Reflections and Responses

I've struggled with body image for an undefinable amount of time. My weight has fluctuated my entire life, and once I became old enough to realize it, it became an unfortunate obsession. As I matured and opened up about this to my peers in college, I found that I was not alone. Maintaining an unhealthy relationship with food is what my husband now refers to as the "acceptable" sin among Christian women. It's the most common struggle among my female friends. Or, it's the most common one they admit to, at least. This destructive sin rears its ugly head in many ways, manifesting differently in different women. Some women develop actual eating disorders, others binge and purge, others develop a more generalized obsession with appearance and self loathing, and still others fall elsewhere in this nasty spectrum. I've been thinking a lot about this sin specifically lately, which led me to think about how the enemy confuses us about the very definition of sin. L...

Confession: I don't like autumn. I know, I know. You're thinking: WHAT?! It's the season of football, all things apple, and pretty leaves! Are you not American?! Yes, I'm American, and yes, I know I'm in the minority on this one. Alright, so here's the root of the confession: I don't like change. I like comfort, and fall means the comfort and ease of summer is passing. Summer equals relaxation and simple pleasures to me. It's the season of warmth, beaches, flip-flops, vacations, sunshine until 9pm, and frozen yogurt. (Well, okay, while I'm confessing - the frozen yogurt part is really year-round for me!)  Fall signals the end of this peaceful season and the disruption of the laid back summer mindset that encompasses us all. Fall means gearing up and getting busy. Here's a thought: Jesus probably didn't like his comfort to be disrupted either. However; thankfully, he recognized that going with change instead of fighting against it was ...

It's the time of year when my Facebook feed is populated with lists of what my friends are thankful for. At the beginning of the month, most of the daily posts include the "heavy hitters" in the gratitude department: Jesus, spouses, jobs... I wonder what these individuals will be posting 25 days from now after exhausting their lists of the traditional things they're grateful for but still needing to post on the subject for a few more days! Don't get me wrong - we have so many things to be grateful for that 28 days doesn't even begin to cover half of them. I'm simply saying that I look forward to reading the unique things my friends are grateful for as the month winds down and they've already listed the more obvious choices. I wanted to post a little list of my own that only contains these nontraditional things. Of course I am very grateful for Jesus, my perfect-for-me partner, and the many other obvious blessings God has given me.... but here are...