Framework for the Commentary

I don't generally view blogs as newscasts. That is, I enjoy them for the life snippets they contain, but I don't expect them to contain all the news in an individual's life. Some do, I suppose, but those kinds scare me. I would rather find out some things directly, not in a forum that all the world may read. That is why I don't often think to share a lot of details on what is going on in my own life. I do from time to time, but mostly I just comment on an aspect of life, in writing or in pictures.

However, I realize that it may be difficult to appreciate some of that commentary without a framework to hang it on. For example, in the last post, I wanted to say, "Here are some quotes from Perspectives class." But wait! Most of the world doesn't know that I am taking Perspectives, or know what it is.

Some of the world may also want to be reminded from time to time that I work in a drug/alcohol rehab program for adolescents, and that the Happy Things quotes from individuals identified only by letters are from people whose identities I can never disclose. (Ah, but they have such Personality.)

So here are a few things that I am involved in right now. The list may be different next week!

I'm still working at the aforementioned drug/alcohol treatment facility. My hours are up to 25 a week, with the possibility of climbing higher. It's a job that makes me laugh and cry, and not just cry because of the sad life situations represented. Some days I cry because it's just plain hard. However, I think back to my jobless days in September and October and thank the Lord that I have a job. And on snowy nights when I get off work at 11:00, I thank God that I work 10 minutes from home, not 40 minutes from home. God's been helping me to remember that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, too. I can handle the things that are holding the kids back in the heavenlies, in prayer, in my room. For the battle is in the spirit realm, not in the physical. Part of the reason I don't write or speak much publicly about this job is due to the confidentiality issues at stake. It is hard to have stories to tell and not be able to tell them, but I understand why it has to be that way.

This job has also required quite a lot of continuing ed training lately. The organization is up for re-licensing with a major accreditation board, so there's a lot of pressure to make sure that employees are up to date on all they need to be. I'm as green as they get, so I'm trying to absorb a lot of information in a short period of time--med training, crisis prevention training, new staff handbook training, etc.

I still do layout and design for Times of Restoration, my church's bi-monthly magazine. (Let me know if you'd like a subscription! They're free, though donations are accepted toward printing costs.) Rachel A., the expert who trained me, is nearly a month married and happily settling in Mexico. So I am on my own in the design work, though I have Bonnie S. to do most of the actual printing, stapling, etc. I'm really enjoying the work! I love coming up with creative photos and artwork for each issue, trying to draw out the spirit of each of the articles. They're good stuff, and they deserve to be displayed as such! I'm teaching myself how to use some of the finer points of Pagemaker and a couple of basic photo software programs. There's so much more to learn.

A secondary job that helps cover my rooming expenses is Main House security and heating. This is a far bigger responsibility in the fluctuating winter temperatures. The thermostats have to be set at certain places for certain temps, and I can easily spend an hour or two a week trying to monitor thermostats.

Math-U-See is keeping me supplied fairly regularly with math texts to proofread, as they move through the process of republishing most of their books. Multiplication is so much easier than Pre-Algebra! But as I work on the texts, I thank God that He had me do a lot of math through junior high and high school, so I'm able to tackle different levels. I would never have thought that basic math skills could make me good money! (Students, take note!)

I haven't had any more substitute teaching jobs since December, but I'm still on the list to get calls from the social studies department head. I'm hoping that I'll get called in for a day or two in between TOR and MUS projects. I did go to a basketball game a couple of weeks ago, and saw four students I'd had in my classes. The stat keeper initiated conversation with me, which tickled me. I mean, I guess one would remember one's sub, but it felt so odd to be known in that way. Hmm . . . a new aspect of my identity! In that school, I am a sub.

