A Musical History

Musical History

I've thought about putting this together a couple of different times, but have just now got around to it. Music is such an important aspect of many people's lives and I often find myself looking back at my musical past. This is in no way a complete compilation, but is pretty accurate. Sit back and enjoy as I take you on a journey through time.

1. The Basics of Life - 4 Him

2. Yakety Yak - The Coasters

Growing up we basically had two options. Contemporary Christian or Oldies. I now realize why this is. There is a lot of inappropriate material on the radio, and it makes quite a bit of sense for a parent to limit their children to one of these genres.

3. Jesus Freak - DC Talk

"Cool" Christian music, especially for youth group trips.

4. I Don't Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

Main track from the movie Armageddon I went to a lot of movies in early high school. I'm pretty sure everyone saw this one. I think the soundtrack was the first CD I ever purchased.

5. Higher - Creed

The 90s rock phase

6. Tonight, Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins

7. My Name is Jonas - Weezer

8. Lucky Denver Mint - Jimmy Eat World

I have Nathan to thank for introducing me to the foundations of my current music collection.

9. This Bitter Pill - Dashboard Confessional

Every single guy needs to sing along with Chris Carabba at least once.

10. Walls - Emery

11. Reinventing Your Exit - Underoath

In case you're curious, this is classified as screamo. It actually will grow on you, some of you.

12. Giving it Away - Mae

13. Bixby Canyon Bridge - Death Cab for Cutie

The calmer side of my college music collection.

14. The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists

Trying to find my corner of the indie music scene

15. Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin

I still appreciate a well written worship song.

I hope you enjoyed your quick glance through my musical history.

God's Perfect Timing

Wow! What a whirlwind we've been through this past week! It all revolves around my search for a teaching job.  First, a little bit of background to our story. We all are aware that our economy is not in the best of conditions. As a result, school districts are dealing with budget issues. There are several school districts in the Kansas City area, close to where we live, so we were hopeful that I would be able to find a teaching position this upcoming school year. However, most of these school districts are on hiring freezes and expanding class sizes among the teachers they already have on staff. Less than a month ago, a school district in Kansas City laid off 148 teachers. Now, all of those teachers are looking for employment and finding it nowhere. I had already determined that it was going to be alright because I would substitute this year (getting to know the principals as a part of that process). It worked in Rogers, so I assumed it would work here as well. At the end of July, I interviewed with the Assistant Superintendent at one of the school districts nearby, for a substituting position (they interview all applicants in order to screen the subs they end up hiring). As soon as I walked into the interview, the Assistant Superintendent thought my face looked familiar. He found out that I attended NSU in Oklahoma. He told me that when he was a principal, he would always travel down to Oklahoma to recruit teachers from NSU to work at his school. Anyway, long story short... I was approved to be a substitute for the district. He didn't know what I should expect, though, as far as how much I would be working. You see, all of these teachers who are looking for work are now substituting. There are more substitutes in our area than ever before, and the school districts are unsure how much we'll be able to work on a regular basis due to the overload.

Now, onto the events of this past week. A good friend of ours from church is a high school teacher in the district where I interviewed to substitute. The teacher she works with in the science department is due to have a baby in September. She found out last week that her long-term substitute had pulled out, & she wanted Jeni to contact me about possibly filling that position. Now, I have little background in Biology (other than high school and college) or high school students, for that matter. We were all unsure of whether the administration would hire me for this position because I'm not certified to teach secondary biology. Jeni's friend requested me anyway. The principal also requested that I have the job. However, by law, the administration had to approve someone certified in the subject area they would be teaching, if it was for a long-term position. I completely understood and was very relieved at the thought of not having to teach high school students (as wonderful as I'm sure they are...haha). It was an up-and-down process of I'm probably going to have the job/ no I'm not/ I might/ nope.. not going to happen. Still, I was relieved but frustrated at not knowing how much I would be working this school year. I told Jeni not to worry about a thing because I realize that God has never let me down. He has ALWAYS provided me with an opportunity of some-sort, right when it was needed. As soon as I sent her that message, I received an e-mail from the Assistant Superintendent asking me to give him a call about another position they had available. I called him immediately. He told me about a 3rd grade teacher in their district who was due to have a baby this upcoming September. She initially was going to take off just 6 weeks for maternity leave, and they still didn't have anyone to fill that position while she was out. The sad part of my story, and where I'm calling on you to keep praying, is that this teacher had her baby prematurely. The baby is in ICU as of now, and the teacher plans on working until the baby is released. She doesn't know exactly how long she'll be off....6-12 weeks or maybe the rest of the year. Very unsure right now. I hope, for her sake, that the baby will be healthy & she will just take off a regular maternity leave. She just doesn't know exactly what to expect once the baby comes home. Please keep this family in your prayers because I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to go through something like this with your child.

Where God's timing came in is that I definitely have a long-term position for this school year. I don't know how long (again pray that everything turns out just fine & this teacher will just be off a regular maternity leave), but I do know that God brought my name into the right hands to teach in this 3rd grade classroom, if just for a short while. If it hadn't been for Jeni, the long-term high school position suddenly coming up, and the Assistant Superintendent liking NSU grads (and thinking he recognized me from somewhere), my name wouldn't have even been on the map. There are so many applicants and everyone's resume looks the same. Being in the same classroom everyday will allow me to get to know the principal and the teachers really well... which gives me hope of finding a permanent job in the next school year (that's what happened in Rogers).

I never doubted God's ability to place me where I was needed, I just doubted where I needed to go. I questioned everything about my career choice and why God had brought us here right after I had found a job in Arkansas. Now I know. We're right where we need to be right now. I need to remember that my timing is not always God's timing, and HE knows what's best for me... not the other way around.

Our first offspring

Her name is Bonnie. Bonnie McReynolds. Bonnie McReynolds, the tomato plant. We adopted her from Lowe's at the beginning of summer. She hasn't been overly fruitful in her limited time with us, but that is not completely her fault. She only received partial sun in the mornings and we failed to ever give her any Miracle Grow. We're not sure if being in a pot affected her, but it's possible. We picked her fruit earlier this week, and it will probably end up on a sandwich within the next few days. Maybe next year we will have enough to share.