like a fire

Today we ran the gamut of experiences in the Martin household. We awoke to a fine layer of powder this morning that some Alabamians would call “snow”. Having lived in Pennsylvania, (or PA as we call it) I would refer to it as little more than hard frost. But I took some pictures anyway. The girls had a “big time” playing in it and then we drove down to Hardee’s for some breakfast.

We then went and found our new mattress. We have been needing a new one for a while and have started doing to unenviable shopping. Mattress salesmen rate just below lawyers, used car salesmen, tele-marketers and pond scum. SO without much hassle we have decided on a select comfort bed, which we will probably order Monday.

Later in the day we decided to do a little (read very little) yard work, since the uh… “snow” had completely vanished and it was actually quite dry. This is a shot of our new creek (taken the same day), which some people up north insist on pronouncing “crick”.

Not too bad for a youth pastor salary. It is actually quite nice sitting on our back deck and listening to the sound of running water as opposed to cars bumping along at our previous residence.

To top this day off, “Daddy Harv” (my father-in-law) called just a few minutes ago and invited us out to eat at El Mariachi. So it has been a pretty good day for us.

This is the B-E-S-T best I have ever seen. It beats many other spiritualized versions.

Today I am thirty-seven. There were times that I thought I wouldn’t live to be this old. Frankly, it doesn’t feel a day older than thirty-six. In fact, since I have been eating a little (very little) better, it feels pretty good.

Update Remembrance for the past year:

Thanks to a pretty extraordinary year, I realized a lot more about who I am and what I love.

I have a great wife and a great immediate family.

The people in my life who care about me are more of my family than the rest of my genetic family.

Dr. Pepper makes me sweat, a LOT.

Surprisingly, if I could sit in a room and do one thing it would be talk to people.

I am a real person apart from my youth ministry passion.

I get angry at silly stuff that doesn’t really matter (working on this one).

I don’t get that angry about big stuff that does matter (this one too).

I used to think that knowing about God made you a pretty good person, and I looked down on people who didn’t.

I used to think God needed my protection.

When I am trying to impress people, they like me less.

I love music and don’t treat myself to it enough.

So that is my words of wisdom for myself at the ripe old age of thirty-seven. Overall, I just feel very blessed to be where I am, in a church that loves me where I am.

We took the girls to the Montgomery Zoo today. Jane was none too impressed with the smell of the Maned Wolf exhibit. The sign read “What’s That Smell”. Apparently these wolves smell a LOT like skunks. The rest of the zoo was better in the olfactory department, although we did wait over an hour for lunch.

The highlight of the visit, though, was a group from some Asian country (Japan?) who was apparently on a field trip. They sang a couple of songs that were amazing. They were also enamored with Elizabeth. She had four of them following her around while we waited for lunch. Apparently, Elizabeth has a world recognized beauty.

I just saw the new Dove Campaign for Real Beauty video (above). They are definitely trying to help with the huge problem girls face in our society. I have two daughters and have already noticed how inundated they are with how they should look. Some of the statistics on the Ypulse site are pretty unsettling as well:

“Girls are being besieged with all types of media in nearly every corner of their lives:
- 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.”

Check out both sites for more info and resources on helping women see the beauty myth.