Big Job News

Yesterday I found out that I got the elementary music job in Portland (at Hollydale Elem. in the Gresham-Barlow District). The principal called to let me know and now it's just a matter of doing all the paperwork with her district's HR dept. and getting my Oregon certification taken care of.
Here's their website: http://hollydale.gresham.k12.or.us/

I feel very blessed! Our house sold on Monday and I got a job on Wednesday. It seems obvious to Lani and I that God is blessing us as we go down this pathway. I look back and see that I applied for about a dozen different worship leading jobs over the last year and yet none of those worked out. Now, the first people that looked at our house after we listed with a realtor bought it. And the only music job in the Portland area that I applied for, I got (there were some others in more remote parts of the state that I started the process for). I still would love to be involved in worship ministry and will prayerfully see what opportunities God puts before me as a volunteer.

Keep praying for Lani to find a job and for all the details of our move. Thanks!

Breaking news on our house sale

Tonight we signed a contract on our house! We're praising the Lord and so thankful to have this step accomplished!

Two weeks from today we start our move back to Portland (we'll be in Abilene for our first night of the the four-day moving trip).

Thanks for all your prayers!

Latest Moving Plans

We've set our moving plans now:
Means:
Two Penske diesel trucks (one 26' and one 16')
One car carrier/trailer for our Camry

Dates:
We'll be picking up the trucks on June 1 or 2
Loading will commence on June 3 & 4 (nearby helpers welcome!)
June 5 - Tomball to Abilene (staying with relatives)
June 6 - Abilene to Cortez, CO
June 7 - Cortez to Boise (staying with my parents)
June 8 - Boise to Portland (moving in with Troy & Shauna Wagner)
June 9 - Unloading trucks into some temporary storage (Portland helpers welcome!)
(June 10 - Going to Portland's Rose Parade)

We're still working on arrangements for an additional truck driver (Troy is coming down to drive out/up with us). Anyone got a deep urge to see lots of the Western U.S. from the comfy, air-conditioned cab of a Penske truck?

In other news:
I had a conference call interview for a music job at Hollydale Elementary in Gresham, OR. Seemed like all went well and they will decide within a week's time.
Lani is still applying for all kinds of elementary classroom openings, but hasn't been interviewed yet.

Thanks, friends & family, for your encouraging words and prayer support. God is good all the time!

Movin' on

Well, I've continued to sub every day. Yesterday 8th grade Eng./L.A.; it went great! Today, Boys' Middle School PE; it was fun! Who knows what'll be up tomorrow?

I got a call today about doing a phone interview for a music job at Hollydale Elementary in Gresham, OR. I had a really nice, positive, comfortable chat with the principal there (who it turns out, had a daughter in my middle school choir a few years back!). She even said she'd put in a good word for some jobs for Lani too. Thank you, God, for this bit of encouragement today.

We decided we need to go ahead and list our house with a realtor, so we met with one tonight and worked out all the details. His signs and everything will go up tomorrow. Interestingly, after I'd called him and set up an appointment, we got a call from someone who scheduled to see our house on Friday and would be a cash buyer(!). So, who knows what'll happen. Hopefully, something soon!!!

Once we have a signed contract, then we'll be able to start packing some things. We're looking at moving on or about June 5 (arriving in Portland on June 9 or so). It seems so close to that time to still be looking for a buyer. We could go ahead and move without the house sold, but it won't sell as well being empty. Still, every time someone looks at our house I'm thinking. . . we just need one buyer! Actually, I've been praying for this house to bless a family with kids (with the pool and close-to-schools location and all).

So, there's a little update our our life!

Patience (It's hard to wait!)

We're waiting. . . Every day we're waiting for something to happen, for an offer to come on our house, for a job, for some direction about how to proceed. And it's hard to wait! Anxious moments creep into quiet times. It seems like something is always occupying a portion of my energy and mind; it's like a part of me that is on hold and just ready for the go-ahead about our next steps in life.

I didn't get the worship leading job in Tulsa. And that's fine. I like getting clear answers like this, because then I can go on to the next thing. I thought I had a great experience with the folks there, but I trust that there are some good reasons why that wasn't the place for us. What that means now is that we're going ahead full steam with applying for teaching jobs back in Oregon. And we're setting our plans to move there in early June.

