Update:still waiting

Thanks for the comments and encouragement.

I just finished a 3-day workshop at the Bible school which the principal kindly allowed me to attend. (I may even get paid for it which would be nice. Participants who work at the Bible school get paid but in my special circumstance, I'm thinking I might not. We'll see.) Being allowed to attend was a blessing whether or not I get paid. The materials, the videos, the activities directed by fine facilitators were all excellent. I feel better prepared than ever to teach . . . although the middle school teachers attending kept saying, "But middle schoolers . . . ." If I get offered the job, I'll either love it or survive it. Sixth and seventh graders. Getting better acquainted with the teachers who also took the course was icing on the cake. I really would love to work with them. And to have the opportunity to talk about God in the classroom, to bring His name and principals into discussions about course work and discipline issues would be so fine!

Right now I'm waiting, again, this time until the gal at the County office who handles certification questions returns next Monday to see if my qualifications allow me to be hired for this particular position (middle school social studies rather than elementary grades for which I'm already certified). I'm pretty sure she'll say I have to take the subject area test (yet another test!), in which case principal assures me it would be no problem (even if I don't get around to taking it until later in the year). I'm going to pick up a text book on Friday to look over the course work. The situation is very promising, but I'm not counting my chickens yet. As a matter of fact, the first thing I plan to do when/if I get hired is buy a Mount Dora Bible school magnet for the car. And I'm not doing that until it's a done deal, papers signed or at least a handshake on it.

So that's the status of my job situation until at least next week. Now if I can just get busy with other projects (of which there is an abundance) and not fret about it! Oops! Time to go change clothes and go to Curves. Have a good evening!

How goes the job hunt?

Loni and I have been busy with training. Last week we had ESOL training for 60 hours (yup, 60 hours!). We had class every day from 8-4, Monday through Saturday. The instructor did release us at 3 or a little earlier most days to work with our groups (or separately) on projects. (BTW, ESOL is English Speakers of Other Languages - working with students whose have LEP, limited English proficiency.) We had several projects, one individual and two group. Loni was supposed to begin working at camp on Saturday but had to go late, as in early early Sunday, because of the scheduling. And it turned out that we were released at 11 on Saturday AND that she could have been excused from one day. Oh, well. What can you do?

So Loni is working at Manatawny this week and I - am in a training class again. This one was unplanned. There is a possibility that I might get a job at the Bible School here in Mount Dora teaching middle school social studies. One of my major concerns about teaching middle school is discipline issues, but I found out (Providentially?) that the school was having training in Classroom Management. I called the principal/headmaster and asked if I might attend and he agreed. So more training! And this one I may get paid for! Whoohoo.

Several of our area public schools have had principals move from one to another; one of the favorite things our superintendent likes to do is shake things up by moving principals. When that happens, some teachers like to follow their principal to the new school. One of our nearby schools has a new principal and consequently has more than a dozen teaching jobs posted. I have my application on file with the county. I have emailed him (twice - once in his former school and now since he's moved). My former principal told me she had emailed him about me at the end of the year as well. But I haven't heard from him. I don't know whether to be annoyed or relieved. Should I push the issue by calling him or assume that God is intervening and let it go?

Today I meet with the principal at the Bible school so maybe this is the direction God is leading. I really want(ed) an elementary position. At this point, I'm better "qualified" to teach elementary. But my training (many moons ago) was secondary. So we'll see what transpires, whether he offers me the job and then whether I decide to accept if he does.

Trey is still making plans to move to Philadelphia. He hopes to be there by August. That's nearly next month. Wow!

Loni will decide after she returns from PA/NJ whether to accept a job as a teacher at the preschool (she'd be committing to the full year but at higher salary) or teacher's assistant (no commitment to complete the year but lower salary; then she could accept a teaching job in the public school should one open and she receive an offer). She doesn't know yet what the salary of either position might be.

Decisions, decisions, waiting, waiting, praying, praying, praying.

Gotta go decide what to wear today . . . .

Happy Father's Day (and birthday)

I hardly know where to begin. Happy father's day to all you dads out there who read this. I am the recipient of the blessings being the daughter of a great dad and the wife of a great dad.

