Frugal Fashion Challenge Day 3!

Ok, I admit it I skipped a day! Actually, it was my first day back to school, and honestly I didn't look that cute! Most of the day I was in sweats!! :) Anyway, so I am redeeming myself today! :) Today I'm wearing my Maurices jeans (again- different pair though)A cute maroon wrap sweater that I absolutely love, with my Shade Clothing black cami, and a black and white print scarf!(another $5 Walmart scarf!)With classic black flats (Kohls) and diamond earrings. Classic and simple! I added my too cute green pea coat (Rue 21) that I purchased last year. I absolutely love it! So there's my outfit!! :) Tomorrow they are forecasting snow so we'll see if I get my snow day after all!! :)

Frugal Fashion Challenge Day 2

Ok, so it's day two of my fashion challenge. Monday is usually the day that is the hardest to get up, I'm extra tired from weekend activities and I have a new week of school that needs to get tackled etc. But today was extra hard because we woke up to a dusting of snow! I secretly wished that school would be closed (I teach a K4 class one day a week) and I could stay in my pjs all day, drinking tea and reading a goodbook!! Ha! Well, school was NOT canceled so I wasn't so lucky this time. None the less, I put together my day 2 outfit. My base for this outfit is my majenta pink dress.I found this Charlotte Russe dress at a thrift store for $8!Totally love the versital looks!( Scarves, shrugs, leggings, jeans, boots, flats, sandals. etc.) Today, it was a little chilly so I went for skinny jeans rather than black leggings (which I normally wear with the dress) My skinny jeans I purchised from the Old Navy clearence rack a few years back for $8. I don't normally wear the skinnys on their own because they are a tad tight and I am a little hippy so they aren't my most flattering look but with a long tunic top or shorter dress they look great! I layered a black cami from Shade clothing (my all-time wardrobe staple) and a heavy sweater shrug that I also got at a thrift store last year for $3. To keep my feet extra warm I wore my toasty black boots! (Payless) They are so popular this year and I totally love them! I almost wear them with shirts and dresses more than with jeans! My favorite Christmas gift this year was a Ugandan Magazine Necklace (147 Million Orphans,) so I added this beautiful and colorful accessory to my outfit for an extra pop.I wore simple black dangle earrings and my big black bag that I use all the time! I got it from Walmart for $10! My friend just bought one a few days ago and they were on sale!! :) Anyways, what have you put together???

My Five Day Frugal Fashion Challenge!!

For the next few days my blogging will be a little different from my traditional topics the I usually write about. I got a wonderful idea from the Authentic Beauty blog a five day challenge to create new outfits with clothes and accessories that you already own or can borrow from a family member. So I decided to give it a try!! I really try and make an effort not to spend a lot of money on clothes, mainly because I am the one who pays for them! I love love love clearance racks and normally only buy items that are on sale! (My mom raised me right!!) What I have learned is that you can have a stylish and fashionable look without paying gobs of money! So here is my go at a five day challenge of frugal fashion!!

DAY 1



I decided to dress a little more casually for church today so I paired my all time favorite jeans (Maurices- normally $29, on sale for $20) with a cute black, cream and light blue tank (Old Navy- a total steal for 47 cents!!) and a black cardigan the I have had forever! (Kohls- I think for around $8) For my accessories I added a cute cream scarf the I borrowed from my sister. (Walmart- $5) For an extra pop of color I wore my favorite pair of high heels- RED ones!! Instead of a large black purse the normally carry I decided to go more a sparkly silver clutch for a added spark to my look. My silver earrings added a finishing touch to my outfit. (Kohls- $2) Ok, so I did it! I would love to see what you come up with!! Post it on your blog or you can email me (allsmiles16@gmail.com) your pictures of your frugal, fabulous fashions!!

"Bind My Heart to Thee..."

