Monday Notes – July 26, 2010

Check out the latest guest post about body after baby:  The Size of Your Heart, Not the Size of Your Clothes.  And have you pre-ordered the book yet?  Only a week left until publication!

Katie from Jacksonville, Oregon found this note in a public bathroom!  Did you post it?

Danielle wrote, “So I heard about this a long time ago, and then I saw one in a movie theatre bathroom and I was really excited. That is the "smile, you’re gorgeous" picture. I showed the picture to my friend Morgan about 7 months later, and we were inspired to do it ourselves. We made a lot of notes (about one stack’s worth) and put them all around bathrooms, dressing rooms, makeup counters, in books, in magazines, in a mother’s section, and one in front of a men’s bathroom. We went to many different locations around our area to do this. It was extremely fun!  Me and Morgan really hope we make a difference women’s lives around our community, since I had never seen a note close to where we live. We plan on doing this once a week and going to different places to post them each time. At one place we went, we put two in a bathroom and one near the men’s room sign. When we came back they were all gone. We hope someone took the notes with them to remind themselves how beautiful they are.”

Caroline knows that something small can save someone’s life.  Here’s her story.  She wrote, “For almost a year and a half now I’ve been struggling with an eating disorder. Anyone who has been in that type of situation can relate to how utterly draining it is. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Last August, I found Jesus. I was filled with so much love I thought I’d burst, and I spread that love as far as I could reach.   But after a while the excitement faded and my old ways began to return. For the last week and a half I’d been starving myself, and I was pushing away from God as fast as I could manage. I was so sick of running after Him, I wanted Him to come after me. I wanted SOMEONE to come after me. Last night I went to church, and I spent the whole sermon praying as hard as I could that Jesus would bring me back in, that he would show me His love and take all this shame and guilt from me. This was my last effort, I had decided that if He wouldn’t help me now then I didn’t want His love and I didn’t want anything to do with Him.   As my pastor brought the sermon to an end, my heart sunk. God hadn’t come, and He hadn’t given me what I wanted. But just when all my hope was lost, Pastor Steven turned around and walked back onto the stage, looking nervous. "Guys, all night I’ve had this feeling inside me that there is a young lady in here tonight who is thinking about ending her life. She is thinking about going back into old habits." He said, scanning the crowd. My heart was beating so fast I thought I’d die, I couldn’t take my eyes off of Pastor. He asked the young lady who knew he was talking to her, to stand. Two other young women in that room stood, and I watched as they were prayed for, so proud of their strength. Meanwhile, the voice inside me told me that I wasn’t worth it. I wasn’t even sick, no one would care. But as we left the building after the service ended, God pressed on my soul to tell someone, anyone. So I told. I spilled my heart out to my mom. I can’t explain in words how last night changed me. I won’t ever be the same….”

Grace wrote, “Me and my best friend Rebecca posted these notes on our church mirrors! This is an amazing idea, and so inspirational, keep it up!”

The editor of Operation Beautiful, Caitlin, and some of her friends ran a 4.0-mile race this past Saturday.  The runners taped Operation Beautiful signs to their back, and a few friends made big posters to wave!

Hannah wrote, “My sister and I did this on one of the magnetic drawing boards at Dollar General. This was the first of many Operation Beautiful notes we will be putting up. I plan on putting up plenty on campus next year when I head off to college in about a month and a half. I have never seen one of these notes in person, but I found this website through a group a friend invited me to on Facebook called Good Morning Gorgeous. I get on this website every day and anytime I need a little something to brighten my day!”

If you love Operation Beautiful, JOIN THE MISSION!  It’s easy to participate.  Post a note, take a pic, and e-mail it to Caitlin at seebriderun@gmail.com.  Spread the love and spread the TRUTH!  You are beautiful, too! All the notes go up on the site!