Day 1 of Kindermusik

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Kindermusik

Today, I had my first real Kindermusik class that I taught all on my own! Learn more about Kindermusik here. What a great program! I was with 2 classes of 4 year olds and 1 class with 5 year olds. I just love the little ones, craziness and all!

Here is a little rundown of what we did in class today:

1. Learning names and Groovin' Hello Song (hand movements and following what I do)


2. Read a book ("A Head is for Hats") learning about the different senses and parts of the body that we'll be using in Kindermusik class


3. Animals Exercising (song that get kids up and moving, doing little exercises like jumping, stretching, swimming, etc)


4. Using shakers listening to the song, Shake and Stop


5. Wheels on the Bus--up and moving to get more wiggles out


6. Scarves--listening to a song called Lento y Rapido--the kids move their scarves slowly and quickly, smooth and bumpy


7. Scarves again--Let's Go Fly a Kite song--waving scarves in the air


8. Book: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom with a song


9. Song: Praise Him Praise Him (I was at a private Christian school this morning, so we were able to sing a "Jesus" song)


10. Goodbye Song to the tune of "Are You Sleeping"

My favorite part of the morning was when I asked my first 4 year old class who they need to be watching in Kindermusik. I said, "When we use our eyes, who do we look at?" And almost simultaneously, each of those cutie pies pointed both pointer fingers up and said, "God". Melt my heart! They have been trained well!! Yes, they should look to God at all times, but in music class, eyes on me! :) Haha! I loved it!

Another little boy played with my hair the whole time. He's crawl on my lap and play "hair dresser". I don't know if he had seen long hair before, because he just played with it and put it in my face and he was just a total hoot!

Overall, it was a great morning! Lots of cute little faces and funny kids. So far, so good! I love this job and I'm ready to do this every day! Thank you, Jesus, for letting me run into Annette on our dog walk several weeks ago to get this Kindermusik connection! You are so good and so sovereign and you answered my cry for a job. Thank you, God!

Today:

Today, I am going to the gym and then on a walk and will probably pull some weeds and straighten up the house a bit. Dinner with hubby (maybe with Hilti folks) and hanging out at home.

Quiet Time:

Last night, we read Genesis 29 and 30 and Romans 10. Gosh, I love the book of Romans. What truth! What advice! What honesty! This is one of my favorite verses: Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Following God is not simply asking Him into your heart. You must also fully believe in Him and have faith in Him in all that He does, whether we understand it. We serve a sovereign God who loves us and will take care of us if we let Him. And last night, this verse really hit me. I never really noticed this verse before, but it was a good verse to meditate on and think about. Romans 10:21 says, "All day long, I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." What does that mean to you? This is Isaiah talking, but I feel as though God thinks that way as well. Every day, God is waiting on us to be faithful to Him and be a fisher of man, a worker in His harvest, and share His good news, but yet we continue to be disobedient and obstinate people. I know that I need to work on that a lot more and quit being so disobedient to my God, even in what I think are the "small things". Remember? There is no small sin in God's eyes. Let's join together and not be disobedient and obstinate. Let's be outgoing rock stars for the Lord!!

Countdowns:

• First Day of Fall 23 days
• Angela and Jon's Wedding 39 days
• Halloween 61 days
• Thanksgiving 86 days (My favorite Holiday!)
• My 24th Birthday 89 days
• Christmas 116 days

Hugs to all of you today! God bless and make today amazing!

Ex. Hausted.

This weekend has been a blast! But it was also exhausting!

Friday:

Cleaned and tidied up the house all day. Like dusting, cleaning toilets, vaccuming, mopping and everything. I did the works. I have a no-cleaning-on-weekends policy that I strictly follow, because the weekend is time for relaxing and hanging out with your spouse and friends and family. Not cleaning. Friday evening, we went to Sheraton's Custard with our new friends, Brittany and Matt. They're new to Bellevue just like us and just got married a little over a month ago. They're SO fun and so precious that we stayed at the ice cream place for nearly 4 hours just talking! That speaks volumes about my sweet husband, because he is not one to just sit and talk for hours. We'll hang with them soon :) Went to bed super late that night, but we slept very very well!

Saturday:

Syrup Saturday: Chocolate Chip Waffles. Can't you just hear the stretch marks getting bigger and bigger and my thighs expanding? Yes. I can. I feel it too. Then we laid around, with those waffles sitting on our bodies...but then we made up for it and had a killer work out! I then headed to Emily's house and went on a lovely walk with lovely conversation. That night, Sarah and BJ came over for pizza (yes, more fatty food. Quit your judging.), and M&M cookies made my your's truly. BJ and Jamie went to a Billy Idol concert (insert hearty chuckle) while Sarah and I stayed here, watching a movie and just talking, sipping on hot tea. Gosh I sound elderly. The boys didn't get back to the house until about 12:30 ish. In bed we go.

Sunday:

Slept through my alarm, woke up at 9:00 and busted my rear to get ready! Yesterday, we had a big breakfast in Sunday School and I signed up to make muffins. Thank goodness I signed up to make a food item that doesn't require a lot of labor, because I woke up, woke Jamie up, made the muffins, got ready (didn't shower), and we were out the door by 9:25. Yes, a round of applause is appropriate here. I was so proud of myself! Sunday School was fun, because we had a huge breakfast feast(my favorite meal by the way), and we got into new small groups, I mean, Community Groups as they are called now :) We've got a fun group and I'm excited to get to know everyone on a more personal and spiritual level. After church, we went to Jason's Deli with BJ and Sarah and then headed home. BJ and Jamie played video games for a few hours, and Sarah and I bailed and went to Kirklands, TJ Maxx, Bed Bath and Beyond and Target. Gosh, what a great afternoon. Now if only I was a money bags, I woulda bought everything I saw at Kirklands! They have the CUTEST Halloween stuff! I love that holiday! Sunday night, we went to Jenny and Allens with Emily and had burgers, chips and more M&M cookies. My clothes fit a little snugger today...much to my dismay.

