One of my favorite quotes

God's "Naughty List"

“You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs that flow out of valleys and hills.”

                                                                                              Deuteronomy 8:5-7 (NKJV)

                No one likes feeling like they’re in trouble, especially not with God. If we are honest with ourselves sometimes in those not so fun seasons or seasons of questioning everything around us and in us it is easy to feel like we have been put on Gods “naughty list.” We have all been there. We have all been in and through difficult and trying times, but what it is so important to realize in those times is that God is setting you up for something absolutely wonderful and amazing, something far beyond what you can ask, think or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). When we are in these places or seasons we need to be diligent and committed to walking in the ways of the Lord and staying faithful to His plan for our lives. If we don’t stay committed to God and seeing his plan to fulfillment our vision of Gods faithfulness and goodness becomes clouded and we aren’t able to see that something great lies just ahead. Then exactly what we don’t want to happen happens, we end up staying longer in a place we never wanted to be in to begin with because we haven’t allowed God to do the things in us he needs to, to be able to fully prepare us for what is ahead.  I truly believe that  just around the corner of your trial or difficult season is something so beautiful that you will look back on this time and say “it was so worth it.”

Sunday Seven

This week instead of posting my top 7 pins I am going to post 7 things I have tried from Pinterest and how well they did, or did not, work.

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I absolutely loved this dish. The lemon flavor in the chicken was delicious.

I highly recommend this VERY EASY dish.

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Pizza Casserole

This dish was a nice switch from regular pizza.

I also froze half of it and it freezes surprisingly well.

pinned here

I made one of these bracelets and have received several compliment on it.

It took me about 30 min to make. You really have to look closely 

at the directions, but once you get the hang of it, it's no sweat.

pinned here

I tried to do this, but it does not stay well.

It also does not work well if you have layers; they tend to fall out and stick out.

pinned here

This is one of my favorite things I have made from Pinterest.

I bought all the supplies at Michael's for about $25.

The directions say to glue the flowers and numbers but i used wire for it all

and it has endured some severe wind.

I also used an "M" for my last name instead of the numbers.

pinned here

This idea was good in theory but my toaster slats are not wide enough to put cheese and 

pepperoni on my toast. Also, my toaster's sides are rounded so it did not lay flat 

on the counter which only created a mess. So try at your own risk

pinned here

This game teaches students 5 pennies=1 nickel,

2 nickels = 1 dime, and 2 dimes & 1 nickel = 1 quarter

I did this game with two dice in my math enrichment group and 

it was a huge hit. The students really enjoyed it and I could

see their understanding grow as we continued to play.

You might be a kindergarten teacher if...

There are often moments in my day or over my years that I simply have to shake my head and tell myself “You are a kindergarten teacher.” Here are a few of those moments….  

©       The other day I was brushing my hair after work so that I could recurl it to head out for the night.  

As I was brushing there seemed to be something in my hair. Upon further investigation I found it to be the goldmine that one of my lovely five year olds found on their mission of “digging for gold.” Gee, thanks for sharing your plunder I suppose.

©       There are some things that they do not teach you in college in your preparations to become a teacher….One of those things are the many names that students have for their, um, well, private parts.  Here was my conversation on that day when I learned that if it is even a possible name for him or her don’t ask and abort all conversations!!

Student: (outside the bathroom) “Miss Miller, my winker won’t let me go.”

                       Me: “Honey, I don’t know what you are trying to tell me and I don’t know 

what a winker is.”

 

To which my students quickly responded with a shrill “SEE!”

 Insert face of complete shock and horror here!

Oh my my my, lesson learned.

©       The same student as above was turned around one day in line as we were on our way to gym class. 

He was not just turned around but he had his hands on the face of the girl behind him.

Me: Sean, what are you doing! (This is in my oh my goodness what is he doing voice)

Sean: What Miss Miller? I was only going to sexy kiss her. (In his matter of fact voice)

                 Me: We don’t kiss and we definitely don’t sexy kiss!

Needless to say they did not stand in line next to each other.

Faux Leather Leggins

The faux leggins look is very in right now. If you haven't noticed just flip through a few pages of the Victoria's Secret Catalog. My friend jokingly calls these pants my "whale pants" saying they remind her of whale skin.
Anyway, I love my pants! I pair them with sweaters in the winter and flowy tunics for spring.
I bought my leggins at Kohls. They are part of the LC by Lauren Conrad line.

The Button Down

Most of us have button downs in our closet. Here are two of my favorite ways to wear mine. 

Purple Button Down: New York & Co.

Vest: Charlotte  Russe

Black Pants: Kohls

Cream Cardigan: Target

Silver Flower Belt: New York & Co.

Grey Boots: Kohls

Sunday Seven

Okay, here they are. My top seven pins from Pinterest

pinned here

I just love the cardigan, well and who doesn't love Carrie Underwood?

pinned here

Enamel painted vases

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Looks easy enough; I haven't tried it yet though.

pinned here

pinned here

I'm thinking about trying this in my office at home.

pinned here

Wax paper to get rid of water stains

It works! I tried it yesterday.

pinned here

I will take these in a size 7 please!

