Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The plot thickens....

So, awhile ago when we didn't have any job prospects for Brent in sight, I submitted my resume and applied for a position here at John Brown University (well, I say here, but I really mean over there since JBU is 45 minutes away in Siloam Springs). Brent came home from work a little over a month and a half ago and said, "Did you see they are hiring a part-time Head Cheerleading Coach at JBU?" Now, Kelli--since I only know for certain you might be reading this--don't laugh. I know how you feel about cheerleaders. But, this really is the perfect job for me. JBU is in the process of building a new gymnasium/athletic center/arena and they are really excited about increasing student involvement at basketball games. They would also like to leverage scholarships to increase enrollment and attract students with the added fringe benefit of getting to cheer in college and get a little extra scholarship money. So, they are starting a cheerleading team back up. (They had one for awhile but did away with it four years ago because it wasn't very good.)

So, anyway, it will be a part-time position focusing on recruiting in the fall and then hanging out with the girls and overseeing practices and games. No traveling will be involved...just lots of fun time encouraging and pouring into young people. And the freedom to still be a full-time mom. That's my kind of gig. And, I actually did cheer in college and serve as a co-captain/choreographer all four years...so, it's not that big of a stretch. Anyway, I applied. And interviewed. And yesterday I got a call with a job offer. This is where the plot thickens. Saying yes to this job would require us to move to Siloam Springs. We had been talking about doing that anyway if we stay here since Brent is working from over there 3-4 days a week. But, here's the problem. Brent is in the middle of interviewing with a college in Minnesota and a school in Virginia (as I said below), and we aren't certain if they are going to offer him a job or not. So, do we say yes to the cheerleading position for me and move to Siloam and hope and pray something new comes open at JBU for Brent to do soon since he really doesn't want to continue doing his current position for much longer? Or, do we say no in faith that one of these other jobs is going to pan out...and hope and pray that God provides some extra income if they don't and we end up still here in January?

My biggest prayer right now is that we would be unified in our decision....which isn't always easy. We sat down last night and wrote out a pros and cons list for staying here or moving, but that's really difficult to do when there isn't any certainty about whether moving is an option at this point. Sigh. Brent is going to have a conversation with his boss tomorrow afternoon (Wed) about future direction and opportunity in his current role. I am praying that will give us some clarity. I really need to give JBU an answer to their job offer by the end of the week. Fortunately, the person who called to give me the offer was one of our professors and is one of Brent's references and knows what's going on. He is allowing us as much time as he can, but if I am not going to say yes they need to get moving on finding someone else so that the new coach can get started on recruiting for next year.

All that to say, if you are reading this, please pray that we have wisdom and discernment...and that we aren't afraid to take another leap if that's how God is leading us. I just don't want to be like the guy on the deserted island who prayed for God to save him and missed the helicopter and the boat because he thought God was going to do something greater. Is this cheerleading position our helicopter?

1 comment:

Kelli said...

i wouldn't laugh at this at all! :) spirit fingers!

you would make a great coach for those girls and i know how excited you are to do this. i pray that you and brent can come to a decision about this and that everything will fall into place for you. no matter what, i know that you will serve God with everything you have and be the best parents you can be... and that's really all that matters! sending my love...