Wonderings and Wanderings

Dove has been doing some amazing things with their Real Beauty campaign.  I’ve been quite impressed with the campaign to show the beauty of real women over the last couple of years.  Women do come in all shapes and sizes and America has a completely unhealthy addiction to physical "beauty".  Ironically, what many Americans describe as beautiful is not what most of the world defines as beautiful.

This new video from Dove is beyond words.  It is powerful, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching and sickenly revealing about the destruction and damage done to our young girls. Women – we should know better!! And we should do all we can to fight our young girls having to endure this same torture.  My niece is 3 months old.  I grieve the day that is coming when someone or some ad or some song robs her of her innocence and tells her she isn’t beautiful. I will do everything I can to fight that day.

Everyone needs to pay attention to this and pass it along.

Some Important Stats: (Thanks to YSMarko for stats.)

- The average person sees between 400 and 600 advertisements per day – equivalent to more than one message for every waking minute.

- The average US girl has the opportunity to see an estimated 77,546 commercials by the time she is 12 years old.

This growing phenomenon is having a direct impact on girls’ self-image and even causing some to engage in destructive behavior. The Dove Self-Esteem Fund/Seventeen Body Image Survey also revealed:

- 93 percent of girls and young women report feeling anxiety or stress about some aspect of their looks when getting ready in the morning

- This could explain why more than 70 percent of girls and young women avoid activities when they feel bad about their looks including giving their opinion, attending school and even going to the doctor.

- 76 percent of girls and young women admit to partaking in unhealthy activities when they feel badly about their bodies

- 58 percent of girls describe themselves in negative terms, including words like “disgusting” and “ugly,” when feeling badly about themselves.

- Nearly four out of 10 engage in unhealthy eating behaviors, such as anorexia or bulimia.

- More than one out of 10 girls has used cutting or self-inflicted injury as a coping mechanism.

For those of you concerned or mildly curious, my jeep is still with me.  It went to the jeep doctor today and for a small fee, she is back with me and running much better. I shall remain by her side as long as possible. It is the least I can do for her faithful service these past 11 years.

On another note, I purchased a feather-down mattress cover and let me just say – it was so worth it.  Wow. I’ve overslept the last two mornings.  Yes, you might get fired but it is so worth it.

It has been a very busy and very challenging weekend.  Our church invited Don Simmons to come and speak this weekend about "Every Member a Minister".  We had sessions on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, powerful sermons on Sunday and some quality time with Don and the leadership staff today. I have many notes and thoughts overwhelming me as I process what to do with what I’ve been exposed to.  Don is the founder of Creative Potential and provides creative leadership solutions for Nonprofits, Corporations, Churches, Professional Associations and Government Agencies. He has some amazing insights, stories, experiences, etc. to give to these groups.  Our church has been working to become an equipping church and we have much work to do to change the culture of our church to see each believer as a minister rather than placing so much importance on paid, ordained staff to do the ministry.  It is a tough and slow process. One we’ve been working on for quite some time, however, we have much to learn.  There were affirmations and critiques and I have much to think through in relationship to my ministry with youth as well as a associate pastor at the church.

Another feature of my time with Don was related to relocation.  Don moved to the heart of Fresno, CA, a few years ago. He purchased a house that was condemned, restored the home while investing in the restoration of his neighbors and as a result, his on restoration.  I cannot begin to imagine the needs, experiences, and stories of his family neighborhood.  It is completely different from Jefferson City, MO.  Yet it still spoke to my heart as I am continually torn over a constant Spirit prod to relocate to our poorer neighborhoods in Jefferson City. It has been a part of my thinking for over a year. Fear is the biggest shackle I wear concerning moving. Fear of messy relationships.  Fear of commitment.  Fear of proximity – not just physical proximity.  Fear of cultural differences.  Fear of stressing my family.

There are just so many times you can drive around the block before you have to either step out on faith and MOVE or go home.  That moment is coming for me – whether I’m ready or not.