Take a stand

Take a stand. DO SOMETHING. This is what I frequently tell myself.

As a Christian... and a blessed individual, I should do what I can for those who can not do for themselves.

Many people ask.. why should I do anything at all. I ask why not? Why should we not do what GOD has called us to do.. HELP our FELLOW man out. ITs wrong to ignore the many issues the world is facing. Animal cruelty, animal extinction, and global warming, pollution. God Gave us this place... he commanded we care for it... and here we are trashing it. It is also wrong to ignore the HUMAN CONDITION. Poverty, starvation, illnesses that can be prevented, dehydration, malnutrition, lack of education, homelessness.. and so many other things.

Why do I, and so many others ignore the realities of this place. Why do I pretend that since I don't see the suffering its not truely going on. Can I really sit here and just rant and do nothing. Can I sit here and see it occur and do nothing! I know its going on.. maybe I don't see it.. but its real. I think its a sin to do nothing. God didn't just sit around, he took action. I believe that he wants us to take action as well.!

There is only one planet.. EARTH and there is only one people.. GODs people.


So I got to thinking... what issues effect my heart most. Poverty and homelessness. So todays lesson is about Poverty.

Thanks for reading.

So I got the following information from DOSOMETHING.Org

11 Facts about Global Poverty

1. Half the world – nearly three billion people – live on less than two dollars a day.
2. According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty – that’s 18 children dying every minute, a child every three seconds.
3. About 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.
4. For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world: 640 million are without adequate shelter, 400 million do not have access to safe water, 270 million do not have access to health services.
5. About 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized.
6. About 1.6 billion people – a quarter of humanity – live without electricity.
7. Over nine million people, of which five million are children, die worldwide each year because of hunger and malnutrition.
8. Over 11 million children die each year from preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.
9. About 20% of the population in the developed nations consume 86% of the world’s goods.
10. The poorest 40% of the world’s population accounts for 5% of the global income. The richest 20% accounts for three-quarters of world income.
11. Around 27-28% of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted.

Background on Poverty

There are plenty of statistics and data about global poverty--these are just a few:

• Each year, more than 8 million people around the world die because they are too poor to stay alive.
• Over 1 billion people—1 in 6 people around the world—live in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1 a day.
• More than 800 million go hungry each day.
• Over 100 million primary school-age children cannot go to school.

Nearly 3 billion people—half of the world's population—are considered poor. Lots of men, women and children endure unimaginable obstacles that prevent them from receiving their basic human rights.

When the UN created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the signers proclaimed that all people have the right to education, work, health and well-being. Today, however, millions around the world are too crippled by poverty to fulfill these basic rights. Millions continue to go hungry. Scores of children never step inside a classroom. Families watch their loved ones die from largely preventable causes because they do not have access to adequate medical care. In essence, poverty is a denial of human rights.

SO lets do something Fellow readers get involved.! Go to dosomething.org or

Take a Stand Against Poverty

Take a Stand Against Poverty - join the 43.7 million people who've demanded a more urgent political reponse to global poverty.

Over 43.7 million people, in 127 countries have broken the Guinness World Record – set last year at 23.5 million – for the largest number of people to “STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY AND FOR THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS” in 24 hours.

In 127 countries, millions stood and spoke out to demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global poverty and inequality. They called on their world leaders to keep their commitments made in the Millennium Development Goals.

Add your voice today! -- http://standagainstpoverty.org/report/2

Rain

Yes I will do the rain dance. I love the rain. I hear so many of my friends and radio host say" We had a terrible summer, and here comes that darn rain". I find that amusing. Its like people dont know where they live or are just to stubborn to get it. I just want to say "HELLO this is washington not california.. you want blue skies and warm weather MOVE"

I love it in Washington. I find the weather to be a perfect. It never gets to hot or to cold. We don't have any drastic weather conditions, and the rain leads to the most beautiful green I have ever seen.

Today is supposedly one of the last nice days we will see in a while. Alot of people are sad about it. I guess I will miss going to the beach and the river. But I love the rain. FOR some odd reason I find my happiness when it pours. I love to just sit in it. To let it drench me. The rain brings me a peace that no amount of clear waters and blue skies ever could.




The only way I truely appreciate a non rainy day is at night. The night sky almost brings me as much peace as the rain. I feel close to my creator both when dancing in the rain and sleeping under the stars.

Sigh I love my home. I love the rain. I love the sky. I love God

Rain dancing away...

I love it so much I made this:

I'm Fat, a passing thought

The way we look at women, and a womans body has become an intense sociological job, Everyone has a set standard, everyone has a view point, and for the most part, being thin has been the standard since the 1960's. Thanks Twiggy. Women have a tendancy to obsess with how they look, and historically speaking a womans body was always under the microscope, but more recently the womans body equals health and happiness.


