Title Tuesday: Your Own Beautiful

Welcome to  Title Tuesday, my favorite day of the week! This day is dedicated to book suggestions, news, cartoons, and reviews. I write this portion of my blog because I am a big believer in the motivational speaker Charlie Jones' quote which says, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I try to meet as many new people as possible and to read everything I can. This is my way of sharing that information with you. You can see a visual summary of the books I have reviewed for both adults and children over on my Facebook page. If you are interested in understanding my rating system for books you can read my Book Review Explanation here and What I Believe here. If you want to check out what I am currently reading or what I want to read next, friend me on Goodreads!

I was excited to receive a copy of Your Own Beautiful with Advice and Inspiration from Chelsea Crockett. Crockett became a YouTube sensation for her makeup, life, and style videos. She is very popular in Christian circles because she often mentions her faith a bit here and there. However, I can honestly say that I was sincerely disappointed with this book for a couple of reasons and I will list those out here:

• If the book is about being your OWN kind of beautiful, why then would you try so hard to look exactly like everyone else? 
• In a culture saturated with sex and digitally enhanced gorgeous women, it is easy to feel less than beautiful.  Why then would her parents allow a young girl to spend literally HOURS in front of a mirror and a computer screen to make and create this idea that you need to be physically beautiful? (She posted her first YouTube video at just 13 years old.)
• Simply throwing random Bible verses (OUT OF CONTEXT) into your writing does not make your writing biblical. 
• THE ENTIRE PORTION ON DATING in this book was very questionable. 
• She talks about modesty, but she simply does not live it out. Aside from some VERY sexualized pictures in the book, modesty isn't just what you wear it is an attitude. If you are taking a bazillion selfies everyday to post up, it doesn't seem like modesty is actually very high priority at all. 

Overall, I give this book a measly C-.  It seems as though this book is a marketing ploy. It is something put on the shelves that mothers will buy for their preteen daughters to help them navigate the perils of middle and high school. However, it falls markedly short of helping to make a person truly beautiful. Instead of reaching for Christ, Crockett reaches for a "peachy blush".  

Motherhood Monday: From This to That

Welcome to another Motherhood Monday! This is the day dedicated to all things "mommy" related. Check here each Monday for a new post. 

Today I want to talk with you about expectations of yourself. Have you ever been on social media (of any kind) when all of the sudden you just feel awful about yourself? Let me give you some examples.

You see these perfect images of people that just "love their sweet baby SO much" and it was posted at 2 am. At 2 am you certainly aren't thinking of how much you love your sweet baby when they won't  sleep. This is usually the same person that says things like, "him being awake is just extra snuggle time!"

How bout the people that  "just finished a quick 3 mile run" at 6 in the morning while their spouse in deployed. You meanwhile are sitting at your kitchen table in your pajamas at 9 am watching your "sweet babies" dump food on the floor... again. 

I've been there. One of my mentors once told me that people don't put their behind the scenes film on social media, they put their highlight reel. And she was exactly right! 

The pictures up top were taken just two hours apart. The top one was taken at 6:45 in the morning after I had been up most of the night with my youngest son. I am exhausted and worn out. My hair is EVERYWHERE and my skin felt oily and gross.  The lower picture was taken about two hours later when we were getting ready to leave for church. I had makeup on, my hair was (relatively!) tamed. I had on a real shirt rather than one of my husband's training shirts. I felt put together. THAT is the picture that most people put up. They don't put up the first one, because that might show that you don't have it all together. Life might be less than perfect. 

Are you ready for a secret? 

Life isn't perfect. 

It can't be. 

We live in a fallen world.

Children are going to be up all night, husbands will be TDY, sometimes you can't get from this to that. Sometimes your life isn't going to be as smooth as you would like it to be. But that is reality. Know that your value is found in Christ Jesus and not in what people see of you on social media. 

Don't let mommy guilt steal your joy. 

You are fantastic mama, keep shining.  

(Just so you know, the links are part of the Amazon affiliate program,
if you purchase any of these things from my links I will receive a small commission off of your purchase.)

Femininity Friday: My 6 Minute Look

Good morning! Welcome to another Femininity Friday. This is the day of the week when we discuss issues specific to being a woman. Topics range from health and fitness to femininity and feminism. Today I am going to share with you my six minute beauty routine! 

If your house is anything like mine, mornings can be a rough time of day. Being a mom of two little boys, ages 2 and under, makes getting ready in the morning feel like a struggle. My husband is in the Army and many mornings he has to leave before the sun is up. We run an in-home garage gym ministry that has people in my home 5-7 days per week, often before I have had a full cup of coffee. Taking the time to make myself presentable is important to me, but difficult. Trying to tame my very long and unruly hair is challenging enough, but trying to add putting on makeup early in the morning as well can feel like an arduous task!  

