The Style Loft

Today a dream comes true!  Two of my best friends are opening a boutique today.  The Style Loft!

A few months ago, my sister in law Laura texted me to ask if I could help her and our friend Andrea with a website.  They were starting an online boutique and would need some technical assistance.  Of course, I'd help!

As I've helped, I've had the privilege of watching their dream take shape.  They both have impeccable taste and it's reflected in every aspect of The Style Loft - the logo, the clothes and jewelry they've selected, their booth at Canton.
 
The clothes are so cute and extremely stylish. They carry Umgee and 12pm by Mon Ami, 2 brands that I love! They have shirts, pants, rompers, dresses and jeans available online.  At Canton they'll also have shoes, jewelry, home decor and accessories.  

The Style Loft is an online woman's clothing boutique.  You can shop online at www.TSLboutique.com TSL will also be at First Monday Trade Days in Canton.  At Canton TSL will be in Pavilion 3, Booths 33 & 34.

Laura and Andrea have worked so hard to get every detail perfect. I could not be more proud of them. I can't wait for you to see their boutique!  Check out the website: www.TSLboutique.com

You can also follow them on social media:
Twitter: @TSLboutique
Instagram: @TSLboutique
Facebook: fb.me/TSLboutiqueTX
Pinterest: TSLboutiqueTX

A New Thing

I've been an educator my entire life.  I grew up 'teaching' the neighborhood kids on a giant chalkboard at our babysitter's house.  As an adult, I've only had 1 job NOT at an educational institution. Even then, I was in training so I was still educating.

A few years ago, I experienced a career set back and it was devastating at the time.  Looking back though, I can see God's provision and blessings.  I would not have sought after God the way I have in the past 4 years.  I would not have been begging God to speak to me and direct me.  And I would not have been in a position to listen and obey.  I had to come to the end of me to receive what God had for me.

One of the major thing that I obeyed God on was starting a special needs ministry at our church. That was an easy yes. There was a need and everything feel into place. Valuable has been such a blessing to me! I've met, served, and served with some wonderful people.  I've gotten to be a part of the KidsMin staff and I absolutely treasure that!

Another thing I obeyed God about was staying in my full time job at Sunnyvale Middle School. This one was always as easy as starting Valuable.  God and I struggled over this one.  I questioned Him - a lot! But He provided me the strength to stay faithful.

I love my job at SMS, that wasn't the problem.  I just questioned if I was supposed to stay in education or move into full time ministry.  I guess that's where the struggle was, I didn't know what I was going to do next.  I had to trust that God had a plan and that His timing would be perfect.

And He didn't disappoint!

In April I was at the Orange Conference with the cLife KidsMin team.  During one of the large group sessions, I felt God stirring in my heart.  I, of course, answered with a question: "God, are you really calling me to stay in education full time, special needs ministry and writing all at once? Surely not!" I began praying and God continued to move.

Monday I signed a new contract at Sunnyvale ISD to become the Learning & Innovation Specialist.  It's a brand new role.  I'm going to be over the Middle School library.  I've been a certified librarian for 5 years and I'm so excited to use those skills to get kids into the library and reading more.  I'll also be helping both the Middle School and High School teachers with innovative teaching strategies.  This will mean a wide variety of things but will include integrating technology into the classroom and our form of problem based learning we called ELUs (engaged learning units).

I am over the moon excited about this new opportunity!  I feel like I'm going to get to use all my talents and serve more teachers and students.  I'm so thankful that our Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent are creative thinkers willing to try something new.  I'm also pretty thankful they are letting me be the one to do it!

I'm also a bit nervous.  I'm giving up some job duties I've had for the 8 years I've been at Sunnyvale.  I'm nervous about working on two campuses.  I still get to teach an elective course at the end of the day.  I'm happy and nervous about that.  I want to do an outstanding job at all the things! When I expressed my nervousness to my Superintendent, Mr. Williams, he gave me some awesome words of wisdom: "You're doing something new, you're supposed to be nervous."

So, I guess I'm right on track!

Ruth

I'm a fan of Proverbs 31 Ministries.  Their devotionals almost always connect with me.  A while back, they launched an app called First Five.  The idea of the app is to help you spend your first five minutes of the day with God.  When the app launched I was not great at getting up for my devotionals.  First Five really helped me get into a groove. From there I began reading and studying God's Word on my own.  I got into a routine of getting up early, studying, writing then heading back to bed for a little cat nap.

In the spring I got so tired.  I could not sleep enough.  I would get up, write then go back to bed.  This went on for a few months.

In the past few weeks, I've been getting up, getting breakfast and listening to the NPR news podcast Up First.  God really began to convict me that I was not spending time in His Word.  I certainly wasn't giving Him my first five minutes.

I decided to get back into the First Five app.  They had a new study starting on June 26th so I ordered the experience guide.  I didn't even check to see what the study was about.

I started the study yesterday and I was not disappointed.  The study is called Covenant.  It's a study of Ruth, Esther and Song of Solomon.

We had these verses from Ruth read at our wedding.  But this morning I learned that Ruth was a Moabite.  Her husband should not have married her.  They did not believe in the same God.  So when Ruth tells Naomi "your God will be my God." it was a big deal!  Ruth was choosing not only to stay with Naomi but to follow the one true God of Israel.

As I child I decided to follow the one true God.  Since that time, my salvation has never been in question.  However, my relationship with God is not always as close as it could and should be.  I'm so thankful that God loves me enough to convict me when I stray away.  I love how the Bible is timeless, there's something to learn at every turn.

Tale of 2 Celebrations

Through a strange series of events, B ended up with 2 birthday celebrations with friends.  And by strange I mean, my poor planning.  Anywhooo...

I felt very strange about the whole thing.  2 celebrations felt over the top. But, as things often do, everything turned out for the best.  

B had one Pokemon themed celebration with 3 of his friends from school at our house.  They hunted for Pokeballs in the front yard ala Easter Egg hunt. They hunted, ate cake, opened presents then just played.  It was low stress for everyone.  

His second celebration was at Sweet Frogs with some other friends who had been out of town.  This too was perfect for B as well.  He and his friends got to create their frozen yogurt concoctions, laughed and ate.  And cracked me up! 

Now that it's over, I'm so glad we did it this way.  B was able to handle both celebrations with no meltdowns.  He was able to pay attention to his friends at each celebration.  No one got lost in a crowd.  He wasn't overwhelmed in either instance.  

I am so thankful for the friends that B has and that they were able to celebrate with him.  As a parent, you're worried that your kids wouldn't have friends.  When you're kid has autism that makes socializing difficult, that concern grows. B's friends are so sweet to him and understanding when he gets overwhelmed.  That's a gift to all of us.  

Sometimes what seems strange at first works out better than you could have imagined.