A class of my own! . . . to share . . . for a few weeks . . . .

Whew! My life has changed radically since my last post! I'm now a full-time teacher - kind of.

I've been hired to fill a long-term sub job. However, if my credentials pass muster, I'll be hired as a salaried teacher, although still just for the two months.

A teacher at a school where I've subbed quite a bit (and where the principal is a member of our neighboring church) is taking a two-month leave. Her MIL and mother and brother all died suddenly within the space of a month.

She is in a co-teaching situation and without going into any details, it's a tough job. Besides the turmoil the teacher-on-leave was experiencing, the co-teacher with whom I'm working has been sick and absent a lot. She's also pretty much my total opposite in personality and teaching style. For example, she's chatty and I'm quiet. In other ways, we are dramatically different.

In this coteaching class are 33 second-grade children, in a regular-sized classroom. (This is one of Florida's ways of adapting lack of space to the numbers schools here must accomodate.) There are other aspects that make it more difficult than your average teaching job, I think (I hope!), so it is challenging, exciting, exhausting, and will be a wonderful learning experience. I'm going to be planning, grading papers, posting grades, reorganizing the room, doing parent conferences, student retentions, etc. - all with a co-teacher, but all still a LOT of work, especially for a sub. If I didn't want to be a full-time teacher, I probably wouldn't take a job that's this hard.

Today I invited four of the students to lunch with me; I challenged them to make good choices and make it a good day and this would be their reward. Schools here are campuses of buildings connected by covered walkways. Outside the cafeterias are tables for parents to lunch with their children, teachers to eat together, etc. These students were very excited to have such a treat. (Who would have thought that kids would be thrilled to eat lunch with a teacher?!) My co-teacher joined us, and it was very enjoyable. I was amazed at how much pleasure I got from spending casual time with them and getting to really listen to them. I mostly wanted to do this to begin bonding quickly, and I think it worked. Even though the afternoon was wild and chaotic (typical Friday energy and lack of attention but with 33 kids), I had such a warm feeling about my first week. I'm looking forward to doing this with the rest of the students in coming days.

Less than a month ago I posted about being needed (or feeling NOT needed). Be careful what you pray for, right? I know better than to pray for patience! Maybe I should have known better than to pray to be needed. Did I pray this or complain this? Is it the same thing? Does God view complaints as requests? God is able to do more than we ask or imagine, isn't He? Is He challenged by our naive prayers to give us more than we ask for or imagine in areas of growth? It would seem so. So now I am cautiously praying, as I do every day and have for a long time, that God be my competence, that I see Jesus in my students and fellow staff, that I BE Jesus to my students and fellow staff (the triune Randy Harris mantra), and that God be glorified in all that I do.

I can already see great need in this classroom, in individual students and as a whole. It may be that I'm being called to minister to my fellow teacher as well. I only have two months, but it is my sincere prayer that God use me mightily in these few weeks and that the Spirit empower me to be what He wills me to be in this class and this school. I suspect that the ways He uses me will impact me even more than those for whom I'm praying. I'd appreciate your prayers on my behalf.

Special times with grandparents

After Curves this morning and before going shopping (isn't that how George and Abe would want their birthdays to be celebrated, after all?), Loni and I stopped by the Thornhills' house.

The Thornhills are a hospitable and very interesting couple. He, Robert, is a retired science teacher. She, Rosemary, is the principal of Hardin Early Childhood Center, HECC, the preschool part of the Christian Home and Bible School. They are devoted Christians, parents, and grandparents as well. I'm so grateful they are members at Mount Dora.

Their house is right on the main drag through Mount Dora, on Donnelly Street, next to the Fire House and Police Station and just a few blocks from the Bible School. I don't know how old their house is, but it is picturesque and kind of Floridian/Victorian. It sits not too far off the road, but behind the house is more than an acre of land, kind of wild and woodsy with some citrus trees, old oaks with Spanish moss, palms, an old chicken coop and an old "fort" their sons made years ago. You can't see all this wildness from the road, which makes it kind of like a secret garden. Robert has planted quite a variety of plants around the house, including herbs and tropical varieties.

