Last week I flew to Houston, TX for the Lee Labrada Classic and then drove to Austin for a massive jam-packed photo shoot with Jamie Eason and the two other Lean Body For Her teammates. We were pampered and spoiled and over the course of 4 days wore no less than 100 different outfits! I never in my life would have dreamed I could have been a model for anything. I’m only 5’4 and I kept pinching myself the entire weekend that I was even there! The Lean Body team wants to promote fitness with class…meaning not the normal kind of booty showin’, bare bodied, sex appeal that most fitness companies do. I’ve been a part of the Lean Body team for 2 years now and have picked up on some of the values here and there…but being there, meeting everyone face to face and hearing the goals and the heart of the company in person was absolutely amazing. I’m sure I’ll be sharing a ton more as the weeks and months go on…but I just wanted to say I’m so honored to be a part of the Labrada family.
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After Austin I flew to Vegas and met up with my fam for a vacation. Matt drove ALL of the kids from Cali to Vegas by himself! I couldn’t believe he offered to do that but he really wanted me to get to be in TX. He and the kids so great! My mom booked a time share and my sister & her husband and my brother & his fam all joined us. I loved getting to sleep in the same place with sleeping bags on the floor and stuffed animals everywhere…seriously, I think we had about 50 stuffed animals with us!
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Our kids are notorious for losing their swim goggles, which meant everyone was sharing and a few of the boys ended up wearing pink goggles and borrowing adult goggles that were far too big for their faces. Crew finally feels more comfortable with swimming and seeing him jump in and literally scream his head off with excitement had us all giggling.
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Matt and I went to a night club for a date night out. As in a legit night club. When we first got married he told me he hated dancing, so we really just never did, aside from our wedding dance that is. But for whatever reason (maybe making the solo drive to Vegas gave him an added boost of bravery) he actually agreed to go with me and my brother/sister in law to this club. It was probably the most unlikely place you would have guessed we would be in…but once we got on the packed dance floor it was as if no one else was there. We had the best time and keep talking about how thankful we are that we are married and don’t have to date anymore! It was so obvious that every single person was on the prowl…and we loved being reminded that we don’t have to question who it is we want to spend our lives with. We were also joking that if this club only knew I was a pastor’s wife, mom of five, homeschooler, Christian blogger that they’d never have let us in! 🙂 But thanks to “Romeo” who got us all on the guest list and never asked any of those questions.
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We took the kids to the Excalibur for the Medieval Times show. We sat in the Austria section and they served the food during the show. But to keep with the “theme” they serve food without any utensils. One kiddo, out of the five, really got into it and ate his chicken right off the bone while grunting like caveman. 🙂 But the others just looked at me funny and refused to touch it…and it was then that I knew we’d be giving them cereal for dinner after the show was over! The show was amazing though! The sword fights and horses, the explosions, and the lights! The kids loved it all! Especially when a horse pooped right in front of the kids and they spent the remainder of the show trying to guess which performer was going to accidentally step in it.
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We made so many memories playing 14 rounds of mini golf, trying sodas from all over the world, playing family games until 2 am, eating far too much at Steak ‘n Shake, the lazy river at Mandalay, the frequent Starbucks runs to keep us going, playing duck duck goose every morning around the breakfast table, seeing the sharks at the aquarium and riding escalators a gazillion times over in every hotel! (more pics of all our adventures coming later this week!) 
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This dress I have on was from Marshalls. The name on the tag is Style Envy and it’s a size S. I’ve tried to find it for you online but I haven’t been able to yet. I’ll update here if I do come across the exact one, but I’ve also linked a few super cute similar options below as well.
August 7th, 2017 at 10:49 pm
Do you ever get tired of posing? I’ve never seen anyone blog who posts more pictures of themselves than you do…why can’t you let your words be the focus? It’s hard to take you seriously, I think you have some great words and valuable things to say but you are constantly putting your face and body and “beautiful life” as the front and center. I can’t ever work past the vanity to truly appreciate what you are offering as I feel you are using your platform to promote yourself. I always wonder if you just pay someone to walk around following you as you pose everyday for a new photo shop…it completely cheapens who I think you really might be and who you want to be. Stop.
August 8th, 2017 at 1:10 am
Hello stranger,
I see I have clearly touched a nerve within you to have warranted such a response. I do apologize that you dislike my content but feel your lack of softness makes your own message a bit blurry to hear. I was unsure as to whether or not I should respond to you because it would seem you are not desiring to begin an actual conversation, or help, as much as you desire to just put me in my place and make your opinion known. I do genuinely care for you as a reader, even without knowing your name, so I’ll give this an honest attempt.
To answer your first question, no, I don’t get tired of posing. I’m actually, within the past year, just beginning to be okay with pictures being taken of me at all. My nerves are slowly easing up and each time I’m becoming a bit more “me” in front of the lens. I’ve hidden on the other side of the camera for a long time and have finally realized that there is joy in allowing myself to be okay with photography and fashion.
Why can’t my words be the focus? Well, with all due respect they are. At many points along my blogging journey I have desired to simply be a fashion blogger. Some of the girls I follow are insanely successful just posting about what they wear and styles they love. It’s very tempting, for many reasons, to join in with them…but seeing as how clothes, style and the way I fix my hair are meaningless in comparison to the Truth and hope we have in Jesus my heart just can’t allow it to be solely that.
Yet, I would ask…does it mean there ought to be no place at all for such things? Does it mean there is no room whatsoever to enjoy photography, clothes and style? I have wrestled for a long, long time on this issue. Does loving photography, fashion and style automatically equal vanity?
