Thursday, January 17, 2013

"Stop Being Yourself." Yup, I said it.

As most people have noticed lately, the world is telling us to "just be ourselves" and "express yourself." Hmmm.

When I have an issue, and I'm in need of some work on my heart or attitude, the LAST person I need to consult is myself. I'm the problem in the first place!

Now I know that most of the reason behind the world's view on this is for people to not worry about how they "should be" compared to the rest of the world. That we should "feel good and comfortable in our own skin." We'll yeah, sure, we shouldn't conform ourselves for others.
But the Bible says to live our lives through and in Christ. So if that's how we are to live, but the world says live in our own (human, flesh, sinful,) self, then that would collide with acting stupidly. Like living under the abuse and addiction of drugs, alcohol, self image, homosexuality, ect. You cannot live a life of what YOU think is right and be under the image of Christ. You (I,) have to live in the image of Christ at all times. And if there's something I myself likes or wants to be or do or feel that does not agree with what God says in His Word, then I have to understand why I have to choose against it. Does that make any sense?

So many people today are saying "whatever is right for you, is right for you. And something else can be right for me." Oh my goodness, the millions of problems that leads to!

I guess I could continue down a whole road on that subject and go for miles. But I don't want to right now. I just wanted to get across a main point that I fear we are falling so deep into that is ruining our generation.

First, sure, look at yourself. See what you are and how dirty you are. And then TURN to Christ, and see what HE is. How perfect He is!
"And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation," Hebrews 5:9 (NASB)
Let Him live in and through you. Living for yourself will never work, never feel complete and never give you the true full life you desire. It may feel good for a moment, but will lead you down an awful road.

"For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19 (NASB)

So, if you truly want your inner heart, your inner desires, and your whole self to be in the image of Christ, then please! Be yourself! But that's a hard place to stay, (because we are all still sinners.) So, I am going to use the personality traits God gave me, and express the woman He made me to be, but be like Christ. It's not easy! And I will fail. Time after time. We all will. Thank the Lord He already forgave us! But I'd choose that battle any day over being just like the rest of the world which will lie to you over and over again.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2 (NASB)

t.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

My Top 5 Beauty Faves

My quick top 5 beauty "secrets"

I don't do a whole lot of research or devote a lot of my time to finding the best beauty options out there, but there's no argument when I come across something that I can honestly say "it's really does work!"

But we all have different bodies, skin, hair, shapes and sizes, not only our clothing size, but even our eye lids are all different. So I know not one thing could possibly work on every girl out there. But, for some ideas to try, (if you haven't already tried these,) keep reading:

1. Too Faced Shadow Insurance - Eye shadow primer that WORKS! I honestly have no idea how I wore eye shadow before I found this. If I skip a day, I always regret it, because my shadow seems to wear off and crease within an hour or so! With this stuff, it'll last the entire day and through!

2. Jergens Natural Glow Express, and Daily Moisturizer. For a copper toned head and fair skinned girl like me, this is the kind of tanning I can work with! I stay away from tanning beds and I'm very careful as too how much sun I allow my skin to absorb. My family has skin cancer history throughout, and I just don't want to play with fire. (No pun intended haha.) The Express is a good start when you need a quick tan. (You can apply once or twice and then continue with the moisturizer.) It's fairly easy to blend in, and though you do need to be careful about small streaks around your wrists or ankles, it's not hard to use and it won't make you look like an oompa loompa! The Daily Moisturizer is what you can use daily as a lotion, SPF 20 sun screen, and plus it's keeps up the good looking bronze! It doesn't stain your hands either. With either one, you can use it less or more depending on how much color YOU want. (Don't let a bottle decide for you how tan you need to be. He's normally wrong.)

3. Bikini Zone Anti Bumps Shaving Gel and Medicated Cream. No matter how you deal with it, taking care of that bikini area is an obnoxious pain. Bikini Zone products really are pretty nice. The gel is great for the shower and then applying the cream afterward actually does work. Let's be real, no one wants to see an embarrassing amount of red bumps lining those cute bathing suit bottoms! Not to mention, ouch!!

