Yet Another Bend in the Road

My journey is about to take another twist. After this school year, I won’t be working at the school where I currently am. After eight years there, it’s time to move on. As has happened before, I have no clue what the next chapter will bring. There are possibilities that I am exploring, some of which will allow me to make use of my education and experience. I’ve been feeling some disquiet for some time, and the desire to move on has gotten stronger.

I’ve been involved in education for 36 years, give or take a couple of years in between jobs. That has included coaching a variety of sports. Through those years, the ten to twelve hour days during the season have taken a toll on me. As my circumstances have changed, I’ve had more of a desire to not be so busy in the evenings and weekends in order to spend more time with Jan, and to be more free to serve folks in our church and community.

Any time my journey goes down paths where the way ahead is not so clear, there is always a bit of trepidation, a nervousness that comes from staring ahead into the mist and not knowing what awaits. As many times as God has shown his faithfulness in providing for us, there is still that bit of a gnawing feeling. My faith is stronger now, but there is still a “help my unbelief” quality to it. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m at the age where it is difficult to move into a new line of work. While I don’t at all regret my education and career choices, they do affect me as I look for new areas of work.

The one thing I do know is that my Abba loves me and is going to take care of us. How that happens, I don’t have a clue. If you would, pray for us as the the story unfolds. It should be interesting. To quote J.R.R. Tolkien,

โ€œThe Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”






Things in Fours

I’ve been tagged by re:patrick. Here goes.

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Built air conditioners to be used in military installations. (three summers and Christmas breaks)
2. Taught and coached in Christians schools (three of them)
3. Teacher’s assistant in special ed. class (current)
4. Quality control tech. (tested diapers – not like it seems ๐Ÿ™‚ )

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (hilarious)
2. Chariots of Fire (very inspiring)
3. Lord of the Rings (all three of them – almost as good as the books)
4. Anything by the Marx brothers (classic comedy)

Four places I have lived:
1. Rockville, Maryland (from 1955 – 1983)
2. Clarks Summit, PA (college, 1973 – 1978)
3. Cincinnati, Ohio (1983 – 1995)
4. Rock Hill, SC (1995 – now)

Four shows I love:
I can’t say there’s any shows that I love, but some that I try to watch are
1. NCIS
2. House
3. Criminal Minds
4. Numbers

Four places I’ve vacationed:
1. Mountains of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee (just beautiful, definitely makes me feel closer to God)
2. The Outer Banks (not as touristy as other places)
3. The Bahamas (went there for 25th anniversary)
4. Niagra Falls (awesome power)

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Cincinnati Chili (nothing like it)
2. Pizza (no commentary needed)
3. BBQ (doesn’t matter what region, I like it all)
4. Italian food

Four sites I visit daily:
1. TheOoze
2. imonk
3. Josh’s blog
4. Any of the other site at the bottom of this page (I really need to get Google Reader on this)

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In the mountains on a front porch overlooking a stream
2. On a beach
3. On a ship in the middle of the ocean
4. On a golf course
All of these with my pipe, of course

If you read this, consider yourself tagged.