Life Happenings for Isaiah & Calli

The hard thing about blogging is that communicating in this way requires margin, which is hard to come by in this adult life. Alas, today I acquired a random day off from work due to a power outage; hence, this blog-time! The end of Summer at the Boardwalk Chapel was so bless-ed, which much love and conversions (at least 17-20...but the Lord truly knows his true sheep, not I) and excitement. I did get all the way well (my last blog logged remnants of sickness), and I loved being at the BWC in the weeks following even more due to good health. Got to act in more skits and sing more and have more conversations too! There are many I have missed and will miss from N.J., but that's one aspect of being a Christian that I love---the party in Glory where we will see all of our long-lost people makes goodbyes less bitter. Death and Goodbyes BOTH lose their sting in the light of Christ's Glorious plan. Isaiah stayed at the BWC for 2 more weeks whilst I went home to get started with another school year at Rockwell Christian, and though time apart is hard, it is made easier by busy ministry you care about, so we were joyful as we worked in our spheres. We truly desire to go back to the BWC next Summer and give more, since this Summer really did refresh and renew us. I personally am much tougher, happier, and healthier after the change of scenery and situation this Summer. Haven't taken one day off work yet, and that is mostly due to learning to live moment to moment and day by day more this Summer. Living in dependence on Christ as we are supposed to takes the pressure off, so that we humans can end up doing more than we think! If all I must do is "the next right thing" (Elisabeth Elliot quote), that's honesty not that hard. There is a Stephen Curtis Chapman song called "Take Another Step" which communicates the same concept, and I listen to it on especially hard mornings. I love that this truth is now planted deeply in me, and I am excited for what the Lord is doing and will do. 

This week will make my 8th week of school, and my 7th with the kids we call students. :) I am teaching 9th through 12th grade English classes as well as running Yearbook and teaching middle school Typing classes (Do I know how to type properly? No. Oh well, teaching it anyway! ;) Isaiah has been full time at RTS (his seminary) for about 6-7 weeks as well (he started one online class while still in New Jersey). Isaiah also just started a part-time library job there, which gives him time to study and a bit more income for us, though we don't know how much yet, since he only started this week. We have been living on the provision of God though savings and my job (Calli's) for these past few weeks. Isaiah has a solid plan for our survival (haha) for the coming months since my job can't pay all the bills. I married well. I like a man with a plan since I enjoy working hard and not thinking about details. ;) I am very disciplined but mostly in doing, not in analyzing and researching. I dive in well, but if there are too many weeds, I struggle, so I'm grateful I married a man skilled at sorting through the weeds in this life. 

A few of the fun things we've been up to since heading back home include kayaking (we've been down the Yadkin once since our return....what a wonderful, lazy afternoon that was!) and walking (the Yadkin River Bridge is becoming even more beautiful with the addition of trails and landscaping thanks to Rowan County!...and there are lots of cute frogs at night. BONUS!). We went on a much longer walk on Sunday in between services (another benefit of this Summer was further disciplining us to make evening service every week) at Salem Lake Park in Winston--we expected a 3-4 mile hike, and it turned out to be 7 miles, so my quads were killing me by the end, and I sat in the back for evening service so that I could go barefoot due to pain, BUT we did it! and that's the important thing. And let me tell you, despite the temporal pain, that hike did me SO much good in the days following! So much sleep and So much refreshment in the mornings. I think we may start doing a long hike every Sunday--it is the perfect day for leisurely, long walks in between services. We don't have much margin on the other days, but margin was made for Sundays! "They go together like peas and carrots," as Forest Gump would say. The Lord is so kind to give us a day of rest. Honestly, we've gotten so much better over the years and over the Summer at Saturday chores and cleaning to prepare for truly restful Sabbath on Sunday. Praise God for always helping us grow! 

We've also been visiting the local library more. Part of the renewed library adventures have been due to the fact that I discovered a branch right across the street my school is on, so drop-off and pick-up has become a simple joy in the workday. So far we have watched Ford v. Ferrari (highly recommend) and have read Agatha Christie's Murder is Easy and The Secret Adversary aloud to one another during evening cleaning sessions and car trips (drives to RTS, the Chiropractor, and Church are long, so reading is good). We are currently reading Death on the Nile since I recently go the idea to read the one's that have movies and check the movies out of the library once we conquer the books. Isaiah has always loved Christie, and I have become more of a fan of hers as he has influenced me in the past year or so. She truly has such literary craft and skill. I also currently have a few books about the Sinking of the Lusitania, since I've gotten way more into historical books in the past few years and The Secret Adversary stars a young female survivor of this sinking---it whet my appetite to delve into this event, and my books are not disappointing. 

We've gotten to hang out with Isaiah's parents and mine more as well since we've gotten home, partly due to renewed energy post-Boardwalk and partly due to prioritization. :) I enjoy teaching my students about the Lord though literature, discipline, and testimony from my own life, and on the days when I don't enjoy it, I remember all of the people that invested in me, and I get to work with joy anyway! Legacy is about passing down. I love that I get to participate in that even if the Lord hasn't given me my own children yet. How kind of Him to place me where I am. I think of God' kindness so often these days---the hummingbirds that visit our feeders during the day (they should migrate in a few weeks), the beautiful spider with the intricate web who comes out at night when we return home, our sweet cat whose fluffy and loving, my sweet husband always making me coffee and homemade treats, and time with my gran and mom at a movie night....there are just so many, many blessings in this life is only we open our eyes to see them and place them in our hearts. Even the unexpected cricket who traveled with me to school the other day reminded me of God's presence on my car ride (despite my slight stress when he hopped onto my shoulder at a turn! P.S. I helped him escape once we arrived at school). 

Another important part of our weeks have included Isaiah reading me Van Dixhoorn's "Confessing the Faith: A Reader's Guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith," which is reminding me of truths and filling some of the doctrinal gaps this further church-planter's wife surely has. It's been a joy for this to become our nightly devotions before crossword puzzle and bed (Yes, we are nerds and old---in other words, we're awesome!). I am starting to feel as we interact with people closer to our age that we may indeed be quite old inside. Perhaps we've been through a lot and that's why, but the Lord knows and will use all. All hardship is intended for good by a good God, so I'll just leave it there and not think on it too much. God's got it. Even if, like Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird, "we may be little but we're old," that's a-okay when the Lord plans your life. 

Tomorrow, I sally forth on another independent adventure separate from Isaiah, but only for 3 days. I'll be headed to S.C. for a Christian Teacher's Conference. Pray for me as I drive to the beach house the gals and I are renting and to the convention center. Pray that the Lord will keep me, that there won't be a giant hurricane like there was last year :o, and that I'll be open and make friends with my co-workers in ways I did not last year. Frankly, I'm quite looking forward to it. 

All is Gift when you're a Sheep. 

Blessings, friends. I'll try to share more details about ministry plans and my weekly counseling (Accu-prayer!) next blog. 

-CJE