Tell Me a Story

Windy colors

     My life is pretty full right now. Between school and work and college applications and ROTC applications and church and family, I don't really have much time. When I do have time, I'm probably reading or taking pictures or crocheting.  Maybe I'm just sitting, daydreaming; I don't get to do that very often. Okay, all of that to say I'm busy.  A couple days ago, I ought to have been working on an annotated bibliography for history... But I had a week left and after a really nice run through the gusting wind and gorgeously colored leaves slapping me in the face, I couldn't go inside! The colors and movement and light of fall was calling to me and making my shutter-button-finger itch.
     I grabbed my camera, didn't bother to change out of my now-sweaty running clothes, threw my fuzzy boots on, and headed outdoors. Backlighting and yellow leaves and wind blowing had given me some super nice artistic shots on their own, but as I was capturing beauty I was inspired by a story going on around me.  The treehouse, which was a huge renovation project for siblings and friends over the summer, had leaves up the slide and across the deck, the door was hanging off its hinges, and it had a look of abandonment about it.  Our swing set was swinging forlornly in the wind.  The driveway was covered in debris, untouched by bouncing basketballs and running feet.  Thus, I title this set of photos "Abandoned Summer."  It also has ties to growing up, I think...

Forlorn swingset

Look of abandonment

     I love fall, so I wanted to share some of the beauty I captured.  This set also provides a nice intro to what I actually wanted to write about today.  Stories... A week ago (maybe two?) I was driving to the bus stop and the rain drops slid down my windshield, my wipers going swish-swish-swish.  I sat at a red light, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel in time with whatever song was playing on Air 1, when it hit me: I love stories.  Whoa!  Huge revelation!  Not so much... but it truly wasn't a thought that had occurred to me before, at least in this sense.  Yes, I've always loved books with good story lines; I've been an avid reader as long as I can remember.  My love of stories extends further than that, though.  My favorite music is that which tells a story, either through words (Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera, or more contemporary music that doesn't simply repeat words over and over) or through the complexities of the music (classical or jazz).  History is one of my favorite subjects because it's just one huge story, and millions upon millions of stories contained in that one story.  I try and reveal stories through my photography.  I have a love for life because, well, life is a story to which we don't know the ending.  I love my job because I get to work with people who have had a long time to develop their stories.  Maybe one of the reasons I love photographing children is because they are an empty book with so much potential for future stories.  I think a lot of my life revolves around stories!
     God is the writer of perhaps the biggest and most important (to us) story of all - the whole of the one we're in right now.  He's totally in charge.  But He's given us free will to help write our own stories.  How am I going to shape mine?  By taking that free will and surrendering it to God.  By abandoning my own ambitions to the knowledge that God's goals are so much better than mine.  By choosing each and every moment to give it all to Him, and to make that all my best - be it in taking a  chemistry exam, warming up before singing for the children on Sunday morning, being authentic with a friend, in making breakfast for my family, in preparing for whatever future He has in store for me, in photographing His creation, or in serving the residents at the retirement home.  And in taking time to enjoy the beauty of the what He's set around me.

The Choice of Love

        This post took a long time to write and a really long time to start writing.  It’s a long post dealing with a large topic, one of which I can only barely brush the surface.  It’s such a big topic that even with the little part I’m trying to touch on, I’m not sure I represented in the most organized manner.  It’s controversial, in many ways, and open to much discussion.  Love is such a huge part of the Christian life, yet we tend to shy away from in depth talks about it.  I really don’t know why.  Maybe it’s just me and that’s an inaccurate reflection.
        Over the last year and a half, one of my main topics of meditation has been love. As a child, I knew love more as others loving me.  I grew up knowing the Bible verses: God is love, 1 Cor 13, love your neighbor as yourself.  While I would say I loved my parents, my siblings, my friends, it was never a truly deep love.  Love is unselfish, caring only and fully for the other person, and I’ve never lived up to that.  I still haven't (how could I, an imperfect person, experience perfect love towards others?) but I've gotten closer through practice and God's grace.
I want to start with a definition of love that has influenced a lot of my thought processes these last months.  Love: intentionally and intelligently choosing what is best for the other person.  This is the definition given at Oasis last year, and it stuck with me a lot more than I expected it would.  It’s a definition that can be applied to all relationships: friends, enemies, romances, and family.  It crosses great distances, differences, and divides.

First I want to go through some of the qualities of love that have stuck out to me the most, either by example or by study.  By demonstration, a good friend has taught me that love is unconditional – it is caring and understanding, it listens without judging, without thinking less, without disapproving, and it is so because it is full of God.  Love is patient, and, often, that patience is only possible with God’s help.  Love is also not always spilling-over-joyous love, the gooey love our culture associates with romance; it is often a deep-seated honoring love.  As Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, we love by being patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not prideful.  By honouring and looking to the other’s good before our own.  We try not to be angry and irritable, and we keep no record of wrongs.  We forgive and forget.  We always protect, always trust, always hope, and always persevere.  These qualities we choose to try by God’s grace.  But love isn't always easy.  Just because you hold knowledge of what it's supposed to look like in your head doesn't necessarily mean your actions will always reflect that.

