It is because of THIS:
Kidding! No actually, I'm not. I wish it were a
joke, but unfortunately I am very serious. I honestly don't
think I would have had much to write about if this little blurb said,
"Carpe Snackem! Seize the day and spare your heart from prematurely
deteriorating!" or "Carpe Snackem! Seize the day and
spare your arteries!" or "Carpe Snackem! Seize the day and
spare your wallet from mountainous doctor's bills!" But
nooooooooooooooo. Spare your thighs. NOW, this is why I had PLENTY
to write about.
The fact of the matter is that this culture, intentionally or
unintentionally, has declared war on the hearts of adolescent girls. They
are so young, simply trying to survive in an existence where their body is
changing, their emotions are flaring, and kids are downright mean. They
are bombarded with messages emphasizing physical perfection. Magazines,
movies, billboards, their snacks for goodness sakes all scream "BEEEEEEEE
SKINNNNNNY!!!" News flash, we were not all born to be skinny.
Back to the original question, "Why did I write this book?"
I wrote this book with the hope and prayer that parents would armor up.
That the home would become a place that is quiet from outside pressures
of looking a certain way and a place where physical beauty is de-emphasized. Parents
might not be able to undo all that is happening to their daughters, but they
surely can understand it and try to fight against it.
Why fight? What's so bad about wanting to look good
anyway? Well, looking good doesn't have to
be bad. As long as we remember that "looking good" is not a one
size fits all. My followup to that question is this, "Why does the
emphasis have to be on looking good?
Why can't it be on being
healthy?" The end physical result ends up the same, but
the heart result along the way is much less demeaning. I believe there is
a huge difference and most young ladies do not even think or care about
actually being healthy. In fact, most of the things I did as a teenager
to look good were
anything but healthy.
I realize this is an uphill climb, but I firmly believe parents
are at the bottom of that hill. We only have our kids in our walls for a
limited amount of years. I may fail miserably. I may fight everyday
and my daughter might still look in the mirror and think she is fat. But
at the end of the day I will be at peace knowing that I tried my best to take some of
the pain away that I KNOW comes with being a teenager daughter.
So here's to Carpe Snacken! Seize the day and and spare
your daughter. She needs you.
About the
Author:
Eighteen years ago, an eleven year old girl looked
in mirror and for the first time in her innocent life…she realized she hated
what she saw. That girl was me. It continued to be me until in my
early twenties I realized two things: God had a bigger plan for me than that
and part of that plan was for me to help other girls not be like me.As
God slowly picked me up out of the pit I was in, I began to look around
me and see many of factors that contributed to my poor body image.
As a youth leader I watched, studied, and prayed for the young girls God
put into my life. I struggled with them as they constantly asked about
the caloric content of the cookies I put out or begged me not to take pictures
of them. It made me so sad to see so much of myself in them. Then
one day, after an interaction with parents, it hit me like a ton of bricks “they don’t know!” Their
parents, my parents…they
didn’t and don’t realize the depths that insecurity reaches. It was time
for action.
After the birth of my
first child, Faith I sat down at my computer to write. I wrote and I
wrote and I wrote. I actually wrote all the way through the birth of my
second child David (it took me quite awhile with two under two at home!!!).
What I wrote is simple: parents you need to know…Today my family and I
live in North Carolina and we excitedly begin this journey as an author and
speaker. My husband Dave is the catalyst behind all that I do. He
has encouraged me and enabled me to be on this journey and I am so thankful for
his love and his companionship. My daughter Faith, now turning four,
inspires me every day to stand firm to the message I believe in. It is
for her that I take serious every word I utter about beauty. It is
for her I strive to be a woman who models a God given security in prayer that
she will not struggle the way that I did. It is for her my
life’s mission is now clear. My son David is now two and he is the ball
of laughter and energy that keep this home going. His smile, his laugh it
is all contagious and I look forward to the man God is molding him to be.
Furlough baby # three, Aaron has officially arrived into our lives.
Since the day he was born he has been a perfect reminder of God’s grace
and love for us. Aaron is our perfect gift.
Authoring is by no
means my life, but it sure is something God has excitedly called me to do and I
look forward to all that the future has in store! May this book, this
blog, this life of mine bless you as we partner to help our girls into a life
of true worth.
Feel free to contact
me at any time at [email protected] for more
information on booking events, signings, prayer needs, or simply to share your
story.
Maria’s latest book is
Your Daughter Needs a Hero.
You can visit the
author’s website at www.trueworthministries.org.
About
the Book:
What drives teenage girls? What tempts them? What
causes their insecurities? More importantly, what can parents do to make a
difference in their lives? Author Maria Furlough battled self-image and
self-esteem issues as a teenager, and in Your Daughter Needs a Hero
she uses a mix of personal stories and years of experience counseling teenage
girls in youth ministry to show parents what their teenage daughters are going
through and how best to help them.
Furlough explains how things such as fad diets,
the media, and pornography influence a teen girl’s body image, and she guides
parents on how to counteract the constant pressures and influences that affect
teen girls every day. This book will show parents how to effectively build
their daughter’s self-esteem, self-image, and, most importantly, their faith in
God and in their parents. If you have a daughter, Your Daughter Needs a
Hero is a must read!
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