This One's for Africa

I was worried this might happen. Africa captured my heart.

Certain images keep replaying in my mind. The children in Pokot who didn’t push or shove, but waited patiently for one small piece of candy. Their smiling, contented faces despite wearing the same tattered clothing that I saw them in the day before. A little girl wearing only a shirt. Women resourcefully cooling their bags of milk in a mountain stream. A man washing his legs in a dirty pool of water next to the road. One man walking all morning to get to the medical clinic, arriving weak and needing a blood transfusion. Eager children selling bananas along the mountainside. A little boy named Titus, waiting for his family to be able to pay his medical bills so he can go home from the hospital. A man who generously gave us a bucket of honey cut straight from the comb. Young children everywhere hauling water, herding sheep and goats. Children carrying babies on their backs. The "unknown" baby left in a latrine.

 While I could have told you before the trip that I believed Americans are some of the wealthiest people on earth, and that there is so much poverty in the world, I would not have FELT it like I do today. I can’t even drive down the perfectly paved road in my shiny Suburban without feeling it. I walk through aisle after aisle of groceries, clothes, and products, and I feel it. I drive past a wealthy neighborhood with extremely large homes and I feel it. I stock up my freezer with chicken and cinnamon rolls from Sam’s, and I feel it. I have this aching sadness. I feel sad that I have been blessed so much. I feel sad that others around the world have so little in comparison. I feel sad that I haven’t been very much a part of the solution.

These are images I don’t want to forget. They are sad yet beautiful and filled with meaning. Reminders to me to live for more than just myself. Reminders for our family to live for more than ourselves. Reminders to be content. Right now, I want to spend as little as I can in order to give as much as I can. I need wisdom in how to do that. I need the Lord’s help.

Jesus told the story of a wealthy man who hoarded his crops, building bigger barns to hold it all. The man trusts in his wealth. But Jesus calls him a fool and warns against storing up things for himself, and not being rich toward God. I don’t think I’ve ever really equated myself with the rich man before. Not seriously as least. But as I step back and see myself in the bigger context of a global economy, my perspective changes. I am rich. Incredibly so. The question is: What do I do about it now? 

It could be so incredibly easy to get caught right back up in my self-centered, materialistic lifestyle now that I am home. Just the other day, I cried over the fact that the rug I wanted for my kitchen was too expensive. Cried. Over a rug. After just coming back from Africa. My tears were more over my shame that I felt so deprived not getting to buy that stupid rug. I so want to be the opposite of that. Maybe I need to enlarge some pictures of these kids and frame them for my kitchen instead.

What I really must do is seek the face of the Lord every day, asking Him to guide and direct, and show me what my one small part in this global need can be. To live content, enlarge my vision for the world, and hope to make a difference in a few lives. 

            

The Three Dollar Dress

Right now, resale clothing shops are ditching their spring and summer dresses. It's a great time to buy! I got this cute dress at Bearly New Consignment in Broken Arrow last week for only $3. The only problem with it for me is that it is strapless. I don't think I've worn a strapless dress in my life. But paired with a jean jacket, it is perfect for the Fall. The only thing is that I don't know if jean jackets are in or out right now. Anybody know?

Thank you Thank you very much!

Okay, fine here is the strapless version. 

Overcoming Insecurity Part 3

While cleaning out our garage, I unearthed a tattered shoebox containing my childhood relics: journals, pictures and actual hand written letters with stamps! There was also a little pink "My Melody" diary that I wrote in at nine years old. The first entry in it is straight out of "Saved by the Bell." I think in order to really do the story justice, I am going to have to quote my child self exactly. So here goes:

February 4, 1983

Dear Diary, I love Jeff. Today was my birthday. I invited Jeff to my birthday and told a friend Jeff  was my boy friend. She told everyone else about it and Jeff found out I liked him!

This really happened to me! Talk about a lesson in NEVER opening up to a friend! At least the story does have a happy ending: Jeff did become my "boyfriend" for a little while after that (you know the kind where you ride bikes to each other's houses, play tennis in the park, share some pop rocks and starburst from the gas station, and break up a few weeks later with another little handwritten note.) Okay, so at nine years old, this really was just a cute story of "puppy" love. But in order to overcome insecurity, we have to grow in to full grow dogs! (What?)

