Why We Rescue

I have always admired those who rescue.  I have three dogs, two of which are from shelters and one of which was a stray. It is such a gratifying experience to rescue an animal.  You are saving these animals from living in the shelters and worse: becoming another statistic. The Humane Society of the United States says that 6 to 8 million animals enter shelters every year, and 3 to 4 million of those are euthanized. By rescuing an animal from a shelter rather than adopting them from a pet store or a breeder, you are changing this statistic and saving a life.

Okay, now that I'm done with the PSA, I want to tell you about something.

So there's this guy named Theron Humphrey. He seems like a pretty cool dude. I'm not sure how I originally heard of him, but somehow I found him on Instagram and was blown away. Every picture he posts is beautiful (he's from Washington so that is expected), but the photos I love most are of his dog.

Her name is Maddie, a coonhound rescue, and she is in almost every one of his pictures. He actually published a book about her (you can find it here) called "Maddie on Things", where he poses her on top of all different sorts of objects for fun.  There is also a blog of the pictures he takes here.

Apart from his adventures with Maddie, Humphrey has been working on a project. It's called "Why We Rescue", and it is essentially a documentary of people from all 50 states who have rescued animals.   There are beautiful pictures of the pets, the owners, and their homes.  Along with this Humphrey recorded the people telling their stories so as you scroll through the photos you can hear them speaking to you. He made this documentary so that others can see the beauty that comes from adopting, and how these everyday stories display just how transformative pets are.

I love this project.  It really communicates in a beautiful way how such a small act of adopting can change lives.  I know this to be true, and now other people can see how great it is through "Why We Rescue".

If you want to check out his project, click here!

Have any of you guys ever adopted pets? If so, tell me your story!

Comparison

I have always struggled quite a bit with comparison.  I think it is one of those overlooked problems, simply because other things seem to be a lot worse.  While there may be more detrimental problems, comparing yourself to others can be significantly hurtful to yourself and to the God that created you.

God has been trying to open my eyes to my struggle with comparison.  There have been quite a few things popping up lately that are pointing to this, and I have started thinking about it a lot. It is a problem that many teenage girls struggle with, myself included, mainly because we are unhappy with parts of who we are.

While we may overlook the fact that we compare ourselves to others daily, it is actually a big problem. Doing so says a lot about who we are and the God we put our faith in. It says that we are unsatisfied with who we were created to be and therefore want more than what we have: we want to be prettier, nicer, more patient, have more money, more opportunities, more adventures. It says that we are unhappy with how God created us to be.

The reality is that God created you EXACTLY the way he wanted.  He is a perfect God, so how could he make a mistake? Yes, he may have given you a bigger nose than you'd hoped for, or a more stubborn personality then most, but he didn't do any of this by accident.

Think about it: if he created us the way we wanted, each of us would probably look like a beautiful model. While you may initially think that would be awesome, where is the fun in it? We wouldn't have any of the unique qualities, gifts, or talents God has blessed us with.  We would all be carbon copies of each other, created from the same overused mold.

I think we need to view ourselves less as what we see in the mirror and more how God sees us.  We are his masterpiece: he created us in his image, and all of the things we see as imperfections he sees as perfect.  We are the beautiful art of a creative God who built us each exactly the way we are meant to be.

Just remember: you are beautiful and perfect in his eyes, and that's all that matters!


"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." -Ephesians 2:10





photo credit: seyed mostafa zamani via photopin cc

Weekly Update

photo credit: ginnerobot via photopin cc

It is finals week.

I am currently writing this in between cram sessions for my next test and binge sessions from my cupboard.

My mind is stuck in an endless cycle: sleep, eat, work, study, sleep, eat, work, study.......it goes on and on, with tests splattered haphazardly in between.  In this week, the hands down craziest time of the quarter, it is hard to think about much else.  Its hard to get your mind off the next thing on your five page to-do list, or how late you have to stay up in order to shove all of the endless information into your tired brain.

Its weird to think that people, myself included, can make it through this whole week without truly enjoying it.  We spend a whole five days (at least) studying, eating, studying some more, and occasionally sleeping.

We are spending all of our time concentrating on these tests that simply end up as a number on a sheet of paper.  A number that, in no way shape or form, defines us.  We were not created to ace a class, or get an A on a paper. And yet, we have grown up our whole lives in an education system that teaches us that we will only be truly worthy if we get good grades in high school, go to a good college, and graduate with a good GPA.

While this does kind of suck, obviously we will always have some level of concern with our grade on the finals.

Wouldn't it be nice  if we could just let the stress and anxieties of finals week go? We could forget about the pressure behind the exams and, while still studying for them, take time to enjoy the beauty of this world we live in.

In practice of this idea, I present to you some things to do to relieve a little bit of stress and enjoy this beautiful week.  Whether you are studying for finals or not, use these little tidbits to brighten up your day and bring some joy into your life!

 photo credit: jenny downing via photopin cc 

Listen to music!

Particularly, this playlist. Every song on it is worthy of blasting. If you want to be extra daring, dance around the room to it.

