Calm in the Storm

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, "What sort of man is this?  Even the winds and the waves obey him!

Matthew 8:23-37 NIV

One, Jesus is calm in storms. Two, Jesus controls storms. And three, Jesus makes storms calm but that is not the point. Not the point? God isn't our personal get-out-of-sticky-situations card?

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Jesus says. Does it not seem that he wants them to trust him in the storm? When the boat is threatening to sink and it seems that God is not paying attention, that's when we need to have faith. Even then, God is with us. How often do I freak out and ask God to calm the storms in my life that threaten to sink me instead of trusting him in the midst of it all? How often do I praise God for what he takes away and forget to praise him for what he's helped me walk through, that which makes me a stronger woman when I come out on the other side?

 

 

Resolutions Month 3

Here comes April's update. A little late, but at least it's still April!

• About a month ago my provisional teaching license from Illinois arrived, which means I can legally teach in Illinois schools as long as I finish the requirements I'm missing by June 2014. Those requirements are some college classes and a few standardized tests. I can see these next few years to be busy. Or perhaps I'll be able to do the studies over the summers. I've applied for some school systems and keep adding more, edging further out of the city. As a side note, who would know that school system applications could take about 4 hours each???
• Oops.
• Spring break should have been a time for lots of reading and prayer since we didn't go on vacation. Have I mentioned that I'm highly distractible? I continue to enjoy the journaling and learning with God. I'll post something from my journal soon.
• Still reading Matthew. :)
• And the blog...nope...not once a week.
• I got to talk to Colin this week. :) He's getting married in December!
• Writing friends...about the same. However, I am getting faster at replying to emails.
• Although I am convinced that my daily commute counts as my daily exercise quotient, this week I've done a half hour in Wii-Fit  two times. I love the games, though the music is a little annoying.

Puzzle Making

My mom is an expert puzzle-er. Puzzle-maker? Puzzler? 

Never mind. My mom is awesome at putting puzzles together. She is not only skilled, she could write a manual on how one must put puzzles together.

1. Take out all of the edge pieces. Proceed to connect them.

2. Make sure all of the pieces are face up and separate by colors.

3. DON'T LOOK AT THE PICTURE!

4. Fight over the pieces.

5. Whoever approach the puzzle table must put together at least 10 pieces.

Tamy and I didn't exactly follow Mom's instructions, but we're doing pretty well. I have been told that under no uncertain circumstances may I undo the puzzle once we've finished. We'll give it to a friend's mom to hang on the wall, because I have no idea what I'd do with a finished puzzle that I'm not allowed to put back in the box.

Resolutions Month 2

I know you just can't wait for March's update!

• No news news on the job search. Still sending the papers in and waiting for transcripts. The latest hitch in the road was trying to get money orders from Spain that are valid in the US. Note to self: don't try again. I ended up convincing friends and family to do it for me. It would be so much easier to pay for paperwork by bank transfer or debit card!
• Wedding album came in! It's HUGE...I'll bring it home over the summer if I don't break my back first. Photos for others...to be continued.
• My friend Meggan lent me a book called, "Praying in Color," which has an interesting way to pray for others and stay concentrated by doodling. My journal has been resurrected and is now full of colorful prayers, meditations on verses, and self-reflections. I can see God using the prayer time in my life to help me love others more and to slowly change other attitudes as well. 
• With the girls I disciple at church, I've pledged to read at least one verse a week. I'm reading Matthew, a few verses a day, and then write and journal and draw about one about every day. It's enriching.
• The blog...AHHHH!!! By updating you, I am faithful in telling you how terribly I'm doing.
• Calling family: Stayed the same...need to talk more!
• Friends: Jenny and Naila...I should be writing you soon. Or perhaps you could write me to remind me to write to you?
• Exercise: pitiful. I have tried to do more yoga in the living room. Isma walked in on me one day and gave me an extremely strange look. We went to play airsoft and run around in the countryside shooting at each other. Although it's not a work-out routine, I had sore muscles for half a week.

Resolutions Month 1

Well, a month has past since I made my first New Year's Resolutions in many years, and for my own accountability, here's my report.

• The new job in Chicago is going slowly. Slowly, as in I haven't finished the job applications. See, I got my new 5-year professional teaching license in Indiana last week, (Yay!) but I am waiting on getting the license transfer to Illinois' system to finish applications. My thought process is that no school system is going to jump up in down in excitement to hire me if I can't legally teach for them yet.
• The photos of the wedding to everyone...so sorry! I think this one may take a bit more time. The job comes first. On a happier note, I think we'll have the wedding album in less than a month, and we'll be able to show it this summer.
• Praying more fervently has it's ebbs and flows, though I've been enjoying praying for the youth at church and family on my daily commute. That is, when I don't become a space cadet for the entire time...maybe I need more work on that.
• Creating a devotional routine: not happened yet. 
• Write one blog entry a week?? Hmmm...not so hot either. But this one is definitely not the biggest priority in my life.
• Call my family more often: ummmm...uncomfortable silence...This one has definitely stayed the same. Neither less nor more. Will work on this. Colin, call me!!
• Call or write friends more: has improved slightly. VERY slightly. 
• And last but not least, the exercise routine. How do you think this is going?? Pitifully! It is probably the last thing on my mind. However, I have half convinced myself that it isn't necessary by counting up the physical activity I do every day. At eight-thirty in the morning I leave home and walk 10-15 minutes to the subway, ride for 10 minutes, walk 5 more minutes, ride for 1 minute, and then walk for 5 more. During the day I walk up three flights of steps and back down several times. And at 5:00 in the evening I repeat the morning routine. That is AT LEAST 40 minutes of exercise every day. Though yoga would be so nice... 

I'll report again in March if my fifth resolution stays firm!

Amsterdam

Over Christmas break, Isma and I flew to the US for the holidays and to make the trip there lighter, we stopped off in Amsterdam for the night. A friend of Isma's, Vivianne, showed us around and kept us good company. The food is like traditional American food (liver, beets, chicken, cooked carrots, salad, apple sauce) and their cheese is good too! We got to see Anne Frank's house from the outside, since it was much too late in the evening to go inside and visit. We walked by the red light district as well, though it was a bit scary and saddened me to think of the women who work there, their broken spirits and used bodies. 

But leaving all of that aside, I'd say the one true characteristic of Amsterdam is the bikes. They are everywhere! There is even a two-story bike parking garage next to the central train station. There are many more bikes than cars, and perhaps almost as many bikes as people. It's no surprise though, as the city is so flat that biking is not as difficult as in Spain or other hilly places.

It seems like the city hasn't changed.

Beautiful lights and the shops by the canals.

Our Dutch friend Vivianne

The red-light district.

Complexities

Have you ever tried to move from one state to the other? After living in Spain, I've come to realize that moving from one state to the next is almost as complicated as moving from one European country to another. First, you need new IDs: in Europe that means going to get a residency paper, in the US that means getting a new driver's license. And second, you have to transfer professional licenses: I have to get an Illinois teaching license even though I have an Indiana teaching license.


I can't decide whether to rejoice at the states' independence from each other or bemoan the fact that now I have to fill out a stack of paperwork, take exams, and pay for a new license all before I can be hired for a teaching job in Chicago. If only Chicago was in Indiana!! Yes, redrawing state lines sounds like the perfect solution...