Yay for Labor Day Weekend! I hope everyone has enjoyed a long, relaxing weekend. And let's be excited...fall is coming quickly!
On Saturday, Jared and I made the long haul (except not at all long, luckily!) to Winston-Salem! We visited each parents' house, picked up some more of our belongings, and then all of us went to the Liberty vs. Wake Forest football game. Normally I would pull for Wake at a Wake game, but as a pastor's wife, I'm called to root for LU. :) We sat in our navy blue and red Liberty t-shirts in a midst of black and gold. Sadly, Liberty lost, but definitely held their own against Wake and only lost by 3 points! For the sake of Wake's fans, I hope that they play better the rest of the season than they did against LU. We can blame it on the rain, I suppose ;)
I love football games, mainly because I love football. I also love being around family while watching football, and people watching at games always promises to be entertaining. However, people watching only depressed me at the game on Saturday. A young married couple sat in front of us with their friends, most of which were probably a few years older than us. We deduced that they were Wake alum, with the exception of the wife in the couple in front of me. She was so excited to be at the game, and she was about one of the nicest people that I've ever briefly met. We talked for a short time at the beginning of the game (because I hit her with my rain poncho - oops) and she was very sweet.
As the game began, the wife cheered and yelled for Wake, and then cheered just as loudly for Liberty. She wasn't necessarily a fan of either, so I guess she figured she could pull for both teams equally. Her husband quickly turned to her, and with a very sharp tongue and colorful language, told her she couldn't cheer for Liberty. She was there to cheer for Wake.
Not long in to the first quarter, a Liberty player was knocked out cold on the field. I didn't see him get hit, but he didn't move a muscle as the pile of players slowly got off of him. The husband cheered and yelled and clapped as he watched the motionless player. She asked him to stop, and he said, "What? I don't care if he gets hurt!" The player eventually was helped off the field, and everyone in the stands clapped and cheered, WFU and LU fans alike...except for the guy in front of me.
As the game progressed and the guy shut down his wife, cussing, over and over and over again, her mood and body language quickly changed. She went from being peppy and clapping, to pulling her knees up, resting her chin on them, and hardly saying a word at all.
My impression of him was obviously not a very high one. I felt terrible for his wife, and wondered how anybody could ever be so rude to a young woman that seemed to be so nice. I was sad for both of them, and almost mad at a complete stranger.
Sunday morning in church, the pastor spoke out of John 15, the vine and the branches passage. I listened as he talked about producing fruit, and Jesus' call to the disciples to produce fruit. My mind immediately went to the Wake fan in front of me the night before. "What a lack of fruit," I thought. He was so openly and downright mean, there was no way he could produce fruit if he didn't change his attitude, I thought.
My thought process started changing, however. I consider myself a nice person. I started thinking about how many "nice" people there are in our world today. Nice people. The kind of people whose hearts get blessed on a regular basis. People that don't have a mean bone in their body and would never hurt a soul...but could it be possible that they are lacking fruit, too?
I was challenged by the sermon yesterday morning. I examined my own life, wondering what kind of fruit I was producing. Verse 13 of this passage says, "greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." Jesus ultimately laid his life down for us at the end, but he laid his life down daily for his disciples and for the multitudes that he served. That is what true fruit looks like. How willing am I to do that, and how many friends do I have/know that would do that for me?
While you and I may not cuss and cheer when we see people unconscious on a football field, simply being nice to others is not what Jesus meant when he told us to bear fruit. Being nice is too easy. Stepping aside and getting yourself out of the way so that God can shine through...less easy! I am challenging myself to find ways to bear fruit, and I encourage you to do the same.
To live like Christ, we have to love like Christ. Think about how different our world would be if people stopped trying to simply be nice, and started truly living more like Christ lived. Pretty amazing, don't you think?