And here is where I land…I believe God is a loving Father who has given us all good things to enjoy…for our good and for His glory. My face, my body, what I put on my body AND my words are all intended to be used for His glory. However, life is ultimately not about any of those things. Our clothing will rot, as will our bodies…they will fold up like tents and will fade away into dust one day.
Yet between now and then there is grace to enjoy all He has given. I’ll care for this tent as best as I am able, and I’ll use this tent to share truth and I’ll enjoy what I get to put on, and in, this tent. I do love fashion, I love hair, and I love being healthy and strong…and I love writing…but I love Jesus most. My plan for this blog is to take whatever I have been given, combine ALL the things I love and put them into a little space I call my blog.
To answer your next question about paying someone to take my photos…the answer is a resounding no. We don’t have the money for that…and even if I did I would loathe the idea of someone following us around all the time. My children have absolutely loved learning how to use a camera…one we’ve had for over 12 years but somehow still works decently. The 7 and 8 year olds have told me they’d like to be photographers someday and they argue over who gets to take the pictures each time. Sure, some of the pics are blurry, but I absolutely love the fact that they have learned a skill they will use for the rest of their lives…and more than that I adore that my blog is filled with photos taken by their sweet hands.
My amazing husband also takes my photos. He has encouraged me to be more bold and to be more brave in taking more pictures of myself as he knows the blogs I am most drawn to are the ones that have real photos of the writers. I love blogs with big pictures, colorful ones that fill up the whole screen, real ones of the actual author, not ones that have been purchased from someone else’s site. I dreamt for a long time of creating content similar to what I admired in others…and it’s taken far too long for me to be okay with creating that myself. Photography and style are two loves of mine…a creative outlet, an art form, something I celebrate…but in it’s rightful place.
I fully believe those peripheral things in life are not evil. Pictures of myself, or of me with my kids or of our outings/vacations together as a family are not wrong and I celebrate that my blog is something like an ongoing scrapbook made with and by the little people God has entrusted to me. I grieve that you feel my freedoms in being creative cheapen my words, but I would ask for you to read carefully the words I write when it comes to fashion, images of “perfection” and what true beauty really is. There is a dying world out there…one where people feel that great pictures, the “perfect” life and upholding their “image” is all that is worth pursuing. I desire to engage with that world and share a different story…a better ending…true life that can only be found in Jesus.
From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your perspective. It’s good to know how to pray, for you and for others, and how to continue to write. But at the same time I do plan to still use creativity, photography and fashion in this space. I would like to take the opportunity to encourage you to use your gifts and your passions in life fully as well, without fear of others opinions and without reservation…for your own joy, the good of others, and for His glory. Making much of yourself or myself is meaningless, but using your passions, talents, and gifts to point others to Him is surely something to celebrate. I would urge you to make life beautiful in your own unique way that others might see Jesus more clearly in all that you create and all that you enjoy.
I would also love to encourage you in the future to be slower to speak and to use your words to build and lift others up instead of tear down. When you have a grievance with someone it’s always best to begin a conversation by introducing yourself and speaking in a way that is helpful and welcomes a response. It isn’t loving when you simply assume you understand someone and let out your opinion without the plan for relationship. the Bible would refer to that as a “noisy gong.”
I’d also like to encourage you to ask more questions about people’s hearts/motives instead of assuming you see the whole picture. Humbling yourself to seek to get to know someone better might give you some clarity or perspective that you wouldn’t otherwise have had, or it very well may confirm what it is you feel you already believed to be true. Either way, the fact that you made a loving attempt to hear someone out will give you a much clearer voice to the person you wish to correct.
And lastly, if you do love Jesus, and if we are siblings in Him, then I would urge you to treat people as you would want to be treated. Treat them as you would your own family, because in Him we are family, and to do so with kindness and compassion.
Grace to you,
Meg
August 10th, 2017 at 12:49 am
Dear Meg,
I found your answer to this negative comment very inspiring! Just came across your blog via the article about the hardness of the heart and as the second one I read your post about this negative comment. Now I saw this conversation here for myself. I wish I would respond to negative comments alway like you did it here! Your blog is now on my subscription list with “girldefined.com”, “Deep Roots at Home” and “A lovely Calling”, so that I am informed about new articles. I am so exited to read more!
In His love
Anne Schweda
(Tessin in Northern Germany)
August 10th, 2017 at 11:03 am
Thank you so much Anne! You’re from Germany!!! How exciting to hear from someone so far away!! Your words are incredibly sweet, thank you for taking the time to comment. I haven’t heard of those other blogs but I’ll be sure to check them out since you read them along with mine! Grace to you! And thank you again!
August 10th, 2017 at 11:52 am
You are welcome! 🙂 I work as a translator from English into German and following blogs like these is one of my ways to stay in touch with the English language while getting spiritual input as well. Here are the links:
https://www.girldefined.com/
http://deeprootsathome.com/
http://alovelycalling.com/blog/
In His love
Anne
August 8th, 2017 at 9:05 am
Meg , you inspire me! Much love to you and the other writer regarding this post. God bless us to move forward in love and being all that we were created to be, withholding nothing but giving it all and enjoying it all for His glory. 🙂
August 27th, 2017 at 8:48 am
In my opinion, your dress is much prettier than the one you posted. I think that one would double as a bathrobe. 😊
Opinion #2. I also think that by you honestly and graciously answering the reader with a comment to you that leaned toward the negative; you do your readers/subscribers a service in how to respond with grace to negative or critical people in our lives, as well. 👍🏻
August 27th, 2017 at 11:57 pm
Thanks so much. I hope that is the case. I wouldn’t want others to respond poorly either…there’s far too much of that type of backlash online already. And I SO wish I could find my exact dress online! I apologize that I can’t yet, but I’ll keep an eye out! I love shopping at Marshall’s, but it sure makes it super tough to find similar styles from other places.