The Teacher Diva

His & Her Denim (and getting a little personal!)

moto jacket outfit

So, I’m pretty excited about this post. It’s not every day I get to work on a project with Austin. And trust me, it wasn’t easy convincing him to “model”, but he was such a trooper in his utility jacket and dark rinse jeans! Although it may have gone to his head a little (shh don’t tell him I said that). 

Express came to us a few months ago with this exciting partnership to promote the Express Denim Collection (which is pretty amazing) and the Express Life campaign. The idea behind this campaign is to be bold, confident, and self-assured. And to share what those words mean to us.

Though, I don’t share too much of our personal faith and testimony on here, I couldn’t share those words without bringing up our relationship with Christ and what that means to us.

And before I get too far into this, I do want to address that this is a sponsored post.  I want to be fully transparent here. Express compensated me to promote the products in this collection. The compensation allows me to dedicate time and resources to create the content you see here. The promotion wants publishers (like me) to address what it means to be bold, confident, and self-assured. I can’t answer that without talking about my personal faith. So, the following are my personal opinions.  Here it goes…

BEING BOLD

For me, being bold is using our God-given talents for the glory of God and not for personal glory. Everyone is good at something. And God has granted each of us talents. If you are a musician, for example, being bold means knowing your music is good because of your God-given talent. And you strive to make great music because it is a glorification to God. You boldly know, without God, you wouldn’t be good at music.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

— 1 Corinthians 10:31

BEING CONFIDENT

Similarly, confidence is knowing our identity is in Christ. For me, this can be the toughest. It’s really easy to place my confidence in personal successes. And when I do that, I always let myself down. I’ll give you an example from my days as a teacher. I was awarded Teacher of the Year a few years ago. I was thrilled, ecstatic, over the moon excited. For a whole year, I thought I was a pretty good teacher. But the following years, I never got the award again. I felt disappointed and questioned whether or not I was a good teacher. It personally affected my attitude in life. I was putting my confidence in my own ability. And like everyone else, I am imperfect. And therefore, I will eventually fail. But Christ is perfect and unchanging.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

— Hebrews 13:8

SELF-ASSURANCE

And lastly, self-assurance is knowing that Jesus Christ has already paid for my sins. There is nothing I can do or say that will earn my forgiveness. Those are simple words, but I forget them so many times.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

— Ephesians 2:8-9

And by all means, I don’t have life all figured out. I was excited to write this post because it was a great personal reminder of where I’m at with my walk with God. So I hope this post was an encouragement for you as much as it was for me.

Finally, I have to brag on Austin for a bit. He is a great partner for me both in marriage and with my business. He helps keep me grounded and reminds me of our true purpose in life. This business doesn’t make it easy, so I’m thankful for him.

And in return, I remind him that his “modeling career” probably won’t take off. Ha! 😉

Thanks for reading! xx Ashley

Mens hairstyle with bearsTheTeacherDiva-ExpressDenim-126Mens Utility jacket Express Denim Express Faux Leather Jacket Oversized Black Aviators Distressed Grey Denim His and her denim styles Celine Trapeze Bag Beard hairstyleScrappy Sandals with Black Denim Frayed denim outfit

OUTFIT DETAILS:

On Austin: Express Utility Jacket (fit: true to size) | Dark Wash Skinny Jeans (fit: these run a little small) | Similar Chelsea Boots 

On Ashley: High Waisted Legging Jean (These are so flattering and I love the fit. Be sure to size down, they run a little big!) c/o | Strappy Heels | Faux Suede Moto Jacket (fit: true to size, I am in a small // This jacket looks and feels so luxe. It’s a great piece for Fall) | Lipstick: color “Bosworth’s Beauty”

CLICK-TO-SHOP


THIS POST IS CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EXPRESS. ALL SELECTIONS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.
images by: Mary Summers Hafner 


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Comments

    • Hi Courtney!

      Thank you for your question. I actually could not include those details in today’s post, however I have them linked in yesterday’s blog post. I hope that helps! Xx Ashley

      Reply

  2. As an aide at Wells, I saw your inner boldness, and it made people resonate to you. What a wonderful opportunity you have here with the Express collection to show how working on your own resources is always going to be less satisfying than working for God’s larger plan. Many, many congratulations!