Now I’m going to expand on something I’ve touched on a couple of times in the past two paragraphs: love isn’t a feeling, it’s a choice.  Josh McDowell defines love this way: to nurture (bring maturity to) and to cherish (care for and protect).  His definition is probably the result of many years of study and reflection – it’s certainly much more developed than mine is.  Maybe 50 years down the road I’ll get around to defining love.  For now, I’m starting with the idea that love is a choice. Society today has really tried to alter love to only include the feeling part of it, and that definition is probably a cause of many of our problems.  How can we love our coworker if we really don’t like him?  Well, my parents always told my siblings and me that we always had to love each other, even when we didn’t like each other.  In fact, I’m going to paraphrase C.S. Lewis here.  I’ve just been reading his book Mere Christianity, and I think he explains this much better than I ever have.  I am told to love my neighbor as I love myself.  Well, how do I love myself?  I certainly don’t love myself because I’m always nice, always good.  In fact, I love myself in spite of being a rather awful person at times.  So love isn’t based on liking a person.  C.S. Lewis says love is wishing your neighbor good – I say love is a choice.   Choose it or not.

What does this choice look like?  Because love is a choice, it applies to those whom we don't want to love as well. Even when we carry hurt against someone, we cannot abandon him or her in favor of a grudge.  Love is about the other person.  What is best for him?  How can you best serve her?  What does the other person want and need?  It is with the Lord's help that it can be all about the other person, from our hearts to our heads to our actions.  Even through hurt and distance and separation, we can and should still make the choice to love.
Love, in many ways, is simply deciding to put the other person first.  This journey of love started for me first by observing love in others, then by deciding to choose to love one person, then by gradually applying the concept of love as a choice to more and more people.  Some people have been harder to love than others; some people I haven’t gotten there yet.  I ask God to change my heart, show me how to best love a person, and a couple of times He has done so in bigger ways than I was expecting.  In other instances, He’s still working on my stubborn, sinful heart.  I imagine, though, that He has great works of love in my future, in one way or another.

It Doesn't Take Too Much to Get Me Talking Photography

      It's been 5 weeks since I've written anything.  It's not as though I'm lacking ideas, I just haven't gotten around to actually writing them out beyond a couple descriptive sentences (I've made a habit of doing that because too often I don't have any ideas). Why haven't I written?  I don't know. But I keep up with this blog because I enjoy it, not because I feel obligated to. When I feel obligated without enjoyment, then it's time to move on.  As of starting this post, I'm not even 100% sure what topic I'm writing on today.  Maybe I'll just bounce around; that would pretty accurately reflect the status of my mind at the moment.  But... I think I would confuse everyone, so I won't do that.
     I think I'll talk about photography.  It's a topic that (you should have noticed) I love and will very readily talk about.  I'm still learning, and sometimes other photographers introduce topics that are completely, genuinely, honestly, truly NEW to me.  Best learning experiences ever... or at least, they have the steepest learning curve. 

Heidi, sunrisephotogh.com

      I've been truly blessed this summer by Heidi Stephens at Sunrise Photography (sunrisephotogh.com) allowing me to follow her and teaching me some of her trade.  Connections with other photographers are really important, even if those connections only started because I used to babysit her boys!  Because of some of her mentoring, I've really found a desire to improve my photography further; one of my goals is to do one portrait photo shoot each week (I have enough siblings to do so) because portraits are one of my weak points and one of the most commonly requested shoots. I may, even, in the future, throw out an offer of portraits if someone will come be my model for a little while... when my siblings start rolling their eyes at my picture taking requests. 

Watching Grandpa

     That being said, someday I want to work without posing. One of my strengths is detail work, capturing the details of a place or event, and I prefer event shoots to portrait shoots; it's always good to challenge oneself, but it's also good to work within one's strengths. So, eventually, I want to capture life as it is (see my blog post: Now and Then) - especially the hardships that society, with its short attention span, often forgets.  One of the photographers who most inspires me is John Warren, the World Vision photographer (http://blog.worldvision.org/author/jon-warren).  His photos are not only beautiful, they're meaningful!   

