My August So Far!

Good News -- We have an official offer on our home. Bad News -- They are in the negotiation phase and we may not be able to move before the start of the new school year. This means kids may start school here in Pine Tree and then transfer about a week into the school year. This also means I will have to wait to fill out applications to substitute until we move, so it will delay getting sub pay for a little while longer. Come on people, settle on an offer and let my family move.

Almost all of the packing is done for the house, with the exception of items we are currently using. I need to get a few more boxes lined up to throw things in the day before we move.

In case you haven't heard, we are in the middle of a heat wave here in Texas. Longview has set a new record for number of days over 100 degrees. Whew! I'm sweating just thinking about it.

Caleb (my 16 year old son) has officially obtained his driver's license. Just in time, as he may have to drive one of our cars to our new residence.

I am behind on writing more on my book...Maybe I can squeeze out another chapter before we move. I just have other things (like moving) on my mind.

I'm Tired of Getting Booted Out of My Own Home

My family and I are getting routinely booted out of our own home. Darn those people who want to look at house to see if they want to buy it. (Ha!)

Even though we are supposed to have 24 hour notice before someone looks at our home (it is for sell by the way), we are getting calls with less than 4 hours notice. At least we get notice.

It is frustrating when you are in the middle of trying to cook, or clean, or just take a nap, then you have to get up and get out of the house for an hour. What can you do in an hour?

Well here is what the kids and I do in an hour...

1. We read at Books-A-Million for a while.

2. We just walk around Wal-Mart and they try to keep me from impulse buying something.

3. We go to a local pet store called, Wet Pets and Critters, and pet the kitties, bunnies and puppies. Mainly the kitties.

4. We get a snow cone or maybe a frozen yogurt.

5. We go for a walk around the park or just sit in a neighbor's yard.

It is actually a good thing that we get kicked out for a while, because it means people are interested in looking at our house. It has been on sale for about a month. We, the family are ready to be reunited and start our new life in a new place.

Courageous, Star Trek, and This & That for the Week!

I can't wait for this movie to come out! It is Courageous, from the makers of Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof. Opening Day is September 30!

The next chapter of my book should be posted soon for you to read; I have been busy watching the newly re-mastered versions of Star Trek: The Original Series on DVD. I bought all three seasons on Monday and I have been watching them, when I should be writing. I promise to have Chapter 2 (at least Part 1 of Chapter 2), ready to read by the time I go to work on Saturday.

Our house is now officially for sale. I am hoping that it sells quickly so we can move to the Dallas area. It's tough when the entire family is only together for the weekends. We need to be together again! Keep praying that a full-time job for me comes through in that area as well.

Together Again (at least for the weekend)

Last Monday my wife, Jamie, started her new job in Waxahachie. My daughter also started her week at ACU Summer Camps. The week before My son Caleb was at ACU Summer Camps and my daughter was spending a week with her cousin. That meant two weeks with at least two different family members gone. Last night we were all together. The kids are finished with camp and Jamie is home for the weekend. We are together again; until Sunday afternoon, when Jamie returns to her Aunt's house to start her 2nd full week at her new job.

The only news about selling our home I can update you on is, that our roof is about to get fixed. After 7 years of arguing with insurance companies about the horrible state of our roof, they have finally agreed to have it fixed. Insurance will pay to have the roof fixed; however, there is damage to the support beams that hold the roof up and insurance will not pay for that. To fix the "decking" alone will cost nearly $3000. That is money we do not have. We are hoping to pay for the decking repair out of the profit we make from selling the house or from the escrow taxes we will get returned to us from the Mortgage Company.

Meanwhile packing is still ongoing, (the wedding china is next on the list), with boxes and other items being moved into my dad's storage building or a rented storage space. We are having a garage sale next Saturday to sell furniture and other items we wish to get rid of. Keep praying that our house sells soon and that a school calls me to work for them full-time. I want our family to be Together Again soon.

ACU Summer Camps & Other Stuff.

Over the next couple of weeks, the kids will be attending ACU Summer Camps at Abilene Christian University. Sunday we dropped off Caleb at Kadesh, the camp for High School ages. Next Sunday we drop of Rachel at MPulse, the camp for Jr. High ages. It's makes for 3 long drives (drop off, pickup/drop off and pick up) but we feel the camps are worth every penny we spend to send them there.

