So today we flew nearly 1400 miles across the country to see family. Family is so important. I have heard stories of separated families and have experienced connection to broken homes... It breaks my heart. To me family is so important and vital to a person's growth. Your family makes you who you are. My immediate family complains about how strange and abnormal we are... But I love it. I love that my family can make fun of each other and be blunt about the truth. My family spent about 2 hours today just laughing and making fun of each other. I cherish these moments the most. Even though my stomach hurts from the workout, I love it when we just sit together and joke about our quirks. We make fun of Kaite's clumsiness, my morning madness, my father's...well just my father in general. :) I think that I need to make a better effort to spend more time with my family... not just during the holidays but all throughout the year. I thank God everyday for my family and for the time I have been given with them.
Merry Christmas, and Stay Awesome.
Kelly
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The End of the Beginning
Today is the last day of No Makeup November... Wow.
This month had gone by so fast. It feels like just yesterday I casually told Heather about my strange idea that was dreamt of in the shower. This project has gone beyond my wildest dreams. It's amazing how quickly God works in our lives. This project has changed the way I look at the world. When I look at a $500, instead of seeing a possible addition to someone's wardrobe, I see a colossal waste of money that could go to help those in need.
Everyday, I pray that God will break my heart for what breaks His. To make me care and actually want to do something about it! This project was the beginning of my journey to help those who need it so desperately. Thanks for being a part of my efforts. I hope this campaign has changed your life as much as it changed mine.
Stay awesome,
Kelly
This month had gone by so fast. It feels like just yesterday I casually told Heather about my strange idea that was dreamt of in the shower. This project has gone beyond my wildest dreams. It's amazing how quickly God works in our lives. This project has changed the way I look at the world. When I look at a $500, instead of seeing a possible addition to someone's wardrobe, I see a colossal waste of money that could go to help those in need.
Everyday, I pray that God will break my heart for what breaks His. To make me care and actually want to do something about it! This project was the beginning of my journey to help those who need it so desperately. Thanks for being a part of my efforts. I hope this campaign has changed your life as much as it changed mine.
Stay awesome,
Kelly
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Moments.
Today I am holding on to moments. Moments that might never happen again. The moment when I feel sick because of eating so much at Thanksgiving. The moment my four year old 3rd cousin is explaining to me how Dr. Sam pulled her out of her mother's belly. The moment when my dad just hugs me for a long time. The moment when I recommend a book to my sister and she can't put it downs. Those moments when you just sit and try to feel the turn of the earth and try to comprehend how God made it and all of its complexity. Not to mention the galaxies beyond this tiny little planet that we cling to.
I am completely amazed when I try to think about the people I have known, will know, and will never know. I think of all the people who will impact my life in the future, who will shape me and mentor me into the person God wants me to be. I know I have a long way to go. Its hard to consider the future when I know that God does not promise the future, he does not even promise today. He only gives us now.
This moment.
James 4:14 says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
We do not know what awaits us tomorrow. Cancer, car accident, plane crash, heart attack, etc. The possibilities are endless. I have made my peace with the fact that I may not wake up tomorrow, but now I need to figure out how I can use the time that I am blessed with. I know for some of you being in high school might seem like a trap, but that is one of the biggest places for ministry. So many young people are lost and floundering in the dark, looking for a light that can only be found in Jesus.
I encourage you to use your life as a way to show the love of God because for some people, you are the only Bible they will ever read.
Food for thought.
Stay awesome,
<3Kelly
I am completely amazed when I try to think about the people I have known, will know, and will never know. I think of all the people who will impact my life in the future, who will shape me and mentor me into the person God wants me to be. I know I have a long way to go. Its hard to consider the future when I know that God does not promise the future, he does not even promise today. He only gives us now.
This moment.
James 4:14 says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."
We do not know what awaits us tomorrow. Cancer, car accident, plane crash, heart attack, etc. The possibilities are endless. I have made my peace with the fact that I may not wake up tomorrow, but now I need to figure out how I can use the time that I am blessed with. I know for some of you being in high school might seem like a trap, but that is one of the biggest places for ministry. So many young people are lost and floundering in the dark, looking for a light that can only be found in Jesus.
I encourage you to use your life as a way to show the love of God because for some people, you are the only Bible they will ever read.
Food for thought.
Stay awesome,
<3Kelly
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A New Perspective On Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving.
The holiday during which we all give thanks.
This year I am only reminded of the people in this ugly world with nothing to be thankful for. This topic has been on my mind lately. I promised myself that I would never spend more than $100 on something of no useful value (purses, shoes, clothes, stuff). If it is something I need for my job (computer, because my job is school right now) then I can live with spending a bit more than $100. I have decided that if I ever feel the need to spend $450 on a purse, there is something wrong. Something is missing. The money that I might spend on non-essential pleasures might save a life. If I ever get to a point that I spend that kind of money on material things, call me out. Because most likely I will be trying to fill a need that is only filled with God. Call me out. I want you to full on smack me in the mouth if that's what it takes.
