"No Slamming the Body"

The title of this post comes from a guest speaker in my class this wed. She teaches at ISU and explained to us some of the studies she found on how we as LDS women see and need to see our body. I really want to share with you and other's about this lesson because I really do feel that it has been life changing.

She asked us these 3 questions today, that she called the 3 questions that Influence Body Image

1. How do I view myself in the mirror?
2. How do I perceive how other people see me?
3. How do I feel in my own body?

Now as a reader of my blog I would  like you to truly answer these questions, either to yourself in a journal however you want to do it.

Okay now that you have probably overly critiqued yourself I want you to think about this question and write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

• What does God think about your body?

Now I want you to look at your first piece of paper with the three question and if none of them are positive, NONE... I want you to take that list and tare it up, burn it shred it. What you want to do is never say those things to yourself again! NEVER!

Now you might be saying well I don't know what God thinks about my body? Here is the simplest answer you will ever get..... Pray and ask!  Thats it.. I am a firm believer in prayer and I love the time I get to talk to my Heavenly Father because I get to really hear what he thinks and helps me solve problems in my life. So try it be patient and maybe ask him everyday to give you that extra boost!  

Now as a Latter-Day Saint we are taught some Doctrine about the body which is:

1. That we are created in the image of God
2. That our body is a gift from God
3. We have to have a body to return to our Heavenly Father
4. We should consider our bodies as a temple

Now with that knowledge "Do you or I have the RIGHT to call  our body fat"? When it is a gift from God? I never thought of that questions until our guest speaker asked us that very question.

Why do we get up and look at ourselves in the mirror and say all the mean things? Why do we say we are fat, ugly, have wrinkles, not good enough. When in fact Our very own Heavenly Father doesn't think that?

Through this last week I have learned that the media is training us for failure and wants us to never feel good enough so we will tweak, stab, cut, eat and do anything to be what the media wants us to be. The media is teaching us to worship our body and to do what ever it takes to have the "perfect" body, clothes, shoes, and everything else. When in fact there is no perfect person on this earth, I know shocker right.

Now with Doctrine of the church we are able to have a plan and direction on what to do but sometimes we miss associate Doctrine with Tradition.

An example the speaker used was her niece was in a textile class in college and her assignment was to go to church dressed in a non-LDS look.

Okay so lets talk about "the LDS look"
Not LDS: Tattoo's, more then one earring, and tight fitting clothes
that's usually what we associate with dress and grooming.
(Now I am not saying people can't have these and be in the church, but generally if you have grown up in the church and haven't done these.)

Her niece stayed within doctrinal standards but just had a pok-i-dot shirt and striped skirt. As she went to church where people in her ward new her and talked to her frequently ended up not talking to her and giving her weird stares the whole time. People treated her differently.

Now what does that have to do with the body? Well we go through life worrying so much about how we look, and how others look that we forget that the people around us are just like us. We face the same problems, we feel left out, we feel like we don't fit in. When in fact it is our own mind, what the media is feeding us, and Satan tempting us to feel these things.

If we woke up each day and said wow I look great my body is amazing. Our attitude would be completely different. We would be able to enjoy the life around us and also feel great about ourselves. We have to change our paradigm of how we see ourself to how does God see me.

Our bodies are amazing and do so much for us. The fact that our heart and lungs monitor on their own with out us having to tell it to is amazing. Our fingers, thumbs and eye brows are amazing and can do so much. So why do we slam it with all the negative words that only hurt ourself.

My challenge is for you to wake up every morning say a prayer asking Heavenly Father what he thinks about your body, because you would like to know.

Second I want you to look in the mirror and tell yourself your body is amazing and believe in it!  Look at how you feel that day.

Also if you have a friend that is complaining about his/her body tell her/him "No slamming the body" and explain to her/him that the body is amazing.

We all have imperfections but those imperfection should never define who we are as a person

Courage to be a Women

So I am in a Women's Health Class this semester and I have loved every minute of it. My teach Sister Allen really is great at teacher her students to be proud to be a women and not ashamed of it, whether its checking your self for breast cancer or even standing up for women's rights. Now I am not saying to become a extreme feminist. What I am saying is it not a bad thing to be a women. Women have come such a long ways since the 1800's and the world continues to change and not necessarily for the better. We have been watching videos on women and how the entertainment industry portrays women as objects.

