Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

How does a girl with a B.S. in Mathematics get a full-time job at a junior college? For someone like me - someone that dreamed of becoming a teacher her whole life, taught high school and didn’t really like it - this is a dream come true. I get to teach a subject I love to students I adore in an environment that suits my personality. I’ll tell you how I moved into a full-time position: it was all God. Sure, I used the tools He gave me, but He provided the timing, circumstances and open positions to make my dream possible.  As an adjunct math instructor for developmental classes (that’s a part-time position), I began mixing my skills, experience and training with my passion and what I found was pure joy everyday. My co-workers started asking me if I’d considered a master’s degree and working full time since I enjoyed my job so much. To be honest, these things hadn’t really even crossed my mind; I was so busy enjoying every day in each moment that I wasn’t looking to change an...

IVSO keyboard for iPad For my birthday, I got a new iPad…so awesome! My mother-in-love bought me a keyboard to go with it, but for some reason it shipped from Tonga. Yeah, I had to google that, but I am geographically challenged so I google everything. We waited patiently and with perfect timing, it “arrived” on my actual birthday…except it didn’t. No big deal; I can wait…I’m a big girl after all. But alas, it never showed up. I text messaged my mother-in-love and she emailed the company to check on it. The company sent another keyboard free of charge, and we waited patiently again. However, this time she sent me the tracking number and I tracked that baby every step of the way. I also kept checking her mail box and PO box just to make sure the other one never showed up. Two weeks after the second one shipped, it arrived at a post office I wasn’t checking (she uses two post offices…long story - I’ll spare you). I called the post office ahead of time (having learned my lesson the f...

As I read through my Beginner’s Bible at age 6, I first believed that Jesus is real and God is the King. I could feel in my heart that the stories in the Bible were truth and I knew without a doubt that Jesus lived. I grew up going to Sunday school, VBS, reading the Bible and praying before meals. I learned how to live a life that was pleasing to God and I tried to be good. As I got older I started having questions that no one could answer; I had questions that were best answered by someone with higher knowledge. That was when my dad encouraged me to ask God those unanswerable questions. That notion was foreign to me. If I asked, how would he answer? How would I know it’s God speaking? Will I hear a voice? Will I see Him? My dad prompted me to just ask and I would know.  Once I learned what He sounded like (a gut feeling, a new genius thought, a Bible passage or a physical sign), I began regularly asking Him questions about my direction in life and things that caused anxiety....

Creepy iPad and keyboard I walked into my bedroom to work on my computer, thinking about what I might want to write about. I’ve had a rough couple days for no particular reason so I was trying to tie that in to a topic for the blog. After the 300th time of trying to get my wireless keyboard to connect to my computer, I have to admit I got a little heated over the matter. I stormed out of my bedroom, slammed the door for effect and at that very moment, my iPad turned on and randomly started playing “What is Love?” It stopped me in my tracks. It’s a song from the 80/90s, but it is a song I grew up on and remember fondly from skating rink days. I immediately grabbed the iPad and started dancing (ridiculously) in the living room and laughing so hard it hurt. The title of the song and the timing of it turning on without my permission are not lost on me. I love how God works. He reminds us in the most unique ways of his presence and how small our problems are. Did I mention that I don’t...

God showed me a little bit about our identity through my understanding of mathematics. It may seem scary at first, but I'll explain it so stick with me :) I'll start with a simple example to explain what God is saying in the above graphic. 1*3 = 3, right? Yes. 1 is the identity for multiplication because it is the only number that won't change the characteristics of other numbers. 1*4 = 4 1*5 = 5 and so on. Jesus is a Christian's true identity so: Jesus * you = YOU He is the only factor that can produce the true you. The you without the hitch hikers that jump on your mind and heart from the troubles of this world, your upbringing and your worry for the future. . My husband and I have been focusing our mornings on spending more time with God. He prefers an unhindered quiet time of soaking, praying and reading while I enjoy time on the sofa with coffee, puppies, reading and praying. I love to see how the word applies to my life and also how it provides e...

Almost every day I look back at my “on this day” page in Facebook. It’s fun to see what we were going through or how my life has developed since I got a Facebook account when it FIRST started in college. While some memories are fun to reminisce on (like when I bought my first car), most of the things I posted as my younger self are a bit painful to read. My old self was full of anxiety and negativity; I don’t know how anyone stood to be around me. Around 2011-2012, I started asking God to transform my attitude and I can clearly see the change begin in my Facebook posts. I love to look at my posts from 2007-2011 and compare them to the posts I’ve made from 2011-the present. Pastor Doug White came to speak this Sunday at our church and said he had one word for us: Metamorphosis. He spoke on the transformation that comes from the power of God working in our hearts. When we ask and open our hearts, he changes us from what we are to what we are meant to become.  *TRANSFORMATION C...

