A JOB!

God is good. . .and ever so faithful!

As I type, I am typing to you as a preschool teacher! :)

I am very excited and SO blessed to be moving in a less-stressful direction. I am so glad that the Lord has opened this door. I definitely need a break after the past two years--they have been so hectic!

In addition to this huge blessing, the Lord has opened up an opportunity to live in an apartment complex that appears to be awesome and have ALMOST everything we want (it's only missing a washer and dryer, but I'm willing to compromise). The best part is that my new job is DIRECTLY BEHIND said apartment complex.

I GET TO WALK TO WORK/RIDE MY BIKE TO WORK!

NO MORE TWENTY MINUTE DRIVES~!

THE LORD IS AWESOME!

We are so excited to start this new chapter. . .and I am so excited to live in a more gluten-free friendly location!

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!

The joys of. . ..

Fingerprinting?

Ah, yes. It came down to that. To get a new teaching certificate, I had to jump through some hoops. Getting re-fingerprinted was just the beginning. I am currently waiting for my college folk to write up my program so that I can send off for a temporary WA certificate.

I feel like the Lord has not opened a door yet and called me to a job. . .so I take this as, "Talitha, I may want you to trust me a bit longer with this whole "being a SPED teacher" a little bit longer." So I'm just trying to listen. I am getting my ducks in a line to apply for many special education positions in the surrounding school districts near SCATTLE. There are quite a few openings in about 5 near-enough districts, so we will see what happens. There is one particular district that is standing out a bit more to me; not sure why.

My current job was one of those "I really don't think I want to do this" jobs; but it was exactly what I was supposed to do for the last 2 years. I know I have made a difference; changed a mentality; changed lives.

The Lord had me teach middle school. Scary. He may want me to do that again; He may let me do what I want to do and get back to the younger ones. . .or He may call me to high school or a transition program for those transitioning from high school into the work force, which is actually something I feel very strongly about.

I can teach al day long; but long-term goals are where my head is each time I write an IEP. I want jobs for my kids. I want acceptance, love, justice, understanding, patience, and independence for them.

Maybe my passion and overwhelming need to right the wrongs in the world will once again lead me to another challenge. Another mountain top experience with many peaks and valleys. I'm not sure, but I have to step out in faith and continue to follow God's will.

I've figured out you just can't get away from it. I know what I want. But God hasn't called me to an easy path yet, so maybe that's just not the path for me.

I pray to God in heaven that I will have the strength from above to get through the next several years. . .I need to work with kids with special needs at least 3 more years to avoid paying off some loans. :) I just know that God does not give us gifts to let them lie in a closet. I cannot deny that He desires for me to be obedient, use my gifts, and bless others as much as possible throughout each life experience I have.

The road we are given is not always easy.

The life we need is not our own.

Our experiences build strong character.

Perseverance will prepare me for the future.

The future may bring great persecution, death, and perhaps being stabbed with a machete in a Chinese school. What is up with crazed folks in China stabbing kids and teachers these days? Is that the "in thing" over there?


Dear God. . .give my husband and myself strength, discernment, knowledge, wisdom, patience, trust, and faithfulness as we step out to land on a life boat called "Your Will Be Done."


May I fall with exhaustion at the end of my life for following Your righteous path.


May I love my husband, friends, and enemies.


May Your grace cover my darkness, holes, and heart.


May I not be selfish in my thoughts; please show me Your will.

2 weeks!!

WOW--only 2 weeks left of work now. . .so crazy!

I can't believe how fast the time flies by. We've had a few crazy weeks in a row, but they haven't been bad, boring, or slow. So that is a good thing!

I am at our church now trying to get everything straight for my BFF's next shower. Addresses can be hard to come by, as well as WIFI. I am excited about the availability of WIFI in the northwest. Here, I have to drive 15-25 minutes to reach a friendly internet provider (a friend, our church, or ABC). Soon this will no longer be an issue!

Our world is very dependent on technology. . .so I am too! My iphone can do lots, but not everything yet. Plus, my eyeballs get worn out looking at the tiny screen. It's nice to see LARGE font hollering out at me!

