Stupid Interview Questions, Part 1

When we moved to Boise, Idaho in the Spring of 2003, my luxury years of being a stay-at-home mom and a partner in my husband's pastoral ministry had ended. We had left the pastoral ministry and were starting over. I answered an ad for a part time office job and on the day of my interview, I entered a dinky business, flanked on one side of a trailer-like room with three desks, armed with the knowledge that I had great organizational skills to offer.

So I was taken back when asked: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
"Duh, here--possibly making a meager income." But I didn't say that. I really had no goals other than living life and loving my family. I knew that wouldn't impress them. Then I remembered: "Well, I am working on a book that tells my story of a pastor's wife who learns to be her own person. I hope to publish it."

"Oh, that's nice," I think the interviewer answered and I thought: "Like what would that have to do with my ability to run this office smoothly?" Thankfully, I wasn't hired there. God had better plans. More about that in a minute.

If I had it to do over again, I think I would have gone with my gut reaction. Not the "Duh, maybe here making a living" part, but the family part. I would want to say something like: "My husband and I have a grown son with some mental disabilities. We want to help him find his way in life. Our daughter, who still lives with us, sits on my bed each night (I'm the early-to-bed person in our family) and tells me about her day. I want to nurture this precious relationship."

I might also offer this wisdom: "No one really knows where life will take them in five years. Life has many unexpected twists and turns." Just yesterday, I was reading the January-March issue of the Maranatha Devotional Guide when this profound statement caught my attention: "We need bifocal vision to pay close attention to our present situation since it can be our long-distance training." (Nancy Pritchard, March 10 devotion) Nancy was referring to Psalm 78 which speaks of God choosing David:

"He chose David, his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
And David shepherded them with integrity of hear,
with skillful hands he led them."
Psalm 78:70-72 NIV

Yes, it's true--as in David's life--that God builds on our life experiences and guides our lives in some surprising ways. I was in my twenties when, by an unexpected set of circumstances, I worked in a Montesorri school and later in a resource classroom of an elementary school. Little did I know then, that within a few years, we would adopt a preemie baby boy from India who would have special needs. Little did I know that a home-schooling movement would begin and I would have the joy of throwing my creative energy into teaching him, as well as our daughter, who would come into our lives from India and enter my school with a need to pursue some music interests. God was certainly building on my early experiences with education.

Little did I know, that as my home-schooling years came to a close, God would open up a door back then in 2003 to work with special needs children in the Boise School District. For sure, I had not known where life wold take me in five years. Now, eight years after that interview, I have "published" my book on this blog. My husband and I have had many experiences helping our son through the maze of adult life. We've added a daughter-in-law and two grandchildren to our lives! We've seen our daughter graduate from college with some aspirations of her own, which I'm sure God will gently guide as he has in my life. I now work with children on varying levels of the Autism spectrum. As a senior citizen, I attend Boise State University for practically free, so I'm working toward my education degree.

Where do I see myself in five years? I have some ideas, but we'll see.

Human Nature and Political Ideologies

I've been thinking a lot about human nature lately. While attending a Boise State University class in Political Ideologies, I've realized is that at the heart of each ideology is a basic understanding of human nature. For example, Fascism claims that human nature is related to race. Certain races, by nature, have particular characteristics and certain races are inferior. What a horror that ideology inspired! Did Jesus ever blow that theory out of the water! My husband, Tom just preached about Jesus meeting the woman at the well (John 4). The Samaritans were viewed as an inferior race, a mixed and impure race. But that was not Jesus' view. He loved Samaritans. He purposely traveled through Samaria in order to encounter a Samaritan woman who needed to know of him.

The socialist view of human nature is that humans are basically caring and good. In the "right social conditions", humans cooperate with each other and relieve the suffering of others. Karl Marx envisioned a socialistic revolution that would ultimately lead to a utopian society. What he didn't realize is that humans will not always seek the common good of others; they will seek power.