Overcoming Insecurity

Step 1: Learn to Love Well

Shortly after becoming a mother, I remember cradling my newborn daughter in my arms as she slept, feeling completely overwhelmed with love for her. At the moment, I thought about the scary possibility that she might one day reject me and walk away or even worse, reject the God I loved and so hoped to teach her about. Right then, I decided that I would love this child no matter what. She was mine and nothing would stop or change my love for her. I didn't really have to decide it though. I just knew it because I felt it. As the years have gone by and my daughter has grown into a teenager who seems to "know more than I do", I still love her, but the love is also now a decision I make, and it is not based on how she feels about me. 

In order to overcome insecurity, we must learn to love well and unconditionally. We cannot become so so consumed by our own insecurity, that we can fail to love anyone else well. Our love can't be based on other's responses to us. Sometimes, rather than truly caring about someone, we like them for the way they make us feel about ourselves. Insecurity is loving self, rather than others. When we lose our focus on self, and honestly focus on the needs of others around us, we tend to forget our own insecurity for a while. Learn to love the people in your life unconditionally. 

Step 2: Use Your Gifts to Serve Others

Mr. Larry was a towering, tale spinning, war veteran. After he became too old and frail to cook in the camp kitchen, he held the door open and high-fived everyone who entered.  I remember him fondly because he served so consistently. Try using your gifts to serve others. I mean really serving. Like, too tired to take off your make-up before falling into bed at night serving. (That's bad!) For one thing, when you are busy serving, you don't even have time to think about your self and your insecurity. But also, finding things you are good at and using them for the benefit of others actually really can help you feel a sense of purpose and value to your life. You become precious and beautiful in the sight of others because they see your heart of service. Maybe you don't know what your gifts are? Anything can be used. My own lack of fashion when viewed as a gift led me to start this amazing fashion blog! (Eh...What have I done?) 

Step 3: View the Endgame

I want to be remembered as someone who loved well, who served well, who embraced life, who accepted challenges, and tried new things. We're traveling across the globe to Africa in a few weeks, and because of my tiny little fear of flying, I've thought about this a lot lately. If something happens to me, what will I have left behind for the world to see? (Besides 27 pairs of shoes, and a half finished scrapbook for my second born.) What will I be remembered for? Would it be a love for Jesus that radiates to everyone around me? A solid commitment to my family and service to them? Hopefully I will be remembered for those things, and not my insecurity. There are so much more fun things in life to be doing than worrying about what people think. Start running. Start a ministry to the homeless. Adopt. Write. Offer to help someone. Redecorate. Learn to speak Swahili. Kick a ball around with a kid. Collect cats.

Step 4: Update your wardrobe

I mean, this did start out as a fashion blog right? And who doesn't feel a little bit better in a new skirt or sparkly pair of shoes. These are bound to help....at least for a few wears. 

Well, that's all folks. I'm done writing about insecurity. Going to move on to talking about something less painfully transparent...like striped pant suits or Miley Cyrus. Thanks for taking the trip with me. And I wish you all the best. (You too Miley) Go with Jesus.

Oh Puppy Love!

INSECURITY PART 2: We all need to be loved

After my last post on insecurity, I've had a difficult time deciding what to say next. Though I am not done defining insecurity, I wanted to jump right in to the solutions. But I've decided that in order to really overcome something, we have to understand its roots first. So here goes:

Insecurity is a battlefield of the mind.

We also are constantly speaking to ourselves, and the things we say are often negative. “I’m a terrible writer.” “I’ll probably never write that book I used to dream of writing as a teenager.” “Nobody thinks about me or cares.” “I’m worthless.” “I don’t have any special skills or talents.” “I am not pretty.” “I am a bad mother, housekeeper, and wife.” “I’m getting old.” Blah blah blah blah blah. On it goes, until I beat myself down into an insecure mess. It’s a broken record of negativity that we keep saying to ourselves and we have to stop! But we can’t just take those thoughts and shove them down into a deep hole somewhere, they come right back. We have to replace them with truth. These negative thoughts are lies. And they are not you. When we find ourselves talking negatively, we just need to stop it! Easier said than done. Sometimes when I am beating myself up with negativity, I just have to remember this person’s advice and laugh:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw. Go watch it, but don’t forget to come back and read the rest of my article!

Insecurity is about needing love.

