Wise Family still Plagued with "Joblessness"

Yes. That's right. I'm still unemployed (by choice) but I've got a few irons in the fire (hopefully). I have applied for more jobs with the Interntaional Rescue Committee but I'm dubious about hearing anything back from them. I know God will help us find something. In the meantime, we heard back today from our car insurance folks and we're going to get our deductible back from my wreck in May (whoo-hoo!). That takes a little pressure off, which we like.

We've been able to meet some neighbors in our complex. A few people who own dogs let them run around and play in the evenings and Alex and I have joined the club. It's actually really exciting. I went over and chatted with Susan and Richard tonight who both work at Scarborough Fair and teach theatre. They're really fun people and I'm excited about getting to know people who live so close! Yay!

Our Anniversary

Well it has been one year already. A year on August 11th. I really can't believe it. Where did it all go? This first year of marriage has been a huge blessing in my life. Beth is a ton of fun and my best friend. She is an encouragement to me and those around her. I'm so thankful with how patient she has been with me, especially considering my job situation at Frito Lay. I think it's a great testament to us being a team. It's great to look back and see how faithful God has been to allow us to get married before we were done with school, graduate, have jobs, provide fellowship for us in Dallas, continue to stir our hearts for Muslims, and to help us to be patient for that opportunity. I keep looking at the global events taking place thinking that we don't have a lot of time left to share the good news. I pray that He sends us soon.

Anyway, you're probably wondering what we did for our anniversary. Beth and I agreed when we got married that each anniversary we would, instead of buying gifts, be a little more romantic and come up with a way of proposing to each other all over again. Naturally I proposed the first time, so this first year was Beth's turn. I came home to the sound of chirping crickets and the peaceful scene of a camp set up in our living room. There was my tent all made where the living room table would normally be. Beth looked very cute in her over-alls. She had wanted to take me camping, but unfortunately it had been raining most of that day. I opened a package and in it was a board game; Settlers of Katan. We had played it with our friend Emily and it's pretty fun if you like strategy. You build settelments and develop your little kingdom. Then Beth asked, "Would you settle down with me?" Haha, very clever. I of course said yes. We are going to go camping a different weekend in September so that should be fun. For the day, we would have to improvise so we went and saw one of our favorite movies, The Dark Knight. Pretty darn good, go see it. We then proceeded to one of our favorite restaurants, Golden Corral. Pretty darn good, go eat it.

It will be interesting to see where God takes us this year. We are already expecting lots of changes. As you know from the last post, Beth is looking for a new job, and I am expecting a change of position in 2009. Mostly though, we want to continue to seek Him and we really want to find ways to get more involved in the community around us. This week I got to meet our neighbors Suzy and Richard. Hopefully we can continue to develop a relationship with them. I'm very thankful for Beth and I pray that our relationship will glorify the One who made it all possible. I think I have a pretty good idea for how to propose next year, we'll see how it turns out.

Unemployment at an alltime high for the Wise's!

So, I (Beth) quit my job a week and a half ago. Surprise! As it got closer and closer to school starting, I started to think about (and dread) going back. Part of it is that I felt like my Spanish wasn't good enough for some of the tasks that they needed me to do and that was just very stressful. Also, over the summer, I've had time to think about what I really want to do and what I really want to do is help people- be out in the community meeting people's physical needs. So I (with lots of discussion with Alex) decided to quit my job.

Now, I'm in the process of looking at various non profits in Dallas and realizing that I have almost no viable "skills" to offer. I guess that's what being a history major gets me. I have a genuine desire to help people, I'm a self starter, and I work well under pressure but those kinds of things don't really come through on a resume. So, if I don't have any success in this round of applying, I'm going to try and find something that will get me by for a while and I'm going to take some courses to get some "skillz". I'm looking at taking a Grant Writing seminar because lots of non profits would need that. Getting my teaching certificate for ESL is also a possibility. Who knows? I'm just praying that I'll end up where God wants me. I really want to be able to be His hands and feet in my job.

I'm trying not to let the whole process stress me out. I had a giant stress canker sore on the tip of my tongue (resulting in a lisp) for 2 weeks but I think I am calming down now. It is good for me to be reminded that my success is not measured in how much money or make, or even if I have a job. I need to find my joy and satisfaction in the Lord.

Alex is doing well. There's a distinct possibility that some openings in the plant would enable him to move to a better shift. He's supposed to find out sometime this week, but they've been saying that for the past two weeks. He gets to go to Houston in a couple of weeks to do a plant audit there and he's very excited about getting the corporate treatment. The hotel he is staying at will stock his kitchenette with the groceries that he wants. I forsee lots of Haribo Gummy Bears and orange juice in his future.

Other than that, we're preparing for our sisters to go off to college. I had my first mountain biking experience on Monday with Alex and Benjamin. I was dirty and tired and I almost punched a tree out of frusteration but it was fun. Halfway through the trail, I almost passed out and Dr. Benjamin the Mountain Goat saved me by sharing some of his precious life saving H2O. (Honestly, I'm a little over dramatic when it comes to my health. I told Alex yesterday that I think I have throat cancer. This statement has not been evaluated by doctors...yet. Haha. ) I think we're going to try and ride to White Rock Lake on Monday. Good luck to us! We're also looking at mentoring a refugee family that has been resettled in Dallas (with www.theirc.org). We'll keep you updated!