Day Twelve - February 12, 2010

I'll go right to the end of the day - don't you just love it when you are a small part of something so big and it is just about to take off into something fantastic?? Tonight was just such a night - my wife and I were named Youth Directors at our church the week before she left and one of the first things we were able to implement was a teen program. We took a thought pastor's wife had been hanging on to for sometime and combined it with a more "traditional" teen program and we wanted to add a service element to it as well. The pastor's wife is teaching the kids to cook a main course each Friday evening and I have the pleasure of delivering a message. This week a group of teens (most of them do not regularly attend a church anywhere - only three of the chilren there tonight regularly attend our church) cooked lasagna, made salads and dessert for the congregation while Dr. Yoho came to our church to deliver a wonderful message on love from 1 Corinthians 13:1-12. I greatly enjoy Dr. Yoho and his mannerisms as well as the way he presents the materials - it is quite the pleasure just to listen to him. Let me be quite honest with you, Dr. Yoho is perhaps one of the two absolutely smartest and most educated people I have ever met when it comes to the Bible - not to compare them but he is on equal ground with Dr. Carroll from Central - these two men can get so deep into the Bible that it gives an entirely new meaning to Bible studies.

The pastor's wife had finished decorating the fellowship area and it really did look good - when we first arrived tonight we filled the fountain with cherry soda and turned it on and started melting the chocolate for the dipping fountain. I also brought strawberries, angel food cake and pretzels. The food and dessert were excellent - it was so nice at the end of the meal to hear the teens laughing and having a good time, truly enjoying themselves in a church setting and being comfortable. I find a lot of very good things about Trinity but what I really enjoy is the commitment to people this church has and how everyone is accepted. Even the adults tonight were laughing and enjoying themselves. While the teens missed out on Dr. Yoho's message, I think they learned quite a bit and will feel comfortable enough to come back.

Today was a good day from start to finish. I had an interview at 9:30 this morning so figuring in traffic I knew I'd have to leave early so I could ensure I'd find the location. Both girls cooperated very well and the morning was very smooth. Traffic to the interview was good and without delay - I had plenty of time to sit down at Burger King close by, enjoy a warm (not hot, but warm enough) breakfast and drink a soda (I don't do coffee, tea or anything hot to drink), review my notes, tie my tie and then drive the two blocks over there. I arrived about 20 minutes before the interview but didn't get out of the car until 9:20 - then potential disaster struck!! As I was pulling my suit coat off of the hanger a button snagged on the door and popped off! Not the impression I wanted to make for an executive director's position - two buttons on and one missing in action. Fortunately, my past life experiences keep me somewhat prepared and I had a sewing kit in the glove box - I put that button back on in record time and made it to the interview in a very timely fashion.

I felt the interview went well - the president of the board did ask me one question before I left that gave me some concern about my qualifications for the position - they always have to do that to you for some reason.

The drive home was good - this particular location is less than 30 minutes from our house and a couple of blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. We are not interviewing at the agency's main office but if that one is close to this area, I can see where the summer commute to/from Virginia Beach will be tough. When I got home, I got my usual terrific reception from the dog. Don't you just love dogs - no matter what they have been through, they always find time to be so happy when you get home. My dog is extra excitable - if I walk out the door for 5 seconds and come back in, she treats me like I've been gone for weeks - why can't people be so excited to see each other like that?

After walking the dog and coming in the house, I was putting up my jacket when the phone rang. My phone interview from yesterday (Thursday) was calling to set up the second interview!! I am one of two finalists for the position. The supervisor is flying in from Houston next week and I am meeting with her management team Wednesday morning at 8:30 am. I have some homework I need to work on the next few days - they want me to create a job sheet on how to lace and tie a shoe then I have to do a 10 minute presentation during my interview. This is a pretty standard interview technique for training positions so I'm comfortable with this. The one thing I like about this particular job is the supervisor's commitment to hiring only trainers that have a degree and/or a credential in the training field - too many companies slight training by hiring or "promoting" people into a training job without a degree. Would you hire a janitor for a doctor's position? Probably not unless he had a medical degree! Why would you hire someone for a training position if they didn't have a training degree? Let me answer that - you are just paying lip service to your commitment to training, that's why! The ability to operate a video camera and a computer to create PowerPoint slides doesn't make you remotely qualified to work or run a training department. Okay, soap box put away.

I spent the rest of the day getting housework done and going over my stuff for tomorrow's visit to the tax professional. We have a very nice stack of papers for her to work with - I'm kind of hoping my preparation will result in a nice stack of money for me to work with!!

Once the girls got home, I took the youngest one to WalMart with me so we could pick up some strawberries, cherry soda and melting chocolate for the fountain. The oldest daugther stayed home to get ready and walk the dog - we stopped back by and picked her up. While I was gone, the president of the board from today's interview had called and wanted to schedule a follow-up interview. I called her back and found out I was one of two finalists for that position as well AND she gave me a homework assignment before the interview. I think I'm going to play the lottery!!!

The oldest daughter once again had a positive day - a story she had written for an essay contest was one of seven selected as honorable mention. She does write some creative stories and did a very nice job with this particular one.

My wife was rather sore today from yesterday's hand-to-hand combat training and she spotted a few more bruises on her body. She sounded a little better today as her allergies were giving her a temporary break. Today was all classroom for her group - probaly more to allow them to recover than anything else. Her next day to relax is March 3rd so it will be a long couple of weeks for her. The good news is her Skype and NetFlix connections are working well on her new Netbook so she'll be able to use those if she has any free time at her final destination. She did call tonight while we were eating at the church and everyone was able to say hello to her - nothing like a long distance group hug!

I think the reason things are staying positive and productive for the most part is due to our commitment to prayer. Our days start and end in either the Bible or a Bible study devotion. If you are going through a deployment or your loved one is about to be deployed, I cannot stress enough the comfort you will get from a positive prayer life. Tonight the girls' devotion was part 2 of "The Heart Box" and referenced Psalm 18:1-3. It talked about giving your life to Jesus. My devotion was "must I listen?" and referenced Exodus 20:19 - Chambers talked about us not listening to God.

It took two glasses of water, but I think I'm over the sugar coma I induced into my body from the dessert at church! Day Twelve is over and here's looking forward to Day 13.