Another Transition

Christa left this morning at 7:05AM for her last day as a long-term substitute teacher at Fond du Lac High School. She has been looking forward to this day for a long time. She has worked with some difficult students, dealt with some difficult situations and sometimes came away disillusioned with the teaching experience.

I am proud of Christa for sticking with it. Even though there were some pretty trying days and frustrating moments in this experience, she made her way through it. She toughed it out. She gained some valuable experience! She will get to celebrate with some buffalo wings from BW3s! :-D

Tomorrow, she meets with the owners of Settler's Mill to begin her job as supervisor for the mini-golf course in Oshkosh. She will be stepping out of one position and into another, but this is a position that she is looking forward to. She will be the supervisor for all of the employees of the facility. She will have a greater role in how the operation is run. I can see this being a wonderful new opportunity for her.

I know Weaver will appreciate having Christa home more often. Leaving at 7:00AM and not returning until close to have caused some separation issues ;). It will also give me the necessary time to be able to run in the morning. Christa and I will also be able to see each other more often. And...we'll both be less crabby because we don't have to get up so early!

Exercise Continues to Be Rewarding

I received a package in the mail today. It came from Amazon.com. It had two items in it:

A Video Game: Mass Effect 2
A Book: Adventures in Missing the Point

Christa has had to hear me all week talk about my excitement to be receiving these items. I am excited to read the book, but with all the reading I have ahead of my for Course of Study, I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to read it. Mass Effect 2, however, will be a wonderful stress reliever for me. It has been a game I have been looking forward to playing for years.

What makes this special is that this book and game were free. I was able to purchase them using gift certificates that I earned through points I accumulated through the Virgin HealthMiles program. It is something that I do as part of the United Methodist Church. The running and walking that I do to keep healthy is also paying off!

The Soloist

Christa and I have a membership for Netflix. Living in Oakfield, this has actually worked out well because we are at least 15-20 minutes from a rental place. The mail service also works remarkably fast here, so we get movies pretty quickly.

We watched The Soloist last night. Christa and I both look for different things in movies. Generally, we see to eye to eye on our ratings. Netflix gives you the option to rate the movie on a five star system. I think we have a system down. Let's put it this way:

* = Nothing redeeming. This movie is just absolutely awful. (We jhave yet to give a move this)
** = May be a glimmer of hope, but pretty bad.
*** = Average, entertaining movie.
**** = This was a very good movie with a lot of good qualities.
***** = Nearly flawless. This movie kept our attention. We'd want to see it again and again.

I find now that, as a pastor, I can't help but view movies from a religious and theological perspective. For instance, a movie like Knowing (***) took on whole different meaning when you think about it theologically. Same with Seven Pounds (****).

Today, however, let's focus on The Soloist. I do recommend the film and there's a few things I'd like you ponder as you watch:

• Check out the portrayal of the cello player, Graham Claydon (played by TomHollander), as a Christian.
• There is a moment when Nathaniel Ayers (played by Jamie Foxx) says that Steve Lopez (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) is God. As you learn about their relationship, it is an interesting point of discussion.
• There is an overall message in the movie about what one person is capable of doing to make a difference in the world. With its focus on the homeless in Los Angeles, you can't help but be moved and saddened.

The overall story is that Lopez is researching stories for the LA Times. He finds Ayers who was a Julliard dropout suffering from schizophrenia. Ayers is homeless and estranged from his family. Lopez works with Ayers to get back his gift for playing the cello. I'll leave the rest for you to find out. Let me know what you think of the movie.