My blessings belong to the Lord and His people. I am very fortunate to have a nice home and family. Some are not as fortunate. I owe it all to my Lord. I want to give as much of that back as humanly possible. I could live in a card board box for the rest of my life and die happy as long as God is in my life. Wealth means nothing in the world beyond this one. In heaven I will be the richest girl in all existence, because I will be able to spend every moment walking with Jesus.
This year I have a new perspective on Thanksgiving. I am thankful for many things, most of which are Sunday-school answers: my family, my house, my dog. My, my, my, my, me, me, me, me. I am sick of only thinking of myself. So this Thanksgiving I am making an effort to thank God for the missionaries spreading His word, the soldiers fighting far from home, the people fighting the human trafficking industry, and--most of all-- I am thankful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.
The holiday during which we all give thanks.
This year I am only reminded of the people in this ugly world with nothing to be thankful for. This topic has been on my mind lately. I promised myself that I would never spend more than $100 on something of no useful value (purses, shoes, clothes, stuff). If it is something I need for my job (computer, because my job is school right now) then I can live with spending a bit more than $100. I have decided that if I ever feel the need to spend $450 on a purse, there is something wrong. Something is missing. The money that I might spend on non-essential pleasures might save a life. If I ever get to a point that I spend that kind of money on material things, call me out. Because most likely I will be trying to fill a need that is only filled with God. Call me out. I want you to full on smack me in the mouth if that's what it takes.
My blessings belong to the Lord and His people. I am very fortunate to have a nice home and family. Some are not as fortunate. I owe it all to my Lord. I want to give as much of that back as humanly possible. I could live in a card board box for the rest of my life and die happy as long as God is in my life. Wealth means nothing in the world beyond this one. In heaven I will be the richest girl in all existence, because I will be able to spend every moment walking with Jesus.
This year I have a new perspective on Thanksgiving. I am thankful for many things, most of which are Sunday-school answers: my family, my house, my dog. My, my, my, my, me, me, me, me. I am sick of only thinking of myself. So this Thanksgiving I am making an effort to thank God for the missionaries spreading His word, the soldiers fighting far from home, the people fighting the human trafficking industry, and--most of all-- I am thankful for Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Ooops.
The actual Facebook page is here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Make-up-November/169101796516194?sk=wall
The other is an event that you can join. But the info is at this one ^
http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Make-up-November/169101796516194?sk=wall
The other is an event that you can join. But the info is at this one ^
No Makeup November!!!
TODAY IS NOVEMBER FIRST!!!!!!
Now some of you may be like: What? That is okay. No Makeup November started (as far as I can tell) as a rebellious movement of girls who were told that they could not participate in "No Shave November" (the month were guys refuse to shave their faces).
My sister posted a blog post about how No Makeup November is an opportunity celebrate how God made us: beautiful. She wrote about how makeup is a mask that girls put on in order to be accepted by this world's skewed and superficial standards.
Katie's blog: http://katieoostman.blogspot.com/
Katie's blog post caused me to think more deeply about makeup...
Makeup itself is not a bad thing... but the reason for most girls to wear makeup is heartbreaking.
God has really put on my hear girls that have been influenced by the world to the point that they think they are nothing. And treat themselves as nothing. And let others treat themselves as nothing. That is sort of how I got started on this project. God put it on my mind to look for a way to spread the word about a plague that is spreading among us.
Originally I planned to donate the money that I personally collected during NMN to "To Write Love On Her Arms". I love this charity because of their ideas and what they stand for. However, at that point I thought it would be just me. This project has snowballed into something huge and amazing. We have girls in 3 states (that I know of as of this moment) who are participating in NMN. For something that was dreamt up about 10 days ago: thats amazing. The reason we (Heather and I) chose to switch to A21 is that it is christian. Since we are asking for help from New Covenant Church, we thought that a christian charity would be something that people from the church would be comfortable giving to.
When I went to the A21 website, there was a sentence on the front page that said:
"27 Million is almost impossible to fathom... but as long as there is one victim of human trafficking, that's all the motivation we need."
That's crazy.
Now you may think: how did you get from girls respecting themselves and thinking they are beautiful to human trafficking? The answer is in the similarity. Girls who think they are worth nothing. Human trafficking is composed mostly of girls being sold into the sex trade. That's something that most of us refuse to think about. I have never come even close to being put in a situation remotely similar to what these girls go through. But I have an imagination. I can't begin to imagine the devastation. To think that your worth is a price to someone who OWNS you. And then you are sold to another who takes the last thing that is only yours to give. Nobody should have the right to do that.
That's why we wear no makeup. To save the ONE in 27 Million.
Rules:
1. Concealer is okay.
2. if you wear makeup on purpose or on accident you must donate $10
3. if your employer requires makeup, then it's okay
Guys: there is a way for you to get involved as well. You can put away the razor and participate in No Shave November and still collect money for this cause.
If you have further questions please contact me through Facebook (Kelly Oostman) or you can go the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=285719951449835
Information about how to donate will be up on the Facebook page soon!!