Today:

Cleaning, laundering, Walking, Kindermusking this afternoon, dinner with my love bug, going to the gym and hanging out. Maybe some Bachelor Pad? Maybe not? I'm still exhausted from the weekend, so we'll see what tonight brings to us.

This Week:

Tomorrow: Kindermusik, maybe dinner with Jamie and some gentlemen he works with, walking, working out, making homemade granola, and that's about it. Friday, I head to Tulsa to see my family and have a family reunion in Fort Smith, Arkansas. I'm stoked to see everyone! Saturday, on to Stillwater for the first OSU game of the season! I miss Stillwater and the color orange. So excited to go the game and see some familiar faces.

Quiet time:

Jamie and I have read through Genesis 28 and Romans 9. Excellent pieces of scripture! I need to delve into it more and pray that God reveals himself more to me. God was really alive when Jesus walked on this Earth, but He's still alive and well, and I need to seek Him in that light.

Boring post today...I apologize. It's been a busy busy day! I do my first teaching for Kindermusik tomorrow, so please lift up some prayers for me, and I'll tell you about it tomorrow! Woo hoo! Can't wait!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

This week has been busy and eventful surprisingly. That's another reason why I love Fall so much (27 days till that glorious season, by the way), because things start back up again and people get busy. I love it. And I have found that when people are busy, they get things done more. For example, this summer, I had all the time in the world to get stuff done, but is my car still filthy? Yes. Did I neglect the dusting in the house? Yes. Is there still a HUGE spot on the wall in desperate need of a big clock or mirror or picture or something? Yes. Basically, what I'm trying to say is when I am busy, I get more stuff done on my free time. Yay for Fall being here in a few weeks. Yay for being busy. Yay for Fall. Wait did I already say that? I must mean it.

I'm Soooo Trendy:
The other day, I was reading a magazine (I know, I know. I need to be reading actual books), and I saw that the latest nail color trend this year is gray. I love weird and dark colors on my nails, so this struck my fancy big time! So what did I do? I went out to Wally World and got me some deep gray nail polish by Sally Hansen and now my toesies are cute and gray and trendified. Oooo buddy, I love it! I feel a little bit posh. A little bit sassy. And definitely a lotta bit trendy! Feel free to be trendy like me and join the gray fad!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff:

On Tuesday evening, I went to Bellevue for our final "Girl Talk" this summer. Donna Gaines, the Pastor's wife, spoke on not sweating the small stuff. Don't we do that all the time? Don't we act like a bunch of fools sometimes, worrying about silly junk like cleaning, something breaking, making appearances, food, time, how your spouse loads the dish washer :) It's all just silly and at the end of the day, do those silly things matter? No.

However! We DO need to sweat the small stuff when it comes to God. Partial obedience to Christ is not enough, and we need to fully surrender to God, leaving nothing out! Because nothing about God is small.

Here are some of the notes that I took (on a napkin, might I add) from the talk the other night.

These are the "small" things that we need to sweat in our faith:

1. Reading the Bible (Joshua 1:8, Matthew 5:18-19) Study and meditate on the word
2. Prayer (Matthew 6:5-8) Be in faithful and repetitious prayer
3. Let your light shine (Matthew 5:16) If you have the light of Christ inside you, do not keep it in the dark! Shine it so the world may see!
4. Love your enemies (Matthew 5:44) That's a tough one, but we gotta do it. As my mama always said, "kill 'em with kindness". It's true. Love your enemies and show them the kindness and love of Christ within you.
5. Humility (Matthew 6:1-4, 1Peter 5:6-8)
6. Forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15) Forgiving also means forgetting once you forgive.
7. Do not be anxious (Matthew 6:25-34) This is a tough one for me. I am what you would call a "worry wort" because I worry about everything! I need to learn to give my worries to God and trust in Him fully.
8. Do not judge (Matthew 7:1-2)
9. No unwholesome words (Ephesians 4:29) We've talked about this verse a lot. It's an important one to remember and hold closely to your heart.
10. Love others (Mark 12:31, 1Corinthians 13) Do periodic "love checks" to make sure you are loving others.

• Think with a Kingdom perspective. Yes, we are living on the earth, but where will we spend eternity once the good Lord decides to take us? Hopefully Heaven. I hope to see ALL of you there with me. But think of the Kingdom. Get your mind off the world and the worldly perspective. Have a Kingdom perspective.
• Refuse. Resist. Replace. If you begin to have an ugly thought, or any thought that does not bring glory to God, refuse that though. Throw it away and don't even let it come through your brain. Resist the temptation that Satan is trying to throw at you. And replace it with scripture. Replace it with God's Word and His ever loving truth
• 2Corinthians 10:3-5, 2Timothy 1:7
• Take charge over your mind.

Daniel Honored the Lord (Daniel 1, 2 and 6)...

• By what he ate
• Submission to authority
• Spoke with wisdom and tact
• Prayed
• Praised the Lord
• Humble

-Daniel faced persecution--He encountered the jealousy of man and the tactics of Satan.

-Are people able to find sinful accusation in you? What trail are you leaving behind you? If you were on the witness stand, would you be accused of being a sinful creature or a follower of and faithful believer in Christ?

-We need to live in such a way that when others examine our lives, they can powerfully see that we are followers of Christ.

Daniels Reputation:

• Esteemed by man (Ezekiel 14:14, 20; Ezekiel 28:3)
• Esteemed by God (Daniel 10:11, 19)

-What is your reputation on earth with men? What is your reputation in Heaven with God?

*Obviously, this talk was powerful and a very good "check-up" on my life! Am I sweating the small stuff that doesn't matter here on earth? Or am I sweating the small stuff that matters to God? It's something to think about and be cautious of in my life. I encourage you to sweat the small stuff that matters to our Heavenly Father and meditate on those things. Pray, get in the Word, don't judge, be humble, etc. Let's be a little bit more like Daniel who is esteemed by man but also, and more importantly, by God.

