Working hard at hardly working

I guess monthly blogs is what it has become for me. It's already February 1st tomorrow! I swear, every time I write "time flies" it just blows me away how true that really is. Time flies. The new year has already rang in some unexpected surprises and faith stretching predicaments which I'll blog about in a bit. Today is my last day of work at this particular high school. After six long weeks. Well, technically my last week of "real" work (teaching) was last week since this week has been devoted to exams. I've basically just been chillin since Monday, which is a very nice way for me to end six weeks of stress! That isn't an overstatement. Even though I love my job and the students (sometimes) the amount of effort and time that goes into planning and marking especially with English is insane. So "stress" is the perfect descriptor. Thankfully, the Lord always rescues me from my whims of self-dependence and when He does, oddly and at the same time divinely, the stress lessens and I see myself in the bigger picture. Honestly, that has happened quite a few times in the last 6 weeks. Praise Him for his grace towards us! Well, because I'm super organized and super anal about leaving things to the last minute (ie. report cards, marking, cleaning) I planned and prepped well in advance that this week would just be smooth sailing. So pretty much I have nothing to do right now and I'm getting paid to sit in my classroom for 7 hours. Which, as I anticipated, would get very boring so I'm armed with a good book and the internet, of course! And so here I am.

I was pretty fortunate to have good classes and easygoing students. There were, of course, your usual slackers, skippers, super geeks (I had an enriched English class) who won't settle for 99%, and average joes, but all in all the students were great and management wasn't too much of an issue save for the one or two exceptions. The rewards of teaching come in many different forms. For me, most came at the end of the day when students would come by my room just to say hi or to chat about their future plans. Or when they'd leave my class and take the time to yell out "Bye Ms. B!" before they walked out the door. I know I will miss that.

Enlarging our territory...

So after the results of a med application and job interview, Dale and I have decided to move to Calgary. It's a surprise in many ways and yet also not a surprise. Since last year we've been praying for direction and leading in our lives as I was finishing up my program and as Dale was considering applications to med schools in Alberta and at UBC. Calgary was always an option since we visit there often and apparently teachers are in demand. So it's been a prayer of ours although it has only been a couple of months that we've been bold in asking God for Calgary. To make a long story shorter, two weeks ago Dale heard back from UBC (he didn't get in to UofC or UofA) and unfortunately was not invited for an interview (he was only one point off!! God definitely has a sense of humor). A couple of days later I get a call from the Calgary Board of Education inviting me for an interview to take place in Vancouver since one of their recruiters was onsite at UBC. On the day of the interview I got offered a job. Yes, I know. Definitely not a coincidence but an answered prayer. So God willing we will be relocating at the end of March as I am supposed to start work the first week of April.

We're excited and looking forward to what the Lord will do in and through our lives over there. Although ideally I would have liked a bit more time to prepare and train people in the ministries that I lead at the church, I am not worried about what will happen because God will stir the hearts of His people because it is His church. No one is indispensible. As someone once said, "We are all pencils in the hand of God." I am humbled by that fact because it reminds me that really I am a nothing that is made into something by God. I have nothing to boast because if it were not for the Holy Spirit in me compelling me to serve and to love His church, I wouldn't be serving. I would have no desire, capability, or strength if God does not give these to me. I serve because I love God and I love his people. It's very easy to "do" a lot of things in the name of Christ yet for all the wrong reasons, whether it be to please God, please people, ease a guilty conscience, feel good about ourselves, etc. But what we always need to remember (and which I was pleasantly reminded of at yesterday's prayer meeting) is that like Abraham, our faith in God is credited as righteousness. We are pleasing, righteous, holy to God because of our faith in what Christ has done for us. Everything done after that is in gratefulness to God's love towards us and in response to His heart for people.

That's my sermon for today ;P

I think I'm going to go enjoy my book now and maybe have a cup of tea to pass the time on this rainy Thursday morning. Three and a half hours to go and then I'm home free!!! Yipeeee!

Opening Remarks

I've heard the saying before: "How you spend New Years is how you will spend the rest of the year." Or some variation of something along those lines. And "New Years" referring to the eve celebrations welcoming the new year. Well, spending an entire year in the warmth and presence of my family is definitely what how I'd like to spend the next year. It was pretty much just us this year (minus tracy, rob, and mark), plus one uncle and a small family from my dad's church. We watched the hockey game (sorry Canucks) while eating steamed lobster, beefsteak, baked potatoes, and baked salmon; played some boggle and take 2 (*cough* scored 133 in one round) and speed 2; watched Kingdom of Heaven and paused it somewhere to countdown the new year; and then recontinued the movie until its end at around 2am. Pancakes, my parents' new pup, slept in between Dale and I while we were watching the movie. As I watched her all curled up in the warmth of us, I imagined her as our baby. We even call her baby and honestly, the way we both talk to her is the way we talk to babies! Perhaps it was a foreshadow of the upcoming year...;P She's too cute. I was never really fond of dogs growing up. Perhaps because I was always allergic to them (and still am), namely to ones that shed fur. But Pancakes seems to be the exception. I love her!!! She's so playful and every time she sees me when I come into the kitchen in the morning, she stretches her small self over the cardboard boundary that keeps her in the kitchen and wags her little tail furiously in delight at my presence. *sigh* I want a baby. A baby dog that is. Heehee.

New Years eve used to be such a huge deal for me as a teenager. I always wanted to spend it with lots of family and friends together and after countdown, stay up as late as possible because who wants to sleep when a new year just rang in. Not me! Well, of course things change and now I'm happy with dinner, boardgames, and a movie (gotta have those boardgames!) with family. I'm even happier because I have Dale to spend the rest of my life's new years with. That fact makes every celebration a happy one.

2008 will be a wonderful year because I have a wonderful God. I want my faith to explode and my knowledge and love for the Lord and His Word to increase as I seek His face, His will, and His life in and for my life. I know that God will bless me because that is His promise and His desire. I know that God will walk ever more closely with me because as I abide in Him, His Word says "I will abide in you." True, I don't know what events will occur this year or where I will be 12 months from now, but I have a God who does and I'm trusting in Him and believing that He is faithful.

So, here's to a new year filled with every blessing of new life in Christ! Live by faith, not by sight!