Just The Way You Are

I know you've seen this...

I know you have heard this on the radio and thought, hey, someone FINALLY gets it. This guy GETS it. We are beautiful JUST THE WAY WE ARE.

So how can I relate this to us today?

Believe it.

It's just cool to see that even though we are bombarded with pictures and music videos telling us what the definition of beauty is, there is someone that gets it. It may be Bruno Mars, or it could be someone else writing the songs. But the point is, we are beautiful, exactly the way we are.

I just wanted to encourage you today, and share the song that I heard while I was driving home yesterday. Made me smile being reminded that no matter what I think, Jason, my husband, thinks I am beautiful just the way I am

I enjoy Big Train Chai...

Now that is what I call beautiful. Spiced Big Train Chai.

What is something you enjoy today?

As I was thinking about what to write today, and I thought it was the perfect day for something simple. Something that wasn't in depth or profound, even though in my opinion Big Train is just that....But really, I was thinking about how we desire to feel enjoyment. There's a reason why coffee shops have spread like wildfire. It's a place were we like to take some time in our day to stop and grab something we enjoy drinking. Some of us meet at coffee shops to chat and catch up with a good friend. Some of us need a little perk to push us through the day, but this by all means adds a little joy into our lives, whether we will acknowledge that or not.

Sidenote...

I really get a whole lot of homework, cleaning, and checking off my to do list when I have a little cup of yummy joe. Even if it's decaf might I add....talk about mind games!!

Anyway, the point of all of this is my desire to remind you to take a moment to stop and enjoy something that you love. Enjoy that cup of coffee. Enjoy that piece of chocolate, or that pumpkin spice bread. Take some time reading those blogs that you enjoy, or if you are a book worm, read some of your favorite book before you go to sleep.

Do something today that you enjoy.

There are so many things that you could to do that you enjoy. Life is stressful, crazy, busy, and often scary at times. Things change. Stress pours in. Responsibilities pile on top of each other. Yet, take a moment to ENJOY your day. Take a moment to say hi to God and thank him for your day, for this beautiful fall weather. Unless you aren't in BC or on the West Coast....then I am really not sure if you are experiencing such gorgeous weather.

So today, I'm going to enjoy my chai latte (of course I'll disregard the fact that my milk tastes a little off;)

I'm going to get in a good exercise becuase I enjoy it.

I'm going to go see a movie with my love, but I enjoy being with him (And it's Monday and neither of us have things to do on this day;)

Do you get my point?

Do something today that makes you happy, that makes you feel good.

God loves you and wants you to enjoy today.

Britt

Every Body is Beautiful

A few months ago I was talking with a friend about skinny jeans and whether or not I could wear them considering my body type. We were both talking about how we can wear this, but not that because of this, and of course because of that. At one point, this friend of mine remembered that she had read a book called, The Science of Sexy by fashion designer Bradley Bayou.

Now of course, don't click to look inside:) That was the only picture I could find, so it's just a little addition I guess we can say. Anyway, I would seriously recommend getting this book from the library or even buy it because it was so helpful! It was even really fun reading through.

The whole idea is this, Bradley takes the average 48 different body types and tells you what types of things to stay away from and what excentuates your true beauty. It's brilliant! For me, I found out that those knee high boots make my 5'3 (1/3 of course) frame look even shorter. But, I can pull off some other things that I wasn't really aware of. So really, it was fun to read. I even called up my Mom and told her the "do's and don'ts" of her tall and slender figure. He really breaks it down so that you are not put into one category that you really aren't in. To be honest here, often I am put into a certain category because I am 5'4". But that doesn't mean I am going to wear size 4. I actually wear size 8 or 10 because this girl is "bootylicious" for more modern terms. Yet, I wear a size small for tops. (Talk about being vulnerable today:) That's not really pointed out in the magazines because then you would have to talk about all the other different shapes and sizes when looking for "The Perfect Jeans". So this book was actually really helpful, and also a lot of fun to read.

Just wanted to leave you with this thought. Bradley says in this book that every time he has a woman in for a fitting, they always point out certain parts of their bodies that they want hidden or changed. He says they point out "flaws" within 5 minutes of their fitting. Yet, we look at these women thinking they are incredibly beautiful and flawless. Every woman is insecure in some way or another. But every woman is incredibly beautiful. Let's make sure to tell each other this k ladies?

You're beautiful.
Yep, that's my two cents for the day.

Britt

We're Getting Somewhere

Check this out!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2JqJmi/www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2025345,00.html/r:t

I found this the other day, and a friend even sent it to me today because it is just that exciting!

It's about the 'Fat Talk' that women so often do, and I even find myself doing it as well. Not only are we noticing that the way we talk about ourselves affects our self-esteem, but so does some other people!

Blessings,

Britt

The Beautiful Truth. My Story.

