lia sophia party!

Come one, come all! I'm hosting a lia sophia party and you're invited to attend!

Not only am I hosting a party at my house, I'm also hosting one online! You don't even have to leave your house to partake in these wonderful deals.

Did you know, for every two items you purchase at regular price, you can get your third item for half price? Make it your HIGHEST priced item! Another perk is the lifetime replacement guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the quality of the purchase, you can have it replaced as long as you own the piece.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Go HERE

2. Click on "Our Jewelry"

3. Choose a catalog to browse (I like the Fall/Winter 2008 catalog)

4. See the "How to purchase?" link? Click that.

5. Now, you will need to enter my name (Nicole Stiers) in those little boxes since I am your hostess :)

6. Now you will be taken back to the catalog so you can make your selections

Simple enough?

Keep in mind that Christmas is around the corner and who doesn't like a pretty piece of jewelry to brighten up their wardrobe?

Happy shopping!

~Nicole

Leave it to me. Go to the doctor with dizziness and leave with a referral for a podiatrist. :)
Actually, I'm quite pleased with my new doctor. He didn't look at me like I was stupid and answer me curtly. Apparently, my dizziness can be attributed to allergies and fluid build-up in my head. It could also be that my asthma is beginning to act up. Nothing neurological and not vertigo. So, my dizziness is not terminal.
So, where does the podiatrist referral come in? My numb toes that feel like someone put novocain in. The Doc. said I have a slight deformity forming: my big toes are curving toward the rest of the toes. The end result could be surgery. Oi.

My world is spinning, literally. Since I've had these dizzy spells for 3 days now, I scheduled a doctor appointment for this afternoon. He probably won't be able to tell me anything, but I'm going anyway. I don't know how long I'll have to wait, so I'll take along some of the many papers I have to grade every week.

Stange fact of the day

Men can read smaller print than women,
but women can hear better.

This is what was growing behind the bathroom wall. Pretty gross, huh?

Two weeks ago, we were told that it should take about a week to fix this.

Another view of the rest of the wall.

Two weeks later, this is all that has been done.

And another shot.

Well, at least we know that we should have superior protection against moisture and mold with our new wet area cement board.

I don't know why, but the scent of the new wall was rather pleasant in an odd way.

I finished my research paper! It's a good feeling. I also updated the look of my blog. Whaddya think? :)

My Sunday school class is going through the book of Acts and today there was a parallel shown that I had never considered. Acts 3:1-2
1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

That lame man is a picture of the condition of the lost man. He can not do anything for himself. That is so true about us before Christ enters the believer's life. There is nothing a lost person can do to get to Heaven outside of calling upon the Lord. He has to see that he is lost before he can get saved.

It's easy to go around and tell people that they need the Lord, but it's another thing to get them to see the condition they are in. Pride often gets in the way and therefore clouds the reality of the condition.

Stampin' Up

Here is the awesome card we made! Normally, I don't like the blue/brown color combination, but it is great on a card. My bow doesn't look half bad, either. It's being mailed out this week as a birthday card. :)

Now, these candy bar wrappers are incredibly easy to make and look so cool. I like the crimper tool we got to use. Kathy made these for her open house and gave them to us last month and we all wanted to know how to do it. So, that was one of the projects for this month's meeting. AND we got to make 4 of them. :)

Ok, so I've been sitting here at my computer for the past few hours attempting to write my research paper. I'm out of practice, that's for sure! It's only a 5 page paper, but it is taking me forever! Not to mention, it's not exactly an easy topic to find information on. I chose to write on the the mental effects of woman who have had abortions. There's really not a lot out there.

On another note, I will be blessed with another addition to my already packed classroom. Now, I will have 16 boys and 9 girls. I have the largest class in the elementary. Oi.

My foreign student started to open up a bit in class yesterday! That was great to see. He even said a few things in his mother tongue and laughed at me when I tried to repeat him. :)

Haha...another thing happened yesterday that made me laugh. On of my girls gave me hug and said that she liked me most of the time. Then she said that sometimes I'm just fierce! LOL! I'll take that. ;)

I made THE cutest things today at the Stampin' Up party! I love going to those. We made a card and 4 candy bar wrapper things. I loved it!

Talk Straight .org

Hey! Go check this out!

Convention Petition

The Conventions are here and the American people are still being robbed of a decent political dialogue.

Barack Obama has broken his promises to seek public financing. He has pandered on the issues, but never left his political ideology. He has continually lied attempting to skew the debate calling John McCain, “Bush’s third term.”

Below you can sign the petition to demand that the Democratic Nominee Talk Straight.

We’re randomly giving away 5 FREE shirts during the two Conventions. Take a look at the sidebar to see the new shirt. ConchTees.com has sponsored this project, so head over a get a shirt. They’ve lowered the price - just for us! Wear it around town and make a statement.

Bloggers who blog about this contest receive two entries.

Only one entry per person.

1. Return political donations that have been contributed illegally
2. Release any and all school records belonging to you or your wife
3. Publicly denounce past associates of or relating to William Ayers, Tony Rezko, and Jermiah Wright
4. Donate $300,000 to charity that you saved after receiving a sweetheart mortgage deal
5. Honor your previous commitment to hold townhalls with John McCain

Barack Obama, we the people of the United States, demand that you Talk Straight.

