Needing strength...

Hello world!!

Sorry I've been so absent.  At first, my week last week started fabulously...Louisiana has a whole week off for MARDI GRAS!! That's right...fun parades, amazing food, time with friends...getting all youre partying out of your system before you give something up for Lent. 

My break was not spent that way, however.  I have been dealing with a health issue.  Looks like by the end of this week my organs will be missing their friend Gall Bladder.  I have been having severe pain when eating anything that contains high fats *aka - FRIED FOODS! NOOOO!* 

I am an overall healthy eater.  Tuna and salads are some of my best friends, but occasionally the fat kid in me calls for fried chicken, creamy pasta, or extra cheesy pizza. 

This week, I'm not creating my own Godspiration poster.  I have stolen it from Angie at twothingsincommon.blogspot.com.

It seems to fit whats going on in my life right now....

I will keep you all posted on my happenings and hopefully get back on schedule with the blogging soon. 

Thanks to all the prayers and support!!

Tilly

Off Schedule...

My life is off schedule right now.  God is purging my life of things he apparently did not want me to have.  The problem with this purging is the Devil seems to be in the details...literally. 

This purge has involved rumors, gossip, aggression, hurt feelings, and stress.  Basically DRAMA. 

I don't do drama...drama upsets an OCD life.  I like to communicate and express things rationally, not have people talk behind my back like we are wishing to be back in High School.

It saddens me. 

I am losing people I assumed were friends, but God did not want them to be.  I am okay with these changes, because I know they are from God and in his grand plan, but I wish it would be done already.

Through this, I love to spend time with God.  I have learned more about myself through this purge and how much I rely on FRIENDS.  I need to have their opinions, I need to have their company, I need their validation.  Not only do I NOT really need these things, but these people obviously didn't have the kind of morals that God wants in my life. 

God is doing this to prepare my family and I for the future.  Strengthening my relationship with the people that really matter.  God is also doing this to teach me a lesson.  I can't let what others do or think affect me.  I can not rely on PEOPLE to make my life complete.  I don't need friends, I should be happy to have time by myself to reflect.  I believe God wants me to focus on my extended family and my Husband, as well as HIM, to fill those voids.  That is what really matters in this life. 

I am writing this testament to let people know what God has done in my husband's and in my life.  He has blessed us immensely.  Things that we didn't understand and were heartbroken about a few months ago proved to be the beginning of this much needed purging.  Although things have been very difficult over the past few days, I can get through it all knowing that it is part of God's plan for me and I have Him walking by my side. 

Not only that, but God is helping build friendships in other, more lasting areas.  He is strengthening our relationship with family members that we were once at odds with.  He is strengthening our marriage.  He is also strengthening our Faith.  We can do all things through him. 

When I was pondering how I was going to handle things, I did some blogging on Christian blogs as well as reading the Bible and some prayer books I have.  Here is the inspiration that kept me moving forward even when I wanted to shut down.

From a wonderful blogger Angie (twothingsincommon.blogspot.com)

From a "One-Minute Prayers for Women" book a TRUE sister in Christ, Darla, gave me:

And, from my daily morning devotionals

(Hearing from God Daily by Joyce Meyers and Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

Admitting folly here - I haven't handled things well lately.  I've been sad, angry, and very hurt.  I let things affect me.  GOD SPOKE to me this morning about this whole situation. 

He said "STOP!  This is not how I planned this to affect you! This is not what I wanted for my child.  This was supposed to be good.  A cleanse.  A sign of my love.  Instead you worried about the people.  The people that were causing you pain.  You didn't focus on the GOOD I was doing, but you focused on the devil's details...the method I had to loose because you were so stubborn before".

I literally texted these last two pictures to my mother this morning followed by the words "Oops..."  I haven't listened.  I've worried about myself instead of worrying about God's plan.  My husband has already moved on...accepting that this was needed.  I obsessed and worried. 

Not anymore.  I am so ready to follow God's plan.  I am praying for healing in my heart from the hurt I have endured.  I am praying for the others that are causing this hurt and hope that they will heal from all as well.  I am praying for constant clarity of His plan and for God to continue to be strict with me.  Any followers...please pray along with me.  I know my problems are not as big as most, but I am very sensitive and these things tend to drag me down.  I love you all...thanks for letting me share!!

God Bless!!

Tilly



In honor of the big V-Day...

I figured the "Godspiration" for the week should be love related.  All you need is loveeee! :) 

I hope everyone has a beautiful Valentine's Day!!

Much Loveee!!

Tilly

Making the most of every day...

Ever have one of those days when you feel like the 'to do' list just never ends?  I know that I have! Over the years I've determined what's important daily, and what I would like to get done.  There is a big difference. 

Every day I know I HAVE to workout (if I don't - you wouldn't like what you saw)  Because that is something I have to do, I put it in my morning routine.

There are things that I need to do every day around the house.  I have to sweep every day due to the monster my husband begged me for...aka a Great Dane (12 month old 150 pound PUPPY!).  I like to do about 15 minutes of my monthly deep cleaning list every day (I don't do more than 15 minutes - I set a timer to stop myself).  I blog and play on Pinterest every day when I get home from work - my decompress time.  On Thursday I start working on laundry by putting in a load.  Every day has something small...these I call my "routine to dos". 

