I want to emphasize that the purpose of these stories is to help us remember that Jesus is with us all day every day on the job, and he wants to give us comfort, help, guidance, and strength. We must learn to practice his presence. Fran has some conversations with Jesus, which are obviously imaginary but based on Scripture. After all, that’s how Jesus speaks to us—through his Word and his Spirit. So, with that, let's begin our story.

"Fran, you got time for lunch today?" Louise asks as she pokes her head around Fran's door. Louise and Fran have become good friends, and it's great to have a fellow believer on the job to talk to. They meet for lunch once a week to pray for the company and for the people they work with. It has been a wonderful time of fellowship, and they've seen lots of answers to prayer.

But this is not their prayer day, so Fran asks, "Something wrong?"

"Well, kinda," Louise replies. "I just need some advice, but I know how busy you are so..."

"No, let's do it," Fran answers. And with that they head to the cafeteria. Sitting down in a quiet corner, Fran says to Louise, "You look worried. I have a feeling something is bothering you."

"Yeah, you're right," Louise agrees.

After asking God's blessing on the food, Louise says, "Fran, you know how Marilyn made such a point in the staff meeting last week about our expense accounts and what’s allowed and what isn’t, especially as it relates to meals."

"Yeah," Fran replies. "She told me that some people have really taken advantage of that policy."

"Well," Louise says, lowering her voice, "I’m supposed to approve all expense accounts for those in my group before they go to Marilyn, and she made it clear we’re supposed to make certain all the charges are in compliance with company policy. That's what I'm upset about. Jerry is—well—he's lying about his expenses, charging meals to the company that are not business related, and today we had some words about it.” Jerry is the senior account manager in Louise’s group.

"What kind of words?" Fran asks.

"He turned in his expenses with receipts for meals that were not with clients," Louise explains. "So, I gave them back to him with a note about the meals policy, and he calls me in his office, shuts the door and says, 'Since when are you telling me what meals I can charge and what I can’t?'"

Louise lowers her voice further. "I told him these were the new instructions I had received from Marilyn and that it was my responsibility to make sure all charges were accurate. Then he said, 'Well, I've been working for this company for twelve years, and I won’t have someone checking my expense accounts.’”

Louise looks at Fran and shakes her head. "What did you say?" Fran asks.

"I said something like 'Jerry, I'm just following instructions. Marilyn told us to be responsible for these expenses and make sure they’re right. What do you want me to tell her?'"

Louise takes a deep breath. "He threw the report at me and said, 'You just note those meals are client meals.’  Then he gave me names of two clients to put on the report, but I knew it wasn’t true. So, I said, 'Gee, Jerry, I think you must be mistaken.'  And I reminded him they weren’t client meals. He stared at me with a look that could kill, and said, 'You're supposed to do as I direct you to do, so just do it, Louise. Don't make a big deal out of it.'"

"Oh, great," Fran says to Louise, "he really put you in a tough spot. What happened then?"

"Fran, I'm ashamed to tell you, but I didn't have the guts to stand up to him. He is so intimidating," Louise replies. "So, I just took the report and walked out."

Louise is obviously very upset with herself. "Fran, I didn't do the right thing. You know, I just kept thinking about how much I need this job, and I know Jerry. He is politically connected, and I would never win in a fight against him.” Louise puts her fork down and pushes back from the table, very agitated.

"Louise,