Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
My new job
So to continue Kaia's story from below (read that first if you haven't yet), I have been applying for band positions all over the metro.
When this job opened up at Heritage, things felt more hopeful. I knew there would not be as big of a pool of directors vying for this position, so I thought I'd have a good shot. One of our friends moms is on the board at this school, and she graciously put in a good word for me.
I applied near the end of the school year and didn't hear anything back for a while. In early June I got the call to come in for an interview. My first one as a teacher! Kaia and I practiced questions and worked to make sure I'd feel comfortable with whatever questions came my way. All through this process, I knew that God had something special in store because of how calm I felt. Normally when I approach something big, I get butterflies in my belly and have a lot of nerves, but before this interview, I did not feel all those nerves.
The interview happened. I felt really good coming out of it, felt like I answered the questions well and felt comfortable with the situation I'd be entering if I got the job. I left with them telling me that they had another interview for the position and then they'd take two weeks to get back to me with their decision, so I left feeling good, but not expecting to hear anything for a while.
48 hours later... I got a call from the President, one of my interviewers, who offered me the job! Such an exciting feeling. I know that God had his hand in getting me to where I am and know that he is there with me wherever I go forward. I am super excited for this opportunity.
The position is 5th - 12th grade, the entire program. I'll be starting kids on their instruments and sending them off to college. How cool is that?! I'm really looking forward to getting into my classroom and starting to plan for this year.
That's the news from the Boal front. I hope you've enjoyed it.
When this job opened up at Heritage, things felt more hopeful. I knew there would not be as big of a pool of directors vying for this position, so I thought I'd have a good shot. One of our friends moms is on the board at this school, and she graciously put in a good word for me.
I applied near the end of the school year and didn't hear anything back for a while. In early June I got the call to come in for an interview. My first one as a teacher! Kaia and I practiced questions and worked to make sure I'd feel comfortable with whatever questions came my way. All through this process, I knew that God had something special in store because of how calm I felt. Normally when I approach something big, I get butterflies in my belly and have a lot of nerves, but before this interview, I did not feel all those nerves.
The interview happened. I felt really good coming out of it, felt like I answered the questions well and felt comfortable with the situation I'd be entering if I got the job. I left with them telling me that they had another interview for the position and then they'd take two weeks to get back to me with their decision, so I left feeling good, but not expecting to hear anything for a while.
48 hours later... I got a call from the President, one of my interviewers, who offered me the job! Such an exciting feeling. I know that God had his hand in getting me to where I am and know that he is there with me wherever I go forward. I am super excited for this opportunity.
The position is 5th - 12th grade, the entire program. I'll be starting kids on their instruments and sending them off to college. How cool is that?! I'm really looking forward to getting into my classroom and starting to plan for this year.
That's the news from the Boal front. I hope you've enjoyed it.
The LORD will work out his plans for my life—for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me" (Psalm 138:8)
Man is it easy to try and take over when life doesn't go exactly as you planned! There is something in all of us that feels the need to be in control of our situations, and when that doesn't happen we usually have 2 options - 1 - Lose it, or 2 - Trust that God's plan is best and let go of our reins.
As Christians we trust that the Lord will work out his plans for our lives, that He is faithful and that his plans have our best interest in mind. But that doesn't mean we don't freak out now and then or loose site of His faithfulness.
Steve and I have learned first hand that it is so much easier to trust God than to try and control situations ourselves. Whether it be with finances, jobs, relationships etc, God has proven that his plans and his timings far surpass anything we could have come up with on our own.
I remember looking at our incomes before we got married and comparing those numbers to all the different bills and expenses we had to look forward to. It was all impending doom in my eyes, how on Earth could we make these numbers work for us!? Neither of us had fully lived on our own before, and with me still being in school, it seemed that our incomes combined would barely cover the cost of rent let alone, gas, food, electricity, the mounds of school loans or anything else that comes up in normal life.. I was scared and nervous... partially excited but mostly scared nervous.
Steve and I had many conversations before we got married about how we were going to handle our money, we even went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University when we were engaged. (which I recommend to EVERYONE whether you are single, engaged or married) Being on the same page was comforting. Then we began talking about what God wanted us to do with our money. Steve felt very strongly that regardless of how much we made, we were still called to tithe 10%. For awhile this seemed crazy. We can barely buy food! How can we afford to give away "our" money?!
Well after struggling with my selfish desires long enough, I realized I had to make a decision. Was I going to trust God or not? Was I going to be obedient, or was I going to be disobedient? Sure maybe giving away 10% of our little income is crazy (if we didn't trust God) BUT we DO trust God, so it was the only logical option we had. After all, it is HIS money.
Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
We have been anxiously waiting to see when and where Steve's door would open for a job. It would have been easy to rent at our condo for another year until we knew for sure where we would end up, but we felt called to move. So here we are in Champlin. We have seen jobs open up at many schools nearby, and yes Steve applied, but unfortunately it's a competitive time for band teachers right now. He has applied to places all over the metro, willing to drive up to an hour to work if he had to.. I was convinced this was going to be the case for sure!
It's been tough and discouraging at times as well. But as we have seen before. God is good, God's in control and his plans are better than ours.
We looked for houses all over the metro, with a small budget we needed to leave our options open. Much like the job search process, we put in many offers on many homes that we thought would be 'perfect' for us only to find out we were outbid, the seller changed their mind on something etc etc... This too was an emotional roller-coaster! But the whole way we prayed, that God would close doors to the wrong houses and open a very clear door when it finally was the right home for us! After months of searching we finally landed in Champlin. We love it here and believe God has us here for a reason.
So back to Steve's job search... A band director position opened up at Heritage Christian Academy no more than about 15 minutes away.
I'll let him tell the rest....
Man is it easy to try and take over when life doesn't go exactly as you planned! There is something in all of us that feels the need to be in control of our situations, and when that doesn't happen we usually have 2 options - 1 - Lose it, or 2 - Trust that God's plan is best and let go of our reins.
As Christians we trust that the Lord will work out his plans for our lives, that He is faithful and that his plans have our best interest in mind. But that doesn't mean we don't freak out now and then or loose site of His faithfulness.
Steve and I have learned first hand that it is so much easier to trust God than to try and control situations ourselves. Whether it be with finances, jobs, relationships etc, God has proven that his plans and his timings far surpass anything we could have come up with on our own.
I remember looking at our incomes before we got married and comparing those numbers to all the different bills and expenses we had to look forward to. It was all impending doom in my eyes, how on Earth could we make these numbers work for us!? Neither of us had fully lived on our own before, and with me still being in school, it seemed that our incomes combined would barely cover the cost of rent let alone, gas, food, electricity, the mounds of school loans or anything else that comes up in normal life.. I was scared and nervous... partially excited but mostly scared nervous.
Steve and I had many conversations before we got married about how we were going to handle our money, we even went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University when we were engaged. (which I recommend to EVERYONE whether you are single, engaged or married) Being on the same page was comforting. Then we began talking about what God wanted us to do with our money. Steve felt very strongly that regardless of how much we made, we were still called to tithe 10%. For awhile this seemed crazy. We can barely buy food! How can we afford to give away "our" money?!
Well after struggling with my selfish desires long enough, I realized I had to make a decision. Was I going to trust God or not? Was I going to be obedient, or was I going to be disobedient? Sure maybe giving away 10% of our little income is crazy (if we didn't trust God) BUT we DO trust God, so it was the only logical option we had. After all, it is HIS money.
Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
SO, that is what we did. Regardless of what we made, no matter how scary it was, we wrote a check before doing anything else. Once that check was gone, we had to trust that God would get us the rest of the way. And he DID!
Again, and again and again. GOD PROVIDED!
Shortly after we got married I was laid off and Steve was out of work as well. But God faithfully opened doors to help us bring in all that we needed. Steve got a short term job to carry him through for bit, and i picked up a new job right away as well. Just a couple months later I had to quit my job to focus on my last semester at design school, but God provided a long term freelance project with the EFCA and gave Steve work at church. This has continued to this day! Now when we look back at our finances it is unbelievable to even think we made it, the numbers make no sense but it worked and we give God all the glory!
We have been anxiously waiting to see when and where Steve's door would open for a job. It would have been easy to rent at our condo for another year until we knew for sure where we would end up, but we felt called to move. So here we are in Champlin. We have seen jobs open up at many schools nearby, and yes Steve applied, but unfortunately it's a competitive time for band teachers right now. He has applied to places all over the metro, willing to drive up to an hour to work if he had to.. I was convinced this was going to be the case for sure!
It's been tough and discouraging at times as well. But as we have seen before. God is good, God's in control and his plans are better than ours.
We looked for houses all over the metro, with a small budget we needed to leave our options open. Much like the job search process, we put in many offers on many homes that we thought would be 'perfect' for us only to find out we were outbid, the seller changed their mind on something etc etc... This too was an emotional roller-coaster! But the whole way we prayed, that God would close doors to the wrong houses and open a very clear door when it finally was the right home for us! After months of searching we finally landed in Champlin. We love it here and believe God has us here for a reason.
So back to Steve's job search... A band director position opened up at Heritage Christian Academy no more than about 15 minutes away.
I'll let him tell the rest....
Monday, June 10, 2013
It is finished!!
Check out the finished product!
We love it and can't wait to start using the herbs that seem to be loving their home. Here is a little look into the process.
Steve built it - We distressed it using all kinds of fun tools - I created a vinegar/steel concoction to age the wood - I stained and painted on top of that! Ta da!!