The times in my life when I’ve struggled the most with insecurity are also the times I have felt the least loved. Every human being needs love. We were created this way for a purpose. And I believe the reason we all need love so much, is because we need God. God is love! When we really come to know this with every fiber of our being, we are radically transformed! The greatest example of love is to give one’s life for another. And that is exactly what Jesus did for us right? His death on the cross was for us. He paid for our sins so that we could have a relationship with Him. His great love reaches out to us every single day we are given breath and life, and beauty and relationships! Jesus said, “love one another as I have loved you.” He intends for us to love each other with the same radical, unconditional self-sacrificing love he modeled for us. But as imperfect beings, we often fall short of this great love. And we hurt each other. And we cause insecurity in each other. We have to keep working at it. But we also need to understand that in our lives the only completely one hundred percent reliable chance we have of receiving unconditional love comes from God. And He is the perfect love! I know this in my head, so why do I still struggle sometimes? I think it is because I fail to put flesh and feet to my relationship to God. I can’t see God, so the people with flesh and bones and feet that I can see become more significant for me to earn their love and approval. The best way I know of to put flesh and feet to God is to pursue an intimate, personal relationship with him. The most significant thing I think you can do is to keep a journal and read the Bible every day, talking to Him and recording the things you learn from Him. I also recommend getting involved in a Bible teaching church and getting to know some other believers in Christ. Through a relationship with Christ , instead of trying to earn love, we learn it is freely given to us. 

Abiding in the love of Christ is the foundation of a secure heart. There are some practical tools to overcoming insecurity that I will be talking about later, but without this foundation of a relationship with Jesus, your security will be based on self. And I am afraid that it just may not last.

Up next: overcoming insecurity

INSECURITY

Few people know that I sleep with one eye wide open. It’s true! As a child, a surgery to repair my lazy eyelid left me with a weak muscle in my left eye, so that it doesn’t shut when I am relaxed, like sleeping, or when I blink too softly. If you walk past me when I am asleep, my eyeball will actually follow you across the room! And also, if you happen to think I winked at you at the grocery store, you should probably let that one go. I was just trying to blink! You’d think this little quirk might cause some insecurity for me. It doesn’t. I rarely think about it because I don’t see it in action. It has virtually no effect on my security. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with insecurity. I do, quite a lot sometimes. As difficult as it is to admit, I’d like to talk about it for a while, especially because I don’t think I am alone in this struggle, and maybe some of the things I’ve learned about it could help someone else.

In my early twenties, a friend asked me what would be the worst thing that someone could say to me? No, my answer wasn’t, “I’m having an affair” (I was married by this point) or “you’re dying of cancer” or even the news that someone I loved had died. It’s hard for me to believe, but instead of any of these awful things to hear, my mind went straight to “I think you are boring.” Looking back on that, it seems so superficial. I would like to say I was just very young and had not experienced much of life yet, but I also believe it pinpoints what has been a lifelong struggle with insecurity for me-the nagging question in the back of my mind, “What do people think of me?” 

So here goes. Trying to keep the blog’s goal of shorter posts, I will address some of these issues in little chunks over the next week or so. What is insecurity? What defines it and why do we struggle so much with it? How do we overcome insecurity and get on with real living and loving?

Insecurity is a genuine response to hurts in our lives 
I would like to start out by saying that insecurity can and often is a genuine response to hurts in our lives. Looking back, I can’t really pinpoint one instance when my struggle with insecurity began. I was blessed to have parents who loved and cared for me. I do remember early in elementary school facing some of the common hurts kids experience of being left out. I wasn’t allowed to join the “Kappa Club” because I didn’t own a pair of these popular shoes. One day a boy in my class systematically asked every girl in the class to “go” with him, except me. I was forced to eat my cottage cheese in the lunch room. (Okay, this has nothing to do with insecurity, it is just gross). These little jabs start young, but as we go through life many more serious assaults on our security present themselves. I remember the hurt of my first break-up with a boyfriend. I lost friendships. I didn’t get accepted to a certain college. There are other hurts people experience that assault security that I was spared from experiencing. How about parents who are emotionally or physically unavailable or worse yet, abusive? Divorce, loss of a job, serious illnesses are all examples. With these and other legitimate hurts in our lives, is it any wonder that we struggle so much with insecurity? The problem is finding a way to move beyond these hurts and find the healing we so desperately need.

