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!

College Choir memories

Last night Hannah was showing Lani & I her choir music -- several songs that they are learning for UIL competition -- and asked us if we knew any of them. The first one was, "All That Hath Life and Breath Praise Ye the Lord" by Rene Clausen. Immediately Lani and I both started singing the song. I guess Hannah figured out right away that we knew it! Then, I said, "Wait a minute, I think I've got a recording of that" and off I went to the garage to look through all our old records.

Talk about your "memory lane"! I found the box of records and pulled out all the ones from Columbia Christian College, where Lani and I both sang in the Concert Choir, Joyful Noise, and His Heirs groups that my dad directed. Just reading through all the song titles and looking at the pictures of the groups filled my head with music and good memories. I saw some peoples' faces that I haven't thought about in years (and a couple that I couldn't remember their names). What was amazing was how many songs just came right back as soon as I read the title. I could even picture singing them in certain places.

Eventually I made it back inside with the album, "Glorify the Lord" in my hands. The first track is the "All That Hath Life & Breath. . ." that Hannah is learning. So we put it on and Lani and I kind of sang along. Then we played it again for Hannah without singing, so she could hear it. And then we just listened to most of the album with Hannah and Micah there too. I dropped the needle on "Set Down Servant", a song which I had a solo on, and Micah and Hannah didn't think it sounded like me at all! Micah actually didn't realize for awhile that this was a recording that Lani and I were both singing on; he was wondering why we knew all these old songs.

So, it was a fun time listening to our old college choir and recalling friends and choir tours and yellow tuxes and all these songs. And you know, that choir sounded pretty good too!

Faithwalkin'

Today I heard from a WorshipForum friend who said that he was also interviewing at Memorial Drive in Tulsa. I appreciate his openness and let him know. And we'll be praying for each other. He also indicated that they have three other guys that they're bringing in (though I don't know who they are). So, we'll be praying for them too. It just reminded me today that I'm perfectly fine with getting this job or with not getting it, because I'm confident that the Lord is at work and is leading me, my friend, and the church there. Of course, I want to do well and to lead people in an intimate worship time with God this Sunday; but, I also want God to help make it clear whether this ministry and place is a good fit for me and my family (or if it's best for someone else).

It rained most all day here. . . and I was thankful because yesterday I planted a bunch of new flowers in our flowerbeds and patched ugly places in our front lawn with new grass. Thank God for small blessings.

Just a nice Saturday

What a nice day! I think it topped out right around 70 and with low humidity. Caleb, Levi, Micah, and a friend who's staying with us today all went swimming this afternoon (I think the water temp. was 69 -- brrrr!). Lani & I went to Houston Garden Center and got a bunch of flowers and stuff to spruce up the yard before we put the house up for sale. I like working in the yard, especially on nice days like this (not so much in 90+ degrees and/or 90+ humidity). It may be "Adam's curse" to till the soil, but I kind of like it in small doses (I probably wouldn't want to have to make a living that way).

This week I subbed two days, but times in 5th grade classrooms. I kind of like that age-level. Friday I was actually in Lani's building and was her "teaching partner" (our classes traded back and forth; she teaches math/science and I did language arts/social studies). I've met all the other 5th grade team there and it was fun to work with them.

I'm enjoying the NCAA tourney! Just now saw UCLA finish off Memphis! Go Pac-10. I still can't believe Gonzaga lost that game to them Thursday though.

A week from today Lani and I will be in Tulsa interviewing with the Memorial Drive C of C. Some odd things about that weekend: we'll be doing the interview on April Fool's day and daylight savings time begins (so Sunday morning will feel especially early!).

God's blessings to you!

American Idol thoughts

OK, until this year, I had never watched an entire episode of American Idol (I'd watched a few clips, but never a whole show). This year all of my family -- led primarily by Hannah -- tune in to watch most every episode. And, I confess, I've watched several (but not all) of the shows too.

I really dislike the regional, qualifying-event shows. What a big, staged farce! They show about 2/3 of the really terrible performers just for the allure & amusement and I can't stand these shows; I could turn it off and walk away at any moment. On the other hand, once they got down to the top 24 or so, then it was all pretty good.

