Esther - a Bachelor contestant becomes a hero

Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Esther (from the Bible). I loved (and still do) that a poor orphan girl won a King's heart and became a queen. 

But what makes Esther interesting today, is that her story is so much more than a pretty girl getting her man. 

By Bob Prosser

So who was Esther?

I love Mark Driscoll's take on Esther:

"She grows up in a very lukewarm religious home as an orphan raised by her cousin. Beautiful, she allows men to tend to her needs and make her decisions. Her behavior is sinful and she spends around a year in the spa getting dolled up to lose her virginity with the pagan king like hundreds of other women. She performs so well that he chooses her as his favorite. Today, her story would be, a beautiful young woman living in a major city allows men to cater to her needs, undergoes lots of beauty treatment to look her best, and lands a really rich guy whom she meets on The Bachelor and wows with an amazing night in bed. She’s simply a person without any character until her own neck is on the line, and then we see her rise up to save the life of her people when she is converted to a real faith in God."

(Read Driscoll's whole text HERE.)

By Liz Poage

"... we see her rise up..."

The photos are from Flickr and used under THIS LICENSE

Dreaming...

I am currently dreaming of renovating our bedroom. I love peaceful earth tone colors.

   

Contemporary Bedroom by Sausalito Architects & Designers Urrutia Design

Traditional Bedroom by Greenville Interior Designers & Decorators Linda McDougald Design | Postcard from Paris 
Home

Photos from houzz.com

Stolen lives

When you think about Thailand, this might come to your mind...

Or this...

Unfortunately Thailand, the beach paradise, is much more than warm sand under your toes or crystal clear ocean waves. 

For many, Thailand is not a paradise. It is a nightmare. 

Stolen lives

I grew up in Thailand and I often heard stories about young girls sent to work in Pattaya. These young girls had to say goodbye to their childhood. They had to face an unbearably cruel and unloving world as they sold their young bodies to foreign tourists and rich Thai men. Rice fields and village schools changed into bars and neon lights. 

Too many children (and adults too) have to sell their self worth in Thailand. I can't imagine what it feels like, as a child, to give your body to old men.

It's heartbreaking. 

The reason...

why I wrote this post is to give a voice to those small Thai girls, who master the art of being pretty and flirtatious. 

I ask you to visit the links below. Ask yourself: 

Can I help?

Chab Dai

A screenshot 

Home of New Beginnings

A screenshot

Slavery No More

A screenshot

FAAST International

A screenshot

HERE you can read my earlier human/sex trafficking post.

Ask yourself: are you loving yourself or being selfish?

Lately I've been thinking about what does it mean to love yourself. I believe that we often mix it with being selfish. I also believe, that selfishness is something that comes naturally, but pure unconditional love is something we have to learn. 

What is the difference between 

and

I'd love to read your thoughts about loving yourself. Leave a comment or a link to your blog post below. 

Giveaway tip

If you like giveaways, you should definitely check out Cara's 5 Year Blogiversary. She is giving away amazing prizes! 

The White Queen

I'm a huge period drama fan. There's something magical about the old times when letters were their Facebook and dancing meant so much more than just dancing.

That's why I was very, very, very happy when my husband bought me The White Queen for my birthday. Here's the trailer.

What I loved about The White Queen?

1. History (I know there are things that are not historically accurate, but still, I learned so much about England's history. About the Yorks and Lancasters.)

2. The plotting 

3. The set (The old castles)

4. How the story and characters developed. (The characters I first liked I ended up hating in the final episodes, and vice versa.)

5. The Costumes (Everything looked so beautiful)

"Don't doubt my courage. I'm match for any man." 

The white Queen is based on Philippa Gregory's 3 novels (The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter).

                                                                 

My first Zumba experience

Yesterday I was in a Zumba class, for the first time. I was really excited, because I've wanted to try it for couple years now.

Here's what I  naively expected...

...Rhythm, fun, laughing and a great exercise.

I only got a great exercise. I was sweating like a small pig. 

For a beginner like myself (and also the other ladies in the class), Zumba steps were really hard at first. Especially if you have trouble seeing the teacher. I felt that the teacher didn't spend enough time showing us the basics and explaining how a certain move is done. She showed it couple times and then moved on. 

It was quite frustrating, because I could see I was not doing the steps (etc.) right, but before I could learn them we were already doing another new move. 

I am pretty musical, but it was extremely hard to stay on tempo when you could only concentrate on your moves. 

What I loved about the class was how the time flew. This is great for everyone who doesn't like exercising (like me). I also got to wear my new bright yellow workout top. Yay!

Amazon

I hope that after couple classes, I'll get a chance to enjoy the rhythm and have fun! 

Have you tried Zumba? What was your first experience like? 

P.S You can find the tops HERE.

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5 websites you should check out

...if you already haven't. 

Do you like listening to free music? Grooveshark is a bit like Spotify, but without the annoying ads. 

The internet is filled with millions of food/baking/recipe sites. They Draw & Cook brings something new to the table. See what I did there? The table thing :D Anyways... Check it out, and you'll know what I mean.

Before my wedding, I spent hours and hours on The Knot. Amazing ideas, pics, tips, etc. You can even create your personal wedding website for free. 

Martha Stewart is a domestic goddess. I love her 'Create' section. 

Mydeco is an online interior design store, but that's not why I think it's a great site. I love their free 3D room planner software and the cute moodboards. 


Do you have any website tips? 

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Is there a song that touches you deeply?