In a paper I wrote for my class, I discuss this problem of power-seeking: "Human nature can also become corrupt, given certain circumstances, and the individual’s choices in those circumstances. In All The Pretty Horses (by Cormac McCarthy), the great aunt of a hacienda, where 16 year old John Grady Cole is working, tells him the story of the man she loved in her youth. He had helped to bring about a revolution in Mexico and was elected president. Unfortunately, he believed in the goodness of people and this was his downfall. Those who shared power with him were only in it for themselves, not for the good of the people. Eventually he was executed and a corrupt government continued. The ills of society were never solved. It is apparent that power corrupts people."

Interestingly, the view of the Religious Right is mentioned in my textbook (Political Ideologies by Terence Ball and Richard Dagger) as having a very negative view of human nature. It reminds me that I use to be exposed to the teaching of "total depravity", meaning that our human nature is totally sinful unless redeemed by God. When I heard that teaching years ago; it troubled me. "Yes, I'm a sinner and needed to come to repentance," I believed, "but surely that doesn't mean that there was no good in me at all."

Then I remembered Genesis 1: 27: We are created in the image of God. That means that we have the divine characteristics of love, creativity, and sensitivity. Yet, at the same time, we are flawed. But not completely. When I enjoy photographing the Boise River, I am exhibiting God's characteristic of creativity. When I express love or concern for others, I am exhibiting characteristics of God.

These characteristics exist in all humans. However, when we come into a personal relationship with Christ; they blossom as he works in our lives. It reminds me of a song we use to sing in the 60's: "Things are different now, something's happened to me; since I gave my life to Jesus. Things are different now, I was changed it must be, since I gave my life to him." (Things Are Different Now by Stanton W. Gavitt). How thankful I am that God does make things different in our human nature!

Christmas Blues

I realized this holiday season that I never once experienced Christmas blues! What a nice feeling! I always loved Christmas growing up. What child doesn’t? I recall coming home from college one Christmas and--upon seeing my home town festooned with Christmas lights—reflecting on how magical Christmas made me feel.

Somewhere along the way, I lost that feeling. It was like the old 60’s song that bemoans a dying romance with the phrase, “The thrill is gone.” I still enjoyed aspects of the holiday season—reflecting on the Christmas message, exchanging gifts with family, going out to see the lights, baking, cooking holiday dinners. But it just wasn’t the same and I couldn’t get the magic back.

I regained a little of the magic when—after 11 years of childlessness—we adopted our son and later adopted our daughter. Making Christmas special for them added a new dimension for me. Still, I kind of longed for that old time warm fuzzy feeling. Finally, I told myself: “I feel what I feel. I accept that.” That was freeing. I was free to enjoy special moments—like our tradition of making gingerbread cookies together—instead of grasping for that something else. But it saddened me to notice that sometimes I felt a let down when Christmas ended. It was like: "I forgot to watch Christmas specials and now it's over!" Or "There was so much shopping and wrapping and it took only moments to exchange gifts!" Or even "It's been busy; I'm glad it's over."

Eventually, I realized that too much preparation interfered with my enjoyment of the holiday season. I came to this enlightenment a few years ago when our daughter, Corina came home from college for Thanksgiving. The next day, she suggested that we decorate the tree. “I’m kind of tired of getting that old tree out each year,” I answered. (We have a fake tree because of Tom’s allergies.) “It’s a lot of work to decorate and a lot of work to put it all away.”

“Oh, we’ll do it!” she offered. Andy and his wife Casey chimed in, “Yes, we’ll do it!” Soon the tree was up and Christmas decorations claimed the windowsills, the table, and any other available space. A month later, I began to put the decorations away. I looked at Corina (home again from college), Andy, and Casey as they relaxed. I snapped: “I hate decorating! I hate putting it all away!” They leaped up from the couch and began helping me.

That was the beginning of me giving myself permission to delete Christmas preparations. One year it was the newsletter. Then a lot less baking took place. We didn’t need extra calories calling out to us anyway. I still had some preparations; the difference was that I chose which ones were the most important to me. I chose this year to bake gingerbread cookies for old time’s sake, but I assigned the task of decorating them to our grand daughter Faith with the help of her Aunt Corina. I even gave away our tree and its decorations to Andy and Casey.

