You Are Beautiful

A couple months ago, on Mother's Day to be exact, my family and I went to celebrate the day at Meso Maya, a Latin restaurant, located near downtown Dallas.  As we concluded our festive lunch, I got a nudge from my daughter, "Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom."  So there we went, off to the bathroom.  I have this habit that whenever Mia uses the bathroom, it immediately makes me want to go. While reaching over to grab some toilet paper, there was this silver sticker with the words, "You are Beautiful" written on it.  I froze for a moment, read the sticker and I have to admit, the words were perfect and it actually made me feel good inside.

Fast forward - Earlier this month I was on the Oprah website and there was a link to an article called "The sticker that started a world phenomenon."  Wow!  I had to read this.  Once I clicked on the link, it brought up a picture of the silver sticker I had seen once before in a bathroom on Mother's Day.  It turns out this sticker was created in part of a movement to share positivity, strength and confidence.  This movement was created by a man named Matthew Hoffman about ten years ago, initially with only 100 stickers.  Since then over half a million stickers have been printed and have made their way all over the world spreading his vision.  Amazing.

Matthew wants us all to share in his vision by getting some of his stickers and spreading them around everywhere we go.  If you are interested, click on the link below and it will take you to the You are Beautiful site. 

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL

Watch this inspiring video of how Michael got started, how he created this project and how it has taken off like a rocket!  I'm ordering my stickers soon.  So if you see them around Dallas, you may just know that I left my mark.

In continuing with this message, I must say we have all held insecurities about ourselves whether they were physical, about our upbringing or how intelligent we are or are not.  When I was younger I was always teased about how skinny I was.  I never focused on my weight until people, including family, would point out my flaws.  I was called toothpick legs, skin and bones,  a giraffe because I was tall and slim and I was called a four eyed freak because I wore glasses.  I use to think so badly about myself at times and stare at myself in the mirror hating what I saw.  I never wore shorts, skirts or dresses.  I never wore heels because they would only make me look taller. I begged my parents to buy me contacts, which I finally managed to score at the age of 13.  Somehow along the way, I slowly started getting rid of these insecurities, but when I did, it was almost an immediate 180 reaction from everyone else.  You're conceited, you think you are all that.  Who does she think she is?

Well I was a very insecure girl, who had broken down a wall and finally felt pretty and now I was being hated for that. I didn't understand.  When your ugly, you get made fun of, but when you're "pretty", you are disliked.  I experienced both sides and both were equally exhausting and draining. 

Even with gaining confidence, it took me a while to wear anything that revealed my legs.  There was a point where I completely hated my legs.  The funny thing, is now they are one of my favorite features. I will have to say the turning point of wearing skirts and shorts happened after I watched a movie called, "Shallow Hal".  Gwyneth Paltrow was thin with slim legs and wore a skirt in several scenes.  I looked at her and thought wow, she's slim, tall and she looks great.  Soon after guess who was showing off her legs?  You guessed it.  I haven't stopped since.  And while I may not have the best legs in the world, they are mine and I love them.

 

 Some people don’t realize when you make fun of a person for being skinny, it’s equally as offensive and hurtful as calling a person fat.  I still get comments to this day about my weight and I think it’s so stupid.  Sometimes I wish I did have a curvaceous body, but that’s not what I was given.  I’m actually pretty happy now.  It’s quite funny though, to think of the very things I was made fun of are the things that people actually wish they had – a slimmer body, darker skin tone and height.

At 29 years old, I still deal with insecurities, as we all do.  There’s no denying we all dislike certain things about ourselves.  But in the end, we are all God’s creation, we are his masterpiece and we need to be thankful for the things we love about ourselves rather than focusing on the negative.  There are always people out there who have it worse than us. Besides physical attributes fade – boobs sag, stomachs get squishy, hair falls out and wrinkles start to appear.  What matters is what’s in our hearts, our personality and our ability to be outstanding people. So the next time someone makes fun of you or if you find yourself standing in front of a mirror picking every flaw, remember that we are all dealing with similar situations, but we must remember that we ARE all beautiful.  

You are God’s most prized possession; God made you who you are on purpose; Be content in who God made you to be; We have to accept who God made us to be; Be at peace on the inside in who God made you to be; It’s not what the painting looks like, it’s about Who painted it (God); We have been painted by the greatest Painter there is (God)! - Joel Osteen

Sybrina Fulton

Sybrina Fulton is a mother who lost her son on February 26, 2012.  Her son, Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old boy who was killed by George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watchman.  Regardless of your view of this case, that is a fact.

Most of America has kept up to date with the Zimmerman case -  myself included.  The verdict came in Saturday of "Not Guilty".  Some of us were disappointed and some of us were content. There is no question that this case has opened doors to conversations, awareness,questions and anger.

My biggest inspiration in this whole tragedy was the composure and strength that Sybrina Fulton held throughout this past year and a half. I put myself in her shoes as a mother and I can't even imagine the pain of losing a child, much less the anger she must have had for losing a child the way that she did.  I can't imagine keeping my mouth shut while people defamed my child in a courtroom and in the media.  I can't imagine not having justice served for the man who killed my child.  It is unimaginable.

You have to admit, most mothers would have not responded to the pressure of the pain or anger in such an elegant and potent way.  I really don't know if I could.  Could you?

What ever we go through in life, God always has the last word. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight."

Thank you for all you do

About six months or so, I went to one of those CVS minute clinics because I had a cold.  I was waiting for my name to be called when a police officer showed up.  He signed in after me and when he was done, I said Hello.  He replied back and we started a small conversation.  Mia, my daughter, was with me and he asked her if she wanted a sticker.  She said yes and he gave her a police sticker.  While waiting, we kept talking and he told me that he disliked when children were afraid of him or other police.  He said some parents, when they see him, will tell their kids, "Behave or I'll tell that policeman to take you to jail," or some other obnoxious comment like that which in turn will make the child afraid of police.  He voiced his frustration on the topic and I must agree, I have heard people make those comments or seen how some kids are afraid of policemen.

I have so much gratitude for people who risk their lives for strangers.  Policemen, Firemen, people in the armed forces, nurses, doctors, teachers - these people go above and beyond the call of duty to help people and I hate that most time their work goes unnoticed or taken for granted.

Since that day, I have shown my children to always acknowledge a police officer with a simple, "Thank you for all you do."  I have told them over and over, that now it is just habit for them and I can't tell you how happy that makes me.  It is remarkable to see how a simple Thank You lights up a persons face.

Try it one day - if you never have.  The reaction is always priceless.  You feel good and you make the other person feel good.  I think it's important we teach our kids to be thankful and this is such a small way to make a BIG difference.

Sunday Funday

Sunday has officially become my FAVORITE day of the week!  My Sundays consist of waking up early attending church, going out to eat after church and getting ready for the week. One of my favorite shows on the OWN network, Super Soul Sunday, comes on every Sunday.  

The purpose to this show is to "nourish your mind, body and spirit every Sunday. Super Soul Sunday features
interviews with the top spiritual leaders of the world. It is inspiring in many levels and definitely a show like no other on TV. 

As you know I love Oprah and I love that she has has used her platform to help others.  I have included some clips of my favorite episodes of Super Soul Sunday.  If you haven't caught this show on TV, I highly recommend.  

It is truly food for the soul. 

On another note, I just wanted to brag on my daughter's awesomeness.  She placed 2nd place in her first ever 1K.  She competed with children in ages 2-7 and came in 2nd Place in the Female category.