I apparently have a teaching job. Wow!

So, here's the story. After finishing student teaching and hearing nothing but the woes and worries that there wouldn't be many teaching jobs open in the fall, I decided to stay where I was working and enjoy my first year of marriage sans all the work and stress of teaching. So I stayed at Feed The Hungry and worked full time, but I didn't enjoy it as much.

I saw a couple opportunities open up recently that I thought would be better. I applied, did interviews and was rejected (but gently). Then last week I had three friends from my Transition to Teaching program call with news of different openings. Only the last one sounded really good, it was teaching middle school at a fine arts magnet school. My friend Mary had accepted the job but was asked if she could transfer to one of the high schools where they desperately needed her bilingual skills. She was transferred and told me about the middle school opening. I went in and met the principal then set up an interview for today, Monday. But over the weekend, we had Pulse Fest, a huge Christian concert in South Bend. I was there with Feed The Hungry running our bead making station. All day I had to help kids, teens and adults learn how to make the beads and I was doing this while a very loud concert was going on. I lost my voice because of it and was worried I couldn't do my interview today. Luckily I got to spend Sunday reading a book at the beach with my mom and not talking.

My voice was back this morning, but not strong. I did the interview, after lots of praying and practicing my answers for possible questions. It went pretty smoothly and I was offered a job on the spot (school starts next week and they need help now). I put in my application downtown for the school corp, but I'm still waiting on my license to come in. I'm going to some professional development workshops at the school tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly things move when it's last minute.

I think I'll enjoy teaching once I get in the class. I'll be teaching 8th grade reading. But now, I'm just trying to figure out what to do first. I'll try to see my class tomorrow and see what I need to get that ready. Then I need to get my first couple days of lessons and info sheets and classroom rules all ready to go. Nice how I thought I could get a break from school for a year, but that seems to be the only door God let open for me. Funny. I guess that's where I should be, and it'll be great. God is faithful but not always predictable.

On a bunch of things

I don't blog very much. There are some things I just don't feel like sharing on here. I don't even keep a personal journal. Maybe I should though, since I'm prone to forget things. But Nat will remember them for me. 

It's been a crazy few weeks. We were at Mancelona Missionary camp in July leading worship for the youth. And the day before that, we were in Port Huron for our friend Chelsie's wedding. After camp I was at work two days and didn't feel well then couldn't come to work for the next three days because I had strep symptoms. I woke up that Friday with pink eye too and got a bunch of antibiotics from the doc. That night I was feeling a bit better and got to see a Wilco concert for free. It was awesome except for my still not feeling well. That Saturday we headed up to Brown City camp (the other Michigan Missionary Church camp) to stay with his mom and sisters for a few days. A lot of his mom's family was there, and quite a few Bethel people. Nat got food poisoning on the drive up and then HE was sick the rest of that weekend. When this past Saturday morning came and I woke up with no rush out the door, I was relieved that I could relish my cozy bed again and just be at home. I like our home and lazy Saturday mornings. 

In the midst of all the crazy busyness of our present lives, I've also been looking for a job, something more creative. I've had a few interviews and hear back about the last one tomorrow. I really want it and I'm praying that God open this door. If this door opens, I may not be able to go to Sudan for a week this fall like I had wished, but there may be other opportunities for that later. We'll see what He has for me now. Nat got his job at Bashor and has a bunch of shifts starting on the 16th. That's a relief. He also started a musician development internship at the Vineyard. I'm so proud and happy for him to be able to do something he loves. 

I was talking to my parents about a movie they watched recently, Lord, Save Us From Your Followers. It's about the harmful culture clashes of Christians and the rest of America. Sometimes it's really disappointing to see how the world views the Church because there is so much hypocrisy and manipulation and hate and bitterness. I know that I cannot be shocked by this because we're all fallen and depraved people, but how can one claim to have found the Truth and live without showing that change? I'm sick of surface Christians who use the name as a point of pride and as righteousness, all the while withholding the grace and love of the one they are to follow. I finally had some inspiration to create art; it's no Pleasant Surprise, but it is thoughtful. It's a skeleton of a bird with the saying above it, "we'll sore on wings" Below the bird are some sketches of mites and feathers. I feel like in some places, there are Christians who do a lot more harm than good and are not aware of this or do not care, like parasites killing their eagle host. It's killing the Church. I had a friend of mine talk to me about Christians cursing Christians, and there's a whole world I'm unaware of where people are purposely being hateful and spiteful to each other even using the occult or witchcraft under the safe disguise of being a Christian. I could have a whole series of pieces showing the manipulation and hate that infects the church, easily destroying those whose lives are not wholly changed, who are not reliant on God, who do not desire his glory above their own. 

