Guess what I got in the mail yesterday? My initial teaching license from the state of Oregon. I am thrilled and humbled and intimidated all at the same time. If you know of a teaching job on the Coast (in a low income area, which they all are), let me know.

My goal is the Lincoln County School District--Newport, Taft, Toledo, and Waldport. If (or should I say, when) I will rent for awhile. When that seems like home both as a person and a professional teacher, I'll buy a condo.

So much for my educational journey, or its start after three years of graduate school. I do have one last class and a few paperwork stuff, but this is it. I told Will that I am experiencing a little loss being in the last term, as if I have to start acting and being an adult. No more sweats, hoodies, and fun hats every day. No more running shoes every day. No more letting my hair grow way past the time I need a cut. That includes body hair in other areas as well. No more aggressively crossing intersections near the university , making cars wait or navigating the actual campus as if we were driving streets of Rome or some city in Pakistan. Bikes, skateboards, pedestrians in ones and sixes, some cars, and a lot of go wherever you want with reflexes not to hit each other. We rarely do. No keeping to the right or keeping anywhere specifically and consistently. But it makes me feel young, just part of things even though I triple some of their ages. I am also experimenting with some rec classess--fitness yoga, hip hop, yoga, and soon Zumba--whatever that is.

I look forward to your comments and your own thoughts.

JD (JoAnn)

Next phase of last class and final term

Tomorrow's class in Biblical Lit is our midterm with a sheet of study notes that was incredibly long for an estimate 15 minute objective class. After the rough treatment on the first round of papers the undergrads were required to do, we are all a bit sobered. Most of the class is English majors that want that "A." I feel the sense of challenge in thinking, writing, and discussing, but I think that some classes have been a little dumbed down. In any case, off we go with more class, first test that separates the greats for the goods or low averages.

Beyond that, I am starting to apply using a service called Ed ZAPP. More schools want it, although some schools still want the paper product. Prayers and thoughts are appreciated.

To all of you, happy Mother's Day or wonderful weekend, or read a book on your deck or in a bubble bath.

JoAnn (JD)

Catching up a bit...

I am enjoying a storm of various types today: windy, then rain and wind, and now just pouring rain. I have had the patio door open all day to sense it all, smell the freshness, take it the flotsam and jetsam whirling around...and just enjoying the natural sound of rain. It's almost like the roaring ocean offshore in a beach home.

Now I just finished up some easy solitaire (difficult towards the end), to clear my head before prepping for a midterm in "Bible as Literature." This quiz is defined as a 15-minute short quiz=like assessment with a full study guide sheet with 99 items on it, plus the assurance that there may also be items in the test that are not on the study guide. Oh well, we are all in it together--as amazed as we were are all in class.

I am starting to apply for teaching jobs along a slice of the coast--Florence (central) to Astoria (the uppermost north districts). Then I have a slice about 20 miles in that is not right on the coast, but not far away.

Will and Sarah are doing fairly well. As Kurt, Sarah's husband, is preparing for the Art Institute in Graphic Design, Sarah is still working the human services brokerage as well as teaching horse riding lessons and even small seminars on Saturdays.

Will and I are studying together in my living room which brings accountable to both of us, plus proximity is nice without talking a lot--except for really fascination psychology point from his textbook, or mine from the Bible.

That's it for now. Your thoughts and prayers for my new teaching position--on the Coast if at all possible--and for Will as he continues through school, works out his major, and learns more and more study skills, budgeting.... He is really doing great.

JD (JoAnn)

Signs of spring

When my kids were little we read these very sweet books in the "Frog and Toad" series. Great friends, although one large, one small, they mirrored the friendships of so many young people, and not so young at that. One book had the two friends looking for signs for spring. They had such fun finding flowers that had come out of hiding, birds that returned and had chirping young, and especially the warm breezes returning.

Today I went to one of the parks near my place just to walk, call my mom, and see the geese. I was surprised and amazed at the "signs of spring"! Although not completely a warm day--high 60's--the park was practically teeming with signs of spring. Skateboarders going on in and out of bikes, just waiting for the inevitably injury. Moms teaching little girls how to throw a frisbee. A recipe for disaster, don't you think? Dogs retrieving sticks from the river and doing that wonderful physics shake that drowns everyone with some who laugh and some who are not laughing. The volleyball net that never makes up quite right, but provides a lot of laughter and friendly competition. Well, maybe not all that friendly. And the wonderful plastic play structure with slides, tubes, swings, monkey bars, and the inevitable scratch or two. Bandaids are a must amidst in all the fun.

