Initial Posting!

The purpose of this blog is to share stories of God's hand in our lives as we work to grow the Sparkling Image business in Central Ohio. Although Sparkling Image is a business, it is also our ministry.

I guess a good place to start is at the beginning. I had left my position in 2004 with a large corporation after the business I was responsible for was sold to a company in Pennsylvania. Staying with the new company would have required another move (we had previously lived in Hawaii, North Carolina, Missouri, PA and now Ohio) and with two kids in their teens we decided we would stay here in Central Ohio. My former employer gave me the opportunity to use an outplacement firm. The outplacement firm offered support in both traditional job hunting as well as an entrepeneurial path. Not knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up, I attended meetings designed for both paths.

My experience in the job search process was very difficult and my gloominess was shared with virtually all of the other job hunters I met at the outplacement firm. I met on a regular basis with others going through the job search process. Hopes were raised and dashed over and over again leading to a general feeling of hopelessness for everyone going through the process. I remember interviewing with one large corporation in the area in which the people I interviewed with openly commented on how much they disliked their jobs. My feeling was that I'm only given one life to live and why should I be miserable during the large percentage of it that was focused on my work? Why would anyone willingly put themselves into bondage?

On the other hand the entrepeneurial path meetings, referred to as the E Team, were full of excitement and energy. The possibilities seemed limitless. In retrospect, one door that I was familiar and comfortable with, a secure job that paid well in a large company, was closed while another one was opened.

During one E Team meeting a local franchise broker gave a presentation about how to start a business through the purchase of a franchise. The benefits of a franchised business were compelling so my wife and I decided to complete a short survey that the presenter provided. We later met with the broker at his office after he had compiled some suggested franchise opportunities. Before sharing his recommendations, we spent some time discussing our goals and aspirations for a new business venture. During our conversation my wife, Nancy, commented "I'll do anything; I'll even clean toilets." When she said this the broker was suprised and responded how funny it was that she would say that given that one of the three recommendations he had prepared for us was Sparkling Image! After doing our due diligence of the recommendations it became very clear that cleaning toilets was the path for us and we opened our business in September 2004.

Most would say that the process was a series of coincidences that led to our decision, in fact we did as well at the time. However, it's become clear to me that God cares about us in everything we do. He doesn't ignore us when we go to work, nor does He want us to ignore Him there. When we put our trust in Him and count on Him to be our provider, instead of relying on corporations or what we believe to be our own talents, we can concentrate our energy on being about His work.