Wow friends, I have been a serious blogging slacker! Life has been so incredibly busy over the past month and a half. Blogging has crossed my mind, but actually taking the time to do it obviously hasn't happened.
I started teaching at Pleasant Ridge High School in August. I am loving my job. It is a little bit of a commute (about 40 minutes one way) but the kids and my co-workers are definitely worth it. It's a small, farming community so I feel right at home there. My days are crazy busy! I have 5 class periods before lunch (which also means I'm starving by lunch time!). I also travel between 3 classrooms. After lunch I have my prep period and one more class. So my afternoons are super quick. I am teaching 4 different subjects (Computer Applications, Digital Multimedia, Graphic Design & Entrepreneurship), along with a Personal Finance 30-minute, 2-day a week course for juniors. The kids are great! I have had very little discipline problems without having to be really very mean at all. They are really respectful. And I kind of feel like if I was going to have issues, I would be seeing them by now. We've been in school a month. Needless to say, I'm super blessed to have gotten this job and I really do look forward to many more years at PRHS!
Many changes have come Luke's way also in the past month and a half. We realized when school was about to begin that Dick's wasn't going to work around his schedule, at all. We had to have a meeting together to determine if school or work was more important for him. We decided that we were here for seminary and seminary it would be. Luke went and spoke with his previous manager at LifeWay, who graciously offered him his job back, and put his two weeks notice in at Dick's. While in El Salvador in July, Luke confessed that he felt as though he was running away from what he was supposed to be doing - youth ministry. So once we returned, Luke searched for and applied to a couple of youth ministry jobs in the area. While talking to a guy we went church with (who happens to be the Director of Missions for the association), he offered to put Luke's resume in the hands of some pastors who were needing youth ministers. About two days later, Luke got a call from Michael at Providence Baptist Church. Two weeks later we were interviewing for the job and just a couple days after that, we accepted the position. The position is a pastoral intern with an emphasis on youth. It is a part-time position which allows Luke plenty of time for school and he can pick up a few shifts at LifeWay if he wants to. Luke will work closely with the pastor (who happens to be around our age, married, with no kiddos yet - how convenient!) and also build the youth group. The church is growing every Sunday and has great potential to establish an amazing youth group. Our first "day" on the job was Wednesday and we pretty much just got to know some of the youth. It has been really hard to leave Northland though. We have enjoyed over a year at that church - making amazing friends and going to El Salvador twice. The great thing about this new job though, is that we're staying right here. We can build new friendships there, while continuing the ones we already have made at Northland.
Luke and I are also doing something pretty crazy for us starting Monday. Have you ever heard of the Daniel Fast? Well, starting Monday, Luke and I are going to begin the 21-day fast. Like Daniel in the Bible, we will not be allowed meat, dairy, starch, caffeine, sweets or anything unnatural. For someone who has never even been on a diet in her life, this is going to be tough. We are shooting for the entire 21 days but taking it just one day at a time. I really hope to learn some discipline when it comes to eating through this fast. No, I am not fat but...I have definitely gained some weight in the past year. Weight that can be avoided if I learn to limit and control my portions. I need to learn to respect my body through food and fuel it, not fill it with unhealthy things!
My plan is to find the time to blog at least every other day or so while we are doing the fast. There is a devotional that you can do during the fast, but I am just focusing on spending more time in the Word than I do on Pinterest. Seriously, it's an addiction. So I'll also be giving up Pinterest for 21 days. Mostly because I just find delicious, unhealthy recipes while on there and that will not be good! Pray for us as we engage in this fast. Also pray for Luke and I at this new church and as we step back into the limelight of ministry.
I started teaching at Pleasant Ridge High School in August. I am loving my job. It is a little bit of a commute (about 40 minutes one way) but the kids and my co-workers are definitely worth it. It's a small, farming community so I feel right at home there. My days are crazy busy! I have 5 class periods before lunch (which also means I'm starving by lunch time!). I also travel between 3 classrooms. After lunch I have my prep period and one more class. So my afternoons are super quick. I am teaching 4 different subjects (Computer Applications, Digital Multimedia, Graphic Design & Entrepreneurship), along with a Personal Finance 30-minute, 2-day a week course for juniors. The kids are great! I have had very little discipline problems without having to be really very mean at all. They are really respectful. And I kind of feel like if I was going to have issues, I would be seeing them by now. We've been in school a month. Needless to say, I'm super blessed to have gotten this job and I really do look forward to many more years at PRHS!
Many changes have come Luke's way also in the past month and a half. We realized when school was about to begin that Dick's wasn't going to work around his schedule, at all. We had to have a meeting together to determine if school or work was more important for him. We decided that we were here for seminary and seminary it would be. Luke went and spoke with his previous manager at LifeWay, who graciously offered him his job back, and put his two weeks notice in at Dick's. While in El Salvador in July, Luke confessed that he felt as though he was running away from what he was supposed to be doing - youth ministry. So once we returned, Luke searched for and applied to a couple of youth ministry jobs in the area. While talking to a guy we went church with (who happens to be the Director of Missions for the association), he offered to put Luke's resume in the hands of some pastors who were needing youth ministers. About two days later, Luke got a call from Michael at Providence Baptist Church. Two weeks later we were interviewing for the job and just a couple days after that, we accepted the position. The position is a pastoral intern with an emphasis on youth. It is a part-time position which allows Luke plenty of time for school and he can pick up a few shifts at LifeWay if he wants to. Luke will work closely with the pastor (who happens to be around our age, married, with no kiddos yet - how convenient!) and also build the youth group. The church is growing every Sunday and has great potential to establish an amazing youth group. Our first "day" on the job was Wednesday and we pretty much just got to know some of the youth. It has been really hard to leave Northland though. We have enjoyed over a year at that church - making amazing friends and going to El Salvador twice. The great thing about this new job though, is that we're staying right here. We can build new friendships there, while continuing the ones we already have made at Northland.
Luke and I are also doing something pretty crazy for us starting Monday. Have you ever heard of the Daniel Fast? Well, starting Monday, Luke and I are going to begin the 21-day fast. Like Daniel in the Bible, we will not be allowed meat, dairy, starch, caffeine, sweets or anything unnatural. For someone who has never even been on a diet in her life, this is going to be tough. We are shooting for the entire 21 days but taking it just one day at a time. I really hope to learn some discipline when it comes to eating through this fast. No, I am not fat but...I have definitely gained some weight in the past year. Weight that can be avoided if I learn to limit and control my portions. I need to learn to respect my body through food and fuel it, not fill it with unhealthy things!
My plan is to find the time to blog at least every other day or so while we are doing the fast. There is a devotional that you can do during the fast, but I am just focusing on spending more time in the Word than I do on Pinterest. Seriously, it's an addiction. So I'll also be giving up Pinterest for 21 days. Mostly because I just find delicious, unhealthy recipes while on there and that will not be good! Pray for us as we engage in this fast. Also pray for Luke and I at this new church and as we step back into the limelight of ministry.
Hey Bri!
ReplyDeleteI'm just wondering how your job is going and how your fast is going? I try to look on your blog every now and again to see how you are!
--Shelley