My Dear Girl: Where did the time go? I just saw your picture on Facebook and could hardly believe how grown up you look. You are not that precocious five-year-old girl to whom I used to sing the Dora the Explorer song. You are technically an adult now. Wow! But, as I...
beauty
I Want My Beauty Idol
Are you a Christian who longs to be more beautiful? Read this! I'll admit it. I've watched way too many seasons of American Idol. I liked to pick my faves during auditions and see how far they could go. I loved the emotional drama of Hollywood Week. Yes, I sometimes...
Change Your Body Image Without Changing Your Body? “I Feel Pretty” Movie Misses the Point
Renee Barrett doesn’t fit society’s definition of beauty and she knows it. She longs for the life of a “beautiful” woman—the blessings and privileges bestowed only upon 5’10’’, 120-pound women with thin thighs, no arm flab, and shiny hair. But what happens? In the new...
What a Burning Desire for a Better Body Reveals
One month after our wedding day, my new husband picked me up at the Fresno airport which we lovingly referred to as FAT (well because that's actually it's acronym). I had been gone for several days, so we made small talk about my travels in the car. Then, with a sort...
Do Highlights and Make-up Make Me Less Spiritual?
It was just a little chat between friends: Kids, new slow cooker recipes, books we were plowing through, and the omnipresent Florida heat were the usual topics of conversation. Oh. And the little detail that I was garage-selling most of my household items, packing up...
Dear Girl With Glasses
Dear Girl With Glasses: I know you cried when the eye doctor told your mom you'd need them. You thought you'd hidden the strain from everyone so well. You thought you'd been so very surreptitious when you "just needed to get a little closer to the board" to evaluate...
Esther: Beauty for a Purpose
As far as Bible stories go, Esther has always been one of my favorites. A young girl is plucked from the masses as the next queen. She gets a year of spa treatments and then a chance to win a king's affection. How glamorous and exciting! And, how totally random that...
What’s Better Than Breaking the Glass Ceiling
Several of my friends wriggle with fret over the outcome of last week's election. "The glass ceiling stays intact. What will we tell our daughters?" I'm not concerned. What women need more than a shattered glass ceiling is a rock solid floor. Allow me to explain. As I...
Your View of Your Body Could Change the World
"If tomorrow, women woke up and decided they really liked their bodies, just think how many industries would go out of business." Gail Dines, Ph.D. I've watched this and similar quotes breeze through my social media feeds before. Today I stopped to let that sink...
Scarcity Mentality and Body Image: Is There a Connection?
Do you have a Scarcity Mentality? Could it be affecting your body image? Interesting thoughts here on scarcity mentality and body image. My first year of college I internally made the decision not to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. Why? Because too many...