Monday, September 3, 2012
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Things That Make Me Laugh
Busy, busy week this week! Its what Jared and I have decided will be our typical busy-ness and I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. We've done church things, school things, parties (eating cupcakes with giggly children...just terrible), we've visited sweet old church members, and spent half of our life savings (slight exaggeration) going grocery shopping yesterday. Going shopping without the benefit of gift cards from wedding celebrations is a revolting development, but I'm also learning the art of coupon clipping!
As can be expected, a week this busy is a week full of funny things happening. If you are in need of a pick-me-up, you've come to the right place.
Spirit Week
This week was spirit week at MCCS to support our girl's volleyball team! They smashed their opponent last Friday night and were excited to celebrate this week. Monday was pajama day. Kids are always sleepy on pajama day. Tuesday was nerd day, and at least a third of the school's population had their pants under their armpits. Pigtails and taped glasses dotted the campus and everyone talked like Steve Urkel. Yesterday was crazy hat and sock day! It was also picture day, so the kids were bursting at the seams to put on their hats once we had our pictures taken. And today was crazy hair day.
Crazy Hair Day
When you're a teacher, you do things like plan to run errands after school. Like going to the license plate agency, for instance. And then you do things like sleep in curlers and wake up with a legit afro and wear poofy poodle-ear pigtails to school. Sometime around 10:00, you realize you in fact can't go to the license plate agency because you have growths coming out of your head and ribbons tied around said growths.
I'm not speaking from experience, or anything...
But really. I'm talking Bozo the Clown, hair sticking out inches from the side of my head kind of afro. At first I laughed, but then I was just really terrified to look at myself, so I settled for poofy pigtails instead.
The smart board man came to work on my smart board today and spent a solid two or three hours with us. Not looking like Bozo the Clown was a smart choice.
Picture Day
Picture day was Wednesday, and that was also the day that I woke up at 7:04 instead of 6:00 as I normally do. Falling asleep the second my head hit the pillow Tuesday night, I forgot to set my alarm clock. I bolted out of bed Wednesday morning and got ready as quickly as I could, praising God that we live 5 minutes away from school! I made it to school at 7:29. 7:30 is the start time for teachers. How could I not laugh about that?
On the other hand, I'm concerned about how my school picture might turn out...
Explorers
Yesterday and today, my students wrote creative papers on an exploration mission they were sent on. Most of them wrote that they were sent to an uncharted island by the President, that they took their friends as their team, and that they found jewels and unicorns (a seeming theme for our class this year) and huge elephants. All of the stories made me laugh quite a bit. I got to the final story, written by a boy that spent about twice as long writing as the other students did.
He chose to take Paula Deen along as part of his crew. I wrote, "good choice!" and continued reading. He went on to talk about how they went into an underground temple in Belize and found Buddha remains. He was the second one to go in to a hidden passageway.
"When we got the end we found the treasure. I quickly switched it with Paula Deen's cake. Then Indians started shooting poison darts at us. I rolled Paula Deen at them. STRIKE!"
I laughed out loud at my desk over that one. Hilarious.
As can be expected, a week this busy is a week full of funny things happening. If you are in need of a pick-me-up, you've come to the right place.
Spirit Week
This week was spirit week at MCCS to support our girl's volleyball team! They smashed their opponent last Friday night and were excited to celebrate this week. Monday was pajama day. Kids are always sleepy on pajama day. Tuesday was nerd day, and at least a third of the school's population had their pants under their armpits. Pigtails and taped glasses dotted the campus and everyone talked like Steve Urkel. Yesterday was crazy hat and sock day! It was also picture day, so the kids were bursting at the seams to put on their hats once we had our pictures taken. And today was crazy hair day.
Crazy Hair Day
When you're a teacher, you do things like plan to run errands after school. Like going to the license plate agency, for instance. And then you do things like sleep in curlers and wake up with a legit afro and wear poofy poodle-ear pigtails to school. Sometime around 10:00, you realize you in fact can't go to the license plate agency because you have growths coming out of your head and ribbons tied around said growths.
I'm not speaking from experience, or anything...
