I like girls

That came out wrong.  I really do like girls, but I should clarify.
I don't actually like girls. I love them. These are some pretty special girls we are talking about here.
I am talking about my Bible Study girls.
I should take you back to the beginning.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth....
No, not that far back. Let's try almost 16 years ago.
I was an 18 year old young mother, with no experience or understanding of taking care of a child, or being a wife.  I knew I wanted to raise my children in a godly way, but I did not know how to start.  I could barely take care of myself.
In steps my aunt.  This woman had her own children grown and on their own, and was enjoying life as an empty nester and the company of the love of her life.  But she acted on God's prompting, and wrapped her arms and her heart around my broken self, and took me in. Spiritually, and physically.  She poured countless hours of time and energy into teaching me.  Taking me to the Bible Study she was leading every Thursday, showing me how to clean a home, care for a child, cook, shop, and even laugh.  She taught me the importance of honest to goodness purity. Of mind, spirit, and soul.  I never thought that I would be worth God's affection. I had looked for physical affection for so long, that I felt worthless.  She stuck with me, and even inflicted pain on me to show me the way to godliness.  There were times when the criticism seemed so harsh that she must hate me, but it was to lead to a better Debra.  I struggled to accept the discipline and correction of God, knowing that it was for my good, but hating the agony of knowing I still had so many failures.
In short, Sue spent years developing a trusting relationship with me, and developing a love for God's Word in me.  Everything she said lead back to the Bible (it was SO annoying! And convicting.)
Time has changed the amount of hours we can spend together. But not a day goes by that I don't use something she taught me of life.  She worried over the importance of replacing yourself.  Often saying to me that she wanted the life she lives to be of value over the long-term.  I'd say she has been pretty successful in that.  She has a daughter who loves God, and is earnestly seeking to know Him. And she has a grateful niece who humbly leads Bible study every Thursday, to an amazing group of women. And who desires above all else, to be the wife, mother and woman that honors God with her life.
The girls I join every week are the girls I love. The ones who challenge me. Encourage me. And hold me accountable to growing in the knowledge of God. And I love a middle aged woman, who shows the love of the Lord on her beautifully wrinkling face.  There is no better beauty than that. I hope to be that beautiful someday.

Secretariat Review: A MUST see!

My sister Valerie and I went on a lunch/movie date to see The Secretariat. I could not wait to share my thoughts with you about it.
I had great expectations for this movie after seeing the previews. I was totally stoked for the costuming alone, but I have always loved a great movie about a true story.  There is so much negativity in our society, and so much emphasis on violence, I feel like these stories are the "anti-violence".
This was absolutely one of the most beautifully filmed movies I have ever seen. The main scenes switch back and forth from Denver, Colorado to Doswell, Virginia.  I am such a huge Virginia history buff that I loved how the Virginia scenes were portrayed.  The location filming took place in Kentucky and Louisiana, which makes sense with its history in horse racing.  I loved the camera angles and details used in the actual filming process.
There are two main aspects to the movie that I found very compelling.  One, the main character is the story itself and not any one person or even the horse. The director draws you into each individual portrayed and allows you to see the entire situation from many different perspectives.  I found myself relating to the Penny Chenery story just as much as Jack Tweedy (who plays her husband), and the sassy secretary, and even the children of Penny.  You see so many sides of the story within this little movie.
The other thing that struck me as the more important aspect is this: Penny takes on the "big boys" of horse racing/owning in a time when women were expected to be running their homes. Exclusively.
Penny Chenery decides to expand her parents farm upon the death of her mother and father, rather than sell and pay huge inheritance taxes. This shows a sacrifice she makes on behalf of her husband and children, but the most intriguing side of the story is that she is never portrayed as forcing any of her family members to accept this (with the exception of her brother, who comes around). I love that the script is never reduced to man-bashing or a forcefully feministic ideal.  Instead, she is shown as a strong woman, who has the best for her husband and family at heart, as well as the strength to stand up to the horse racing community just by virtue of being present, and taking hard risks.  I strongly feel that every parent of daughters needs to take their girls to see this movie.  They will see an example of a true lady, and one that never resorts to name calling or bullying the opposite sex.
So, the part of the movie that first drew me in, the costuming was WONDERFUL! I loved seeing all the unique pieces used for so many characters.  The story takes place in the 70's-80's, and so much of what I saw reminds me of my own childhood. I am a vintage-holic, so now I want to be like Penny Chenery. :)  Here are a few of the costumes (the costume designer for Diane Lane was Julie Weiss, and the rest of the characters were done by Michael T Boyd):

On an interesting side note, the real life Secretariat lived for 19 years, and upon death, was found to have had a heart twice the size of a normal thoroughbred.

D.V. t-shirt... Whaddaya think?

Make custom t-shirts at CustomInk.com