Now to sell this house! That's probably our biggest bump in the immediate road. We've put in a good effort at selling it ourselves, shown it alot, and had two quite low offers which we didn't accept. I guess we're ready to turn to a realtor (though I hate to pay that commission). It'll be interesting to see where a realtor will recommend we price it at.

I'm subbing every day. This week H.S. drama (two days), M.S. language arts, 5th grade, and H.S. science (tomorrow). At least every day is something new!

Hannah sang at an end-of-the-year recital tonight at her school. She sang very well (although she was a little bit nervous). With a little more confidence, she's going to be a fine soloist. We'll have to find her a new voice teacher when we get to Portland.

May 7

Well, one month from today would be our anticipated day to start the move back to Portland, that is, if we don't make a move to Tulsa. Strange how things are that near, but still unknown!

Today we had another open house -- only one couple visited, but then they called back later and said they were going to see their banker tomorrow and would like to make an offer later in the day if everything works out. We're cautiously, but optimistically waiting to see if this all works out. The potential buyers are an older couple who love the one-story floor plan and the large covered patio. On the other hand, they have no interest in the pool and asked if we'd take it out (if they give us a decent offer, yes!). So, tomorrow at this time I may be calling friends and saying, "Would you like a free pool? Just come give me a hand in taking it down and it's yours!"

Today was kind of odd for me at church. Lani sang on the praise team and I sat with our kids (and only went to first service, in order to get back home to get ready for the open house). It's a little bit of a challenge for me to not get in a critique mode during worship, when I really just want to be a worshipper. The new leader is a fine guy and a dynamic leader, but of course, I'd do some things differently and so there I sit trying to worship and trying not to be distracted with thoughts of how he's doing as a leader, what I'd do differently, etc. I guess I've got some more character development to work on!

The next two days I'm subbing for H.S. drama. That should be fun, challenging, & interesting.

Busy, but no BIG news

If you read my blog to see what's happening with us, then you've probably wondered why I'm not posting very often. I'm just busy!

I've now started subbing every day, since my stint at Spring Woodlands is over. This week it's been:
M - alternative H.S. computers
T - M.S. band
W - half-day Elem. PE
TH - H.S. mixed assignment covering teachers conferencing w/parents
F - (tomorrow) back to the alternative H.S., this time in English/Lang. Arts

No new house-selling news. Lots of interested folks, but no real offers.

No new job news. Still waiting to hear back from Memorial Drive C of C in Tulsa. In the meantime, Lani & I are both filling out several applications for teaching jobs back in Oregon.

That's a quick update!

Riding the waves. . .

Today it feels like I'm riding the waves of life's ups & downs. This week started with a too-good-to-be-true sale of our home to the first person that viewed it after our ad came out. After stringing us out most of the week, our "buyer" came again today but brought their loan officer (read "realtor"). They looked the house over again with him, then left to decide on their offer amount. About an hour later their "agent" came back to present their offer. It was one of those "you've got to be kidding" moments. They offered $5K below our asking price, plus $6K toward the buyers costs, plus asked us to pay his 3% commission (about $4600), and of course split the other closing costs (the only thing that was not unexpected). We can entertain reasonable offers below our price, but this was crazy! By the time we paid all that he asked for, we'd barely get more than it was worth 5 and 1/2 years ago when we bought it.

Another smaller wave: last night at our praise team rehearsal one of the ladies said she had a perfect job for me: her school needed a 4th grade sub. teacher through the end of the year. Sounded like a good opportunity and possible blessing. One of the keys is that long-term pay requires 20 consecutive days and if I could start Monday there would be exactly 20 working days. Problem is I'm not even registered to sub in this district and jumping through all those hoops could take awhile. But I was told that her principal could pull some strings and push things along. So, pretty early this morning I put a call in to the principal, but had to leave a message since the principal was out for the morning. All day I waited for a call. Finally, after 3:00 I called again and was told that she was unavailable. So, what sounded like a good possibility probably slipped away. Maybe not, but most likely.

Overall, I feel so blessed in my life, but today felt like I was hitting more of the dips than the highs. And I guess some days are just like that.

Tomorrow will be a new day. As far as I know we can all sleep in. We should have a mildly relaxing morning. And we'll go ahead and do an open house from 2 to 5. You know, waves go up and down. Maybe tomorrow we'll catch a big wave and go for a fun ride!

