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Juleeta C. Harvey

Empowering Women to Believe Body Truth

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Grateful Moments

Lovely and Beautiful: The Woman Behind President George H.W. Bush

December 7, 2018 By Juleeta 1 Comment

 

FILE – In this June 6, 1964 file photo, George Bush, candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, gets returns by phone at his headquarters in Houston as his wife Barbara, beams her pleasure at the news. Former first couple George and Barbara Bush’s relationship is a true love story, described by granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager as “remarkable.” They met at a Christmas dance. She was 17. He was 18. Two years later they were married. Now 73 years later, with Barbara Bush declining further medical care for health problems, they are the longest-married couple in presidential history. (AP Photo/Ed Kolenovsky, File)

I follow @michelleobama on Instagram because I admire how she greets the world with compassion and strength.  A passionate Democrat and former First Lady of The United States of America, she speaks with as much grace as any woman I’ve heard, consistently using language to compel our citizenry to unite in times of sadness and grieving.

Minutes after learning of President George H.W. Bush’s passing, Mrs. Obama posted this gracious tweet.  “As a public servant, father, and grandfather, President George H.W. Bush was an extraordinary example for us all. His spirit of service and decency will be missed by many, including our family.  I hope his memory will be a guiding light for our country and those around the world.”

Yesterday, President George H.W. Bush was memorialized by family and friends and laid to rest in Houston, TX, next to his wife of seventy-three years.  President Bush will be remembered as a man who fought to strengthen the institution of the presidency, who worked diligently to protect the United States of America from a series of building historical threats from other nations, and who above all else, sought humility and kindness in both his family relationships and friendships.

Today, I can’t help but remember the passing of his wife just seven months ago, April 17, 2018.  Maybe I think of her so much now because I recall how they loved each other. In a collection of letters he wrote to her in 1999, according to the Associated Press, he penned, “You have given me joy that few men know.  I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara’s husband.”

Of his family relationships and friendships, his marriage to Barbara Bush was the most important.  From the time he began serving in political office, she is photographed by his side — strong, forward-thinking, and confident.  Looking back, I think her fortitude intimidated many, especially the American media who wanted Mrs. Bush to speak and look a certain way.

But Barbara Bush chose her own way.

During her service as First Lady of the United States of America, Barbara Bush was scrutinized by a number of media outlets because she looked grandmotherly, her hair white and her body shape average. As an adolescent girl, I remember magazine covers demeaning Mrs. Bush’s style choices, especially because they revealed her age.  Her clothes, her pearls, her lackluster pumps.

When asked about why she chose not to dye her hair, I appreciate the response Barbara Bush gave.  In the 2015 Today show interview with her granddaughter, Jenna Bush Hager, Mrs. Bush responded, “The white hair was because I wanted to play golf.  I wanted to play tennis.  I wanted to swim and my hair turned, as I’m sure anyone else with tell you, orange, green, yellow, depending on how much chlorine in the pool.  So I decided to go white.”

How is that for practical and confident?

Besides the countless educational initiatives she backed to help impoverished children in this country and her compassionate work for AIDS victims, here and abroad, Barbara Bush stood for something much more dignified than trendy runway looks and tweetable images that portray power.

Barbara Bush embodied the woman that Proverbs 31 praises. “Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs 31:11-12.

Today, as we conclude mourning former President George H.W. Bush, we celebrate the kind of life he intentionally chose to live.

And though I may be eight months late in saying it, Thank You, Barbara Bush, for choosing the kind of beautiful and lovely life you chose to live.

 

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Filed Under: Grateful Moments, Healthy Bodies, The World Out There, Uncategorized

The One Gift Every Woman Desires This Season

November 27, 2018 By Juleeta 2 Comments

Food Photographer, Jennifer Pallian, invites us to enjoy the chocolatey-sweet taste of Christmas. I love her work @foodess.

With the holidays here, sometimes I don’t generously love this body God has gifted me.  As hearty snacks roll straight into lavish meals, shared around sparkly, festive tables,  I have to keep myself in check.  I am challenged to let go of the holiday habit of shaming my body.  Rather, I am challenged to enjoy the feasting that pairs deliciously with December.

And when I do struggle, because I will, I remind myself that I am not alone. Many women struggle with the shame that comes with “too much eating and not enough exercising.”

As we drove down the last stretch of wheat-laced fields on Hwy 123 to Seguin last weekend, the radio DJ stated that she wished she “could scrape away the calories from her plate,” getting rid of the guilt that ensues with consuming too much pie at Thanksgiving.  As I clicked through the internet last week, I viewed online diet-based programs giving their readers PERMISSION to partake in their family holiday meal.  After all, it’s just “one day of cheating.”

