Tuesday, December 26, 2017

What Did You Get?

If you've run into family or friends,
you've probably heard the question,
"What did you get?"

Not only has someone asked me,
but I have also asked several people since yesterday.

Christmas is exciting,
we are excited about what we got,
and also excited about what they got
(especially if it was something they really wanted).

But as we are asking our loved ones what they got this year,
maybe we should be pondering what we GAVE this year.

I had the special privilege of giving a gift yesterday
that moved someone to tears.
THAT brought more joy to me than anything I got.

So my question for all of you this Christmas is,
"What did you GIVE?"

Joy to someone who is hurting?
Forgiveness to someone who has wronged or hurt you?
Love to someone who is lonely?
A listening ear to someone who is troubled?
Understanding to someone who is misunderstood?
Time to someone who needs a friend?

I pray that as this Christmas season slips away,
that we're reminded of the joy that giving brings,
that we continue to look for ways to GIVE.

I hope that your Christmas was life-changing,
for you and for those around you.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Thanksgiving Before Not During

I'm pretty sure that I'm in the minority but,
yall, I need for Thanksgiving to come before Christmas,
not during Christmas.

I don't want Christmas music playing during Thanksgiving.
I don't want my Christmas tree up until the day after Thanksgiving.
I don't want to shop until after Thanksgiving
(ok, on Christmas Eve).
I LOVE Thanksgiving!
And lately it seems that it has become an afterthought,
a 2nd to the real holiday that we are celebrating (Christmas).

Please don't misunderstand,
I am not a Scrooge,
I love Christmas too.
I understand how important it is and what it represents.
But I think we should have Thanksgiving AND Christmas.

Ok, my rant is over.
But be warned that I'm pushing Thanksgiving this year. 

So in honor of Thanksgiving,
here is a THANKSGIVING addition FREEBIE.
I hope some of you can use it during this 
THANKSGIVING season :) 

Sunday, October 8, 2017

"FALL"ing Take 2

In my last blog post, 
I said that I was putting all of my FALL resources in that one post.
But.....
when I saw this candy corn clip art,
I HAD to make something else.
See how it was just begging for multiplication sentences??!!!

I made a packet that includes sentences 1x0 through 12x12
and 2 different recording sheets.

It's made to be leveled.
You can cut away only the yellow section
and have students make matches,
or you can cut all 3 sections apart
and have them completely build each sentence.
And.....if you made it this far 
then here is the recording sheet for FREE.
If you want to grab the whole pack,
just click on the picture below.
Happy Fall!

Friday, October 6, 2017

"FALL"ing

I FALL for FALL.
I love all things FALL,
the weather (when it finally cools off in Florida),
football, chili, sweatshirts and leggings <3 

I also love FALL resources,
there's just something about cute pumpkins and leaves on schoolwork.

I have spent the last week updating my fall resources
and wanted to put them all in one place.
So here they are.

If you make it all the way to the bottom of this post,
you'll find 3 FREEBIES.

Happy Fall Yall!

And now for the FREEBIES......

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Fun (and FREE) with Johnny Appleseed

I LOVE all things Fall and for me,
it gets kicked off with
Johnny Appleseed Day.
(Yes, I have taught with a pot on my head.)
Since September 26th will be here before we know it,
I just updated all of my old Johnny Appleseed activities.

And....if you scroll through all of them,
you will find a couple of FREEBIES at the end of this post :) 
If you made it this far....
here are the FREEBIES.


JOHNNY APPLESEED WORD BUILDING
Hope you found something that you can use with your students.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Looking Back

I woke up this morning to Danny Gokey singing,
I love this song and one line in particular.
It caught my attention so much this morning,
that when I heard "the line", I repeated it in my head.
(No I'm not crazy, it's just what happens.)

Here's the line...
"Yesterday's a closing door,
you don't live there anymore..."

I got up and got to my Bible study
(I'm in the middle of Job right now,
Chapter 29 to be exact)
and what was it about?????
Job, reliving his "glory days".
Job was talking to his "friends" and
going over his past....
how people had respected him and listened when he talked,
how he had been happily surrounded by his children,
all the good things he had been able to do for others
(the poor, the needy) etc.

Job was looking back,
 remembering how great his life had been,
 and how terrible it was now.

It all made me think about people who cannot get past their "glory days".
Do you know people like that?
People who can't function in the present or look to the future with hope,
because all they can see is how good life used to be...

Job didn't know what was happening to him,
or what had caused his glory days to stop,
and maybe we don't either
but I do know that we make very little (if any) progress
by sitting in our past.

Please remember that God is still God.
HE was God during our "glory days"
and HE is also God during our hard times.

Let's let HIM get us moving,
making progress,
looking ahead with hope.
HE has big plans for us, so let's don't miss our present and our future
by lingering too long in the past.

"Yesterday's a closing door,
You don't live there anymore!"

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

David

Who was David?
What did he do?
Why is so much scripture devoted to him?

The pastor just started a series on the life of David,
and I realized that of all the sets of task cards I have....
No, David. 