Blessed endings

Two chapters of our life ended today (or at least almost did):
I packed up my office at Spring Woodlands and hauled everything home. It seems kind of odd to not be a worship leader (at least for awhile). For almost six years I've led worship nearly every Sunday. We'll still be at Spring Woodlands for at least a few more weeks, but it will be a little different. I told the new leader, Rod Brady, that I'd be happy to sing bass any time he needs me and I do really like to do that too! Also, I'm the music director for a children's musical there that will perform on June 4 (which will likely be our last Sunday there).

And. . . it looks like we sold our house! Our newspaper ad came out yesterday and I had two calls about coming to look at it. The first caller didn't end up coming by, but the other couple came and were ready to give me an earnest money check on the spot. I told them not to rush it, to think about it overnight if they'd like and today they said they'd like to come tomorrow with their kids and that they'll be bringing a check with them. All I can do is say, "Thank you, Lord!" What a blessing! I told Micah and Hannah that I'm very happy that we sold it so fast, but I'm also a little sad to sell a home that we've put alot of effort into improving.

Thanks for your prayers! God is good and has blessed our family again. Now, to see where we're headed! Isn't it weird to have your house sold and not know where you're moving?

Pressing on, moving ahead!

Today was my final day leading worship at the Spring Woodlands Church. It was a nice day there (despite a few technical glitches) and people were very loving and kind. I've sure enjoyed my short stay there!

This afternoon we're doing our first open house. As I'm writing this, we've been "open" for an hour-and-a-half and we've had one couple come through (I keep telling myself, you only need one buyer!!!). Lots of people have driven by and taken flyers!

Now, to see how things go. . .

Trusting. . .

Never be afraid to trust
an unknown future
to a known God.
- Corrie ten Boom

I'm wrestling a little each day with what my future holds, and at this point it's pretty unknown. Yet, I've seen the gracious, loving hand of God take care of me at all times in the past and I believe He's still going to on all of my unknown tomorrows. Now that the extra-busy activities of Easter are past, I'm more aware that in just a few weeks I'll be headed somewhere else -- I don't know where yet, but somewhere (Tulsa? Portland? Walla Walla? Elsewhere?). We put up a "For Sale" sign in our yard, placed ads in two local papers, and are readying for an open house on the next two weekends. This is more evidence that a change is coming soon! This Sunday is my final week leading worship at Spring Woodlands. It's been a great blessing and opportunity in many ways and I'm thankful for my time here. So, while lots of things around me are in a state of change, I'm thankful that God is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer!

Happy Easter!

Hear the bells ringing, they're singing, "Christ is risen from the dead!"
Christ, the Lord, is risen today! Hallelujah!
You Can't Keep a Good Man Down!
Hallelujah! Jesus is Alive!

Just wanted to share some of the words of songs that are echoing around my head today as we celebrate the risen Savior! We had a great Easter Sunday, starting with a sunrise service at a community park, then two special worship times at the SWCC building (the praise team did great today in leading the celebration!), and a relaxed afternoon with family and friends! God is good, Jesus is risen, and that makes all the difference in my life!

Good Friday

Today is "Good Friday" and it really was a nice day. All of our family was at home today (Texas schools almost universally take Good Friday as a holiday). We cleaned house, played, kids swam (it was in the mid to upper 80's), the girls went shopping, and we got ready for a garage sale tomorrow.

Today is also Levi's Birthday! So he got to choose where we'd go for dinner and we went to Fuddruckers. After eating, I told them that it was Good Friday and that we had one special birth to celebrate and two deaths. Right away they all said something about it being Levi's birthday that we were celebrating and then with just a little thinking they remembered that this is the day we recall Jesus' death and burial. So we talked a little about that. I asked them how Jesus' followers must have felt -- sad, depressed, confused? Lani pointed out that Jesus' body hadn't been properly prepared for burial and that some of the women wanted to do that but couldn't because after sundown it was the Sabbath. I think we had a good teaching moment going. Then I mentioned that this is the day that Abraham Lincoln was shot (141 years ago today). Micah jumped in and told a bunch of details about all of that that he'd heard or read.