Insecurity can be a result of idolatry
Besides a genuine response to hurts, another thing that can cause us insecurity is what I would call “Idolatry.” An idol is something we worship. And the kind of worship I am thinking of is worship that consumes your thought life and determines most of your actions. With insecurity, we can idolize two things: Ourselves or others. When we idolize ourselves, we are constantly thinking about what we look like, how we sound, how we dress, how we are perceived by others. The focus is on self and it is not very pretty, though we desperately hope that we are. When we idolize others, we put people on a pedestal. We can fill that pedestal with virtually every person we know, a certain group of people, or even go so far as to elevate one single person in our lives into an idol. Beware! Once you put a person up on that pedestal, you have given them the control, the power, and the right to assign your worth to you. Having just one person up on that pedestal, in my opinion, is the most dangerous of all, because when they fail to affirm your worth for you, it can virtually destroy your life. Insecurity digs it claws deeper and deeper into the heart. We have to take control of our own security back and I will discuss how to attempt that in further post. 

To be continued….

What about a mini skirt?

I used to never wear mini skirts. That is, until one day I was walking around freezing in the Walmart air conditioning in my running shorts and all of a sudden realized that a mini skirt could actually be LONGER than my Nike shorts! As long as it is not a super short barely cover your you-know-what kind of mini skirt, it can be quite cute, casual, and comfortable to wear. You must, however, be sure that you know how to sit modestly, and I suggest wearing boy short style you-know-what's underneath so it is less "breezy." And as far as mini skirts being in style or not, I'll be honest. I have no idea. Here's my favorite mini skirt: 

Wonder how we can get this grass to grow?

Also, after my friend Beth Ann came to visit, I realized not only do I not own a pair of shoes with flowers on them, I also don't own any wedges. But I remedied that today with a gift card I had. That combined with a 30% off sale at a store that rhymes with map means these cost me only $11.58. They don't have flowers, but they do have cute orange straps, which I am pretty sure I need to find some nail polish to match. I'll let you know if they really are as comfortable as my friend says after I wear them this weekend to two weddings I am attending.  

Flowers on her shoes

Lately I've noticed a lot of women's sandals have flowers on them. I don't know if this is a new trend or not because honestly I'm not the first to usually know about trends! I've seen black flip fops and white sandals all with flowers on them. But the pair that wins the prize for the cutest flowers are these:  

Amazingly cute flower sandals from Spain! 

Here Beth Ann and I are about to go on a double date with our husbands. As you can see, even though the shoes are at the bottom of the photo, they really are the focal point drawing your attention. Beth Ann's choice of a blouse with muted roses on the shoulders ties the outfit together. I'm convinced women should wear flowers on their shoes at all times if possible this season! (which means I need to find some ;) 

The most important fashion advice gleaned this evening: When you are with great friends, it really doesn't matter what you are wearing! 

In closing, speaking of beautiful sandals and feet, I want to share a little good news with you that I read this morning. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." --Jesus of Nazareth in John 8:12.

The summer sundress

On a sultry August summer day (Oops, okay it's actually unusually cool for August, and it's actually still July) the best outfit to choose for traveling is the summer sundress. I know this because my wonderful friend Beth Ann, arrived here today after traveling in a car for about 6 hours looking absolutely amazing. I wish I had a picture of her just getting out of the car in our driveway, but I was way too excited to see her since it's been four years since we've seen each other. Please let me introduce you to Beth Ann, probably my biggest Fashionrut fan, since she convinced me to post again tonight.

Reunited Friends!

While I've been back in my fashion rut the last few weeks, BA (short for Beth Ann!) arrived and she definitely outdid me in the fashion department today! This dress is from a store called, NEXT, in Oxford, England. She bought it on a getaway with her husband, Michael. The great thing about these loose flowing dresses is how comfy they are, especially, you know, after having kids and all that happens around the middle area afterward. I mean, I don't have to worry about that of course, but it's what I hear. 

All the women in England, as soon as the weather gets hot, run for a summer sundress. Never a shorts and t-shirt! I'd better learn this lesson before heading over there this fall!

Oh, and she also wore these incredible shoes, and she wants you know something about wedges. She says, "You think they are impractical and uncomfortable, but they are actually feel fantastic to wear and these particular ones go with everything!

