Miss America.

It’s your big moment on stage in front of literally millions of people. You stand poised and ready to take on the world with a level of confidence not present in most young women today. There are some nerves present of course. It is always a little daunting to be on national TV, however, the level of your nerves is much less than it would be without your experience in the Miss America Organization.

Yes, that was all about a pageant.

Yes, I support the pageant

and the Miss American Organization

wholeheartedly.

I received some flack for that support tonight. During the pageant I, along with several friends, were posting our own commentary regarding the pageant, it’s format, and the girls – ahem … young women – competing, to Facebook. Somewhere in the middle several other people commented that the MAO is sexist or that choosing a pageant over football was choosing vanity.

I wish people would educate themselves before they commented on such things.

The Miss America Organization is a scholarship program. It EMPOWERS young women beginning at very early ages. I have been a pageant contestant on the local level. I know girls who’ve gone on to be strong, confident young women partially due to their experiences with MAO. I also know several girls who’ve gone on to stand and perform on the Miss America stage. I even know a couple of Miss America title holders.

Congratulations to Miss Wisconsin

on her new role as Miss America 2012!! 

Miss America 2012 - Laura Kaeppeler

The Miss America Organization is one that focuses on service, competency, and how well-rounded each contestant is. The girls are required to have certain levels of community participation and well as incredible time-management. skills.

Most of the nay-sayers have stated something along the lines of “if it’s not a beauty contest then why do they parade around in bikinis and evening gowns?” To this I point you to society. Society is the reason everything has become so sexed-up. Think about it. We live in a society where parents dress their 9 year old daughters in “Juicy” yoga pants with mid-riff baring shirts. I mean really.

Do you know what the four points on the Miss America crown stand for?

Service.

Style.

Scholarship.

Success.

The Miss America Organization is one the points women towards the goals and not only encourages them to follow their dreams but gives them the skills to do so. Skills such as confidence when speaking in public and being able to “think on her feet” and many others.

This is also an incredible opportunity shared by only 91 women in America. A rare opportunity that brings other amazing opportunities with it. Travelling across America, over 150,000 miles usually, working with the Children’s Miracle Network, being a role model for girls and women across America, representing the American people, and many others.

The women are encouraged to choose a platform, much like a politician but without the politics, and spend their year of service bringing their platform to the public, raising awareness and support.

Heather French (Henry), Miss America 2000, used the Miss America pageant to   bring awareness to the plight of our homeless veterans and had (still has)  overwhelming success and continues to have regular speaking engagements. Like most of the contestants her passion for this platform began at home.

Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011, just crowned Miss America 2012, effectively finishing her official duties as Miss America. She is a 17 year old, high school graduate, with the poise of a 30 year old professional business woman. Her plans include attending Patrick Henry College, where she has received a full-ride, and moving on to Harvard Law which will be completely paid for with her scholarship earnings from the Miss America Organization.

These are only a few examples. There are so many other women, more than I can list here, who have used the Miss America competitions as a stepping stone along their journey of fulfilling their dreams. So before you lash out about how vain it is, or how the girls are just pretty faces, consider your own dreams. If given the opportunity to do go after your dreams, no holds bar, wouldn’t you do it?

That’s what these girls have done.

Follow dreams. 

Since I am in Christ.

I discovered this list several months ago and it’s been sitting on my dresser ever since. I’m going to post it all here and gradually through the next year come back to it for topics to discuss. There’s a lot here but I challenge you to copy/paste this into Word, print it, and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Read it every single day. Especially those days when it seems things cannot get any worse.

Since I am in Christ, by the grace of God:

I have been justified – completely forgiven and made righteous {Romans 5:1}

I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life {Romans 6:1-6}

I am free forever from condemnation {Romans 8:1}

I have been placed into Christ by God’s doing {1 Corinthians 1:30}

I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God {1 Corinthians 2:12}

I have been given the mind of Christ {1 Corinthians 2:16}

I have been bought with a price, I am not my own; I belong to God {1 Corinthians 6:19-20}

I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to com {2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13-14}

Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ {2 Corinthians 5:14-15}

I have been made righteous {2 Corinthians 5:21}

I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life {Galatians 2:20}

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing {Ephesians1:3}

I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame before Him {Ephesians 1:5}

I have been redeemed and forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace {Ephesians 1:7-8}

I have been made alive together with Christ {Ephesians 2:5}

I have been raised up and seated with Christ in Heaven {Ephesians 2:6}

I have direct access to God through the Spirit {Ephesians 2:18}

I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence {Ephesians 3:12}

I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ {Colossians 1:13}

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been canceled {Colossians 1:14}

Christ Himself is in me {Colossians 1:27}

I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built in Him {Colossians 2:7}

I have been made complete in Christ {Colossians 2:10}

I have been spiritually circumcised {Colossians 2:11}

I have been buried, raised, and made alive with Christ {Colossians 2:12-13}

I died with Christ and I ahve been raised up with Christ. My life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life {Colossians 3:1-4}

I have been given a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline {2 Timothy 1:7}

I have been saved and set apart according to God’s doing {2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5}

Because I am sanctified and am one with the Sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me brother/sister {Hebrews 2:11}

I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in time of need {Hebrews 4:16}

I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I am a partaker of God’s divine nature {2 Peter 1:4}

One Word.

2011 has been an interesting year.

We had some devastatingly crazy weather {possibly an understatement}.

I made some major changes to my degree plan and long term goals.

We hit some serious {sometimes painful} growth spurts

Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.

I am a Compassion Blogger, in theory. I signed up to be one roughly a year ago. I’ve managed to blog an assignment here and there but I haven’t been as committed to it as I should be. That is changing in 2012. This last week I was reading a mass email sent to all Compassion Bloggers. In the email our coordinator suggested rather than making goals or resolutions for the coming year that we seek God as for the one word her would have us focus on. This idea was originally mentioned to her by her boss a few years ago and it stuck.

Pray.

Seek God.

One Word.

What is the one word that encompasses what God wants you to get in 2012?

I did what was suggested and it seems I was given a letter rather than a word.

My focuses for 2012:

Patience

Priorities

Purge

Passion

 

2011 Book List.

I mainly read for fun when I’m not reading for class so I prefer books that require you to think and have a plot but aren’t horribly complex. I think this list of books for 2011 portrays that somewhat. You will notice that I did get on a bit of a Jane Austen kick!

My list of books to read for 2012 has a broader variety.

Books I’ve read this year:

Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen

Persuasion – Jane Austen

The Help – Kathryn Stockett

Anna Karena – Leo Tolstoy

Every Storm – Lori Wick

Never Let Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen

Emma – Jane Austen

The Christian Atheist - Craig Groeschel

Short Stories I’ve read:

(mainly for class)

A Rose for Emily – Faulkner

Why I Live at the P.O. – Welty

A Pair of Tickets – Tan

Barn Burning – Faulkner

Dead Man’s Path – Achebe

A Thankful Heart ¦ Day 8

Have you ever considered all the things we take for granted?

Water.
Electricity.
Vehicles.
Socks & Shoes.
Clothing.
Food.
Homes.
Beds & Bedding.
Technology.
And then some …

There are so many things we take for granted everyday. We consider it more of a right than the privilege it is to have all the things we have.

I am thankful I live in a place that allows and encourages the use of such daily amenities. And I’m thankful for the ability to teach my children about the privileges we have and how we can use them to help others.