The infection is in the Church. How do we change that? Where's the love and grace and forgiveness and freedom from sin that comes with trusting God as savior? Why are so many still in bondage to their bitterness, to their anger, to their vices, to hurting others, to pride? I admit, I struggle still with turning it all over to God, trusting him completely, but when I do give up my pride and remember his goodness and faithfulness, I'm freed from worry of making it on my own. I'm freed from caring about what the world says. I'm freed to live simply on faith and in the joy of knowing my Savior loves and cares for me. I can then give that love and care to those around me. I want to see changed lives. That's all I want to see from the Church, that's it. Change. Love. Grace. Forgiveness. 

The small things

It's the small things in life that make it sweet and wonderful and remind me of God's goodness. 

It's watermelon smoothies after a long bike ride. It's knowing that whenever I come home, no matter my mood, there will be someone there to hold me, hug me and kiss me on the temple or give me ibuprofen when I have a headache. It's knowing that no matter how warm the room is, I can still cuddle with my husband. It's knowing that sometimes taking an unpaid day off to relax and rest is better for my own physical and mental health than the money I'd make working. It's buying a curry paste and making homemade curry that will make me never have to go back to a Thai restaurant again. It's knowing that the onion on top of the fridge is still good, even though the outside looks bad; it's only one layer. It's getting my bento lunchbox in the mail that will help me never take four things of tupperware for lunch again. It's riding just down the road to visit my parents or my brother at work or my friends in the neighborhood. It's the perennial wildflowers the parks department planted that will always look more beautiful than the ones that die quickly and must be planted each year. It's the mint from my friend's garden that makes a deliciously refreshing iced tea. It's the blackberries from the farm that made it back to my house and then into jam on my toast. It's that tired feeling all over my body after a long day in the sun at the church picnic and baptism of forty two people, where I helped set up the food and ran a corn hole tournament. It's knowing that even if I don't know what's next or why the answers aren't clear, it's in God hands and he hears my cries.

I know it's been over a month since I last wrote on here (thanks Megan), but things have been busy and good and full of life and changes. I love my husband. It's two months tomorrow since Nat turned my whole life around, for the better. I wish everything were as good as my husband. I sometimes will want to write on here, but most of those times are at work, and that would be a wholly inappropriate use of company time, but then I forget to write when I get home. So, I hope this satisfies your wonderings about my life recently. It's really just life, just as busy and wonderful, but with my best friend there the whole time. I love you, Nathaniel.

Also, Art for the Heart of Africa is on again for this Halloween weekend. Nat is starting a worship internship at the Vineyard and he pretty much has a job at Bashor, he needs to go through a drug test, background check and training, but they were glad he applied for the job. Sweet! Also, my dad is going in tour with his band this weekend to South Carolina to promote his newest album. Layoffs can do amazing things, and so can God. My dad is so happy about this, and mom wants me to stay the night while he's gone. Maybe I will.

On married life

I've been married for a week and a half. I still have to apply to get a copy of the marriage certificate so I can change my name, but I already use it. Nat and I had a lovely honeymoon as we took a road trip up the coast, of Lake Michigan ;)  We had a lot of fun stopping at all the sites. Muskegon has a nice historical district and some incredible historical homes with a $3 tour. Then there's the art museum next to the library. Why didn't my parents ever take me there when I was younger, or even during all the times we visited Muskegon every year? It gives me some more hope in my hometown to see that it still values culture, art and heritage. Anyway, we had fun and I took a lot of pictures.

And it looks like Facebook finally uploaded the photos from our photobooth, which is what I've been waiting for all night. So, now I can go to bed. Being married and having a full-time job, I feel so much older and need to go to bed much earlier. Goodnight. I'll talk about marriage more later. I'll just leave you with this. I love my husband. He's a handsome stud and he cooks too!

Wedding times