I have had a few people ask me what The Beautiful Truth is, and I thought it might be time to fill some of you in. Basically, I believe that God has put an exciting dream on my heart over the last few months, and I am excited to see what comes of it in the future. Right now, it's a dream. It's a mind full of ideas. I know that I haven't spoken much of my testimony on my blog, but in my first-second year of college, I began to develop a mild eating disorder. It started out with an obsession with working out, and lead to an obsessive counting of calories and watching every bite I took. There's so much to it, and I would be more than willing to share it with you if you want to hear. That's actually something I am passionate about and is why I am in youth work. I want to work with girls struggling with eating disorders, and be a motivational speaker to girls that just struggle with feeling beautiful. So I am love being able to share what God has done in my life and how he took an huge boulder, and broke it down over time. God is beautiful. And he has made each and every one of us beautiful. Inside and out. One night I was laying awake in bed while Jason was fast asleep. I remember wondering why I still had to struggle with self-esteem issues even though I eat great, exercise regularly, and have overcome my struggle with the eating disorder. I desired to have a group of people that I could talk with at least on a monthly basis, and be reminded that I am not alone in this battle. This is where The Beautiful Truth was born. God has given us so much truth in His word, yet we are bombarted on a daily basis by the world of what we are suppose to look like. Being on a christian campus doesn't make this struggle go away either. So I felt that there was a need to create a small group atmosphere that gives girls the support they need in order to grow in their confidence and faith in Jesus Christ. I have learned that I am growing in my faith, I am beginning to see more and more how beautiful I am, and how God made me PERFECT in his image. How cool is that!? Not only do I want something like this to form on the CBC campus. But I also want to spread the word to churches, youth groups, small groups, and other colleges and universities. There is such a need to have something available for girls that may not be deep in an eating disorder, but definately struggle with their inner and outer beauty. That is The Beautiful Truth. Eventually I would love to present it in a way that public schools will allow me to speak to their girls about true inner beauty. I was just talking about this with one of my profs today and how there is such a great way I can do this obviously without speaking openly about my faith (or else I won't be able to reach the public schools) but also showing these girls that there is truth, and hope that they can have! This, is my dream. We will see where God takes it:) Welp there you go! I was totally vulnerable there and sharing with you one of my greatest dreams! It's funny how we can do this online now days...

Would love some feedback, whether it's people I can network with that may have something like this already, or if you have any ideas to add:) Feedback is always a great thing!

Britt

Operation Beautiful 2010.wmv

Operation Beautiful. 


What a blessing it was to see the one woman who started this thing speak about it on The Today Show a few weeks back. One morning, this woman came to the realization that she was sick of trying to live up to an impossible expectation of beauty. So she decided to make a change. She started putting sticky notes on the mirror in public bathrooms and hoped to make one woman smile. This continued on until thousands of women started sending in pictures of the places they had left a note and then a book was born. Every time I watch these type of videos I am once again reminded of the need to get The Beautiful Truth going. It's just so exciting to see the many different things women are doing to take a stand and remind each other how beautiful we are JUST THE WAY we are! It's inspiring, encouraging, and boy it is affirming. 


For those of you that are aware of this dream I believe God has put on my heart called The Beautiful Truth, I am in the early stages of getting this started! I've been meeting with some people and discussing the possibilities for this next year in using the internship hours I need to obtain in order to graduate, to gain a stronger foundation of what I want to begin. I am hoping to spend three months doing research and polls and interviews and studying in order to gain a better grasp of what it is young women are in need of learning. I want to talk with those who have done things similar to this, or just been involved in the lives of those that struggle with self confidence. I also want to begin meeting with girls and really getting to the heart of this issue, and seeing how to make a beautiful change in the way we see ourselves. I'm hoping to officially start this program, or group during my second semester of school. It will be like my little baby, so I want to see how it goes on the campus of Columbia Bible College. This is all if my prof allows me to use this as my internship which would give me 8 hours for sure a week of research research research until I dive right in. Say a prayer! I sure hope this works out for my internship. 


Other than that, it's been exciting seeing how God has brought specific people into my life at this time with gifts that can be used with The Beautiful Truth. How exciting!! I'm noticing that there's a big target on my back and the devil is sure heaving some huge challenges my way lately. But I will overcome each and every challenge and fear. When I say challenge, I mean my own fight to see God's true beauty in myself have grown more difficult. I've noticed old battles poking in more recently, which leads me to draw even closer to the Lord in order to gain strength and beat down those lies. The battle sure continues, even if you are trying to make a difference in the lives of others. Yet, my Mom has always said, if you don't feel the devil trying to bring you down, then you're not too big of a worry in his eyes, and boy we WANT to be a worry in his eyes...that means we are really doing something incredible for our God! I'm just thankful to have God on my side, holding my hand, and walking me through those dark moments. Lately, all I have been hearing and reading about during my God time is GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS! So thank you God, for that reminder that I need every single time I'm down. 


Well, now that I went from passionately sharing Operation Beautiful, to updating you on The Beautiful Truth, and finally sharing some of the deepest struggles going on in my life, I guess I should end this tangent:) 


Time to go to sleep....


Britt