Here are my comments at this point:
I'm so glad Kevin (a.k.a. "Chicken Little") is gone! I was cringing every time I heard him sing because of the pitch problems (and as Simon says, "This is a singing competition.").
When they had the bottom three standing there together, my son Caleb (age 10) was terribly sad, saying, "Oh, I don't want either of my favorites (Kevin & Bucky) to get kicked off. . ." I wanted to laugh & cry at the same time!
Ace has got to go! Again, he's just not a strong singer. Obviously, he's getting by on his looks. And my favorites: Mandisa (can she ever sing!), Elliott (looks odd, but has impressive vocal style & agility), and Chris (just seems like a pro already).
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Here's a great verse for today:

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Here's an encouraging verse that I read today (from Heartlight):
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought. -- Jeremiah 17:7-8

Keep your trust in the Lord!
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I've been playing with my blog a bit. Did you notice the Flickr pictures box on the sidebar? (I got that idea from Ike Graul's blog, then had to figure out how to do it!). I tried to change the look a little, but only managed to change my overall background color (and then had to figure out how to change all the "rounders" or corners, since they weren't black before). I don't know much of anything about HTML, so whatever I attempt is trial and error. I'd love to have some sort of graphic in my top header box, but am not even sure where to begin. Maybe on some rainy day when I'm not subbing, I'll explore the template code again.

Final Four and more!

OK, first, here are my "Final Four" picks: Duke, UCLA, UConn, and Florida. So far, my top picks are still in. It's always fun to pull for an underdog and today I thoroughly enjoyed watching George Mason beat the "defending Nat'l champion" UNC. And I really pulled for Arizona to beat Villanova; it was close, but they just couldn't pull it out at the end. And though I didn't see any of this one, somewhere a bunch of Bradley alums must be awefully elated. I'd love to see Gonzaga win, but just don't think they'll get past UCLA and then I'm picking UCLA to win it all.

Yesterday I watched a ton of basketball and then at night's end I was feeling kind of guilty about it. As I prayed, I was confessing to God that all this basketball wasn't really that important and that it's all just a game for fun. And then I heard this question: "So why did you spend so much time watching it if it's not really that important?" It was hard to come up with any reasonable answer. Today I watched some games, but I folded laundry and did some other chores while it was all going on.

I'm loving the free games via computer video feed. I'll keep the CBS-televised game on and then select an online game that I wouldn't otherwise get to see. Sometimes the one on the computer is more fun to watch (and you can switch back and forth between 2 or 3 online games at once). I suppose we'll all get hooked on these free video broadcasts this year and then next year they'll charge a fee for them.
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We had a good worship experience at Spring Woodlands today. I introduced a new arrangement that I'd done of "We Want to See Jesus Lifted High". We'll come back and do it again in a couple of weeks. Carl did a great job teaching about "Celebrate Suffering". I think we were all challenged to have an attitude like Paul, Silas, and many early Christians who were positive in the midst of intense trials and suffering. Like Carl said, "I'm not there yet, but I want to be more like that!"

Latest News

Today I subbed in Jr. High band. I monitored two periods of written exams, but during the periods when bands actually rehearsed I just watched as another teacher did the directing (pretty easy day!). I also taught a math class during my "prep"; I guess I needed to actually do some teaching!

Remember your Jr. High days? To start 2nd period, they came on the intercom and said that this pinching thing had to stop, or students would be charged with physical assault (remember it is St. Patrick's Day today!). Ah, the joys and craziness of that age.
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So, here's the latest on my job search: I have an interview/try-out scheduled at the Memorial Drive Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK on the first weekend in April (yes, I'll be interviewing on April Fool's Day!). Seems like some great people there and a healthy church.

I've had some good e-mail correspondence with the senior minister at the Norkenzie Christian Church in Eugene, OR. I don't know how fast they'll be moving along, but it also seems like a good church (in a city that really needs the light of Christ!).

My back-up plan has been to seek out a music teaching job back in Oregon. I've started watching for openings there and have considered going to a big teachers' job fair there on April 4 & 5. My first desire is still to find a full-time worship-leading position, but I also need to take care of my family and so I'm ready to go the teaching route if needed. And too, God may lead me in that direction for His purposes too. We'll just keep praying and see what doors open up and which ones get closed.

To my Montana relatives: Go Griz! (Montana won an NCAA tourney BBall game for the first time since 1970-something!).