• Faith,  Health & Body

    I Love My Body – Thighs

    [Guest Post by Angela McNeil] – Thunder Thighs, more cushion for the pushin’, child bearing hips, Saddlebags… I can go on and on about the names I was called throughout my life–it didn’t stop at high school. Even when I was on the swim team super active in sports, the comments still came about my thighs. It was even more frustrating because, being a child of the 90’s I wanted a pair of Guess Jeans but they weren’t styled for curves. I have always thought pants would fit better if I got rid of my saddlebags. Many of moments in the dressing room with tears because a dress didn’t fit…

  • Health & Body

    I Love My Body – Hands and Feet

    Hands and feet are the two body parts I used to hate and wish I never had. The two body parts that–along with my head–cost me almost ten years of my life. I’ve shared my story before and I’ll share it again. It was because of severe eczema that took the skin off my feet, face, and hands. I also gained one hundred pounds in ten months from taking Prednisone to control my skin. So when I say I love my body–it’s nothing short of a miracle! There were many times I felt like giving up or wishing I had someone else’s body or body parts. I always felt like…

  • On Writing,  Relationships

    My Apologies

    My apologies for writing on failure and not ending with a word of encouragement. In the moment I was feeling sorry for myself. I have learned since there is a difference between venting and sharing. Venting leaves the person with no hope, and sharing enters the author and the reader into a dialogue of hope. Maybe not right away, but eventually. What I’m not saying is that you have to tie a pretty red bow on something that hurts. What I am saying is sometimes you have to give your love away and not expect anything in return. I wasn’t expecting to receive a few straggling emails from folks asking…

  • Faith,  Health & Body

    Love Me?

    This week God has been teaching me a lot about how to love me. First, there was this idea to start a series called I Love My Body. I invited many fabulous women (and men) to share their body stories. Stories of hate. Stories of acceptance. The series kicked off with one of the most beautiful Brit’s I’ve ever seen. Her name is Chine and she is actually writing a book on body image. HOW COOL IS THAT? Check out her story here. Then, there was my blog meltdown. I started a previous series called Monday Meditations–and let’s just say it failed. Read why here. Next up, I had the…

  • On Writing

    Reflections on Life and Failure

    Tonight, I write to make sense of life and reflect on failure too. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed hosting guest bloggers for the past few months, but I felt a stir in my spirit tonight. So, instead of sleep, I will listen to that still small voice and write. Write aloud. Write to heal. I started a series called Monday Meditations last month and it has not gone well. In fact, it failed. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got more than 30-40 hits per blog. Compared to the almost hundreds (sometimes thousands) of hits I got for previous series including I Survived My 20s or Pre Engagement Questions–this is shocking. Well,…

  • Faith,  Health & Body,  Relationships

    I Love My Body

    [Guest Post by Chine Mbubaegbu] – I love my body. This is something I couldn’t have written this a few years ago. Because loving my body certainly has not come easily to me. You could say our love affair has been a tumultuous one. Sure, we’ve had some fleeting dalliances–the odd glance in the mirror where I’ve caught sight of it and approved. But on the whole, arriving at a place where I can say that I truly love my body has been a journey I’ve been traveling on most of my life. When you start writing about beauty and body image, as I have done, and you start telling…

  • Devotionals

    Monday Meditations #5 – Your Situational Comedy

    [Guest Post by Lindsay Morelli] – I love watching situational comedy on TV. Not because of the great writing, or the relatable characters, or the not-so-relatable characters, but because for 22 minutes I am reminded that it’s entirely normal for our lives to become comical chaos. Each Monday morning the world wakes up to a brand new week; another chance at fulfilling our purpose in life and hopefully avoid any conflict or obstacle that comes our way. If you are smiling after that last sentence, you know that the perfect week is a rare occurrence. You have a great week at work, but your toilet overflowed and flooded your bathroom.…