Nearing the end of pregnancy, I walk through the mall, browsing all the sale items and clothes that are pointless to shop for when you can’t see your toes. Everything I feared happening to my body, happened. My hips expanded, my thighs spread, and my chest has grown...
Trusting God
How Not to Marry a Loser
Don't marry a loser. Trust me. I've dated my fair share. Maybe this sounds familiar: He said he believed in God, but not organized religion. "That counts, right?" I convinced myself. He was kind of cute. What mattered most was that he really liked me. That felt good....
You Have Great Purpose
I looked out our second story bathroom window onto the blooming tree in our neighbor's yard. I noticed a massive number of bees swarming around it's blooms. There were so many of them I'm sure had I opened the window I would have heard the buzzing. I don't necessarily...
Are You a Fixer Upper, too? What Body Image and Home Improvement Have in Common
I love home improvement shows. I'm so inspired watching the amazing transformations. These brilliant designers take a hideously ugly, old and dilapidated home and turn it into a modern day dream house. It's really quite impressive. I'm also a little obsessed with...
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
Are you fearful of making mistakes? Having others find out your imperfections? Does the thought of a BIG error make you sweat? Yeah, me too. As an intern in college, I worked in the Communications Office. Our group created an Annual Report each year to update donors...
Does God Give Us the Desires of Our Heart?
Sometimes I wrestle with that verse in Psalms 37:4 about God giving us our heart's desires. How often does that happen? What about all the stuff I've longed for and never received? Is God really a good father who wants good for me? What about my let downs? My...
Flowers Don’t Compare Themselves, They Just Bloom.
I'm not sure who said it, or when, but I just fell in love with this quote, "Flowers don't compare themselves, they just bloom." Isn't that absolutely brilliant? Too often we look around at each other to measure our own progress. Somedays we can look to our left and...
Cinderella Let Me Down
I have an attachment problem. To stuff. To dreams. To the plans I make. For this reason, leasing vehicles proved to be an unwise strategy. As a single girl it seemed like the best way to keep me from having to hassle with car maintenance. So, I traveled the road of...
A Challenge for Lent if You Struggle with Body Image
At barely twenty years of age, I found myself working as Deputy Press Secretary for a U.S. Congressman on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. My co-workers shared two attributes. Most were men and most were Catholic. For much of those fifty hours a week, it was just...
Faking It: Is it Time to Get Real?
If you've ever wondered how your spinning instructor does it. . . teaches a few classes in the same day or seems to get her legs around effortlessly while you are struggling. . . I'll give you a hint: She may be faking it. Faking in spin class is one thing. Faking it...