Author Archives: Meagan Sean

New Feature: SOAP

31 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in SOAP

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tumblr_lxki98qL9V1qipw3rI’ve decided to add a new feature up in here! I heard about this concept over a year ago I think, and it’s sort of stuck with me as a way I could structure posts. SOAP stands for scripture, observation, application, and prayer.  It’s a way of taking time to really think about what God is trying to tell us through His word.  I think that could be pretty self explanatory, but just in case it isn’t I’ll walk you through it. Now on to today’s scripture:

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  (1 Timothy 1:5)

Observation: If you can’t remember what the point is of being a christian on a day to day basis, this is a great summary to remind you.  We have been charged with a responsibility, and even thought we are human and will never be perfect it is our aim to be able to have good motives and genuinely confident belief in the truth of who Christ is and what He has and will do for us.  It also means to be able to love people from a pure heart, which is impossible without knowing Christ.

Application:  It’s hard to remember what Christ has asked me to do.  It’s harder still to live out His requests without taking the time daily to give Him dominion over my heart.  I could tell you the gist of the great commission, but in my day to day life I forget what my motivation should be all the time.  For me applying this scripture means to read it and remember that I have been called to act from a heart that seeks to be fulfilled in the Lord and submitted to His will, instead of from a place of selfish desire.

Prayer:  God, I wish I could give you some excuses for my behavior and the condition of my heart, but we both know it’s not worth the effort.  I’m sorry for being lazy and petulant.  I have let myself get in the way of who You want me to be, and I want to change but I can’t… not unless You change me.  Please renew my heart so that it can be more like Yours.  Let my actions show the world what You want the world to see, instead of whatever images I could possibly want to portray myself as.  Thanks for being stronger than my will, and willing to put up with my human nature.  Thanks for giving me a life that You designed specifically for me, and designed me for.  You’re the best.  dirty

Throw-Back-Thursday: Painfully Fashionable

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Human Interest, Inspirations, Style

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shoesDuring my senior year of high school I wrote for the school paper. I had some pretty interesting articles, including documenting the rising trend of shopping at the Salvation Army and a fairly controversial piece on homosexual students at the school. I also had my own column, which I won a New England Scholastic Press Association Special Achievement Journalism Award for. It’s one of the only pieces I have managed to save from all of the columns I wrote, and now you get to read it!
And now, Throw-back-Thursday presents: Painfully Fashionable.

Right now, as I write this, I am wearing 4 and ½ inch heels that are as thick as my thumb. It feels as though the balls of my feet have been thrust into a bucket of tacks, each one carefully plunging into my flesh, causing me great pain. And this is the most comfortable pair of heels I can find.
I am doing this so that by the time prom comes around I will not be able to feel my feet, and so will be able to wear a pair of heels for one single night. Not even an entire day, mind you. Just for one short night.
So as I have been walking, balancing, and falling in these stilts I have also been asking myself, why is this torture such a necessity?
Why do people have to do stupid things to look cool, like forcing their feet into painful shoes?
It’s not fair. My feet are in pain so that my legs can look like a dollar and a half, and I can reach my prom date if he’s tall.
That is it.
Actually, I’m a bit in awe of the girls who wear these twin ambassadors of pain to school. I also fear for their safety, seeing as so many girls have bad balance and fall down stairs.
These “shoes” are almost status symbols as well. I’m never scared of a girl in flats, unless she is on the football team. But if some little freshman with 5 and ½ inch stilettos comes over, especially if I’m in a corner, I’m going to be a bit frightened.
Maybe it’s the height. Maybe it’s the fact that they can, in fact, wear these things that they call shoes on slippery linoleum.
Nevertheless, fear strikes my heart when they come clomping down the hall (yes, clomping) and I am comforted when they walk by, and don’t chose to challenge me to a brawl after school outside the Steve White gym (which would be a bad choice anyway, seeing how it’s so close to guidance).
Then there is the fact that some boys (Yes, boys. We’re still in high school here.) Find girls in heels more “assertive”. Translated, “assertive” equals “hot”.
So are these girls at the advantage? Not necessarily. Star of the hit show The OC, Mischa Barton, has become infamous for wearing ballet flats out and about, and many a boy find her quite the ticket.
More and more magazines, including In Style and Glamour, have been featuring flats in their “what to wear” sections.
And why not? They can be dressed up with sequins and fancy patterns, or dressed down using shiny material and ballet inspired bows.
Now that the public can see that there are more options than the twin ambassadors of pain, why not wear flats to the prom?
Maybe I should start a revolution. Maybe I should wear the cutest flats ever created and be the bell of the ball. Maybe I should get a shorter prom date.dirty