Another's Life

     Overall, to improve, I'm working on portraiture, on different composition and editing techniques, and on keeping my eyes open for those real life, hard, easier-to-ignore situations that must not be ignored.  Anyway, I can see photography being a huge part of my life, no matter where God leads me (I still don't know where that is, but so many people ask me that I'll probably devote a single blog post to it).  I ended up bouncing around a bit anyway (seriously, between college now, college future, job now, job future, church, photography, home life, free will vs the sovereignty of God, Anne of Green Gables, and all the other parts of my life, I'm surprised I was able to be cohesive at all), but not nearly as much as I could have been; I stayed on one topic!  And I didn't address every aspect of that topic that has occupied my mind the last couple of weeks.
     I should stick some pictures in here and publish this and be done.  It's not going to get any more cohesive through more editing.  Oh!  I've definitely appreciated all of the praise for the photos that I've posted on Facebook.  This is a collective thank you, too - I intend to go somewhere with my photography.  Okay.  Enough said.  Stop typing.

Talking To My Phone

     I've noticed lately a habit that I don't like.  It's a common habit, I think, resulting in some unseemly conduct, especially among younger generations.  I have termed this habit "Talking To My Phone."  When I'm texting someone, or messaging them, or commenting on something, I've taken to simply talking, rather than talking to him or her, to that person specifically. 
     Now, this does mean each of my messages very accurately conveys my thoughts and, in a way, my tone of thinking.  Actually, it's very similar to the way I write on this blog.  For other people, who perhaps don't have a cordial "tone" of thought, this may produce rather nastier texts.  I think this is why we're always warned to conduct deep conversations, or conversations that are possibly hurtful, in person, because it is so much easier to say rude things over the internet.  Rude messages, in my opinion, arise from people not censoring their thoughts as they would in person; people don't censor as they would in person because they aren't in person, they're talking to their phones.
     However, I would go even farther than "make sure you don't say rude things over the internet."  I would say we need to consider how we're talking to each person using our electronic devices, even when the conversation is light and pleasant.  When we speak in person, we alter our behaviours depending on the other person's personality.  Not that we wear masks, simply that we may be more talkative with one person, more reserved with another.  Yet this gets lost when we aren't face to face.  Perhaps that's a good thing - we get to see different sides of one another - but I think it takes with it some of the individuality of each relationship.  
     I've decided to try (no gaurantee on success, this is only a few weeks old) to imagine each person as I text him or her.  I can often visualise a person's facial expressions, even call to mind what someone would sound like in speaking the words of the message.  When I remember to do this, it has, thus far, made a significant difference in my final sent message.  Perhaps it's also because I'm taking more time to devise each text, but I think I'm responding more to the person than to the words on my phone.  And I think that's a good thing. 

The Best Vacation Ever

     So I'm about halfway through my summer vacation, now, and I've pretty much decided that this is the best summer I've ever had and that this summer probably will hold that record for a while.  I'm not saying it's perfect, with every day better than the last, but I seem to have struck the balance between busy and relaxation that works for me.  Below is a list of what I think makes this a beautiful summer:

     1. Get a job/be productive.  One of the things I think ruins a vacation is boredom.  Vacation boredom is why I love the South African school schedule we were on: 3 months school, 1 month holiday, repeat.  However, if you can keep yourself busy with a good summer job (especially if it's one you enjoy) that boredom will be a lot longer in coming.  As for being productive, this is around-the-home stuff: college/scholarship applications, cooking, cleaning, organizing, community organizations, etc.  
     2. Be lazy. That said, vacation is supposed to be relaxing.  Only allot yourself so much to do that when you feel like being lazy, you can be lazy.  Obviously, this is in lesser amounts.

     3. Exercise.  You should do this year round, so don't slack off in the summer.  Much.  For more than a couple weeks at a time.  And have fun with exercising!  Don't use that machine every day for 30 minutes... borrrrring.  Pick up a new water sport, or run outside, turning down whichever side street you come to!
     4. Spend time outside.  Summer, unless you live someplace ridiculously hot, is a great time to go outside.  I've pretty much taken over caring for my mom's herb garden, and even the normally tedious chore of weeding is made 100x better when I'm out soaking in the sun.  Read outside.  Nap outside.  Work outside.  And exercising outside is so much nicer than exercising inside.
     5. Do what you love.  Spend time really filling yourself up; for me, this means I take my camera and play.  I read good books (this summer our family is reading classics), I paint, and I spend time in the kitchen.
     6. Build relationships.  This means seeking to hang out with friends, to spend time with siblings, to connect with parents and peers.  Be sociable.  I'm an introvert, so sometimes this is difficult, but it just means sometimes I need to have a day to be antisocial. 
     7. Keep traditions.  For as long as I can remember, my extended family has congregated at a cabin on a lake in northern Minnesota.  I know each of my cousins and aunts and uncles because of this, and I love the lake.  I wouldn't trade this time for anything. 
     8. Start new traditions.  Just because you have good old traditions to keep does not mean you can't start new traditions.  I always wonder when people say one mustn't do something because "it's not tradition."  Tradition had to start somewhere.  So, once a week, have a game night.  Rent a jetski and visit a local body of water.  Something.
     9. Explore.  Going hand in hand with starting new traditions, summer is a perfect time to find new places.  Visit a new restaraunt.  Hike unknown trails.  Take a road trip to wherever you end up.  Or, explore your own town a little bit more. 
     10. Spend time with God.  Most importantly, as always, spend time with the one who set an example for resting, who created the places you'll explore, who is a working, hands-on God, who wants a relationship with you. 

