Life is good

Today was the official last day of work! My summer job fell through at the last minute, but with tax refunds and sign on bonuses, I actually don't need to work this summer to support myself. So, it looks like the next couple of months will be spent visiting family and friends, helping my sister, and sleeping in late.

I also have a great job lined up for the fall, at a school realtively close to where I live. Its with the age group I prefer, I'll be working with 2 other speech therapists, and I get my own room!

I'm defintely looking forward to these next few weeks. This weekend I'll be hanging out at the beach. Next week my mom will be visiting. And in 10 days I'll get to see Thomas :)

The boys

10 more days and then......?

The countdown continues to the end of the school year. I'm excited, but a bit nervous as I don't have any firm summer work plans. The status changes almost daily so by the time anyone reads this the siutaion could be better or worse. If I work, it looks like it'll be part time, probably 10 hours both Thursdays and Fridays. Definitely not my ideal schedule, but I'll take what I can get.

As for the fall, still moving along slowly in that direction. I have another interview on Monday for a nearby elementary school. And I'm waiting to hear back from some other places I interviewed at a month ago.

Decisions I've been avoiding making for the past couple of months will need to be made soon. I'm not really worried about making the "wrong" decison, I'm more concerned about letting some people down. When did I become such a people pleaser?

On a side note, I was doing one of those silly online quizzes that asked if you believe in love at first sight. I don't, at least not in the romantic meaning of the phrase. My friend's dad liked to refer to this as "lust at first sight." But I do believe in other kinds of love at first sight. I certainly fell in love with my nephew Nate the moment I laid eyes on him.

The least of these

Friday evening, while driving to my sister's house, I passed a man holding a cardboard sign and begging on the street. I did nothing. Saturday afternoon I passed the same man. Still I did nothing. Sunday morning, I saw the same man standing in the rain by the side of the road. A police officer had pulled over and was talking to him. I figured the police officer would probably bring him somewhere, but just in case I decided to ask a friend at church if he would come with me to bring the guy some food or see what else we could do. My friend didn't really understand what I was asking and said he'd talk to me after service. I looked around after church but didn't see my friend so I went ahead and left. I went back to where I had seen the homeless guy and he was no longer there.

So, I'm going to start carrying around some bags of food, water, etc in the car to hand out to people like I did in Dallas. But I want to do more. I'm just not sure what. Leaving someone out in the rain to beg seems so callous, but giving them a ride when I'm by myself is dumb and too risky. Or what about when I see someone but I'm not stopped at the light so I just zoom past. There's a part of me that's relieved that I'm off the hook from helping the person or having to avoid eye contact so I don't feel guilty for doing nothing. But am I really off the hook?

I understand that some people could be con artists. I don't want to give anyone money because I don't like the possiblity of it being used for cigarettes, drugs, etc. However, the people I see are still human beings and deserve to be treated with love and dignity.

Jeremy said in church in a while back (and I'm sure he was quoting someone else whose name I couldn't write down quickly enough) that mercy is giving someone what he or she does not deserve, that mercy involves risk and sacrifice. How much am I willing to sacrifice to show God's love and mercy to others?

So I'm looking for suggestions for things to do. I'm looking for people to come along side me and help. Not just in this, but in other situations too. I have a friend who has no family here, who had a baby a month ago, and who needs more help than I am capable of giving on my own. So pray, offer me advice, and help if you can.