Short on time today? Head on down to the bottom of the post for a video that condenses some of the things I’m mentioning today.  But otherwise, lets continue on: 

Did you grow up playing with Barbie dolls? You know, those little, perfect figurine-type hunk of plastics…

Barbie’s, simply put, set impossible, unrealistic standards. One of the websites I was looking at said it well: This children’s toy was first debut in 1959, and she was the ideal role model for all girls, or so it seemed. She was perfectly skinny, had a perfect boyfriend and family, perfect hair, perfect house, perfectly… perfect. Yet how was this perfect doll impacting the millions of young girls (older girls, too!) who were playing with her?

This is the clear effects: It’s estimated that 8 million people in the United States has an eating disorder, and only 10-15% of them are male. Which leaves the 85- 90% of them to be female. And 80% of those females are under the age of 20.

How? you ask. Why? Well, besides the point that no real lady (2014 – 1959 = 55) in her fifties should look that young, with perfect skin, not a single blemish at all, it’s important to note that the figurines have horribly wrong proportions!

People argue over whether her life-size body would 5’ 6” or the extreme 6’ 8”, but let’s face it, when you add in her weight- the “Slumber Party Barbie” came complete with a bathroom scale permanently set at 110 pounds- she is significantly underweight.

Just look at her: Her larger head rest  on a neck twice as long and six inches thinner. Her 16-inch waist,  thinner than her head, wouldn’t give room for her organs. And like her fragile 3.5 inch wrists, her 6-inch ankles and child shoe-size 3 feet, would prevent her from standing….It'd be an entirely impossible feat requiring her to walk on all fours, her head, as a real woman, would be impossible to lift. (You can see more comparison data here.)

You see, neither normal folk, models, or anorexics can have a body that set at “Barbie Standards”, you wouldn’t even want one. The ones that seem to be, as in media, are photo-shopped and fake!

 You can refer also here to see biblical scriptures on the topic.

And finally, here you are with a question and that video I mentioned: What messages did/does Barbie send to you?

(I'm sharing this post with the Godly Girls for God website; It will go out there March 14.)

Sources: 1 (Barbie consequences) 2 (Barbie in real life conversions)

I don't know exactly how many snow-days the local district has had as of now, although I feel like its seven or eight. In any case, its way more than usual.

Also, being that we've had an adequate amount of snow, there have been an abundance of snowmen lately. Some of which are amazingly creative.

After a bit of research, though, Ive found that thee are an abundance of creative ways of building a snowman; I mean, just look at these images:

** I pressed publish approximately 2.5 seconds yesterday after MailChimp sends out my posts so if you are reading this in your inbox, you'll see two posts today. Oops.

I was given this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.  This post includes affiliate links.

Echoes of Mercy by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The back of the book:

Sometimes a secret must be kept for the truth to be revealed.
 
When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees—the child workers. Caroline’s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education.   
 
Oliver Dinsmore, heir to the Dinsmore candy dynasty, has his own investigation to conduct. Posing as a common worker known as “Ollie Moore,” he aims to find out all he can about the family business before he takes over for his father. Caroline and Oliver become fast friends, but tension mounts when the two find themselves at odds about the roles of child workers. Hiding their identities becomes even more difficult when fate brings them together over three children in desperate need. When all is revealed, will the truth destroy the love starting to grow between them?

My honest opinions:

Note: I know I’ve recently posted about not reading romances, but this one is completely clean. In fact there is no hand holding or anything else. Likewise, there was an actual plot to the book, including the struggles of child labor, discussions on God and the power of prayer, and three recently orphaned children longing for someone to love them.

I’d rate this book a solid 5 out of 5.

I read it between two evenings.  The first night, I read the first 75 pages or so, and was skeptical of whether I was actually going to enjoy it- I had been eager to review it, but was having a hard time getting into it with the run on sentences, the redundancy, and the way that the main character had a little too much of what they call a “servant’s heart”.

But the rest of the book was just as wonderful as I was expecting.  I really liked the way you get to know each of the characters and the detective work thrown in. Especially if you are into historical fiction (we’re talking Kansas in 1904 in this case) you will love this novel!

Also, the author, Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and six grandchildren. She invites you to visit her Web site at www.kimvogelsawyer.com for more information."

I can recommend it to everyone and anyone, and specifically to those that are into historical fiction and/or struggling with prayer.  If you are interested, you can read a sample of the book here as well as purchase the book from Amazon in both Paperback and the Kindle Edition.

If you were to ask someone what day it is today, no doubt they would say Valentine's Day
(See my post, if you missed it, on this holiday here).

But what else?

You have the "Every Day is a Holiday' websites saying that its also annual: 

1. Ferris Wheel Day
2. Frederick Douglass Day
3. Pet Theft Awareness Day
4. Library Lovers Day
5. Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day
6. League of Women Voters Day
7. National Organ Donor Day

... As well as the actual record books looking back with the "Today in History" timelines:

In 1859, Oregon became the 33rd state in the United States.
In 1912, Arizona became the 48th state in the United States.
In 1912, The first diesel engine submarine was commissioned in Groton, CT.
In 1920, The League of Women Voters was founded.
In 1929,  Al Capone's St. Valentine's Day massacre.
In 1983, A 6-year-old boy became the first person to receive a heart and liver transplants in the same operation.
In 1985, CNN reporter Jeremy Levin was freed. He had been being held in Lebanon by extremists.
In 1989, The first satellite of the Global Positioning System was placed into orbit around Earth.
In 2001, The Kansas Board of Education reversed its 1999 ruling and restored evolution to the state's science curriculum.
In 2003, Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, was euthanized because of incurable lung cancer.

Anything else?

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