     This summer does have a bittersweet aspect to it.  I turned 18 back in April and, looking back over the last few months, it's almost as if I can feel childhood slipping away.  It's not something I can stop, it's not something I wish wouldn't happen, it's not something I want to hurry up.  People say my entire life is before me, but, more accurately, my entire life is behind me.  The rest of my life is before me.  This may very well be the last summer I can spend in the way I've just described.  That aches, but I've a restless excitement for what comes next, what God will do next.  

Note: it does help to speak to the weatherman and ensure that the summer weather is spectacular.  I've hardly had one ugly day in the last 8 weeks and 3 states.

The Different Snapping Points

     I really like colors. And certain designs.  And for things to flow a certain way.  And I've realized that whenever I get an idea for a piece of clothing or a pair of earrings or some other accessory,  the designers who get paid all the money haven't yet been inspired to create my idea. Come, now, that's your job! No, I'm kidding,  they have lots of other ideas, but this lack of my ideas being produced has led me to learn to sketch and sew and bead. I've done my own dresses and I bead quite regularly (also brought on by my inability to wear any metal but gold), I just haven't figured ot the shoe bit yet. I'll get there... maybe. I'm not aiming to be a fashion designer at all, I don't get inspirations that regularly,  I just know how to create and fulfill my dreamed up items.  
Anyway, one of my more recent projects, since I started driving, was to create a key chain for my keys. I knew I needed something long, something that would stand out, but I didn't feel like spending money. So... I created it. A bunch of colorful, textured, unique accent beads, all strung onto a wire and attached to my key chain. Pretty!
It didn't last very long before that wire snapped and all the beads tumbled into the cracks and crevices of my car. Okay. I can solve this. Three wires! After all, three cords cannot be broken, right? That lasted about twice as long. Two of the wires snapped, and I set the beads aside for a couple weeks until I could have time to repair it. 
This time, I've used a single wire and a single piece of string. Alright, I've not been using it for as long as the other two took to break yet but I have my hopes up. It got me thinking... when it's three wires, those wires will all snap under the same circumstances. Bend the whole thing too hard, and it all breaks. String,  on the other hand, breaks when it is continuously rubbed.  So if the wire is combined with the string, they'll be stronger together both because they are two and because they are different. 
Same thing works with people. Put two people who work the same way and put them both in a difficult situation, they'll both break at the same time. But put two differently-minded people together, and they can support each other through the different snapping points. That's why we need friends and family who aren't the same as us. 
Anyway, I'll let you know if my key chain breaks. 

There's something in my shoe

     The other morning, I slid my foot into my sneaker and scraped over a small stone.  Habitually, I froze up and almost pulled my foot out of my shoe.  There's something in my shoe, there's Something in my shoe, there's SOMETHING in my shoe! No, it's just a rock.  But I have a very good reason for this instinctual reaction.
     A year and a half ago, getting ready for school. 5:45 am, dark, I'm half asleep, and I'm pulling on my uniform.  I pull my scuffed-up, thick-soled, black dress shoes out from under my dresser, pull the left one on. *Yawn.*  I lace it up, ensuring the strings are flat, not twisted.  Next shoe, now.  It's like the hokey-pokey.  I put my toe in, I PULL MY TOE OUT!  There's something pokey in my shoe!  I'm awake!  I'm pretty sure I screamed - you can ask my sister if you really need to know.  I ever so slowly grab one of the laces and tip the shoe sideways; out comes this:

     This is a parktown prawn.  They are ugly, very pokey, squirt ink, and impossible to kill.  I've been told it takes several phone books to stun them.  Of course, my mom doesn't like killing things.  I'm thankful she let us kill the mosquitoes.  Spiders, wasps, parktown prawns, they go outside.     Meaning someone has to pick them up and carry them there, and, when it's my shoe, that someone is me. Eurgh! 
     For the remainder of my time in Africa, I never failed to check my shoes before putting them on. And I still have the THERE'S SOMETHING IN MY SHOE instinct. 
     All this to say, be thankful you don't find parktown prawns in your shoes. 

I was freaking out too much to ever take a picture of one of these, so the image is from http://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=264444

How to Make a Basic Pair of Earrings

     I had to write a process analysis speech for my English class, and I realized it would be a nice how-to post on here.  So, while, it's not a reflection, here it is!  Besides, I can, um, reflect on the beauty of glass.  And my creative side from God.  And.... the slippery character of beads?  Maybe that last one is a stretch.  

