Saturday, May 7, 2016
Friday, May 6, 2016
Dear America
Dear America,
Today I walked into my local Target and politely asked for the manager. After introducing myself, I got right to the point of my visit. I asked her what this Target's specific policies were concerning bathrooms, and who had access to what bathrooms. She hesitantly answered with what we are all aware of, that both the male and female restrooms are now neither; they're gender neutral. To clarify what that meant I asked her, "so if I were to walk into the restroom labeled 'women's' right now, a man could legally walk in right behind me with no questions asked?" She replied with a nod of her head and said yes. I proceeded to tell her that as much as it disappoints me, I will no longer be able to provide Target with my frequent business any longer. Target claims to want everyone who walks in their store to feel like they belong, which is the reasoning behind this sudden change in restroom etiquette. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not worried about sharing a bathroom with someone that's transgender, lesbian, bisexual, etc. I'm worried about going into a bathroom with my beautiful blonde haired niece, and a man LEGALLY being able to waltz in right behind us with no one stopping him. We need to wake up to what's happening around us and stand up for what we believe in. Someone said to me recently that conservatives aren't radical enough to stand up to this chaos and fight it. Well, I beg to differ. #byetarget
Dear target
Dear Target,
I did my homework—I wish you had done yours. According to 2011 findings from the Williams Institute, the transgender population represents about 0.3% of American adults. So let’s do the math: Target has 26 million visitors each month according to your corporate website. Those 26 million visitors are shopping at 1,793 stores—which means you have an average of 14,500 shoppers per month at each store. If we divide that number by 30 (average number of days in a month) that means each store averages about 500 visitors per day. If we multiply that by .003 it equates to 1.5 transgendered people visiting each store per day. Less than 2 per day per store! That means every Target store in America could have simply built a single “Unisex/Family” bathroom that would be completely private and meant for one person, and there would never be a line! Problem solved.
But I don’t think this is really about meeting people’s needs or being “inclusive” as your press release likes to boast. Rather, a retailer in America has taken it upon itself to promote a particular agenda. You claim this decision was made because you have a “commitment to an inclusive experience.” However, if it was really about “inclusion” you could have easily resolved that problem with a single unisex bathroom—and kept all customers happy and safe. Instead, you have made a decision that just “excluded” millions of people who now feel unsafe in your facility.
You now have a policy in place that puts my wife and daughter in danger. Part of my job as a husband and father is to protect my family. I take that job very seriously. Your “policy” has put a TARGET on the females in my family. Due to the hazardous nature of your stores we will no longer be shopping at Target. Instead we will shop with retailers that produce quality products and take our personal safety seriously—a retailer that is not caught up in promoting a particular agenda.
This morning I instructed my wife to cancel our REDcard account. Effective immediately we will no longer be shopping at your stores or online. You have the freedom to make any policy you want with your stores. And likewise I have freedom to decide where I will spend my money.
I hope you will keep all of this in mind when you start seeing your sales projections for next quarter. And I also hope you will drop the “inclusive experience” line. We aren’t buying it.
Regards,
Brad Harrub
What is still birth?
What is stillbirth? Stillbirth is carrying your baby to 36 weeks with a healthy pregnancy, feeling your baby kick and stretch, hiccup and punch. Stillbirth is watching your baby grow through ultrasounds and hit every milestone. Stillbirth is going to Disneyland and holding your belly as you watch your oldest ride all the rides then relaxing on the beach and closing your eyes hearing the sound of the waves and imagining that this time next year you will have 2 little ones running around. Still birth is finding out that you will finally have a daughter, someone to play dress up with and do all the girly things mommy’s do with their little girls. Stillbirth is going crazy buying everything pink, cute little dresses and headbands. Stillbirth is when big brother or daddy walk in the room and baby goes crazy in the belly at the sound of their voice. Stillbirth is finding the perfect name for her and calling her by it from the moment you found out she was Eva Gianna. Still birth is having a beautiful baby shower hosted by your mother and close friend, playing all those fun baby shower games and receiving more beautiful baby girl gifts. Stillbirth is your mom coming over the following Saturday to help put together the crib she bought at the foot of your bed and lay the bedding set your dad bought his 8th grand-daughter. Still birth