My own father I described a bit in my anniversary "tribute" to my parents a few days ago, but let me add that he is the kind of dad that others would want. He was/is a good provider for his family, courteous and thoughtful (when I was a teen I met him for lunch near his work one day and remember being treating as a woman should be - he made sure he walked on the side of the walk nearest traffic and opened my door, etc), a wonderful Christian evangelist who never met a stranger.

My husband has been a terrific dad to my kids. Living "hard fast to the synagogue" in the parsonage with a somewhat flexible work schedule allowed him to be very involved in their day to day lives. He made their lunches every day (I appreciated that probably even more than they did!). He's easy-going and laid back, which is a mixed blessing, but mostly a very good thing (because he's so patient with me and our children)!

My father-in-love (on the right) is also a great dad (and granddad, all three are!) who worked tirelessly to make sure his children had what they needed and knew they were loved.

All three of the dads in my life love their wives deeply and generously, with a life-long commitment. That is not only a blessing to their wives but to their children.

Lest I forget, my son-in-love (center, with blue hat) is likewise a great dad who emulates his own great dad, our daughter's father-in-love. I love to watch him play with his boys. So fun. His discipline of my dear perfect grandsons is hard to watch, but fair and consistent. He's a wonderfully careful provider for his family for which I am also grateful.

AND today is Bob's birthday - as he says, he is double-dipping today. I asked him a couple of days ago where he wanted to eat today. It is our habit to eat out on Sundays AND for the birthday person to choose where to eat his/her birthday meal. So when I asked, he paused in thought and I said, "How about home?" He said, "Really?" And I said, "How about brisket?" (Easy to put in the oven during Sunday service.) And he said, "Really?" So I made the extreme sacrifice of cooking on Sunday for my beloved! Happy birthday, sweetheart.

(The weird lay-out and word breaks are Blogger's fault! I've tried and tried to edit this post so that the layout is better. Oh, well.)

Happy 58th Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom (Lon & Jeanne)! (This is not a great photo because Dad is usually smiling. Don't know why he wasn't smiling on this day last September at Kennedy Space Center, but it is the most recent I have of the two of them. Mom and Dad, be ready to be captured on camera when I see you in July/August.)

I tried (and tried and tried and tried . . . ) to upload a very cute photo from early in their marriage, but Blogger frustrated me AGAIN. Surely am thinking about switching!! Their help is worthless because I'm unable to locate any useful information. Is the learning curve on wordpress more than I can handle? Is it any less frustrating, those of you who have switched?

A summary of their marriage as told from my perspective:

--they met at a wedding on a blind date (he was a farm boy and student at SMU and she a city girl)

--they were married at the Highland Park (Dallas) church building on June 11, 1949

--they moved to NJ briefly early in their marriage

--Dad was a partner in an insurance agency in Dallas and Mom was a stay-at-home mom (and sometimes a volunteer secretary)

--after a brief time away from the church, they worshipped at Saturn Road (in Garland, TX) and Wynnewood Hills in Oak Cliff (Dallas). Dad was a deacon at Wynnewood Hills.

--in 1967 they committed to move to Burlington, MA with an Exodus movement. Don Humphrey, Glen McNeese, and Dennis Kelly were the ministers of that church. They moved without the security of a job beforehand. Dad became an elder and sold insurance for Curtin Insurance (Jane Curtin's father). I think Mom was a volunteer church secretary.

--they sold their home in MA and moved to Lubbock, TX so that Dad could attend SSOP. Mom worked with Marge Smith in Cline Paden's office.

--after graduation from SSOP, they moved to Bridgewater, NJ where Dad was minister for 5 years.

--Dad and Mom served churches in NJ, Sunbury/Selingsgrove, PA (10 yrs) and West Chester, PA (11 yrs?) before he retired and they moved to NJ to live near us (for 3 years)

--they now reside in Charlotte, NC

I know you'll correct my timeline, Mom, and add comments which we look forward to.

I hope you have a very special day and a year full of blessings. It has been a privilege to be your daughter. I couldn't have asked for better parents and a better example of Christian marriage and service.

I love you dearly.

6 Billion Others

On Sunday mornings I've been teaching to 3rd through 6th graders a very old series written by Joyce Hardin about missionaries. I've taught the series a couple of times before, at least once in each of our previous churches. I think the series is excellent for opening the children's awareness of missions.

