keeping up

Well I'm definitely not doing a good job of that on here but that's life right now.

I'm currently working 7 days a week. I hope I'm not repeating myself here. I work as a receptionist at Massage Envy 5 days a week. One great perk about this job is getting a free massage once a month. We have over 30 therapists so I need to get to know each of them and what they're like as a therapist so I can recommend them to clients who come in. It's a stressful job for numerous reasons but not horrible.

Beyond that I am tutoring 5 kids. 4 students are through a company that is getting grant money for helping out students because of the No Child Left Behind act. These 4 are all in elementary school. They get 34 hours before the end of April but I'm learning quickly that I don't really like working for the government; there's a lot of paperwork that has to be filled out exactly how they say. My 5th student is in 8th grade at private school and, really, he's my favorite. I think it's because there's no restrictions with him, his mom is great, and I really like him too. With all those, 7 days a week is my norm right now.

With working that much I'm learning to take things as they come. I think I used to know how to do this but kinda forgot when we were in FL and life was easy and comfortable. I'm learning to enjoy each day for what it holds and not let little things ruffle my feathers. This is not where I want to be in 5 years, let alone the end of this year, but it's where I am today and so I'm working on giving my best with each job I go to. I'm also learning about the instability of living here. No matter what industry you're in, you're really not promised anything. Even in education, I could get a job this year but next not have one because I would be at the bottom of the totem pole. This is different than anything I've experienced so far and makes me rethink life and what God's asking of me. I know Danny's industry is unstable. Even if you're good at what you do and get called back time and again, there are still going to be periods where you don't work and have to look like everyone else. You are not promised anything out here.

With all this instability I'm praying about teaching. I know it's what I'm called to do but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm supposed to be back in the classroom. I'm enjoying tutoring for the most part and feel like the relationship I have with each of my students is already much better than any of those I've had in the last 2 years teaching a classroom full. It feels like life is supposed to be different here and I'm just trying to figure out if that's true, or what that looks like, or I'm supposed to stay on the same track I was on before.

Going back to Danny, I haven't seen him in a week and a half. I'm thankful for this because he's working and making contacts. I don't love it though and I'm excited to have him home again. He could be back tonight but we're hoping he'll stay on until Oct. 3. He's a Production Assistant (PA - thanks Joffrey:) on a show where they do eliminations. That simply means that as the contestants get eliminated they also send home some of the PA's because they don't need them anymore. So far he's proven himself I guess. He's quickly learning the rules of working long hours and being away from home. When he left I just had to remind myself that this is only the beginning. I'm sure there will be times when he's away for longer periods, especially if he gets to work on a feature at some point. All new things to figure out as they come.

Overall we're doing well. We're paying bills which feels good. We're involved in church and really appreciating the relationships that are growing there. We're enjoying the area that we live in and the proximity of downtown. I'm thankful really. I'm glad we're here and thankful for the challenges we're learning through. More and more I realize how comfortable we were in the past 2.5 years. If was nice and there were times I thought we weren't comfortable, but being here makes me realize how much we had. I'm glad to be learning things again though and walking through life with a firm grasp on the one stability I know, the Father. I'm realizing more and more that without Him, none of this is possible, and He truly is the only stable thing.

checklist

random list running through my head tonight before going to sleep that i feel like keeping track of:

Rochelle is thankful for -
- roommate bonding
- new friends that make life interesting and worth being here for
- stressful and challenging jobs that provide opportunities for constant growth and attitude adjustments
- blessings
- time with Cooper, even when he does his business and I don't have a bag to clean up after him with
- old friends that mean that world to me
- family that loves and supports us from afar
- the ability to pray for family and know that they are taken care of
- the precious love of a God that cares about me. I was so stressed out at work today and went to the bathroom to just be alone for a minute. It was all I needed. I laid it on the line and He gave me the ability to breathe and regain strength. The rest of my shift went well and I ended up selling a few memberships. It felt really good and was such a good reminder to me about my focus and my attitude.
- conversations that challenge me and continually ask me to think about life from someone else's perspective
- church and is excited about getting back there on Sunday to worship with the family. so glad we found a place so quickly and one that we truly enjoy. i've definitely missed the last 2 weeks!
- the ability to sleep in just a little bit tomorrow.

Life is good. I was going to put some other things but the reality is that life moves on from where I am today. It's a constant process and I'm working on enjoying the season and being thankful that we're where we're supposed to be for right now. There's so much learning to be done in so many areas. Growth is good. It's not rarely easy but so necessary. I miss many things about the way life was in the past few years but I'm learning to be thankful for the season I'm in and enjoy the journey and each step I get to take.

suffering

This is not something we want to talk about most of the time but I feel like it's a theme in our life right now, something we're slowly learning through.

2 Timothy 2:10 I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen.

I found this verse this morning as I was doing some reading about suffering. This pretty much sums it up. There's soooo much more than I want to write about. So many things have changed in the last few weeks. They're for the good. There's a lot of learning going on right now. But time is not on my side. Just know that suffering is good for us. Don't run from it if it comes your way.