Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Hey y'all! I hope this finds each and every one of you having a great week so far! I haven't updated since the first day of school where I work, but everything is going better than I expected. I love, love, love working with my precious students. God has truly blessed me by giving me this opportunity; the days go by so much quicker than they did when I was working at the credit union. Some days are tougher than others, but overall these sweet toddlers brighten my day as soon as I walk into our classroom. I can't wait to see what this semester has in store for us! I'm trusting in His plan because I know it is all going to be amazing...I don't even know why I doubted His plans for this job in the first place. :)

Proverbs 3:5-6 
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

I was in a crafty mood Sunday, so I figured I'd share my latest craft project with y'all! Mom loved a wreath that I made for my secret sister in our women's group at church, so I made one similar to it for her to give to her secret sister. It's super easy, I promise!



Materials:
Grapevine wreath
3 artificial hydrangeas of the color of your choice
Wooden letter (last name initial)
Coordinating paint
White paint
Coordinating ribbon, twine, or jute
Hot glue gun

Step 1:
Begin by painting the wooden letter to give it time to dry. I wanted mine to be lavender instead of the dark purple of the flowers, but I didn't have any lavender paint on hand. I simply mixed white paint and dark purple paint together to get the exact color that I wanted.

After allowing the coat of lavender paint to dry, I sponged white paint on top of it to give it a crackled look. I particularly liked it because it gave it a more rustic look.

Step 2:
Place the flowers on the lower left side of the wreath. I chose two of the same color and one of a contrasting color to make it pop. Once I was happy with the placement, I hot glued them in place.

(I don't have a picture of this particular step, but you'll see how I placed my flowers in the final picture.)


Step 3:
Next, you'll need to make something to hang the wreath by. I didn't have any matching ribbon on hand, but I had plenty of jute leftover from when I made my Alabama wreath. I thought it'd give the wreath a nice rustic feel to wrap it around the top a few times. I then knotted it in the back to form a loop to hang it by.

Step 4:
Finally, glue the dried wooden initial to the top right side of the wreath.



Ta-da!!! Here's the final product! 

Happy crafting! Hope y'all have a blessed week!

Whom shall I fear?

Well hello there, fellow bloggers! It's been a few days since I've written a blog because I have been quite busy. I know that sounds like the typical excuse, but I swear it's true! Anyhow, tonight's blog is going to focus on a new chapter that God just started for me a couple of days ago. And I am extremely excited! However, I'm also terribly nervous as well. I guess I should back up a few days since I haven't updated since August 2nd. Here we go....

Since I'm transferring to UA this semester, I was forced to find a new job. My last day at my previous job was July 31, so I figured I'd take a couple of weeks off. Then I planned on finding a new job in Tuscaloosa. Well, I decided last Thursday (August 2nd) that I would start calling day cares and child development centers in the Tuscaloosa area just to see who was hiring. As luck would have it, the very first place I called was currently hiring and wanted to speak to me in person because she was interested in the fact that I am an education major. Did I plan on anybody actually being interested so soon? Absolutely not, but I planned on going by there the following day to put my application in.

As I drove to the child development center, I said a prayer asking God to just let me know where I needed to be. Anybody that knows me knows that I like to have everything in place at all times. I absolutely hate not knowing what's going to happen from day to day. Obviously I know there are some things I will never know simply because that's how God works, but I still like to have some sort of routine. Anyway....I get to Imagination Station and fill out my application. God knew exactly what He was doing (as always) because the director decided she wanted to interview me right on the spot. That never happens to me! I ended up being there for over an hour. During that hour, I quickly found out that they relied heavily on God's guidance and used the Bible every day in each of the classes. I was already in love with the place! I knew that was where I wanted to be, but is that where God wanted me? The director said she would call me over the weekend if she saw that she could work me in the schedule; if I didn't hear from her, she said it would only be because she couldn't fit me in. And so the waiting began.

I'm a worry wart, so I feared the worst. Friday afternoon passed...she didn't call. I woke up Saturday morning waiting on a phone call. It never came. By that point I just assumed she couldn't fit my school schedule into her schedule. I was officially discouraged. Little did I know that God still had a few tricks up His sleeve. Craig kept telling me that he had a feeling she was going to call Sunday; I, however, felt like she wouldn't. Sunday morning came, and I was still thinking about how badly I wanted this job because I desperately need the experience for my major. At about 5:00 that afternoon, the call finally came. She extended a job offer to me, and I was elated! I was so excited that I was able to not only find a job after my first interview of my job search, but also because I would be working with children in a loving, Christian environment. God had truly answered my prayers.