Best of the Best

28 Wednesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Dirty Little..., Dirty's Reports

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sharingiscaringRelationships are difficult.  They require so much work, not just when they begin, but through out their entire existence if you want them to thrive.  You only seem to get back what you put into them, which can be a really hard thing for people to understand.  Sometimes people put in too much, sometimes they put in too little.  Sometimes they take all of the benefits, and sometimes they don’t want anything to do with them.  It’s incredibly difficult to figure out where the balance is for the give and take.
I am incredibly thankful for the relationships in my life where I don’t have to spend a lot of time computing what amount of effort I should be putting into a relationship.  I have 3 relationships currently that have their own sort of balance, and they make life so much easier for me.

1.  My BFF, best friend forever, my Fab Twin, the Trixy to my Vixy, the Blair to my Serena… depending on the day, we switch these rolls.  She and I are not always balanced with our efforts on the day to day, but all of the imbalances on the small scale balance out on the big one.  We both give, we both take, and we both enjoy the rewards of our efforts.
2.  I have the perfect balance with Netflix.  I give them $8 a month and they give me the inability to have a social life.  It’s a model I would love to see replicated in many more of my relationships.
3.  Christ doesn’t ask me for much more than my entire life, and in return gives me eternal life with Him.  It’s actually incredibly imbalanced, because the efforts I have to put in to it are nothing compared to what He has already done for me.

Does anyone else find balance in relationships difficult?  Are there some relationships that are just easier to balance?

dirty

Style Inspiration: Milly in Because I Said So

24 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Inspirations, Style

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Obviously I’m a big fan of movies.  Bad ones, at that!  I love finding a favorite and having it on in the background while I’m doing chores or projects, which is probably why I have pretty much memorized Sherlock Holmes, Fired Up! and Baby Mama.  Another one of these “go to” movies has just recently been added to my library: Because I Said So.
It’s a ridiculous little Rom-Com, and I think I like it because A. I relate to the mother/daughter dynamic, B. Gabriel Macht is just the absolute dreamiest, and C.  I am a big fan of Milly’s (Mandy Moore’s character) wardrobe.
The elements that stand out to me about her clothes are threefold, and they are simple enough to be able to be reproduced in my own wardrobe at times.
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1.  Silhouette:   All of the outfits have a very purposeful silhouette to them, even when she is dressed really casually.  She wears a fair amount of tops that have a V-neck and are cinched in at an empire or natural waist, flaring out into an A-line shape from there.  The same is seen in her dresses, and the shape it creates draws the eye up to her shoulders and away from her hips.
2.  Hemline:   Milly wears some really cute dresses and skirts, which all hit right around her knees.  It gives her dresses enough room to flow out into an A-line shape, but doesn’t make her look shorter.
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3.  Neckline Details:  Thank God for Mandy Moore being shaped like a normal human being.  She has a great shape but looks like she eats actual meals, and she doesn’t have the kind of cleavage that needs to be wrangled like a wild horse.  One of the blessings of lacking the Kardashian Kurves is being able to wear things that show off the collar bone and shoulders a little more without worrying about popping out of your top.  Milly does that, and brings the eye up to that area by making sure that the tops she wears have sweet little details, like buttons, lace peeking out, or Henley-esque ties.

This style may not be everyone’s piece of cake, but I do find myself thinking about these elements at times when I’m dressing for work.  I find myself looking for things with a more accentuated waist and detailed necklines.
Last but not at all least…
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