is buying the last of the things your baby girl will need before her grand arrival. Stillbirth is waking up Monday morning, getting ready for work and wondering why she hasn’t moved much. Stillbirth is texting your husband your concerns and he becomes just as worried. Stillbirth is going to work, eating breakfast and hoping that’ll get her going. Still birth is feeling a little flutter and that giving you all the hope in the world. Stillbirth is texting your Doctor your concerns and him instructing you to come in just to make sure all is ok. Stillbirth is letting your parents and husband know you’re going in to be checked. Still birth is going into your doctor’s office, sitting in that comfy chair and the nurse trying to find your baby’s heart beat … then another nurse being called in because she needs help … then your doctor taking you to ultrasound to check baby out himself. Stillbirth is your Doctor who is also a very good friend tell you he is so sorry … so sorry that there is no heartbeat. Stillbirth is another doctor coming in to confirm your worse fears. Stillbirth is having to call your husband and not being able to stop crying enough to give him the news. Still birth is your family waiting outside your door and receiving the news. Still birth is your husband walking in that door and not being able to hold yourself up. Stillbirth is being told you will have to be induced and deliver your child naturally. Stillbirth is being sent home to get your things ready for the hospital and crying on your bed in disbelief. Still birth is going to labor and delivery seeing other mothers who will soon deliver their babies, their living healthy babies. Stillbirth is being admitted to the hospital and meeting the nurses who will help you through this. Stillbirth is being bombarded by forms regarding what you want to do with your baby, Do you want them cremated … will your bury them? Stillbirth is having that significant sign on your door so that the nurses know your situation. Stillbirth is hating that jingle they play whenever a baby is born. Stillbirth is being in labor for almost 3 days, hoping and praying the outcome will be different that your baby will just wake up, that God will hear your plea and a miracle will happen. Stillbirth is having to tell your child’s sibling what happened and feeling like they hate you, like you failed them as a parent. Stillbirth is all your family and friends visiting you, sitting in silence crying with you. Stillbirth is getting ready to deliver but not wanting to because all you want is to have your baby a little longer. Stillbirth is the room filled with nurses, your doctor, the resident, your mother, your husband, your sister … all there to support you. Still birth is pushing and pushing and crying and screaming not because you’re in pain … but because your heart is broken. Stillbirth is finally delivering but hearing no cries, the room is silent, all your hear and silent cries and sniffles. Stillbirth is finally meeting your beautiful baby girl, holding her, loving her, adoring her features. Stillbirth is crying as your hold her, because it will be one of the last times. Stillbirth is watching your husband hold his daughter, his lifeless daughter and seeing the love pour out from his eyes. Stillbirth is your doctor praying over your husband and yourself. Stillbirth is giving your family this one chance to meet their sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece. Stillbirth is hearts breaking. Still birth is leaving the hospital with nothing but a broken heart and eyes full of tears. Still birth is walking into your home and losing it because her crib is there and she is not. Stillbirth is planning a funeral and breaking down at the funeral home because … this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. Stillbirth is instead of picking out a cute little pink outfit for her to wear, your picking out a pink little casket. Stillbirth is the violinist playing at her funeral but everything is foggy and the sound is distant. Stillbirth is watching all those pink and white balloons float away and wishing they’d take you with them. Stillbirth is analyzing what you could’ve done different, every s i n g l e day since you got the news. Stillbirth is something that brought me so much closer to my husband, the father of the daughter I have but no longer have. Stillbirth is looking at your child’s father and crying because she looks just like him. Stillbirth is waking up day after day with no answers as to why, why this happened. Stillbirth is something that unfortunately happened to me, my family. Stillbirth is a soul punching, heart breaking, life changing experience. Stillbirth is having a healthy, happy 9months with your baby and having to say goodbye before you had a chance to say hello. My Stillbirth story has millions of questions and no answers. I gave birth to my daughter weighing in at 6 pounds 9oz, 20 inches long, 1 month before her due date. The umbilical cord was not wrapped around her neck, there were no abnormalities, She was perfect …. To perfect for this world.
She is our daughter, sister, niece, grand-daughter, cousin. She touched the lives of many and is very much a part of our family, we include her in all we do. Eva Gianna , Stillborn, Still Loved.