Their grandchildren were visiting for the weekend, three charming young ladies. The girls invited Loni and I to stop by this morning to see the lambs. In addition to their "town house", Robert and Rosemary have a farm property about an hour away, and Robert occasionally brings animals home to visit the Early Childhood Center. Their parental sheep pair had produced lambs just two weeks ago, and Mother sheep Snowball, brother Rex and sister Belle were visiting Mount Dora, residing temporarily in an animal transport trailer until they return home tomorrow. Loni and I got to hold cuddly Rex for a bit, then watched as the two cavorted around the grounds following Mother as she ate assorted weeds and a tangelo. Their little "baas" were so cute, and they hopped along just like the cartoon lambs. Belle has black rings around her eyes, and their wool is soft and thick. Rex has little knobs under his wool on his head where his horns will grow.

We enjoyed our little visit. The girls went off exploring as Robert showed us his various plants. As I reflected on how blessed those girls are to have such loving grandparents and a wonderful yard and house to visit at their grandparents' home, I flashed back to experiences I remember at my own grandparents' homes. My brother and I played in their yards and explored the neighborhoods. For some reason, when I hear birdsong, particularly mockingbirds, I remember the birds in my Granddaddy and Grammy's yard. The yard wasn't all that big, probably, but it had interesting areas, like alongside the house, behind the garage, around the garden and out by the alley. At my Mamaw and Granddaddy's house, there was a concrete picnic table and a big old tree to play around and under. There was also a hedgerow where my brother was sometimes sent to fetch a switch. During winter visits, my brother and I slept in the back bedroom which wasn't heated very well. We hunkered down under heavy, warm quilts. At Mamaw's later house, there was a "porch" swing hanging in the yard from a swingset frame and a big old pear tree. (Yum! Her homemade pear preserves are the only thing I can, trying to capture her perfection.) Behind the house and backyard, beyond the fence, was a huge field where you could see the enormous sky and sometimes storms approaching.

My own grandchildren won't have those same kind of memories with us because times are different, and we live too far away for frequent casual visits. But I cherish our times together. I'm grateful Lisa keeps us informed through her blog. I am also newly determined to do a better job at creating long-distance memories and relationship with our boys.

Take a few minutes to reflect on special times you may have had with your grandparents, and thank God for that heritage.

How I chased him til he caught me OR How my mother picked out my future husband

Brian's story of how he and his wife met (very amusing) http://bpnblog.theobloggers.org/?p=107 inspired me to tell my version of how my DH and I met . It's not as cute as Brian's story, but Bob shared his version at a Sunset International Bible Institute Dinner Thursday night; his version and my mother's differ with my own, so I want to set the record straight. (My version differs only slightly.)

Feel free to share how you met your mate here, or blog it and link it to mine!

I was a student at Lubbock Christian College, sophomore year, spring. My parents had moved to Lubbock the previous summer so that my dad could become a student at Sunset School of Preaching. My mother worked in the school office and handled applications. One caught her attention because his name was the same as someone else my parents had met. She told me about him. (No, Bob, she didn't show me your picture.) Hmm, a preaching student. How to meet him? (The first time I saw him, but didn't meet him on that day, he was nodding off in chapel. A future preacher sleeping in "church"!)

LCC's spring break came the week before Easter. My friends and the guy I was dating (no spark) were all out of town. So I decided that I should visit Sunset to "see what the classes were like there." Sunset students didn't take a break that week. Dad took me to the freshman classroom and introduced me to some of those guys. When Bob walked by the group, I introduced myself. I kept going back all week. It took me a whole week of hanging around to "see what it was like." And somehow I didn't visit my dad's classes, just the class of new freshmen (several were single!).

But no date! Bob had decided to concentrate on studies at SSOP, not on women. He also had a girlfriend (sort of) back home. Even though I hung around all week and his classmates and teachers were teasing him, he didn't ask me out!

On Saturday, I helped arrange for the Sunset guys to play basketball at LCC. I invited Bob and his roommate to dinner afterwards. His roommate declined, but Bob came for the free meal. Still no date, though. On Sunday I decided to visit Sunset for worship (I was a member at Broadway). My brother had wrecked our shared car, so I asked Bob for a ride. Still no invitation for a date. In retrospect I can't believe how bold I was. Monday after Easter - should have returned to school. But LCC had given Monday off for student travel. Guess where I was! Back at Sunset.

