I choose...

I Choose Kindness.

The Story

This year I have 11 girls in my class. As we all know girls have a hard time meshing in large groups. Cliques form, feelings get hurt and friendships are tested. Sometimes a "kid intervention" is needed, and that is exactly what we did today.

Kindness is a difficult thing to choose but we "whole heartedly" choose it this year.

The Problem

As the story goes, girls will be girls. We can be so conniving, mean, hurtful and disrespectful toward each other, but why? What is the point of it. If a person is your friend, why would you want to intentionally hurt them? Why do you feel the need to talk about them behind their backs or not stand up for them when someone is wronging them? This is a question I brought to my students attention today. Words hurt and can never be fully erased. What you say and how you say something speaks volumes, even if you don't think it does. Unfortunately, we never stop dealing with it and even as adults need to be reminded to be kind. 

The Solution

"She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Colossians 3:12-13

Here is our little project the girls of the class did, perfect way to learn about love. (Thanks Tami!)

Step one: Cut out a heart on plain white paper.

Step two: On one side of the heart write mean words people say to you. 

                On the other side of the heart write the mean way we say things.

Step three: Erase the heart. 

The words people say to us, about us or that we say to others never fully get "erased" from our hearts. They still leave a mark. 

Step four: Hold out your heart in two hands, when we have family and friends that say kind words to us, our heart is clean and full.

Step five: Crumple your heart and re open it. 

When people say hurtful things to us it crushes our heart and leaves lines of hurt.

Step six: "I vow to choose kindness"

We must, as adults, teach children kindness because there isn't much of it left in this world. 

Be an example of what God expects of us, the children will follow. 

Fashion Fun!

I was able to enjoy a WONDERFUL day in Cleveland with my sister and two nieces. We went to lunch and then had amazing box seats to watch Annie. She a great experience. 

Ran into some wonderful, long lost friends! Really enjoyed seeing these ladies! Yes, they are twins :)

Here I wore some TJMaxx leggings, boot socks from Maurices, boots from Bass & Co. and a new BKE shirt from the Buckle. 

My sister invited Matt and I to join her and her husband in her company seats at the Cavs game. We had the best time with some great company! 

This is a satin shirt I thrifted last year! I paired it with some jeggings and calf high heeled boots.

Matt and I went to Florida for a long weekend to visit his mom and step dad and we thoroughly enjoyed the sun, water and sand. I stayed comfortable the whole trip! Here I have on my jeggings, a shirt from Old Navy I got on sale last year for $3 and a cardi from j.crew. Matt is a walking advertisement for Under Armor, but man is he cute!

Be a Blessing!

Miss Goff

Life Changes

Changes

The Story

I have been the same version of myself for years. Skating through life with no major changes or heart wrenching experiences. I've had my bad days, no doubt. But all in all my life seems to be good. I can't complain. But why settle for good?

The Problem

I am at a constant battle with myself over what God wants from me and what I want from me. I have an inner debate going on about how I spend my time and money and the choices I make. I am dealing with graduating into my late twenties and deciding what is actually important in life. I am growing up and growing in a different direction than those around me and am struggling. The other day Matthew and I were at church and I felt particularly drawn to a meeting that was going on after the service. Matthew walked me in and was going to stay until I decided it was something I needed to do on my own, that in and of itself is a huge deal for me. Not knowing a single person, I sat in a meeting about a missions trip to Mexico coming up in June. Something I have always wanted to do, but never felt it was the right time or that I had any type of support. I feel like things are different. People are different, I am different. I want to be the strongest, most determined and dedicated version of myself for God, my family and Matthew. I want to make a difference. I want to do more than work all week and go out all weekend. I want to devote myself to serving the Lord in the most effective way I can. So why not start by running a Vacation Bible School in another country? Talk about jumping in with both feet. The biggest problem I have is, I am terrified. I am terrified of the experience, being away from my home, going out of my comfort zone but most of all, what God is going to show my heart. 

Changes. Lord willing, for the better.

The Solution

I struggle most with anxiety when the situations are out of my control. The best place to lean is always on the Lord and His word never fails.
Philippians 4:6-9 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about those things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you"

Isaiah 40:31
"But those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles"

I humble myself before you and ask for you to lift me up in your prayers for encouragement and confidence in this decision and the changes going on in my life. 

Fashion Fun!

I had the best Christmas Break! Matthew and I were both off for a couple weeks and it was wonderful to spend quality time together and with family! 

Christmas Eve fun with my family! Reppin' BrinaBox with my shirt and scarf paired with some Miss Me jeans. Matthew is wearing BKE jeans and a sweater we got from Kohls, he's so dapper :)

A couple months ago Matthew told me to not do anything on December 12th and that he had a surprise date planned for us. We went to Delmonico's for the most fabulous steak I have had the pleasure of enjoying ( I still dream of that filet) and then off to the State Theater to see a Christmas Carol. Perfect date with the best man in the world. 

