A few important things

First, I am feeling like a total idiot. I just realized that I never posted the fabulous New Year's News of 1620 S Michigan: Sara and Jud are engaged! They are planning a small family wedding on Tybee Island, Ga for the second weekend in April. I will be her sole attendant. It will be the 7th time I have stood up in a wedding, but my first time as the maid of honor. Sara will be wearing this dress and I will be wearing this dress in the brown pictured. (Sorry I couldn't just drop in the images.) I will do my best to get some real pictures up here when the time comes. My friend Ewa from church will be flying down with his wife to take the pictures. You can see some of his work on his website. I personally think he is amazing.

Second, this changing of relationships necessitated that I find a new place to live. I love our apartment here in the south loop and it has been a great place for Sara and I to make a home, but even with a new roommate it is just too expensive. I was praying hard for a good situation, since who you live with can make or break your desire to go home. Enter my friend Dr. Rosie de Rosset of Moody Bible Institute. We had dinner about 2 weeks ago and she mentioned she had an old student who needed a roommate and she thought we could be a good fit. A few questions later she promised to pass on my number.

Beth and I had lunch last Sunday and it went really well. Her apartment is in Lincoln Square, north and west of the loop, but it is large, she has great landlords, it is close to public transportation and, best of all, the rent would be almost half what I am currently paying. Tonight I went and looked at the apartment and neighborhood and Beth and I decided that it would be a go. I will be permanently relocating to 2505 W Gunnison June 1st, but possibly earlier if our landlord finds a new tenant for Sara's and my place. This has been a marvelous provision from the Lord and I am extremely grateful. I will post pictures as soon as they are available.

Third, I am in the midst of applying to English and Liberal Studies programs at various grad schools in the area. I am more hopeful this time around. I should find out mid-spring if I have been accepted with the intention to start in the Fall. In the event that I will be in grad school in the fall, I will be looking for full-time administrative work instead of teaching. This will allow me to get benefits and regular hours in a less stressful environment. Thankfully, most of the programs that I have applied to have afternoon/evening classes because they expect that most of their students work while pursuing graduate study.

Finally, I have accepted the position of leader of the Welcome Team at my church. It is a great fit with my personality and gifts and I am excited at the possibilities. It also involves quite a bit of organizing, as well as being warm and cheerful. I am enjoying the opportunity to help build my community. Cityview is a wonderful church and I love being involved with them. Being part of an urban church plant has its ups, downs, and interesting situations but I couldn't ask for a better church family. The Lord has been so gracious to me it just blows my mind!

Teach For America Update

Well, I heard from Teach For America today. They have not accepted me for the 2008 corps. I must admit that it is disappointing. Teaching is going well for me this year and I was very hopeful that TFA would take me. It would be the most direct and inexpensive way to certification while allowing me to earn income and gain experience at the same time.

Some of you know that I have been wrestling with whether I should try to go into grad school or teach. There is still one more possibility for teaching--a full-time position with Perspectives. I am not terribly optimistic about this, and honestly, it is almost a relief. What I want so much is to be back in the academy. I miss research, reading, discussion, writing. What does the future hold? I have no idea, but I am hopeful. I am also grateful that one door is closed.

Pray for me when you think of it and I'll keep you updated as things unfold.

A post worth reading, and more on the craziness that is my life

First, I want to point you again in the direction of Solo Femininity. Carolyn's most recent post addresses the issue of being single and alone, but closes with a reminder that I needed: As single people, we often choose to be alone. There is no merit in refusing to reach out again. Especially in this holiday season, remember why God gave you a home and reach out to someone less fortunate than yourself. If you have a moment, even if you are not single, I encourage you to check out this post.

Second, tomorrow I go for a day-long interview with Teach For America at the UIC campus. I will be there from 9:00 am to 6:00pm. This is where they decide if I am TFA material or not. I am a little nervous, but more about the possibility of teaching with TFA than going through the interview. I am confident that I have the strengths and abilities to be successful in their program. However, I am unsure what God has for me. Right now, I would prefer to get a job with Perspectives as a full-time teacher. (BTW, I did fill out a general application for them today.) Please pray for me that I will have patience and discernment as I seek God's will in this.

Finally, I want to remind you all to celebrate this Advent season with joy! We are the recipients of the most AWESOME love you could imagine: the perfect God of the Universe chose to humble himself and become human, to suffer and die to satisfy his perfect justice, so that we could have eternal intimacy with him. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Updates

Thought it was time for a few updates:

Work: Yesterday I had a phone interview with Teach for America yesterday afternoon and I felt it went well. I will find out on the 19th whether or not I made it to the next round of interviews. My goal currently is to find a full-time teaching position by next fall. I have had some interesting work experience since graduating from school, but it would be nice to have full-time work and full-time income!

Neighbors: In addition to having my TFA interview yesterday, I arrived home to a strange man standing in my apartment. It turns out that he is Ramon, the man who owns 619, and he was in the building because he had a meeting with Jack regarding his tenants and a noise violation. They were partying LOUD on Saturday night... all the way until 4:00am! The tenants were not home when he arrived, but he entered the apartment and apparently found the place trashed and marijuana paraphanelia all over the place. He was about as angry as he could be in front of strangers. He brought a friend who is a Chicago cop (as a witness or in case things got ugly, I believe).

Ramon was very apologetic and said that he would be dealing severly with the tenants. Turns out they are 3 18-19 yr olds that are students at Columbia College Chicago. One is the son of Ramon's wife's best-friend. Presumably he fell in with bad company and they in turn have trashed Ramon's apartment, including all the furniture and appliances that he so kindly left for them. After our conversation, which also included Jack--the building engineer--he went back home to Oak Park. Later that evening he emailed Sara and said that he was coming back to confront the kids with parents in tow (parents are on the lease as well as the boys). I heard a little of the LOUD conversation and I don't think it is going so well for them. I can't say that I feel to badly about it. They were acting like spoiled frat boys, so they belong somewhere else. I will try to keep you updated on what is going on there.

My Birthday: I have been celebrating my birthday month with great joy! It started with a David Crowder band concert on the 1st at House of Blues with some friends from Church. Then Sara and I went out for dinner on my birthday, I had a little celebration with my small group from church on the 8th and tomorrow night I am having some friends over for a birthday dinner party. I will try to take some pictures and post them soon:-) In addition to some lovely gifts from friends and family, I would like to post a special thank you here--Jud subsidized a much-needed haircut as my birthday present. I went to Ashley, she gave me a great new winter cut and I will try to get pics up soon. It is shorter and a bit more funky and I LOVE IT!

That will have to do it for now. I will try and get more up on a regular basis--please leave comments... I love to hear from you!

So True!

Another gem from amy loves books here. I became acquainted with her over teaching, so it is fitting that I should link to another teaching post. This one is the kind of encouragement I need to hear on a daily, maybe even moment-by-moment, basis.