Solidarity with the Poor

Today marked the end of a 40-day journey Jim and I went on "in solidarity with the poor." At the same conference that Jim got the Decisive book, he also picked up a book called A Place at the Table by Chris Seay.

The book is more of a guide on this 40 day journey, with daily readings designed to help you explore the deeper issues behind our indulgence and to pray for those with less.

When Jim presented me with the idea that we go on this 40-day fast back at the end of April, I'll admit, I was in a bad mood. I didn't want to fast, especially as our 2-month celebration season was about to begin. But how could I say, no thanks, I don't really care that much about the poor. I'd rather feed my fat face!? So at Jim's encouragement, I read the introductory chapters, and God softened my heart.

This book doesn't encourage a complete 40-day fast (whew!), but rather a fast from indulgences, similar to what a kid in a third world country might eat. So we decided to imitate a diet similar to our Compassion and World Vision kids who live in different areas of Africa and Mexico. That left us with rice, beans, and (thank goodness for Mexico!) tortillas, along with basic fruits and vegetables. We intentionally eliminated meats and sweets, and I cut out any unnecessary and unplanned spending. (Only went to Walmart twice during this time to help me avoid temptation!) However, the fast also included feast days on Sundays (woohoo!), which frequently coincided with our celebrations. Even when they didn't, however, the fast was designed to be a beneficial tool, not a legalistic hindrance, and so we decided to allow for deviations when we were hanging out with others or celebrating something special.

All in all, it was a great experience. Toward the end, especially, we had a lot of cheating deviations, and to be honest, we only made it to day 20 of the readings (the readings were good but didn't particularly inspire us, perhaps in large part because we read them together before bed, and with our hectic schedule, it was often all we could do to keep our eyelids open).
Yesterday was day 40, so today we were free, but we decided to do it again after all our celebrations and vacations are over in August, but only a week at a time. We will finish the readings! :) For dinner, we celebrated with BBQ chicken and our first al fresco dining of the year.

As hard as the rice and beans diet got by the end, it was a great exercise in self discipline and tempering our desires, and it made me far more thoughtful of the plight of starving kids around the world, which is a key theme of our next movie, Prom Dare. It was also a great thing to do together with Jim, and it got us back in the habit of praying together every night (hopefully, that habit will continue to stick!).

Valley of Decision

I have wanted to be (and planned on being) a stay-at-home mom for as long as I can remember. But I've also always wanted to be a teacher (when my sister was like 4 or 5 and I was 9 or 10 I used to type up math worksheets for her to do and loved grading them with a red pen! No wonder she ended up being Valedictorian!)
So I have often told people that getting laid off 3 years ago--after 11 years of teaching!-- 2 weeks before we got Jadon was such a blessing from God, because He knew how hard it would've been for me to actually give up my job.
For the past three years I have been fortunate to get to stay home with Jadon. Money has been tight, but we have done great, and I wouldn't trade it for anything...
And then I got a phone call yesterday...
Just as the time I'm on the lay-off call-back list expires, I got offered a temporary contract to teach English at El Camino High School next year. ECHS isn't my original school, but it's the one right down the street from our church and the one most of our students go to.
In the past 24 hours, Jim and I have adamantly decided both ways were the way to go. And our loved ones have agreed wholeheartedly--on both sides. I am SO torn!
On the one hand, the part of me that's a teacher has been awakened and is being pulled back into that roll. And the ministry opportunities are great. And not to mention how nice the paycheck would be! (This past year we invested my car fund in our next movie Prom Dare...which took a turn for the worst and is now lost until God sees fit to open some new doors...And my 16 year old, 200K+mi. Saturn is definitely showing it's age...)
On the other hand, I only have 2 years left with Jadon before he starts school, and I know they're going to fly by. (Just went to our first of many yearly graduations last night, and I remember when this girl was in elementary school. How is she grown up now?!!) And I know I, personally, will not be as good of a mom if I'm pouring my life into 200 other teenagers each day.
There are a ton of other factors that weigh into this decision (like, if I turn this job down, I am permanently off of the call back list and I lose all of my accrued sick time...And my mom would love to stay down here and watch Jadon--and she is WAY better than me at engaging preschool-aged kids at imaginative and educational play, and Jadon loves her and would have a ball hanging out at my parents place each day...And Jadon was going to start preschool 2 days a week this year anyways...But I was going to start BSF this year, and we just invested in Legoland and zoo passes...And...)
I can't tell you how many times I've made up my mind today...only to change it a minute later.

I have to decide by Monday...We shall see...

11

June 1st marked our 11th wedding anniversary. But thanks to ministry scheduling, that significant day coincided with our Senior Weekend at church, where our graduating seniors run the adult services with worship, drama, testimonies, and sermons. All 4 services are different, with different speakers, and as usual, this year was great. In fact, I think this was one of our best years yet. We've had a few solid graduating classes, but this one I think is our largest solid class. One small evidence of that is the sheer number of students actually moving on to a 4-year university. Usually, most end up at our local community colleges, but this year close to 75% of the students involved in the service are moving away to college. That's pretty impressive here in Oceanside. And most of them are doing pretty well spiritually. The crazy thing is that 18 months ago, we weren't sure who would be here. It's all testimony to the amazing life change God can do in a short period of time.

Anyways, after all was said and done on Sunday, Jadon went down for his nap, my mom came over to watch him, and we loaded up the Jeep for our traditional outing to the drive-in theater down in Imperial Beach (right across from the Mexican border). We got there around 4, early enough to check into our budget Days Inn and watch a couple episodes of Law & Order before heading to Pizza Hut for our customary dinner and Jack In The Box for our necessary Oreo Shakes (which was our first "unofficial" date over 16 years ago).

 Then we thoroughly enjoyed watching Now You See Me and Iron Man 3

(actually, Jim slept through that one entirely but it was to be expected with the busy weekend he'd had!)...and then we drove across the street to our little hotel and got to sleep in until 8:30 (!!!) (Luxury when you have a toddler!) and eat our little free continental breakfast, and then we checked out and headed to a Starbucks and worked on our Prom Dare movie script for five hours before heading home to Jadon. (So far we have no real promising leads for movie funding, but we figure we want to do everything in our power to be ready for success to enable God to do everything in his power to grant us success.)

It was a wonderfully refreshing little budget get away, and a perfect snapshot of the things we're enjoying in our life right now.