However, after the excitement wore off for a bit I began to have some fears. Would I be a good teacher? Would I be a good fit for these kids? Do I have enough experience? How would the children react to me? Where do I even start in a classroom? Monday and Tuesday were work days at the center, so I had a couple of days to adjust and let things really sink in. After today, my fears are even greater than they were to begin with because I actually got to meet a few of the toddlers during our open house. It hit me that I would be partly responsible for fourteen 19-24 month olds. Even though I'm not the lead teacher, I still have plenty of fears. Once she leaves at 4:30, what am I going to do with these children until 5:30? What if I do something wrong? What if someone picks up a child that's not supposed to? I feel like a child on the first day of kindergarten. I feel absolutely lost because I have no clue what is going to happen tomorrow. I've thought about it off and on all day, then I began to pray about it. While praying, a verse came to mind that gave me peace like none other.

"The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the 

strength of my life, whom shall I fear?" -Psalm 27:1

God tells us not to fear because our strength is in Him. So no matter what our fears are, we can lay them to rest because God holds everything in the palm of His hands. God would not have led me to this job if He didn't know that I could handle the responsibilities that come along with it. Will it be easy every day? Absolutely not. Will I be tired when I get home? Probably so. Will it be worth it? More than you'll ever know. 

I know that my heart is truly with special needs children, but I know that this will be an amazing experience for me. Not only will it give me child-care experience, but it will help me gain knowledge and skills related to education. Imagination Station is not simply a day care, it's a child development center. As our director stated, "We don't baby-sit children, we teach them." I am beyond excited to not only gain this experience, but also gain it in a Christian environment. I'm excited to grow in my spiritual walk as I help teach these children about our sweet Jesus, and show them how important He truly is. 

What I already knew was reaffirmed during our staff meeting Monday when our director opened up the meeting with a lengthy discussion from the first chapter of Joshua. She focused on how the Lord tells us to be strong and courageous in the midst of the hardships that come our way. God knew exactly how I was feeling about starting this new job, and I know that He gave her just the words that He knew I needed to hear. I feel unbelievably blessed to have been given the opportunity to work among stewards of Christ every day while helping children grow both spiritually and developmentally. My doubts and fears have been laid to rest because my God has assured me that everything will fall into place perfectly in His timing. So whom shall I fear? 

I ask each and every one of you that has taken the time to read this entry to pray for me as I begin this new chapter in my life. Pray for my fellow teachers and the children that we will be teaching as this new school year begins tomorrow. Pray that we will teach them in a way that glorifies God and His promises. Most of all, pray that we follow His will for our lives as we embark on this journey. God bless you all!

Feelin' crafty!

I've been feeling pretty crafty the past few months, so I decided to post a how-to blog about my latest craft...an Alabama Crimson Tide wreath. Can a get a Roll Tide?! Anyhow, this particular wreath is very simple and doesn't take long at all to complete. I'm certain that someone with no crafting skills whatsoever could even complete this project! I'm putting pictures in after the steps, so hopefully that'll help anyone that is just completely lost.

So here we go!



Materials you will need:
Wreath (size totally depends on you) (I chose a small straw wreath.)
Jute, burlap, or twine to wrap wreath with
5 different colors of felt (one piece per color) (make sure they coordinate)
Coordinating ribbon
Hot glue gun
Scraps of cardboard

This is what I chose to use for an Alabama themed wreath.

Step 1:
First, you will need to wrap your wreath in whatever material you choose. I found jute at Hobby Lobby, so that is what I ended up using. You can either wrap it with one big long piece, or you can use several shorter pieces. I found it easier to use several short pieces; I just kept hot gluing the ends to the back of the wreath as I went.

 This is what it looked like after I wrapped it the first time. It ended up with a few bare spots in it. I almost left it like this because I felt like the flowers would cover the bare spots, but just in case they didn't I decided to wrap a few of the spots again.

I was much more pleased with it after I wrapped it again. I didn't completely redo the whole thing, but as you can see I just randomly wrapped more around certain places. I think it gave it a more rustic look to not be even all the way around it. :)

Step 2:

Now it's time to make the flowers that decorate the wreath. They are very simple, I promise! Start by cutting pieces of cardboard in different size circles. Make them as big and as small as you like...the different, the better! To make a flower, simply cut a strip of felt about 1/2" long. Next, put a dot of hot glue in the center of one of your circles. Place one end of the felt on the glue to secure it to your circle. Then all you do is twist the felt in a circular motion until you've used the whole strip. Repeat this with each different color of felt. I used 15 flowers, but yours would vary depending on the size of your wreath. 

