Healthy is the New Skinny

Ok...I'll own up to it..I lied. I didn't post you pictures on Fotography Friday! I'm sorry! I WILL post you one today! I PROMISE!

Moving on...life has been crazy lazy. I'd like to say that I awake at 6am to get my school done by noon and then  spend the rest of the day walking around talking to butterflies and reading. But...this is real life. So I'm either doing the very BARE minimum of school and watching tv and sleeping. Don't judge me.

Fall is settling in...and in Iowa you never know exactly what to expect when this time of year approaches. We could have snow by the morning. NOT that I'm pulling for it. So it's October 28th and I'm FREEZING. But...I'm still enjoying fall. I LOVE fall. It's probably my favorite season. The beautiful colors on the trees are just...breathtaking. It's fall! What is NOT to like about it?! Apple pie. Apple turnovers. Apple orchards. Changing leaves. Thanksgiving. Homemade soup. Fall is glorious. Thank You Lord for fall. Amen.

Recently, I've been seeing SO many things (Mainly on Pinterest. Yes...I AM pretty much obsessed.) about how being skinny is a need. "Nothing tastes better than skinny feels." Clearly they've never had my Aunt's Banana Split Dessert. But anyway...that's pathetic. A few years ago I may have actually adopted this as my motto. But now...it just makes me sad. We tell ourselves "I NEED to be skinny." NO! Who said skinny is beautiful? Who suddenly decided that you need to be skinny to be attractive? Well they can go...jump off a bridge. Or run six miles. I'm going to eat some cookies and spend time with my family. Yes, I will try my best to keep my body healthy by working out weekly and try to eat healthy, but I will not punish my body because it doesn't look exactly like the chick on tv. We need to stop focusing on hating ourselves and getting skinny and start loving ourselves. That's not an excuse to pig out and let your body go to waste by not keeping it healthy. But where in the Bible does it say what a beautiful woman wieghs? You know a hundred years ago a woman with curves was considered gorgeous. Do you remember when people actually ADDED to their butts? They wanted them bigger! And in Anne of Green Gables Anne is jealous because she's thinner than Diana. Anne actually wants to weigh more. Amen, Anne. The point is...thin hasn't always been in. And I say we bring healthy back! (That's right, I made THAT reference. Uh-huh.) For real though, thin is not the same as healthy. And healthy is waaay better than skinny. Personally, I struggle with looking in the mirror and saying "You are pretty." I think it's boastful but...honestly, girls are so hard on themselves these days I think it's ok for us to call a spade a spade and tell ourselves we are beautiful. {Don't get cocky. Yeah, you. It's not a "I'm a diva, and look better than you." thang.} Lets start seeing ourselves how our Creator sees us. See..I don't get complimented often. Not at all. I can think of three times in my life when a boy my age has commented on my looks in a positive way (The negatives will go to my sisters boyfriend>:[ ). Once when I was about twelve a kid said "Wow...serious Hannah." on a Facebook picture. At age twelve I was pretty excited to hear a boy say something about my looks. A few years later my best friend told me a guy I knew said I was cute. I blushed. {Don't judge me} And it made me feel good about myself. Then last year at classes (Homeschooler classes...I know...I'm a rebel.) one of my guy friends commented on how he liked my bangs. Another guy friend agreed. Ok...one more. My sister's boyfriend said I looked nice at prom...score one for the sister's boyfriend.

Anyway...I learned two things from these comments. First, I'm very glad that I'm friends with the kind of boys who respectfully and sweetly compliment me. Second, when those four boys commented on my looks I wasn't super thin. In fact The first comment came in the years I call myself "butter ball". A boy still thought I was pretty. The last two were the years of my life where I wasn't diligently workingout or counting calories. So...the conclussion is...you don't have to be Kate Middleton to be attractive. Not that boys thinking you're attractive is important, but don't be afriad of not finding a man who thinks you're beautiful.

But Somebody already thinks you're beautiful. Yes. I'm about to get cheesy. But for real...the Creator who made everything that we find so beautiful in this world also made you. So sometimes we feel ugly, right? Sometimes we call ourselves ugly. So if we are also made by this Creator but say we are ugly, that doesn't make sense. The God who made everything that's so beautiful in this world turned around a made an ugly human. Well...that's not exactly consistent. See...He didn't wait to make the ugliest thing til last...He waited to be His masterpiece to top of His creation. YOU were His masterpiece. You and I are this Creator's masterpiece. Think about that, my dear. You're beautiful.

Love,

Hannah Dorothy

Fotography Friday

I took this on the way back to the car at the apple orcahrd the other day. I went with my sisters and my oldest sister's boyfriend to take some of Abi's (middle sister) senior pictures. God is creative. Amen.

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