This book, written by Michelle Graham, exposes the lies that so many of us have bought, thanks to the fashion industry. She shows us how we view our bodies through the lense of culture, versus the lense of God's Word and shares how we as women can learn the true secrets to a positive body image.

Although I have read books that have similar themes, I found two unique differences wtih this particular book. First, Michelle gives an entire chapter to the struggles that women from different ethnicities struggle with in a culture that holds the "Greek physical image" as the highest ideal of beauty---tall, blond, thin, and blue eyed. For women from other cultures and backgrounds, this chapter is invaluable as it deals with issues most other books on body image do not deal with.

The second unique feature to this book was the chapter "Can I still Keep my Lipstick? Beauty and Balance". Instead of just writing a book about the air brushed models and unrealistic standards our culture has given us for beauty, Michelle went on to explore the topic of beauty from a Biblical perspective. She offers the challenge that the Bible does not command us to be ugly and that God himself loves beauty. "Therefore", she argues, "It is not a sin to want to be beautiful or to strive to look the best we can. To do so is instead, simply a reflection of the image we bear of a God of beauty." There is however, a balance, and that is what Michelle focuses on. A balance of what society calls beauty and a balance of what God considers beauty. And that is where we need to re-define our pursuit of beauty.

Although written with similar themes that other books have been written with concerning body image, this was an easier book than most to read, and a quick read as well. It would be a perfect gift for an adolescent girl or a young college age woman that does not normally like to read but would benefit well from a book addressing this topic.

Posted by True Hope Counseling at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As we move into the month of June, True Hope Counseling enters its slowest time of year! Whereas the fall and winter months are crowded with a full client load, once the spring/summer sun comes out, the days grow warmer and longer, and vacations start taking place, people just don't feel the need to come to counseling!

As the years have passed, I have learned to take this "slow" time and make good use of it by reading books and learning all I can about topics that interest me concerning the counseling world. Lately, I have also begun to write reviews on what I read and post them on this newsletter page. Whether it is a book on how nutrition affects our mood, a book on eating disorders, or even a book that is against counseling, I enjoy writing up a synopsis of what I have learned and sharing it with others. And judging from the feedback, others enjoy it too! (NOTE: unlike these newsletters, I do not send out notifications for the reviews I write. They can be found by simply coming to our website and going to our newsletter page on a regular basis. I also write movie and music CD reivews as well.)

During this time of down time, I am also working on a plan for True Hope Counseling come Fall. Two things face me as the now-solo counselor of True Hope as well as the Director at a new location:

1. Getting word out that we are here, and
2. Preparing for our new baby and learning how to balance motherhood with the counseling ministry.

As always, God is a God of perfection, and our baby will come around the holidays. A time when counseling, once again slows down. By the time I, and my clients, are ready to head back into the counseling offce, my husband's masonry work will be done for the winter, and so as I counsel, he will be able to take our little one.

To get our name "out" in the community, we are planning to host a pastor's coffee hour, either in the Fall of this year, or the beginning of next year. Although strong contacts have been made via letters and phone calls with area pastors, it is our hope that having a time like this will allow the pastors to ask further questions and see our office for themselves. At the same time that we are reaching out to the pastors, we will also begin, once again, the proces of building up a Board of Directors to walk the journey with True Hope Counseling through the 2008 year.

Even though it is our slow time of year, the busyness of the ministry will soon be upon us and I am excited about what the Fall months will bring! Both as Director of True Hope and as a future mom-to-be!

Thank you so much for your continued financial and prayer support!

Blessings to all!
Melissa

Posted by True Hope Counseling at 07:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While on bedrest the past few weeks, due to pregnancy complications, I have had quite a bit of time to watch movies and read books. Since my movie collection is limited, my best friend sent me some movies to help me pass the time. I fell in love with all three of them!

As a teenager I grew up reading Janette Oake books, including her Love Comes Softly Series. How thrilled I was to disover that Michael Landon Jr. has turned the series into movies! There are currently three movies available and I believe a fourth was recently released as well.

Following the book titles, the movies are based on the characters and story lines of Mrs. Oake's original books. In the first movie, Love Comes Softly, the story line follows close to the story line in the book.

Spoiler warning:
We are taken on the journey of a young pioneer woman, Marty, as she loses her young husband once they reach the west and, out of necessity, marries a man with a young daughter. While this concept may seem hard to grasp for us in today's world, in that world, it was something that often took place in the West. It was too late in the year for Marty to journey back East once her husband died and yet, she had no place to live and no means to support herself.

Enter Clark, a widower with a young daughter, Missie, desperately in need of a woman's influence in her life. The two agree to a marriage of convenience for the duration of the winter months, with Clark promising that he will pay for Marty's passage back to the East in the spring after she has made a lasting impact on his daughter's life, both education wise, as well as in the feminine sense.

I found myself caught up in the movie as the events unfolded, even though I already knew the story line. The movie was well acted and not only does it grasp your emotions, there are also heart lessons here and there to be discovered throughout the movie. The movie is family friendly and one that I highly reccommend!

Sequels
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Posted by True Hope Counseling at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)