I had a mostly pleasant half day of subbing today, although I was called a "grouch" by a 6th grader who wouldn't do work and preferred to distract the rest of the class.
Bible study tonight was good too. We had a fun time discussing Leviticus and then one of the ladies in my discussion group passed along her phone number and email so that I could call her up and hang out some time. This is an answer to prayer because since moving here, I've been praying for some more Christian female friends. I don't open up very easily to new people or in social situations unless there is some topic I am VERY familiar with/comfortable with in discussion. Hence, it takes a long time for me to build relationships with people. And while I love the time I spend with other people we already know up here at RC, I have a side of me that isn't quite as geek/nerdy --or at least, is nerdy in different areas (math, teaching, ...).
Yesterday's sermon at our church was very....it was a sign of God's Holy Spirit giving the gift of prophecy still today.
Our pastor spoke on what Jesus would say to President-Elect Barack Obama. It was a moving and powerful message. Our pastor isn't afraid to say things that might make people uncomfortable. One of the things that has really had me thinking was the idea that maybe God promoted Obama to the presidency to deal with the sin of racism, which is just as evil a sin and devaluing to human life as abortion.
It's so easy to become blinded by various issues that we start missing out on other equally important issues and sins that need to be dealt with.
We don't know God's purposes in Obama, but we know He has them, and just as our pastor said that he thinks Jesus would remind Obama that God has brought him to this position and to pray and trust in God for guidance, so Jesus would also remind us to put aside the prejudices we may have and pray for the man who has a heavily burdened position of leading a country. It's a good time to remember that we Christians--even while having the grace of God through his Holy Spirit changing us and conforming us to Himself--we still have our own flawed positions and views, pride, and sin to deal with.
If you would like a link the church to download the audio file of the sermon, please contact me by email or IM.
Snow days are bad for subbing. I subbed ONE DAY this week. That, and some of the schools are at the end of quarter/trimester so I think that through a few schedules off. Monday is another weird day that the students have off (and therefore subs) but the teachers don't--it's different with each school though
Luckily, I did get a little bit of extra tutoring in although it meant missing Bible study :-( Also, I was presented with a possibility for teaching a test prep class at the tutoring center that pays a bit more per hour (it requires managing a fairly sizable group for a few hours each week) Also, one of the teachers I subbed for last week called me and set me up with a few more days in the coming weeks for subbing. (Not a math teacher--elementary special ed learning support--it's like tutoring)
This morning though I had a good time with a Personal Evaluation seminar from my Bible study group. It was learning what the Bible has to say about servanthood and God gave me some really good food for thought, and hopefully action.
Well, much has happened in the life of this person. A blessing of having mostly been out of work is that it let me have a good set of holidays to enjoy the stress of the holidays and not work. Christmas with Josh's family was a very new experience to me. It takes a holiday to see just how different one's families are.... for example, excepting maybe Thanksgiving foods, my family doesn't have firm traditions at Christmas. (although gumbo seems to be becoming one.....) and it was interesting, because there were some things I wasn't quite prepared for since Josh had no intimate knowledge of the female workings of a holiday kitchen. I did really appreciate the time I got to spend with the females in our family :-) and snagging some excellent cookie recipes. It was just bizarre to see an odd look when I suggested that maybe the boys should do the Christmas dishes after my sister-in-law and I were voluntold to do the dishes. (I didn't mind helping and offered much help; I just felt weird being "told" to do them...)
I missed stockings though. I've been missing stockings since it's not a lot of fun to stuff your own when it's just the two of you. It was also hard, but a gift in itself, to not use the credit cards for Christmas gifts--hence, making for a very light materialism. I realize how much better this is and how much more responsible we are finally being with God's gifts to us, but it was tough especially as we are unsure of yet how to budget not knowing my exactly monthly income any more. But I predict this will be a good time for us to learn how to live and pay off debts with just one primary full-time income anyways. (No I'm not pregnant; we're just thinking ahead to a future full-time motherhood)
It was wonderful (renting the trailer was a Christmas gift to ourselves) to bring back BOOKSHELVES! another bed, desk, and the ARMOIRE ("The Great It"). While we have things settled into place (JUSTIN, LEATHERWOOD, BARBOUR, and JOSH: ya'll are the bombs for moving the Great It) we aren't quite unpacked/resorted into it all yet. I do love the room that is becoming our mini-library.
New Year's was a great time, even though I must still perfect my lasagna, Chocolate Chambord Cake, and Cheesecake skills. It was great to spend time with our friends and just have fun and be nerdy :-)
So that is my ramblings about my holidays of 2008.
Today was my first day as a substitute teacher. I subbed for a P.E. class. It was....interesting, and an easy/good experience for a first day of subbing. I have a much greater respect for p.E. teachers and the structured chaos that they must maintain..... It was also interesting how "at home" I felt being back in a school surrounded by teachers and secondary students again. I didn't quite expect it. Plus, the school is very well run by all indications I saw today. Not to mention, the ease (from my perspective as a sub) of what I saw for teachers ad substitutes with the sub system. Then again, it's really easy to be a sub for a P.E. class when the hardest part is taking attendance. Well, there was the adaptive P.E. class....It was fun. but wow. It's hard yet to put into words--the heart that is required for dealing with these very special differences, and the great patience and training necessary for doing things very differently.
Tomorrow I have a half day of math subbing scheduled. While it's still a bit hard to tell, judging by how quickly the computer system grabbed my phone number for a math position (the computer prioritizes subs with similar certifications) I may be able to stay almost full-time subbing with many math positions.