Sunday, December 20, 2009

After All, Home Is Where Your Rump Rests... Right?

I really didn't expect to be blogging again.

When I got home, I briefly started another blog, Three Dot Monte, but just didn't have much to say. Being thousands of miles from home doing and seeing things in a culture so different led to things worth talking about. Struggling with a tough job market and trying to readjust to life home made for a boring read.

However, almost exactly 9 months after a welcome home that still puts a lump in my throat, I'm forced to wrestle with the very real possibility that I may have something to blog about again. My folks put Jen and I up upon our return, and we both began looking for work. After a frustrating start, Jen managed to find work as an office manager for a tutoring company. The pay wasn't amazing, but it was more than enough to help us get started.

The problem was me. I began only looking for teaching and ministry jobs in the Orlando area. Over time, the area I was looking in got larger, and the jobs I was looking for got broader. 9 months later I'm looking for anything that pays enough to support us, and have applications for different types of work across the U.S.

No dice.

The question Jen and I are wrestling with is simply this: When is enough enough? The answer, after much fighting, praying, and crying, is January 24th. That's when Jen and I will decide for ourselves, assuming I haven't found a position that makes enough to support us, where we will go. Assuming that, we've got two choices we're looking at.

Option #1: Military. Jen has wanted to for a long time, and is a shoe-in to become an officer. My grades make my chances pretty slim, so I'd probably end up being a kept man. Could be worse...

Option #2: Overseas Contract. While it doesn't have the stability and pay the military offers, the commitment is much shorter and doesn't normally involve that whole "getting shot at" thing.

There are going to be problems, of course. The support we had for our first global romp was incredible, expecting that again is presumptuous to say the least. There is a dog, and 2 cars, that make traveling overseas complicated. And when we return we have to find a way to make certain we don't end up in the same predicament we are now.

I don't know what we'll do. Blogging all this now, like my blogging always has been, is mostly to help me process and think through what's in front of me. Given the choice, I'd take a decent job, house, and a baby on the way somewhere a little north of Orlando. If the Lord has other ideas, however, I've learned several times over it's a long pointless battle to go against Him. Right now, a little clarity would go a long way.

I know a few people have asked where we'll head if we decide to go with another overseas contract, so a quick list of where we're currently discussing:
  • Seoul, South Korea
  • Thailand (Either Bangkok or Chang Mai)
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Sao Palo, Brazil
  • Other areas around South and Central America, with a dash of Eastern Europe for flavor.
There's a part of me that would love the chance to see more of the world, but mostly I'm just hoping not to have anything else to blog about.

Peace.