Tag Archives: Sales department

A (sales) room with a view – Spring perspective

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A grape vineyard grows right outside the window of our sales room, which gives a lovely view in the summer, when all the leaves are full and then in the autumn when they turn shades of red, gold and brown.Right now in the cold and damp spring season the vines are cut back to the graft.  The irrigation tubes and the aluminum posts that keep the rows straight are exposed, as well as peach colored plastic shelters giving protection to vulnerable new vine plants.

Last Saturday, I helped with placing these shelters around the new plants. One of the brothers in our Community who cares for the vineyard explained that these shelters provide a ‘micro-environment’ for growth for these new plants while they are in a vulnerable stage – protecting them from the elements or small animals.
Because of things that God is showing me in my life, I was reminded that even when things are closing in around me, or I feel that my world is narrowed for a time, perhaps God is protecting me, or giving an opportunity for focus upon growth and new life.

The Joy of Blogging

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I’ve always envied bloggers.  Good ones particularly – making me laugh (and think) with  their witty comments and poignant turns of phrase. I was thrilled to be asked to blog for Paraclete – and somehow hoped that pithy prose would just flow out in a relaxed, readable, stream of consciousness style.

Then it took me the better part of 4 days just to come with a pen name!

I love my job. I stand (literally) at my desk making phone calls to parishes, diocese, and schools all over the country. For the better part of 7 hours each day I talk about Paraclete products to Priests, DRE’s, teachers, principals, pastoral care associates, etc.It’s not a job I aspired to – sales has never been my thing – but it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Somehow – by sharing the vision of Paraclete with people of common faith and dedication – relationship begins.

I have “customers” – people I have never seen, only talked on the phone  – that I consider close friends. How does that happen?

I’m glad it does.

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A (sales) room with a view

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September: it’s the time of year for new beginnings, new starts and fresh vision!  At Paraclete our sales year runs from September through August, so we are listening and praying about new ideas as we begin again.  I always find starting over difficult, especially after the completion of a long project or pushing towards a goal. I’d like to take a break, but God always seems to have another plan, a new horizon to keep our creative juices flowing, and to keep us at the edge of what we can do in our own strength, and drawing us towards him! A portion of our grape vineyard grows right outside of our window – this time of year the color of the grapes deepens each day – a reminder of the circle of new life and harvest.
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