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I Love My Body – Baby Bump
[Guest Post by Kimberly Davidson Campbell] – Weight gain and the numbers on the scale have always been a troublesome spot for my mind and heart. From the time I was in 3rd grade I remember disliking the school pictures for the year book. I always criticized them and stared at them wondering if there was anything beautiful I could find in them. I recently finished a 39+ week maternity photo shoot. I sat at our dining room table and started glancing through them, then sobbed uncontrollably and buried my head in my husband’s side. I hated all of them. Why? No, my hair was great and makeup looked good…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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I Survived My 20s – Grief
[Guest Post by James Prescott] – This is the story of my grief. It was 7.30am on Saturday, April 29, 2000. I was 23 years old. My mobile phone rang. For some reason I had left it on overnight, which I never normally do. I picked up the phone. It was my Dad. I said hello, and he simply replied: “Your Mother’s passed away.” I was in shock. Mum had suffered with asthma for many years so it wasn’t a total surprise. But when someone you love encounters death that often and survives, you begin to think they’re invincible. I had begun to joke my Mum, aged 52 at the…
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I Survived My 20s – Consequences
[Guest Post by Tish] – As a young girl, I dreamed of the day that my very own Prince Charming would sweep me off my feet. I never once imagined that at age 29, I would still be single and dealing with the consequences of Herpes. I grew up in a Christian home, memorizing verses from the Bible, practicing hymns on the piano, and dressing up in my Sunday best for Church every week. I believed in God, even felt His calling once in a while, but I was soon to learn how shallow my faith and understanding of His power was. The chinks in my armor started to show…
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I Survived My 20s – Fatherless
[Guest Post by Anonymous] – From a very young age, I knew the Lord. I was lucky to have grown up in the church, and was strong in my faith. God knew that he had to prepare me at an early age for what I would be up against. Secrecy. Shame. Pain. I am fatherless. As a teenager I was forced to hold a terrible secret, one I knew when change my life forever if I ever spoke of it. I did all that I could to hide the hurt of what happened to me. I walked through life as if in a dream or a daze, and put a…
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I Survived My 20s – Regret
[Guest Post by Kristin Tennant] – What is this thing people call a “honeymoon period?” Because it’s something the first decade of my adult life was seriously lacking. We got married at 22. Sure, we had a honeymoon–a week-long trip to the Massachusetts coast–but it ended the day we pulled back into the driveway of our first home, a small, upstairs apartment in an old house. Within a week of trying to figure out what it really meant to be married–to share a bathroom and a bed, to make daily decisions together for two rather than just for one–I was sobbing on the phone with my mom. What had I…
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I Survived My 20s – Depression
[Guest Post by Addie Zierman] – I turned 20 on a warm day in July, and then, two weeks later, I got married. There was pink tulle everywhere and 200 roses that we ordered online and arranged into bouquets in the church basement. During the ceremony, two of my best friends from high school sang “Be Thou My Vision,” and their voices filled the room, haunting and sweet. This is how I began my 20s: eyes closed, heart raised. I was full to the brim with love and with Jesus, surrounded by all of my closest friends who felt the exact same way. From that alter, the future looked sparkling…