Step 3: 
Hot glue your flowers in random order on both sides of your wreath, as shown in the final picture.


Step 4:
Wrap a piece of felt around the top center of your wreath and secure it with hot glue. Finally, tie a piece of coordinating ribbon around the felt to hang it with.

This is what my finished product looked like! RTR!

Happy crafting! I would love to see pictures of anything that this blog inspired you to make! Be creative!  :)

Sometimes, plans just change.

Well...since my life has taken a different turn that I had planned, I decided that I would start a blog. I'm definitely not promising that I will post a new blog everyday, but I think this is something that I will thoroughly enjoy! I plan on not only documenting my thoughts and prayers, but also new craft projects and recipes.

A year and a half ago, I would have laughed at you if you told me I'd be where I am today. No, seriously...I would have. I had everything planned out, or so I thought. However, God's plans tend to be drastically different than anything we could ever plan for ourselves. My past isn't something I talk about often, but I feel as though it has definitely gotten me to where I am today. Last March, my high school sweetheart proposed to me. We planned on getting married within a couple of years or so, and I would graduate UAB with a degree in Special Education. Well, the good Lord probably had a nice little laugh at my plans because he had something completely different in mind for my life.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, 

"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."

Slowly, but surely the plans I had made for myself began crumbling. I broke off my engagement because I realized (after every else, of course!) that he was not the man God had planned for me. I knew that I deserved so much more than what he could ever give me. Not long after, I found out that UAB was dropping my major as well. The two biggest plans I had made for myself were all of a sudden tossed out the window. I had no clue what in the world I was going to do next. I felt so alone in this world, even with the many friends and family that I had circling me. It didn't take me long to realize that everything was going to be okay because those were only MY plans....my God had something much better in store for me. I just had to wait on His timing. 

By June, I met a guy on Facebook. Like many of you probably are, I was extremely skeptical about beginning a relationship with someone I had met online. I had just heard entirely too many horror stories about online relationships going bad that I was just afraid, but something told me to pursue it anyway. We talked on Facebook for a couple of weeks, then it progressed to texts and phone calls. A month later, it was finally time to meet in person. I was SO nervous, but at the same time I was at peace because I already felt like I knew this guy better than anyone else. After Craig and I met, every doubt I had simply melted away. I knew right off that he was "the one." Where are we today, you ask? Well, we are very much in love. In fact, we just celebrated one year of being together last month. I am so thankful that I didn't settle for anything in my past because I truly know that Craig is the one that God made just for me!

"We love because He first loved us." -1 John 4:19

What about school? Well, God has  made a way for that as well. Upon realizing that UAB would be dropping my major, I began researching other schools that offered undergraduate programs for Special Education. I knew, and still do, that I want to spend the rest of my life working with special needs children. I knew that there was no other alternative that would allow me to stay at UAB, even though I was on a scholarship. I just did not see a point in spending two more years there getting a degree that I didn't have a passion for. Anyhow, I realized that the place I needed to be was at the University of Alabama. However, it wasn't quite that easy to just uproot myself and transfer. Would I be closer to Craig? Yes. Would I be able to pursue my dream? Absolutely. Would I be closer to my family? Of course. Would it be cheaper? Absolutely not. And that was the problem. And the fact that I would be leaving my best friend behind at UAB.

I prayed and prayed about it, and my God told me that I needed to go there. Never mind the fact that I would be losing $3000 a semester in scholarships. That's where He told me to go. So I began the process of transferring. And for anybody that has ever had to do that, you know how much of a headache it can be. But you know, I knew that it would all be worth it in the end. I was able to receive student loans from the government with no interest while I am in school; I felt like that was a God send in itself. I applied for transfer student scholarships at UA, but unfortunately there aren't very many of them available. But you know what? It's going to be okay because I know God has everything under control. I am very excited to begin my Special Education classes at UA this fall, and I cannot wait to see what's in store for my life.

I say all of this to say this....God CAN and WILL make a way. Don't consume yourself worrying about the plans you have made for yourself. Just be still and know that He is God. He will show you exactly where you need to be when He gets ready to because He knows what you need more than anyone else in this world. You know why? Because He CREATED you. He knows the number of hairs on your head, and He knows all of your thoughts and dreams. 

Sometimes, plans just change. And that's okay.