I am always on the look out for quick and inexpensive ways to help me look and feel my best each day. So today, I thought I would share with you my 6 minute look (yes I clocked it!) to getting out the door...  or in my case, to the garage. All of the things that I list out below are found in the cosmetics area at Walmart or, I have provided links to Amazon for the exact thing that I use.  

Phase 1: FACE IT

1. Wash your face: I use Clean & Clear Morning Burst Skin Brightening Facial Scrub, 5 Oz. I like the way it smells. You wouldn't think that would be a selling point for a face wash, but for me it totally is! 
2. Prime your face: I use E.l.f. Poreless Primer, 0.47 Fluid Ounce. I really like how smooth it is! With some primers I end up feeling oily and then I don;t end up using it regularly. This one is nice and light. 
3. Apply Foundation: I use COVERGIRL Simply Powder Foundation Classic Ivory Warm 510, .41 oz. I like a smoother matte look on my face. I live in the south and I associate the "dewy" look with sweat. Any other southerners feel that way? 
4. Conceal Trouble Spots:  I like e.l.f. Concealer, Ivory, 0.11 Ounce, I like this color a lot. I find with concealers sometimes that I end up looking like I have dark spots on my face if I am not very careful. This one is soft enough not to make it look like a bad contouring job. 
5. Rosy Bloom: I use COVERGIRL Clean Glow Lightweight Powder Blush Roses 100, .42 oz high on my cheekbones. I don't do contouring because, honestly what mom has time to do that every day? Maybe if I get a chance I will do another post with my "dramatic" look where I contour, but for now, this is it. 

Phase 2: EYES UP

1. Colorful Eyes: I use COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Eye Shadow Urban Basics, .19 oz almost every day. If I am going to a special event or if I want something more dramatic I will use COVERGIRL Eye Shadow Quads Stunning Smokeys 715, .06 oz, but I really only use it for military balls, and maybe a special date night. I like color on my eyes so I tend to play around with different eye shadows often. What do you like to use? 
2. Line Up: I like to use CoverGirl Perfect Point Eye Liner Mechanical Pencil, Chestnut (w) 212, 0.008-Ounce for my eyeliner. I don't use a traditional pencil because I hate shavings from sharpening them, plus a sharpener with a 2 year old is NEVER A GOOD IDEA. I use brown unless I am using the smokey eye pallet above and then I will use black. 
3. Big Lashes: As I mentioned earlier, I am from the south and we LOVE big eyelashes! I use COVERGIRL LashBlast Waterproof Mascara Black Brown 835, .44 oz and I love it. If I am going to use the black eyeliner, I use this same mascara, but in black. 

Phase 3: Finish It Off

1. Lovely Lips: I use CoverGirl Outlast All Day Two Step Lipcolor, Nude 593, 0.13 Ounce on my lips and I love it. I don't have to constantly reapply it (again, I'm southern, we do that!) and that is a big selling point for me.
2. Set It Up: I use a setting spray since I live in North Carolina and it is hot and humid here. I like e.l.f. Makeup Mist and Set, Clear, 2.02 Ounce because it doesn't have an obvious odor to it. I can't stand smelling my own makeup all day. 
3. Luscious Locks: The last thing that I do is try to tame my crazy hair. You can check out my Pinterest board for hair ideas, but the thing that I use most often are Lila Rose Flexi Clips. I don't sell them myself, but I have a lot of them. They hold my very thick and heavy hair up without giving me a headache like when I wear my hair in a ponytail. Just for reference, i wear the small size for a half up look and the 2XL for an updo.

That's it! 

That is my entire 6 minute look. If my husband is already gone for the morning I  usually give my boys a basket of trucks to play with on the floor right outside the bathroom door and knock this out while listening to praise and worship music or a Focus on the Family podcast. If my husband is home we tag team it, he plays with the boys while I get ready and vice versa. 

What are your tips and tricks for getting ready for the day? 
I'd love to hear all about your routines, hacks, and favorites!

(Just so you know, the links are part of the Amazon affiliate program, if you purchase any of these things from my links I will receive a small commission off of your purchase.)

Motherhood Monday: Beauty and the Beast

Welcome to another Motherhood Monday! This is the day dedicated to all things "mommy" related. Check here each Monday for a new post. Today I want to talk about Beauty and the Beast. I know it has been out for a couple of weeks now and I am late in posting this, but that was on purpose. I wanted to give the dust a chance to settle before I wrote out my thoughts, so here we go.

