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Caregiving Grace
As I stack dirty dishes and pile papers on the table, I notice Mom's tiny, blue handwriting scrawled across a sticky note, reminding herself of an upcoming MRI. I wipe away a tear and glance over at her.
Her head is bowed as though praying as she sits in her blue chair, which is surrounded by plants and overlooks the pond. She has grade 2 astrocytoma, a brain tumor. The doctors don't know how long ...
Beautiful by Design
When it comes to body type, women aren't simply apples or pears; we're a whole fruit basket of sizes and shapes. Personally, I've always wanted to be a banana—tall, blonde, slender, and firm—but I'm more like an overripe peach.
Every fruit has its own color, shape, and flavor. In the same way, when God created us in his image (Genesis 1:27) and for his pleasure (Revelation 4:11), he had ...
Related Topics: Acceptance, Beauty, Dieting, Expectations, Weight, Weight Loss
Feeling Thrown Away
I saw the crumpled paper out of the corner of my eye while talking to an acquaintance at the end of choir rehearsal. I finished my conversation, bent over, and picked up the paper to toss it in the wastebasket. At the last second I uncrumpled and read it.
I saw my handwriting.
I love to sing; singing in the choir fed my soul. The choir room was my sacred space. Our choir director usually started us ...
Related Topics: Community, Emptiness, Friends, Friendship, Loneliness, Risk-Taking
Breaking Free
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Measuring Up to Our Culture
Kyria: Why is obesity increasing in America while the culture keeps promoting ultra thinness?
Dr. Linda Mintle: We're repeatedly exposed to unrealistic cultural images that affect our thinking, so many of us give up and overeat, feeling we can't measure up no matter what we do.
Then why do we still compare ourselves?
Because we're uncertain of our identities. Comparisons ...
Related Topics: Acceptance, Beauty, Body Image
A Safe Place When You've Lost a Child
It was a beautifully warm spring day when I drove to the Hiding Place lodge, located about an hour outside of Nashville. The retreat center was tucked at the end of a private, winding, and wooded road. It was spacious yet still felt cozy, with a central sitting area that boasted soaring views of budding trees and the winding Cumberland River below.
I couldn't help but think of the contrast—the ...
Related Topics: Community, death, child, Grief, Healing
Downtime
Earlier this week, I realized I've been really depressed. I had no appetite. I couldn't sleep at night—though I did manage to sleep all day a few times. It felt like my greatest accomplishment was to get out of bed, take a shower, and dress in something other than my bathrobe.
I realized it was Week Six of feeling like this. And I figured it was time to start thinking about my feelings.
Of course, ...
Related Topics: Deliverance, Depression, Emotions, Exhaustion, Expectations, prayer, unanswered, Quiet Time
Soul Staycation
Last week my family took part in the hip and, for many, obligatory recession trend of 2009. Yes, that's right—we went on "staycation."
I don't know who originally coined this concept, but I began to see the word showing up in popular media last summer. Gas prices had hit an average of 4 dollars a gallon, so families—wanting to save money—decided to discover the sites closer to home. ...
Rx: Relax
I'd recently scrawled the reminder at the top of my New Year's resolutions list. Yet while I'd attempted variations of this goal in the past, inevitably I'd return home from a frustrating day at work, throw myself on the couch, snap on whatever mindless reality show or banal sitcom I could find, and relax. At least I thought I was relaxing, judging from the countless times I'd fall asleep in front ...
The Culture We Embrace
He looked like Frankenstein's mini-me. Chad Lee was a pale, square-faced boy with inky black hair. He also had a small mouth out of which he spat the word, fat. I don't remember clearly how he said it, whether it was "you're so fat" or "isn't she fat?" but I remember the word, and I remember his saying it while looking at me. I was eight years old. We were in the same third grade class, and there ...
Related Topics: Body Image, Diet, Dieting
Downscaling Christmas
Start close to home
Get on your knees with your family, and covenant with God to simplify your life. Determine to glorify and worship your external Lord rather than the holiday myth of overworking yourself into exhaustion for a "perfect" Christmas season.
Ask family members which traditions they most want to continue, and ask them to give something in exchange. If your daughter craves homemade cookies, ...
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