Every love story is beautiful, 

but ours is 

my favorite

Matthew's sister Megan and I on Christmas at their moms house. Such a sweet, fun, hard working girl. Love her!

Matthew took Megan and I to a monsters game in Cleveland and I decided to show him the Casino for the first time, we both lost, but it was fun!

First time at the Trans Siberian Orchestra! It was AMAZING!

Happy New Year!

Finally, experiencing some snow! We went to Olive Garden for lunch after Church. I am happily wearing my extremely warm Columbia jack and new BrinaBox blanket scarf from Matthew for Christmas.

Be a Blessing!

Miss Goff

So This Is The Story All About How...

My Life Got Flip-Turned Upside Down

The Story

Previously, when I was actually in a good place while being single, I wrote about how I was not waiting. By that I meant I wasn't waiting for Mr. Right Now, I was patiently awaiting the arrival of Mr. Right that God hand chose for me. The man who knows me and loves me just the same. The one who strengthens me and encourages me. Someone who trusts me and leans on me. A gentleman with a heart of gold who adores me for who I am and who he knows I can be. Most importantly, someone who leans on the Lord first in times of difficulty, sorrow, joy and adoration. 

The Problem

I am an impatient person. So, even though I was content with where I was, who I am and actually enjoying my single life, it didn't last long. I long for affection, love and companionship. It's in my blood.

The Solution

I went on Match and decided to give it a whirl! I was amazed, overwhelmed, anxious and excited all at once. The second I got on there I was flooded with so many "winks", e-mails, "likes" and matches that I didn't know what to do. After I decided it was worth paying for, I was on there for a whole two weeks. Yup. That's all it took. While browsing through my "daily matches" a profile popped up. Now, he'll tell you I clicked on his picture because he was looking up into the air and you couldn't help but wonder, "huh, what is he looking at" butttttt, I just thought he was cute. He met all three of my qualifications: 1. Christian 2. older than me 3. taller than me..yes this is a thing. After stalking his profile for a few days, I decided to be the "go getter" that I am and e-mail him first. When his response to my e-mail made me, literally, LOL I knew he was going to be a fun guy to chat with. A couple e-mails later, he asked for my number. After chatting for a few days he asked what I was doing on Friday to which I responded "actually, I have two dates Friday night..." in shock, he said, "how in the world are you going to pull that off" after I explained to him about how awesome I am at life in general he said, "wellllll, I think you should cancel and go out with me" I laughed and said "okay!" Little did he know, at the time, I did not cancel, I squeezed him in. 

Approaching Jekyll in Chagrin Falls, I saw him. While on the phone with Tami, I passed him. When I got inside it was packed and he stood next to me in the doorway when I looked up at him and said "You're supposed to be meeting me." That was it. That was the start of a conversation that involved eating sushi with chopsticks, laughing and smiling the whole time and thanking the Lord he was normal. 

One month later, we are madly in love with each other. Yes, I know its fast. No, I do not care. That saying, "When you know you know" is real life. He is everything described above and more. We share a mutual respect, love and appreciation for each other so it is easy to want to shower each other with words of affirmation, loving acts of kindness and to genuinely care for each other.

We were made to have a companion, someone to know us inside and out. To love us and our flaws, equally. 

God made Eve from Adam to be a suitable partner for him. He made her not from his foot to be walked on, not from his back to be behind him, not from his chest to be in front of him, but from his rib to stand next to him.

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"An now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13

"I have found the one whom my soul loves" Song of Solomon 3:4

To be continued...

Fashion Fun!

              Matthew and I 

His company Christmas party

I was able to find this adorable dress at Dress Barn as well as my jewelry

How dapper is my main squeeze??

One of my favorite pictures from the evening :)

Christmas card? Jk 

Matthew and his sister joined us for Thanksgiving. I was a wonderful day full of laughter and Dutch Blitz...which I kicked butt in. 

Wore an awesome shirt from my sister and a scarf I got at TJ Maxx last year with my favorite Jeggings.

Paused for a selfie on the way to target after church.

Paired my comfy sweater with my Brina Box blanket scarf.

Be a Blessing

Miss Goff

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Taylor

Wedded Bliss

The Story

My cousin Isaac and I grew up together in our home school group. We enjoyed working together, going on field trips, having our moms as teachers and ending the school day at noon. I later went to public school but Isaac and I went to Auburn Career Center together my Junior year. I slowly learned of his love antics. All the ladies loved him because of his blue eyes and kind heart. They were also jealous of his super long eye lashes. I have never not know this crazy, loving, kind and gentle kid.

Katie and I met way later down the road. When she and Isaac first met they were in high school. I didn't know much about Katie when she starting hangout with everyone, but I did know that she had a kind and caring heart.

