A Daddy's Hug

Today at church I saw a little girl on the floor with her daddy.  Lots of other people were around, and she was obviously very social, constantly running around and talking and laughing.  But every five minutes or so, she'd run back to her daddy and give him a great big hug.  He'd always hug her back, no matter how many times she went back and forth, and he'd kiss her on the head too.  This reminded me so much of the love our Father in heaven has for us.  He'll always accept us back if we come to Him, no matter what we've done, and a loving hug will be waiting for us to run to Him.

Eyeliner: How To

Eyeliner: it can either be a blessing or a curse. The trick is to know how to wear it. Before you consider attempting this daring item of makeup; (if you haven’t already) you should consider if you really want to follow through with it. I’m not kidding. This is a very serious matter. (Okay, maybe I’m making it a bit too serious) But a lot of people (myself included) have/are misused/misusing this weapon called eyeliner. Many teen girls go for the emo feel of heavy black eyeliner (which some girls can pull off nicely while others … can’t) thinking that it is the only way they can wear it but are mistaken. Pulling off eyeliner comes in only two basic steps:

1) shade/color

2) how it is applied

Eyeliner is very useful for making your eyes pop and giving the dramatic look without much effort. Before you do this however, you need to choose your weapon. Makeup is very expensive (which makes me glad I don’t wear much) so it’s easy to just stick to the cheapo, wears-off-in-seconds, smears-all-over-the-place-when-I-cry brands. In the long run, though, I have found that spending a couple more bucks to get the good stuff works better. It’s harder to figure out what colors work for you. It was hard for me anyway. It really all depends on your shade of skin and hair.

For dark hair, medium skin, and dark eyelashes: Brown-black, black, or charcoal are your best bets.

For dark hair but fairer skin: use brown, gray, or brown-black. Some can pull of black eyeliner but sticking to the before mentioned colors is safer.

For dark hair and dark skin: Chances are, your eyes already pop and look incredible but if you still wanna try your hand at eyeliner, black and dark purple will work for you. Dark purple tends to look less natural but it can also look absolutely amazing.

For fair skin and blonde or red hair: paired with a brown or brown-black mascara, brown or gray eyeliner will really make your eyes stand out.

Now that you’ve chosen your weapon; it’s time to use it! The main rule here is to start with the inside corners of your eyes for the top lid and outside corners for the bottom. My motto in this area is less is more. It will take a few tries to get it right but starting out by applying it as thin as possible works best. There are even YouTube videos out there to show you how it’s done if you don’t get it. I wear my eyeliner almost all the way around my eye but it gets thinner the closer to the inside of my eyes until there’s nothing at all. If you have fair skin and blonde or red hair, it’s best to only apply to the top lid. Otherwise, applying it to the top lid then half-way on the bottom or just in the bottom outside corner works well.

Good luck and have fun experimenting!

Prayer Request

This Sunday, I (Sara) am leaving at 6am for Tijuana, Mexico, where I will be with my youth group building houses for those in need.  Please pray for the safety of all of us on the trip, the impact that our group will have on those we are building for, and for how God works in our life.  The theme of the trip is EBENEZER, raising our whole selves up to God; the word literally means a Stone of Help.  God is good!

5 Ways To Have Fun With Your Friends: Winter

Friendship is so key at this time of our lives - friends influence us, hold us up when we’re feeling down, and can cheer us up better than anyone else.  But have you ever run out of things to do with your friends?  I have. (Wow, that really sounds like I’m advertising for water balloons or something. Haha).  Below are a list of five things that I’ve found to be really fun to do with my friends, whether it’s just a select few girlfriends, or your whole group.

1.  Mall trip

Probably a better idea to just go this one with your girlfriends, given that boys aren’t much into shopping. :P  

A couple of ideas:

Play hide-and-go-seek in a really big department store. (Though I might get in trouble for suggesting this one).  

Cram your whole group into a photo booth.  Then, copy the photos so everyone has a reminder of your trip.

Go into one of your favorite stores and pick out really random clothes for each other, something you’d never wear in actuality.  Then, try them on, and if you can, take pictures! -Depends on store policy, we almost got kicked out of Forever 21 for that (Oops).

Pick a time when a bunch of the stores are having sales, so that everyone gets a good price if they’re trying to buy something (hint: end of season sales are REALLY good)

If there’s a good body works store, try all their samples - you’ll come out smelling really good!

Go get a couple soft pretzels and smoothies just for the fun of it.

2. Go rollerblading/skating

Get online and find a good roller rink near where you live.  Check out public skate times, what the prices are, if there are group discounts you might be eligible for.  Then, find out what a good date is for your group.  Maybe bring some extra money for snacks!  Make an afternoon out of it.

3. Bake a bunch of cookies!

Whether it be chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, or oatmeal crunch, nothing is nearly as fun as baking a batch of cookies together.  Make sure there aren’t any allergies to watch out for, and check with your mom to make sure you have all the ingredients.  Eat some of the cookie dough, if there isn’t a high egg content.  And of course, don’t forget to take the cookies out of the oven when they’re done! (I’ve made this mistake when baking with friends).  Service project idea: maybe your church could use the cookies for an upcoming event, or the nearest senior center would appreciate the cookies as well as the time you spend with the residents handing them out! But if you need to stay close to home for any reason, handing them out in your neighborhood would also be a good idea.

4. Bowling Bash

Similar to rollerblading, use the Internet to find a bowling alley in your town or nearby.  Then, pick a date when your group is mostly free, and have fun throwing a heavy ball at pins!  :p Most likely, the alley offers pizza or soft drinks for a cheap price, so you can plan on buying some food there, or you could go out for dinner afterwards.  