    Reply

  3. First off, y’all are the cutest (read: best looking) couple ever!
    Secondly, I LOVED this post!! What a great reminder for me today. You are using your gifts and success to glorify God and share your faith — what a beautiful thing!!! 😘😘😘

    Reply

  5. Thank you SO much for being BOLD and sharing about your faith is Christ Jesus here are the blogging interwebs, I can imagine how intimidating it must be, but what a platform the Lord has provided you through this blog to reach many!

    I was so encouraged by your boldness this morning Ashley!

    Reply

  6. Totally jealous of the two of you! So cute!! Love that you related this campaign to you walk with Christ. It truly is what drives our everyday lives and just by you sharing this today it’s showing your boldness, confidence, and self-assurance in HIM!

    -Morgan
    How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com

    Reply

  8. Ashley,

    Thank you for taking this opportunity to glorify our Lord! I pray that He continues to bless you and Austin and that He continues the good work He has started in you both. It’s a wonderful encouragement to have women in this industry who find their identity in Christ and I am thankful for the ways in which God is using you and Austin. 🙂

    P.S. LOVING the jeans.

    Reply

  13. Love this post! You’re such an inspiration, thank you for sharing your sweet words and love and faith in Christ. Adds to the list of reasons why your blog is my favorite. You are such a humble, classy lady. Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. xoxo

    Reply

  16. Ashley- how refreshing in today’s world to see a lovely godly woman share her faith!!!! God is so pleased.
    You and Austin are a wonderful couple and the outfits are amazing!!! Thank you that you know it’s all a gift from the Lord.
    Jan Brown

    Reply

  17. I greatly enjoyed reading this post and I loved the scriptures that you used throughout. Confidence is one of my daily struggles that God is certainly at work on in my life. May God continue to bless you as you share your faith in him.

    Much love,

    Heather Dawn

    Reply

  19. Well said Ashley! What a great reminder of God’s love and gifts for us. Always keep Him first in your lives.
    Btw, y’all are adorable!!

    xo Charlotte Little

    Reply

  20. Ashley,
    I am so glad that you shared such an insightful post. It is true that we can easily be distracted by our own abilities and talents, therefore we must remind ourselves that God holds our abilities. This post was a perfect reminder that God is in control and that everything we do, should be in glorious of him. P.S. I love the couple outfit, you two are the cutest. God bless you always!
    – Robin
    Runwayteacher.com

    Reply

  21. Thank you for being so bold in sharing your faith in God. I was blown away by how you used a sponsored post as an opportunity to witness! That’s an awesome way to use your platform as a blogger. Keep up the amazing work and I love you style as well! 🙂

    Reply

  23. Hi Ashley!
    Thank you for being bold and sharing your faith with all of us! Your post was so encouraging and a great reminder that in Christ we can be confident and bold. It’s so great to see you use your gifts and share them with your readers. You and Austin also make an adorable model couple!

    Reply

  29. Ashley,
    I so needed to read this post today! Thank you so much for sharing your faith with your readers. I, too am a teacher and lover of fashion and as you know sometimes being a teacher sure can be draining, leave you weary and straight up stressed out at times. I keep forgetting that it’s not about me, it’s about God’s plans and that I need to follow those plans. Thanks for the reminder. I love your blog and read it daily.

    xo,
    Christine

    Reply

    • Hi Les,

      Thank you for your comment! These actually surprised me and I found them to run big. Perhaps because they are high-waisted but I sized down a whole size. I was expecting to have to size up! Hope that helps! xx Ashley

      Reply

  32. Hi Ashley,
    Just wanted to say that I loved this post and your words really encouraged me! I admire your boldness to share your faith with others. Y’all are seriously the cutest couple…Hope you have a lovely trip to NYC! xo Andrea

    Reply

  33. Express fashion always top of the trend.. The Cutest Couple EVER ! Rock stars ! Love your blog and all you share..

    Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] 50% off site-wide at Express // Dark Wash Skinny Jeans for him (fit: these run a little small) | 50% off  Denim for Her (fit: true to size, but if you are in-between sizes I would go down. I am normally a 2/4 and I got these in a 2.  These are one of my favorite pairs I own. They fit great and I love the raw hem) | 50% off  Faux Suede Moto Jacket (fit: true to size, I am in a small…this jacket looks and feels so luxe. It’s a great piece for Fall) // More outfit details in the original post  […]

    Reply

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