As a Christian mom, I am not going to be watching the remake of Disney's Beauty and the Beast despite the fact that the original movie was my FAVORITE movie as a child. I watched and re-watched that movie, faithfully. My grandmother actually has two of the VHS tapes because we lost one for a short while. However, all the warm and fuzzy childhood memories do not make up for the fact that this movie supports and condones a LGBT lifestyle. I cannot in good conscience sit through a movie (and thereby financially support) something that is fundamentally contradictory to my faith. 

The next statement that I usually get is, "But Morgan, it isn't that bad! It is just hints that only adults will get. Can't you watch it and ignore the parts that you don't like?" The answer is NO, and here is why: I filter what I read, watch, listen to, and participate in through Philippians 4:8 which says, " Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." 

This movie doesn't fit my personal Christian standard, period. 

But what about the Christians that are seeing the movie anyway? How does that work? Well, as far as I can tell the Christians that are seeing the movie anyways fall in two different groups. 

Group One: it doesn't matter at all, Christians should just ignore the subtle gay moments and just enjoy the movie

Group Two: Christians should use it for a teaching moment. 

Let me address the second group first. I strongly disagree with the idea that Christians should watch the movie because "this is the culture that God appointed us to live in" or that we can use it to "find the good". I think that is just conforming to the society rather than standing up for what you believe, and yet many people are doing exactly that! You wouldn't say that Christians should go see the new 50 Shades of Grey movie, and yet that is part of this culture too. (Also, just because something is "good" doesn't mean it is "God". Ghandi was a "good" man, but if you believe the Bible then you believe that he went to hell, despite his "good".)  

As for group one, this is where most of the Christian viewers seem to fall. I was incredibly disappointed to see one of my favorite Christian authors, Eric Metaxas even write that, 

"...the much-ballyhooed "exclusively gay moment" which "Beauty and the Beast" director Bill Condon referred to turned out to be two or three suggestive moments, plus an "in-your-face" transgender moment involving a man dressed in drag and loving it. As a Christian dad, that bugged me. But as a fan of good stories, I found it far sadder that LGBT propaganda was the most original thing about the new "Beauty and the Beast." 

As Christians, who cares if it is a good story if it doesn't glorify Christ? I think a huge part of why Christians are willing to go see this movie (and therefore tacitly support the agenda) is because they are afraid of being called a bigot or old fashioned. But here is the thing, I don't care what I am called, because ultimately I am called a child of God (Galatians 3:26) and that is what matters. It shouldn't just bug you, it should break your heart that this culture is so incredibly far removed from God that sexuality has found its way into children's movies. It should light your heart on fire to know that there are broken and hurting people out there that need the welcoming arms of Christ. I want my boys to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this culture is NOT the end all be all. 

It isn't enough to just ignore the scenes. 
It is time to step up and say no, I will not participate. 
This is not my fairytale, this is not my happy ending. 
I know how the story really ends, and this beast isn't even close to our Prince of Peace. 
I don't want "good", I want God. 

Modest Maternity:Black Leggings

Good Morning! Welcome to another Modest Maternity!

You can read more about my reasons for wanting to write about how to have a modest (yet stylish!) maternity wardrobe here. As I mentioned previously, the goal of Modest Maternity is to feature one item of clothing each week. I will show you four ways to style the featured piece of the week. I will try my best to tell you where it came from (including a link if possible!) as well as how much I paid for it. Since the term maternity includes postpartum, I have decided to include my postpartum wardrobe in our Modest Maternity series! I will post up pictures of the clothes I wear that help me to feel beautiful and allow for easy nursing.

Today I will be featuring my leggings! I so enjoy these tights, I pair them with tunic style shirts which I bought in the plus size section on clearance at Walmart. I wear these tops because they are so easy to nurse in and they are very forgiving of my post baby body. The leggingspair nicely with them. These tights are capri length and solid black. They also come in  many other colors and styles. 

With that being said, lets begin!  

Black Leggings: Amazon $10.98
Blue Tunic Top: Walmart $5.00

Black Leggings: Amazon $10.98
Maroon Tunic Top: Walmart $7.00

Black Leggings: Amazon $10.98
Pink Tunic Top: Walmart $5.00

Black Leggings: Amazon $10.98
Teal Tunic Top: Walmart $5.00
And my awesome little helper, William!

So these were my outfit ideas for this week's Modest Maternity series. 

I hope that you enjoyed it. 

You can see more of my Modest Maternity outfit ideas here. 

