(Part I)

A few years ago, I was laid off with about 300 other folks from my old company.  During the 6 months where my "full-time" career was finding a "paying" career, I had to come to the realization of losing our families home, the cars, etc.,  I had come to a point where I certainly did NOT feel hopeless, but thankfully filled with purpose.

Honestly, I realized I had done everything I could do to find a job (I had a LOT of interviews - thank goodness for the silicon valley).  Alas, as my favorite verse says (anyone who reads the blogs off camadojo.com knows it, but in case you're unaware..." Proverbs 16:9 - "In his heart, a man plans his course, but it is the Lord who determines his steps.")

I can appreciate that verse now more than before I lost my job.  Knowing we could have lost everything, I had to surrender it to God, and just say, "ok God, I may lose my home, my car(s), and a bunch of stuff.... but at least I'll still have my family and my relationship with you..."    After finally surrendering that "last bit" to God, I found a job 2 days later - yeah, really! We had just about run out of funds, and we were on our last pennies.

During this time, I continued to seek God's direction, and it brought me closer to him through the experience.  It was during this time I really found out who I was as a man, husband, father, etc.,  It was during this time I needed to understand how I would react or respond to what was occurring, especially since most of the experience was out of my control.

I learned many valuable things about myself and my family during that time in 2008.  First, I needed to define who I was, and what I would allow to define me.  Many folks get defined by their job or vocation.  Just yesterday I sat in a meeting with someone who felt compelled to share about all the grandiose things he's done in his professional career.  I almost felt like asking him..."so, do you feel fulfilled as a human being?"  No, I didn't ask him, but maybe some day I will over a sandwich.

Here's my point to all this.  I decided on two questions that would help define how I would respond to things, and they are the basis for my "decision matrix:"

1.  What would Jesus Do?

2.  To the best of my understanding, what are the motivations or intentions of "this thing" in front of me?  In essence, how would it affect those around me, and were the motivations purely for oneself, or for the benefit of others.  (2 is much easier to answer if you answer # 1 first...)

The second thing I learned from this experience, was to create a "decision matrix" that would help me ascertain what was truly important as my family went through this situation.  I'll speak more about this soon.  It comes down to identifying expectations, benefits, and what my family has always "coined" "perceived value" vs. "tangible value."  Those two things, along with how you make decisions (in a silo, or open atmosphere), tell a LOT about who a person is, their motivations, and why they do what they do.

In Part II, I'll go into detail regarding the information above, and how it can help ensure you're on a "path of purpose."

Please respond, send me a comment!  click on the "contact us" button and we'll read and respond, and thank you to all our loyal readers - we're reaching the far sides of the earth - folks from all over are emailing us and wanting more :)

In Him,

Chiburi / KJN