Isaac and Katie waited a bit to date. They had their ups and downs, like most couples do and throughout the years I got closer and closer to Katie and am so lucky to call her one of my best friends. She is not only kind, but she is thoughtful. When I was going through a difficult time Katie called me to come over. I showed up and walked in the kitchen to find a bottle of wine, a chocolate bar and a card with my name on it. It was the sweetest card I had ever received. She is always telling me that I am worth it, I will find who God has set aside for me and that I always have a friend in her. She has the biggest heart and it is full of sincerity, compassion and kindness. My cup is full with her by my side.

THANKFULLY, Isaac finally wised up and popped the question. Naturally, she said YES! Let the planning begin

Katie took wedding planning with such ease and grace because no matter what she was marrying her best friend. She laid her burdens on the Lord and knew that there was no reason to worry about something out of your control. 

"Cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you"

-I Peter 5:7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

-Philippians 4:6

It is useless to worry about tomorrow, God has already taken care of it. The Lord blessed them with each other, an abundance of family and friends to celebrate and a gorgeous fall day.

....and to all my single readers, remember God has prepared someone just for you. To challenge you and accept you. To love you, honor you and respect you. To give you happiness, love, kindness and devotion. To be cherished and never taken for granted. 

Fashion Fun

My Cousin Bethany and I. One of my most favorite people in the world!

3 out of 4 brothers. Some of the most dapper men I know

The absolutely stunning bride!

Our dresses were from Davids Bridal and my jewelry is from Aldo Accessories 

The handsome groom

One of my little cousins was a flower girl! Such a sweet, kind, loving and funny child of the Lord

Simple and heartwarming

bridesmaids with the dapper groom

made by Katie and Isaac, Absolutely adorable!

Bridesmaids and the Bride

My STUNNING mother!

The lovebirds table

 Katie made all these jars for the center pieces and her aunt did an amazing job with the gorgeous flowers

 Oh you know, just getting my groove on :)

 The bridal party

The isle way was lined with these, precious.

I have to give a HUGE shout out to J & J Photography for letting me use their stunning pictures! You guys are amazing!

Best wishes Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. I hope life brings you joy, blessings and an abundance of love...and babies. 

Be a Blessing

Miss Goff

Single and Not Waiting

The Story

I am assuming that most of the people who read this know me personally. Therefore you know that all my life I have wanted to get married and have babies, like yesterday. I love kids (hence the teaching career) and have wanted some of my own for a long time. As some of my friends get married and start a family it is hard to not let you biological clock tick louder. I try to tell myself that my life plans are not in my control but some days are harder than others. 

The Problem

Being single used to be very hard for me. I don't like to be alone, never have, but I also don't like being in a relationship that isn't going anywhere. When it comes to dating, I am a "in it for the long haul" type of person. I don't do it for fun. I have recently turned over a new leaf, the single life is working for me!

The Solution

I am making myself better. I am being the best me for me so that when God sends me my husband I am ready. I don't know him yet, but I want to be the best version of myself for him. I want to be successful, energetic, healthy and full of love. I want to be ready when he comes. 

As profound as that sounds, I did not come up with that on my own. A dear friend of mine has really instilled that in me. Since we started coaching together she has really brought to my attention how being alone doesn't mean being lonely. How staying single doesn't mean there's no one out there for me. Lastly, how men don't define my happiness, I do. She recently sent me this article, which is SO worth the read. 

When Did Christ Cease to be Enough?

I am who I am because of Him. 

I am where I am because of Him.

I will be where He wants me to be

Because that is His plan.

Fashion fun!

Vest: j,crew 

Jeggings: Maurie's

Boots: Bass and Co

Scarf: Brina Box

Shirt: Old Navy

Boot Socks: knitted by a former student

A great outfit for a day outside exploring God's beautiful creation! Love Field Trips!

Rocked another scarf from Brina Box with my comfy Agape sweatshirt!

Another comfy outfit! Stole this sweater from Windsor at the end of the season last year. Paired it with a black shirt from White House Black Market, black pants and boots form Bass and Co.

Got a new do! Love! Chunky sweater from Bass and Co and scarf from a former student!

Be a Blessing

Miss Goff

2,000

2,000

The Story

2,000 is a lot of anything, but 2,000 times my blog has been viewed is crazy! I did a little happy dance about that one :) I don't really have a big story, problem or anything exciting today. Just a little check in with my readers. 

Started school off strong this year. It felt really go to be going into my second year and I am still loving every second of it. This week we go on our first field trip of the year!! The kids are thrilled, so am I. 

I am super excited to announce that on October 10th I will be in my cousin and one of best friends wedding! How fun is that?!?! I cannot wait to blog about it all!!! It is going to be beyond beautiful. Look for post! I can't wait to share their love with you all.

Lastly, coaching has been awesome! Our team is really meshing this year and we are lookin' good! 