 I will be posting more of these outfit examples often to my blog.

It won't be on a regularly scheduled day, so be sure to check back often!

What did you wear this week?

Are you looking to link up? If so, you should check out all the places I link up. 

You can find them here!

Modest Maternity: Denim Leggings

Good Morning! Welcome to another Modest Maternity!

You can read more about my reasons for wanting to write about how to have a modest (yet stylish!) maternity wardrobe here. As I mentioned previously, the goal of Modest Maternity is to feature one item of clothing each week. I will show you four ways to style the featured piece of the week. I will try my best to tell you where it came from (including a link if possible!) as well as how much I paid for it.

 The article of clothing that I will be featuring this week is my pair of denim leggings! These leggings are awesome. I bought them at the Walmart for $9.00 and they have been a great investment. I love that they fit well under my baby belly and don't cause any abrasions or rubbing, like so many other pants. With that being said, lets begin!  

Denim Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: Old Navy purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

 Denim Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Sweater: No label, purchased from a thrift store for $3.00
Scarf: Purchased from Walmart for $4.00

 Denim Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No Label, purchased from a thrift store for $1.00
Scarf: Purchased from Walmart for $4.00

Denim Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: purchased from Walmart for $12.00

Sweater: Purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

So these were my outfit ideas for this week's Modest Maternity series. 

I hope that you enjoyed it. 

You can see more of my Modest Maternity outfit ideas here. 

 I will be posting more of these outfit examples often to my blog.
It won't be on a regularly scheduled day, so be sure to check back often!

What did you wear this week?

Are you looking to link up? If so, you should check out all the places I link up. 

You can find them here!

Modest Maternity: Teal Leggings

Good Morning! Welcome to another Modest Maternity!

You can read more about my reasons for wanting to write about how to have a modest (yet stylish!) maternity wardrobe here. As I mentioned previously, the goal of Modest Maternity is to feature one item of clothing each week. I will show you four ways to style the featured piece of the week. I will try my best to tell you where it came from (including a link if possible!) as well as how much I paid for it.

The article of clothing that I will be featuring this week is my pair of teal leggings! These leggings are awesome. I bought them at the Walmart for $9.00 and they have been a great investment. I love that they fit well under my baby belly and don't cause any abrasions or rubbing, like so many other pants. With that being said, lets begin!  

 Teal Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No Boundaries, purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

Sweater: Target, purchased from a thrift store for $2.00

 Teal Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: purchased from Khols on clearance for $4.00

Sweater: Target, purchased from a thrift store for $2.00

 Teal Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: Motherhood Maternity, purchased from thrift store for $3.00

Teal Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No Boundaries, purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

Sweater: Purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

So these were my outfit ideas for this week's Modest Maternity series. 

I hope that you enjoyed it. 

You can see more of my Modest Maternity outfit ideas here. 

 I will be posting more of these outfit examples often to my blog.
It won't be on a regularly scheduled day, so be sure to check back often!

What did you wear this week?

Are you looking to link up? If so, you should check out all the places I link up. 

You can find them here!

Modest Maternity: Red Leggings

Good Morning! Welcome to another Modest Maternity!

You can read more about my reasons for wanting to write about how to have a modest (yet stylish!) maternity wardrobe here. As I mentioned previously, the goal of Modest Maternity is to feature one item of clothing each week. I will show you four ways to style the featured piece of the week. I will try my best to tell you where it came from (including a link if possible!) as well as how much I paid for it.

The article of clothing that I will be featuring this week is my pair of red leggings! These leggings are awesome. I bought them at the Walmart for $9.00 and they have been a great investment. I love that they fit well under my baby belly and don't cause any abrasions or rubbing, like so many other pants. With that being said, lets begin!  

Red Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: Motherhood Maternity purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

Necklace: purchased from a thrift store for $0.50

Red Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No Boundaries purchased from a thrift store for $1.00
Sweater: Purchased from Walmart for $13.00

Red Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No Boundaries purchased from a thrift store for $1.00
Sweater: Purchased from a thrift store for $1.00

Scarf: purchased from a thrift store for $0.50

Red Leggings: $9.00 from Walmart

Shirt: No label, purchased from a thrift store for $1.00
Scarf: purchased from Walmart  for $4.00

So these were my outfit ideas for this week's Modest Maternity series. 
I hope that you enjoyed it. 

You can see more of my Modest Maternity outfit ideas here. 

 I will be posting more of these outfit examples often to my blog.
It won't be on a regularly scheduled day, so be sure to check back often!

What did you wear this week?

Are you looking to link up? If so, you should check out all the places I link up. 

You can find them here!