When the last gift was unwrapped on Christmas Day and the turkey dinner was eaten, it hit me: There’s no let down! And I realized, “After all, Christmas isn’t over.” It came to me then that Christmas is not the celebration of a one-time event. It is a beginning. We celebrate the plan of salvation and the future that God has planned for us, none of which would be possible if Jesus hadn’t come into our world. Christmas is not over! And I enjoy it more than ever!

Does God Care About You?

A meditation inspired by a walk along the Suwanee River


If God put so much detail into one drop of water
that over 33 billion molecules are contained in that one drop,
each molecule being made of 3 atoms
and each atom containing smaller particles of matter
behaving much like a miniature solar system…
If He went to that much trouble to make one drop of water,
that is such a miniscule portion of all earth's
oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and streams …
Does He care for you?
Yes!
"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you."
(I Peter 5:7, NKJ)

Political Views

While the purpose of my blog is to tell my story of finding freedom as a pastor's wife, I also like to write about my political views. My articles also reflect a personal journey.

No Longer a Single Issue Voter

To see my article that appeared in the Boise Weekly during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, click on the following link.

No Longer a Single-Issue Voter
Still evangelical, still pro-life, voting Obama
By Shelley Warner | October 29, 2008

Calling for a More Compassionate Government
For decades, I believed in small government. If the topic of welfare programs or national health insurance came up, Republican leaders I trust warned, "Socialism!" They said, "It's not the government's place to help the needy; that should be the responsibility of the private sector." I bought into that philosophy, but had a nagging doubt: The needs of the poor are so great, how can the private sector ever provide enough help?

I applaud our local charities and the needs that they meet, as well as charities that do a heroic job on a larger scale, nationally and internationally. People in the private sector have done many things to help, but their resources are limited.

I know a man with learning disabilities who’s worked hard at the jobs he’s held, but has always struggled financially and never had health insurance. While suffering from depression, he went to a community clinic to get free antidepressants. The medication interfered with his sleep, so he went back to the clinic and asked if they could change his medication. “We’re sorry,” they explained, “this is the only antidepressant we can give out.” As a result, the man went without medication.

That clinic’s resources are limited. The private sector doesn’t always provide the help that’s needed. That’s why I believe we need some kind of national health insurance to help people who can’t afford adequate health care.

This issue was debated during the presidential campaign. I read a letter to the editor in our local paper, The Idaho Statesman in which the writer asked, “Why should I work so hard and pay taxes to help those who don’t work?” I once shared that writer’s view. But I’ve come to realize that many people work hard yet still live in poverty. Maybe they’ve faced limitations in life that prevented them from getting better job skills; so now their economic opportunities are limited. Or maybe they’ve faced hardships for reasons beyond their control. They need our compassion.

In the final weeks of Barack Obama’s campaign, conservatives accused him of promoting socialism. That was intended to scare the electorate. I looked up socialism on Answers.com and found this definition: “Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.” That’s not what Obama was calling for. Like some other caring public servants before him, he wants our government to be more compassionate toward people in need.

I think back to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. He was unpopular with many because he escalated the Vietnam War, but I appreciate that he wanted our country to be a “Great Society” that would provide “abundance and liberty for all.” He signed civil rights legislation and helped to create Medicare and Medicaid, programs that many of us are thankful to have now. (My two-year old granddaughter was born with heart problems and other serious health issues. If not for Medicaid, she may have gone without life-saving surgeries.)

LBJ said that a Great Society “demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.” LBJ wasn’t able to accomplish all that he wanted, but it was a beginning. Others, like Senator Ted Kennedy, have called for us to do more for the poor. And now Barack Obama has taken up the cause.

It is a cause that’s been around for centuries. An ancient Hebrew Prophet challenged his people to “loose the chains of injustice…share your food with the hungry, and provide the poor wanderer with shelter” (Isaiah 58:6-7). The same moral imperative calls to our private sector and to our government today. Can we do it? YES, WE CAN!
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