Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
Though some people can easily fight lies about their body image, I can’t. Because of my history with an eating disorder, these lies feel incredibly real to me. The devil’s tormenting seems too great to bear sometimes. Unfortunately, I’m often quick to believe his lies because I lack the motivation to fight against them. But this leads me to become depressed and frustrated.
Usually, Thanksgiving is the time of year when we share what we're thankful for. But in this post, I decided to do something different. I'm going to discuss three things that I'm not thankful for (plus offer some encouragement with you if you, too, aren't thankful for them).
But the truth is that the shocked, unable-to-respond, shunning Christians are probably hiding something from you, too. Even though their struggles are as real as yours, it’s unlikely that they’ll share them. As I talked about in Part 1, being authentic is hard. It’s easiest to hide because other Christians might judge us or reject us if we’re honest.
But there's more to Halloween than gooey candy and cute costumes. There's also more to Halloween than evil witches and creepy goblins. This holiday requires us to determine—and discuss—our convictions.
I saw pain in the eyes of the 20-something single woman taking pictures on her phone. I saw it in the eyes of the young mom holding a curly-haired toddler. I saw it in the eyes of the older man, looking off into the distance. The passengers on that tractor ride may have been noticeably hurting—but often the hurt in people’s lives isn’t so noticeable.
The announcer didn’t call my name. He didn’t hand me a certificate. He didn’t congratulate me. He just called off other people’s names and written pieces and awards. And I just sat quietly in my chair and wondered why I had lost—again.
I have a friend, Taylor*, who always wants to do the next exciting thing in her life but never seems to be content in the present. When she started high school, she wanted to find a boyfriend. When she found a boyfriend, she wanted to get her driver’s license. When she got her driver’s license, she wanted to get married. I've struggled to understand why Taylor always seems so eager to move onto the next thing—until I realized that I'm a lot like her.
I was listening to Satan's lie that I'd love my body if I followed his orders—his meal plan, his exercise regime, and his sleep schedule. But when I did, I still didn’t love my body.
Courage is more common than we think. Every single day, we are faced with opportunities to be strong and courageous…or to fearfully back down. I often choose to fearfully back down. I could try to complicate the reasons why I do this, or I could admit that I’m simply terrified and unwilling to trust my Savior.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 