4.4.16 - MY STORY IS COPYWRITTEN AND IT IS COPYWRITE INFRINGEMENT TO TRY AND PASS IT AS YOUR OWN. PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY DAUGHTER'S NAME FROM MY STORY. ITS UNFORTUNATE THAT I HAVE TO ADD THIS NOTE AS I POURED MY HEART OUT WRITING MY STORY YET SOME ARE VERY INCOSIDERATE AND INSTEAD OF LEAVING IT AS IS, THEY ARE TAKING CREDIT FOR IT. Legal action will be taken if need be. (It is that personal and that serious to me)
Friday, April 22, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Monday, January 25, 2016
2016: "Perhaps this is the time for which you have been created." -Esther 4:14❤️
Yet our Father above loves us so much, we don't have to wait all year long to get right with Him. Don't get me wrong, New Years is a splendid time for a fresh start. I was saved on December 31, 2011. But some may not realize, we have every day, hour and even BREATH as a fresh start. Every broken heart and prayer of repentance, our lives can turn around. We can be made new. I'm a child of the King. I am in no way worthy, I never have been, and unfortunately, I never will be. But now is the time that I have decided to do my best and try my hardest to live in such a way that God may see me worthy of His love and grace. Before 2016 began, I was DETERMINED to be PERFECT in the new year. It was going to be the year of Brittany, like in the funny sitcom, 'The Middle.' I was going to drink water, eat healthy, exercise, read my Bible and pray daily, do every possible thing to be the best. To better myself in every way. But for what? Thinking of all of this change, God did come to mind, but He wasn't my reasoning for all that I wanted to achieve. In fact, He started to become less and less of the focus of my great endeavors. I wanted to be perfect, not for the glory of my God, but for my own glory. Our Church was planning a Daniel Fast for the beginning of the year and I was ready and set. I didn't even make it one day until God took off my blinders and showed me why I really wanted to do this fast. Why I really wanted to change. For myself. Selfishness. Conceit. Vanity. Pride. Not holiness, prayer, purity, love... But for pride. Knowing I was doing everything for the wrong reasons, I stopped the fast. I did my own. And no, I didn't do it successfully. Not at all. I didn't even pray. I've been so tired for so long of not feeling anything. Not feeling like God is doing anything in my life, hearing or answering my prayers, or even feeling His presence. But this past week in a lot of little things, God has slowly been revealing to me what it really takes. What it takes to feel His loving presence in my life. His arms wrapping around me when I'm scared and alone. For Matthew 7:21 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." The Will of the Father is not to harbor pride and jealousy in our hearts. His will is not to compete with your brothers and sisters in Christ, and His will is certainly not meant for bitterness and hatred. His will is for us to have a relationship with His son, that He so lovingly sent for us, Jesus Christ. Not a friend with benefits that we only call on during our time of need for a helping hand. NOT a Santa that we give our list of wants and needs to. But a savior. A savior MORE THAN WORTHY of our time and praise... Of a daily relationship that He DIED to have... Blood was shed but we can't even bother to hardly open His word more than once a week. We don't see the need to go to Him in prayer unless we're asking for something that we think we need. Many of us that make resolutions or annual vows to change our ways and return to the Lord, by almost February have sadly ALREADY given up. 'Oh well, I'll do better next year.' Let me be the one to tell you, TODAY is the day you can make a change in your life. The mercies of the Lord are new every morning. God says it doesn't have to be a brand new year to come running back to Him, His arms are already waiting, outstretched for you. All of the things you've been holding, carrying for so long until you think you just might break; God will take them for you. It was never His wish for you to bear the burdens of this world alone. Often I wondered, why would God even create us when ultimately, He knew what the outcome would be. We would stumble into sin, and enter a lifelong pursuit of sickness, pain and strife... Why would He still create us, knowing what trouble we would cause? Because He LOVES us THAT much... Knowing what we would do, He still gave us the gift of life and the choice to choose eternal life through Him. Not just when He created us, but everyday. Every day His graces and mercies are new. If you have a prayer you've had all your life that maybe you have given up on or feel like giving up on..? Don't ever lose hope. I stand here today, arms raised high in honor of my Lord and savior for all that He has done for me that I NEVER imagined I would see come to pass.
But here we are, in 2016.❤️
A year I never thought I would see.
After almost 30 years, 21 of which, after I learned how, I prayed for my dad. And this year, he has stopped smoking. I prayed for a long time, and ultimately, I had given up. But lately I've seen a beautiful change in my father and I couldn't not be more thankful. Now, it's my turn to change. I have overcome many things that honestly, I knew I wouldn't. Through most all of my teenage life, I survived, depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicide, addiction, betrayal, hatred, bitterness, atheism, and what I can only think to call demonic possession. By the grace of God and His overwhelming plan for my life, I am an overcomer. Against each and every odd placed on my life by the enemy, I graduated high school. I fell in love. I made it to and graduated college, and now, I'm beginning the job of my dreams. If you would have asked me a week or two ago, I would say I have it altogether, and this is really going to be the year of Brittany. But it's not about me. This is the year of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. And I don't have it altogether. From a worldly perspective, one may say I have it made. But when you really think about it, none of that matters if you don't have a real and true relationship with Jesus. We're broken without Him. While I could not be more thankful for all that He has blessed me with, there was just something missing, and that was a true relationship with Him. So here you are, 2016. Never thought I'd live to see 'ya. This is the year for change, a relationship with our savior, and becoming a better person. This is the year that I know without a doubt where I'll be going when the Sweet Lord returns. This is the year of mending and forgiveness. This is the year I say goodbye to the Brittany that I've been getting to know for 21 years, and say hello to the Brittany that God created, the Brittany that is blessed more than she would have ever imagined, and the Brittany who is now choosing to let God live through her. I was told these things could not be beaten. That I would never make it to where I am. But there is a God above who loves to rise above any and all expectations.
He paid it all, all to Him I owe.
& It's about time that I pay up.❤️
"It would be good to finish what you started a year ago, last year, you were the first who wanted to give, and were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving."
~2nd Corinthians 8:10-11
xoxo
Brittany
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
Thursday, January 7, 2016
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