As a society we are growing heavier and as we get older we do gain more weight , our body preferences are growing thinner. Being thin, thin is defined by Hollywoods veiw point, is seen as the only way to be satisfied with ones self. Thinness will lead to a great man, great sex, and a great job, thus a happy and full life. Despite the concerns of feminists and other observers, body image issues seem to be only growing in importance. With movies like 13 going on 30 and the women trying to promote a change in magazines, trying to push them toward real women, I still only see a lean toward the unreal, the ungettable look.

This obsession with the way women look hasn't helped us see ourselves for what we are. If we are on the heavier side we are judged as lazy and unhappy. If we are 'too' thin we are seen as bitchy or snobby. Feminism doesn't always free women either. It hasn't helped society see women for real women, but at the same time feminist ideal pushes us to stray away from things women are naturally good at nurturing, thus we tend to no longer nuruture ourselves or our bodies. Then hollywoods standards are very obvious. Watch any show. A man can be heavy and bald, and moderately if not completely unattractive, but still have a successful show. However his wife is always super attractive. She is thing and her hair is always long and thick. As a society we pride ourselves as being advanced in thought, but I ask how is putting a woman in a BOX an advanced thought?

I know that appearance has always been important. Being heavy used to be a status quo. If you had some chunk you were obviously wealthy because you can afford to eat not because you were lazy. Being tan hasn't' always meant you had the money to lounge around and be a bronzed beauty, it used to mean you were a laborer, the poor portion of society. Appearance has always mattered, but what we are supposed t look like changes.

According to Psychology today, when most people think of body image, they think about aspects of physical appearance, attractiveness, and beauty. But body image is so much more. It's our mental representation of ourselves; it's what allows us to understand ourselves. Body image isn't simply influenced by feelings, and it actively influences much of our behavior, self-esteem, and psychopathology. Our body perceptions, feelings, and beliefs govern our life plan who we meet, who we marry, the nature of our interactions, and our day-to-day comfort level.

The thought is "if I were only 5'5 and 115 lbs have clear skin and great hair, I'd have it all'
I just want to know this, how come what we weigh equals self satisfaction?

For the most part what society expects becomes what is real. Unrealistic expectations become reality. In order for a man to see a woman as attractive, she has to be thin. In order for him to fall in love she has to be hot. AND vice-versa. Women wont go seeking a relationship unless she feels comfortable with her body and very rarely do women over size 12 feel okay with their bodies, thus the whole system is pushed into overdrive -- reaffirming that size matters. When in fact it doesn't.. it is our damn perception!


Sigh. I woke up today and hated my body. Normally I am completely comfortable with it but I realized I am Fifteen pounds heavier than I want to be and I don't look the exact way I want to. My world is a slightly lonely place and today I blamed my body for it. Stupid societal expectations. Even my girlfriends who are highly advanced in many thoughts, still influenced todays reaction at myself. They are beautiful and thin women.. I am bigger than most and yet they still see themselves as FAT so.. how do they see me? I MUST BE HUGE! Then I know my reactions at myself will influence them. Perhaps they see me as thin? and my thinking I'm disgusting will only encourage their further thinking they are disguisting as well! RAWR cycles, I hate them.!


This whole way of the world and its damn importance was not an is not how God wants it.
How do I change my own view point? How do I see me for me? How do I say I am beautiful to God and that all that matters? Today its going to be a struggle. Everyday is. But I need to smack myself and say I am beautiful to me and to God.. SO SCREW the worlds idea.!

So to my fellow readers:

Lets start a new fad, a new trend, a new view point,

LETS LOVE OUR BODIES JUST THE WAY THEY ARE

opposite way

So being single in this day in age is like being on a game show. Its unrealistic and the expectations and goal are just not worth it. Todays society tells me that when I meet a guy, I should be sleeping with him by the end of the first date... and in love after we've had sex.

Its not like when I am around a nice man I don't want to kiss him; but the thought doesn't go much further than that. For starters I can't fathom the idea of sleeping with some one I dont first love, and secondly I can't fathom sleeping with someone I am not married to. I know that sounds seriously old fashioned, and I really dont care. Society has set the pace. I have seen a few people just a few run the other way.

In the United State, the new idol worship isn't a wooden statue, its the lives of the rich and famous. We strive to do what it appears they do. For the most part people with in hollywood do what we expect.. they set this pace of unmarried sex and quick fixes. However I have seen 2 examples of famous people attempting to RUN the other way. The Jonas Brothers a famous boy band on Disney is wearing purity rings. Purity rings are worn to symbolize that fact that the wearer intends to stay pure until marriage. They were made fun of at the VMA's and only 2 people stuck up for them. One was Jordin Sparks ( a fellow purity ring wearer) and Paris Hilton.



