The Bride of Christ

Have you met, Susannah?  She is a wonderful girl who blogs over at Simple Moments Stick.  I love reading her blog.  She truly has a heart that follows after the Lord, and she inspires me.  Last month, I linked up with her for "In His Image."  This month, the topic is The Bride of Christ.

One of the first things that came to mind when I saw the topic for this month's link up was a passage from Ephesians.  It likens marriage between a man and woman to that of the relationship with Christ and the church:

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.  He who loves his wife loves himself." Ephesians 5:21-28

That can be a lot to take in...especially all of that "submitting" stuff, but all you strong-willed women, don't go running out on me just yet.

I do not think that God intends for us to be doormats.  I do not believe that this passage suggests that we bite our tongues, lay down, and get walked all over.  Don't forget that after we are told to submit to our husbands, the husbands are told to love their wives.  What I do think we are being told is to respect our husbands as we respect Christ.  No one but Christ is perfect.  Sure, we get mad at all of the stupid some of the things our husbands say or do.  We're HUMAN.  But if we truly love him, we learn to accept those things, forgive, and keep on loving him anyway.

Think about how many times Christ does that for us.

It really puts things into perspective doesn't it?

Each day is a new day to start with a clean slate.  Those dirty clothes in the middle of the floor?  Pick them up, and go on.  Christ erases our slate each time we humble ourselves, come before him, and ask for forgiveness.  If He can do this for us, so undeserving, it is certainly something we can do for a person we pledged to love "for better or for worse," isn't it?

It's the First Day of School

So I promised that I would share some before and after photos of my classroom.  Too bad I don't have some Before, After, AFTER photos for you, though.  Last year, my classroom was not used, and it became a dumping ground for everyone's junk.  I nearly had a panic attack trying to figure out what furniture I needed to keep from my old classroom because I couldn't figure out what furniture in the new classroom was supposed to be mine!

I digress. 

Here are my photos:

This is the back of my classroom.

This is the front of my classroom.

This is my storage space, and students' "lockers" where they can hang coats, backpacks, and other stuff.

I LOVE those bookshelves.  I had them in my classroom directly below this one, too.  I brought that large storage cart with me.  All the stuff on the shelves in the before picture are now in the storage closet in the above picture.

That's all of my before and after photos, but I do have a few other things to share! :)

I think the "You are Responsible for You" banner is an important reminder, especially for these older kids!  I love my neatly organized arts and supplies shelves.  I brought this up from my old classroom, too.  Those cans on the top center shelf were my little project.  I just took some empty cans and hot glued some fabric to them.  :)  I'm also doing the Daily Café and Daily 5 this year. For 6th grade, I'm actually doing the Daily 3: Read to Self, Word Work, and Work on Writing.  For my café bulletin board, I have white dinner napkins to write the skills on.  Above the plates, are knives that explain what each letter stands for: Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, and Explore Vocabulary.

I am going to be teaching mostly reading in 6th grade.  I have my library arranged in alphabetical order by the author's last name.  This literally took me 6 hours to do.  I have laminated cardstock cards with each letter of the alphabet to show where each section begins.  In the second picture, I decided to make it very easy for students to borrow books.  Each class has a boys and girls pouch with a name card in it.  When a student takes a book, he or she writes the title of the book on the card, and uses the card as a place holder to mark where the book belongs.  Not only will this help them know where to return the book, but I will know who has what book out of my library! :)

I really love this bulletin board.  :)  In first grade, I had TONS of jobs for the kids to do.  In 6th grade, they really don't care if they get to lead the line down the hall, or if they get to be the ender and close the door.  I still have a few jobs that I need the students to do.  So I covered the top half with the classified section of the newspaper, and advertised for help.  My jobs are messenger, janitors, mail, and substitute.  Under each job pouch, I wrote how many people I need to do the job, the job description, and what I will "pay."  The purple can on the shelf has popsicle sticks with each student's name on them.  If a student wants to do a job, they can put their popsicle stick in the pouch.  The only job needing two students is janitor.  I used to use paper dollars with my face on them and had a little store every other week with all kinds of toys and things as prizes.  I don't think 6th graders will be too excited about my cheap Dollar Tree prizes.  What I decided to do is allow them a choice of pay.  They can receive one of our school's positive behavior slips at the end of the week OR they can earn a specific number of points.  Points can be used in the small store I'm going to have with school supplies: pencils, pens, erasers, possibly notebooks, folders, etc.   The substitute can earn a slip or points each DAY that the student has to fill in for a job of a student who is absent.  If no one is absent that week, I may still "pay" the student some how.