I've interviewed for a part-time per diem job with another local social service agency. It's a major social service agency in the region, so even though the job isn't a large one, I'm excited about the prospects of working with another reputable organization. The job is in family support for individuals with mental health issues, which can be a range of things. As I understand it, my job is actually to take the young person out in the community to work on skill sets determined by his or her social worker--such as organization, social skills, time management, etc. I believe that I also have some interaction with the family. If I get the job, I will probably start with just one client, whom I'll meet with weekly or bi-weekly. Again, confidentiality is understandably critical, so I probably won't be able to share a lot of details about this job. I should hear back about the job within a week or two. Right now my waiver paperwork is in process, as the State of NH requires workers in the open position to have a degree in Human Services, which I do not have. Thankfully the organization is willing to apply for a waiver for me, based on my other degrees and previous experience working with youth.

I started the 15-week Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class, as noted in the previous post. I drive down to Northampton, MA, for that each Monday evening, leaving around 4:45 PM and returning after 11:00 PM. I'm really enjoying it, and being a student again. The homework is not quickly accomplished, so finding time for that is stretching me! I'm also thankful for God's provision through the class through scholarship money left over from my last degree, conscientiously earmarked for educational pursuits. (Everyone should have an education fund!)

I also took the leap of starting the foster parenting classes required for all NH foster parents to take. They're free, and I love to learn, so why not?! (Heh, heh. Time, for one thing.) I am curious to learn all I can about the system and how it works in NH. I've dreamed of running my own girls' home some day, and it seems logical to acquaint myself with state rules and regulations governing at-risk families. I'm not making any commitment to be a foster parent at this point. However, I am intrigued by the options of respite foster care (taking a young person for a weekend a month to help her primary family out) and residential resource care (taking on responsibility for a young person in residential care, visiting her, and having her over for vacations and holidays. It really is refreshing to be reminded about how many truly caring people there are in the "system." We can tend to view them as bad guys because of publicized abuses of the system, but they really need our support and prayers and involvement--the social workers, judges, and even the legislators who set the boundaries of the definitions of abuse and neglect! Anyway, I've taken the first two classes. I can't take any of the other five until I submit an autobiography, a document required of all prospective foster parents. Writing an autobiography and attending the other classes doesn't lock me into being a foster parent, but it demonstrates that I'm more serious than some. I think it will actually be kind of fun to write!

I'm enjoying leading small group, or "heart" group, for the college-aged girls at Fairwood Bible Chapel. This week we went over to Lindsay J.'s for lessons in shoulder and neck massage. (The big adventure there was that Fairwood's red van and snowy and steep Chestnut Hill had an unhappy disagreement, and the red van lost. No, I didn't crash the red van; it simply couldn't make it up the Hill! Thankfully Dad was dropping the girls off on the way back from Boston, so he met me on the Hill, and we traded vans. I'm afraid that the red van was probably all too glad to go down the Hill.) Last week we watched "Fireproof" and ate butterscotch chip chocolate brownies. The week before we made character trait bookmarks (many an EQUIP girl could relate!) and read excerpts from Type Talk at Work. And the week before that we went to a fabric store and picked out fabric to make crazy-quilt-design pillows and went to Dunkin' Donuts. Word is that it can be a tendency for the girls and guys to accuse each other of copying heart group ideas (Craig is the king of great guys' heart groups!); however, I think our list is pretty safe so far from guy-copying. The day the guys announce that they went to the fabric store for heart group or to Lindsay's for back massage lessons . . .

I am rejoicing in being very near to being back on my feet financially for the first time since my move last September! God has provided all my needs and some besides. It will be nice, however, to be able to come off "necessity only" mode soon. Moving and setting up house and purchasing a car and phone add up! Toss two months of unemployment into the mix, then Christmas (for one who shows love through gifts), and you can see that the Lord has had me very dependent on Him! That dependence will continue, as there are other longer-term needs to be addressed, for which He needs to provide much wisdom before money! I'm so thankful that I'm in His care. As the old song goes, "All the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine. His sheep am I." It may not always look like we're faring wondrously fine, but think of having to go through the fire without Him! I shudder to think.

So that's the rundown. Now I can have one of those blogs that scares you! Shabbat shalom, one and all.