Finally! That night Bob called and asked me out. It turned out that he had decided that if his CA girlfriend wrote him that weekend, he would not ask me out. But she didn't. And the rest is history.

Now, there's an interesting detail I like to tease my mother about (she denies this). There was a guy in Dad's class she wanted me to date, but I wasn't interested. At some point (I think after Bob and I started dating), I asked her why she'd picked out Bob since she liked this other guy for me. She told me she thought Bob was "one we could agree on." We still agree on him. Dad does, too.

A funny part of our early dating happened that week before our first official date: on a weeknight, Dad invited Bob to our house for a basketball game on TV (thanks Dad!). Bob's roommate had borrowed his car for a date, so I took Bob home afterwards. We sat in the car in front of the neighbor's house for a LONG time, talking and getting acquainted. Finally, it was very late and I knew I needed to be home, so I asked Bob to say a prayer. We were holding hands, heads bowed, eyes closed (really!) and Bob was praying when there was suddenly a pounding on the car window! It was my dad! Lubbock wasn't necessarily a safe place for a woman alone at night, so he had come looking for me. He had called Bob's house, but since we were parked in front of the neighbor's, Bob's roommate hadn't seen us. Bob says he was pretty embarrassed when he saw Dad at school the next morning!

So there you have it, the TRUE and somewhat boring story of how Bob and Pat met and became a couple. Thirty-two years, three kids and three grandkids, from TX to CA to NJ to FL later, we still are. Nathan is the only one in this picture who has changed. He was about two here; he turns six this week!

Thanks Mom!!

Lisa's half birthday!

Happy half birthday, Lisa! I hope you had a good day. It's amazing how everyone celebrates your half birthday with hearts and flowers and candy!

Did Nathan enjoy his first school Valentine's Day? We met Travis's parents tonight. Very cool! I know you will miss Travis and Angela when they move, but at least they are moving to our region, sort of. Another reason to visit your parents, huh?

Amazing tornado photo

This photo has been circulating in the Lake county, Florida schools. I saw it yesterday and asked that it be passed on the me. It is fascinating. It is said to be the tornado that destroyed homes and took lives in The Villages, Lake County, Florida.

HOWEVER, anonymous pointed me to Snopes, and it is revealed that it was taken at Lake Okeechobee, here in Florida in June 1991.

I'll leave the photo here as it IS amazing, even if another terrible storm. Thanks, anonymous, for setting the record straight as best you are able.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/sedalia.asp

Disaster Relief part 2

I got to help unload a truck of supplies again today, this time at the Orange Avenue church in Eustis. Today the senior class of students from the Christian Home and Bible School in Mount Dora came to help as well. We had fewer Sojourners and others, so that was great. Tomorrow they're unloading yet another truck, but I have to work and will be unable to help. Here are some pictures as promised.
At Orange Ave in Eustis on Wednesday: Bob and other guys putting boxes onto rollers. They were rolled out of the truck and onto a series of tables where gals and guys shoved them along to the storage area. Then guys stacked them for later distribution.

Here are some of the girls waiting to pass boxes along the way.

I give up! Blogger is being so persnickety. I've tried to upload pictures over and over again; they won't load. Then one disappears. And the words won't go with the picture I put them with. Obviously, the girls are in the last picture, not the middle one. Anyway, you get the idea.

I'm grateful to have been given this opportunity to assist in a very small way. May God use the efforts of Christians and the Churches of Christ Disaster Relief to further His kingdom and bless those in need.

Disaster Relief

Often when we hear about a disaster, we wish we could help in some way. And too often all we can do is pray and possibly send money. Today I got to participate in a very small way in disaster relief.

I know everyone heard about the tornadoes here in central Florida. They happened to our northwest and northeast. People who have witnessed it said the areas are just flattened.

Churches of Christ Disaster Relief has brought supplies into our area - one truck today and two more tomorrow. And I was privileged to help offload the supplies in Leesburg, one of the staging areas. Some of the supplies were reloaded into small rental trucks for distribution and some stored at the Leesburg church building. Bob, our associate minister, Eddie, and two others from Mount Dora went with men from two other organizations who have come in with chain saws and other equipment to help with cleanup.