But really. I'm talking Bozo the Clown, hair sticking out inches from the side of my head kind of afro. At first I laughed, but then I was just really terrified to look at myself, so I settled for poofy pigtails instead.
The smart board man came to work on my smart board today and spent a solid two or three hours with us. Not looking like Bozo the Clown was a smart choice.
Picture Day
Picture day was Wednesday, and that was also the day that I woke up at 7:04 instead of 6:00 as I normally do. Falling asleep the second my head hit the pillow Tuesday night, I forgot to set my alarm clock. I bolted out of bed Wednesday morning and got ready as quickly as I could, praising God that we live 5 minutes away from school! I made it to school at 7:29. 7:30 is the start time for teachers. How could I not laugh about that?
On the other hand, I'm concerned about how my school picture might turn out...
Explorers
Yesterday and today, my students wrote creative papers on an exploration mission they were sent on. Most of them wrote that they were sent to an uncharted island by the President, that they took their friends as their team, and that they found jewels and unicorns (a seeming theme for our class this year) and huge elephants. All of the stories made me laugh quite a bit. I got to the final story, written by a boy that spent about twice as long writing as the other students did.
He chose to take Paula Deen along as part of his crew. I wrote, "good choice!" and continued reading. He went on to talk about how they went into an underground temple in Belize and found Buddha remains. He was the second one to go in to a hidden passageway.
"When we got the end we found the treasure. I quickly switched it with Paula Deen's cake. Then Indians started shooting poison darts at us. I rolled Paula Deen at them. STRIKE!"
I laughed out loud at my desk over that one. Hilarious.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Politics & My Classroom
My nine students and I were gathered around my small blue table yesterday, studying the lines of latitude and longitude that run through the state of North Carolina in our big atlas. We found Wilkesboro, talked about where Millers Creek is located, and then conversation naturally went to..."Oh Charlotte! My grandma lives in Charlotte!" and the likes of that. We had a few minutes to spare, so we spent some time exploring our state in the atlas.
In about 2.5 seconds, we went from talking about Raleigh and the beach to talking about politics. How? I'm not altogether sure, but I figured a discussion about the upcoming election had plenty to do with Social Studies, so I ran with it. If you need your mood lifted, talk to a nine-year old about politics...it was pretty hilarious!
These are some of the comments that were made:
"If I was old enough to vote, I wouldn't. All those two men do are pick on each other and say what the other is doing wrong!"
"That's politics for you!"
(I said, "amen.")
This started a chorus of children talking in their best deep, grown man voices: "I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve this message."
"I'm Barack Obama! And I approve this message."
"I know a lot of people that aren't voting because they don't like either man. I wouldn't either!"
*I took this opportunity to discuss how it is our responsibility as citizens of America to voice our opinions and beliefs through voting, so no worries!
"My grandmother said we don't have unicorns anymore because God let them play outside of the ark for a while. Then they missed the ark door closing, so they didn't get to go with Noah. Is that really what happened, Mrs. Blair?"
Unrelated, but we discussed that for a short while, too.
I can't make this stuff up!
"Presidents make promises that no one could ever keep!"
Followed by another, "that's politics for you!"
At this point, I was dying laughing on the inside!
"George Washington is THE BEST PRESIDENT this country has ever had!"
"Nuh-uh, Abraham Lincoln was!"
"What this country REALLY needs is another Ronald Reagan."
(I amen-ed again.)
It was the most hilarious 10 minutes that we've had this week. I loved that my students started this discussion on their own, without me hardly saying a word. And I love that they share the truths that so many adults think, but are afraid to say! I hope these comments made you laugh as much as they made me laugh. Love those kids!
On the same note, here are some pictures of my classroom! Enjoy :)
In about 2.5 seconds, we went from talking about Raleigh and the beach to talking about politics. How? I'm not altogether sure, but I figured a discussion about the upcoming election had plenty to do with Social Studies, so I ran with it. If you need your mood lifted, talk to a nine-year old about politics...it was pretty hilarious!
