Ok, so you may start seeing some more DIY posts...I've been working on some things! I'm super excited about this one.
So at the beginning of the school year, I used some of my "teacher funds" to buy these:
They're pretty awesome...four cubes with dry erase surfaces. They're great for the classroom! Unfortunately, they also belong to my school. Since I won't be there next year, I won't have access to them. Also sometimes I find myself wanting a few more cubes. I looked at them one day and thought to myself..."Hey, those are literally just colorful foam squares with white surfaces on them...pretty sure I can do that." And thus began the wheels in my head.
First, I needed something light. With my kids, I couldn't use something like wooden blocks or even heavy plastic...someone would get hurt. The solution? The new computer printer. Finally the school got a new color printer that doesn't print streaks! Better yet, the printer came packed in Styrofoam:
Using my pocket knife and scissors, I hacked 6 cubes out of the various pieces, 2 small, 2 medium, 2 large. Then I dug out some scraps of brightly colored fabric and covered them, using my handy glue gun to secure them.
I cut some squares of card stock and sent them through the laminator. (Laminated papers double as dry erase surfaces!)
Using the glue gun again, I affixed the card stock squares to each of the cubes. The end results:
Im super excited! I didn't pay a cent for these guys. Ironically, I grabbed a bag to put them in, and it happened to be a Cheesecake Factory bag.
Crazy?? The colors match! Anyway, these are great to use in the classroom, and now I have a set of 6!
Sometimes when my pastor and his wife are out of town, our women's ministry leader gives the sermon. She also happens to be my mentor (I got lucky.) Her message yesterday was compelling, and I feel like I should write some of it down.
"Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body." --Colossians 2: 8-9
High-sounding nonsense. I'm fairly certain sometimes that's all my students hear. But I have to say, I can find myself very distracted by high-sounding nonsense. In my yoga practice, I have to make sure I'm on the right side of the line with what my yogi is saying. It goes something like this:
Yogi: And now, bring the awareness back to your fingers...
(Inside my head): Dang it, I could totally lie here forever. He's going to turn on the lights and it's going to be like waking up ALL OVER AGAIN.
Yogi: Begin to feel your body moving...
(my head): mmm....so comfy...so relaxed...
Yogi: And find your inner god and offer blah blah blah....
(my head): ahh yes...my inner--wait, what? I'm just going to talk to the real God, who is living inside of me. There's a difference!
If you know me you know I like organic, natural, hippy things. It's a great place to find high-sounding nonsense. (The NIV says "hollow and deceptive philosophy".)
To stand against these "big-sounding ideas" (NLV), we've got to become people of principles. My mentor asked us to write down some of our principles. Again, welcome inside my head: "Uh, ok. Well...love Jesus...obey Him...uhhh don't steal...but I guess that falls under obeying Jesus because He says not to steal..." Before I knew it we were on to the next point. I was still trying to figure out how to balance vague principles like "follow God" and overly specific ones like "don't glare at the fourth grader who talks out of turn". So, this will probably be a work in progress. But pulling from some of my favorite verses, I think I have some figured out. So, here we go...for lack of a better name, Natalie's principles:
Seek justice.
Love mercy.
Walk humbly with my God.
Think about what really matters.
Honor my parents.
Encourage others in their faith.
Look after the poor, widows, and orphans.
Stop complaining.
Behave in a way that invites questions.
Be ready to answer those questions.
I'm sure there are more/should be more...but again I don't know how to get more specific. And because I will most likely lose the paper she gave out to take notes on, I'll write them here.
Being a person of principle will:
enable us to stand in the face of temptation
enable you to stand in the face of trials
keep you from giving in to pressure
help you stand in the face of mockery and trial
enable you to stand against threats
enable you to stand in the face of turbulent emotions
enable us to reach out to others in times of need
Yeah I want all that. Count me in.
Using my pocket knife and scissors, I hacked 6 cubes out of the various pieces, 2 small, 2 medium, 2 large. Then I dug out some scraps of brightly colored fabric and covered them, using my handy glue gun to secure them. 