Funny Video Friday (Its just a bunch of cat and dog pictures, but who doesn't love those, right?!)



Have a fantastic Friday and know that I love you but Jesus loves you much, much more!!!

Yay for Married Friends!

Top Weekend! Overall, I would say this weekend was one of my favorites. It was full of laughter and dates and fun and friends and I just really enjoyed myself all weekend! I'll spare you all the details, but we'll just do a quick overview of the weekend!

Friday, Jamie and I went to El Mezcal for some yummy Mexican food! Delish! Then we went to Baskin Robbins (bad choice...too full!). Then we went to the Redbirds baseball game with some people from our Sunday School class. I really don't like baseball to be perfectly honest, but I guess it's like an all American sport or something :) I just enjoyed getting to hang out with fun people. It ended badly because I got kinda hurt. Go figure. At the end of the game, there were fireworks and I got hit in the eye with a daggum spark! I saw about 30 seconds of the fireworks then held my eye the rest of the time. It seriously felt like a shard of class was in my eyeball. Ick! But no worries, my sight is still perfecto! Praise Jesus!

Me and Jamie on the bluff at the game

Saturday was of course Syrup Saturday with waffles. We worked out, had lunch at home, hung out some more, bathed Leia and then went to dinner at Pei Wei and walked around the mall. That night, I went to Emily's house to watch Dear John. Talk about a tear jerker! Oh I cried my eyes out! Sweet movie!

Sunday, we went to Sunday School, came home, I napped, we went to the gym, then we went to dinner at Genghis Grill with 2 couple friends, BJ and Sarah, Daniel and Whitney. Fun fun fun people! I'm so glad we finally have some married friends that we can hang out with. We finally have our friends rather than just mine and Jamie's different friends. God has just really blessed us with so many friends that we really mesh well with and I'm so grateful! We've been waiting for friends like these :) I love it!

On to today...it's been a long day because it's been a long night. We went to bed a little after 10:00 and then my body told me it was time to wake up around midnight. I was up. For good. All night. Into the morning. Yee haw. Can't blame it on the dog. Wasn't her fault. But I watched 3 episodes of Law and Order, the movie Big and played Line Up on my phone for a while. Was I productive or what?! But as I was watching Law and Order, I got thinking on a deeper level. Here's what I came up with...

Sometimes, I feel as though I could handle my own and take care of myself if I were ever attacked in a dark parking lot or anywhere when I'm alone. I feel like I'm strong enough and feisty enough that I could get away. (Wishful thinking, right?) Anyway. I was thinking on a deeper lever, but along those same lines. Why don't I have that attitude when it comes to Satan? Do I feel as confident in myself to fight the battles he's going to throw in my way?

1st Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Does that intimidate or scare you? It does me for sure! But it shouldn't! I should think of Satan like I would a potential attacker, ready for their attack, confident that I could get away and defeat the predator trying to make me their prey. Each day, I need to wake up and clothe myself in God's winning armor. (Read about that here) Each morning, before I do anything else, I need to put on my belt of truth, confident that I can fight the Devil with God's word and loving truth. I need to put the breastplate of righteousness in place, and get my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. So I need to be ready for what comes at me from day to day, trusting that my righteous Father will give me a sense of peace. I also need to take up the shield of faith, so that I can fight off the arrows of the evil one. Then, I'll need to put on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. I need to prepare for battle every single day. Just like I am alert and on guard whenever I am alone at night, I need to be alert and on guard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for our enemy, the devil, because he is just lurking around waiting to attack. If I wake up and prepare myself for battle, there's no way Satan can defeat me.

I just want to encourage you to put on your holy armor every day and trust that God is on your side, fighting the battle with you! I dare Satan to try to mess with God. He's going to lose. Heck, he's already lost! Whose team will you fight for? If you fight on God's side, you will always be a winner. Go with God, my friends. Go with God.

Much love to all of you and have a lovely Monday!!

Give Yourself a Hug Today

First of all, it's Friday. Praise.

Second of all, I've been super productive today, and it's only 1:20! I woke up, had breakfast with Jamie (Frosted Mini Wheats....yummolicious!), took a power nap (because Leia decided she wanted to play at 3:04 in the morning), went to the gym, went on a long walk outside, mowed, showered and now blogging! I feel good to have gotten all of that done before lunch time. I need to paint my piggies and file my nails because these claws are making it hard to type!

At the gym, I saw something incredible! There was a lady on the elliptical in front of me who was unashamedly air drumming and having her own little concert!!! Oh it was brilliant! First of all, she was closing her eyes and singing (out loud might I add), swaying her head like Stevie Wonder. Then she just started air drumming like she was daggum Travis Barker! Then she put her hands in the air and started waving them from side to side. Thank you, lady, for making my workout much more entertaining. I would have taken a picture on my phone, but I didn't have the guts. Maybe next time....maybe.

Give Yourself a Hug Today

I am declaring today: "Give Yourself A Hug Today" day! I am one of the meanest people when it comes to loving myself. I critique. I gripe. I pick and complain. I tear myself up. I dissect myself and leave the pieces apart. We are all our own worst critics, but we forget one little thing. We are children of God and His very special and intricate creation. Our bodies are a temple unto Him, and we need to honor that more.

Take about 1 minute to watch this video. PS--I FINALLY figured out how to watch a video right here rather than paste a link for you to go to. So seriously...watch the video :)

Now that you've watched this precious little girl, go do the same thing today. Look at yourself in the mirror and verbally say what you like about yourself! Name some physical things and emotional things and spiritual things that you truly do love about yourself. There's one rule: NO NEGATIVE COMMENTS! This is just a step in positivity training. But really, love yourself today, and try to avoid negative thoughts and feelings.

Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female, He created them."

Get some inspiration from Sister Maria from "The Sound of Music" to get some confidence :)



Quiet Time:
Jamie and I have read Genesis 1-6 and Romans 1-2 this week and we're really enjoying the YouVersion bible reading plan. I will always love Genesis 1, when it talks about creation. I can't believe that people believe in the Big Bang junk, because no bit of science could create what our God created from nothing! Take some time to read Genesis 1 here and be amazed at how amazing our God is!