Today, I found this interesting link by following from one blog to another (is there a name for that? Surfing or something unique to blogdom?). Anyway, it is interesting to hear folks from around the world describe themselves and what they think in their own language. Although there is no tie to Christ and His message, as I watched and listened, I couldn't help but view it as a potential missionary. How would I share Christ with each of the individuals interviewed? I'd like to be as aware of the lost state of each person with whom I have contact daily.

Without Bob sitting here helping me with the link, all I can do is insert it like this:
http://www.6billionothers.org/main.php?Lng=en&File=homePage

Launch!

Yesterday we had the privilege of joining the hundreds of folks viewing the launch of Shuttle Atlantis Mission STS-117 (click here for more from NASA). It was very exciting!! It went up with a roar into the clear blue sky, and we all watched until it became a pinprick star and disappeared through the atmosphere. This second photo is the same picture, zoomed so you can see the shuttle above the burning fuel exhaust. Our eyes saw the first pic with the bright light; we could not see the actual shuttle either before or during the launch.


We drove over to visit NJ friends Dave and Marge Lipscomb who have a house outside of Titusville, across the inland waterway from Kennedy Space Center. Titusville has been their getaway Florida home, but they will be making the full move this summer after their house sells.

We arrived about 5 pm for the 7:38 launch and found our little patch of ground to park ourselves among the many others to wait. (Interesting note: we ended up next to a gal I had worked with at Seminole Springs Elementary School and her family! It was her third attempt to see a launch; the previous two had been scrubbed.)


After the launch we walked back to the car and joined the hundreds of cars on the roads headed back home. We made it back to their house (with a brief stop for delicious icecream) around 10, then headed on home to our place, another 1 1/2 hours. Even though it was crowded, it was SO worth the effort. I'm anxious to do it again. There are six more launches planned for the next 12 months. Will I get to go to another? I hope so!

How well does your congregation welcome visitors?

When we were traveling home from Searcy, we spent the night in Tupelo, MS, then got up early and drove several hours east to worship. (That's as specific as I'm going to get about where this church I'm going to describe is located.) We planned to arrive in time for worship, not for class, and that's when we did arrive. We pulled into the rather full parking lot (good sign - a lot of people had attended Bible class, apparently) and walked into the full foyer. Two men, likely elders, greeted us and chatted with Bob. A sister at the other door handed us a bulletin and smiled at Loni and I. We made our way through the crowd into the auditorium. (No one greeted us.)

The auditorium had two aisles. The right aisle was closer to the main entrance so that is the one we started up. There were some partially empty pews along the aisle on the right side so I walked up toward them. (Bob was in the rear of the group because he had been chatting with the two brothers.) As I approached the open seating, I discovered that folks had put purses, Bibles, sweaters in the pews to hold their spots. Kept on walking toward the front. No one offered to help us find a seat or invited us to seat near them. We walked all the way to the front, unsuccessful in our quest for a place to sit, to the right across the front of the auditorium and started down the side aisle. One pew a few rows back had no items holding places. I spoke to the women sitting toward the center and asked if the seats were taken. She fumbled in her reply, "Um, you can sit here." She was friendly, but it was obvious that she had hoped to save the places for her family, so I smiled and said thanks anyway and moved on, still looking for unclaimed seats, ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK of the auditorium! What to do now?

We started BACK up that aisle - the place was filling up and it was nearly time to begin. Up at the front, across the front, and to the side in the second pew there was a spot we had passed by, so we walked back to the front and across where we finally sat down.

Here's my point -- if I had NOT been a Christian, when I reached the back on the first go-round, I would have continued right on out the back! It was very embarrassing to have to start up front again feeling all eyes on us.

I hope and pray that this situation is VERY unusual, but I wonder. ALL of us need to be always aware of visitors, first-times and repeaters, and be thoughtful about how we welcome them (or not).

What do you think makes visitors feel welcome? What experiences have you had? What does your church do that you feel is successful in welcoming guests? What turns you off, or what do you think makes visitors uncomfortable or feel unwelcome?

Our two most recent churches had visitor signs in the parking lot which I think is very welcoming. I noticed that this church did not, but that's okay. There are other ways to make visitors feel welcome (which this church didn't utilize).

