got joy?

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. The past couple of weeks have been pretty busy and have consisted of a lot of driving. Ole Clyde has been a faithful companion as I've traveled to Asheville, Dillsboro, Sylva, Shelby, Cashiers, Waynesville, Hickory, Raleigh, Orangeburg, Beaufort, John's Island, Summerville, Charleston, and Hilton Head Island. The NC area was a lot of fun because I got to ride my bike on the Blue Ridge parkway. As far as my GPS “Bonnie” goes… well… lets just say that she has her days..


I went to Raleigh, NC to join my AFA Student Advisory Teammates to work on conference planning and visit businesses that sponsor us in the Research Triangle Park. One of my favorite places was John Deere.

Did I mention that they gave us authentic "John Deere" hats? Trust me, they're awesome. I already feel more in touch with my southern roots.





Back to my internship...
You might be wondering what exactly it is that I do at the places I travel too(besides AFA meetings, of course). First, the regional manager and I set up meetings at each of the branch offices. Once dates and times are all figured out, I show up at each office and deliver a hour and fifteen minute presentation about Dow’s new product “Recruit HD”. Sounds pretty official right? I love creative product names. I start out by showing two short training videos to my audience and then spend the rest of the time talking about customer communication, research, and answering questions. As the summer has worn on, I’ve adjusted my spiel to emphasize sales and customer relations. One of the things I have learned is that how you say things is oftentimes more important than what you are saying. Some of the people that I work with seem to just “get it”- they relate to people easily and adapt new products with a positive outlook. I love teaching these kinds of people because they see everything as an opportunity. You know, the “half-full” kind of people who make lemonade out of lemons.
Of course, every group has a downer. The kinds of people who will do everything they can to pull out the negative aspects of the situation. Alas. I finally understand some of teacher’s frustrations.

So what do I do when I get off work? You guessed it! Bike! Ten minutes into my ride this afternoon, a torrential downpour decided to accompany my ride. Two hours later as I rolled up to my truck, the sun decided to show it’s face, and the world became beautiful again. Agh! Bleh.
During the past few weeks I have been racing the Georgia games, French Broad, and POA crit series in Greenville with my teammates. This Friday I will be heading up to Gaffney with Jesse to race the “Friday Night Fight’s”. They don’t have a women’s race so I’ll be joining the guys. Dude. I will most likely get my tail whipped, but it is going to be epic.

Have you ever wondered what it looks like when someone actually glows with the joy of the Lord? I met one of those people this week. These are some of the characteristics that this person had:

• He consistently went above and beyond to make everyone’s day
• He looked for opportunities to encourage and build others up
• He smiled… a lot!
• He demonstrated humility by serving others first
• He spoke about his love for his wife, family, co-workers, and his love for God

One of the greatest things about this particular fellow was that I noticed the joy of the Lord in him before he said anything about his faith.

The Bible says “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7

I’m going to ask for those characteristics.