the blessings of today + some hugs

Blessing #1 - I got some mail from the unemployment office saying that I had to pay them a little visit before the 25th so I "could meet the federal mandates and continue receiving my unemployment benefits." Nothing can prepare you for how boring it is in there waiting for your turn to see a career counselor. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with my sister in a little text-a-thon. I'm glad she was able to chat because here were my fellow unemployed Oregonians. . . the cell phone game guru who never looked up from his phone and the sleeping 'I speak Cantonese' lady. Ya, not much company.

The blessing in all that. . . one of the ladies that was looking over my information noticed that I had taught at Crossroads and she said, "I go to Bible Study Fellowship at Crossroads. It's a wonderful thing." I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it was almost like in that very moment God reached down and gave me a hug and He used that kind little lady to do so. My old classroom was used for BSF. Maybe that's the same room where she meets. Kinda cool to think about. This unemployment thing is very frustrating to me. I've applied for a total of 9 teaching jobs, 2 receptionist jobs, and 1 secretary job. I've had 2 interviews and didn't end up with either job. The recent pickings are slim. When she pulled up my job search she said, "There are no jobs that match you." I really needed that hug today.

Blessing #2 - When I got home from that I got the mail. Right off the bat I noticed REAL MAIL! It was an "I was thinking of you today" card from a lady in our church. She wrote to thank me for my ministry of playing the piano on the worship team. Now I get a lot of compliments from people at church thanking me, almost every time I play, but I have never had someone send me a note to tell me that. Hug #2, thank you, God.

Blessing #3 - Phil got a bonus check at work today. A nice one. It was totally unexpected. He's received bonus checks before, but it's been a long time (what with the sucky economy and all) since he'd gotten one. But things at his work have been really busy (apparently a lot of people are in crisis - what with the sucky economy and all) and they've made a good profit. Seeing how we are leaving on a trip in a few days, this was a very welcome and appreciated gift in our home. Hug #3.

Blessing #4 - And for what it's worth, I bought a pair of travelin' shoes. Not the $50 Sketchers that I really wanted, but cute and cheap and comfortable none-the-less. Easy to slip off and on right before the TSA takes a full body scan of yours truly. Oh ya, I can hardly wait.