I stole this from Joyce, but she won't mind! :o)

I read her blog often, and she recently wrote five very interesting answers to the following questions. She was "tagged," but I'm just playing for the fun of it. :o)

Here are the questions:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? I was actually in my third year of teaching and beginning to develop my "teacher personality." I was still a newbie, though. At the time, there weren't many jobs in our area for high school English teachers, but I only subbed for a month before I was blessed with a job. (My friend, Melanie, had to wait ten years for a teaching position to become available.)

2. What five things were on your to-do list today?
1) Take a project to Kurt's house. [done]
2) Prepare music with the worship team. [done...at least with those who attended service today]
3) Have a short meeting with Pastor and Moderator. [not done...ran out of time before service started]
4) Clean the house some more. [not done...took a nap instead]
5) Visit another church for an evening service. [done, and God moved in a powerful way!!!]

3. What are some snacks that you enjoy? celery with peanut butter (YUM!), apples with peanut butter (DOUBLE YUM!), 94% fat-free popcorn, potato chips (but I rarely buy them), bananas, popsicles

4. Where have you lived?
1) Flint, Michigan is my birthplace, but we were pretty poor and lived in an all-black neighborhood. I actually remember playing with rodents with a shoe box. My mother would kill me if she knew I shared that!
2) We moved to Warren, Ohio when I was six years old. This is when I saw white people up close for the first time at school. It was pretty amazing for me; I just kept wanting to touch their skin (and they wanted to touch my hair). The things we remember...
3) Ypsilanti, Michigan is the home of the first college I attended: Eastern Michigan University. I was accepted into the Pre-Med program, but I've always wanted to teach. As a child, I used to come home and play "school" after school! My Mom bought me a big 'ol chalkboard, and my teachers would give me their excess copies of handouts instead of throwing them away. [Back then we didn't recycle as often as we do now.] Can you be more nerdy than that?
4) After I married my ex-husband, we moved a total of 11 times in 14 years. Yes, my son is only 15 now. That's what happens when the man of the house is a crack addict. In the midst of chaos, I managed to get my credit together to buy this house (3 bedroom ranch, basement with spare bedroom and office, cute yard with fenced in area for dog to do "business", single garage, decent neighborhood where I'm no longer afraid to let my kids go outside and play).

5. What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1) Tithe and give a big, fat offering to my church.
2) Buy a new, bigger home to finish raising my boys.
3) Give to several programs for my homeless and hungry brothers and sisters (adults and children).
4) Set up grants for single parents...I have a heart especially for single Moms because I know what it's like to struggle and have to say, "No, boys, I'm sorry. I can't afford that today," even if what they want is a cheap pair of tennis shoes because the ones they're wearing have holes. I would steer them toward education so that they could learn a trade or earn a degree. They still have pride, for goodness' sake, and it would feel wonderful to see them start to make it on their own. A gift from me would help temporarily, but a job with a reliable income would boost self-esteems and empower them.
5) Get with godly friends and figure out how to create jobs in my area. Wouldn't it be neat to hook up with business-minded folks who could show me how to multiply what I've already got to help even more single Moms (or Dads), families, churches, starving populations, etc?

Even though I'd be rich, my kids would STILL be expected to go to college. I want them educated and living in their own homes, taking care of their own families. I would obviously be giving them huge chunks of money, but I would never take away their manhood. I'm sure they'd still want to show that they can protect and love a family eventually (but not any time soon!!!).