Going into 2009

Last day of the year
Time to look back,
reflect, regret, resolve.

2008
a year of inner turmoil--
hard to walk away from 20 yrs.
also very difficult to part
with all the teaching materials,
still have boxes to deal with.
I poured myself into that career!

Looking back over the losses--
all things I'd grown accustomed to,
taken away against my will,
in God's sovereign purposes,
for my greater good.


The theme impressed on my heart since Christmas
in the words of a familiar hymn from childhood:


Tú dejaste tu trono (You left your throne)
y corona por mí (and crown for me)
al venir a Belén a nacer... (when you came to be born in Bethlehem...)

Jesus gave up all intentionally.
In 2009 I want to follow His example
in every area of life.

So tonight we welcome 2009
with a big event in Muncie:
robotics team drops the NYE ball!
Since Mike has been so involved,
we will all be there!

Such a Strange Way to Save the World

This song moves me today.

And it reminds me of a Christmas some 31 years ago when Mike was Joseph in the Omro Christmas Pageant. Since then, Joseph's role in the great event has taken on new meaning. Also since then Mike has had a moustache; the beard, however, had to go.
Our dear friend Marlene was the organizer. She had the choir, a young Mary, even a donkey, but no Joseph. She threatened to come by the trailer at night and be the voice of God calling for Joseph by our window. Mike agreed before she had to resort to such tactics.
This year Marlene is celebrating her first Christmas in heaven.

That same year, we had no Christmas tree. One or two days before, a beautiful tree appeared by our door. We never did find out who left it.

By the following Christmas we had a new born son and were on the M/V Doulos, OM's missionary ship, where we served for almost five years.

Many years and stories later...we celebrate the birth of Jesus, moved once again by such love.

Random Reflections

Mike is back from a week out West in Idaho, his yearly hunting trip with brother and nephew, and in his luggage he brought some 25 lbs. of frozen duck meat.

This was another beautiful fall day though cooler than it has been . We went for a paseo, a leisurely ride, on our tandem. First we stopped to watch our grandson Skye's last football game. The season was good for learning and growing, certainly not a winning one. (Y'all would be proud of me, I think I finally understand how the game is played!)

Our next stop took us to Payne's, a unique artsy-type custard and coffee shop. Being a local hangout one is likely to meet friends or acquaintances. And we did--a precious young couple who have seven children, among them a 3-year old is battling cancer. They were out on a date, thanks to the kindness of our own neighbor who was looking after their children. This Wednesday Isabel starts a 6-week radiation treatment.

We are grateful to live in a very supportive community. We have been here 25 years now and have worked in a variety of settings and moved in different circles. Not a day goes by without a friendly encounter or meaningful conversation. And lately, I seem to come across former students more often, and they seem happy to see me!

Circles of influence, the contexts where I have lived and worked--that is one of the themes I've been reflecting on. I started to draw a circle for each one, noticing how they overlap or affect one another. I want to think on this further to gain insights into God's ways and His purpose for my life.

sS, vV

My weekdays, moving between three schools helping English learners, vary greatly: from Kindergarten to 8th grade; from letter recognition (little letters/big ones=lower case/capitals) and practicing finding the ones that belong to their names (Luz was lucky, only three; Ignacio had to keep looking at his crayon box) to pre-algebra concepts I never learned (or forgotten by now!); from filling out IEP's, translating forms, interpreting for non-English speaking parents to administering spelling and reading tests and English competency placement tests to just being there for a diabetic teacher whose blood-sugar-level fell suddenly.
f.l.e.x.i.b.i.l.i.t.y is the name of the game. Those are some of the things I do as a "bilingual specialist." The title is fancier than the job.
Saturdays bring even more variety: I ran Taylor's Homecoming 5K; went to grandsons games--Skye's football and Malachi's soccer; did some shopping; and dropped in on former colleague's 40th birthday open house. And here I am attempting to make sense of all the day's thoughts and post another blog. (How on earth did they/we manage to reflect/write/edit without a computer in the "good old days"? Oh, there was no blogging!)

Anyway, many questions tumble around my mind, like clothes in the dryer.
People are always asking me, "How do you like your new job?" or "How's it going on the job?" And there is so much I am still trying to figure out, not only about the new job, but about myself and life's transitions. Like, why am I thrown into new contexts and learning situations over and over again. Is it wrong to question? Am I putting on a good front most of the time or am I truly content? Are there feelings I simply push down?