One of my favorite things to do to relax, besides sitting on the porch, is chilling out in our recliner with my PJ pants and a hot cup of coffee after a long day of teaching and tutoring and churching. It’s so nice to curl up with a warm cup in my hands and be able to just pause for a few minutes and enjoy the moment. The only issue is when my problems become bigger than a cup of coffee and a big, comfy recliner. At some point, a cup of coffee, an extra mile or two, a long drive, or another beef jerky just doesn’t cut it anymore. The peace I used to feel from my routines or hobbies is absent and I’m left searching for more. Psalm 122 speaks of praying for peace from God. The English dictionary defines “peace” as the absence of disturbance or the end to war; however, I’m afraid this definition is not the true meaning of peace but rather the result of the true definition. Jesus’ presence creates a calming affect that we associate with peace. Jesus is peace. By going into his presen...

A couple months ago, our agriculture exemption was in jeopardy because we didn’t have cows in the time frame that the state regulations require. At the time, cows were at an all time high buying cost so it was impossible for us to scrounge up money and get the 4 required cows for our acreage. We went nuts searching for some way to keep our exemption other than cows. We looked into planting stuff, a wildlife reserve and even a butterfly exhibit (no kidding…LOL). We exhausted every solution trying to find a way around not having cows. During this problem, my husband’s dad called and expressed he had too many cows for his land and needed a place to put them. He wondered if he could let us “borrow” them for an indefinite time. God has such an amazing way of working things out at the perfect time. We have cows, our land is ag exempt and we love the partnership that has developed with my father-in-law. Part of human nature is to get into messy situations, whether it be on purpose or by ...

In a world of social media, quick news reports and the web at our fingertips, a lot of bad news and negative information gets funneled into our minds. There’s not really a way around it and it would be stupid to shut yourself off from being aware of current events. Staying positive and encouraged becomes a rarity in a place crowded with negative thoughts. Being negative becomes a way of life, a habit, a mind-set; God wants us to be the light, the good, the hopeful, the encouraging in the midst of all the dark. He also wants us to be strategic about what we expose ourselves to as we shine our light from within. But we must also be conscious of being self-focused or self-centered in our strategies. To become rightfully aligned, we need to become people of peace, with a peace that comes from the Holy Spirit living inside us and being Christ-centered. Psalms 120:6-7 says: I’m tired of living among people who hate peace. I search for peace; but when I speak of peace, they want war! ...

I know a teenager who got into drugs and alcohol pretty young (okay, I know a lot of teenagers like this but I'm talking about one in particular). He had a broken family life and sought acceptance at school with a crowd that had a bad influence on him. He found acceptance in the group of "friends" but found emptiness from the hole in his heart. He got snagged by a youth pastor who took him under his wing and he started to feel a pull at his heart to fill it with something more satisfying than the emptiness drugs offered. God met him when he was crying out for more and permeated his physical being with love. He found the acceptance he was seeking and filled the gaping hole with the infinite love of the Heavenly Father. He became a new version of himself that his friends no longer recognized and he no longer sought the numbness that came from the habits of his old life. The habits fell away as the love of God and the desire to do his filled his heart. Look back at the sto...

My friend left a gift for me and when I got home to open it I couldn't help my excitement (I love gifts). I saw the bag had my favorite coffee brand on it so I knew it had to be good. I picked it up and my arm almost fell off with how heavy it was. I wondered out loud what kind of coffee could be so heavy. I looked inside and saw what looked like a pink rock. I thought, "that's odd...is it...a rock?" Then I recalled a conversation we had earlier in the week about pink Himalayan salt and about how I should try it because I love salt. I touched my finger to the rock and tasted it...tastes like salt. I licked the entire rock...definitely salt. So I said to my husband, "oh! It's a pink Himalayan salt rock! How cool! How do I get it in my food? Do I grind it or something?" I started to pull the rock out and realize it has a...cord? Huh...strange. It's a salt light? I don't get it. My husband says, "aw I get it...salt and light. Very clever....

Last week we went to pick up our dry cleaning and drop off some different clothes (we have it down to a pretty good cycle so we aren’t ever out of clothes). Jarrod went in to pick them up but they were missing. They looked under all the “Jarrod’s”, found nothing and basically told us they weren't there. We asked what we needed to do to get them back and they said the manager would have to deal with it when she came in on Wednesday (two days from then). I was upset, to say the least, because I needed the pants for work the next day and Jarrod needed his dress shirts for meetings. Reluctantly we left the dry cleaners and as our day went on, I alternated between being overly upset and knowing God would fix the problem. By my husband’s gentle leadership, he reminded me to seek God as I battled the pull towards doubting God’s character. I was reminded to stay emotionally honest while still knowing that God is the protector and provider. My heart’s desire is to stay in a world of kn...