Many Sojourners are staying at the Bible camp and are "off" this week, having worked other weeks at the camp and in preparation for a lectureship type meeting at the camp next week, so they were available to come unload also. There were folks from probably a dozen local congregations who also helped. We assembly-lined the boxes into the other trucks and building.

It was a very small task, but we were all happy to have the opportunity to do what little we could. It's not great to live near a "disaster" site, but it's good to feel a little bit useful.

The general public is still being kept out of the areas; too many gawkers and curiosity seekers as well as folks up to no good, probably. So it's really nice to have these organizations who are allowed in to assist in some way.

The truck had snacks for workers (not us, but folks passing out supplies on site), water, boxes of MRE's enough for a family of 4 for 5 days, baby supplies. Sometimes the trucks also have cleaning kits and supplies for elderly. It's also nice to see that monies sent are really well used. The organization is able to purchase $3 worth of food or other supplies for $1.

If I get pictures (can't believe we forgot the camera), I'll post some. Remember the survivors (not victims, we were reminded, but survivors) in your prayers, and the Christians who minister to them, that God will be glorified and the Kingdom increased through these efforts.

It's never too late

I saw a great t-shirt slogan while I was at Curves on Thursday: "It's never too late to have a happy childhood." Love it! To me it says, no matter what your age, enjoy life. I had a great childhood, so I don't want the slogan to imply that I didn't. I just like the encouragement to have fun each day.

What did I like about my childhood? I was a shy child, so I enjoyed reading. Still do. I love the escape reading fiction provides. I love the information I can glean from non-fiction, especially looking up info on the internet. Give me some time free from tasks and you'll find me with my nose in a book! The only downside is that I get so "into" a book that it can affect my mood. If the main character is having a difficult time, say with her guy, it can be hard not to project that mood onto my poor husband!

What else did I like about childhood? I enjoyed playing outdoors when the weather wasn't terribly hot (Texas summers -- prepared me for Florida? I plan to spent lots of time indoors this summer, but I'm sure enjoying the weather right now, um, except for the tornado threats and damage here in Lake County). But I digress. I still enjoy the outdoors. I don't get outdoors as much as I'd actually like. DH doesn't enjoy the outdoors like I do, so I've never cultivated hiking, birding, etc. But invite me to minigolf or play Bocce, I'm there. Anyone for a hike along a Florida boardwalk? Better yet, how 'bout the beach!

Being with friends. I loved being invited to a friend's house to play. I can remember Sunday afternoons at my friend Suzanne's and going next door to Debbie's. We had a great time when we were invited to the Rosenquists', and they didn't even have a TV!! I still like a girls' night out or a game night. Scrapbooking, anyone? Dinner, movie?

Laughing and acting silly. I don't do that nearly enough. That's why I like the t-shirt slogan. It's an invitation to enjoy myself, not to worry too much about what people think, enjoy the company of others and God's creation.

Being cared for and taken care of. When I'm sick, thankfully not too often since my parents live far away, I still want my mommy. But my family and church family care for me and I care for them.

Jesus tells us to become as little children. I think all these things I enjoyed about being a child might apply.

Fun? God must have enjoyed creating creatures like giraffes, chimpanzees, toucans, butterflies, and elephants. Come on, blowing water out of a trunk! How cool is that? Surely He wants us to have fun with His creation and with each other. We had fun bowling with church friends last weekend, even in the dark!

Reading. His Word is one of His greatest gifts, right after the gift of salvation. We have His actual Words as revealed by the Holy Spirit. And each book is wrapped up in the personality of a human being. Isn't it awesome how each time You read it You find new meaning? The Bible doesn't change, but our situations change. Our perceptions and awareness change. Our needs change. And we find answers and wisdom in His Word each and every time. It affects my mood, always for the better, thankfully. And I can travel to other places and times as I read about God's chosen people throughout the ages.

Being taken care of and cared for. No one better to do that than the Lord through His works and through His people.

Yup, it's never too late to have a happy childhood. I'm going to try to make a greater effort to have fun and enjoy life as long as I'm still here on earth. And I'm going to try to be more childlike spiritually as well.