So that's it for my classroom tour.

I'm super nervous, but excited to be starting a new chapter as a 6th grade teacher!

*sigh*

That's the best title I can give you today. 

As I'm sure my regular readers will have noticed, I haven't blogged this week.  I haven't really felt like it. 

I'm in a funk.

School starts next week.  I go back on Monday, and the students come back on Wednesday.  I do love the beginning of the school year, and my room is mostly set up.  I'm waiting for the paper for the laminating machine to come in.  I don't know why this happens every year.  WHY can't the people in charge of the laminating paper order that stuff at the end of the school year so it's available when we're getting ready for school to start?!?!

UGH.

See?

I was just reading Chantal's blog post from today.  She's had "one of those weeks."  Me too.

Not only was the laminator out of paper, but it RAN OUT WHILE I WAS LAMINATING.  Thank goodness that the cursive alphabet border I was running through it only cost a $1.  (Gotta love the Dollar Tree.)  I didn't have my school-issued laptop on Monday.  Thankfully, I got it on Tuesday, but then the copier on my floor was broken, and I could print color copies upstairs, but regular copies had to go down stairs.

I'm still missing tons of technology that's supposed to be in my classroom.  My classroom wasn't used last year, and rather than technology items remaining in unused classrooms, whether or not they're being used...they vanish.

I don't know why I'm in a funk.

I'm excited about beginning a new chapter in my teaching career with this move to 6th grade.  I'm nervous about what I'm actually going to teach, but I'm looking forward to it. 

I just don't like getting up at 6 AM.

Meanwhile, I really haven't accomplished anything this summer.  So in some ways, I'm looking forward to a routine, but in other ways, I'm going to miss my carefree, lazy, summer ways.

I just don't feel.....right.

When I feel like it, I do have before and after pictures of my classroom.  I am excited to show them to you, but honestly folks?  I have no desire to get up off of the couch to get my camera and upload my pictures.  I promise.  I'll try to get some posts lined up for next week.

Anyone else in a funk or having "one of those weeks"?

Some changes...

I'm sure many of you know that Passionfruit Ads is changing their policy for using their site to get ads on your blog.  I was really disappointed about this.  One of the reasons I moved to blogger was to be able to have sponsors on my blog.

Unfortunately, Passionfruit is becoming a paid service.  In the entire time that I've been on blogger (almost 9 months), I've made only about $1 more than what Passionfruit would start to charge me....monthly....  It's no longer going to be worth it for me.

What I am going to consider is finding a way to set up my own ad shop and collect fees via PayPal.  BUT all of my current, wonderful sponsors, are on my sidebar as a gift from me anyway.  :)  SO chances are that I'll be doing away with my ad shop altogether.

Starting August 27th, all of my Ice Cream Sundae sponsors will be removed from my sidebar.  I want to thank Ashley, Elizabeth, Kristin, Kristin, and Susannah for being there the past couple of months. 

I WOULD still like to do button swaps with people.  Rather than going through any service, it would just be a matter of swapping HTML button codes and adding them to my sidebar manually.  So please, let me know if you want to swap!  :)  At the very least, if you're a blog that I love reading, you will probably find your blog on my sidebar as a recommendation from me. 

Is anyone else out there as disappointed with these Passionfruit changes as I??

Free Stuff!

I've mentioned before that I'm a Julep Maven!  You can see my profile on the left sidebar (I'm a bombshell ;) )!  You can read my other posts here, here, and here.

via

So, why am I mentioning it again?? 

Because there's the chance for you to get a free Julep Maven box!  Here's how it works:
When you sign up to be a Julep Maven, you take a style profile quiz, and they set you up with a particular style based on your answer.  As I mentioned above, I'm a bombshell!  My friend, Tarole, is a Boho Glam.  Every month, you get a box with full-size products.  Most boxes include 2 nail polish colors and another beauty product for you to enjoy.  My first box had a warming footscrub, the second had a cuticle treatment, and the last box I received had a DD cream. 