Personally, late last night I was thinking about how that was the night that Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples, how he agonized in prayer in the garden, how they couldn't stay awake with him, and what a struggle He was going through. Today I recalled several times that this was the day of his condemnation, the walk with the cross on the Via Dolorosa, the crucifixion, the words on the cross, his death, and finally his burial in the tomb. What an amazing sacrifice on our behalf!

Stomp!

I subbed in elementary music today and showed the video "Stomp Out Loud" to all six classes. Also, a couple of weeks ago I showed the same video to four classes of middle school band. I guess most music teachers figure they are not going to get a musically proficient substitute so they just fall back on a video for the day (so far I've done four music sub jobs and never yet been asked to do any music teaching!).

Anyway, Stomp is a pretty lively group that creates all manner of percussion performance pieces using only body sounds and common items like trash cans, brooms, pipes, pots & pans, etc. "Stomp Out Loud" is a special show produced by and for HBO. They also have a show that tours around the country. After watching this video ten times now, I'm good at catching when brooms break, spotting where microphones were placed, and watching what's going on with the part of the cast that is not the main focus at the time.
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I'm excited about our Easter worship plans! Sunrise Service at 6:45 at Northshore Park in the Woodlands and then two special Easter Services back at our building. I really hope we reach a lot of visitors and that we encourage everyone with the hope and power of Christ's resurrection.

My Day in the DMC

Yesterday I got a call to sub -- Middle School English/Language Arts. Sounded kind of interesting, even if not my favorite pick. I got to the school and was in the classroom just about ready to begin first period, when in walks the regular teacher and says, "I don't think you're supposed to be here today." Awkward. Then she said, "Hold on just a minute" and off she went to speak to the sub. coordinator. Several awkward minutes. Then she reappeared and told me there'd been a mistake and I wasn't needed for her class, but they would love to have me help in the "DMC" room.

"DMC." Just the way she said it made me a little nervous. I'm thinking. . . I wonder what that stands for. . . De-Militarized Classroom. . .hmm. (Lani told me later that it's actually something like "Discipline Management Class").

So, I spent a day in the detention room. Honestly, I never spent a day in detention in all my school days. I learned some things yesterday:
Whoever runs DMC (or whatever they call it in your local school) should get a big bonus pay. And lots of admiration and appreciation for their efforts. We had a room with 24 students assigned there who all were supposed to work silently in their assigned desk or cubicle. That meant that the coordinator had to have seven assignments (one for each regular period) for all 24 students somehow organized, passed out, collected, etc. Whew! I don't know how this lady did it on a regular day by herself. She was SO thankful I was there and was nearly begging me to come back again tomorrow.
DMC students are not dumb or "bad kids". I was actually pretty impressed with how most of the kids acted. Generally, they were considerate and cooperative (it could partly be because if they messed up there they'd be in real bad trouble!). Several were probably "gifted" as far as intelligence goes. I couldn't believe how quickly some of them did the assignments. I'd always heard that some kids who get in trouble are just bright kids who get bored with the slow pace of things in a regular classroom and have too many opportunities to get into mischief. It's probably true.
I also looked at these kids and wondered how many of them don't have a stable home, how many have suffered abuse, how many didn't eat breakfast that day, how many have parents with serious problems of their own. I'd bet that these kids were fighting a lot of battles that most kids don't have to face. I know I never had to face those kind of things and I'm glad my kids don't either, but now I have more understanding and caring for children who do.


I survived my day in DMC just fine and was happy to have helped out in a difficult little corner of the world. And I learned some things about people. I was blessed today.

Oh, what a beautiful morning. . .

Oh, what a beautiful day. . .

It's a lovely, sunny day with a gentle breeze and a high in the low to mid 70's (and low humidity, to boot!). So, the yard got mowed and edged, flowers got spruced up, windows were opened up -- it was just a really nice day!

Tonight we're going to Olive Garden to celebrate Micah's 14th birthday. His birthday was actually on Thursday, but we were too busy that day to do much (I was actually in Portland, and Lani was single-parenting and just trying to keep everything and everyone going).

Tomorrow our worship service theme is "Celebrate Jesus!" and I'm really looking forward to it. It's the final Sunday of our series on things you just have to celebrate. It should fit in really well to be shouting "hosanna" and "hallelujah" and singing praises on Palm Sunday!