The Pencil Skirt

I've recently (yesterday) fallen in love with something called a pencil skirt. A pencil skirt is long and thin--like a pencil--and reaches just above or a little below the knee. Wearing one and walking around, especially if one is rolling a suitcase behind you, makes one feel extremely professional, even if it is just around the house. I found these two amazing, like-new pencil skirts each for only $4 at the local Salvation Army store! (Buy resale, stop supporting sweatshops!) These skirts are so fun!

But honestly I didn't wear either of these outfits yesterday. I prefer to dress the pencil skirt down with a t-shirt like this:

This is me wearing the above stretchy pencil skirt in Granada, Spain with my daughter about 12 years ago. Even though the skirt didn't fit me for a lot of years after this, (I was having babies) I couldn't get rid of it because of this picture. 

I read a quote this week that said, ""One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art." 

It it my hope that you would know that you ARE a work of art! You are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:114) by a Creator who loves you with an EVERLASTING love and desires a relationship with you (Jeremiah 31:3). 

Fashionrut Friday

Happy Fashionrut Friday! Back in my jeans and T and lovin' it. Sometimes you just gotta relax!

Thank you to my five-year-old photographer all week, Caleb.
See his head in the window? :)

Also, here's one of my favorite songs by Rich Mullins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhKZn8gdN-E

Freedom in a plaid dress

Happy Fourth of July everyone! May you eat lots of hot dogs, watch incredible fireworks, and wear something FUN! Today, I'm thankful for the freedoms we have in America, and for the sacrifices that were made to bring us those freedoms. While celebrating our freedom, let's not forget those that still need to be set free, literally and spiritually. The freedom we find in Christ isn't something to keep to ourselves! Let it shine!

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free!" Psalm 119:32

How I bought five dresses for $3.

It's pretty simple. I take my and my kids' old clothing to a consignment shop. They sell the clothes, and I accumulate credit. Then I go there and spend an hour looking through about a hundred dresses, each of them unique, and try a bunch of them on. At a good consignment store, you can find brand name clothes that are practically new. They sift through and only take the good stuff. One particular day, I picked out five dresses averaging $6 to $12 each. They applied my credit to the balance and voila, I owed about $3. I saved money, and I didn't support a single sweatshop! If you are worried about buying consignment and being "behind" in fashion, I recently read in Nina Garcis's Little Black Book of Style, "If you do happen to fall in love with a trend, it is far more interesting to buy it now and wait a few years until it is out of style to wear it. But maybe I am the only crazy person who would do this." I say buy consignment and let someone else pay full price and store it in their closet first!

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." -Mark Twain

What to wear with a brown skirt

Today I pulled out a skirt to wear that I bought a long time ago and again, never wore because I had no idea what to wear with it. Why do I always run into this problem? So I googled "brown skirt," clicked on images for inspiration, saw light pink and brown, and came up with this:

I also had to iron the skirt, which is another reason I never wore it. Bringing out my iron a bit more lately, and I'm not sure how I feel about that! But so worth it because I discovered this skirt even has POCKETS! I'm not hugely into accessorizing, but my Aunt Jessie's pearl necklace went perfectly with the trim on the shirt. 

Color Rebel

When I was 16, someone told me not to wear bright yellow. It didn't match my skin tone. You know those people who say you should match the colors you wear to what compliments the color of your skin and hair? Well that advice kept me from wearing this AMAZING vintage shirt I had stuffed in my closet for ten years! No longer! Bold is beautiful. Wear it with style! 

Pay no attention to the jeans you see here! (In case you're just joining us, these jeans are my fashion rut.)  

Also, yesterday was my 18th anniversary and I wore this great dress. I paid about .60 cents for it, and I'll tell you how maybe tomorrow. 

Start your own trend

Sometimes fashion means starting your own trend. This trend took off about ten years ago at the summer camp where I live. Our counselors are required to wear a staff shirt every Sunday when campers are arriving. One of our girl staff, (the great Miss Katie Lepine) decided to wear skirts on Sundays and now ten years later, the girls are still wearing them. So there you go, be unique. Start your own trend.

Me trying to look like a camp counselor. 

While we're talking about skirts. How about this nifty tiered skirt hanger? Just got one when I cleaned out my closet and now I can actually see the skirts I own! 

The skirt in the front is actually supposed to be a tube top, but I wear it as a skirt! 