I love the daffodils, the young geese, and all the young humans in strollers. I enjoy the little toddler girls with their hair banded on top in styles that later they will simply kill their parents for ever doing and showing them to their boyfriend or fiance.

Yes, signs of spring. People out in their yards sharing horror stories about gophers and weeds. Young people playing sidewalk hopscotch, roller blading, and maybe some things the young adults are doing that we might now want to know--hopefully this experimentation will teach a good lesson. We did some of the same things and look at how we turned out. Well, that may not always be comforting but I think for most of you reading this, it is.

I hope you are a sign of spring as well--someone growing anew, warm, friendship, and sunshiney to those you meet.

JD (JoAnn)

Lots of information today. Lots to think about. I am getting to know one of my neighbors--living next door to each other since last July 15. She came in to talk after her church. I was in my threshold fixing my vacuum--changing the bag, fixing up the problems with electrical tape. In the process my neighbor, female, came home. We had talked last week about her state, very depressed and being forced to move out in 72 hours. Things have turned around on those fronts.

Today was about wondering if she was ready to date again--me too, actually. We confided, encouraged, and decided to walk and talk some more. The day was so beautiful here, we had a little lunch, and walked back. We watched people, houses, yards and landscaping, and fun talking. And more a little serious.

I was reminded that I let a lot of time go by before I invited this woman into my life. What was taking up my time? Classes of course. Shop. Errands. And just holing up in my townhouse watching tv, reading, and whatever else takes up time. In other words, wasting a lot of important time for time with God, as well as time for people--Christian or not, particularly not. It's time to turn that time use around. How about you?

The study brain conflict

I was just noticing that I choose trebuchet as my font, and it is an implement of war--sort of like a catapult or the mechanical force military unit that is used to break down the walls of a castle.

In any rate, I am finding my final grad paper/thesis quite a challenge. It is testing my brain, my personal convictions, as well as deciding on a thesis--all dealing with topics that I have no real background knowledge in. I must master Gilgamesh, the Enum Elish, Babylonian/Mesopotamian cult rituals, and compare/contrast them to the Sacred History as recorded in the Old Testament. I have books, I have journal articles from the U of O library and from Google Scholar. I have two used bookstores to visit, and I am slowly building a bibliography and complementing text.

Remember me in thought and prayer. I know the final product will be at least good, but getting there will be a challenge--probably a needed one...but still.
Thanks for hearing me rant a little. I look forward to your comments--on anything, not just me.

Worship service Saturday, and then Sunday

My son Will and I just soaked up the worship last night--not just the singing, but also the message and fellowship afterwards. Our pastor has just opened his heart to Will. They talk after service. They meet every other week for lunch at a different restaurant for fun--our pastor chooses, my son is surprised.

This part of our church life is a complete answer to prayer. On the way home, God said to me. "You did a good job, Mom. It's time to let go and let others, especially godly men, mentor and support my son along his young man way. With all the losses all of the members suffered due to a mentally ill husband and father, we have lacks. A strong, compassionate godly man that listens and guides is indeed a blessing to my son and me.

For me, the songs and voices excited and cleansed and released my heart to the Lord. For those who understand, I sang in tongues--a part of worship for me. I haven't done that for awhile, and the closeness to God was so intimate and wonderful. If all that's a foreign concept, it's in the New Testament and is not weird at all.

We have studying the Book of Luke, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. What an eye-opener! Taking it slowly, really listening, is changing us all--seeing what applies to us, how events fit together historically, and what God is saying. It's so focused that it's easy to mediate on during the week. The worship leader even suggests a song or two to keep singing also. It works.

The goal now is to make the rest of the week a goal to live up to, a prod to listen to God in new ways, and just allow Him to help us. Always sounds so simple. We make it so hard though. Or we just get in the way of what God could do much better than we can. We're control freaks, fixers, and sure whe know what's best even better than God's ideas on the subject.

For me, Sunday is a different sort of day since we go to worship on Saturday evening. I walk, I finish up little jobs around the house, I even cook a meal. I try to find something really uplifting to watch. Today it's a Hallmark movie that I put on the DVR last night. It's "The Valley of Light" with an elegant, understated set of performances. The faces of post WWII soldiers, wives, fathers, and mourners at a funeral packed a punch of true emotion and so many conflicts resolved but not in sugar-coated ways. I recommend it.