I was reading outside the other day and this is what I saw from my backyard:

You can't tell me some "big bang" made this! Thank you, Jesus for this pretty picture!!

I hope you all have an INCREDIBLE weekend and that you do something fun and relaxing!

Love you guys and God bless ya!

Tragedy

In our dear home, we've had a bit of a tragedy. Leia's goggie has been de-legged. And de-scarfed.

This sweet little goggie (probably from Goodwill) is Leia's favorite. It's not too big. Not too small. Just right for our little weenie girl. She can throw it around and tell it who's boss and...chew off its legs and scarf.

Here is the evidence of our tragic incident:

Legless Goggie :(

She's a little depressed she hurt her buddy

I bet she'll get over it. Oh yeah. She already has! And since she already took all the stuffing out of her gog (which is messily all under our bed) she can still play with her legless pup!

Don't judge a book (or an orange) by its cover (or its peel)

All summer, I've been on an orange kick. For those of you who know me, I don't eat oranges. I don't like orange anything! But one fine day at Kroger, I NEEDED an orange! So I bought 5! It's triggered my little taste buds and these citrusy things have my summer happy :) Until the other day...

Look at this orange. All beautiful and shiny and perfect, right? Looks like a delightful piece of fruit for a fruity to enjoy!
Lo and behold! Look what was in store for me once I cut this junk open!!!! A black sore, a filthy bruise, a tarnished piece of citrus....oh I was sad. And guess who's off of oranges now? Yeah. Me. Thanks a lot, crappy orange.

Silliness aside....we really shouldn't judge anything or anyone by its cover. I learned that lesson in a big way at kamp (Kanakuk) one year. There was a girl in my cabin who was a little rough on the outside. She had black hair and wore scary big jeans and chains and all black clothes and black lipstick and black eye liner and "gothic looking" clothes...I was a little intimidated/afraid of her at first. But then we got to know each other and she was one of the coolest girls I ever met! She loved the Lord with all her heart and soul and was (and probably still is a sweetheart), but she just so happened to like the "dark" look, and she rocked it! She listened to hard rock Christian music and hung out with other "gothic" kids at school. She said some of them were Christians and some weren't, but she knew that was her ministry. She fit in with that crowd and I'm sure was an incredible witness to them. She was awesome!

All that to say, put judgment aside, folks. If you see a white guy wearing all Abercrombie clothes and his hair highlighted and rocking a model look, don't just assume that he's a tool or a show off. Don't assume the preppy girl wearing all J-Crew is a snobby sorority girl. Don't assume the guy wearing baggy pants with his boxers showing and wearing a sideways hat and an over sized shirt is some gang-banging thug. Don't assume a lady wearing cut off shorts and a wife beater is "white trash." I know none of you like to be judged, so don't pass it on to other people! It's hard to do, but try to practice that. You'll probably be a little more confident in your own shoes once you stop passing judgment on others based on what they look like.

1st Samuel 16:7: But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Randomness...

Sonic ads are incredibly filthy these days advertising the quarter pound coney...absolutely nasty!:

This is how humid it's been in Memphis. Jamie's glasses get foggy when we get out of the car! Baha!:
It's been a decent summer for my watch tan :) It would be better, but I'm a big sunscreen girl, so I protect my skin:

So that was a fairly random post, but that's life, right? Random and fun and it keeps us on our toes! Have a Thirsty Thursday and go get something yummy to drink! I spent an hour and a half at Plato's Closet today waiting on them to go through the clothes I brought them and I got myself a Sonic cheery Diet Coke after that long wait :) It's the little things, right? Love you to pieces and God Bless you all!

Wonderfully Windy Walking Wednesday

This morning, my walk was absolutely GLORIOUS!!! I looked at my phone and it was 84 degrees! Jesus, thank you for this awesome weather week! I haven't seen a triple digit in the forecast all week and it's been fabulous. I didn't think 90 degree weather would be a "cold front", but it certainly is after this hot summer! All that to say, I just want to say "Thank you!" to our sweet Heavenly Father for giving us a little break in the weather today!

Guess what I'm sippin' on?...

Starbucks!!!! I have been in the mood for hot chocolate all day and I finally gave into my craving and used my Starbucks gift card and got myself a skinny hot cocoa! I'm secretly hoping these small life changes will bring on the Fall weather, because Fall is my favorite. My toe nails are a dark purple right now and I've been wearing hoodies in the house and drinking warm drinks and grilling...I'm just trying to will on Fall weather. It's not working yet...
Oooo, I love me some hot chocolate!! Forget the coffee! Bring me the cocoa!

Busy!

I haven't blogged all week, because I've actually been kind of a busy lady! I know. I know. You're shocked. Go ahead and whisper a little, "yeah right" but I really have had things to do! Monday morning, I observed a Kindermusik teacher at First Baptist Church and it was a blast! I can totally see me doing this job and am SOO looking forward to starting my new job! Basically, I'll be doing short little music classes with pre-school aged kids, using music and instruments and scarves and little finger plays and small dance moves...oh it's going to be a blast!!!! I start in a few weeks, too! What fun!

Yesterday, I helped Jenny organize a resource room at Bellevue. Ooo baby, it needed drastic help and it looks so nice now! Holy-organization, it is just pleasing to the eyes now :) Just how I like it. I even got to see the mysterious 4th floor of Bellevue! Yeah. I did. Be jealous, Bellevue members! Speaking of Bellevue! Jamie and I joined our Sunday School class last week! Praise God! We feel so unbelievably blessed to have gotten involved in a church as quickly as we did. We knew if we wasted any time in the beginning, it wouldn't benefit anyone. Thank you, God, for giving us such amazing friends who love You and for some crazy reason want to be friends with me and Jamie! :)

Syrup Saturday:

Every Saturday morning since Jamie and I have been married, I've made some sort of syrupy food like pancakes or waffles or French toast. It's a really low calorie and light and low fat breakfast that we enjoy once a week. Okay I'm lying. It's awful for you, but I make it okay by using skim milk and whole wheat flour. We're such health nuts, ya know? (Insert sarcasm here)

A couple weeks ago, my MIL gave us this mix for chocolate chocolate chip mix! Holy richness, this stuff was good! I made this on Saturday and Jamie and I, needless to say, were a little heavier, full and satisfied :) Even for this sweet toothed girl, it was super rich!
This is my feeling about Syrup Saturday...total and utter joy:
This picture doesn't do these pancakes justice! Here, they look like turd patties, but they truly were delicious!

