Bethany Winz

I appreciate Bethany's heart for those being trafficked, and that she wanted to do something about the problem and not just talk about it. Bethany decides to wear the same dress for a year to raise funds and awareness for ending human trafficking.

Here's where I get negative: From what I could gather, she did not donate any funds herself. This really irked me. Throughout the book, she talks about how frustrated she is that no one else seems to care as much as she does about this problem – don't they know that organizations can't do anything without money, and we each have to do our part? She's wearing the same dress for a year, why can't all these other people give money?! About halfway or so through the book, we learn that her parents are missionaries with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) and all of a sudden it clicked. She has clearly grown up in one of those families where missionaries "do" and everyone else pays for it. (One of the reasons I love the apostle Paul so much is that he loses this entitlement attitude!)

The writing itself is very thin, and the fact that some portions, at least, were written by a 16/17 year old shows. It's also very repetitive, and Bethany has to explicitly state that certain situations and dialogue are funny, rather than writing in a way that shows it. I just didn't find her sense of humor very funny. What concerns me the most about the poor writing, though, is that Baker Books found it worthy to be published! I'll be watching their titles a bit more carefully before reading from now on...

Thankfully, because of the book's brevity and simplicity of writing, it's a quick read, so I didn't waste a lot of time. I'm also glad I didn't purchase this myself, but do feel a little bad for requesting that my library purchase it.

I would recommend this only to teenage girls who are not avid readers of quality material – those who read only for school, for example. They might be able to overlook the poor writing and be inspired to make a difference.… (mehr)

One Dress. One Year is in essence a compilation of blog posts with additional commentary regarding Bethany Winz's journey over a one-year period. Winz wears the same dress day by day to call attention to the abject misery of people who are still enslaved. She desires to bring awareness to the tragedy of human trafficking and to advocate for it’s elimination. The dress project was inspired by Alex and Brett Harris’ book Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. The Harris’ book explains their project called The Rebelution, http://therebelution.com which is a teenage rebellion against low expectations. Winz was also inspired by Elaini Ous who wore the same dress for 100 days in order to raise funds to help orphans in India. Ous’ project was wildly successful. You can learn all about her project on her blog MISS-ELAINI-OUS (how cool is that?!). http://misselainious.com/1-dress-100-days/.

Winz’s story is an interesting one. She shows great naïveté while also having an open heart willing to take in God's truth. Winz bares her soul to the world in One Dress. One Year. Something that could not have been easy. When you go to Winz’s blog to read about her dress project http://www.bethanywinz.com/the-dress/ you will find he following scripture prominently displayed:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12

Not an easy task. A task that can only be accomplished through faith in the grace and sacrifice of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Winz desired to serve God and to end human trafficking. She went about it like a teenager; gung-ho and without having completely thought it through. Teenagers do that. Winz started with the desire to help eliminate human trafficking and she wanted to be well known for it. She wanted people to esteem her. She wanted the success seen by the Harris’ and Elaini Ous. Success did not come as she desired. Success came in the way that God desired. Winz learned the hard lesson that not everyone will understand and that many people are unkind. God reminded her of where her worth lies. Winz didn’t raise large sums of money for the charitable organizations that she chose yet she learned of God’s sustaining power in difficult circumstances. This teenage girl went farther than most and she gained wisdom and a deeper understanding of how great is the God who works in and through believers.

God did bless her project though. Winz’s leap of faith and her gained wisdom of God’s will and ways has led to an increasing awareness of human trafficking. It has reminded me of the plight of those almost forgotten souls. I wouldn’t be writing this review if it weren’t for her project. She has given me an opportunity to share in her hearts desire to end human trafficking. Winz’s success is due to her realization that grand gestures are not needed and that egos need to be checked at the door. Winz grew closer to God throughout her journey and learned how to more deeply place her whole trust and faith in Christ. To step up for the "widows and orphans*” deeply scarred through slavery.

One Dress. One Year is a very simple read. On the negative side there are a fair number of errors that should have been corrected during the proofreading phase. A missing word here and there or a word used incorrectly. These errors generate some unique sentences. I’m not holding that against the book.

I’m thankful for the obedience to God that Winz, Alex and Brett Harris, Elaini Ous, and others have displayed and for their example to teenagers today. I am impressed by Winz’s willingness to open her heart up to the rest of us serving as an inspiration. She has inspired me. If you have a teenager in need of inspiration for a life better than the “norm” I would highly recommend that they read Alex and Brett Harris’ book Do Hard Things as well as Bethany Winz’s One Dress. One Year. I pray that our next generation will fight back at the low expectations that society has for them and that they will seek God's will; going forth to serve Him faithfully.

I received a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.
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Winz requested that donations be given to the following charities that seek to end slavery**:
* International Justice Mission (IJM) https://www.ijm.org
* Not for Sale https://www.notforsalecampaign.org
* A21 Campaign http://www.a21.org/index.php
* Compassion International http://www.compassion.com
* Restore International | Love Does http://lovedoes.org
* Love146 https://love146.org

*James 1:27
**I cannot speak to the leadership and efficacy of these organizations.

For all of my reviews visit my blog at http://www.blessedandbewildered.com… (mehr)