Sick...

I have been spending a significant amount of time at particular breakfast/lunch/cafe restaurant during my recent retirement decision (Let's call the place Banera. I have changed the name to protect the innocent). I enjoy the atmosphere at Banera and the food is excellent. The manager is there every day and he is always friendly enough to say hi and make sure that everyone is happy. The normal routine is to find a spot, place my man purse down, and then go order my bagel. Naturally, I get the same thing every time, Banera's legendary Cinnamon Crunch Bagel with raspberry cream cheese and a coffee. The cashier usually hands me the pastel-colored mug while he or she gets the bagel sliced and toasted. Then, I take my mug, head to the coffee bar and load up on the hazelnut flavored coffee. I usually grab a sugar packet and toss it in the trash. Everything was going as planned, it was a ultimately normal trip until I threw the sugar packet away. When I threw the packet away, I saw something small and white on the counter next to the trash. I took a second look and realized it was a tooth. A tooth. A small, semi-bloody molar just resting there on the counter. I didn't look long to prevent from becoming ill. I will still head to Banera in the future, but I hope to avoid any future run-ins with some kid's tooth.

Life is funny?

I am at a unique spot in life right now. I have some time to be able to really pray and plan what I want to do. I seem to have a different perspective on life and what I want to do with it. When people ask me, "What are your passions? If you could do anything, what would it be?", I usually want to punch them in the face. I have a myriad of interests and hobbies, but none of them have really equated to an occupation for the future. My brother-in-law believes that people should find something they like to do and then find a way to get paid for it. I wholeheartedly agree, but I am having difficulties with the "find a way to get paid for it." I think I have blamed my laid-back personality for so long that I have convinced myself that I don't have dreams and passions anymore. I have always viewed my flexibility as an asset and now it seems to be something that is hindering me from accomplishing anything. BUT, I know that is not the truth. I believe God places his heart and desires in people. Last night, I heard a message on living mission-minded and using whatever platform God gives us as an opportunity for the Lord to use us powerfully. Even if I end up as a bank teller for the next span of time, I can still accomplish God's purpose for my life. I think the Lord is breaking off my own selfish desires and replacing them with his desires. Ultimately, He is good and knows what is best for me, I just have a difficult time believing that right now. Sorry, this was not a real fun post...

"Surprise, you have the month off!"

It has been almost a year since my last post, but I suddenly have found myself with a little more time on my hands. Life keeps going and things keep changing. It was a crazy fall and an exciting Christmas season, but I am looking forward to this spring even more.
I have been doing the Elevate Training School this year and it has been stretching me in ways I never thought possible. I have been sharing Jesus with people consistently and walking closer to the Lord than ever. I also started leading Lifegroup in December at Antioch Community Church and I have been so excited about what the Lord is doing there. He has provided a great group of guys and I am looking forward to getting to know them better this spring. I am still abiding at "The Hill" with Mark, Jorge and Carson and I have loved every minute of it. They are great Godly men and I am challenged by them daily.
Life at home and church has been great, but the Lord threw a curveball at me during Christmas with work stuff. After teaching for three years at Vanguard, which was a truly enjoyable time of life, I felt led to pursue another job field. I ended up working with a Vanguard family who owns a small business in town that sells women's accessories. The business was growing quickly and I thought it would be a good time to hop in and see how a small business words just in case I wanted to get involved in something like that in the future. Obviously, my heart is not in women's accessories, but it provided a paycheck and an opportunity to learn. I didn't click too well with my boss, but I did everything that was asked of me and a little more. My job description was fairly unclear: part web manager, part inventory organizer, part receptionist. But, I tried my best and it didn't seem to be working well with the boss. He let me go a few days before Christmas, much to my delight. The timing was interesting, but overall, I think it was the best decision for both of us. I spent a lot of my time working on the web site and the boss has decided to basically shut it down because it wasn't meeting his expectations (which were never communicated to me in the first place). I learned how to work with stressed-out people and learned that I don't fit well in a fast-paced environment. Business may not be my final career, which is fine!
In Elevate on Monday, the teacher who spoke talked about doing the will of the Father satisfied Jesus. Jesus referred to doing the will of the Father as "food." I believe it is the same with us today. I am not just looking for a job now, but I am looking to do the will of the Father. That alone will satisfy my soul. I believe the Lord has a specific purpose for my life, a specific area of influence, and a specific occupation. I don't think I have found that career yet, but I know that now is a great time to seek Him and try something new.
The silver lining to losing my job was a surprise trip to Colorado for a ski trip with all my closest friends. I was already throwing a pity party for myself before I lost my job since I would not be able to go, but the Lord provided a way for me to go. I had an absolute blast and I am so glad for my friends right now. I have posted some photos from the trip. Hopefully I will blog again soon, now that I have a few more opportunities.