One of my favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount." The third verse has always been my favorite in the hymn. Which says:

Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let your goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart Lord,
Take and seal it
Seal it for thy courts above

How easy it is wander and stray even without consciously knowing it. With the business of life,distractions, places to go, things to get done, checking email and facebook, so easily I can stray from my Prince- Jesus Christ.Slowly,those distractions, and the business of my life come in between me and my relationship with Jesus.Normally I don't think about it until I am still and quiet and then I realize what I have missed. It is so easy to put other things in front of God on my priority list. My mentor and I were talking today, and she asked what I wanted my relationship with Christ to look like. I thought of the third verse in "Come Thou Fount" especially the words, "Bind my wandering heart to thee, prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love....." What does it mean to have a heart bound to Christ? What does it look like? My heart's desire is to be bound, bound to my Savior and Prince. To be bound so tightly that I know of nothing else but Him. To be bound to His heart so my heart beats the same beat. To see the world through His eyes, to see people the way He sees them, to love the unlovable as He loves, to be heartbroken for the things that breaks His heart. I want a life bound to Christ.

Though this is my desire it's a lot easier saying it than truly living it out.Recently I wrote in my journal. "Do I consider everything a loss compared to knowing Christ? Do I only desire Him? Is He the only one who holds my heart? Will I be found in Him? I really take the amazing joy of knowing Christ for granted. He has always been apart of my life, but do I truly love and know Him? Am I bound to Him and Him alone? I need an undivided heart only for Christ. So that I can say, "I count it all as rubbish compared to knowing Christ!" It must be a daily, moment by moment decision to surrender all of my will, desires, dreams, aspirations, and wholly surrender to Jesus and be bound to Him.

Bind my ever distracted, wandering, sinful, selfish heart to Him. In Him, I am truly fulfilled, content and have meaning. Being bound to Christ is the best thing I can ever experience. And in Him- my Prince, I find all I need.

This is not the end here at this grave....

November was a trying and difficult month for my family. My grandpa (mom's dad) passed away on Nov. 15th. In the midst of my sadness, there was an overflowing amount of joy that filled my heart. It is hard knowing that I won't hear Grandpa's voice calling my name or I won't be able to hear him tell me to "Be a good girl and follow after Jesus", like he always did when we were saying goodbye. But there was this joy that over shadowed the pain and loss. The joy in knowing that Grandpa is breathing Heaven's air! He's meeting Jesus! He's healed and whole!!

It reminded me of 1 Corinthians 15. Death has NO victory! Grandpa is in the place that he always wanted to be. One verse that my family clung to during those hours after Grandpa passed away, and still cling to is 1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 which says, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him."
In the midst of the pain we know with all our hearts that we have HOPE in knowing we will see Grandpa again. For those who know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,the end is not at the grave but death is just a start to spending an eternity with Jesus.

An Andrew Peterson song called "More" was a comfort to my family in those days after Grandpa passed away. We listened to the song as we drove 30 miles in the processional to the country cemetery where Grandpa would be buried. We watched the hearse carry Grandpa to his grave but knowing with everything in us that THIS IS NOT THE END!!

This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
Every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still--
Our nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky for rain

There is more
More than all this pain
More than all the falling down
And the getting up again
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you cannot say why
There must be more

There is more
More than we can stand
Standing in the glory
Of a love that never ends
There is more
More than we can guess
More and more, forever more
And not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more

I hope and pray that everyone can have this hope that we have. If you don't know for sure I would love to share with you how you can too have an overwhelming peace in all circumstances. Don't be afraid to email or message me.

Modesty- A Guy's View....

I found this very interesting and helpful. I'm so thankful that these guys in the video are bold enough to share their hearts and be honest with us on how girls dress.

Lead Me

God has blessed my family with many neat friendships. A few years ago, we were able to meet and start a friendship with the guys from Sanctus Real. Whenever they are in the Arkansas area we try to go out and see their great show and to meet up and encourage the guys. Sanctus Real has a strong passion for marriages and families and appreciate the work of FamilyLife. It has been evident in their songwriting but in just talking to them and seeing what their priorities in life are. I am so thankful for these guys' desire to be men of God who lead their family in godliness and integrity. Which is becoming very uncommon these days. A few weeks back we were able to meet up with Sanctus in Texarkana, AR. During the show Matt played a new song called "Lead Me" I was blown away by the honesty and realness of the lyrics. I thought I'd share with you and hope you are encouraged by the song as I was. If you are a husband or father, may you lead your family and look to God to lead you. I am inspired to pray all the more that their would be more godly men in the world striving to pursue godliness and Christ- likeness and be leading or ready to lead their wives and families. It seems that these kind of men are truly diamonds in the rough! So here you go, enjoy the video! And if you ever get the chance to see Sanctus Real, you are in for a real treat! :)