The Undersigned,

Your Name

Well, school has been in session for two weeks now. It feels more like two months, though. This is going to be a year of testing for me and I know I can only succeed with Christ's strength. I still can't believe I have 24 students with 15 of them boys! Wow!

Normally, I do not remember my dreams, but the past few weeks I have had some doosies! The first one was about an old high school friend and how he was trying to kill me. Then, I had one where another friend called me up to comfort me during a trying time. Then, my sister was trying to steal people's blood to sell. She needed the money. The other night I dreamed I was at a convention and only recognized two faces. One of the two I recognized then held my hand.

I have no idea where those things are coming from!

I did finish up my teaching methods class. I still have my five page research paper to do for my ethics class, though. That's due next week.

I received a huge blessing last week by way of a donation! I don't know who it was, but the Lord does!

On Labor Day, I went to the park with a friend and her girls followed by my first visit to King's Dominion. I had a great time! I really liked the Dominator! I rode it twice.

These girls are so cute! We were on the observation deck of the Eiffle Tower thing at King's Dominion.

Ok...so I haven't updated in a while. I'll get around to it...eventually. This week is going to be crazy. In-service starts tomorrow at 8:30 and goes until 4:00 and then I have to go to college orientation for the one tutorial class I'm taking. That starts at 6:00 and then my class will be after that. Not how I want to start my week.

I am almost finished with my classroom. I have a few finishing touches and 2 more sets of tests to collate. I think my final count is 23 students, including one of the administrator's kids. 14 boys and 9 girls. Even though I worked in my classroom all last week, I feel that I have barely scratched the surface of getting ready.

Lots of stuff has happened since I last posted, but that will have to wait for another time.

Those preschoolers are a hoot! Yesterday, as we were walking down to the gym, T says, "Hey, I love you!" I told him I loved him, too. Then, as we were almost to the gym, he asked, "Why are you holding my hand? So you don't get lost?" LOL!!!! He's just hilarious!

Today, N is playing with K and he tells her as he is precariously hanging between two tables, "Hey girlfriend, look at me! Hey, you're supposed to say 'WOW!' when I do something cool." She was obviously not impressed with his balancing act. hehe!

Today was my last day in the preschool. It feels good. Dad and Nessa are supposed to come down here tomorrow, but they have yet to leave to MD.

I am so exhausted! This week has been a blur. Monday happened to be very chaotic and I wasn't sure how the rest of the week was going to go. But, Tuesday was much better, as well as the rest of the week. I really enjoyed teaching the fourth graders. We had 18-20 every single day this week...with about 25 registered. Tonight is the closing program, but I am unable to attend since I have a college class to attend. This is the last one for the summer!

One of the best things about today was that one of my girls got saved!!! That's what it's all about. From what I heard, there were about 20 decisions about salvation this week and that's the highest number of decisions in at least 8 years. It's wonderful!

I know I haven't been posting regularly, but life tends to take over. :)

I may get to see some of my family this summer after all! My sister is moving to Maryland, about 2 hours from me! She's renting a U-Haul truck and dad's going to be driving it and then helping her move into her new apartment. I told them that I'd be willing to help if they could come and get me. I'd either get lost or my car would break down (if it's fixed by then, that is). Or I could see where the Metro line runs and take that. I so miss my family right now! But, with Nessa a bit closer, we could possibly get together every couple of months.

Well, I think I need to catch a catnap before class or may not survive tonight.

I just finished reading an excellent book for my TM class entitled "Teaching to Change Lives" by Dr. Howard Hendricks. He laid out 7 laws or principles of the teacher:

Teacher- Stop growing today, stop teaching tomorrow
Education- How people learn determines how you teach
Activity- Maximum learning is always the result of maximum involvement
Communication- To truly impart information requires the building of bridges
Heart- Teaching that impacts is not head to hear, but heart to heart
Encouragement- Teaching tends to be most effective when the learner is properly motivated
Readiness- The teaching-learning process will be most effective when both the student and teacher are adequately prepared ( Hendricks, Howard. Teaching to Change Lives. Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 1987, p. 129.)

I've seen some areas in which I need to work on, that's for sure. Some of the most influential teachers in my life have been those who went the extra mile. I remember 4th grade because the teacher made it a point to make learning fun and hands-on. I remember a particular college instructor that came over to the dorm after school hours to look for me and give me suggestions on how to improve in a certain area. I've also had teachers who bored me to death. They did not have any variation in teaching technique and were so engrossed in what they were saying that they weren't listening. Some tend to "dump" information rather than teach it.

As a teacher, I want to reach my students not only academically, but spiritually. I know my parents have a hard time figuring out why I wanted to be a Christian school (since it's known that that specific field does not make a lot of money). I want to be able to be used of God to touch these children. I've have already been in the lives of at least 60 children. To me, the best result of teaching is seeing how the children that I have taught have grown up, what kind of adult they are going to be.