Money coming from the girls in Illinois will go directly through me straight to the charity.
Also, as an idea, I am going to make a jar out of a 2-liter bottle with pictures of makeup and such on it along with NMN and "Change for Change" to collect money in. I will be carrying it around with me for the entire month, wherever I go. I encourage you to do the same.
A21: http://www.thea21campaign.org/
Thanks for participating in such a wonderful project. It means so much to me.
<3 Kelly
Now some of you may be like: What? That is okay. No Makeup November started (as far as I can tell) as a rebellious movement of girls who were told that they could not participate in "No Shave November" (the month were guys refuse to shave their faces).
My sister posted a blog post about how No Makeup November is an opportunity celebrate how God made us: beautiful. She wrote about how makeup is a mask that girls put on in order to be accepted by this world's skewed and superficial standards.
Katie's blog: http://katieoostman.blogspot.com/
Katie's blog post caused me to think more deeply about makeup...
Makeup itself is not a bad thing... but the reason for most girls to wear makeup is heartbreaking.
God has really put on my hear girls that have been influenced by the world to the point that they think they are nothing. And treat themselves as nothing. And let others treat themselves as nothing. That is sort of how I got started on this project. God put it on my mind to look for a way to spread the word about a plague that is spreading among us.
Originally I planned to donate the money that I personally collected during NMN to "To Write Love On Her Arms". I love this charity because of their ideas and what they stand for. However, at that point I thought it would be just me. This project has snowballed into something huge and amazing. We have girls in 3 states (that I know of as of this moment) who are participating in NMN. For something that was dreamt up about 10 days ago: thats amazing. The reason we (Heather and I) chose to switch to A21 is that it is christian. Since we are asking for help from New Covenant Church, we thought that a christian charity would be something that people from the church would be comfortable giving to.
When I went to the A21 website, there was a sentence on the front page that said:
"27 Million is almost impossible to fathom... but as long as there is one victim of human trafficking, that's all the motivation we need."
That's crazy.
Now you may think: how did you get from girls respecting themselves and thinking they are beautiful to human trafficking? The answer is in the similarity. Girls who think they are worth nothing. Human trafficking is composed mostly of girls being sold into the sex trade. That's something that most of us refuse to think about. I have never come even close to being put in a situation remotely similar to what these girls go through. But I have an imagination. I can't begin to imagine the devastation. To think that your worth is a price to someone who OWNS you. And then you are sold to another who takes the last thing that is only yours to give. Nobody should have the right to do that.
That's why we wear no makeup. To save the ONE in 27 Million.
Rules:
1. Concealer is okay.
2. if you wear makeup on purpose or on accident you must donate $10
3. if your employer requires makeup, then it's okay
Guys: there is a way for you to get involved as well. You can put away the razor and participate in No Shave November and still collect money for this cause.
If you have further questions please contact me through Facebook (Kelly Oostman) or you can go the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=285719951449835
Information about how to donate will be up on the Facebook page soon!!
Money coming from the girls in Illinois will go directly through me straight to the charity.
Also, as an idea, I am going to make a jar out of a 2-liter bottle with pictures of makeup and such on it along with NMN and "Change for Change" to collect money in. I will be carrying it around with me for the entire month, wherever I go. I encourage you to do the same.
A21: http://www.thea21campaign.org/
Thanks for participating in such a wonderful project. It means so much to me.
<3 Kelly
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Learning.
So I took on a new project... Yeah. I am teaching myself to play the song "Someone Like You" by Adele. It's a pretty simple song, but I love to sing it and it seems like a good place to start. I am using a piano tutorial on Youtube and it's going pretty well. I hope to be able to play through it without help by net Tuesday. I know it's a huge goal. But you're supposed to be ambitious, right?
Here's the tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qqs03tK_qo
Here's the tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qqs03tK_qo
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Hi There.
Hello.
This is my very first blog post. I am very excited.
I hope to use this blog to share some of my music and insane ideas. One of these ideas will arise soon, it's called "No Makeup November" This November I plan to wear no makeup (except for concealer) and carry a jar around with me to ask people for money to donate to a few different charities. More information will be posted later on in the week about rules, how you can get involved, and how to donate.
So basically, this blog will document my life until whenever. I hope someone cares...
The major reason is that I love God, and I want to spread His word of forgiveness in whatever way possible. This way seems quite possible.
I hope you enjoy my insanity and humor, and I wish all one of you the very best.
~Kelly
This is my very first blog post. I am very excited.
I hope to use this blog to share some of my music and insane ideas. One of these ideas will arise soon, it's called "No Makeup November" This November I plan to wear no makeup (except for concealer) and carry a jar around with me to ask people for money to donate to a few different charities. More information will be posted later on in the week about rules, how you can get involved, and how to donate.
So basically, this blog will document my life until whenever. I hope someone cares...
The major reason is that I love God, and I want to spread His word of forgiveness in whatever way possible. This way seems quite possible.
I hope you enjoy my insanity and humor, and I wish all one of you the very best.
~Kelly
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