Class of 2008

I am in a little bit of disbelief that I have put off this blog for so long. I was consistently writing and then, BAM, I pulled a Carvey. I know I have kept my readers on the edge of their seats for the next blog post.
The past two months have been truly great. I can remember being lost, confused and frustrated in January, but I quickly transitioned out of that funk and into a smooth rhythm. I have been doing my best to finish well at Vanguard and I have succeeded to some degree. I was never the task-oriented, focused teacher I was supposed to be, so the past four months were mainly spent finishing well with the students at Vanguard. The majority of my students are seniors and I have enjoyed getting to know the Class of 2008. I was able to take multiple golf trips with the seniors and go on the class trip. These events opened the door for opportunities to try and encourage and bless different individuals in the class. I house-sat for a family who went through a tragedy last year. I committed to praying for this family and I was always hoping that I would get the chance to spend more time with the boys. The Lord opened the door and it happened. In the moment, I didn't even recognize that the Lord was providing opportunities with these guys, but he did it! There are too many instances like that where the Lord worked through my own naivety to bless these kids. I still failed in many ways: said things I shouldn't have said, laughed when I shouldn't have laughed and missed opportunities to encourage these kids. There is really no reason to focus on what I should have done, that will get me nowhere. I am choosing to believe that the Lord used me somehow to lead some of these kids to him.
Many of these students have become friends of mine. Over the past three years, I have spent so many hours with them in class, on golf trips, and during break when they would invade my classroom. They know me really well and I know them really well. Many of the seniors are going to Baylor and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to continue to see them and go play a round of golf with them. I know I will probably be a lost thought to most of them in a couple of months (Who was that young teacher? Mr....uh....Chevy? I can't remember...). But, I hope that I will be able to see a few of them in the future. The photo is not of seniors, ironically, but of a few sophomores and I at a spring dance.

The Road, Part 3

So, we got to DC. Baylor lost. We drove home.

The Road, Part 2

(written in the car) The entrance into Memphis was one of the geographic highlights of the trip. The city sits on the grand Mississippi, as does the state line. So, from a quarter-mile away, we saw the illuminated bridge and then crossed the mighty river. On the other bank was downtown Memphis. The towering buildings and hotels were nestled up close to the river. A sign hung close to the highway that claimed, “Memphis, the city of Rock and Roll.” Midnight approached quickly and soon we found ourselves driving into the dark Tennessee night.

Tim took the wheel while Brennan laid down in the back and I dozed off riding shotgun. Tim was the only one awake when we reached Nashville around 2 in the morning. I was looking forward to seeing Nashville, but knew we would probably stop there on the return trip. When we reached Knoxville, Brennan switched spots with Tim and I stayed in the front seat. I wasn’t concerned about Brennan’s driving at all, but I decided to stay awake and make sure he didn’t start dozing or anything. We made it through Nashville and then decided to make the final switch. I had been resting the whole trip knowing that I was going to be driving during the early morning. I can remember getting into the car and having no problem for the first hour or so. Brennan was still awake, but he was busy facebooking on his iPhone. I turned up the music so that I would have something to interact with. The morning drive wasn’t too bad. I had my cappuccino to keep me up, but it didn’t last too long. I went a couple of hours and began to struggle. I never closed my eyes or went off the road, but I started feeling weak and I began to fight to stay awake. I blared some old Pearl Jam songs to try and help the sleepiness and I believed it worked. Brennan later told me that he heard me singing loudly. I replayed “Better Man” a couple of times and then belted out “Nothing Man” with all my little heart.
With Brennan and Tim completely asleep, we crossed into Virginia and the sun began to creep over the horizon. We stopped at a gas station at the Natural Caverns where I was able to juice up on a refill of normal coffee. My travel-mates didn't budge when I stopped to recharge and they honestly thought that I didn't stop during the morning. I changed the tunes and listened to some David Crowder and continued the drive toward DC. We didn’t have much time to waste, the flawless navigation system indicated that we would get to the Verizon Center until thirty minutes before game time. I continued to struggle to keep my eyes open, but the drive soon became gorgeous. The sun came through the clouds and the hills and hills surrounding the highway amazed my eyes. The green grass contrasting with the blue morning sky created a work of art for my tired eyes. Tim and Brennan awakened an hour or so later and I surrendered the wheel to Tim for the drive into DC. I crashed hard for the next couple of hours and I woke up to the hilarious banter between Brennan and Tim. Drowsy and determined to stay awake, I geared up for our final hour of driving. We placed the BU flag on the passenger window and we began to realize that we accomplished a legendary feat. On the drive into our nation’s capital, we crossed the Potomac and I caught a glimpse of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. It was a neat moment to think about the history and importance of the city.
(written post trip) We headed downtown and my face was glued to the window as we passed different government buildings and skyscrapers. As we passed the Department of the Treasury I heard the tired and semi-drowsy version of Jacob Ford say, "Hey, I bet those guys make a lot of money." Tim and Brennan just stared at me and I stopped talking for a few minutes. We drove past the Verizon Center, wrapped around downtown and ended up in a parking lot in the center of downtown. We made it. There was no extensive celebration. Tim headed to a Starbucks to go the bathroom while Brennan and I changed clothes in the parking lot. One local man came up and said, "Did you guys really drive from Texas?" We humbly responded by telling him that we were from Waco and we here to support the Bears. He then said, "The who?" Obviously, not too many easterners have heard of Waco, more or less Baylor University. We still took the comment as a compliment considering that he realized we drove 23 hours to get to a basketball game.
After picking up the tickets for the Baylor game at will call, we then began to play the scalpers' games outside the stadium to try and get tickets to the night games. I had no cash on me and Brennan was already talking prices with one guy. Brennan immediately gave the guy his highest offer and, of course, the guy didn't budge off of it. We could have gotten in the building for half of the price that the guy was offering us, but Brennan wanted good seats and this guy had them. So, we dropped a significant amount of money for the night tickets, but it turned out to be completely worth it.

