Jenni Marie 4 Minute Read Lately, the mean voices are particularly loud. On repeat, the angry mantras march through my thoughts, echoing their erroneous chorus and stifling the realities I know to be true. When I hear it enough, I start to believe it. “You are ugly.” “You are fat.” “You are a failure.” “You’re dumb.” “You’re not [good/smart/fast/strong/beautiful] enough….
Natasha Metzler 4 Minute Read Modesty. Swimwear. The videos and articles have circled the web. If you travel in any conservative circles, then I’m sure you’ve seen them. The words themselves can elicit a plethora of reactions from those reading them. I’m a bit hesitant to join the conversation because I believe we, as Christians, are called to a high standard…
Jeannie Pederson 4 Minute Read I remember moving a lot as a kid. My siblings and I climbed trees, built forts, played tag, and rode bikes. As a teenager, farm work filled my days, and I stayed strong by feeding cattle, making hay, and gardening. As a young adult, I was careful to keep adding ways to be active: running,…
Jenni Marie 4 Minute Read I feel my strongest when I’m at my weakest. I was at the gym, proud of my just-finished strength-training routine. My legs were so fatigued, I barely made it down the stairs to the parking lot as I fought through the trembling muscles. Yet in the weakness, there was the underlying reality that I knew…
Guest Author 4 Minute Read Stewardship of the feminine body, to some, might dictate an immediate discussion on modesty. But as someone who has focused on birth and fitness since childhood, I see three root words in that weighty term that will get you excited to see your body from a whole new angle: Ward, Ship and Steward. The office…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read Looking in the mirror, I could feel the disgust bubbling up again. I had been able to look past the red spots dotting my face for a couple days because they seemed to be lessening. At least my neck had escaped the weekend without a pesky breakout. But, as I examined my freshly showered face,…
Trina Holden 3 Minute Read Is the pursuit of beauty worth of our time? I asked myself this question awhile back because I was honestly wondering if creating and celebrating beauty was a valid thing to add to the list of all the tasks I must accomplish daily as a mother of three (soon to be four) small children. Truly…
Jeannie Pederson 2 Minute Read Do you have insecurities about your body? If you answered “no,” you’re in the minority among American women. If you answered “yes,” you’ll probably want to read Annie Downs’ book, Perfectly Unique. Not content with talking about areas of insecurity and trying to make us feel better about our bodies, Annie goes straight for the…
Rachelle Rea Cobb 3 Minute Read “You have such beautiful hair.” I dip my head and laugh softly. “Oh, this is my rainy-day ‘do.” The memory of her wide smile and genuine compliment rang in my ears for the rest of the day. She meant it. I knew she did. But I struggled to believe it because, instead of cascading curls,…
Trina Holden 4 Minute Read It’s that time of year — both the weather and style gurus demand it: a thorough closet-cleanse and at least a few new outfits and accessories to welcome the new season. But so often my budget and my scruples keep me from wholeheartedly embracing a revamp of my wardrobe with each new season. Even if…
Elisabeth Adams 3 Minute Read As a child, I looked ahead to certain ages. Ten was special: double digits at last! Thirteen would make me a teenager. Sixteen would be sweet, seventeen even more delightful, and eighteen: downright grown-up. Remember Susan in the Narnia books? “She was always a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up.” “Grown-up indeed,” said the…
Kindred Grace Team 3 Minute Read The blogosphere has been full of letters to our teenage selves this past week, in celebration of Emily Freeman’s new book Graceful (For Young Women): Letting Go of Your Try-Hard Life. And it was quite a trip down memory lane for some of the writers here at YLCF who decided to join in. We’ve collected some excerpts for you…
The End.
The End.