News as of February 18th 2008
Happy belated Valentine's Day! Hope that you all celebrated according to your expectations.
The kids are just returning to school from a long 4 day weekend. Charles took off Friday to look after them (since I did not have a long weekend) and kept them busy with grocery shopping and recycling. Monday was my day to look after them, so I boarded the train and took them for lunch with Charles at his office. I was also able to fulfill one of my class requirements--to read the bible in an unusual location (MARTA Train). There was other location choices, however this worked in to my schedule best and we got to see Charles' workplace and meet a few of his coworkers. And the kids had a great time. Multitasking--the skill of motherhood.
The results are in from my January class in Galatians and I got a B+ which I have been able to accept graciously since the person who taught the class is also the person who wrote the commentary on Galatians. Besides there is a rumor that he doesn't give A's. It might even be that I didn't apply myself to the fullest extent, but I did learn a lot and enjoyed the class.
I am taking Worship and Preaching this semester, and today for class we gave 5 minute presentations (they didn't want to scare us by calling them sermons) on a scripture of our choice (mine was I John 4:10-11) and tell what God does and why it is meaningful. (sounds, tastes, smells like a sermon) You will be proud to know that I didn't completely bumble it and I made some good points. It was interesting, since preaching is not something that I have a great deal of experience in coupled with the stage fright that seemed to re-appear with the whole "sermon" theme, I think I did alright overall. The next exercise will be a full 15 minute sermon and the class will get to critique it with positive feedback as well as constructive criticism. I'll let you know how it goes with my next update. My other classes are going smoothly, no major hiccups so far.
B celebrated her 7th birthday earlier this month. It was great to be able to borrow the room on campus for the event so we didn't have to figure out what to do with 9 children in our apartment. The room combined with the quad for them all to run on made for a manageable party. Cake and ice cream were fed to the kids just prior to their return to their parents, this helps to keep a party under control. Not so sure about how much control the kids were afterwards or maybe they just fell asleep. Another neat thing about the party was the B got books and craft presents which made a pleasant change from toys. Overall, it was one of the best birthday parties we've had.
B has taken all her tests for the Gifted Child program, we now await the results for her. S unfortunately is suffering from lack of challenge and we are considering the options for him which may include after school tutoring. Charles and I are still doing some research and talking with different people about possible solutions for S. Its just frustrating to see such a gifted child fade into mediocrity. Hopefully, we will figure something out soon.
Charles' work continues to be uncertain and he is beginning to consider other options. His contract seems to be on a week to week basis now with a 30 day notice period. His former colleague Anubhav still has not found work after 3 weeks of looking.
God be praised! My internship for the Summer has been worked out and so quickly. The pastor at Emory Presbyterian took an informal poll of session to get me approved so that I could remove myself from the interview process with other area churches. That puts me several weeks ahead of the game, which is where I like to be. Emory is where we are currently attending worship, so the pastor is familiar with us as well as most of the session. It is much smaller than Sardis, so it is fairly easy to know most of the session. Charles will be starting a Sunday School class there in March, so keep him in your prayers as he tries to bring new people into the fold. The Crossroads class will be familiar with the Rob Bell series, which is what Charles is going to start with. Some folks have expressed an interest in the class already. I miss teaching. It is good, though, for me to realize that I can't do it all. There will be time for Sunday School classes in the future; right now seminary studies take precedent. I think that is one of the lessons (outside of class) that I'm meant to learn at seminary--when to say no.
The kids will probably get a few new fish soon as Charles and S cleaned the tank out the other day in preparation for this event. Only a slight mishap during the cleaning when the siphon hose popped off and poured some tank water over the floor. Fortunately we have a steam vac for occasions like that. The 2 remaining fish managed not to get sucked out of the tank during the process so I congratulate Charles & S on their job well done.
Keep your kind thoughts and wishes coming; they really mean a lot to me and to the family.
God Bless, Diane J
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