These are some of the comments that were made:
"If I was old enough to vote, I wouldn't. All those two men do are pick on each other and say what the other is doing wrong!"
"That's politics for you!"
(I said, "amen.")
This started a chorus of children talking in their best deep, grown man voices: "I'm Mitt Romney, and I approve this message."
"I'm Barack Obama! And I approve this message."
"I know a lot of people that aren't voting because they don't like either man. I wouldn't either!"
*I took this opportunity to discuss how it is our responsibility as citizens of America to voice our opinions and beliefs through voting, so no worries!
"My grandmother said we don't have unicorns anymore because God let them play outside of the ark for a while. Then they missed the ark door closing, so they didn't get to go with Noah. Is that really what happened, Mrs. Blair?"
Unrelated, but we discussed that for a short while, too.
I can't make this stuff up!
"Presidents make promises that no one could ever keep!"
Followed by another, "that's politics for you!"
At this point, I was dying laughing on the inside!
"George Washington is THE BEST PRESIDENT this country has ever had!"
"Nuh-uh, Abraham Lincoln was!"
"What this country REALLY needs is another Ronald Reagan."
(I amen-ed again.)
It was the most hilarious 10 minutes that we've had this week. I loved that my students started this discussion on their own, without me hardly saying a word. And I love that they share the truths that so many adults think, but are afraid to say! I hope these comments made you laugh as much as they made me laugh. Love those kids!
On the same note, here are some pictures of my classroom! Enjoy :)
My desk area during our teacher workdays! If only it could stay that neat when school is actually in session :)
our behavior chart!
and classroom rules
My kids have lockers in our classroom! That was the most exciting part of moving to fourth grade for most of them.
A list of our daily subjects and a preview of the week's topics!
(Also, I have so much storage! There are three sets cupboards to the left of this cabinet that the Sunday School teacher and I share. Its so wonderful!)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Delectable.
Jared and I got an awesome Pampered Chef brownie pan from his parents for one of our wedding gifts! I broke it in yesterday and made us some Reese's Cup Cookie Brownies that were pretty awesome. This is a picture of the brownie pan from Pampered Chef's website.
I love it because of the individual wells in it! And, in typical PC style, there is a flipper/spatula that fits perfectly inside of the wells. Naturally. Very handy!
First, you squish chocolate chip cookie dough in to each individual well. I used the Nestle stuff, and two of the cookie dough squares filled the opening perfectly!
Then, you place an upside-down Reese's cup onto each cookie dough square.
Mix together some brownie mix...
And scoop some brownie mix on to each cookie dough Reese's cup square! Then bake at 350 until the brownies are finished. Super easy!
The finished product! Chocolatey, peanut buttery, gooey goodness. Yum. I ate one and felt like my teeth were going to fall out. Sweet, but tasty!
Saturday, August 18, 2012
More Wedding!
I saw a ton of cute bridesmaid gift ideas on Pinterest, but none of them really fit my taste. For instance, a box full of various types of alcohol...I didn't think that was quite our style :) So, I got off Pinterest and created my own!
I made each bridesmaid a "Bridesmaid Survival Kit!" I found the owl bags at Bath and Body Works near the cash register. I thought they were adorable, and they were a reasonable price. I bought the mini hand lotion from there, too. Everything else I found at Rite-Aid in either the travel or candy section!
This is the poem that I attached to each bag!
I also wrote each bridesmaids' first initial on the outside of the bag (the pictured bag has an "L," not a weird "I," haha). Sharpies are great!
I also gave each bridesmaid the jewelry that they would be wearing in the wedding. Teenia, Miss Maid of Honor, was a big help in the bracelet-making process! We made the bracelets by threading beads onto a string, sandwiching each bead between two ribbon folds. It was tedious at first, but we soon enough got the hang of it, and it was a fairly quick project. I made the earrings on another free summer afternoon that I had. Thank goodness I'm a teacher and have the summers off! I didn't have my bridesmaids buy all the same shoes or do their hair any certain way, so I thought matching jewelry would complete their outfits nicely!