The Road

Editor's Note: The next three posts are part of a series describing the details of my road trip to Washington D.C. The trip began on Wednesday March 19 and ended Saturday March 22. I ended up taking the trip with two Vanguard seniors, Tim Latimer and Brennan Bailey. Tim and Brennan needed a third to come with them and asked me to come. With the blessing of the Vanguard administration, I took two days off of school and went to D.C. The purpose of the trip was to witness Baylor's first NCAA tournament game since 1988.

Thursday (written on the road): Today came quick. As I went to bed last night, I couldn’t help but be excited for the trip. I had completed a long list of tasks, including making two tests and cleaning up the house in which I was babysitting. I still find it odd that this trip was even possible considering I have a job and everything, but that decision is miles away at this point. After staying at school for a stress-filled two hours, Tim, Brennan and I met at Brennan’s house and began the journey to Washington D.C. at 10:30 a.m. We made a few quick stops, but we have recently made up some time in Arkansas. We are soon to be in Tennessee and my enjoyment of this time continues to increase. After getting through Ft. Worth and Dallas, we headed northeast on the tree-lined I-30. The road resembled I-20 East to Atlanta. It brought back images of my cousins and my sisters playing in the back of a suburban for 12 hours on our way to Grandma’s house. We continued into Arkansas and I found myself falling asleep very easily. I slept for an hour or so before Texarkana and then immediately fell asleep again after our stop for lunch. We missed the exit for Subway in Texarkana so we went to the po-dunk town of Mandeville. There appeared to be a bar-b-que place on the left, but it looked a little run-down and untrustworthy. So, we went to The Cookery at the Flying J across the street. It was an interesting little restaurant to say the least. I walked in and the hostess smiled at us and told us to sit anywhere. I glanced at the buffet and saw the thinnest chicken legs I have seen since Carson went swimming with us last summer. Needless to say, we ordered from the menu. Our waitress came over immediately and got our drink order. She was older, had black lining the outside of her eyes and wore some sort of black lace shirt underneath her Cookery uniform around her neck. She had on a glittering belt that was adorned with small rhinestones. It looked like something Avril Lavinge would wear and not a 60-year-old waitress. Another obvious immediately recognizable trait of the restaurant was the number of people eating by themselves. There were 10-15 people just sitting at their own tables for four. The man in the booth behind us was wearing brown velvet pants with some sort of racing stripe down the side and a leather vest. It was an interesting combination and I truly felt I was in a different country. The food took a while to get to us and it was a frustrating first stop.
We hit the road again and I hit the pillow. I don’t even remember driving through Little Rock. Brennan and Tim talked and we used the video camera to highlight the one-third mark. It will be fun to go back and look at the video footage of this weekend. I awakened just in time to see the sun set at our backs. The trees created the choppy view of the sun, dispersing its light and giving me the ability to look directly at it. The Lord is so faithful with every sunrise and sunset.