Home Sweet Home

Back home again! I'm thankful for safe trips this last week to Tulsa and Portland.
Seems like lots of possibilities, but now I'll need to be patient.

Today I'm working at Spring Woodlands to catch up on things and then there's a school carnival thing at Matzke tonight (that's Lani, Caleb, and Levi's school).

"In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Signs that you're in Portland

I'm writing from Troy & Shauna Wagner's home in Portland, OR! Yesterday I attended the Oregon Professional Educator Fair at the Oregon Convention Center. There were over 220 school districts there and probably over 2500 teacher applicants. I was able to talk to many districts that are looking for music teachers and gave my resume (& Lani's) to about 15 of them that seemed most interested. I was "interviewed" (to some extent anyway) by four districts, while several others took down notes about me and said they'd follow up later.

Interesting note: I was originally only thinking of talking to Oregon districts (or maybe ones right across in Vancouver, WA), but at lunch yesterday, two administrators were sitting by me from Walla Walla, WA and after we talked awhile they showed interest in me as a music teacher and encouraged me to come by their booth. When I did so that afternoon, they were excited and immediately had me sit down and be interviewed by a grade school principal. Another interesting thing happened when I was walking past a booth for Nyssa, OR (a small town near where I grew up in Eastern Oregon). One of the three guys there caught my eye and he said, "Randy?", then stepped toward me and said, "or, Dan?" Turns out it was Geno Bates, a guy who'd gone to school with us in Ontario (in Randy's class, I believe). He didn't have any openings to fit us (and I wouldn't have wanted to go there anyway!), but he recommended I talk to the folks from Nampa, ID. When I stopped there, they were very interested right away and asked to interview me right then. So, two districts that I wouldn't have even talked to ended up being the most interested in me. Interesting! I also did interviews with Estacada, OR and the David Douglas district in Portland.

So, now to the title for this post. Here are some signs that one is in Portland:
First sign, when Troy was driving me home from the airport Monday and we were turning onto his street, we stopped at the corner for a jogger -- at 11:38 at night!
You see lots of women with little or no make-up on (and it's just a normal thing).
There are big mountains nearby.
There is lots of snow on the big mountains.
People at a restaurant picked up your plastic bottles separate from the trash to recycle them.

I suppose I could list a lot more, but these were some things I noticed right away.

Final notes: I got to eat last night at Chevy's with Troy & Shauna & kids, and my good friends Paul & Linda McDonald.
Then we went to see Makinna and all the 3rd grade class at Glencoe Elementary do a musical intitled: "Portland, a Musical".
After that, my good friend Jeff Beachy joined us back at the house for a couple hours of visiting.

Today, I'm hoping to have lunch with Ike Graul (WorshipForum.com founder, PUMP minister, Take 6 lover, and good friend). Tonight I'll go see Randy & Charlene at their new home. I also hope to go for a run through Laurelhurst Park; it's a beautiful day and the park should be full of runners, walkers, children playing, people feeding birds. . .

Great weekend!

We were blessed with a wonderful weekend in Tulsa! Safe travel, good discussions during the interview, and worship seemed to go well. Thanks be to God (and thanks to all who prayed on our behalf!).

As it turns out, I am the first of five guys that are being brought in. So, they have four more weeks in a row to do this, four more guys to try out (and they are gonna be really tired after doing this for five consecutive weeks!). I guess we need the virtue of patience as we wait for a month or more to hear what they will do there.

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Tomorrow I fly to Portland to go to a big teacher's job fair. They will have something like 216 districts there to meet and interview teachers. I'm going to take my resume (& Lani's too) and see how God leads and blesses on this pathway too. It's kind of hard to know just what to do. I still have it in my heart to be a full-time worship leader, but there are reasons that returning to the teaching field might be the way to go (we could bless a smaller church, we'd be close to family, we'd be ministering in "secular" jobs, etc.). I'm praying daily for God's wisdom, leading, and blessing.

Oklahoma!

Today Lani & I fly up to Tulsa, OK to interview with the Memorial Drive Church of Christ for their Worship Minister position. We'll be going through a full day tomorrow of interviews and meals with various groups (staff in the morning, worship team representatives in the afternoon, then the elders later). Sunday I'll lead worship and then we're back home by Sunday night.

Thanks for your prayers!