2013 In Review!

2013 was a great year here at evandolive.com and I want to personally thank you for all of your support!

Be sure to check out the Annual Report below; as you might have guessed my letter to Victoria’s Secret was the big hit of 2013 with nearly 4 million hits!

Here’s to 2014!

In Christ and Happy New Year!

Rev. Evan


The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

About 1,000,000 people visit the Seattle Space Needle every year. This blog was viewed about 3,900,000 times in 2013. If it were the Space Needle, it would take about 4 years for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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200 Posts Later: What I Have Learned

Fireworks #1

Fireworks #1 (Photo credit: Camera Slayer)

 

My first post was on February 28, 2013 (view it here).  Today is a milestone for me; this post marks the 200th post on evandolive.com. I am well aware that 200 posts in a drop in the bucket compared some other bloggers but I believe have learned a thing or two about writing and publishing.

  1. It Doesn’t Have To Be Earth Shattering:  One of the biggest things I (still) struggle with is the notion that I have to blow some brain cells by trying to craft some deep, powerful theological sentence or paragraph.  I have learned that sometimes the simpler the better is the way to go.  There are times to be deep and there are times to jovial.
  2. Stay True To You: It is easy to slip into a mode to where you tell people what they want to hear (or think they want to hear) rather than just speaking from your context and theology.
  3. You’ll Never Know What People Will Like: Case in point: My Letter To Victoria’s Secret which I never though would garner nearly 4 million hits.  On the other hand there are some posts that I believe people will find interesting or profound and hardly anyone reads it.  The point is… keep putting content out there.

I want to thank you for reading, sharing, liking, tweeting and commenting.  It has been a wild ride so far and I look forward to the next 200!

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

A Letter to Victoria’s Secret From a Father

An open letter to Victoria’s Secret regarding their choice to make an underwear line aimed at young teenagers. (Read about it here)


Dear Victoria’s Secret,

I am a father of a three year old girl. She loves princesses, Dora the Explorer, Doc McStuffins and drawing pictures for people. Her favorite foods are peanut butter and jelly, cheese and pistachios.

Even though she is only three, as a parent I have had those thoughts of my daughter growing up and not being the little girl she is now. It is true what they say about kids, they grow up fast. No matter how hard I try I know that she will not be the little ball of energy she is now; one day she will be a rebellious teenager that will more than likely think her dad is a total goof ball and would want to distance herself from my embarrassing presence.

I know that this is far down the line and I try to spend as much time as I can with her making memories of this special time.

But as I read an article today posted on The Black Sphere, it really got me thinking that maybe the culture that we currently find ourselves in is not helping the cause.

Recently I read an article that Victoria’s Secret is launching a line of underwear and bras aimed at middle school aged children. The line will be called “Bright Young Things” and will feature ” lace black cheeksters with the word “Wild” emblazoned on them, green and white polka-dot hipsters screen printed with “Feeling Lucky?” and a lace trim thong with the words, “Call me” on the front.”

As a dad, this makes me sick.

I believe that this sends the wrong message to not only my daughter but to all young girls.
I don’t want my daughter to ever think that her self-worth and acceptance by others is based on the choice of her undergarments. I don’t want my daughter to ever think that to be popular or even attractive she has to have emblazon words on her bottom.

I want my daughter (and every girl) to be faced with tough decisions in her formative years of adolescence. Decisions like should I be a doctor or a lawyer? Should I take calculus as a junior or a senior? Do I want to go to Texas A&M or University of Texas or some Ivy League School? Should I raise awareness for slave trafficking or lack of water in developing nations? There are many, many more questions that all young women should be asking themselves… not will a boy (or girl) like me if I wear a “call me” thong?

I want my daughter to know that she is perfect the way she is; I want my daughter to know that no matter what underwear she is wearing it does not define her.

I believe that this new line “Bright Young Things” thwarts the efforts of empowering young women in this country. “Bright Young Things” gives off the message that women are sex objects. This new line promotes it at a dangerously young age.

I implore you to reconsider your decision to start this line.

By doing so you will put young girl’s self-esteem, self-worth and pride above profits.

Sincerely,

Rev. Evan Dolive
Houston, TX


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