The entertainment industry is diminishing the true beauty of women and causing women to try to become the impossible. Even models don't look like they do in ads. So lets talk!

Ask yourself these questions
What do I not like about myself?
What are my flaws?

Now ask:
What are my strengths?
How does Heavenly Father see me as his Daughter?
What do I do everyday to feel positive about myself?

This world throws so much at us from the time that we are born that we are becoming morbid into what the world wants us to become. However I am here to tell you that you are beautiful, and worth more then anything in this world. You have the power to accomplish your dreams and you have the power to achieve all that you want to achieve. So why let Satan get into your head and tell you, you are not good enough, you cant do anything, and your dreams will never come true.

Lets first talk about modesty.... Ooo the dreadful word for some.. think about what first comes to mind when you hear that? Maybe old granny, dresses to the wrist and ankles, and of course nothing that looks good. Okay I know how you feel. When I was getting married I thought my clothes were modest however I soon found out that they are a little short or the neckline is a little low.. talk about melt down, I couldn't even find a dress to leave my reception in with out having a melt down. However I have learned to adjust and that I need to look a little harder..

Now you might be wondering why is this so important. I will tell you that how we dress each and every day, for what ever event, sends a message to women around us and even little girls. Modesty should be a sign of confidence and self-worth.

Here is an example of a women who inspires women all over the world Audrey Hepburn she is an example to all. She shows us that you can be beautiful and in fashionable by being modest.

Some scientific prof is the study done in Princeton University by lead student Susan Fiske. She confirmed that when women are seen by men in bikin's they are dehumanized and seen as objects such as tools. "Men were also more likely to associate images of sexualized women with first-person action verbs such as "I push, I grasp, I handle,". 

I found this study here if you want to read more its quiet interesting!

I also was able to watch a video on a very inspiring women and her effort to show women that there are ways to be modest and more fashionable at the same time:

The evolution on Swimsuits

Jean Kilbourn is also a leading lady in trying to get the word out there of how we are affected by the media today even as young girls. How we are seen as just objects in advertisement or that we need to be "sexy" to be considered pretty. The media in reality teaches us that we will never achieve perfection and that we should look down on ourselves for it.

Here is a short version of one of her discussion on how advertisement is changing women for the worst

Killing Us Softly 4 

So I hope through these examples that you can find the confidence to hold your head up high and to be proud to be a WOMEN!!! To be confident in how we dress, talk, and act!

I end this message on a spiritual note!

Courage

Have the courage to be strong and not fall into the sins of the world, but to live a higher law.

I love you all and please share this if you believe in what I have shared =) 

The Meaning of Education

So growing up I have always been told you need to go to college you will love it and it will be very rewarding. However I have hit a point in my college life where I didn't feel what I was doing was what I really wanted to do. My husband and I have been praying about it and I have decided that I am not on the right track to where I should be going. So what now, do I just quite college or do I create a new goal? The answer is to make a new set of goals. People always ask me what I like to do and I always seem to answer "I like to party". You may laugh but it is true, I love putting parties together and celebrating life. However one of my other passions is to help people change for the better. So I have decided to get my associates and then become a fitness instructor for a gym. This is something I love to do and I get to do both of my passions Party and Support others.
Now some of you may not agree with this decision and may think oh she is just giving up. That is what I thought for the longest time, but as I have prayed and took counsel from my wonderful husband. He told me that I can still be considered educated even just being a fitness instructor. We want our children to know that education needs to be important in their lives, but we want them to find and do the things they love. Education doesn't have to mean the amount of degrees you have. We should be living lives that are full of constant learning and educating ourselves on the things we love and are curious about.

So after this fall I will be graduated with my Associates and then moving on to getting certified as a Fitness Instructor. Call me crazy but I am so excited about this decision and can't wait for what the future holds for me.


Okay now onto the Yummy food I have been cooking
Last night I made this delicious Creamy Broccoli Casserole

Here is the ingredients
2 chicken breasts Shredded chicken (either boiled or baked in the crock pot)
1to 2 cans Cream of Mushroom
Broccoli (fresh or frozen)
and shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven 350
2. Make sure you cook the chicken and shred it
3. Then just combine all ingredients in a bowl
4. Place in a baking pan
5. put shredded cheese on top 
6. Then put in the oven for 25 min.

Its really that easy, you don't need to add any spices it taste delicious.
I hope you enjoy and take the challenge to do what you love
Shanel