How do you think greeters should behave? Should visitors be requested to stand? (I vote no.) Wear a special sticker or name badge? (Another nay from me.) How can we make sure they have comfortable (meaning emotionally comfortable as well as physically) seats? Do you know folks (are are you one) who invites guests to sit with you? How about welcome packets and/or visitor cards? Whaddaya think?

Prayers, prayers, prayers needed, esp for Loni

Loni and I are both in the market for teaching jobs again. But Loni has a new and possibly insurmountable problem - but God can surmount - is that a word? - so we're going to give the impossible to Him. Here's the situation:

A week ago things looked so promising for a job for Loni. She has enjoyed and done very well her first year of teaching. Her principal wanted to hire her back (too far a drive and not the preferred grade level); her principal recommended her to another who likely wanted to hire her; she's run into a certification snag which could have been avoided if she/we had been aware but not it seems too late to rectify in time for the next school year.

She has the 3 year non-renewable temporary certificate. She's only taught one year. Seems like things are okay - two years left. BUT Florida law currently says that she must pass a General Knowledge test within the first year of teaching (the end of that first year being August). AND the only time the test is offered this summer is next week (too late to register and ineligible for emergency late registration) and July 21. Looks good. Surely she can pass in time. BUT the test scores aren't received for more than 4 weeks from the test date which would be too late! Bad, bad news. Bad, bad law and Florida legislators. Sad, sad.

Sooooo her current options appear to be - wait and hope to apply for a job after the school year begins (if any open up and yuck! after the school year begins! I've seen what happens there - if the hiring is a new class created because of increased enrollment, teachers choose which of their students to pass onto the new teacher - and the choices usually aren't their best students, if you catch my drift). OR she could probably get hired to teach at the Bible school's preschool -- for maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of her public school salary. She could get by on that, barely, if she continued to live with us (and I'm not objecting to that except that she's ready to be on her own). She could maybe get hired at a bank or something similar, too. BUT SHE NEEDS TO BE TEACHING. The children need her. So if God agrees and chooses to intervene, let's request His intervention!!

I need a teaching job, too. I am eligible to be hired (I haven't reached that 1-year-deadline yet), but there aren't many spots open. I won't go into why I NEED a job. I do, though, and would much rather work at something that utilizes my training and experiences, pays more than a job at Wallyworld or Mac-in-the-sack, and provides health insurance. So after you've beseeched the Lord on Loni's behalf, put in a good word for me, too, please.

Still on the job front for the Blisses - prayers, too, for Trey to make a wise decision regarding his career choice, including location. Pray especially that his choice will be a wise one for his spiritual well-being.

Thanks for putting in a good word for us. Have a good day!

Long Time No Blog

I'm going to have to start keeping a list of ideas. Whenever I don't have time to blog, I think of pretty good ideas for one. But here I sit at the computer (when I should be starting dinner) and can't remember any of those things. All I can think about is the job I need to get, how much I hate interviews (and how poorly I do at them), how few jobs there seem to be (in FL where everyone claims there are not enough teachers!!), the hoops politicians make you jump through to prove that you are "highly qualified" so that "no child will be left behind" in your classroom. Sorry, brothers Bush, but your education reforms aren't working. They are only torturing excellent teachers along with the not-so-excellent ones and poor children who agonize over the standardized tests.

Whaddayaknow? I did have something to blog about! BUT I don't want to dwell on that negative!! Just pray for me and for Loni (if you happen to stop by here - if you have in the past, you've probably stopped coming by since I stopped blogging . . . .). We need teaching jobs and the opportunites seem remote. I won't get into why just now.

Bob got lots of compliments on his sermon Sunday. I thought it was as good as usual. I asked him if he thought there was anything different. He never seems to. It flowed well and he had good points and illustrations, but there again, it didn't seem more so than usual. Do you other preacher-types have the same experience, where the sermons you thought went well get the usual comments and then you get lots of comments on a sermon you thought was about the same as the others?

I don't know how you preacher-types do it. I get nervous when an administrator walks through my classroom. Loni is a lot like me in personality, but she doesn't have this experience. Why is she more self-confident? I get nervous when an administrator walks through, when I interview (yuck!), when I have to offer an opinion to an adult group I don't know. But one-on-one, no problem. It's not easy and it doesn't come naturally, but I've had lots of practice at it.

Well, I hope to do better about blogging in coming weeks and hopefully have more interesting things to stay, so if you stopped by today, thanks and come again!