Sunday Seven

Every Sunday I will post my top 7 pins from pinterest for the week. So here is my first Sunday Seven...

The color is fabulous, and I have a thing for backless dresses. 

(Even if I did have this dress I doubt I would wear it to the fruit market, just sayin')

This was the inspiration behind my new haircut!

Stunning gown for one of the many girls who have a wedding coming up.

Talk about using his influence wisely.

3.4 million people Google searched John 3:16 after Tim Tebow has it written in his eye black.

"Just"

This blog is called “Transparent, Honest, and True” so I am going to let you all in on a little secret…I really love celebrity news and gossip. You know shows like E! News, Keeping up with the Kardashians, People and US magazine. All of it! You too? Good, then keep reading, you might be able to relate.

I think we often look at celebrities on the red carpet and magazines and fantasize what their lives must be like. The parties the doors of influence that are open to them, the people they must know, the glamorous life they lead.  Then we look at our own lives and we go oh yeah there’s Angelina Jolie saving the world and here I am just hoping I don’t fail my test tomorrow or that I can get all my housework done before I am out of a weekend. I mean come on Angelina Jolie doesn’t even need to be part of the UN because she has the UN living in her own home with all of her kids from the 7 corners of the world. HELLO

SO often we look at these celebrities lives and become so discouraged when we look back at our own lives and we start putting limits on our lives by using the word JUST. Ever been there? I have.

Look at  Mark 2:1-3 He (Jesus) left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?"

But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "He's JUST a carpenter—Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?" They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.

In this passage other people were minimizing the work of Jesus, but it made me stop and wonder how many of us are minimizing our own work or where God has strategically placed us in our lives by saying I am just an office manager, secretary, stay at home mom, student, you fill in the blank?

Know with confidence that if you are deliberately seeking the will of God than God has you strategically placed there, and if God has a purpose for you and has anointed you to do it, where is the enemy going to attack you the most? It’s in the very area that God has anointed you. The enemy may be evil but he is not stupid!

Take these next few people for example.

Moses, Moses was “just” a shepherd who God called to release the Israelites from the Egyptian oppression.

David was” just” a shepherd that slain a giant.

 Esther was “just” a Jewish girl who saved her people from death

All of this came to be because they chose to see the power and purpose in their situations instead of remaining in the “just” mindset.

Remember: you are not “just” a mother you are nurturing the destiny of future world shakers. You are not just a student; you have the ability to reach people that everyone else has somehow let go unnoticed. You can be the face of love, the arms of comfort, and the voice of hope, change, and freedom in Jesus to anyone in your world if you open yourself up to allow God to do something supernatural through you. Start declaring yourself as more! Start declaring yourself a son or daughter of the most high, more than a conqueror, and anointed to do His work on earth.

Selah.

Fashion Friday

This is my new favorite outfit.

Here is a close up of the jacket

The jacket is from a boutique in Mobile, AL called Polish 

http://www.polishboutique.com

(I love shopping at boutiques. It is a great way to ensure that your clothes are a little more unique.)

I love the zipper around the collar and the studs on the sleeves.

and the shirt under I got from American Eagle for about $20

Cross Painting

I got a lot of compliments on this painting when I did it over a year ago so I thought I would give a mini lesson on how I made it. It really is not that difficult.

What you will need:

- a canvas

- 4 different colors of fabric paint (2 dark & 2 light) 

(Also, when choosing colors think about where you want to hang your painting after it is done)

- 2 sponge brushes 

- a  small to medium size paintbrush 

- puffy paint (optional)

Step 1: Sketch out the cross on your canvas. You may want to measure to get the exact proportions correct.

Step 2: Paint the cross with your desired color using a sponger brush. 

Step 3: Paint your background with a separate color. It will look better if the cross and background are not both light or dark colors.

Your painting should look similar to this at this point.

Make sure to let this dry before moving on to step four. To speed the process up use a hair dryer, but make sure it is 100% dry before you move on.

Step 4:  Now it is time to add some flair with your paintbrush. Add swirls, hearts, or whatever you wish. This is the step most people stress over. Just loosen your hand and don't stress over it being perfect. You can use this picture as a guide but honestly the less you care the better it will turn out. As you can tell mine is not perfect and it does not need to be.(If you have a dark background you are going to use the lightest of the three colors you are using in this step. If you chose to paint your background light, you will start with the darkest of your three colors.)

Again make sure each layer of paint is dry before you move to the next step.

Step 5: Use your in between shade of paint and paintbrush to again go over your squiggles. Follow the same direction but do not be worried to be directly on top of your other squiggles. Letting the first color shine through gives it depth.

Step 6: After letting the previous paint dry add your third color over the squiggles. (Remember: if your background is light this will be you lightest color on top, if your background is dark like mine this will be your darkest color)

Step 6: This step is optional. I chose to put white puffy paint over my squiggles to make them "pop" a little more.

Here it is hanging in my kitchen! It really is easy and fun.

Below is a picture of my family and their paintings  to give you different examples of colors and designs. Another great place to pick colors for your painting would be on the Pinterest color pallets!