There is so much for our students (and us)
to learn from David's life.
So I went to work yesterday to get this set of cards done.
Praying that these will help you as you dig in to David's life.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Manna

Yep, MANNA.
You know manna,
God's daily provision for the children of Israel
as they wandered in the desert.

Manna is a word we use a lot at our house.
It's the word we use when things start to look too big,
when things get overwhelming.
God brings us back to the word, MANNA.

HE reminds us that HE's got it,
that HE's for us,
that HE will provide for TODAY and 
that the long haul is in HIS hands.

(I need the reminder so much that I made a little sign to hang in the house.)
My man was at work so I had to use (got to use)
my granddaddy's old saw <3 
Anyway, it's not about my little sign,
it's about remembering that I shouldn't worry about tomorrow,
I shouldn't be focusing on the big picture.
I need to be focusing on HIM,
trusting HIM for every step of the journey,
one day at a time,
MANNA.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Do What We Can

So, there's a man who regularly bikes 
around our neighborhood looking for yard work to do. 

My man and I rent the house we are currently living in. 
Since this man had previously done some work for the lady who owns the house, 
he stops by from time to time. 
So far, every time he has stopped by, Steve has been home to talk with him, 
encourage him, give him a few dollars. 

But this morning, Steve was already gone. 
 I told him that he needed to talk to Steve when he got home. 

He went on his way and I left to run an errand and came back, 
but he was still on my mind.

 I was thinking...what am I going to do if he comes back? 
I don't have any money to give him. 
What can I do? 
(And yes, I will confess that I hoped he wouldn't come back until Steve got home.) 

But in those few minutes of silent questioning "what can I do?" 
I heard God whisper...."You could cook him breakfast." 
Ummmm, ok God. Honestly, maybe he was hungry. I don't know. 
But I quickly told God that IIIIFFFFFF he came back by and 
since I couldn't pay him to do any yard work, 
that I would cook him some breakfast. 

GUESS WHAT?! 
Yep! 
Not a minute later, he knocked on the front door. 
I went out and talked to him and yes I offered to cook him breakfast. 
He refused the food but he did take a gatoraid. 

Why am I telling you this???? 
Because, we can ALL do something. 
We may not even have to leave our house to do it.
We might not have money to give, but we all have something we can do. 
Praying that we all DO WHAT WE CAN today.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

A Little Bathroom Reading :)

Don't deny it, everyone reads in the bathroom.
Although many people no longer take the newspaper with them,
they do take their cell phones.

Because that's a common occurance for almost all people,
it makes sense to use it to your advantage especially 
if you are trying to get little people to practice their reading.
This is a picture of my sweet friend Karen's restroom at school.

Her philosophy is, 
"if you're going to sit in there for any amount of time,
we should put that time to good use!"

Yes, it's funny, but it's also genius.
Catch learning moments wherever you can!

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

A Brand New Story.....


Teachers in my district are all heading back to school today,
and for the first time in 25 years.....I am not.
If I'm honest I have to say that I'm
a whole lot thrilled that I don't have all of that work
weighing me down,
but I'm also a little anxious
(wondering if I will have enough coffee money).

In all seriousness, the bottom line is #faithwalking.

At the end of the school year,
Steve and I felt like God was releasing me from full-time teaching.
So I turned in my notice.

While we have no idea what's next,
we do know that HE will let us know.

In the meantime,
I'm thankful to finally have time to focus on my writing
and my TpT business.

Today starts a brand new story for me.
I absolutely cannot wait to see how HE writes it.

"My calling is to press my face into the shoulder blades of Jesus 
so that wherever HE leads I will go." 
Margaret Feinberg

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Ponderings of a Pirate Girl

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time,
then you realize that I have been hit or miss for the last couple of years.
I have really been trying to figure out what needed to be done with this blog,
what I needed to post and how often.

God finally made it clear to me this past week.

A couple of years ago, I started another blog, a personal blog
I wanted a place to just write and journal about what God was teaching me.
Since then, it has been a struggle to keep up with two blogs,
a full time job, kids, etc. (you know the list).

Anyway,
God showed me how keeping my two blogs separated
was like trying to live a double life.
I was trying to keep my business away from my personal reflections.
It just hasn't been working
(and with good reason).

So today is a new day.
This post comes with a warning that this page is changing.
This will still be a business blog,
featuring things from my TpT Store,
offering FREEBIES and tips,
BUT it will also be a place where my journaling
and devotions will pop up.

I pray that you will find something here that still works for you
and that will maybe be a blessing to you as well.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Let FREEdom Ring #31

Let FREEdom Ring #31
the last one :)

I really hope that you have been able to stop by
every day this month and see all of the great
FREEBIES that have been featured. 
They're not going anywhere,
so if you missed any, 
you can click back through and grab what you need. 
Today's FREEBIE comes to you from me.
These 2 sets were some of my very first products.
(I cringed when I looked back at them.)
I'm happy to say that both sets have been updated
and are ready for you to print and use.
Click on the picture to visit my store and grab your copy.
Happy July!

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Let FREEdom Ring #30

Let FREEdom Ring #30
Today's FREEBIE comes to you from me.
Click on the picture to visit my store and grab your copy.
Happy July!
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