Being a Julep Maven is $19.99 a month...BUT WAIT.  Don't run away yet.  You don't have to order every month.  If you can't afford it, don't like the products, or any other reason you can think of, you can opt out of the month.  As long as you do it before a scheduled date, you will not be charged for the month.  You could also choose to send your box as a gift if you want.  OR if you don't like the colors offered within your style profile for a month, you can switch and get the colors from another profile.

You're wondering about the free part now, aren't you?

When you sign up for Julep, your first box is totally free.  PLUS if two of you sign up, I'm going to be able to get my next box for free, too! 

So what do you say??

Head on over and sign up today: http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/136185/

What I'm Wearing Wednesday

I just thought I'd steal this idea from Kristin since I wasn't sure what else I wanted to write about today.  :)

I went shopping.

I went to Maurice's.

I spent A LOT of money. 

BUT I got some great new things to wear for work.

And even though I'm not back to work yet, I couldn't resist trying out my new dress for church on Sunday.

Dress: Maurice's//Shoes: Shoedazzle.com//Necklace & Earrings: Penelope Ann

The picture is a little weird because I used the self timer on my camera instead of taking an even worse picture with my iPhone in the mirror.  Lucky for you, I cropped out the part where my husband's work clothes are piled on the living room floor.  :-p ;)

Dinner Time Tuesday 8/13: Ribs (again)

Please consider linking up!  All you have to do is:
1) Follow me via GFC or BlogLovin'.
2) Put my Dinner Time Tuesday button in  your post.
3) Snap a picture of your dinner and tell us what it is.  You don't HAVE to share the recipe.  I don't always do that.  I created this link-up to be sure I post something food related even when I don't have something new or exciting to share.  If you are in the mood, go ahead and tell us how you made your dinner.
4)  Be sure to link up with the URL to your Dinner Time Tuesday post!

Yesterday, I told you that Scott and I need to go grocery shopping.  We had just a few things left, and these ribs were one of them.  So it was ribs, mashed potatoes, and corn for us.

Anything good in your kitchen this week?

Random Monday Ramblings...

I will start by saying that I do have some blog post ideas, but none of them are ready to share.  I plan to write a post with before and after pictures of my classroom, but I'm not even close to finished with the after.  So that will be later.  I also want to show you this really fun way to tie a scarf.  This requires me to make and post a vlog.  Since I'm lucky that I even get dressed each day, I want to wait until I look especially nice for all of you.  AND I received my first prize package from Influenster.  I won two of the brand challenges from the VoxBox I got a few months ago.  This one was from Oasis+. 

So that's what's coming.

What other random things can I share with you.....?

-Scott and I really, really, really need to go grocery shopping. 

This adorable kitty (Allie) likes to watch me cook.  Every time I go to the kitchen, she hops up on the counter and meows at me!





-I am wondering why I have my busiest two weeks of the summer during the last two weeks of my summer.
-I spent way too much money at Maurice's in the last week.  I got some great new pieces.  I couldn't resist wearing one of my new dresses to church today.  Picture to follow in an upcoming style post. 
-Stay tuned tomorrow for Dinner Time Tuesday!  (And come link up! :) )

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Wedding Anniversary: The Reception

If you stopped by yesterday, you read that it was my Wedding Anniversary.
If you're like my husband, you probably would agree that the best part of the wedding is the reception.  We had so much fun at ours.

Since I was going into picture overload yesterday, I thought it would be best to split it up into two posts.  So today, I share some memories from our reception.  :)

Our reception was at a place called The Casino at Lakemont Park.  It's not a gambling place, though, and honestly, I don't even know why it's called "The Casino."

This IS one of our professional photos.  It's one of my most favorites!
 

It was a relatively warm day on August 7, 2010.  The guys' jackets were off almost immediately after entering the reception.

Our first dance was to "Angel Eyes" by the Jeff Healey Band

My dad and I danced to "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle

My friend, Kira, (who was already engaged) caught my bouquet.

