Emily's life and words are a gift. She's taken all that's been broken inside of her and offered it up to us. She's a traveling companion and a guide through the complex landscape of body image, beauty and motherhood. If you've ever wondered about your hips, (you know I have if you've read She's Got Issues), if you've hated any part of the body you've been given, then you need Emily. You need her words and her truth and her beauty in your life. Get to know her here, and then pick up Mom in the Mirror or Chasing Silhouettes. You have a chance to win Mom in the Mirror today, but you'll want to buy it regardless. You'll be so glad you did.Love, NicoleCelebrating Our Bodies As WomenBy Emily Wierenga I’m used to apologizing for them.“I’m sorry about my wide Dow hips,” I say as my friend slides into the sled beside me, both of us with babies on our knees and toddle ...

"I know you are busy, but....""You are so busy....""Wow, you are busy...."It seems like all of my conversations in the past few months have started like this. And the truth is, I am busy. I've been writing for some different publications because I love it and God seems to have some things for me to write about. I have a job that I love with a new program that I'm starting that keeps me up at night with excitement. I've been traveling a lot. There's my kids' lives too, sports and school and all the ups and downs of childhood. And my sweet hubs-I like him too, and we like spending time together. Many demands, many directions. I'm busy.But I think you are too. My busy just shows, because much of my work is public. But my guess is that you are busy too. You are busy with decisions, every day. Maybe you are in that toddler-busy stage, where every day is an accomplishment when you avoid the e ...

We are not good.We are powerful.We have the ability to think and to plan. We have the ability to surprise. We have the ability to brood and to ruminate, to despair. We have the capacity for violence within us, and the power to carry it out on a large scale.We live in a world where there is darkness.There is darkness. There is evil. We cannot deny it anymore. We cannot watch videos of little girls being sold for sex in every corner of our world and men dragging women through the streets in Egypt and bombs going off at marathons and people walking into colleges and shooting and deny darkness.We are not essentially good. We are essentially powerful. We have a powerful capacity for love, compassion and rescue in us. We also have a powerful capacity for selfishness, violence and murder.Jesus said that the eye is the lamp of the body. "If your eyes are good, your whole body wi ...

We all know what happens in a blackout.One minute you are blowdrying your hair or checking your email or microwaving popcorn and then the next thing you know, poof, silence. darkness.But a brownout is less obvious, less intense. A brownout is the phenomona of a slow internet connection because too many people are trying to access the line. It's like production down, not off.A spiritual blackout is unmistakeable. It's the leader who unexpectedly quits, or the person who experiences a grave moral failure. These are obvious.A spiritual brownout is subtle. It's the leader who presses on, but with a low simmering resentment about the opportunities that were missed or the ways they've been passed over. It's the person who finds their escape in all kinds of unhealthy but private ways. Spiritual brownouts steal your joy. They often come after seasons of high productivity and "spiritual highs." A ...

Jesus. What do people say about this weekend? Christians claim that this weekend is about historical remembrance of three days--Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate (a real person), Jesus' beating and suffering in a gruesome death (a real method of execution) and the eyewitness accounts of many people of Jesus' missing body and appearance after death in a resurrected form. In early history, these people were called part of "The Way", because they believe that this was "the way" God was reclaiming us to himself, through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus.These three days are moments in time that believers across the world claim changed world history--and our own history--forever.  That's what it's really all about. It's not about good morals or ways to live a pretty-good life. It's really about these three days and the historical reality of what happened on these days.On this day, the day of ...

It was another Monday, another snow day. I love the snow, I really do. But in my mind, snow day means naps and hot chocolate and epic sled rides and did I mention naps. But in Richmond, snow days mean a scant inch falls to the ground, muddies everything up and cancels school.And so it was another Monday, snow day, no school day, and my dear hubs always has to work Mondays so it's never a "yay family day" it's just another day where I feel the pressure of lots to do, and I'm home again.And I dragged out the snow clothes again, and dragged on the eight gloves and eight boots, and I was not very happy, but out we went. And we attempted to sled in the mud and find the fun in the late-March snow flurry that cancels school, and I looked up at the sky and another dreary winter-spring day and I thought.Bleh.And then my oldest made the mistake of complaining to me about the size of his boots. And ...

The first time I met Jenni Catron I thought she should be writing a book.It was rare for me to find a woman leader in ministry to connect with--and Jenni wasn't just any woman.  When we chatted, she was warm, wise, and straightforward, and she was doing the kind of work that I love to do--ministry and leadership. (She's the executive director of the awesome Crosspoint Church in Nashville, TN).We grabbed a few minutes together between conference sessions and I was struck by how, despite her busy schedule, she wanted to take time to hear me out. Then I thought, "here's a woman worth following."So it comes as no surprise to me that Jenni has teamed up with another great female leader, President and CEO of MOPS International, Sherry Surratt, to write an intensely practical book for women leaders entitled, "Just Lead: a no whining, no complaining, no nonsense practical guide for women leader ...

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love twentysomethings.There's an earnestness about the twenties. It inspires me.They are honest. They are straining hard to figure out life, pulling against the tethers of youth, wanting to find their passion and their purpose.They are frustrated and they are energetic. They are confident and they are doubtful. They often stand at the crossroad of life and want help making the next move. And the moves they make matter--the little steps of independence, the jobs they take, the friends they keep, the relationships they pursue. They are working on themselves. They are seeking. And they are asking great questions.So of course I love them. And if you are one of them, you might want to check out a couple of things:#1: My friend Renee has pulled together a conference for twentysomethings with some great leaders & teachers. And it's FR ...

This week I received an email from someone that reminded me of something true, and I wonder if you'll feel the same. The woman who wrote this email is not someone I knew at the time. And this is her story:"...at the time I was struggling as a first time mom at age 35 and staying home with my baby after years in the professional world....and you said to me "How is it going?"  I think I must have given you a look of exasperation because you then said "It's difficult isn't it?"  This was the first time in my 3 months of being a mom that someone acknowledge how difficult it truly is being a mom. Up the that point people just looked at me funny when I described how much trouble I was having adjusting and I felt like a freak."I think there is no greater crippling lie than believing that easy = good. But that's what we hear, messages from everywhere. I love cooking shows but ...