Getting ready for 3rd grade

I'm a bad blogger these days. Maybe because my world was rocked a little trying to get my new 3rd grade classroom put together, my old Kindergarten room packed away, and lesson planning in ONE week. I was able to get into my room last Friday and the kiddos came to "Meet the Teacher" this Friday. I've been doing everything but sleeping at school for the past week. I'm really excited to get started and get in the swing of things because the anxiety is KILLING me. My new team is amazing and have been incredibly helpful but it's really hard to plan for 3rd graders when you're use to Kindergartners. So much of my classroom management, procedures, rules, etc. had to change because it's just no longer applicable. 3rd graders will pretty much be GENIUSES after working with Kinder kids!

Football has started. Chris went to scout this week but Guyer won their first scrimmage. The season starts next Friday and it's looking like Guyer is going to be pretty great!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Today has really been one of the BEST birthdays I have had in a long time. My dear friends, Amy and April, took me to lunch, shopping and ended our fun with some Design Star (anyone watch the show??? I'm addicted!). The three of us usually spend quite a bit of time together but our summer vacation schedules have kept us separated most of summer. It was SO good to hang out with them and just be our fun, goofy selves.

Chris took me to a yummy dinner at Ferrari's Italian Villa. Umm....YUMM-O! SO dang good. We had a really romantic booth (like the cool half circle kind for two) and ate until our hearts and stomachs were content. It's been a busy week with football so it was so good to reflect on our latest year of life and be together. So great.

Remember that post yesterday about having no plans and having no idea what was going on with my life?? QUESTION SOLVED! My job in Kindergarten was in limbo for the upcoming year. The numbers were lower than expected and it was looking like I could face a force transfer to another school in the district within the next couple of weeks. But God had other plans. My principal moved me up to 3rd grade to keep me on campus. I'm a little nervous but SO excited. God is good and faithful and knows what is best for me. Change doesn't bother me much but a week before school starts is not a lot of time to set up a classroom! I will miss Kindergarten a TON (where else can you sing and dance and act like a lunatic???) but I'm excited to do something different too. Like I said in the previous post-God's plan is not my plan...but it is better than anything I could do myself! Pray for me to love on and encourage the sweet 3rd graders coming into my room next year.

During dinner I looked at Chris and just started crying (I'm such a sap!). My life is SO much more blessed than anything I deserve. This last year has been hard on me in a lot of ways but has also been absolutely amazing. I'm so thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy and Him pouring it out on me even though I don't deserve it-not even a little bit!

Life Planners

All self diagnosed life planners say "aye."

AYE!

Why do I do that? Why do I think it's okay to have my own agenda and my own plan? I'm stopping TODAY. My plan was to get married, love on each other for a year and then have a baby to share that love with. Did that happen? NO! My plan was to live in St. Louis forever and ever amen by my family. Did that happen? NO! So from here on out-I have no plans. Sure, I have dreams and ambitions but they will happen in God's amazingly perfect timing under His amazingly perfect plan. He knows what's best for me and even when it's not how I want it, it's the way it should be. I'm thankful for that but sometimes it's really hard to rest in it. It's hard to give up control. I kinda imagine my plans as sand. I grab the sand (my plans) with my clenched fist and hold on for dear life. The Lord tells me to let go and I loosen my grip but still keep a fist. Some of the sand falls out but I've still got a whole lot left in my hand. I really think I'm letting go but I really haven't-I just loosened my death grip on my life. He wants all MY plans. And think about it-how much more beautiful is a beach full of sand than just my tiny fist full? A WHOLE LOT IS RIGHT!

I wish I could tell you exactly what's going on in my life right now but to be completely honest, I'm not sure what it is yet. I'll fill you in when I find out. In the mean time, I'm praying that I would give God control and trust Him fully because His will is SO much better than anything I could plan on my own.

I'm glad I serve a God who cares about EVERY intricate detail of my life. That's pretty amazing.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! Psalms 139:17-18 (NLT)

Proverbs 6

Proverbs 6 said EXACTLY what I needed to hear right before I get back to work at school. I've SO enjoyed traveling, spending time with my husband and being LAZY this summer. But the Bible has something to say about laziness-

You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing? How long before you get out of bed? A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life, poverty your permanent houseguest! Proverbs 6:6-11 (The Message)

Summer for a teacher is full of lazy days and I'm grateful for the R & R but it's time to get back to work. I'm especially thankful to have a job right now with the economy being as it is. I LOVE going to work and being with kids puts a smile on my face everyday. Pray for me as I get ready to go back that I would be a light to kiddos who need to see Jesus!

Proverbs 5

I've had the Bible that I read for about the past 6 or 7 years. I love it because I've had it so long but I hate it because I underlined/highlighted in it. That probably sounds weird but sometimes when I'm reading it I get so excited about an underline/highlighted part that I don't pay attention to what else I'm reading because I want to get to the part I loved at some part of my Bible's life-which leads me to part two-SOME PART of my life. A lot of times the underlining no longer is meaningful to me and I was so excited to read it. I think I'll stick to writing down those favorite verses in a journal rather than underlining so I can remember when/why they were so important to me at the time.