4. Loreal Infallible Plumping (that's a word?) Lipgloss. Now, I know not all of us are huge fans of gloss. It's sticky, wears off quickly, and sticks to your hair as soon as the wind slightly picks up. But I have to say, I like this gloss! It's more of a color with gloss anyway. It seems to really last too. Have I timed myself wearing it to see how long? No. But every time I do wear it, I'm pleasantly surprised to see how long it lasts before it wears off. I mean let's be real (again) here, The commercials tell us we can wear a certain lipstick for a whole eight hours while eating drinking, kissing our boyfriend, then a baby's forehead, and then some more drinks, and it's STILL NOT GONE! Yeah.... about that. I'm not sure that's even possible, unless you really stain your lips. So though you might need to fix 'em up a bit after you eat, I don't think it'll kill you. But for wanting your lips to last for more than a couple hours, try this one! Lots of greats shades to choose from too! My personal pick for an everyday look, is "806 Plumped Tawny."

5. Dove Go Sleeveless. I just recently started using this, as I saw the add for it. It's supposed to be good for bumps and irritation. My under arms happen to have quite the problem with that, and I'm a shave-very-often girl. So I bought it. And so far, I like it. It does soften and reduce irritation. But I know some of you need more sweat protection, or something that smells fresh or fruity. This is fragrance free unfortunately. And since it's currently below freezing where I live, I haven't had much of a chance to see if it holds up to my sweat level yet. I'll wait for summer for that.

Ok, one more *bonus* product I want to share. 6. Clinique Moisture Surge, tinted Moisturizer SPF 15. I LOVE this stuff! I don't like to wear a liquid foundation every day. But I also need to even out my skin tones on my face, and liquid helps that more than anything. So, this stuff is my hero. It is a liquid, and it acts like a foundation, but it's not as heavy, not as thick, and it helps your skin at the same time! I use it a lot more often for a foundation. Plus, the SPF is good for summer when I'm headed to the lake for the day. :)


Well, those are just a few of my favorite beauty secrets, that aren't really secrets. ;)

If you have any you'd like to share, I'd love to hear them!

t.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Facebook: some good, some not so good.

So lately I've been thinking about Facebook: the pros and cons.

Is Facebook consuming the qualities we have to communicate with each other? Or even replace our inner heart's privacy?

I had a moment of realization though, tonight, about how years ago, when Facebook didn't exist, much less all things Internet, everyone did just fine. People would get together and actually talk about each others lives, and life itself. It was mystery or exciting.

Sure, with the Internet, there are many pros that come along with it, including staying in touch with friends and family who live miles away, even oceans away. And I'm grateful for it in that way!
But I feel as though everyone uses it as an excuse to spend their lives on it like everything depends on what Facebook says. Like its the only form of communication worth using anymore. When you read about each others lives on Facebook every day, when do you even just get together over coffee and talk like you don't already know what's going on?

People waste plenty of time scanning through, yes- some amusing or interesting, but just meaningless amounts of stuff; nothing that beats going outside in the fresh air and doing something more important with your life.

One thing I've noticed over the past few years is how people tend to "over-share." When someone is struggling, they'll post a prayer or religious thought for all their friends to see. But I wonder if they spend the same amount of time actually just talking with their Maker, or praying about the real matter in silence to the world? A lot of things just need to be kept between you and God. Sure, you can (and a lot of times need to) share with maybe a few trustworthy people who will be of true support or encouragement. But you don't need to outwardly secretly (figure that one out) share with your 500 "friends." Yes, of course there are a few times when you want to tell the whole world (i.e. you're free of cancer, you're engaged, ect.) but not EVERYTHING needs to be shared like that. Mostly to those whom you don't know or even care about. (Admit it, you don't care nearly as much about other people's Facebook info as what you hope others will see from yours)

Now obviously tons of Facebook is dedicated to businesses and artists alike. That's great! I'm just talking about the personal time and communication.

Anyway, like I said, I know there are pros- good and useless. But Facebook is not the only thing in life that matters.

t.