While it may have been a tad time-consuming, it was so much fun making the survival kits and jewelry for my lovely bridesmaids. Those five girls were a huge help to me on our wedding day, and I thought they deserved a gift that would be helpful to them!
Our Wedding!
Jared and I have been married three weeks as of today! It's been a fun three weeks :) Fun and crazy busy! He got right back to work at Millers Creek the day after we got back from our honeymoon, and my workdays at Millers Creek Christian School started right away, too. We're both blessed to have jobs in ministry that we love so much. God is good!
Getting married meant moving, and moving means a long to-do list...people to call, delivery men to not be home for, and appointments that don't happen when they're supposed to! Luckily, everything worked out eventually and our little house is coming together very nicely. We had our internet set up on Tuesday. Its crazy how reliant we've become on having the internet! Not having it for a week and a half or so was surprisingly (and sadly) strange. But alas, we survived.
Now that we have the internet, I can get back to the blogging world. So excited! I know everyone is wondering about wedding things...so wait no longer!
Our wedding was just perfect for us, and we had a lot of fun planning it. It was great and non-stressful, and everything went off without a hitch! I had a great time doing crafts and making decorations for the wedding, and I had a trusty team of crafters that were just a phone call away, waiting to fold tissue paper and punch out flower shapes. I couldn't have done it without them! Jared even got in on some of the crafting fun. Sadly, I don't have any picture proof of that. :)
Getting married meant moving, and moving means a long to-do list...people to call, delivery men to not be home for, and appointments that don't happen when they're supposed to! Luckily, everything worked out eventually and our little house is coming together very nicely. We had our internet set up on Tuesday. Its crazy how reliant we've become on having the internet! Not having it for a week and a half or so was surprisingly (and sadly) strange. But alas, we survived.
Now that we have the internet, I can get back to the blogging world. So excited! I know everyone is wondering about wedding things...so wait no longer!
Our wedding was just perfect for us, and we had a lot of fun planning it. It was great and non-stressful, and everything went off without a hitch! I had a great time doing crafts and making decorations for the wedding, and I had a trusty team of crafters that were just a phone call away, waiting to fold tissue paper and punch out flower shapes. I couldn't have done it without them! Jared even got in on some of the crafting fun. Sadly, I don't have any picture proof of that. :)
This was one of my favorite wedding crafts! We put engagement pictures from our wonderful photographer on the ends of some of the pews in the sanctuary in place of flowers on the pews. I painted the frames, glued some flowers on them, and learned how to tie pretty bows to glue on them, too (thanks Pinterest!).
The finished product - I was really happy with how they turned out!
I also made reserved signs. I had to have ones that matched the color scheme, naturally. :) The yellow part is a decoration that my friends/bridesmaids had left over from a wedding shower they threw for us. So that part was free! The black part chalkboard paper that I bought at Michael's. Sadly, the chalk was very hard to see on the paper, bought I found that a silver Sharpie did the trick wonderfully!
We also made a guestbook poster to hang, rather than having a typical guestbook that we may never open again. This was based off of a Pinterest idea too! My mom mentioned a few months ago that if I stayed off of Pinterest, the wedding planning would go faster. She was right. But! Everything was finished just in time for the 28th.
I drew the silhouettes of the bride and groom and cut them out of black scrapbook paper. Mod Podge is holding them on, as well as their yellow bows and our names, because that stuff is awesome! Then we stamped the balloons with a stamp that we found after spending a long time in Michaels...Jared is such a trooper!
The tin pail was another Michael's find, and it has a cute chalkboard oval on the front!
The slate also came from Michael's. Can you tell I like Michael's? Kinda my happy place!
That about does it for this wedding post. I encourage anybody that is planning a wedding to do as many homemade things as you can! I think it made our wedding even more special, seeing decorations that we had worked on for so long before the wedding day. It also saved us quite a bit of money!
Monday, July 9, 2012
19 Days and Counting...
Until our wedding!