We love it and can't wait to start using the herbs that seem to be loving their home. Here is a little look into the process.
Steve built it - We distressed it using all kinds of fun tools - I created a vinegar/steel concoction to age the wood - I stained and painted on top of that! Ta da!!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Power Outage!
Wednesday night 4500 people in the Champlin area were left without power.
It was very strange and sudden since there was no storm to cause it. We think it may be due to some road construction a few miles away. Steve and I had left around 5:45 to go pick up some chicken for our Coconut Curry Chicken, and when we returned around 6 the power was gone.
Not a big deal, just very sad we couldn't make dinner! We all know how much we love food!
We had to settle for some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They filled the empty spaces to say the least...
After our gourmet meal, we decided to take a walk to explore Target since they apparently had some back up generators. The store was dark, only dimly lit by the scattered emergency lights. All the electronics were off, there was no music or sounds to be heard other than the occasional walkie talkie feedback. The food was covered with tarps and the refrigerated sections were just begging not to be opened. It was fun, in an erie sort of way. We felt like we were either breaking the law by being there, or perhaps we were suppose to be stocking shelves. Either way, it was far from normal.
I found it interesting though, that in situations such as this simple power outage, people seemed to open up and behave in ways that, for our culture, are completely out of the norm. Just like any catastrophe whether it be a tornado, terrorism or something as petty as a power outage, people all of a sudden discover a common bond with others. As if being human is not enough to make people want to engage with one another, there is something about 'traumatic' situations that make people eager to be vulnerable.
As we walked through Target we were casually approached by multiple Target employees, not just so they could generically ask if we needed help finding something, but to engage in conversation and talk about what was going on. It was like a door had been opened and a weight was taken away allowing them to finally let go of all the pent up social energy that needed to be released.
In a neighborhood, in a state, in a country that is so self centered, where people stay in their own safe bubble, why is it that all it takes is something bad/out of the norm to make people realize that maybe we do have something in common and maybe engaging with other people is an ok thing to do?
It's just a thought. I know I am guilty for living in my own world sometimes too. But what if just once a day, or even once a week, we decided to pop our bubble? I'm not even sure what that means or what that would look like. But what if?
Anyway. It's Friday now. And we finally got to make our Coconut Chicken Curry. Yum.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Herb Garden!
This MN weather is completely throwing me off. 15 minutes ago it was blue sky and hot. So of course I go out to give our new herbs a drink, only to watch the rain come pouring down as soon as I get inside.. Ugh!
Our poor little Jalapeno plant is having a rough start. :(
Oh well. Our herbs are mostly doing just wonderfully in their new home! Last week I ventured to the MPLS Farmers market with my good and very pregnant friend Annamarie to pick out our plants for the summer! It was so much fun and I had a hard time stopping myself!
This is what we ended up with:
1.Thyme
2. Rosemary
3. Oregano
4. Sage
5. Cilantro
6. Parsley
7. Sweet Basil
8. Thai Basil
9. Tarragon
10. Peppermint
11. Roma Tomatoes
12. Jalapeno Peppers
13. 2 Viola Flowers!
WHEW!
I cannot wait to start using them!
Last week, with the help of his dad, Steve built us a shiny new herb box that fits perfectly under our front window!
I'll admit, I was a little hesitant how it was going to turn out. I knew that he could do it, but sometimes his ideas/descriptions didn't quite give me a very cohesive idea as to what his plan was. But he pulled it off and it turned out great! I am one proud wife! This is the new home to 6 of our herbs!
Only one small problem.. It's too.. new'ish... SO, with that said, It's MY turn with it now! Check back to see our herb box transformation! :)
Our poor little Jalapeno plant is having a rough start. :(
Oh well. Our herbs are mostly doing just wonderfully in their new home! Last week I ventured to the MPLS Farmers market with my good and very pregnant friend Annamarie to pick out our plants for the summer! It was so much fun and I had a hard time stopping myself!
This is what we ended up with:
1.Thyme
2. Rosemary
3. Oregano
4. Sage
5. Cilantro
6. Parsley
7. Sweet Basil
8. Thai Basil
9. Tarragon
10. Peppermint
11. Roma Tomatoes
12. Jalapeno Peppers
13. 2 Viola Flowers!
WHEW!
I cannot wait to start using them!
Last week, with the help of his dad, Steve built us a shiny new herb box that fits perfectly under our front window!
I'll admit, I was a little hesitant how it was going to turn out. I knew that he could do it, but sometimes his ideas/descriptions didn't quite give me a very cohesive idea as to what his plan was. But he pulled it off and it turned out great! I am one proud wife! This is the new home to 6 of our herbs!
Only one small problem.. It's too.. new'ish... SO, with that said, It's MY turn with it now! Check back to see our herb box transformation! :)
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