Today we will be spending time with the cousins from Seattle, YAY! We are excited to see them again, even though we are in a much hotter climate now. :/ It will still be a fun time!

I'm still on the job search. . .had more offers, but people want you to "come in and tour" and start ASAP. . .and I can't do that. I guess these limitations may be leading toward a nanny position. I know that if the Lord desires that, He will continue to close doors. Otherwise, He will open a window elsewhere.

Right now I am just waiting. And you know what? I'm having more patience with God and His time frame. Ahh, the things you can learn from a stressful job (stressful but requested by the Lord).

Off I go, home to the husband!

3.5 weeks and counting down. . .

Sweet treasures, only 3 weeks left of work--so excited and ready for the summer! I wish my husband had a 9.5 month-out-of-the-year job, but this is not the case. However, I will have plenty of time to clean and pack our entire house, get ready for my BFF's wedding, and hopefully finish my own wedding scrapbook.

That's what summer is all about!

We are still getting excited for the move. It's becoming more real--after we went, I realized that soon my best friends will be thousands of miles away.

Time to be the "new girl" again. However, I think that being the "new girl" is always a beneficial part of life. It's a huge challenge, it pushes us out of our comfort zones, and you have the opportunity to focus more dependence on God.

We all want to depend on living, present, visible people: parents, friends, co-workers, spouses, etc. for our happiness, comfort, and protection. We want to depend on others to meet our needs. However, those of us who know the Lord know that this is not a beneficial way of life. . .we need to depend more on the Lord than on others, even our spouses! Our spouses cannot meet all our needs; they may fail us at times (even though they are WONDERFUL). GOD however does not do this. God meets all our needs. God is there for us even when we deny Him. God forgives us even when we are evil, mean, and discouraging.

Thank heavens for God's mercy and grace. I forget. He remembers. He is faithful when we are faithless.

Currently, I'm trying to focus energy on wedding events for the BFF, finishing this year by doing fun activities with my students, and keeping the house as clean as possible because we're moving soon!

Since the trip to Seattle, I've deduced that bread is not a friend, but a foe. I was sad to make this discovery, but the introduction of extreme protein to my diet had made my stomach calm down. I am so grateful to the Lord for the man that we talked to in "Super Supplements." Right time, God's perfect timing; now I can stand up straight all day at work! I am so thankful to the Lord for taking us there so that I could begin the healing process.

"Oh, how He loves us so...

If grace is an ocean we're all sinking. . ."

SCATTLE

For some reason, I like to give everything a nickname. Or make up new words to describe things. So we've started calling Seattle "Scattle." It's a fun nickname.

We got back super late (or really early?) Saturday morning and are still trying to readjust to the 3-hour time change. Quite a challenge. I think I felt it more on the way there because I'd had a long day of work. Now M is feeling it worse on the way back. :( Poor pookie.

We really had a wonderful trip. God was very provisional. We looked at several apartments and really got to know the areas we are interested in out there. We found an apartment that we really like and it's in a good location, so we're pretty much depending on the Lord to ensure that there is an open apartment for us in July. God really came through on the trip, plus I was very thrilled to have my husband all to myself (pretty much) for a week. We've both been working lots and we've had a busy year (getting married, GAA, other random events). It was wonderful just to spend time with him and have a stress-free, enjoyable week.

I had a job interview and have a "back-up" job secured, but I am continuing to seek God and try to find a job in early intervention. I'm also looking into some jobs teaching English as a second language--that'd get some good stuff in for Asia!

God also greatly blessed us with some family time. At what point can I say "my cousins," I'm not sure. But "my husband's cousin's family" welcomed us into their home, got us a car to drive, and allowed us to share some fun times with them. It was nice to go to a place where my dietary needs were considered--that has never happened before so I was feeling very blessed to see almond milk and dairy-free products. What a great bunch of folks; plus time with kids is always fun. We are looking forward to more fun times in a few weeks when they visit Florida!

For now, I am signing off. . .I'm off to pick up my sweet from work because he had a late meeting! Hallelujah, praise the Lord.

Thank you God. <><