I don't call it an actual 'routine'...because there are not set time frames or a particular order.  These are the things that I need to get done daily to keep my home running properly.  When these things are done I have two options. 

First - I can attack my "To Do" List... this is a running list of miscellaneous things I'd like to get done.  There is one for school and one for home.  For example, I want to create a 'teacher toolbox' for work and I want to organize my laptop documents at home.  Those are things on the to do list that I can choose to do when I'm finished my routine for the day. 

Second, I can just chill out.  I can read a book, watch TV, spend time with my hubby or God. 

No matter what, that time is for me to CHOOSE if I want to work more, or relax.  Knowing that there is that option after I finish the daily dos I don't become resentful or frustrated when I get home from work and continue to work at my home. 

Here is my schedule for routine to do.  I have it separated by week and then weekend. 

Also, just so you know why I have ridiculous posters...I am very visual.  When I was beginning to implement these schedules in my life, I liked to SEE them daily. It helped remind me of my goals and made me feel a heck of a lot less stressed.  I know what I have to do every day.  I know that if there is more, it will go in the OPTIONAL category of my to do lists. 

Moral of my ramblings for the day?  Life is too short to be stressed out all day with what you have to get done.  Pick the things that MUST get done daily and CHOOSE to do more if you WANT to. 

Love all!!

Tilly



Well...not exactly what I wore...

The Louisiana weather did it to me again.  I plan my outfits on Sunday afternoon (after I do the laundry and iron all the clothes) and today's adorable WIWW outfit was not fit for the suddenly cold weather.  So- the last minute change made me very sad and I did not feel it was appropriate to hold a place on WIWW.  Instead, I'll introduce you to some of my staple jewelry. 

Besides my engagement ring and wedding band, I have three other staple rings in my daily repertoire.  These are worn on my right hand and they all have meaning and help me stay grounded in the Lord throughout the day. 

(Please ignore the unpolished fingernails)

The ring on my thumb helps me daily to fulfil my New Years Resolution.  That resolution being to develop my Fruits of the Spirit more deeply throughout the year.  It is an endless band (aka it has a twist in in so that the test printed on it wraps around and never ends).  It quotes Galatians 5:22-23 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." 

On the ring finger I wear two rings.  The first simply says "Jesus Saves".  The second quotes Ephesians 2:8-9 which says "Saved by Grace through faith". 

I love my daily rings.  Whenever I am stressed they are that visual reminder that no matter what, God never gives me more than I can handle. 

Hope this suffices for my WIWW - hey, don't judge ;)

xoxo,

Tilly 

I love my job!!

Okay, so I totally love my job! I love my kids. I love that I can behave like an 8 year old all day... I just love what I do!! If you're a teacher, you can concur with me for the most part, right?! 

Today I am finally going to start giving you some teacher ideas!

The first thing I can say about being an effective teacher is you have to be organized.  I hate searching for information all day and finally finding it when the lesson is over.  So, just like my home, I created a "Control Journal".  I call it control because that is what I am...type A, self professed control freak.  In my control journal I keep everything important.  Info about students, calendars, space for meeting notes, lesson plans, things to copy and file, etc.  I will be sharing everything contained over the next few Teacherista Tuesdays, but today I am going to start with how I plan my week.

I do everything through a two page lesson plan template.  It has MY schedule in order and with the time frames I teach.  When I am ready to plan for the next week (which I do every Monday for the NEXT week) I have the space needed. 

At my school, we are required to turn in typed plans.  On Monday I create MY personal plans.  Then on Tuesday I type them up and email them to my principal.  It's so much easier to create HER plans when mine are laid out and organized. 

I do "Workshop" style lessons in my class, so I am never teaching whole group except for Science and Social Studies.  If you are interested in what my lesson planning pages looked like before I switched to workshops, please comment or email me.  I will be happy to send the information!

Below is what the two pages look like for how I teach now.  You can see that I have the time frames mapped out, places to write out the things that change each week, the information that stays the same, and space for my objectives and stations!!

When I am teaching each day, all I have to do is open my control journal to the lesson planning tab and I have everything at my fingertips! It is a wonderful 'quick reference' to what I am planning on doing...even on those days where everything is going crazy!

I love my job, but I have to say that if I was not organized, I would not love it as much as I do!!

Enjoy all, and feel free to comment or email me with any of your questions!

Tilly!

Here's a little motivation!

I don't know about all of you, but sometimes I find people are cruel.  Success can never be celebrated with you.  People mock you when you are filled with the Spirit and happy ("Why are you always smiling...it's sickening").  Failure is laughed at and no support or 'shoulder to cry on' is given. 

I want to change that in the world.  Even if I am the only person who behaves the way God intented us to behave with each other, I will.  Even if that means I'll be laughed at, mocked, and spoken poorly about.  It's not about me, it's about what God WANTS of me. 

Mother Teresa had some wise words I'm going to try and live by forever:

Have a beautiful and blessed week!!

Love,

Tilly