• Devotionals

    The Kermit Gosnell Trial

    [Monthly Contributor – Hannah Stovall – I specifically asked her to write an article about the Kermit Gosnell trial. In light of the Boston Marathon, we as Americans can’t be afraid. We can no longer afford to stay comfortable. What is happening in the world today is beyond horrific. Beyond disgusting. Beyond what any doctor should ever be tried over. I am grateful for Hannah for taking the time to present the facts, so you and I can stay informed.] It was years after his arrest that I first read the name Kermit Gosnell trial. On March 22 of this year, a sweet girl sent me a link to an…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Give Life To Your Dreams

    [Guest Post by Dawn Wilson. Even though we have many mutual friends, we actually met in Chicago at Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s first True Woman Conference. After we were formally introduced through Pam Farrel, we became friends and learned to encourage each other in our writing. She has known me since before I was published–and is a real and true friend. Please welcome her today.] Over the years I’ve discovered dreams don’t just “happen.” Three sets of choices helped me gain clarity and move forward and give life to my dreams. They can give life to your dreams too. First, stop comparing and start accepting God’s design. We are not wise,…

  • Health & Body

    5 Tips For Healthy Living

    [Monthly Columnist – Jaimie Bowman. I met Jaimie at the ReThink Conference. We were both volunteers who were eagle to serve and learn from others. We’ve since kept in touch and I’ve referred her to my former literary agent. I appreciate her feedback on how to stay healthy when it’s not something that comes easy for you. Enjoy!!] Eating healthy AND exercising don’t seem to co-exist well in my life. If I’m doing good in one area, I am struggling in the other.  If I eat really healthy one day, it’s like my mind says to my body, “Yay! Good for you! As your reward, you don’t have to work…

  • Relationships

    Moving Out and Living On Your Own

    A day or so after I decided on the theme for March–I read an article in the February 2013 issue of Marie Claire that caught my attention. It was written by a young and witty woman named Lauren Mechling. In her article House Mate, she says, “At 26, I moved into a typical Brooklyn apartment–two bedrooms connected by a windowless living room–with a good friend…When we signed the lease, my roommate was nursing a broken heart and wanted a fresh start. But a few months later, her ex started to appear with increasing frequency, lounging on the sofa and strumming a guitar in his pajamas. One afternoon, a month before…

  • Faith,  Health & Body

    Suicide And Depression

    [Guest Post by Karen Neumair] – I like to run. Notice I didn’t call myself a runner, because that would imply that I am actually good at it. Me and my 13-minute mile–look out, world! Most people assume that I started running to lose weight, and I tend to let most people think that. Because the real reason is a lot less glamorous, a lot darker. I started running to beat depression. And not just your average, run-of-the-mill depressive episode that many of us experience from time to time, but the more sinister, dark-night-of-the-soul depression, the kind where you don’t remember to eat, you don’t have the strength to get…

  • Faith,  Health & Body

    On Depression: Everything Is Not Okay

    [Guest Post by Hannah Kingsley] – I have been through periods of life where every day has been characterized by some kind of anxiety. Sometimes it could be seen on the surface. And sometimes my anxiety brewed more dangerously beneath the surface. As a predominantly “happy” person, bouts of depression cause a conflict in my soul between the need to be authentic about my struggles and the desire to maintain a cheerful exterior. It can make asking for help all that much more difficult.  It is easy to assume that the happy, cheerful, strong person has no need of assistance and suffers no lows–but nothing could be further from the…

  • Health & Body

    On Anxiety: Why I'm Not Ready For Kids

    I’m not ready for kids because I have anxiety. I never thought I’d share this information publicly, but I never thought I’d be married and dealing with this problem privately. As some of you already may know, I was single for 12 years, 10 months, and 24 days. That’s a long time to forget about having children. Also long enough to realize I probably won’t have more than one or two kids when I do get married. I’m 30, so it’s not like I don’t time to figure out this kid business. I never realized my doctor would tell me I shouldn’t have kids. It’s not enough to know that…

  • Health & Body

    On Depression: A Broken Dream

    [Guest Post by Rachel Berry] – I certainly never thought a broken dream would end in depression. I had chased my dream of becoming Miss America for 7 years–and at the abrupt end of my journey, it wasn’t welcomed with warm memories and joyful reflections. I felt numb. And when I could feel, it was only fear, anxiety, and purposeless that saturated me. I competed in my first Miss America preliminary when I was a junior in college. I was reserved, self conscious, and carrying an extra fifteen pounds. I was excited to earn scholarship money, but what I really wanted was to win the preliminary title that would send me to…

  • Health & Body

    On Depression: Okay, God Help Me!

    [Guest Post by Sharon Paavola] – Okay, God help me! You’re beckoning me to hand you my mental and emotional health. You want me to jump off the cliff from what I’ve known, the safety of the last 30 years of security in waking up every morning, swallowing my pills, and not thinking anything more about my stability. Now the rug has been pulled out.  The medications are totally changed and there is no going back. I fell apart and now we have to glue together the pieces but will they fit again? Or maybe they will fall into place better than before? I’m realizing that you want me to…

  • Health & Body

    On Health & Body: Get Back Up!

    [Monthly Columnist – Jaimie Bowman] – It’s that time of year again – the mid-January to February slump after New Year’s resolutions were made. According to About.com,the second most popular New Year’s Resolution was to “Fit in Fitness.” The third most popular was to “Tame the Bulge.” However, by now, most of us have driven through Taco Bell on that way-too-short lunch break, or found that hidden stash of Christmas candy that we thought we threw away. And who can skip that bowl of ice cream during an episode of Downton Abbey or The Bachelor? As if! Every day, and with every decision we make, we are moving towards our health…