The Solution

It's times like this in our lives, when everything seems to be going well, that we forget to thank the Lord. So many times we lean on him in the hard times but forget to rejoice and thank him in the happy times.

Psalm 30:4

"Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name."

He is so good to us in times of need, sorrow, joy and love. Let us all return to him the praise he deserves and desires of us.

Fashion Fun!

On Saturday night I went to a clam bake with my best friends family, this is her little sister, Alyssa, and I before. I wore my favorite Buckle Miss Me jeans, Brina Box shirt and necklace with my favorite calf high brown boots from Bass and Co. 

My weekend was made when I ran into my old volleyball coach in the Muni Lot on Sunday! Such a joy seeing her! Here I wore my favorite jeggings from Maurice's, tall boots from Bass and Co and a youth XL jersey, its cheaper :) These are my favorite sunglasses from a shop in town called Soul of the Rose

As always, thanks for reading

Be a Blessing

Miss Goff

"Are you having a girl, boy or a ze?"

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck, ITS A DUCK!

The Story

When someone announces that they are pregnant I get extremely excited. I am not sure if I am particularly excited for that person or the fact that a cuddly, adorable, innocent, tiny human is going to be in my presence. My next question is always, "are you going to find out what you're having?" to which it has been, and always will be a 50/50 shot, boy or girl. Well our world is about to be "flipped, turned upside down" (quoting the Fresh Prince). I may be taking this lightheartedly because I am just in shock and awe over our society and am literally "SMH" while I write this...

Ze, Ve, Ne are just a few of the new pronouns in our vocabulary. Yup. You read that right. The University of Tennessee is encouraging students to use gender neutral pronouns to make all their students feel welcome. If someone came up to me and used one of these pronouns I would be offended. I look like a lady, I act like one. I was born as one. I will always be one. 

The Problem

The problem isn't with the wishy-washy people who think "Wow! How great, acceptance of everyone!" it's with the men and women who think that they are the exception and feel that they are offended by the pronouns "he" and "she". News flash, you're not offended, you're confused. You were born a specific way (yes, even Bruce Jenner), you were raised that way (well, you weren't, "Jazz Jennings"), you will forever be that way. 

Lets talk about the word neutral. It is used in may ways; a car gear, how you feel about something, your stance on an argument. 
One definition of neutral is: having no strongly marked or positive characteristic or features. THERE IS NO GENDER NEUTRAL. THERE IS GENDER. PERIOD. FIGURE IT OUT. 

I am not sitting here saying that people can't change their appearance and do what they want. Is it right, no. Is it worth my time, no. But I am saying I will never use those pronouns. Contrary to what they believe at UT, they don't "sound funny because they are new", they sounds funny because they aren't real. 

Read the story and "SMH" with me. 

Here's something fun:

Here s the chart we are supposed to use. Everyone is gender binary, get it together world. 

The Solution

I searched time and time again and they don't mention anything other then men and women in the bible. I know, I am puzzled too. Crazy. 

I Corinthians 11:8-9 

"For a man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, the woman for man." 

How crazy this may sound, I just read a children's picture book my bestie Tami lent me, about being what you're supposed to be. I Don't Want to be a Frog about a frog who wants to be a cat, rabbit, pig or owl, anything but a frog. But his dad tells him that being a frog is what he was born to be. We are all created in the Lords image, and how we are born is what we are supposed to be. Going against that is going against His plan. 

Fashion Fun!

Here I am wearing my I am Polished dress pants from Maurice's, leopard flats from Ashley's grandma and flowy merlot colored shirt from Brina Box :)

Yay! I love my new reading corner! It's perfect and the kids adore it. I am so infatuated with the classroom book we are reading Wonder by R. J. Palacio. It is about a boy who was born with a facial deformity and his first time attending school. My students love our "Wonder about Wonder" time. After pivotal moments in the story we journal and this is what I received on the first day of journal writing, on the third day of school...

The prompt was "Why do people react to August they way they do?"

My favorite part is "He was born with a problem, that doesn't mean that he is a problem"

Bless her heart!

I enjoyed some sunshine with Grigio. You never know when the last hammock days will be. 

Super comfy outfit! My shirt is from my sister and my pants are from Maurice's

So this girl is a doll baby! She helped me pick out my outfit for Luke Bryan. She is the funniest, sweetest, kindest, hippest gal I know. I love being her Aunt!

Here I am wearing another shirt from my sister (from the Gap) and BKE Shorts. I also wore my brown cowboy boots from the boot corral.

My beginning of the year bulletin board. I am going to try and keep that gold paper and boarder up all year. Lets see how that goes! Here I am wearing one of my most comfortable outfits! I got this wrap dress in Texas last year at a second had store, paid $12! So worth it! My flats are from, yup, you guessed it, Maurice's.

Be a Blessing!

Miss Goff