Rags to Riches

Today I am afraid. I have this fear that you will believe you are good enough. What's the problem with that you say!? Please keep reading. For some reason, we humans, especially women, love to compare ourselves. We're looking at each other's clothes, hair, hobbies, and accomplishments and sizing ourselves up. How do we compare? Usually my guess is we get down on ourselves. But the opposite happens when it comes to internal goodness, we compare ourselves to those we consider worse than us and decide we are "good enough." Surely God accepts me because I am a good person and I pray and I help people. The problem with this is that the Bible says "all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Compared to the holiness of God, even on our best day, it is as if we were wearing filthy rags. For all of our goodness, we still aren't good enough. We try so hard to be good enough. But the good news is we don't have to be. Instead, we need a clothing (heart) exchange. The Bible speaks of clothing ourselves with Christ. Because of His great love for us, Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice and gave his life for our sins on the cross so that instead of us trying to be good enough, He could wash away those filthy rags and clothe us with himself. This great exchange can take place when we put our faith and trust in Jesus. His love for us is perfect. Then our confidence, our hope, and our joy can come from Him!

Here's a link to an article that I think articulates this concept really well.It's called Heroin addicts, Homeschool kids, and the Gospel of Grace.  http://thecripplegate.com/heroine-addicts-home-school-kids-and-the-gospel-of-god%E2%80%99s-grace/

The super casual little black dress

I love this dress.

Though it is black, because it is just cotton, it is super causal and light. And I just adore the one inch straps. Very versatile. Nice enough for a graduation party, casual enough to wear to my son's baseball game. You can even wear it to water the garden. Haha.

What exercise has to do with fashion

Does exercise really have anything to do with fashion? I'm going to say that it does. And here's why. For people who really believe in fashion (this may or may not include me, I'm still figuring that out), having fashion means exuding confidence. Confidence in who you are, confidence in your choices, confidence to take risks and stand out. It can be a state of mind. Here's where exercise comes in for me personally. Sometimes I have crappy days. Days where I want to stay in bed and do nothing because I am completely overwhelmed with life and the tasks I have before me. Energy levels are low, and confidence in myself is low. One of the biggest factors in getting me out of that slump and on with real living is going for a run. I force myself out of the house when I am feeling like an Eeyore, but by the time I return I am more like superwoman. Now superwoman is in sort of a fashion rut herself with all the red white and blue, but she has the confidence part down. So in summary, what I'm sort of saying is that exercise gives you a confidence lift and confidence helps with fashion. What do you think?

Do you see how I tried matching my running shirt to my shorts this time?
Maybe it looks good, but running in a black shirt in the summer is the worst! I won't do that again!

The very best pajamas

Per my husband's request, I am posting a pic of myself in my pajamas. I'm pretty sure every marriage book I've seen talks about wives not getting in the sweats and t-shirt rut for pajamas. But these thin sweats and any old t-shirt are my very favorite for sleeping. On a low energy day like today, I might wear them all day! This is one fashion rut I'm gonna keep! Can I get an "amen" ladies?

And while we're on the subject of coffee (sort of, see the mug in my hand?) I needed something to put my sugar in next to my coffee maker. While I've been eyeing a sweet glass jar I'd seen for about $15, instead I headed to the local Salvation Army store and bought this cute one for $1. 

And while we are on the subject of saving money and buying used, I also found these at the Salvation Army for my son Ezra for $5. He'd been wearing his sister's purple ones when she would allow it. They're a little scratched up, but glide perfectly! 

How to be a writer

About 18 years ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to take a visiting well-known author and speaker to the airport for his flight home. Just before he left, I finally got the courage to ask him, "How do I become a writer?" His answer was so simplistic I couldn't believe it. He simply said, "then write." This up-until-then very animated verbose human being stopped right there. And then he left! I was so mad! He was supposed to give me some fabulous insight on how to publish a book, or at least an article, and then get on the speaking circuit for all of my accomplished writing. At least he could have told me what to write about! Yes, I was so young then I really didn't even know that. So here I am almost 40, and I finally see the wisdom in his advice. To be a writer, you have to write. Every day. Simple as that. Eventually as your heart comes through in your writing, maybe someone will listen. Hence, this blog. A simple little practice in writing every day that I put out there for the world to see.

hmmmm...what should I write about?

Can God use a fashion blog?