The Bachelor Pad:

I am truly ashamed of myself to admit that I have been faithfully watching The Bachelor Pad with my friend Emily for the past 2 weeks. It's just a train wreck that I can't stop watching! I've watched The Bachelor and The Bachelorette all these years, so I just gotta watch the newest trashy show involving all of these really respectable creatures, right? Okay, that's not nice, but they don't exactly hold themselves to a high standard or anything! Anyway, I'm horribly embarrassed for ALL of them, because they use words like, "insiders, outsiders, popular people, jocks, the cool kids, etc." to describe themselves! Whoa. Get over yourselves! I just think it's so sad that the people who call themselves "the outsiders" don't think more highly of themselves and that "the popular kids" are actually using words like that! Guess what? God doesn't care about a silly popularity contest! And there won't be a cool kid crowd or the losers in Heaven. He created us all equally and I think it's just sad that they allow themselves to be portrayed in such a tacky light. Will I watch it again next week? Absolutely. Don't judge.

Clean Puppy Girl:

Leia Lu has had the itchies for the past couple days and it looks as though she has a little bit of a rash on her leg :( Sad day for our puppy dawg. Anyway, we took a mommy-googie field trip to PetCo to get some real dog shampoo that will moisturize and make her not itchy anymore. I got stuff called "Pet Head" like the pet version of "Bed Head." Cute, huh?

This is Leia pre-bath. She has NO idea what's coming. God love her...
"Okay, mom. What's going on? Why am I in this pink bowl with the water running?"
All clean! Unhappy puppy.
Ooo she smells derishis!
Yes, she got a reward for being a good goggie in her baf time. A raw hide :)
Quiet Time:

Jamie and I just got finished with reading 2nd Timothy and Jude. We signed on to YouVersion and are going to follow a plan to read the bible in a year. Tonight we are reading: Genesis 1, 2, and 3 and Romans 1. Looking forward to this new plan! :)

Well, I'm off to clean up a little bit and make holy-guacamole and peach frozen yogurt! Just call me Betty Homemaker! Love you all and I hope you have a wacky Wednesday!

Funny Video Friday

Happy Friday everyone!! Friday the 13th to be exact...freaky!

Let's start off by saying we serve an amazingly awesome God who is true to His Word and continually blesses us when we least expect it! For example, I GOT A JOB!!!!!! Starting in a few weeks, I am going to be a Kindermusik teacher in various pre-schools in the Memphis area. Basically, I'm going to have a block of time in different schools to do music activities, like singing and dancing and playing instruments, and I'll be teaching rhythm and movement stuff as well. I'm going to observe a teacher on Monday and go to a training on the 26th, so I'll be more informed after that. Oh my goodness, I cannot express my utter excitement!

Here's the back story of it all: A few weeks ago, I was walking Leia around the neighborhood, and this lady named Annette hollered at me, saying hello. (Thank goodness I had Leia, or who knows if anyone would have wanted to greet my sch-weaty face!) I walked across the street to meet her and her two dogs, Cookie and Reese. We ended up talking about life and my new move to Memphis and church (she has gone to Bellevue for 10 years!) and I told her I was looking for a teaching job. She then told me that she is the director for Kindermusik and might need a new teacher. Ooo buddy, did my ears perk up or what! I told her that I'd love to get together and talk about things, so we kept in communication through e-mail and last night we got together and discussed what I'll be doing with the Kindermusik program :) I don't think I've quit smiling since! God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. Whodathunk? The week I have my breakdown about being jobless, is the same week that I get a job. I've got chill bumps now just thinking about it! Man, God is so good!!!!! Thank you, Jesus, for this amazing job opportunity!! Tonight, Jamie and I are celebrating with P.F. Changs for dinner and maybe snocones with friends later tonight!

Thank you all for your continual prayers for my job search. I am so blessed to have so many prayer warriors in my life who have my interest at heart. Thank you and God bless you!

In light of my amazing mood, please take the time to watch some funny videos:

1. Classic: SneezingPanda
2. If my grandma were still crossing the street, this would be her: GrannyHitsCar
3. Odd ball: ZombieKid
4. I pray this lady lives in Memphis: SittinOnTheToilet
5. Okay, nothing about this situation is funny, but the brother is just out of control: bedIntruder
6. Favorite baby video of all time: Hahaha
7. This is so my cat, Mikey!: AngryCats
8. I want a child just like this one: FunnyBlackKid...Same Kid: ChuckNorris
9. I'll die laughing if my child dances like this: CubanKid
10. As much as I love baby videos, this is the reason I'm not having kids for a long...long time!: BirthControl

I hope you all took some time to laugh today. It's good for the soul, so just take a few minutes to laugh!

Much love and big smiles,
Abby

Shut Cho Mouf!

(That is ghetto for "shut your mouth")

Before we get to my really classy title, on to more important things.

Like the google picture this morning!!! I cannot express to you my utter joy and excitement when I saw this. For those of you who know me, you know my obsession with The Wizard of Oz and more recently, Wicked the musical. If you share my love for the Emerald City, you'll most certainly love the Google picture as well. Enjoy!