If you're feeling a little more mellow, put on Josh Garrel's Pandora station and I promise you'll be a happy camper.

photo credit: Jason A. Samfield via photopin cc

Go sit on a patch of grass and read a book.  Do it.  You can't not enjoy life while doing this.

 photo credit: John Wiseman via photopin cc

Do some simple yoga moves.  Practice your breathing, curl up in child's pose for a little bit, rest in downward dog to get your blood flowing to your brain.  These things will calm you down and relieve some of the built up stress.

photo credit: Funky64 (www.lucarossato.com) via photopin cc

When in doubt, watch a funny TV show or your favorite childhood movie.  Sometimes you just need something that doesn't require much thought after you've been studying for hours on end.  The movie Frozen should do the trick :)


Hopefully you can do some of these things throughout your week to relieve some of the stress and just take a breather.  Just remember, your success in school doesn't define you!

xoxo
Melissa

photo credit: ginnerobot via photopin cc

DIY: Pom-Pom Garland

I am quite a fan of polka dots.  In fact, I am wearing a jacket right now that is polka dotted (not sure thats a word, but let's all just agree that it is).  Along with my current attire, my bedding, backpack, and multiple other wardrobe pieces are all covered in this lovely pattern.  I would probably consider myself slightly obsessed.

While the project today isn't actually about polka dots, it does involve pom-poms, which are round and kind of look like polka dots when you hang them up...so I say they count :) 

You will need:

-a pom pom maker (I bought a two pack at Michaels for around $8)

-yarn of your choice

-scissors 

-embroidery floss or bakers twine 

-a large needle

The pom-pom makers do come with instructions, but they are slightly confusing.  So, I thought I would include how to use them in this tutorial.  You will first start wrapping your yarn around one of the arms, starting on the end connected to the base and working out. 

After you have done the first arm, bring it back to the base and start wrapping your yarn around the second arm. Once finished, bring this one back in as well.

Next you are going to start snipping.  Run your scissors along the middle groove, cutting all of the yarn in half. Once you have cut all the way through, take a long piece of yarn and tie it so it fits in the groove. Make sure you pull it as tight as possible, and do a few extra knots to secure it.  

Once you have tied the string around the cut yarn,  pull out the arms and disconnect the two pieces. Inside will be a pom-pom! Fluff it up a bit and cut off all the longer strings hanging out.  Cool, huh? 

Next you are going to take your embroidery floss or bakers twine and string it through the pom-poms. The trick is to feel around in the pom pom to see where the string that holds it together is.  You need to get your needle through that. Its pretty easy once you try it out and do it once or twice.  

You can use a needle with an eye big enough for your string to fit through. I actually cheated and used a bobby pin because I didn't have a big enough needle (shhh, don't tell anyone). 

 The last step is to simply hang it up!

Hope you guys enjoyed this DIY!  

This week is 'dead week' at my school, aptly named because by the end of the week everyone is a zombie.  Its the week before finals and teachers try to cram all of the remaining projects and work in, which is not the most fun thing I have experienced.  Wish me luck! 

Photography Tips, Part I

As a blogger, being good with a camera is something that will get you very far.  When coming across a new blog most everyone's eyes are always drawn to the pictures on the page.  Luckily, I have been toting around a camera long before I started this blog, and I have definitely collected some tricks for shooting a good photo or two.

I have decided to start a new series here on We the Sea where I will share some helpful hints about photography.  These tips come from lots of places, but mostly classes I have taken and articles I have read.  I'm hoping these posts will be helpful to you guys, whether you have a 'fancy' camera or not. At the very least you'll be able to give your Instagram a creative face lift :)

In the first part of this series I am going to show you guys a great tip for composing visually appealing images. This tip is called The Rule of Thirds.  Basically, when you are looking through the viewfinder of your camera, imagine a grid over your picture like this:

As you can see, this grid separates the photo into thirds vertically and horizontally. Supposedly the human eye naturally goes to the four intersections of the lines instead of the middle of the photo. The idea of the Rule of Thirds is to center the focal points in your pictures where they cross.

The lines themselves also provide useful places to align elements in your photos.  As you can see, the dog's paw and facial features hit three out of the four focal points, and the line of the floor is close to the line of the grid.

Essentially in following this rule your picture will become more balanced then if you were to, say, put the focal point right in the middle of the frame.

Now, obviously some rules are meant to be broken. I have taken a few pictures I really like that don't necessary follow the focal point rule. For example, in this shot the girl is right in the center. It isn't following the Rule of Thirds in that sense, but the columns, the stairs, and the roof do fit closely with the lines of the grid.

Hopefully this helped you guys! This is one of the few rules that I think about almost every time I take a picture. It is a very basic concept that, when embraced, can set your pictures apart from the many others out there.  Happy shooting! (haha)

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day everyone! In the spirit of the holiday, here are some beautiful valentines that you can send to all your loved ones:

Oh, Grumpy Cat, you know exactly what to say. All joking aside, I hope you all have a wonderful day!! :)

xoxo Melissa and Grumpy Cat