     The ability to work with wire, beads, and some basic tools has many advantages.  It enables one to create unique statement jewelry, reuse old jewelry, and fix any broken pieces.  To create a basic pair of earrings, first gather the needed tools: assorted beads, ear wires, head pins, chain nose pliers, round nose pliers, and wire cutters.  Ear wires are the bent wires which hang in one’s ears; head pins are a stretch of wire which have a flat part at the bottom to stop beads from sliding off.  Local craft stores should carry all of these tools.  One will also want to make sure to have patience with minuscule components, an eye for beauty, and a clutter-free, well-lit workspace.

     First, the design and style of the earrings-to-be must be decided upon.  Select the desired beads and lay them out on the work surface in the order they will be strung.  Since there are two earrings in a pair, lay out two sets of beads, same or different.  Carefully string the beads in the decided order onto the headpins, using one headpin per set.  Beads slide off as easily as they slide on, so be attentive to their desire to undo one’s hard work.  

     One set at a time, use the chain nose pliers to bend both headpins to a 90° angle just above the beads.  Now that the bend will stop the beads from sliding, lay one incomplete earring aside and focus on the other until its completion.  Using the wire cutters, cut the excess wire off of the headpin about one centimeter away from the beads.  The round nose pliers should now be used to create a loop at the end of the headpin.  This loop will be used to connect the headpin to the ear wire.  Clasp the very end of the trimmed part of the headpin between the two parts of the pliers.  The pliers should be perpendicular to the wire.  Holding the wire tightly, roll the pliers so a loop is almost completely created, leaving a small space on which to string the ear wire.  This is where patience comes in - shaping wire takes practice.  

     Now it is time to attach the ear wire to the beaded headpin.  Slide the ready-made loop at the bottom of the ear wire onto the loop which was created on the headpin.  Again using the chain nose pliers, gently close the loop on the headpin so there is no room for the ear wire to slide off.  One must be careful not to change ear wires and beaded headpins too often because the loops will break over time if they are bent too often.  

     The first earring is now complete.  Repeat the wire-bending-attachment process with the second earring.  Finally, the one of a kind earrings must be worn with pride because no one else has the same pair of earrings!  

or something.

Gallo Pinto

This is one of my favorite recipes from my mission trip to Costa Rica five years ago, made often by my mom for breakfast.  The recipe was given to us by the locals who hosted us.

GALLO PINTO
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 celery stalks, fairly well chopped (include the leaves).
˝ sweet pepper, finely chopped.
˝ bunch of cilantro, chopped.
One stick of butter
2 cups of white rice (cooked, preferably a day or two in advance).
1 pound can of black beans.
ź cup of Salsa Lizano.
˝ teaspoon of salt (optional).

1.  Cook the rice (it usually takes four cups of water to cook two cups of rice).  Set aside.  It is best to set the cooked rice overnight.
2.  Cook the minced onion, garlic, and celery with the stick of butter (margarine) on medium heat in a Dutch oven pan until the vegetables are soft.  Add the sweet pepper and cilantro and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.
3.  Add the beans and stir them in with the vegetables.  Cook about 5 minutes.
4.  Add the rice and stir the beans, vegetables and rice together.
5.  Add the Salsa Lizano and salt.  Stir everything together. Continue heating until warm.

Good served with scrambled eggs and sour cream.

The quantities and times can be varied to taste.

You can also cook the black beans instead of using canned beans.

Enjoy!

Best Brownie Recipe

These are my favorite brownies:

Ingredients: 
     1 cup butter
     1 1/2 cup flour
     1 cup cocoa powder
     1/2 tsp salt
     1/2 tsp baking powder
     1 cup sugar
     1 Tbsp vanilla extract
     4 eggs
     6 oz chocolate, chopped OR 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Oven 350°F (175°C)
Instructions:  
     1.  Melt butter on stovetop or in microwave.  Lightly grease 9x13 pan.
     2. While the butter is melting, whisk flour and cocoa together with salt and baking soda.  Set aside.
     3.  Combine melted butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
     4.  Beat the eggs into the butter mixture one at a time, mixing well after each, until thoroughly blended.  
     5.  Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture.  
     6.  Toss the chocolate in a light dusting of flour and stir them into the batter with a spoon or spatula. (The flour will keep the chocolate pieces suspended in the brownies so you have nice bites of pure chocolate.)
     7.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Spread the batter in the pan, slightly mounding on sides so it will all bake evenly.  
     8.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  
     9.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from http://www.instructables.com/id/Brownie-Recipe/ 

The Good Days

     The last few months, I've been really good about reading my Bible almost every day.  I'm not saying this to receive a standing ovation or lots of pats on the back, but to share something I've learned.  The days I read the the good book are the good days.  When I don't read it, I generally have a "not-so-great" or "iffy" day.  People have been telling me my entire life that this is true, but for some reason (maybe I thought it would take too much time or be too boring) it just never caught on.  