Our garter toss was fun.  After Scott tossed it and my friend Jason reluctantly picked it up off of the floor, one of our groomsmen took the place of Kira (the bouquet catcher).  Jason was blindfolded to put the garter on "her".  He was a good sport.  :)

This was our cake...and yes, the bride is dragging the groom on the top.

I love this picture of my brother and I.  I don't remember what he said, but he's a funny kid...clearly.  :)

There was a lot of other fun and dancing and mostly inappropriate pictures left with Scott and his friends!  lol

But our day was wonderful, and I just can't believe that it was three years ago!  Time has flown by so quickly!  But here's to many more wonderful years ahead!

It's My Wedding Anniversary

Back in February, I shared the story of how Scott and I came to be husband in wife.  If you missed it, or if you're new around here, you can go check them out: Our Story, Our Story, Part 2.

From reading those posts, you know that Scott and I had a legal marriage, and an official wedding ceremony.

Three years ago, today, Scott and I had our wedding. 

Though, I shared some of our wedding photos in Our Story, Part 2, I'm going to share some of my favorites today.  These are photos that were taken by guests at the wedding.  None of these are our professional photographs.  Oh, and there may be repeats from the previous post, I warn you now.  :)

This is me (obviously) with my flower girl, Zoe.  She's my cousin's daughter.  I can't tell you how much I love this picture.

My mom is finishing the tying of my corset back, and I'm zipping up Tori's (my cousin) dress.

Ready to go...and yes, I took the hair tie off of my wrist. :)

My cousin's son, AJ, was our ringbearer.  He carried the actual rings because I trusted him more than either of the best men.  :)

My brother, David, escorted my mom to her seat.

Scott and his groomsmen waiting for my entrance

Walking down the aisle :)

Mr. & Mrs. :)

Our bridal party

With our parents

This picture cracks me up.  It looks like Scott is using AJ as a puppet.

At our wedding we...
...held our ceremony at New Life Worship Center.
...had 1 maid of honor and 1 matron of honor, 6 bridesmaids, 2 best men, 6 groomsmen, 1 ringbearer, and 1 flower girl.
...chose music that suited us!  My friend, Kira (also a bridesmaid), sang "A Moment Like This" by Kelly Clarkson for the processional.  I walked down the aisle to "Everything I Do (I Do it for You) by Bryan Adams.  My aunt and uncle sang, "The Other Side of Me" by Michael W. Smith for the unity candle ceremony.  We exited our ceremony to "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson.
...did not force our entire bridal party to stand in a receiving line....AWKWARD.  It was just us and my parents and Scott's mom and stepdad. 
...did not leave the church together for the outdoor pictures.  My brand-new husband said it never occurred to him that we were supposed to do that.  Even though I told him that we were supposed to.
...had an awesome reception.

I'm going to share reception details and pictures tomorrow!  :)  Stay tuned.   

Book Review: Redeeming Love

I know that it's Tuesday.  I should be hosting Dinner Time Tuesday right now, but I'm not for two reasons:

1) We don't really have any food.  So I haven't really been making dinner. (ie. I ate tortilla chips and salsa for dinner yesterday.)
2)  It's usually only Kristin and I linking up anyway, so I figured it could wait until next week.....or until I buy some food, whichever comes first! :)

Instead, I share with you my review of Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. 

Here's what Goodreads.com has to say: California's gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.

Then she meets Michael Hosea. A man who seeks his Father's heart in everything, Michael obeys God's call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel's every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.

But with her unexpected softening come overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband's pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does ... the One who will never let her go.

I cannot even put into words how good this book is!  I'm so glad Julie sent it to me during our Book Swap with Ashley way back in April!

This book is an amazing story of God's redeeming and unconditional love. Rivers creates a beautiful love story, not just between the characters and God, but between man and woman. It is a story of hope and love, and it reminds us that no matter how awful we may be, God will forgive us. 

I feel like I could go on and on about this book, but at the same time, I can't find any more words than the ones above because I feel like it just sums it up so well.  If you're looking for a book to finish off your summer reading or a book that's just simply amazing, I highly recommend this one!

Too cute!

These plates are the Celebrating Home "Deal of the Day" for August 5th.

 

They can be used decoratively or practically...you know, as dishes.

 

Click here to snag these for $8.00 while supplies last!!