100 Days... Beth Moore

If I could trade places with someone for a day, it would be Beth Moore. How does a woman lead so many other women and still manage a family? How does she stay so strong in the Word of God that she does not falter? What does she do in her own time with God? I ask these questions as I watch her in Bible studies. I think it would be amazing to see her life from the inside; to see what preparation and life lessons lead up to the moment she stands on a stage and speaks to thousands of women.

She has impacted me greatly and I know she has done the same for many other people. I hope to be as genuine, secure, and truly beautiful as she is!

A Week of Short Styles: #6

Almost done with the week already and I am thinking of so many more options! For today I styled my hair curly but blew out the bangs. They're a little long so I sweep them to the side. It's the same as the Day 3 curly style, but I pull the wet hair back while I blow dry the bangs, then let the curls air dry with product in them.

I added a flower for interest.

A Week of Short Styles: #5

When my hair was long, I could simulate this exact same style by tying up my hair into a knot at the back and pulling tendrils down around the front. Now it's easier -- no tying necessary! I style my hair curly like in Day 3, then pin it back with bobby pins toward the back of the head. I pull down hair around the temples and scrunch the back of the hair above the neckline. It's a very feminine style that is nice when you have short hair.

A Week of Short Styles: #4

It takes a little more work to do a straight style on naturally curly hair, because the hair has to be partially dry to get it to straighten well in a timely fashion. I put on the same Garnier products I usually use, but let my hair air dry a little before blow drying it with a round brush, flipping the ends out. I had the straightener ready to smooth the wayward strands and keep the flips consistent. Below is the result.

A Week of Short Styles: #3

Today's a curly day -- low maintenance. For this style I combed my hair through and added some Garnier Fructis smoothing cream, then dried it some more with a towel before scrunching. I pinned the bangs back today as well. The first picture is the dry hair scrunched and sprayed with Garnier gel, then let to air dry.

Same style, tucked behind the ears.

100 Days... My Favorite Memory

I don't have a favorite memory; I have a multitude of moments that I remember, and I certainly couldn't pick just one. So I'll pick three, from three different phases of my life.

The first and foremost has to be with my family, since I have been with them the longest. Most of my memories were made with them, and those will stay with me the longest as I continue to make more by their side. The picture below captures my two oldest sisters with me on a beach here in Michigan. The rest of the family was there too. This is a favorite because since we were all little the Michigan beaches have held a lot of memories for all of us; camping, walking, hiking up dunes, running on them in the icy winter, and enjoying them in the summer sun.

The next favorite is from my year at Liberty University, where I met my best friend Adrienne and made some other wonderful friends in my peers and professors. I will never forget that year; so much of it developed who I am as a person today and I believe, who I will be in the future. Most of all though, I loved the mountains in Virginia. The picture below was on the last hike I took to Devil's Marbleyard with my friend Andrew.

And finally, after my year in Lynchburg I made the trek out West to New Mexico, where I spent the summer working as a wrangler. More mountains! I made a lot of great friends and memories there as well. There was something about the empty landscape of the mesas that appealed to me, just as the forested landscape of VA did as well. The picture below was taken as Mom and I neared Glorieta, in the very bottom of the Rocky Mountain Range.

A Week of Short Styles: #2

"You straighten your hair just to curl it again?!" I've been asked that question incredulously several times, and the answer is, well, "Yes!". With natural curl you can't get the soft waves that curlers grant, so I straighten all the layers before setting them on hot rollers.

Today it didn't work as well as it could have because it was so cold (2 degrees) that my hair was static and dry. A little moisture in the air is best. The overall look five hours after the hot rollers came out, with no hair spray, is below. My bangs are swept to the side because they are too long to be across my forehead; this style would look better with the bangs.