    Recently: I didn't read my Bible either last Saturday or Sunday (bad bad bad idea) and I got really annoyed with one of my best friends that Saturday, shouted at and gave him the cold shoulder on Sunday, and had to suffer through two days of not-so-greatness, plus explanations and stuff on Monday.  I almost always get along with him otherwise; there were other reasons why I was irritated with him, but I should have been able to control my temper and I couldn't.  I think a big part of that was because I didn't start off my day the right way.  
     I think another reason why people don't read their Bible everyday is because they don't know what to read.  At the moment, I'm reading one chapter of the New Testament and two chapters of the Old Testament every morning before I get dressed for school, and skipping those parts of the Bible that I know I'll hit a sticking point on because I've read them so many times or they're hard to understand: Leviticus, Romans, the Gospels, Psalms, etc.  NOT that they aren't good to read, it's just my goal to read the rest of the Bible, and if I don't skip those I'm more likely to not get through it all.  Joshua and Nehemiah and Esther were fascinating stories.  Whoever said the Bible didn't hold adventure.  
     I encourage everyone to read the Bible regularly.  God speaks to us through His word (real life example: I was baptized on Sunday, and a leader in the church shared 1 Timothy 4:12 with me.  Guess what I was reading that day?  Yup, 1 Timothy 4) and digging into His word means we're digging deeper into Him.  Even if it takes 30 minutes a day (it only takes me 15 minutes) those are 30 minutes which are well spent.  So decide what you'll read and start digging!

6 Easy Ways to SLEEP More

I don't know about you, but I like my beauty sleep, ladies. Since I'm starting school on the 24th, I've been trying to think of ways to cut my getting-ready time down so I can sleep in as long as possible. Most of you have probably already started school (and are loving having to wake up early again, I'm sure!) so I thought I would share with you what I have come up with.



1. Time yourself.
Use a couple mornings to time yourself to figure out how long it takes you to get ready. You might find that you are allowing yourself way more time than you need. If that is the case, take the time your using on facebook or texting your friends to SLEEP instead.

2. Take showers at night.
I used to take showers every single morning and this was definitely cutting in on my sleep time (not mention, not very nice to my hair). Now I take one every other night. I find that taking a shower before bed also helps me to relax.

3. Pre-perpare your breakfast.
I can't even tell you how long it takes me to decide what to have for breakfast some mornings. Our family doesn't buy cereal often so that's not even a quick option for me. By taking a Saturday afternoon to make up and freeze a bunch of waffles to warm up when I need them, I cut down a lot of breakfast time in the morning.

4. Plan your outfits.
Okay, lets be honest, most girls take way too long to decide what to wear. But if you plan ahead, it can save a lot of time and headache on a hurried school morning.

5. Find cute and easy hairstyles.
Curling or straightening your hair every morning takes a lot of time, hassle, and can be very damaging to your hair. Youtube has tons of video hair tutorials for every texture and length, making it easy to find ways to style your particular hair type. I have a couple go-to styles that work really well for my hair texture. And when I want to change it up, I either french braid or roll my hair up in socks like rollars before going to bed to get a wavy or curly texture.

6. Take care of your skin.
Yeah, this is a weird one; how can taking care of your skin help you get more sleep? Bear with me ladies, it will make sense in a minute. So, am I completely weird in that the way I feel about my looks depends on how my skin looks? I have an acne problem most of the time and whenever I get a new breakout, my looks-esteem drops quite a bit. Yes, I know, beauty is not skin deep. But that fact doesn't change that we want to look our best, does it? I have tried so many different products to clear up my face. The problem is, whenever something worked to get rid of the acne, it made my skin dry and dead looking. This week I decided that putting all those chemicals on my face could not be good for me at all. Thus began my search for the perfect natural skin-clearer. I'm getting pretty close to finding it (thanks to pinterest). There will be a post about it once I do find it.
Anyways...that long skin story did have a point. That point is that when my skin looks good, I feel good about my looks and don't feel like I have to make up for my not good skin by wearing more makeup, making sure my hair is extra perfect, or spending more time on my clothes. Thus, I spend less time getting ready in the morning! (Whew, glad I finally got my point accross!)

I hope these ideas will help you sleep in later! Let me know if you've tried any of these things and how it worked for you. Or if you have other ideas for cutting down your getting-ready time.

Five Ways to Break the Ice

We all have those times when we're in new places, meeting new people, and we have no clue what to say or do. Maybe you're starting in a new school this year (I'm starting at my local community college next month) going to a new church, starting a new activity with people you don't know, or just want to step out of your usual "group". Here are five tips on how to break the ice.