ANYWAY! I love proverbs 5 as a married women. It talks all about adultery and how that can destroy your life. One of the most popular verses from this chapter is this-

May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. Proverbs 5:18-19

If you're married, you probably know that verse. As you know if you've been reading through my Proverbs reflections (or anything having to do with God's Word) you know I love the Message. Something about it speaks so real to me and I love how it tells us how to love-

Your spring water is for you and you only, not to be passed around among strangers.Bless your fresh-flowing fountain! Enjoy the wife you married as a young man!Lovely as an angel, beautiful as a rose—don't ever quit taking delight in her body. Never take her love for granted! Proverbs 5:18-19

As a wife, I need to be reminded to not take Chris' love for granted. In the beginning and during dating years, I noticed EVERYTHING that he did for me. After 3 1/2 years of marriage, I don't look for them as often anymore. But that's not how God created marriage to be. He wants me to always delight in Chris and to be thankful for him and his love for me. He designed marriage PERFECTLY and if I follow His instructions-it will be a perfect love. Of course we all fall short but that's something I definitely want to strive for. Marriage is a serious covenant designed by God and I want our marriage to be pleasing to Him.

***BY THE WAY-if you don't have a Message Bible (I don't!), go to BibleGateway, type in what you want to look up and change it to The Message. There are times when I don't really know what to think about a verse and I'll change it to The Message or New Living Translation and it puts it into something that speaks to my heart. I LOVE NIV and all the verses I have memorized are NIV but I do like to see how other translations say it as well. Just thought you may like to know!***

Old Navy Love

Why do they have to already have fall clothes out??? I fall in love and then can't wear them until October (sometimes November here in Texas). Grrr. Yesterday I tripped and fell into Old Navy (that's what I told Chris...I just don't know how I got in there....gravitational pull I guess!) and found the cutest little dress. Perfect for my leggings obsession.

LOVE! Black leggings, a scarf possibly. The only bad part is I loved it so much I paid full price for it...oops! Dave Ramsey would not be happy-although it was in my budget so I guess he wouldn't be too mad =)

Thinking I need to be productive and go up to school and work. Proverbs 5 tonight!

Proverbs 4

Today I read Proverbs 4 which makes my heart happy because it has one of my favorite verses in it-

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23

When I read that verse I think about what I'm putting into my heart/mind. You know the saying "what goes in must come out"? That's true of my heart too. If I'm putting in trash and things of the world, it's going to come out in my words and actions. If I'm putting in things that are good for my heart and glorify God, that's going to come out. It's not hard for me to decide which one I want. The chapter goes on to say (from the Message this time)-

Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Proverbs 4:24

I think this hits home for me too. It's hard as a woman not to fall into the trap of gossip. Go to a hair or nail salon...that's what women do! They like to talk about how others look, act, dress, etc. Sometimes I think my intentions are pure but I really wouldn't want someone else talking about me in the manner that I talked about them. So here's my prayer today-that I would guard my heart from the "junk" of this world and that I would be careful of what comes out of my mouth. These go hand in hand. If my heart is guarded and what goes in is good, my words will stay pure. Man, God sure puts some smart things in His Word, huh???

Encouragement

McLinky's blog topic today is "Encouragement." Don't we all need a little bit of that??

This is 2 Corinthians 4:17 from the Message. I love the Message because it speaks like a story and straight to my heart.

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.

Here it is in NIV for those of you who prefer it-

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

I also have a worshi p song that really encourages me. It's a Hillsong song called You Reign. Here's the lyrics-

What could stand before You

As You chose to embrace

A cross so undeserved You took for me

The weight of sin upon You

When You offered Your life

As You walked the streets of men with fading strength

How could we live but not see

Your sacrificeYour glory

You reign, You reign

Over everything Lord, You reign

With power, and justice divine

Over everything Lord, You reign

What was Your last thought

As You drew Your last breath

Where the victory was Yours for us to see

And all will know the truth

As we live by Your grace

Every praise to You alone

See now the King of Glory

Love of God become my calling

Father I surrender all I am to You forever

I love that song because it's such a great reminder of what Jesus did for us on the cross...and how can you not be encouraged by that??

Proverbs 3 and Fear

We've started going to a small group at our new church and we're really liking it. I'm feeling more challenged in my every day walk with God and starting to feel some convictions too which is GOOD! One of them is reading my Bible daily. I really do try but it is SO hard for me. There are some weeks where I'm on it and others where I haven't touched my Bible (hey...I'm being honest!). So I have a new goal this month. I'm reading a chapter in Proverbs every day this month-31 proverbs in 31 days. I'm hoping to share some thoughts from them each day on here for a little accountability.

Today is August 3rd so I read the Proverbs 3. You know when God keeps bringing something up over and over again and you're not sure why? He's doing that to me right now. He keeps bringing up fear. I really don't think I have a lot of fear in my life but apparently He's trying to reveal it to me. Here's some examples-

**Friday we went to the Phillips, Craig, and Dean concert and they talked about their new CD "Fearless." They talked about how as Christians we're not to FEAR the economy, the decisions of the president, or even everyday trials because God is in control. He has a plan and He is good. That really got my heart stirring...

**Some elders from the church gave their testimonies on Sunday. All of them were about being fearful-God took away something from each of them that they cared about (their businesses, family member, etc.) and they were scared. They had to get rid of that fear and learn to trust.

**Now I'm reading Proverbs and what's really jumping out at me is this-

24 You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. 25 You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, 26 for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. Proverbs 3:24-26

I'm not sure EXACTLY what the Lord is showing me but I think it may be that I am fearful of never having a baby. I claim to trust God but my faith is weak. I get scared that it may not happen for me. I'm listening to what He's saying and I see that He's trying to remove the fear from my life. I know He's trying to mold me during this waiting period, which I LOVE, and this is one of the things he trying to squeeze out. Pray that I would get rid of the fear and replace it with FAITH!

*****On a side note-started the Clomid again and HOLY HOT FLASH! I've gone from freezing to BURNING STINKING HOT within seconds all day long. Is this what menopause is going to be like????*****