In other news, my stupid tummo is not feeling well...at all. I was interrupted by a really spectacular dream last night to this awful stomey ache. You wanna know what my dream was? Of course you do! I had a dream that I was popular!!! I dreamed that I was the cool kid, the star of the show, the girl everyone wanted to hang out with, the trend setter, the funny girl, the best dancer and singer in the show, the girl every guy wanted to date, the girl who could pull off skinny jeans and feathered head bands....oh yeah. And then my dumb tummy woke me back up to reality. How unfortunate! And then I thought to myself, this isn't fair! I'm waking up from a really spectacular dream because I feel throw-up-ish?! Whatever. I loved college and all, but it was tough. Really tough. I loved my dream so much because that wasn't how college was for me. I was kinda quiet and very safe. I didn't drink. I didn't sleep around. I didn't really date. I didn't go to the bars. I wasn't the flirt whom all the guys were fighting for...even though I bet they secretly wanted to!! Okay...not really. But anyway, I was set apart from what people call "popular" and I'm really okay with that, even though I wasn't okay with it in college. To be perfectly honest, sometimes I think back and wonder if I'd do things differently. I bet if I dated more and drank like a fish and was a little more flirty and outgoing, college would have been a lot more fun! Here me now. I am not judging those who chose to drink and date a lot and act flirty. That was just not my thing. And there's nothing wrong with those things. All of this jibber jabbering to say...I like who I am. God protected my heart in my dating experiences. I've had 2 real boyfriends and I grew so much from both relationships with zero regrets and I am thankful for that. I chose not to drink, because I didn't like the taste, and I'd quite honestly rather eat my calories than drink them. Plus, I was highly involved in my church and other Christian settings and didn't want to falter in my witness to my friends. Anyhoo. My dream was stellar and very fun! That's why we dream. To live out of our reality :)

SHUT CHO MOUF!

I bet when you are talking about other people, you claim to just be networking as well, right? Funny picture, huh? Last weekend in Sunday School, my dad touched a little bit on slander. The definition of slander is: a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report. In other words, slander is gossip, and we're all guilty of it! I just wanted to tell you a few notes that I wrote down from his talk, because we all need to be reminded to shut our mouths every once in a while. So here are a few notes from his talk that really stuck out to me:

*Be slow to speak

*Our speech reveals our hearts

*Our speech can defile us

*You can't slander and be humble at the same time

*Satan's job is to slander. Let's not do his work for him. When you are slandering someone, you are fulfilling the role of Satan.

*There's only 1 righteous judge who is our Heavenly Father...judgment is not our job and it never will be. "Do not judge so that you will not be judged." --Matthew 7:1

*When you slander someone you are bringing condemnation upon yourself.

*Think of risk and reward: There's no risk or reward in slander. God is glorified in obedience to Him. You may lose a friend, but you must go straight to the sinner if you witness sin in their life. The risk is losing a friend. The reward is glorifying God.

*"Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there an engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor what appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin." James 4:10-17

Of course he spoke about more than just gossip and slander, but that part of his talk just really stuck out in my mind. How many of you gossip? (All hands are raised.) How many of you have been on the other end of gossip? (Most hands are raised.) It stinks, doesn't it? It's not fun to be talked about and ridiculed behind your back. But do you realize how tough it is to stop the gossip and to not talk about other people? Right after my dad's talk, I had remembered I wanted to tell my family something that I had heard through the great vine (or is it the grape vine?). And it took a true act of God not to talk about that one thing! Let's be honest. We're all human, and we all make mistakes. But we're better off sitting there silently or only discussing the weather and carpet color with our friends and family rather than slander our brother and sister in Christ. Just remember whose job it is to slander. Satan's. Also remember who is the one, true, righteous judge. Jesus Christ.

My last year at kamp, our counselors taught us about Code 429. If you were in Equipo 20, you'll remember this! Code 429 is from Ephesians 4:29 that says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the movement, so that it will give grace to those who hear." So before you are about to gossip, say to yourself CODE 429!!!! Memorize that verse and keep it in your heart forever. You'll be a better and nicer person. But more importantly, you'll bring glory to God. Which means more to you? It's worth thinking about.

I hope your Thursday is treating you terrifically! I like to think of Thirsday Thursday, so go get something that you thirst for :) Treat yourself to a Sonic beverage or a $10 coffee from Starbucks or a bubble tea or even a fancy bottled water! I love you dearly and pray you have a fantabulous day!!

Wiggly Wednesday

The title of today's blog has nothing to do with being wiggly. But the dork in me really wanted a word that started with a "W" since today is a "W" word. And I bet when you saw what the title was, you couldn't help yourself but to pop on over to this bloggerooski and see what I'm writing about! Gotcha!!!

Glee:

Let's start today's blog out with a good laugh. Please click on this link (here) and watch a funny funny video from Glee. It's the part when the football players do the "Single Ladies" dance at their game to distract the other players. It's by far my favorite part of the whole season. I rewound it and watched it over and over again and laughed till I cried. I think my brother-in-law should teach his players how to do this dance. He's the QB for the B-ville football team and he's a big ol' senior now, so I bet they'll follow his lead. Kirby, if you're reading this, please listen to my advice. You'll thank me later!

Also, take a minute or two...or three...to look at Mr. Schuster. He's just cute as cute can be. If the football video didn't make you smile, then Mr. Schu certainly will! :)

The Fox and the Hound:
Sadly, I've never seen this movie...until now! Jamie told me last night that I have one job today and that was to watch The Fox and the Hound. So far, so precious! I just texted him and said that I want a baby fox and a baby hound! And I want an ole named "Big Mama". But I really do want a sweet little hound. I love their dopey ears and big sad eyes and big o paws. So cute!



Ink Stain:
For those of you who are facebook friends with me, you know that Leia upset the family name by chewing up an ink pen on our nice, clean, white carpet. I put my heart and soul into getting that stain out!!!....no such luck. Here's what's left of it:

Thanks, Leia! You're a real peach!....punk.

Thanks to my precious in-laws, they gave us a rug that used to be in their living room. That covered that stupid stain right up! See, you can't even see the stain anymore! It used to be to the right of the coffee table.

Outa Sight, Outa Mind!