I stress to my students that they have two choices in EVERY thing they do: Do right or do wrong. It doesn't stop in the classroom, but extends into every area of life. I want to see them succeed as Christian, living a full life for the Lord.

I can not believe summer is almost over! Right now, I'm taking my second set of summer classes and I double booked myself. This class is two weeks long and during the second week we have VBS. Now, I've never actually done a VBS (I've done NBT's) so I'm not too sure how it's going to go yet.

This afternoon, a friend called me and asked me to fill in in the pre-school. I only had 4 kids to watch, but boy, were they a hoot! They got the biggest kick by me pretending that the plastic chicken nuggets were hot and tossing them (the nuggets) about. Then, as one of the boys was describing the car he was holding (it was given the off-road muddy look) and I said that it needed washed. Another little boy piped up that it didn't since it wasn't really dirty. It was only pretend. lol!

Anyway... there's not much else going on that I'm going to blog about right now. Perhaps another time.

So, I've been MIA for a while. I'm ok with that! I just got back from an amazing week at the Camp BIMI reunion. Most people think of it as a "camp" camp, but it's not really like that. A friend of mine described it as a super-charged missions conference with class sessions in the morning and services in the evening. I really enjoyed the devotions we had each night after the service. The guys and gals separated and had a time of open forum. I like hearing how the missionary wives dealt with the day to day life on the field.

The sessions were great, too. We had 15 in total. This year I was able to attend the Camp III sessions. Some of the topics covered were issues in missions, deputation disasters, calamities of a candidate, the family unit, commitment, organization, and spiritual dryness. These sessions are taught by missionaries and directors. They know their stuff. One of the sessions that really touched me was the about commitment. I live in a generation that has commitment issues. We are noncommittal about many things. God needs people who are willing to commit to the cause and not look back or leave when the going gets tough. Life is full of joy and sorrow. I liked the phrase that the best (not necessarily safest) place is being in the center of God's will. Many Christians have faced great trials, even lost their lives, living for the Lord. He gave them strength to endure. He allowed the trying of their faith so that they could grow. Bro. Baughman has a file full of names of those who have QUIT the mission field. There is a difference between those who give up and those who are unable to continue serving due to health issues.

Camp BIMI and its staff do not push that every camper is supposed to go off to the foreign field after attending. It simply gives you the knowledge of the reality of the missionary's life. As long as you are doing the will of God, the staff is excited for you. Their big project was formatting the current issue of the Encourager like a yearbook and listing those alumnus who are serving as laymen, students, missionaries, and full-time Christian service workers. It was wonderful to see so many people continuing in service.

I attended Camp BIMI for the first time 6 years ago just go get information. Then I went again the next year. What draws me back each time is the sincerity of each staff person and their heart for missions, here and abroad. One of the things I want to do is go on a SMART trip. I've been wanting to do that for 6 years now, actually. I want to experience it and see what the Lord has for me.

Right now, I love where the Lord has me serving. My classroom is my mission field. But, I'm still open to the call of missions if that is what the Lord has for me.

Welcome to the world Annabelle! This beautiful little girl is the first child of my friends Jon and Sarah. She was was born at 1:37 am, 9lb 3oz, 21 inches long. It was a hard labor, so please keep Sarah in prayer. Jon had worked all day and then was up all night with Sarah.

Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies;
God's special place.
I can stand within
And seek His face.

In Your presence, Lord,
I see Your glory.
Your amazing love
Tells Your wondrous story.

This life of mine, dear Lord,
I lay it all down.
With Your care around me,
I'm safe and sound.

And then I remember
Amidst all my strife,
Jesus, mt Redeemer,
You gave Your life.

Jesus, let me see
You are always near.
There's nothing in my way;
I've no cause to fear.

In that Holy of Holies,
I stand before Your throne.
With my Lord, so sweet,
I know I'm not alone.

Written by Nicole S.

istockphoto

This is how I feel at times. Family. Friends. Other areas of my life.

Don't get me wrong, I love the life the Lord has given me, but sometimes I don't feel like I belong anywhere. I don't feel the Lord wants me to leave my current position. He brought me here and I'll stay here until He moves me. I guess I just haven't found my niche yet. I love my Sunday school class, but I feel too old for it sometimes. I don't want to move up to the next class or any other class for that matter. I sort of thought about doing the Newcomers class, but I've been here nearly 2 years already. I don't know.

It seems now that most of my friends here are married and have children. I frequently get invited to go places with two families and I enjoy it. But, I feel sort of left out.

Sigh...such is life.

(photo courtesy of Olive Garden)

Plus


(photo courtesy of thatangiegirl.wordpress.com)

Equals

(photo courtesy of learningresources.com)

I went to dinner with my roommates Friday night. I ordered the lasagna and received a charred portion. Delicious, huh? After sending it back (which we had to wait 10 minutes before our server even came back to check on us after bringing our meals), we had to wait another 15 minutes before I got my meal. We asked for the manager and he said he took care of it. I got my dinner for free! Of course, I asked that it be brought in a container so we could leave. My roommates didn't finish either of their meals and offered me theirs. The lasagna was great for lunch!