That's enough for now. I just saw Taye Diggs flirting with Miss Piggy in the Disneyland teacup ride. I think that's a good way to end.
JD (JoAnn)

Friday night

What a day. I had an insightful and deeply encouraging counseling session with an incredibly gifted trauma specialist. Then a widely varied voray into the outside world with my son.

We cruised the local community college bookstore after an eye-opening conversation in the car. I always felt that the best, open discussions with my kids, especially my son, happen in the car. Maybe it's because you are not looking at each other. Maybe it's because it's a contained environment. Anyway, some things opened up and were resolved. One particularly surprised me, as my son was beginning to make peace with the loss of his ipod. His thinking? Maybe it was just something he really didn't need after all. My take on the stealing of this device which I thought was important to him? Track down the people he thought stole it, do something!! And there he is expressing a decision to just be at peace with it all, even grow. Another shorter conversation helped bring out some helpful info to my son while reinforcing the trust--incredible level of trust--he has in me.

After that was food shopping at Winco where he went in with a budget and stuck with it--choosing healthy foods to boot. In fact, both of my children are working at eating better and exercising more far better than I am. It used to be the other way around. Oh the humiliation. But I am falling in line to their good example.

So it was everyday, it was out of the ordinary. Tomorrow I clean the house and take one more examination for my teaching license. Then reading for Monday class. And reading for the most challenging grad paper I have been asked to write. I will let you know about that a bit later.

Bible as literature

My last class in grad school--The Bible as Literature--is inspiring, fascinating, and a constant battle to think of the Bible as literature and not necessarily theological--study of God as the Word of Life. As a teacher (in a new position soon, I hope!), I can teaching English with my endorsement. It would an intellectual challenge to teach this course.

Now I am balancing the course with a master's paper. Most of the students are undergrad, so the four of us who are grad are excused from the small papers and instead do one much larger analysis. In conferring with my professor, I am exploring the polytheistic culture of Mesopotamia (Babylonia) and their myths, including creation, in contrast to the Hebrew Sacred History. I have already hit the library, checked out several books for 6 months!!--a graduate privilege unless they are called in a different patron., and am all over the search strategies on the site.

I have to admit my initial knowledge is sketchy. Still the idea that the Hebrew view of history is considered Sacred to them, and to others, is intriguing. So many people view the Old Testament, especially the early chapters of Genesis as just myth. The scholarship of Hebrews over the centuries challenge and intrigue them as well.

As a Christian, studying the Bible from a different perspective is also a journey. I suppose I could take the intellectual look and let it water down my faith in God and His Word. Instead, this is all having the opposite effect. I am inspired and deepened in my faith.

Think about it. Sometimes we all need to travel against the tide...

I am still getting the hang of this blog. Please comment on my comment if I mess up with how I make my posts.

I am taking a class as "Bible as Literature"--my last class for my grad adventure. I have elected to do my grad paper on the origin stories around the globe. Those of you who read about the supercollider event last week may have noticed the comment that the success of colliding the molecules deep in the earth created enough energy to add up to 3 times the energy needed for the Big Bang--one origin theory. One of the scientists commented that they had just rewritten

Genesis 1:1. Thoughtful idea. In any case, the event and comment will make its way into my paper with many other colorful and fascinating stories about how the earth came to be. Ireland is so sure of itself that it believes they were always there--needed no earthly start. Hmm.....

Easter

Just a lovely day to rejoice and ponder. For me no dinner, no egg hunts, just quiet--well homework too--but just right.

Dear Friends,
I have decided to create a blog as a better way to stay in touch with with those of you who have become friends on Facebook. A blog gives us all more room to talk, share thoughts, respond to my thoughts or others as postings continues. I would like to think that this may be a more thoughtful conversation, but humor is still appreciated. As we cannot copy and paste much into a blog, let's just share our own ideas. If you wish to ask me something that is more private, you may still use my address-- vjdeneen@gmail.com. Otherwise, meet me here for updates, ideas, and where I am being led by God. The title of my blog is "Against the Tide" because I am also striving and searching to make my life and thoughts go against the tide of the world and with the path of God. Still any topic can be thrown out for discussion. Let's be willing to learn from our own mistakes and not pretend we are perfect.

My url or way to find the blog is: http://jdagainstthetide.blogspot@blogspot.com

I look forward to this forum for serious and light conversation.
JD