I'm Staying in San Diego

Typing that title I guess makes it real. When the Tuscaloosa City Schools rejected my request for a one-year leave of absence last summer and I resigned, this move to California pretty much changed from a one-year trial to a sink or swim mission. I’m pretty sure I have not been swimming like my childhood hero Aquaman or even at my normal strong swimming level, but I’ve definitely shown some dog-paddling skills that would make my old pal Snoop proud. Perseverance has always been my modus operandi. One of the reasons I have a fondness for turtles is the whole tortoise and the hare story. Accomplishments, skills, and success come slowly for me, but I’ve been fortunate enough to see how God has his handprint on the whole journey.

The Signs of Staying

1. Job -- I’m planning on staying a second year with my new school district. In these tough economic times, it was a major blessing to have a place to work period, especially considering I teach an elective. Across the country and right here, pink slips are more the norm for non-tenure teachers now. Knowing the first year in a school is always the hardest definitely gives me a great desire to experience year #2. I’m taking ten Friday/Saturday classes to prepare for the CTEL test, the California Teaching English Language Learners test. I have to pass this test to continue to teach in California.

2. Home – In May, I’m moving into a new place. I will be renting an extremely nice house with three young men from my church. It’s still relatively close to the beach (5-10 minutes), but it cuts my work commute time from 35-45 minutes each way to about 6 minutes. The same road leads to the beach and my school, and I never have to get on the freeway to go to either. It’s also a big cost of living savings. I’ll miss living right next to the ocean and walking to so many things where I live now, but it feels like the right thing to do for now. My bedroom and bath combined are probably bigger than my whole one-bedroom apartment right now. It’s a huge house with two living rooms, a big kitchen, two-car garage, backyard with a regular gardener, koi pond, and upstairs and downstairs patios. This is a huge leap of faith for me, after living alone for the majority of my adult life. I’ve also had some pretty bad experiences with unknown/set-up roommates. I’m excited about having a community of awesome Christian guy friends right in my own home. We go to the same Bible study, and we’re involved in the same church community groups. We’re also all committed to using our home for ministry, and multiple groups will meet in our home on a regular basis.


3. Ministry – This year, I’ve taken an intentional break from ministry leadership. After ten years of very active part-time youth and young adult ministry, I needed to focus a little more on my own spiritual development and interpersonal adult relationships. For the most part, it’s been helpful and reviving. Though, I have realized an active role in leading ministry is an integral part of who God has called me to be. I have started my church’s training to teach a growth group, a gender specific small group Bible study. Currently, the plan is for me to take over the growth group I’m attending in the fall.

I wrote earlier this year about what I refer to as “A New Normal.” That continues to describe my day-to-day life here. This move and major life change have been an enormous adventure. God has been faithful throughout, and he’s using this journey to teach, encourage, and stretch me in ways I never imagined.