5. Surprise Party

How many times, when you were younger, did you wish you could have a surprise party thrown for you?  I’ve always wished someone would throw a surprise party for me.  But it’s almost as much fun to throw a surprise party for someone else.  If one of your friends has a birthday coming up, even if it’s not the very near future, get together with your other friends and plan a fun surprise party.  It doesn’t have to be much, it could just be going out for ice cream and then hanging out at someones house, or it could be as complex as reserving a table at a fancy restaurant, telling her mom to pick out some fancy clothes for her, and then having an evening out on the town, with a sleepover afterwards!  Whatever you choose, it’ll be special to her/him.

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.

MAN UP

Ever hear this term?  It’s so often exchanged between boys, telling their friends, or themselves, or from father to son that the person being spoken to ought to ‘man up’.  I was browsing the newspaper today looking for something to do a current event report for school on and I came across a letter to the editor that was written as follows:

BOEHNER: Man up? Just shut up
Re:  “Boehner needs to man up” (letter, 1-10).
    My hackles raise whenever I hear the stupid phrase, “Man up.”  What does it mean, other than something disparaging to women?  Or is it possible for females to “man up”?  We never hear “woman up.” Is “man up” strictly a male, testosterone, warrior, hero thing, allowed only to the “superior” gender?  You know, the gender that has done such a fine job wrecking this planet.
    Yes, behind the phrase is not too subtle belittlement of the little lady -- the poor, weak, feminine, emotional, discombobulated, easily flustered, and wholly cowardly female 51 percent of the world.  It’s a spit in the face of the strength and bravery of females since time immemorial.      We need not even think of Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Catherine, Elizabeth, or Theresa, but rather consider our own mothers whose grit, determination, and pain tolerance in passing us through the birth canal shamed many a tottering husband swooning out at the sight, or thought, of it.  
    [Here, the author, present some political views which are not relevant to this topic]    To those who suggest that someone “man up”, I say shut up.  There is nothing inherently strong or tough about men.  Better to be specific in whom to emulate.  How about “Alexander Up” or “Joan Up”? Now, that, at least, makes sense.
Gig Harborhttp://blog.thenewstribune.com/letters/2011/01/10/man-up-just-shut-up/

A couple of weeks ago, Malea and I brought up the topic of embracing femininity. The lady who wrote this appears to be fairly touchy on the subject of women vs. men.  In the original letter “Congress:Boehner needs to ‘man up’”, the author was not poking fun at women, he or she (I am unsure, as the name is bisexual) was merely using a phrase that has become common in nowadays society as a way of saying that the person needs to be stronger.  

It’s so hard to remember, sometimes, that not everything is biased or sexist.  Likewise, it is easy to fly off the handle and get fired up about something that doesn’t really matter.  The author of the original article probably wasn’t even thinking about the use of the term ‘man up’!  We need to be fully aware of the tone of the voice, if we’re going to take offense, and even then, consider whether or not it’s something worth taking offense over.

The term ‘man up’ is defined by Wiktionary as:

Etymology

man + up, with influence from own up, buck up. Used frequently in military circles.

Verb

to man up (third-person singular simple present mans up, present participle manning up, simple past and past participle manned up)

1. (idiomatic) to "be a man about it"; to do the things a good man is traditionally expected to do, such as: taking responsibility for the consequences of one's actions; displaying bravery or toughness in the face of adversity; providing for one's family, etc.

This definition was probably instigated years ago, when men were stronger than women physically, and often emotionally, and  the term just caught on. It most likely was not even originally used to express ‘stop being such a woman’ but more like ‘stop being such a child’.  Or ‘take control of a situation rather than letting the situation take over you’.  To ‘stop whining’, or some such degrading expression of frustration.

In conclusion, we need to be careful of what we take offense to, and, if it is worth taking offense to, how we will react to that offense.  Blowing up and writing angry articles will not prove strength, especially when the original article was hardly referring to the topic of women vs. men.

Women are totally different creatures then men, and to re-emphasize the point we made last week, while we are equal, we are different, and that’s just how God wants it to be.  Thus, we should not fight this difference or get angered when we think someone is addressing women as unequals.

Embracing Femininity.

One thing that really bothers me is that women can be, and often are, confused about their place in the world. You don’t know what I mean? Well, let me explain; I’m going to give you a brief little history lesson here. This problem probably all started a long time ago, way back in the Bible times, in both the New and Old Testament, and even sometimes nowadays.  Anyway, for as long as the world can remember, men were often thought of as superior to women. For a long time, in many cultures and in some cultures today, a woman was expected to obey a man without question, without complaint - kind of like a child or a servant.

Most women did not like this, I think, they wanted to be treated like a man (For lack of a better way to describe it). In America, they wanted the right to vote; why should their sons and husbands be allowed to but not them? When all women in the United  States were finally given this right, they didn’t stop there. They wanted to be independent and free, like a man. I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all - I’m actually very glad these lovely ladies decided to take the steps they did. But I think during this time, the culture started changing in the U.S. It was and still is very easy to change from wanting to be treated equally by a man to wanting to be treated the same as men.

During the fight to be treated equally, a lot of women made the mistake of forgetting how valuable women are. By now, in your teenage years, I’m guessing it’s pretty obvious to you that there are physical differences between men and women, so I don’t have to tell you that.  I don’t know about you but I believe that God made women unique in our own way.  Somewhere along the line, this was forgotten. We need to remember that we were made different but equal. And thus, we shouldn’t desire to be treated like men. We’re still equal, but we should never forget who God made us to be.

But this by no means gives us a license to take it to the other extreme by flaunting our physical differences. I for one, would rather be feminine than sexy.  Beautiful, not hot. I hope you desire to make that choice, too.