Its not shocking that they were made fun of. The shocker was that Paris Hilton, a pace setter in the flesh, stuck up for them. Sigh. I wasn't sure what to make of all of that. But maybe even the pace setters wish they too could run the other direction.

With the majority of people believing that sex is dating. How do I expect to meet a decent man who is not retarded with society? Can I stay true to my own personal expectations? Or will societal pressures, norms, and a man I think is hot convince me other wise?

Dating, a Really scary idea. Actually getting along with a man long enough to make him commit to be my boyfriend ... and to commit to the same principles and or similar ones.. almost seems impossible. LOL.


So all this ranting was brought on by my new favorite song:

Opposite way by Leeland. Lyrics:

Living in the same town
for all these years
Doing the same old things
hanging with the same crowd
and it's starting to get crippling
you never felt in place
and you tell yourself it's all okay
but something's different today
you want to run the opposite way
and it seems like you're locked in a cage
and you need to find a way of escape
when everyone's setting the pace- it's okay to run the opposite way

and the Father sent his Son down
the Light of men
the cross he bore was crippling
rejected in His own town
and they couldn't see the Sun shining
He knelt in the garden and prayed
Father let this cup pass from me
It's not Your will for me to stay
Your will for me is the opposite way

and it seems like He was locked in a cage
and He couldn't find a way of escape
but through the cross He conquered the grave
my Jesus ran the opposite way

Oh, and through the cross He conquered the grave
Oh, He ran the other way
Yeah, through the cross He conquered the grave
So you could run the opposite way

Sisters

Most people know that I have 6 sisters. Yes , crazy I know. I am the oldest of all Six. In the line up its Myself, Karissa (full) Monica (step) April (half) Todd (the one and only brother making 7) Sarah & Malerie (twin step sisters) and Julia (half). Of my six sisters and one brother I only get to see 3, therefore I am only really close to those three.. .Karissa, Sarah analerie.

Karissa and Sarah are a unique brand of beautiful and fun. They love make up, being dressed up, and looking good. I have yet to see Karissa have a bad day in over Ten years. Its amazing how she always glows. Sarah strives to be like her.. . sometimes taking it to far and becoming snobby, which Karissa isn't.. except with Clothes... but never in the general sense of snob. They love their bodies, they love to eat, and their confidence in the way they look in general is awe inspiring. To be that comfortable is what all women would like to be.

During the summer months and early hunting season Karissa and I get the privilege of taking care of our younger sisters. Sarah seems to always get stuck with Karissa. Or better put Karissa gets stuck with Sarah. They have fun eating, watching movies, and just cruising the town. As for Malerie, she gets stuck with me. We have a totally good time as well but tend to be the Odd sisters in the Gang.

I love all my siblings, however; I have a very close kinship with my sister Malerie. Even though we are only step sisters, it is like we are genetically linked. we have similar taste in things, activities, boys, and similar view points on life in general. We love to play and do weird and random things as well.

In July alone Malerie and I did so many random things, I was considering writing a book entitled.. How to survive a sisterhood of weirdness. Our first adventure was tubing down snoqualmie river. This ended badly. The river went at less than one mile an hour, and our car was 3 miles away. We ended up walking the majority of the shore, getting stuck in mud, smelling like fish, climbing rock walls, getting yelled at by farmers, and running across farm land with our pink rafts around our mid section. A very hilarious scenario in retrospect.

Our second adventure was in our traveling to tonasket to my parents property. The trip started with random photos of random sites, me unknowingly showing my underwear to everyone in Omaks Walmart, and my daughter rolling away in the shopping cart about 10 car lengths away from me with out me noticing :(. During the vacation we went quadding in the okanagon where we went past a crazy mans house, saw deer, and almost hit 'wild' cattle. To add to the craziness of us, we jumped off a paddle boat into a freezing cold lake, jumped onto and climbed giant rocks, and ended our adventures attempting to walk like deer.

Our latest adventure was to Forks. We went there on a whim. Our favorite book twilight was written and supposed to take place there. We took the ferry over to Kingston, and while on the ferry... I unwillingly showed half the ferry my underwear. I was wearing a skirt and outside, and well the wind just exposed me immediately upon movement of the ferry. On our way to forks we laughed and listened to great music, all while ignoring a very unhappy daughter of mine in the back. (she cried the entire time) . We talked about how weird we were for traveling 4 hours just to go to forks. We thought for some reason we were unique. When we arrived in Forks we learned we were not the only wierdos. Thousands of people had already come before us and probably twenty earlier that day. Apparently we aren't the only people who love Jacob and Edward with all our hearts.. to the point of obsession. The trip wasn't a complete waste though, we saw all the sets to were the movie (that was made on our book) were shot. We found a beautiful beach (rialto) and had a great time.

Sigh. Summer is over. Who knows when malerie and I will have more wild and crazy strange fun.

I love my sisters.