Between Jobs: Getting from 'Point A' to 'Point B'

By now, most of you know that I found out last week that my teaching contract would not be renewed for next year. It's a nice way of saying that I'm being laid off.

It's been about a week now. Here's the update:

- Since, it all went down, I've had a lot of people come up to me and ask me how I'm doing. It's almost like everyone I know is on a team "suicide watch" on my behalf. I appreciate it, but i'm okay, guys. I promise. God's going to take care of me. I don't need a hug, but you can totally keep praying for us. :)

- I'm remembering how awful it is to fill out applications and inquire about jobs. In one week, I've applied for roughly 20 jobs. I've only heard back on a couple of them and neither of those look like they're going to work out.

- I'm currently wrestling with whether or not I want to try and get an "in between" job, or if I want to push all my chips in and pursue my dream, which is to be a writer. The problem? I have no idea how to make that pay my bills. This all comes at a very bad time, as we recently bought a house and my wife, Kim, is 20 weeks pregnant. Awesome, right?

- It's weird the way things have happened at the same time. All within several months time, I've come into contact with a handful of people who took a leap of faith to chase their dream. It also seems like every sermon I listen to, these days, is an encouragement to do the same. I'd think it was just me being biased and trying to put words into God's mouth, but Kim has seen it too. I'm just not sure what it means.

- The other night, I talked to one of my best friends in the world, Bobby, and told him about what was going on. He told me he was excited. Then, he told me that he feels like God is going to push us to the brink of our finances and faith before we finally make it over the hump (I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist). I hated hearing it, mainly because I think Bobby's right.

In summary, it's a scary time right now. But I love that God keeps bringing me in contact with people who have either successfully undergone what I'm going through or are currently going through it along with me. There is strength in numbers, and I can't get too much encouragement these days.

They say laughter is the best medicine. Post the funniest joke you've heard in a while. Try to keep it clean. ;)