I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As of August 6 I will be employed by as a buyer for a small manufacturing company.  The pay is EXCELLENT, and I will receive benefits.  I even have August 13 as a day off with pay to move Stephen into the dorm at IU-Bloomington.

The kids and I had a wonderful week at Cedar Campus last week.  If you have never been there, check it out at www.intervarsity.org/cedar.  It is a beautiful place to get away for awhile and connect with God. 

I had an opportunity for a private meeting with the women of Family Camp 3 to fill them in on all that had gone on in the past year.  It was a time of great healing and prayer.  I was so blessed by their loving response and support.  When I looked out into the group of women as I spoke, I knew it was a picture in my memory that I will forever treasure.

My heart continued to heal from the divorce throughout the week, and I have a peace that I haven't had in a long time.  Strangely, I do not miss Dave or miss being with him.  I do miss being married and being part of a family.  I miss having someone cook dinner for me at the end of a long day.  Yet I have a strong sense that I have moved on into a new chapter in my life that has great possibilities for me. 

When I was younger and single before I met Dave, I tried to embrace being single and embrace the opportunities that being single gave me.  I could go on mission trips, manage my own finances and follow God's leading where ever it took me.  I realized this week that I have been re-gifted the gift of singleness, and it has opened up a whole new world for me.  I have always had a heart for missions, and Dave did not.  Perhaps in time God will use that desire in some way that He could not have while I was still married.  The last kid could go off the college, and God could call me to India for all I know.  It is such an exciting realization!

While at Cedar we were also blessed by anonymous monetary gifts throughout the week.  I walked in our room one night and found this envelope with $100 in it. 

At the end of the week I went to the Honey Pot (the camp snack bar) to pay our tab and found out that someone else had anonymously paid our bill.  Misha, the student working at the Honey Pot that week, was so happy to be a part of that blessing.  She just grinned when she told me the bill was paid anonymously.



I went out to the van the day we were getting ready to leave, and I found this envelope with $200 in it stuck in my driver's side window.

Another couple gave me a $100 that they were given for speaking at a funeral.  They said they didn't need the money and would like to give it to us.

We went to Mackinac Island for the day with the Kubias and Klatt families before we headed home on Saturday and had a great time.  The Klatts even bought our lunch for us! 

My dear friends, Thad and Sharon McCallister from Fort Wayne, have helped me with car repairs and have been my go-to for help with the van this past year.  The Thursday before we left for camp, the starter in the van began to go out.  I was able to make it safely to and from camp, and Thad is replacing the starter for me this week for $75.

The Frederick family from Bloomington were so excited that Stephen is going to be at Indiana University this fall.  They even invited him to church and to their church's college youth group, and Stephen said he would like to go!  I wept when I heard about that.  Stephen has not gone to church for almost two years!  Stephen and Jerry Frederick (the Frederick's dad) spoke several times throughout the week, and I could just see Jerry pouring himself into Stephen's heart.  I will be forever grateful as Jerry is doing something for Stephen that I can not do...and that is show him strong male Christian leadership.

Amy and I had some wonderful moments, which was a great blessing.  This past year has been very difficult with her as she saw me as the one at fault for the divorce.  She has felt that because I moved out that I broke up the family and that I broke up our home.  Things were very rough between us.  This week she learned to check the oil in the van, gas up the van and even drove on the way to Cedar.  She was so helpful as we checked the oil and added oil.  It was nice to have someone else do that with me as the van has a small oil leak that I have to keep an eye on.

Heather had a blast with her friend Lydia.  The two of them spent most of their time sailing.  They have become quite proficient at sailing and have even given sail boat rides to other campers who don't know how to sail.  She was so excited to see Amy warm up to me during the week and to hear that Stephen is planning to attend church in the fall.

Needless to say, I was completely blessed the entire week!

And today I was contacted by two possible future employers for second round interviews!  I have an interview at 10 a.m. Tuesday and an interview at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

I know this post is extremely long, so I will end here.  Thank you all for your many blessings and continued prayers.  I treasure each and every one of you!



Many people have tried to stay in touch with me via email and Facebook about my pending divorce and what is going on with my life.  There are details I want to share, but I would also like to keep those details private and out of email and off of Facebook...so I decided to start this view-by-invitation-only blog.

It would take volumes to get you up-to-date, but I will try to be brief.  Dave is holding off on finalizing the divorce until I find employment with insurance.  He does not want me to be without insurance, and I am grateful for his support.

He filed for divorce last June, and I moved into an apartment in July.  Finances have been tight, but God has been good.  My church has helped me with some car repair bills and some medical expenses that insurance didn't cover.  Some dear friends helped pay my lawyer retainer fee, my apartment security deposit and several month's rent until I could get on my feet.

I am still working 35 hours a week at our local high school, and I am paid hourly...so when school is not in session I make no money.  Fortunately, I received a very large tax return this year and that, along with part-time work teaching swim lessons at the Y, have been paying the bills this summer.

All summer long I have been teaching swim lessons, networking to find work, attending workshops at a government job placement agency, rewriting my resume, interviewing for jobs, getting Stephen ready for IU-Bloomington in the fall and trying to be mom to Stephen, Amy and Heather.  Needless to say, I am exhausted.

The kids and I are going to Cedar Campus in Cedarville, Michigan this month.  It is a break I sorely need.  Dave has graciously given me the money to pay for the kids' expenses, and the camp has given me a scholarship for my expenses....so all I have to come up with is gas and food expenses to get there and back.

There will be more to share in the days to follow.  Please continue to pray for my job hunting efforts.