Quiet Times:

Recently, I've been getting back into some real worship time. I've been taking some time out of my day for a real worship experience. Did you know that can happen in other places besides church on Sunday mornings? I go on walks listening to worship music, and I clean the house listening to worship music and drive with that soft sweet music in the background. It's fun to listen to Christian music and really listen to the words, applying it to your life. It makes it all the more meaningful. But anyway, I've been getting back into that habbit of really listening to God's word through song.

Jamie and I have also been reading through different books of the bibe. We've read 1st and 2nd Thessalonians (read them here and here) and are now reading 1st Timothy. I'm going to write out a few of the verses in Thessalonians that stood out to me.

*"For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to your was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition." --1 Thessalonians 2:1-2. (Those verses stuck out to me, because I am rarely so bold as to preach the gospel to friends and acquaintances because I'm afraid to hurt their feelings or lose a friend. God's business is far more important than my business and I need to be a little more bold in my faith.)

*"For we wanted to come to you, and yet Satan hindered us." --1 Thessalonians 2:18. (How scary is it that when we want to do God's work, Satan is always there just messing with us, trying to hinder us from doing work for the Lord and spreading His good name. I've often heard that it is a compliment to get the devil's attention, because that means you're doing something right for God. It means that you're being a faithful follower of Christ and fighting of Satan's temptations."

*"For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you." --1 Thessalonians 4:7-8. (Read verse 1-8 to understand what is being said here. It just stuck out to me that if I know the truth written in Scripture, then I best not act as a sinner and defile God's name by being disobedient.)

*"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep." 1 Thessalonians 4:15. (Are you asleep in your walk with Christ? Or are you awake and living for Him each day?)

*"But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Fod God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him." 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10. (What a joyful verse! Let us clothe ourselves with faith love and hope and salvation! Let's serve a God who wants to welcome us into His pearly gates! Please join me!)

*Really, all of Thessalonians 5 has such great advice! Please read it and take it to your heart, cherishing those sweet words of encouragement.

Jamie and I really enjoyed Thessalonians and received some really sound advice, so I encourage you all to read those books as well.

I hope you all have an incredibly "Wiggly Wednesday" and remember to praise our God along the way for our many blessings! Love you tons!

My First (9 minute) Interview! YeeHaw!

This past weekend was a blast! I was in Tulsa for my sister's wedding showers, and it was so nice to be with the Ervin family again. Just the 4 of us. I left early Thursday to make my hair appointment that afternoon in Tulsa. I got a $15 mall haircut here in Memphis a few weeks ago and definitely got what I paid for...janky bangs and all. So I was in desperate need for Abby, my awesome hair gal to fix me up. And she did!

Did I take a single picture this whole weekend? No! Did other people take pictures? Yes! So I'll get their pics and post those soon. I did, however, take one picture of all of the junk I took. I'm just a really heavy packer and often embarrass myself with how much I take on trips or even for a weekend away. Here is the evidence of my heavy packing:

I needed a workout outfit for every day, I needed a nice outfit for the two showers and church, but then I needed casual clothes for each day as well. I needed different shoes for each day and outfit. I needed pajamas. I needed hair stuff and toiletries (sp? What a weird word anyway...), and I needed the rest of my life with me. All that to say, my stuff required 2 large bags, a giant purse and clothes on hangers. Sorry airport men who lift my bags....

The Interview...

Yesterday, I had my first kind of real interview. It was a screening interview for Shelby County Schools and it is just to kind of get my foot in the door and my name in the system. This is how I felt before the interview:

I was ready to go and feeling good! (Check out those sassy bangs!) You wanna know why I was feeling good? This!:
I got me a new outfit (Thank you, TJ Maxx), so that I look a little less bohemian and little more professional. If it were up to me, I'd wear a long maxi dress with flip flops and big earrings and my hair curly. But then I bet my interviewer would have stamped a big fat NO on my resume. So I had to wear big girl clothes.

Here is another reason why I was feeling good before the interview:
My new AWESOME bow tie shoes! I took the "Interview Professional" look a little cutesy. I'm not going to buy some stuffy outfit that I'll wear once in my life. These shoes will be worn again and again because they're precious! I'm surprised I didn't get a job offer based on these shoes alone! Am I right?

Here is another good purchase. I figured I needed a jacket of some sort, so Steinmart provided me with this pretty little thing:
It looks a little bit like a lab coat, but it really isn't...it's super cute and it was only $26! Guess how much it was originally. $360!!!! No lies! Isn't that unreal! Man, I'm such a bargain girl! But really, what dummy is going to pay that much for a plain, black jacket? Not this white girl!

This was how I felt post interview:
I, needless to say, was not a happy camper. The interview went well and all, but it lasted a whoppin' 9 minutes. My interview was at 10:30. I got to the building at 10:15. I got into the interviewer's room at 10:33. I was in my car at 10:42. You do the math. He was a lovely and very nice man, but I was simply a warm body to enter into his office that he had to process into the system. His questioning was like rapid fire and we had eye contact maybe twice. He asked. I answered. He asked. I answered. No discussion. Just question and answer. And that's fine! But I think I had unrealistic expectations that he was going to think, "OMG, Abby! You are perfect for this job! Go straight to your new classroom and meet your students!" Even though he has nothing to do with the hiring, I was hopeful....stupidly hopeful. I obviously left jobless.

I went from feeling great!!! To feeling like this:

I was bummed and started to get that awful ball in my throat, fighting back the tears. (This is a dramatic reenactment by the way). I am just getting a little frustrated at my boredom and lack of help financially. I wake up with Jamie. We eat breakfast together. He leaves for work. I hang out. Clean. Sit. Work out. Clean whatever I can find. Piddle. Organize what needs to be organized. Blog. Quiet time. Play with Leia. Sit. Be bored. I'm just ready for a schedule and a job and something to do!

