Is it bad...

Is it bad that:

- I just realized how high gas prices are getting. I guess when I get gas I don't really pay attention because I know it's something I have to get no matter what. (Confession: I really rarely look at how much I spent. I guess it makes me feel like I didn't really spend all that money on something that is going to be burned up as soon as I start my car, so I just don't make eye contact with the numbers on the screen.)

- Some mornings I wake up looking forward to the moment that I get to crawl back in bed later that evening. I do get over the feeling about midmorning as I wake up, just so you know I am not living my day wanting to get back in bed.

- I can't wait for a reason to get all fancied up for something. It's been a while.

- A dog the size of my shoe made me turn around and go the long way home when I was so close to being done with my run/walk today because it started barking and running at me. I am sure people in their yards are amazed at how easily these little creatures intimidate me.

- Sometimes I fall asleep listening to Pandora, and I wake up snuggling with my laptop. Just kidding, I don't really snuggle with it, but I do wake up with it in my bed.

- I took zyrtec every morning during allergy seasons for 2 years before I actually read the bottle and saw that it makes you drowsy. I always wondered why I was so tired.

Happy Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day! To all of you love birds, I hope you have fun doing special things this weekend to show your love how special they are!! Y'all are cute! To you single friends, don't be depressed (it's not healthy), don't pout and feel sorry for yourself (it's NOT attractive) , don't make this about "single's awareness"(that's just dumb). Instead CELEBRATE! Celebrate love! The love God shows you everyday! The love your family and friends show you. The love you have for others. One thing I have grown very thankful for since moving back home is seeing the love my parents and grandparents have for one another. They are all three beautiful examples of loving and strong marriages! They all still pick on each other and laugh about silly things and truly love each other. I am so thankful that God has given me great marriages to look up to. It has also been fun to be able to see quite a few friends get married this year. To sit and watch the beginning of what I know will be strong and beautiful marriages. So celebrate the great married people that God has put in your life for you to watch and learn from and admire. Love people around you. And allow God's amazing, unconditional love to fill you to overflowing! So to everyone have a wonderful Valentine's, full of all the love you can handle and more!!

I love...

I love...

- Eating things that require ketchup. Sometimes I eat things that need ketchup just for the ketchup part.

- Hot tea in the winter. The way it warms your throat for hours after you are finished. (or maybe that is the slightly burnt feeling because I start sipping while it is still scalding EVERY TIME!) I have just begun to drink this this winter, and I am quite pleased with my choice of warm drink for cold days!

- A unexpected chat with a random friend that I haven't talked to in a long time.

- Beautiful spring days and a good run!

- When my hair does what it is told to do by my straightener or mousse and stays that way all day long!

- A good reason to dress up and a cute outfit to do it in.

- The lessons I learn daily through those around me. Especially those lessons I learn from my sweet little students.

- That His mercies are new every morning and His loving arms are waiting to draw me close to Himself.

- When something so great happens to you that you couldn't wipe the smile off your face if you tried.

- road trips! I love that you are stuck in close quarters with sometimes the most random people. I love the random pit stops you make. I mean really any trip, plane, train, boat, automobile. They all make me happy!

- When I actually have something witty to say. Most the times it is something I would never say to someone, but I just have to because I am so proud of the fact that I actually thought of a comeback. Don't worry. I quickly apologize for what was said, just in case it was taken the wrong way.

- A good challenge!

- When God gives me moments of laughter when I need them most! (A moment in my classroom: Last week, I was beginning to notice the seasonal allergy mess starting up, so my head was all out of sorts. Every now and then I had trouble saying some words. Well I have a student who talks with a bit of a British accent, and he knows it and noone knows where he got it from. He was always making comments about it when school started "People think I'm British, but I am not" (in his sweet little accented voice.) ANYWAYS all this to say I was trying to say the word "character" and it kind of caught in my throat and I could not for the life of me get it out. So my precious student was sitting right by me and looked up and says "You sound like me" This is surely one of those need to be there moments, but it was a moment that I could not help but laugh and laugh at!)

- Surprises. The simple thoughtful kind of surprises. I also love to surprise!

Made for greatness!

I'm in love with a God who restores, who makes all things new and beautiful! I am being bombarded from all sides by a message I am so in need of hearing. A message that God is desperate for me to grasp and to allow to take root in the depths of my heart and to change me from the inside out.

The message is one woven all throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we see the story of redemption and healing and restoration. It's also something I have written about here and there before but am constantly struggling with. Struggling not to allow my heart and mind to be consumed with the poor me, I will never be good enough lies but instead to be consumed with the TRUTH that God has restored and given me power and strength and FORGIVEN me and made me brand new! So I am in need of a reminder, to remember the depths from which I was delivered and the heights to which I have been brought to through His divine grace, love, and mercy. I would encourage you to take a moment and do the same, ask God to help you to leave the former life behind and find wholeness, joy, and peace in the new life He has promised you! And as you do, everytime you write down the thing of your wretched past, tell the father of lies the truth, that you were created for more! And claim the promise that God has given you in the new creation He has made you to be.

Revelations 21:5 "Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write for these words are true and faithful."

The old me: insecure, searching, broken, selfish, hurting, judgmental, confused, uncertain, fearful, weak, hopeless, filthy, and dead

The new me: confident, satisfied, whole, selfless, comforted, loving, sure, courageous, strong, powerful, filled with hope, pure, forgiven, and alive (or at least the new me that I am striving to be through the help of Christ!)

Psalms 103:1-5

I will know he's the one...

In honor of all that February stands for I will be blogging here and there about some love and lovely things, about the heart and about some heartfelt things throughout the month:) I was inspired for this and especially for this blog in particular, as I was getting ready to crawl into bed for the night. With my lovely retainer in place for the evening, I couldn't help but think...

* I will know he's the one when he thinks my retainer is cute. He must because I will wear it until I have to replace it with dentures. I suffered long enough in braces and plan on keeping this smile straight!!

So here are a few more to add to the list just for fun. Feel free to add your own, I would love to hear them.

I will know he's the one when he...

* Eats my experimental recipes and lovingly gives me his honest opinion, which will probably be followed with him making himself a sandwich:)

* Doesn't judge me for eating a big bowl of ice cream after a good, hard workout. Even better if he snuggles up next to me with his own big bowl.

* Still loves me after he sees that I sweat worse than he does when doing anything super active.

* Appreciates a good pair of comfy sweats and mismatched slippers.

* Understands the fro that lives on top of my head on a humid Louisiana day and tells me how cute it is, even though we will all agree that it is a lie.

* Can accept that I will beat him at most any card game. I can't help it, I don't even try. I am just good:)

* Understands the mumbles, grumbles, and grunts that make up my words when I am too tired to speak English.

* Enjoys sleep and relaxation as much as I do but also enjoys staying busy and living life as the adventure that it is. I realize that statement is a bit a contradiction.

* Can make sense and bring order to my scatterbrained, forgetful self.

* Enjoys cutting out laminate, hanging bulletin boards, building things for my classroom, etc. Ok this one maybe a stretch, but a girl can dream!

* Understands that I often can't control hyper/sillyness when it hits, and it usually hits fast and hard and ends in a major crash!

*Doesn't mind cleaning up the at least one Morgan made mess a day

Oh poor guy this is only the beginning:)