We have a few things to get done before then. :)
If you have talked to either Jared or me in the past couple of weeks, you know that a lot has been going on in our lives outside of our upcoming marriage. Most people don't know the whole story though, and it is just too incredible not to share with you!
Back in January, Jared submitted his resume to Millers Creek Baptist Church in Wilkesboro. They were looking for a Children's and Discipleship pastor, which are both things that Jared has had experience with - especially the children's part. We were so excited to see the opening because it seemed as though the job was created just for Jared. While on a family vacation in March, he received a questionnaire to fill out from the church concerning his beliefs: a sign that he was still in the running for the position! After that questionnaire, things slowly unfolded. Calls were made to Jared from the personnel committee, candidates were narrowed, and eventually, the whole process was down to Jared and one other prospective employee.
Jared travelled to Millers Creek one Saturday morning for his interview. He called me after he spent a few hours with the church members and was so excited about the time they had spent together. He said the people were amazing, the pastor was so friendly, and he felt like he really fit in with the church and community. He told me that he had other news that I would go crazy over and he laughed a lot, saying he was going to wait to tell me in person. I begged him to tell me then because there was no way I could wait.
Before the interview started, the pastor of the church asked Jared, "What grade is it that Beth teaches?"
Jared told him that I teach fourth grade.
"Oh," said the pastor, "the fourth grade teacher at our Christian school may be resigning."
Did you get chills? Because I did. Crazy!
Not long after the interview, Jared got the call: Millers Creek was going to go forward with him as the possible Children's and Discipleship pastor!
We found ourselves in Millers Creek just a couple weeks later for a Sunday spent with the church family. Jared did a great job sharing his testimony during both of the morning services, we ate lunch and fellowshipped with the pastors and their families, and we spent the evening in Q&A sessions with the church members. We couldn't get over how welcoming everyone was. Pastor Shannon mentioned that Jared and I would need a place to live if the vote worked out. No lie, at least 9 or 10 folks came to us while we ate to share with us housing possibilities!
The vote happened the following Sunday. 98.4% of the church voted to bring Jared on as the new pastor of children and discipleship. Needless to say, hugs and squeals (mainly by me...not so much a squealing Jared) were exchanged, and a happy Jared accepted the job!
Rewind to the Wednesday before the vote happened. The principal at Millers Creek Christian School called me that morning to tell me that their fourth grade teacher had, in fact, moved on, leaving the position open for me. "You're my only applicant!" she told me excitedly, and we set up an interview right away. The Tuesday after the vote, Jared and I took another trip up 421 for my interview. It went splendidly, and I got a tour of the school to boot. The principal and I each prayed about the job opportunity that night, and I accepted the job on the morning of July 4th. :) I am thrilled to teach 8 wonderful fourth grade students this year, and even more thrilled that I get to teach them about the Bible!
Back when Millers Creek became a possibility, the few people that knew about it asked if I was concerned about finding a job. I truthfully wasn't. Jared and I knew that if God provided a job for Jared there, that meant I would find a job there. I think that job actually found me. God is good!
And where are we going to live? That would be in the house that fell in to our laps! Some of those sweet church members did some digging on a house that had been recently bought in their neighborhood. Turns out, the owners bought the house with the intent to rent...who better to rent it to than me and Jared? Its a cute little starter house. It will be even cuter once we get the seventies wall paper down and do a little bit of painting :) And its 5 minutes from the church, where Jared and I will both be spending our days in ministry!
And in the midst of all of this, our wedding is somehow still being planned! Jared is now in Millers Creek for the majority of his weeks, staying in a house that is owned by a church member, but that no one is currently living in. Their sweet family offered it to Jared (and me, if we need it after we get married!) to live in. For free. Amazing. We're both working hard on things for the wedding, for our home, for our jobs, for our lives that are almost together. So exciting!