I've asked myself a lot this week what am I doing with a fashion blog? Those who know me well, know me enough to know fashion is not something I care tremendously about. And yet, for some reason I got this wild idea to go for it. I've had a lot of insecurities with it. Will my friends think I am completely shallow? Is it just an excuse to try and post what I think are cute photos of myself on the internet? Maybe :)  But honestly as I see my pageview numbers go up each day, the nagging question on my mind is "God, how are you going to use this?" Because right now I don't really know. I do know my heart and at this time in my life I honestly feel like I am more in love with Jesus than I have ever been. His grace, His love, His sacrifice for me moves me daily. And though I've been a Christian for a long time, I used to be in a rut. Not a fashion rut, but a life rut. But God's grace has been setting me free and I want that to shine through. So maybe this little fashion blog might become a bridge for someone else in a life rut or a fashion rut who needs to a glimpse of hope, love, and life in Jesus.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is thrown in the fire,
will he not much more clothe you?
Matthew 6:30 NIV

What NOT to love about white jeans

White jeans are all the rage right?

I should love them. Since I love my regular jeans and wore them almost every day this past winter, these should be a great alternative! Comfy, yes. But one huge drawback: I have to wash them after every wear! Unlike my regular jeans I re-wear so much they are practically a part of me! (ew) But if I want my white jeans to stay really really white and cute, in the wash they must go! Also, I have to avoid all chocolate while wearing them, and what girl wants to do that?

White jeans I bought BEFORE Old Navy had them everywhere, and a LOFT shirt bought at a consignment shop!

Why Fashion Matters

It doesn't...

....at least not in the grand scope of things. However, I recently discovered something about fashion that does matter: Much of our clothing is still made by factory workers in sweatshops with awful, inhuman working conditions. Unfair wages, unreasonable hours, child labor, and abuse abound. All these factories mistreating their workers in order to satisfy the American hunger for MORE. I've done enough reading on it today to be convinced it is not something I can ignore. Take a few minutes and Google the subject. I really don't know what I can personally do to change the situation, other than spread the word and try to purchase sweatshop free, if at all. Because I don't feel I can trust any of the major clothing suppliers right now, that means buying resale. At least I won't be supporting a sweatshop in Bangladesh or child labor in China.

FashionRut Must Have #1

On the one hundred things a girl must have is....Aviator Sunglasses! And I actually own some! I love these! Since I have been known to break or lose my sunglasses at least every six months, I buy cheap. These came from American Eagle for about 12 bucks. Put it with my ALL time favorite T. I think it's over 30 years old! Traded my jeans for a jean skirt from LOFT that I bought at a consignment store for $3.

Aviators: not just for men!

 Tucking in shirts with skirts seems to be the new thing maybe? Just thought I'd try it! 
This is the movie star pose brought on by the coolness one feels when wearing aviator sunglasses!

The Skirt

Since I had to actually google "what to wear with black shorts" the other day, I think that is a pretty sure sign that I know nothing about fashion. After clicking images from my google search, I discovered that black goes really well with white. Incredible. I wonder if the same thing applies to grey? I have felt for a while that skirts are really fun to wear in the summer as a great alternative to shorts. And I still prefer t's. So here's the grey and white combo I put together today. As part of my rebellion against fashion, I put back on my Toms, I neglected to iron the shirt, which needed it, and refused to wear earrings since I already had on a necklace. No need to go overboard! 

Still comfy but cute?

Looking at the hair. I grew my hair out long because I liked seeing others cute braids and styles with their long hair. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at any of those things, and basically go with either up in a pony tail or straight down. This is my attempt to try a side pony tail. I think maybe I am too old for it. HA!

Ode to a Fashion Rut

I'm not sure this whole fashion rut blog thing is going to work. Yesterday I started this fashion blog and today all I want to do is stay in the rut! There's a reason I got in a fashion rut in the first place. These are comfortable clothes I love! I hate dressing up and drawing attention to myself (unless for a fancy event where there's a purpose for it, then I love it!) So today, just posting an ode to my fashion rut-jeans and T. And guess what? I discovered if you roll the jeans up you can wear them even in the summer! Yay! 

The jeans I LOVE!

Yippee!

Aren't they GREAT!

AND THE MAIN REASON I LOVE MY FASHION RUT IS THAT IT ALLOWS ME TO MORE EASILY DO THIS:

Thanks to Micah for the excellent photography!