....the Rest of the Story

The train ride that changed our lives...

PRE-JOB INTERVIEW-

LAST MONTH- After Steve told me that he wasn't going to teach ever again, I went into Bible Hibernation. I stopped watching my afternoon soaps/playing on the Internet/cleaning and started writing in a prayer journal and studying the Word every afternoon (in addition to my regularly scheduled nightly quiet time). I prayed every day that Steve would find his place where he could honor God and shine. I prayed for our hearts to match and that we wouldn't end up moving again with no real direction. I prayed for wisdom on how to be a Godly wife. One day I found myself in the library and got Steve several books by Billy Graham, Max Lucado and other Christian authors who focused on helping people find direction. To my surprise, Steve read every word of those books and his heart began to change.



SPRING BREAK- Steve began reading "Purpose Driven Youth Ministry" on his own. I became increasingly curious......

We went to Houston for Easter and I walked in on a very quiet, very serious conversation between Steve and his dad. On the way back home, Steve announces that we are moving back to BCS and at first I am thrilled, but then uneasiness sets back in and I knew that is not what God had in store for us.

When we got home, Steve went into our bedroom for some God time and came back out the most excited I've seen him in a very, very, very, very, very long time. He said that he's made some changes to his classroom and was super excited about going back to school. (This was beyond weird because Steve had been dreading school and had come home every day broken for the last few months.)

POST SPRING BREAK

THE LAST WEEK IN MARCH- I could see a renewed sense of joy in Steve. He came home every day from work happy, relaxed, and a totally different person. He was actually as excited as I am about teaching.

BUILDING RESERVATIONS- As I was working on my certification, I began to realize that the only way that I was going to get a job was through God. Everyone in our program said that if you were certified in EC-4 then you would not get hired. They said that they had people who went through the program last year who refused to get certified in other areas who were still looking for jobs. I tried to study for the Special Education and 4-8 exams, but knew deep inside that those were not the jobs for me....so I waited and prayed.....

THE MYSTERY DATE- Our new Sunday School class goes on Mystery Dates every few months. Steve earned some extra money while in Houston, so we decided that this would be a good thing for us to do. At 6PM on a Saturday night we boarded a train with 13 other couples and headed for a mystery destination. Because we had just joined the class, we knew no one and quickly found ourselves struggling to keep up with who was who and found ourselves on the outside of every one's conversations. We were not having fun..... At dinner we were assigned seats with other couples and ended up sitting with some very nice people. They were nothing like us, but how many couples do you know that play in a punk rawk band? After supper we boarded the train again and ended up with another set of couples who we didn't know. They ended up being the fun group. While we were laughing the train ride away, the other couples sat and talked quietly. Somewhere in conversation we ended up discussing careers and discovered that one of our funny new friends was actually a principal at a school that needed a First grade and a Fifth grade teacher. We jokingly said, "hey, hire us!" and she jokingly said back, "well... you passed the pre-interview." We ended up with her number and e-mail address and agreed to call her sometime that week.

THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY- I walked into Steve's classroom and he announced that we had an interview on Thursday. I was partially mortified that Steve had contacted her that fast (they had been writing since Monday) and partially thrilled at the idea that we could be at the same school next year. (I found out after the interview that the principal had actually contacted Steve first.)

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY and THURSDAY- Steve and I worked like crazy gathering information for our portfolios. We are immensely competitive so we kept trying to outdo the other one. He ended up doing cover page at midnight on Wednesday night that put mine to shame..... I was so mad. :o)

THURSDAY- I am rarely nervous about interviews but this one made me all twittery. Steve ended up working late and we found ourselves racing to our interview. He didn't put the school's address into the computer when he googled it so we found ourselves at the dead end of a street that was SUPPOSED to lead us to the school. We nervously drove aimlessly around until we found ourselves at another elementary. Steve ran in to ask for directions. I've never seen him run so fast. It turned out that the school was right around the corner and we walked through the door right on time. By this time, I was a mess. I was sweating from the stress of potentially being late, nervous about the interview, and extremely hot from wearing my dress suit on a hot day. The principal greeted us and asked us which one of us would like to go first. Not knowing whether I would get more nervous or calm, I volunteered just to get it over with. The only way I could describe it would be for you to imagine being a squirrel walking into a room full of bunnies trying to explain that you have all the characteristics that would make you a good bunny. I couldn't even fake the answers to some of the questions they asked me and my brain was all fuzzy for the ones I did know. I kept a sense of humor about it all and we ended up laughing and joking through most of the interview. One of the teachers told me she loved me and practically tried to hire me half way through the interview! I was finished after the fastest and slowest 45 minutes of my life and then I had to wait for Steve to interview. It took forever. After both of our interviews, we were shown around the school and then offered the jobs. We are both thrilled because God not only answered all of my prayers but He blessed us beyond that. We are super excited about starting school next year and are even more excited that we have been given 4 months to plan. Steve's teacher friends have already started giving me supplies to start my new classroom with and Steve's mom offered to take me shopping for 'cutsie' things to hang up. I have three more classes and a Harry Wong seminar in July then I am done with certification school. YEA!!!!!