If you are still reading this, thanks for sticking through to the end of my mini-novel haha. I just felt that I needed to share the way that God has been working in our lives. It is more incredible than I can even say to see His will unfold like this, and hopefully you've been blessed by seeing how God still works so clearly in His children's lives. I have never ever seen things fall in to place as they have with this opportunity, and it brings us so much comfort and peace that it all worked out so easily. Thanks for everybody that has been praying for us throughout this process! We are so blessed and we love you all. :)
We have a few things to get done before then. :)
If you have talked to either Jared or me in the past couple of weeks, you know that a lot has been going on in our lives outside of our upcoming marriage. Most people don't know the whole story though, and it is just too incredible not to share with you!
Back in January, Jared submitted his resume to Millers Creek Baptist Church in Wilkesboro. They were looking for a Children's and Discipleship pastor, which are both things that Jared has had experience with - especially the children's part. We were so excited to see the opening because it seemed as though the job was created just for Jared. While on a family vacation in March, he received a questionnaire to fill out from the church concerning his beliefs: a sign that he was still in the running for the position! After that questionnaire, things slowly unfolded. Calls were made to Jared from the personnel committee, candidates were narrowed, and eventually, the whole process was down to Jared and one other prospective employee.
Jared travelled to Millers Creek one Saturday morning for his interview. He called me after he spent a few hours with the church members and was so excited about the time they had spent together. He said the people were amazing, the pastor was so friendly, and he felt like he really fit in with the church and community. He told me that he had other news that I would go crazy over and he laughed a lot, saying he was going to wait to tell me in person. I begged him to tell me then because there was no way I could wait.
Before the interview started, the pastor of the church asked Jared, "What grade is it that Beth teaches?"
Jared told him that I teach fourth grade.
"Oh," said the pastor, "the fourth grade teacher at our Christian school may be resigning."
Did you get chills? Because I did. Crazy!
Not long after the interview, Jared got the call: Millers Creek was going to go forward with him as the possible Children's and Discipleship pastor!
We found ourselves in Millers Creek just a couple weeks later for a Sunday spent with the church family. Jared did a great job sharing his testimony during both of the morning services, we ate lunch and fellowshipped with the pastors and their families, and we spent the evening in Q&A sessions with the church members. We couldn't get over how welcoming everyone was. Pastor Shannon mentioned that Jared and I would need a place to live if the vote worked out. No lie, at least 9 or 10 folks came to us while we ate to share with us housing possibilities!
The vote happened the following Sunday. 98.4% of the church voted to bring Jared on as the new pastor of children and discipleship. Needless to say, hugs and squeals (mainly by me...not so much a squealing Jared) were exchanged, and a happy Jared accepted the job!
a screen shot from Millers Creek's website!
Rewind to the Wednesday before the vote happened. The principal at Millers Creek Christian School called me that morning to tell me that their fourth grade teacher had, in fact, moved on, leaving the position open for me. "You're my only applicant!" she told me excitedly, and we set up an interview right away. The Tuesday after the vote, Jared and I took another trip up 421 for my interview. It went splendidly, and I got a tour of the school to boot. The principal and I each prayed about the job opportunity that night, and I accepted the job on the morning of July 4th. :) I am thrilled to teach 8 wonderful fourth grade students this year, and even more thrilled that I get to teach them about the Bible!
And where are we going to live? That would be in the house that fell in to our laps! Some of those sweet church members did some digging on a house that had been recently bought in their neighborhood. Turns out, the owners bought the house with the intent to rent...who better to rent it to than me and Jared? Its a cute little starter house. It will be even cuter once we get the seventies wall paper down and do a little bit of painting :) And its 5 minutes from the church, where Jared and I will both be spending our days in ministry!
yay little house!
If you are still reading this, thanks for sticking through to the end of my mini-novel haha. I just felt that I needed to share the way that God has been working in our lives. It is more incredible than I can even say to see His will unfold like this, and hopefully you've been blessed by seeing how God still works so clearly in His children's lives. I have never ever seen things fall in to place as they have with this opportunity, and it brings us so much comfort and peace that it all worked out so easily. Thanks for everybody that has been praying for us throughout this process! We are so blessed and we love you all. :)
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