As I was running today, I overheard the conversation of the group behind me (obviously they were not racing if they could still converse!) The woman speaking was talking about story vs. Story and vision vs. Vision. My story, our stories vs. God's Story. My vision, our vision vs. God's Vision. How do the struggles and successes of my life story fit into the bigger picture of God's Story and His Vision and purpose? I need not know, simply trust and follow and love.

Tagged!

I've been tagged by http://zizziehappenings.blogspot.com/ to list 5 things I love, excluding family. As I pondered what topic to tackle in today's blog, after being away for nearly a week due to an Ike-forced internet fast, I decided this was a good re-entry subject.
This has been a good exercise and serves to summarize observations about myself that have surfaced over the summer as I worked through the transition from teacher to a new and unknown routine. So, in no particular order:
I love...
reading--to occupy my intellect in the act of learning/researching/finding out what's going on more than for pure enjoyment. Mike knows that when we go somewhere where there are free newspapers (restaurants, hotels, etc.) I will always pick one up and use any waiting time reading.
I do enjoy books and well written stories, but mostly listen to them in audio form. I rarely sit down with a book. However, I have always very much enjoyed reading books to anyone who will listen: children, students, husband or family as we travel.
writing--to communicate, to tell life stories, to stay in touch with people.
As a wannabe-writer I chose Psalm 26:7 as my mission statement: "That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works." (KJV)
photography--taking, sharing, arranging photos in an artistic and meaningful way. It is a form of story telling, of recording family history.
Though I do not consider myself a scrapbooker, one who goes all out with the materials and trimmings that go with the craft, I am gifted at taking a group or pile of photographs and arranging them chronologically or thematically in an artistic display. I offer my services to friends when their loved one dies and each time the result is different but the effect is impacting and positive.
Currently I am working on my parents collection. It has been like putting together a difficult puzzle, trying to reconstruct their growing up years and my own. So far I have three albums completed and probably that many more to go.
traveling--to see people more than places. I have been very privileged in my life to have had so many opportunities to travel the world and have lived for lengths of time in various countries and continents, even on a missionary ship that took us to numerous ports. However, my main desire to travel now is to visit people. The exception to that is when I travel with my husband, on our tandem vacations or road trips, then I enjoy the sights with him.
teaching--helping others grow in the enjoyment of what I am passionate about. For many years it has been the Spanish language and literature. But can also include teaching Bible truths to children in junior church and sharing knowledge with my grandchildren.

As I reflected on this list, it occurred to me that all of these passions could be the spokes of a wheel and have to do with mind, heart, soul, but the hub or center is the spirit. I would be starved if I could not engage my mind and share with people, but would be aimless and empty without Jesus and the Spirit of God at the core of my being.

Now it's your turn:
Heather
Jenna
Sharon
Karen
Kristie

TWISTS of Life

I heard a quote not long ago but can't remember where it came from.

"9/10 of knowing God's will is overcome when we accept what we know (knew all along?) is God's will."

All the doors I knocked on, i.e. the colleges and high schools I applied to, have closed. The school year has begun and I am still at home. So this week I must accept that fact and order my life accordingly.

Transitioning away from teaching has proven more difficult than I imagined. Maybe I never gave it much thought, I was too busy. But I have felt for some time that I should fall back on writing, ever since I took a course in Freelance Writing from Doc Hensley (Taylor Fort Wayne).

Now, here I am and I don't know what to do exactly. I have heard many times that a writer (especially a beginning writer!) should not quit his/her day job! But I have no income-generating employment.

So, should I become a translator? I signed up on a translators website and have available projects coming to my inbox daily. If I pay the $129 for full membership I can bid on them and probably end up with more than I can handle.

Or should I become a substitute teacher and contact all the Spanish teachers so they know they can count on fluency and experience and list me as their top choice?

How often will I need to make the trip to Warsaw to help Mother prepare for a move to Grace Village in a not-yet-determined future?

And how involved would/could/should I be with the grandchildren? Kristie is going to go to school full-time, she received two generous grants and cannot pass up the opportunity. Might I be able to help care for Elijah?

Last but not least, and above all: support my husband, lighten his load in creative ways.

Translate

Write

Involvement with grandkids

Substitute teach

Transition parents to retirement community

Support Michael!

Or ALL OF THE ABOVE!

If there are any readers out there, I welcome your responses.