The Fiberglass meets the wave

Weather. Serious weather. This past week I have come as close as I have ever been to a category-five hurricane, well, actually any hurricane for that matter. Currently I am in Orlando Florida "on business." Throughout the week there was much discussion about whether hurricane Katrina would swing up the east coast of Florida and give us a taste of some serious Florida whether during our training. (As if the 85% humidity was not enough.)

By the grace of God the Hurricane was only a category 2 hurricane when it hit Miami (home of the Miami Hurricanes) and spun off into the gulf of Mexico. Now it is picking up fury as it funnels its way to New Orleans, where thousands of people evacuating the city or cramming into the SuperDome.

At one point as I was watching CNN (a phenomenon that I have come to enjoy), the anchor was talking with an analyst and the anchor commented that the classification of the hurricane and just been downgraded to a level five with 175 mph winds to a level five with 165 mph winds and was asking the analyst if he was happy about this to which he commented that it was similar to the difference between getting hit by a semi or a freight train- not much difference).

When I think about the Gulf of Mexico right now I think- waves, big waves. Waves that not even the great Laird would want to tackle. (He would probably to decline to surf them due to the inordinate amount of fetch). At one point, I wondered what it would be like to go to the coast and try to rent a board and catch some of the good hurricane waves. I dismissed the idea when I remembered one thing- Florida sharks bite.

This is the part of the blog that you are probably wondering how Bill will tie all this talk of weather and surfing into what is happening right now in his life.

I feel that much of my life up to this point I have been standing on the shore, board in hand- knowing that there are the big waves of life in the real world were out there. But never actually riding them. (This is not to say there have not been "waves" in my life before or that I have not been in the "real world" up to this point, these are just the I-live-in-an-apartment-and-work-at-a-secular-job-where-almost-everybody-wants-to-get-slammed-every-night-during-training kind of waves.)

Not anymore. I feel like I have been dropped off of the helicopter into the waves and the only thing that is going to keep me afloat is my board- God's Word. When I surf, the board is always my place of refuge. I can't stand in the deep water and can't tread forever so I cling to my board. When a wave is coming straight for me, I cling to the board with all of my might. The times that I feel the most secure are when I am sitting firmly on top of the board.

During the past couple of weeks, I have gotten a taste of how difficult and full of "waves" life can be. Perhaps one of the biggest things I have learned is my need for the wisdom from God's Word and constant communion with Him.

Psalm 7:10- My shield is with the Lord, who saves the upright in heart.

B. Blakey

(Picture courtesy of foxnews)
(Larger font courtesy of readers with eye trouble)

The un-ethic in all of us.

Above all, we act with integrity—constantly striving to uphold the highest professional standards, provide sound advice, and rigorously maintain our independence.

Integrity. It is something that I have been contemplating a lot recently. What does it really mean? While I have been attending training this week, our trainers have been telling us much about the firm's values. One of which is posted above.

I do believe that there are differing definitions of what integrity means. As I type outside the ballroom where a good number of my colleagues are inebriated and searching to party hard before another rigorous day of intellectual stimulation in training tomorrow, I wonder if that is what the Bible would describe as integrity. When I see people that I have met who would profess to be Christians drinking freely, smoking and acting as if they were no different than all of the other folks here, I wonder- is that integrity?

Here is Webster's definition of integrity.

in·teg·ri·ty ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-tgr-t)n.
Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness

Even by a worldly standard of a Webster's dictionary, integrity means being the same unimpaired moral and ethical person all of the time. Certainly as I see a couple of co-worker ladies stumble towards the bathroom, "unimpaired" does not apply to them. I have come to find that the definition of integrity for my work purposes simply means- don't lie, cheat, steal and cover your butt while you are at work. (And as soon as you walk out the door, badmouth the people you just acted "professional" towards.)

I believe that the Biblical concept of integrity delves much deeper than that. Proverbs 10:9 says, "He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out." Even though many people may act "professional" and at times "moral,"their perversion will not go unnoticed by the Lord. I say perversion because integrity has everything to do with adherence to a standard.

In Psalm 86:11 David says, "Teach me your way O Lord; I will walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name." The standard that David's integrity was based upon was the Word of God but even then, he needed to ask the Lord to give him the ability to have integrity. He said, "unite my heart to fear your name." It is very easy for me to look at my colleagues and rightfully portray their lack of integrity; but how hard is it for me to look at my own life and expose the areas where I have a divided heart.

Think about this in your life. Integrity is being fully united and unimpaired in devotion to the Lord and to following His law. What are the areas where your heart is divided, wanting to join in perverting the good standard that God has given?

I hope this challenges you as these thoughts of true integrity have challenged me.

B. Blakey

(2 posts in one week- this blog stuff is getting tiring!)

Are you auditable?

Currently I am at the Caribe Royale Resort and conference hotel in Orlando Florida where my employer (KPMG) has graciously decided to send me for two weeks of intensive training. It is here where I will I begin my experience as an auditor. Training has been really rough so far (well, it officially hasn't started yet). Right now I am standing at a makeshift cyber cafe outside the Grand Sierra ballroom writing this post. I did this after I slept in until 10 AM local time. I slept in a large suite where I had a queen sized bed all to myself. I retired last night after taking a leisurely swim in the "fantasy pool."

Training has been rough so far.

Auditing. A lot of people wonder what exactly it is. They think of the IRS or Enron or Aurthur Anderson or the current "Big 4." But what is auditing really? (Allow me to get really nerdy and boring on you for a second.) Companies have financial statements that basically say- this is the stuff we own, this is how much we owe (balance sheet), others that say- this is how much we made and spent this year as long as many others. What we in the auditing profession due is go to the companies that hire us to audit them and verify that their financial statements are correct. And if they are not, we whip out our red pens and lay down the proverbial accounting smack on them. (Well, more emphasis on the accounting than the smack.)

Anyways, as I was just thinking of auditing I was thinking, what would it be like for my life to be audited. If God were the "auditor" of my life (which, He is actually a lot more than that as far as the analogy goes but whatever).
Would I measure up?

I think of the verses in Psalm 139:23-24 where David asks the Lord to search him and see if there was any hurtful way in him (that's "out of balance" in the accounting world). David wanted the Lord to look at his life and show him what was wrong not for the sake of simply pointing it out but so that He would be able to "lead him in the way everlasting." Do you and I beg the Lord to show us what is not right in our lives in the hopes that we will be better able to live for Him?

Anyways, that is a little of what I have been thinking about.

Oh, one other thing about training -everyone gets soaked (and I don't mean in the pool). Pray for me that God will help me to take advantage of the opportunities I have to be a witness for Him.

B.Blakey