My frustration quickly turned to this:

Uncontrollable sobbing!!!!! (Another dramatic reenactment.) I couldn't stop myself! The tears just kept coming and coming and coming like a daggum waterfall!!!! What was wrong with me!? I was on the phone with Jamie and he just couldn't understand my ridiculous tears. (I didn't understand myself either). I ended up pulling into an Old Navy parking lot, because it wasn't safe to drive while bawling my eyes out. I was on the phone with Kim, my mother-in-law at the time, and this sweet homeless man walks by and stops at the front of my car and just looks at me. He reminded me of the homeless man on Bruce Almighty. He stood there for a few minutes, watching me cry. Bless his little heart. Then he cocked his head to the side, smiled, and waved at me. I laughed through the tears and waved back. Then he left. It was a little reminder that I'm fine. I'm in a nice car, wearing nice new clothes, leaving an interview that went very well, and my life is beyond amazing. That man saw me crying like a mad woman in my car and he still smiled and waved at me. Reality hit me then. Life is great. Get over your selfishness, Abby.

I got some lunch for me and Jamie (including a chocolate chip cookie, which makes everything better), ate it at his store, then went home to calm myself down. I began thinking about jobs and this is how I felt at the thought of getting a job in 2010!:

SOOOO EXCITED!!!! I'm not giving up. I spent a couple hours today applying to different schools, e-mailing schools and trying to make some contacts. I'll keep you updated on my job search, but I ask that you please partner me with your prayers and ask that God will calm my frustration and help me seek a job that is perfect for me. Thanks so much.

The coolest part of the whole day was when I was driving to my interview. I listen to the gospel station on the radio, because I love the music and the preaching makes me smile. He began talking about faithless people serving a faithful God. I don't remember how he got to this topic, but he started talking about how faithful we are to ourselves by making our resumes all perfect, and buying new clothes to impress your coworkers and boss and looking good for your interview to get a new and better job. And he just went on and on and then said, "You know what? God don't care 'bout none of that. That stuff gon' be gone once you enter the pearly gates of Heaven." Then he continued with his sermon, and I just laughed in my head and said a little "Amen", because I couldn't have agreed with him more. Yes I spiffied up my resume and bought new clothes and had a great interview, but if God wants me to get this job He'll make it happen. Not anyone else. He is a sovereign God who has a plan for me.

I love this verse: Habakkuk 1:5 "Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Then of course there is this verse: Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

God is still true to His word. He is teaching me patience right now, along with faith, diligence, joy, and so much more. Yet again, I serve a sovereign God who has an outstanding plan that I won't even believe, even if it was told to me. He is that great of a God! I just have to trust Him with His remarkable plans for my life.

At the end of the day....I came home to this precious puppy face. How in the world can this not take the tears away? :)
"Scwatch my bewey!!!!"
I love you all and pray you have a terrific Tuesday!!!

PS--I'm making smores ice cream right now...be jealous!

Take Some Time to Smile Today

Part of living a deeper life is laughing harder and smiling more, so I took the time to find some funny pictures on www.ihasahotdog.com to show you. So I hope that you take the time to look at these laugh a little. Go ahead. Stop working for like 2 minutes, and look at these cute pictures :)

By the way, I hope you like animals!

Quiet Time:

I used to go to Life Church (lifechurch.tv) back in Stillwater for the past 5 years, and Jamie and I were just discussing how much we miss it. It's a totally different atmosphere than Bellevue, and we just loved it dearly. So I'm going to catch up on a few of his sermons and write down some of the notes. Watch this sermon with me here. Enjoy!

*Week 1: One Prayer: Unstoppable Courage

-The path to your greatest potential is often straight through your greatest fear.

-What is your greatest fear? Your personal fear. What is it that you fear more than anything else? Failure? Insecurity? Conflict? Rejection? Never be good enough? Do I have what it takes? Self doubt?

-2 Timothy 1:7 (read it here) Our spiritual enemy is trying to talk us out of God's plan. God wants to give us unstoppable courage

-2 Samuel 23:20 (read it here) This unstoppable, courageous warrior went into a pit and killed a lion. He followed this lion and killed it! Benaiah was fearless! People with real faith kill lions. People with unstoppable courage chase after lions. They do not let their fears get in the way of what God wants them to do. Normal people don't do that. Normal people always have excuses. Normal people rarely face their fears. Normal people don't chase lions.

-How do fears impact your daily living?

-What is God calling you to do to live out His divine assignment? What are you not doing to achieve that?

-What lion do you need to chase and conquer?

-People with unstoppable courage know that the bigger their God is, the smaller the lions become. Too many people are looking at the lions when they should be looking at God--the One who can overcome every lion out there!

-Stop looking at the excuses and start looking at the source.

-Daniel 6:20-22 (read it here) The King kept asking about Daniel's God. There are so many people who believe in God, but they often make it shift on someone else's God.

-How big is your God? MY God is huge! MY God is ever present and all powerful. MY God put the planets in the galaxy. MY God made everything on this earth. MY God parted the Red Sea. MY God is omniscient. MY God is a God who can do anything He wants. MY God opens up blind eyes. He can heal deaf ears. He can raise people from the dead. MY God is so full of love that He sent His one and only Son Jesus, born of a virgin. MY God raise His Son from the dead. MY God saved me. MY God is real. How big is YOUR God?

-If you know my God, you won't let any lion talk you out of what God has sent you to do.

-People with unstoppable courage understand that playing it safe is risky.

-Hebrews 11:6 (read it here) The goal of faith is not the elimination of risk.

-Imagine if Jesus has walked away from the cross. He took the risk because He trusted in His Holy Father. He chased that lion.

-What would happen if the church came together and we became one body in Christ? Let's chase that lion!

-It's okay to be afraid! That's the way we are! Feel the fear and do it anyway! Take the step forward and look at your God who says, "all things are possible with Me!!"

-Step out of fear and step into faith. Step out of yourself and step into His annointing.

-You are worth the blood of Christ. That is how special you are.

Great sermon! Please check it out! Craig is one of the best preachers I've ever heard and I just appreciate his honest teaching. I love you guys and hope you were able to laugh and smile today :)