this is going to be a good, good weekend...

...for several reasons. One, it's the end of the first week of school, which means I am dying to sleep in tomorrow morning - if you're thinking "but you had ALL SUMMER to sleep in......" please understand that even if I had slept in all summer, just one week of herding around 106 8th graders and trying to make them pay attention to you teach them about the preposition takes the ever living OOOMPH out of a girl.

So again, #1, tomorrow I can sleep until I wake up -- sweet goodness.

Two, I am going to see Julie & Julia, which I have been looking forward to for ages. I can. not. wait. to see this movie. I have been enthralled by design for the past several months (I suppose the inner-Bonnie in me is beginning to emerge? Are you beaming, yet, mom?) and am extremely excited to see the kitchen designs in this movie. I've seen pictures, and I'm intrigued, to say the least. Too bad I don't yet own a home to overhaul. Which brings me to Three...

I have been on the Dave Ramsey plan now for several months, and can I just say that IT WORKS?? Even on a little teacher-budget - along with Dave, an incredibly cheap shoebox of an apartment, some tried-and-true discipline, smart saving (thanks, Dave!) I will, Lord willing, be a homeowner in approximately 2 years! I mean, I'll be 30 by then. Come on. It's about time to be there, don't you think? I'm not sure what this has to do with it being a good, good weekend, but I felt like throwing that in there. On to Three.

I am joining Redeemer Community Church this weekend. Any of you who know me well will know that I've not joined a church in, maybe, never? Growing up, I was part of a church that I don't recall having an official membership roster - and since then, I haven't been a member of a church, though I've attended a church or two regularly for years at a time. I love this church and its teaching with all my heart. I love it because, obviously, like many churches, it proclaims and seeks to authentically live out Jesus' oft uncomfortable truths in very honest, real, tangible ways in the city of Birmingham. And let's be honest, I need this kind of covenant community to live these truths myself and act in obedience despite my fears.

So yes. A good, good weekend indeed.