1. Be Comfortable with Yourself.
When you can be comfortable with yourself, it makes it easier for others to be comfortable with you. Don't be afraid to look like a fool and be quick to laugh off mistakes. People are drawn to those who are confident in their own skin.

2. Use Complements.
Complementing is one of the most effective ways to break the ice, especially when complementing something that invites further conversation. By simply commenting that you like the new person's shoes, for example, you can discover that both of you are thrift store shoppers or that you both have grandmas with good shoe taste. Even silly things in common can go a long way in being comfortable with each other. Complementing also sends a confident message that says, "I'm confident enough not to be threatened by you and your cute shoes and I don't want you to feel threatened by me."

3. Ask Questions.
When the conversation starts to drag, asking questions like "what do you do for fun?" or "where did you move from?" can pave the way for other things you have in common or learning about something new. Just be sure to stay clear of questions like "where do you live?" which can unintentionally sound a little stalkerish.

4. Be Open.
It is hard to get to know very personal people. By opening yourself up, other people will naturally open up to you. Talking about your family, your plans for the future, and the things you have experienced is inviting to others. There is a happy medium here, however. Don't burst out your entire life story the first time you meet someone, make sure there is plenty of room for the other person to talk. And getting into really personal stuff about yourself like your insecurities can get messy.

5. Speak Well of Others.
Gossiping and showing dislike of certain people by your words proves to the person you're talking to that you're not trustworthy. No one wants to be friends with someone who will complement them one minute then talk bad about them behind their back the next. People who gossip aren't fun to be around.

Color is Key: How to find the colors that you look best in

     As a teen girl, I love dressing up, doing my make up differently, and looking nice in general. But for everyday, it’s harder to look good without over-dressing. A great discovery I have found is that the color you’re wearing can really affect your overall appearance. Not only can it bring out the smoothness of your skin, the shine of your hair, and the brilliancy of your eyes. But color can also drown out you skin, dull your hair, and overpower or wash-out your eyes. So how can we avoid all the bad affects of color? By choosing the right colors.    
    If some one were to ask me what color looks the best on them, I would definitely reply “your eye color”. I have never ever seen a person who’s eye color does not look absolutely amazing on them. That, however does not mean that that should be the only color worn. For example, my eyes are green and brown (a ring of brown around the center then another ring of green, but mostly green.) So I (Malea) look great in both dark green and brown. But those are not the only colors that work well for me and sometimes I get bored with those colors. I have dark-ish hair but fairly light skin so I look good in coral, peach, and pinky colors as well.
    I (Sara) have found by trial and error (lots of error) that warm, deep colors look best on me; colors like deep purple, or gold.   I also have green eyes, so most greens look good on me, especially the darker greens.  I know these type of colors (coral pink and warm blue as well) work because they tend to bring out the natural red-gold highlights in my hair.
   
   There are only two steps to finding the colors that look best on you. The first step is to discover your “season”.  Just as there are four seasons in the year, there are four types of skin, hair, and eye tones.

1. Winter
Winter characteristics: Very dark or very light hair.  
Skin: if your skin is light, it’ll look pink. If medium toned, olive. If dark, bluish.  
Your eyes are bright blue or dark brown.  
What works: Bright, cool colors (blue-tone reds, royal blue, true purple, black or white)
Stay away from: Pastels or powdered colors.
Colors such as true orange can work, but hot pink looks better, as gold and beige can create a washed-out look.
Silver jewelry looks best on you.

2. Spring
Spring characteristics: Golden blonde, reddish brown, or auburn hair.  
Warm skin tone (veins look green rather than blue).
Blue, green, or hazel eyes.
What works: Clear warm colors (peach, gold, coral, warm purple or warm blue)
Stay away from: black and white, or muted colors
You can rock the gold jewelry better than silver.

3. Summer
Summer characteristics: Pale hair (blonde).  Cool skin tones.  Pale eyes.
What works: Cool toned but muted colors (powder blue, pale pink, dusty yellow)
Neutrals and pastels accentuate your eyes and hair.
Avoid bright colors, they’re too overpowering for summer tones
Gold or silver jewelry will work for you.

4. Autumn
Autumn characteristics: Golden brown, reddish, or dark brown hair.
Warm skin tones.  
Golden brown eyes.
What works: Spicy, gold-toned, earthy colors (olive, gold, dark brown, deep, warm purple)
Rich, warm grays work really well
Avoid black, white, and most cool colors, which can act as a wash out
Gold jewelry works best on you.

The second step is a bit tedious, sometimes discouraging, but a whole lot of fun! This is it: Try all the colors that you think would look good on you - your eyes color, the colors that work for your season, your favorite colors. Make a check-list of all the colors you want to try, put on a clothing item of that color and rate each color from 1-5. You will be surprised how well this test works. It’s also a whole lot of fun, especially if you do it with your friends. (Maybe Sara and I should do it together this weekend) It might help if you used a friend’s clothes or went shopping that way any attachment to a clothing item won’t get in the way of finding the right colors.