Why do so many voices infer that enjoying the holiday meal we share with family and friends is somehow like bad behavior?

The voices that speak body shame can be gently silenced and replaced with a sweet gift.  This gift has been passed down to some of us from loving, tender people who speak wisdom from the heart of God. But for some of us, this sweet gift is new.  We have recently discovered it and are timid to open it, but we anticipate how it might bring us to hope. [Read more…] about The One Gift Every Woman Desires This Season

Filed Under: Grateful Moments, Healthy Bodies, Moms and Daughters

Organizing Beautiful Things — A Gift Idea for the Practical Mom

November 16, 2018 By Juleeta 1 Comment

The simple, bow-tied pink ribbon begs for this gift to be opened. Credit to Jess Watters at designedbyjess.com.

My husband washing the dishes, scrubbing shiny the whole pile of Nutella crusted knives and plates scattered in our stainless steel sink — ooh-la-la, that is when I find him very attractive!

My bedroom, when it’s cleared of unfolded clothes that drape over the side chairs — yes, that is when I see my room as a quiet haven and not a den of destruction.

My closet, full of clothes I wear and cleared of the clothes that are not my color or my style, is a happy place to get dressed in the mornings — yes, that is when I smile, especially pleased, that I just put together something I’m going to feel good in all day long.

So, yes, enjoying clean and organized spaces can feel like a gift! I dare say, organization is a part of every woman’s fantasy. [Read more…] about Organizing Beautiful Things — A Gift Idea for the Practical Mom

Filed Under: Grateful Moments, The World Out There

Fat Shaming and Our Kids

October 23, 2018 By Juleeta Leave a Comment

This image reminds me of earlier days, when my children didn’t question their beauty. Thank you, Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash.

 

My dear one looks at his brothers and cannot help but compare.

It is what we do. We compare.

It’s early, 6:30 AM, and a Monday. I’m capturing a few minutes of early-hour quiet before the Fabulous-5 crawl out of bed and head for our room for Good Morning Hugs. I hear a shuffle along the wood floor just as I am about to turn on the hair dryer.  The quiet voice in my head turns loud in an instant.  Hurry!!!! Start blow drying you hair before you lose your chance! 

I click on the heat with my right hand and position my hairbrush with my left, tilting my head sideways as he walks in.  He bumps up against me, nudging me a few inches left, and I give.  These growing high and strong boys have taught me a few lessons in the last couple of years.  If my natural reaction isn’t just a bit of body give when they lean in close, I risk getting knocked down or tripping over my own two feet.

Moving over to afford him space, he files in next to me.  He’s standing still. Not asking for a hug or a backscratch. He’s quiet.  Not asking for help with hot water for breakfast making.  He’s focused and still and quiet.

Something must be wrong. [Read more…] about Fat Shaming and Our Kids

Filed Under: Grateful Moments, Healthy Bodies

Loving Lovely : Body Shame, No More

October 17, 2018 By Juleeta Leave a Comment

Let’s talk. Body Shame No More in the #Sisterhood.  Photo by Brandi Ibrao on Unsplash

How do we Love Lovely? 

Lovely is the daughter that looks up into your eyes and asks you quizzically, “Why did that little girl call me fat, Mommy?  Am I really fat?”

Lovely is the friend who subtly nudges you at dinner and asks, “Hey, can we talk for a few minutes after dinner?  I’m feeling weak, losing weight, and I’m kind of scared about what is happening to my body.  I heard Jody telling another mom that she thinks I’m anorexic.”

Lovely is the young woman in your workplace who, obviously, has had plastic surgery, and she keeps to herself.  You’ve considered asking her to join you for lunch, but there’s this voice whispering in your head, “Is she fake?” and so you leave it alone.

You leave her alone. We leave her alone.

We don’t really mean to leave her alone.  We want to Love Lovely. But we struggle. [Read more…] about Loving Lovely : Body Shame, No More

Filed Under: Addiction, Control, Eating Disorders, Food, Grateful Moments, Healthy Bodies, Moms and Daughters, The World Out There

The Confirmation, The Female Body, and What Is At Stake

October 11, 2018 By Juleeta Leave a Comment

Photo credit to the woman who captured wit with a Sharpie, @heathermount. 

The Confirmation

I felt nervous and scared for Dr. Ford and Justice Kavanaugh two weeks ago.

I found myself swinging between anticipation and anxiety as I considered the weight of their impending testimonies. My heart thumped a little more quickly that morning as I listened to the news analysts’ predictions, speaking from my treadmill’s television screen.  [Read more…] about The Confirmation, The Female Body, and What Is At Stake

Filed Under: Grateful Moments, Healthy Bodies, The World Out There

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