us muse upon it all day long.

Go Dawgs!

Innovate or Die

Well, my time with the NBA.com development team is drawing to an end. My contract was up at the end of September and I got notified it was extended a month last Friday. So I was happy for the weekend.

But, I had already interviewed for another job, and after careful consideration, decided that I would take it, if offered. There were things there, that I wanted to learn. And today it was.

I like where I am. I prayed about it. I thought about that every time I think about being ABLE to specialize in something, I get driven back to the generalist role. And then the thought came to me that I could come back someday. “Better. Stronger. Faster.” I will know what drives the industry that monetizes a web site. I don’t know that I will, but it’s comforting now, because I liked it.

I think sometimes that you’re guided to the point that your will and God’s will are the same, if you’ll be quiet and listen, and maybe this is one of those times. I owe Him the benefit of a doubt. At least I can still have lunch with my old team. 🙂

A Sunday Morning

I sitting here on a foggy Sunday morning, after getting early and catching up on things. I can’t explain how 2 months have gone by since my last post, but I’ll tell you this story.

I saw the gap in time, and so I thought I’d post something, since I’m out back on a quiet, foggy morning, and I intended to devote some time to my spiritual well-being. So I logged in and first was obliged to upgrade the site, because it was out of date. That lead to having to update some of the plugins, one of which I had to do some research on to make sure it was compatible before I installed it. After 30 minutes, I was able to start writing this

And that is how things have been going, before I can do this I have to do that. But it don’t mean nothing, not a thing. That’s why I’m here. There is a lot going on in the world, and when I need guidance, there is nothing better than Proverbs, so I’ll leave you with this one:

Proverbs 4:26-27

²⁶Give careful thought to thepaths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
²⁷Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.