Jamie and I will continue packing for our eventual move. Boxes are stacking up and we are getting ready to move some of them to my parent's house for storage until time to move. The kitties think we are building a castle just for them. We still need to pack up Jamie's "office area", scrapbooks, several items in both kids rooms and several books and misc. stuff in our room. We are waiting to pack, the two main televisions, the DVD's, the bathroom and the kitchen last.

For those of you who read this blog...keep praying that God reveals my full-time job to me soon and that our house sells quickly, so our family will not be separated for very long.

Packing, Packing, Packing

The packing is underway! The Realtor has been consulted! We are going to move!

The kids start ACU Summer Camps on Sunday, Jamie starts her new job in Waxahachie, TX on June 13th and we are going to have a garage sale to get rid of excess furniture and stuff we don't won't to move with us. Things are getting busy.

In the meantime, we will use what time we have together as a family packing things up. I will keep working at Starbucks until the house sells or I get another job in the Dallas area.

The cats seem to think the packed boxes are castles for them to climb, play and sleep on.

My son is a little concerned that we have to pack up his X-Box and other game systems. We have to do that to show our home to potential buyers. The only things we plan on leaving until the last minute are the beds, clothes, essential toiletries and kitchen utensils, one television, one DVD player and the DVDs, and the Nintendo Wii (so the kids can play some games until the last minute). Of course the washer and dryer and our freezer full of meat will have to wait as well.

The dining room table (and chairs), the computer area and a few chairs will stay behind to help "show" the house. Everything else must go!

I am already tired!

HE Already Has in Mind What HE is Going to Do!

For the first time in a long while, I sat down and read the Bible. I am trying to practice Lectio Devina. (click here for more info) I started reading, out loud from the Book of John Chapter 6. The chapter starts with Jesus about to feed the 5000. As directed by Lectio Devina I read the first few verses out loud several times trying to let God give me a word or phrase to meditate and pray over. Here is what stood out to me;

Chapter 6, verse 5 -- "When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, 'Where shall we buy bread for those people to eat?' He asked this only to test him, for HE ALREADY HAD IN MIND WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO."

Wow!

With Jamie, my bride, accepting a new job in Waxahachie and all the effects of this (moving, selling the house, me finding a job (still) and the kids starting a new school), I have a lot of questions. I am sure Philip (and the other disciples) had lots of questions for Jesus as well, when 5000 people needed to be fed. Despite the questions I have, I do not need to worry; MY JESUS ALREADY HAS IN MIND WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO!

If Jesus were right here next to me at this moment, I could see/hear him asking me, "Mark, how do plan on finding a job and a place to live in Waxahachie, when you still have a house to sell in Longview?" All the while he is smiling on the inside, knowing that already knows what he plans to do with me and my family.

Sadly, like Philip, I sometimes forget who my Jesus really is and I respond in a similar way; "Eight months wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite." -- Philip or "Eight months wages would not even come close to getting what we need to fix up our house to get it ready to sell." -- Mark English.

My Jesus has a plan. He knows what he is going to do. I need to pray to him that I have faith and despite my negative attitude, he will do what is good for me and my family.

Changes are a Comin'

Yesterday (Tuesday), my wife, Jamie, accepted an offer to work for a Children's Advocacy Center in Waxahachie, Texas. It is the perfect job for her qualifications and it has benefits. Now, I need a job in the Dallas area. I have applied for several school districts in that area and I am hoping that one of them calls for an interview soon and that a new teaching job will soon follow.

Our most immediate concern in the meantime is the selling of our house. We will have to contact a good Realtor in the area and put our house up for sell. I hope it sells fairly quickly. Having a full-time job offer for me will give us a great starting spot to look for a new apartment or duplex to rent.

If God chooses not to have me work full-time before the end of the summer, we will just have to find an apartment close to Jamie's new job and I will sign up to substitute teach at the local school districts and see if I can transfer my Starbucks job to a Starbucks location in the Waxahachie area.

Pray that this new transition in our life goes smoothly, that our home sells quickly, and a school offers me a full-time teaching post soon!