List Entry #... I lost count

Lists are a specialty of mine, and of the Life Song Journal, if you have yet to notice. I like lists. They're factual and productive, and still very inspiring and spirit-lifting. And sometimes, as a girl who thinks too much for her own good and talks far more than she is comfortable with, list-entries are the way to go! So, here we go.

* I just concluded a month in Michigan. Honestly, a month to me sounded like a long time to be away from home, but the truth is if we didn't visit, the bonds we have with our family now wouldn't be as strong. It was a great month of camping, Apples to Apples, pictures, shopping, eating, driving, baby-holding, World Cup-watching, nail-doing, bonfires, grass, Chicago, hugs, swings, and old Fraiser episodes. I loved it.

* My cousin Kristie flew back with my brother and dad, and is here with us now. She ventured all the way from the Netherlands to spend a couple weeks in the States. Already today while at a stop during our travels, we saw a man stretching awkwardly against a table. "Is that normal?" she asked. I assured her that the disturbing sight was not usually seen.

* It is the nice boy's re-birthday today! July 13th marks the day he took another step in following Jesus. It gives me chills just thinking about it. Baptism does that to you. I find that that last few years I've seen re-birthdays as so precious, and I'm so glad that Matt has one.

* My camera is currently in the hands of Canon-men/women. You may have been there when this occurred. Last time I saw my baby a few weeks ago, she was still broken. Thankfully, my grandpa is a good camera-sharer. My mom has a cute, bitty camera I can use until they replace my girl's circuit board and send it to my house. Hopefully, she will be healed and our parting will be over soon.

* My can't-stay-still family is on the road traveling once more, slowly making our way back to our beloved home. Pray for us, please, that we would remain safe. (By that I mean from other vehicles and from each other. For frequent travelers small spaces still make us cranky. (: )

(photo from weheartit.com)

Earthquakes, Oil Spills, Bombings -- Oh, my..

The terrorist bombings in Kampala yesterday are bringing a fraction of its destruction to my heart today. I'm praying for Uganda, the diseased hearts of the terrorists who decided this was how they were going to spend their Sunday, the World Cup crowd of fans who were in that area -- said to have been the target, and all of those who hold Uganda dear. After the earthquakes in Haiti, I know how it feels to have your heart's home shaken.

Six months ago today... Lives were either changed or brought to an end in Haiti. It's hard to believe it's been half a year.

2010 has been rough. Earthquakes, tsunamis, oil spills, and terrorist bombings. This is only some of what has made it onto national television; not to mention what producers judged as "not entertaining enough" to broadcast. And we're only half way through the year.

It all makes me wonder about our God. And then I am pointed back to us. My latest conclusion is that these disasters which has happened to the least of these didn't occur to offer us something about God, but perhaps to teach us something about ourselves.

The family came over.

We got Subway.

I made this cool picture:

And Spain won.

Fantastic.

Words

In my younger years I would lay down on my back next to a pile of books, one leg propped up on the other and read. With the book upside-down. Why? Obviously because that was the cool way to do it. And I was cool.

I like words. I like books. I like pens. I like paper. I have friends who would buy bras instead of a notebook. Weirdos. Personally, I find adjectives more fun than boob-support.

Over the years of my schooling I have perfected my handwriting to a unique font. Oh, speaking of, I waste my time searching for anomalous fonts for my computer. It's just that exciting.

There are many theories that I have explored that may explain my peculiar interests. Among them are: my mother fell during my residency in her womb; Jane Austen's soul has taken over my body; or I have caught a permanent case of writing fever.

I commonly feel a need to write (usually while I'm supposed to be writing a paper for a professor -- which I love doing). And I feel that need now.

During the summer, my family travels. A lot. I recently returned from a trip to a city I simply adore. Chicago is messy pony-tails, business men, and shiny revolving doors; it's lengthy walks in high-heels and the thrill of public transportation. (For me, Chicago also equals babies, for all our friends there have been blessed with at least one.) Whenever I saw a for-sale sign, I wanted to take it down. If I can't live there, no one else should, right?

Now, I am in Michigan, on the farm, where our abnormally large family is always present. We hug, eat, we play in the grass and love.

Before we get back home for the rest of the summer, my family is making a stop at our country's capitol. That should be fun. The truth is, though, with our family anything could happen.

The DOVE Campaign for Real Beauty

I think the moment when I was introduced to my love for real beauty, was a couple years ago when I watched a commercial in which a girl approximately 6 years of age said, "I am beautiful." My heart melted. I never forgot about DOVE's beauty campaign since.

DOVE's Campaign for Real Beauty's mission is "to make more women feel beautiful everyday by widening stereotypical views of beauty." Intriguing, no? So I checked out their website.

Here's what I learned:

the stats

~ Seven in ten girls believe the lie that they are not good enough, when it comes to their beauty, school, and relationships with friends and family.

~ 70% of girls admit to having been involved in negative activities such as eating disorders, drinking, smoking, and cutting while feeling badly about them selfs.

~ 57 % of girls have mothers who criticize themselves, effecting their daughters.

~ Only 2% of women truly believe they are beautiful, despite what they say publicly.

DCfRB

DOVE launched the campaign in September of 2004, reaching out to the United States and Puerto Rico. Partnering up with the Girl Scouts, the Boys & Girls Club, and Girls Inc., DOVE sets up workshops with girls, run by normal, and normally shaped, women. Within these workshops, beauty is open for transparent discussion and debate. Workbooks (which can be downloaded online) are used by girls, mothers, and mentors.

Just for Girls

On DOVE's website, there is a page specially for girls from the ages of 6 to 16. The page holds self-esteem "tools." This is where you can download free workbooks for girls, their moms and mentors. There are games and quizzes, designed to expose the media and their photoshop schemes; as well as to open doors for girls to look at themselves and their unique beauty. The page for girls also has a virtual safe, to lock up girls' vulnerable thoughts about beauty.

"Wrinkles or Wonderful?"

The campaign is not only for young girls. In 2007 DOVE discovered that 91% of women between the ages of 50-64 believed that our society was in a great need of a beauty reality check! They agreed that the stereotype claiming that only the youth could be beautify needed to be kicked to the curb. DOVE's "Beauty Comes of Age" campaign celebrated gray hair, age spots, wrinkles and the lovely like.

Being a part of it all...

You can help break down the stereotypes by going to the DOVE Beauty Campaign website, printing off the self-esteem workbooks, and giving them to girls or moms in your community.

Feeling more of a call? Through the DOVE website you can locate a group of Girls Scouts or a Boys & Girls Club near you, partner with them to become a part of their workshops.

Any purchase of DOVE products will contribute to the DOVE Campaign for Real Beauty.

(photos from DOVE's Campaign for Real Beauty)