A Life Change- Decision Made

January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 42 Comments

A few months ago, I shared a post A Life Change about a possible change coming for me. It is a reality now. After teaching in a program called Family Literacy for thirteen years, I resigned from it effective January 31st. I will continue teaching for the college and continue my ministry, so I am not leaving my work with refugees/immigrants.

In fact refugees are part of the reason for my change. I felt led to offer a morning class at the Ukrainian church a few mornings per week. I will also teach a morning class for the college two mornings a week, so there will not be a big drop in income.

I am looking forward to this change in my life. It will include one added little extra for me. I will have Friday mornings off. That is something to really look forward to. 🙂

In recent weeks I also felt the need to ease up on my crazy schedule a bit. Starting in February, the two mornings I teach for the college will be in Zoom from home, so I can basically roll out of bed, get ready, and then teach and when class is over, I am already home. The two mornings at the Ukrainian church will start mid morning not 8:30. It may not sound like much, but a little extra sleep will help A LOT.

So there it is my not so big news, but something big for me.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

A Phone Call Caused Nostalgia for Me

September 30, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 29 Comments

I knew it was coming sometime this year, but still when I received the call, it caused a lot of feelings of nostalgia for me. Wednesday evening the Director for ESL, English Second Language, called me to let me know she is retiring as of October 10th. She is the one who interviewed me and hired me.

We have been through many changes together in the department. We worked on curriculum changes, starting the Family Literacy Program and more. She once referred to me as her most flexible teacher because she could call me with short notice to sub a class.

Her anticipated retirement marks a bit of a milestone for me. Over the past twenty-two years, God has opened many doors for me to share Jesus with the nations living in my city. Twenty-two years ago, I still had a landline with an answering machine. Times have changed, but Jesus never changes and he continues to give me opportunities to share his love with the nations living in my city.

Now I am the last remaining original person involved with the Family Literacy program and the longest serving person in the ESL Department. That is a scenario that perhaps no one would have seen coming thirty years ago when I was going through my first bout with autoimmune issues.

While it is nice to reminisce about what God has done over the past twenty-two years, it is the new things he has me doing that excite me. As Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 43:19

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

God can do new things even in what looks like a wasteland in our lives. He did it twenty-two years ago for me and continues to do so today.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Surprise Spanish Session at the Coffee Shop

September 28, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 9 Comments

Yesterday evening I was at my coffee shop, aka my office, relaxing after teaching my afternoon class. I was about to leave when I heard a group of people speaking Spanish. They were all Americans who have a Spanish club on Tuesday evenings at the coffee shop. Normally I teach Tuesday evenings, so I did not know about them.

I walked over and asked, “ustedes estan hablando espanol?”- are you speaking Spanish- to which they answered yes. I asked if I could join them and they smiled and agreed. We had fun speaking in Spanish. The group was six retired people, so even though I was much younger, 🙂 , they let me join.

My evening class starts again next week, so sadly I cannot join their group again until December, but yesterday evening gave me a glimpse of life outside the classroom. I have taught in the evenings for twenty-two years, Teaching in the evenings has allowed me to connect with the diverse people living in my city. I can join any cultural event and people know me as the teacher. It has been a blessing, but the desire to have my evenings freed up was highlighted yesterday evening.

When asked when I will retire, my normal response is, “when I die.” That is in reference to my ministry. But teaching is so interconnected with my ministry, my thoughts on retirement also apply to teaching. But yesterday evening felt great. We will see what happens in the future. I draw my thoughts on retirement from Philippians 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

The only reason I am still in this earthly life is to share Jesus with others. It will be interesting to see how Jesus leads me in the future.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

The Messages on My Laptop

August 13, 2022August 13, 2022 ~ jesusluvsall ~ 18 Comments

I have noticed many young people use stickers to decorate their laptops and the stickers usually mean something to them, so since I am an honorary young person, I decided to do the same. I believe the stickers I chose exemplify me. So let’s do a tour. 🙂

On one side are two Lord of the Rings stickers. Lord of the Rings the best movies ever and the books even better. If there is a snow day and no school, I watch the three movies extended release for about 12 hours of enthralling entertainment,

On the other side are stickers about two things I love, coffee and teaching. I like the on at the top- coffee, teach, repeat. 🙂

In the middle are stickers about my faith. One says faith forming the cross with the words. The other two say God in the middle with the message being God is greater than the ups and downs of life.

Of course if students get a bit restless, I can always point the one that says- Don’t Make Me Use My Teacher Voice. 🙂

Tattoos are a common form of expressing oneself these days, but they are not for me. I am not anti tattoo. I just think doctors stick me with needles enough and also with psoriasis it isn’t a good idea.

What do you think of my laptop stickers?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.