Modest Starts at the Heart: Part 3

Now that we’ve talked about living a life of modesty from an inside out, it’s time for us to share a few tips on dressing modestly. We don’t mean that you have to wear long skirts and baggy shirts or like clothing that don’t show your curves, not at all! If you feel like that is the way God wants you to dress, please do. But I don’t believe that that is the only way a girl can dress modestly.

Also, we don’t want this post to be a list of rules, so I beg you, don’t look at it that way. These are just some standards that we encourage you to have. I read the whole Modesty Survey and tried to base my personal standards on that, I encourage you to do so as well but that is up to you. Please, this should come from your heart as something you choose to do. I’m choosing to dress modestly, I hope you are too.

Here are some tips and tests that we use when dressing. We encourage you to use them too!

When choosing shirts, look for:

1. A neckline that covers your chest.

2. Appropriate fit. (not too tight or short)

Try these tests: (they also work for dresses)

1. Stick your thumbs into your breastbone. Below what your hands cover, your shirt should cover.

Quick Fix: If your shirt does not cover this area, add a tanktop or cami with a higher neckline underneath and do the test again.

2. Bend forward facing a mirror. Can you see down half your shirt?

Quick Fix: Again, wearing a tanktop or cami underneath can really help this. But sometimes it’s impossible. For these cases I usually just make sure to put my hand on the top of my shirt when I bend over.

3. Stand up and turn around. Is the parts where your bra hooks together clearly visible? If so, your shirt is too tight.

Quick Fix: In this case, there is none. The shirt is too tight and must be thrown away.

4. Now bend over facing away from the mirror. Is there several inches of skin showing between the top of your pants and the bottom of your shirt?

Quick Fix: Tanktop or cami underneath can fix this problem. It is more helpful if tucked in.

5. For tank tops and spaghetti straps, if you can see your bra strap, it is immodest.

Quick Fix: Add a thicker-strapped tanktop underneath. A sweater or jacket over is also a cute and modest option.

When choosing pants, look for:

1. Appropriate fit.

2. Not too much skin showing.

Try these tests:

1. Okay, I really dread bringing this up, but it’s not attractive on plumbers or anyone else. Yes, you know what I mean now. Bend over back facing a mirror. Do you see the ever-dreaded crack?

Quick Fix: A belt? If it’s not an issue of too-loose pants, try wearing a longer shirt. If they’re low rise pants, the only thing you can do is wear a long shirt, and if you don’t like that, get rid of the pants.

2. Another problem would be too-tightness. If your pants are hugging your hips and/or butt too closely it can draw attention to those areas. Can you easily stick your hands in your pockets? How about putting your hand inside your pants between the front of your thigh and the front of your pants?

Quick Fix: There is no quick fix for this one. The pants are too small, they’ve got to go.

3. One thing that seems to be really fashionable these days is rips in the pants. When choosing the “distressed” look, make sure there are not rips in the thigh-ish area. Too much skin showing here can be a stumbling block for guys.

Quick Fix: If the hole is large enough to see skin more than a couple inches above the knee, wear a pair of leggings or spandex underneath. If the hole is really large and open, just toss the pants or use them for work pants. This is the point where they start to look junky.
When choosing skirts/dresses look for:
1. Appropriate length.
2. Nontransparent.
3. If there’s a slit, appropriate length of that.

Try these tests:

1. Stand up straight and drop your hands at your sides. Whatever your arms cover and about two inches below that should be covered.

Quick Fix: If the dress/skirt ends where your fingertips are or a little higher, add leggings underneath. If it’s a dress, you could also wear a pair of jeans under it. You could turn it into a pretty cute long shirt. If you don’t like either of these options or it is shorter than specified above, get rid of the dress/skirt. It is too short to wear alone.

2. Look in a mirror. Can you see your underwear through the dress/skirt?

Quick Fix: A slip is the best option here, but you may be able to use leggings or jeans.

3. If your dress/skirt has a slit, check the length of slit. It shouldn’t come above your knee - it isn’t modest if you appear to be covering plenty, but still show up high.

Quick Fix: If you’re handy with thread and needle, you could attempt to sew it up a little, but this can easily become a disaster. I would recommend just getting rid of it.

When  choosing shorts look for:

1. Appropriate length.

2. Appropriate fit.

Try these tests:

1. Use the first test for the dresses/skirts to determine whether or not your shorts are appropriate in length.

Quick Fix: If your shorts are too short, throw them away, there is no quick fix in this case.

2. The second test in the pants department also works here.

Quick Fix: Again, there is none for these poor shorts. Throw them away, they are too tight.