Compared to Who? Body Image for Christian Women

What does it mean to really let go of our ideals? Are you grieving the ideal life that you hoped to have, but don't? Do dreams of "happily ever after" keep us stuck wishing and hoping that our lives were different than they are? How can we let go of our ideal life in order to fully embrace and enjoy the life we actually have? We talk about these issues and more on today's episode. Here's Where We...

Thinspiration or Fitspiration has been around since I was a kid, only it didn't have such a cool name. But, I learned that cutting pictures out of magazines of women whom I aspired to look like would help me, somehow, look more like them. I read I should put these pictures on the refrigerator and that would help me not eat. I should put them on my mirror so I could look at these images, every day,...

This month Heather gives "hot" coaching tips to help you get body image freedom. Today's topic is black-and-white thinking. Sometimes it's called "All or Nothing thinking." But the trap those of us who fall into body image issues fall into is believing that the choice is in between caring about your body or not caring about your body. This is a false dichotomy. The choice isn't to steward or not s...

Do we want to be hot or holy? Your answer may be: Both! But the pursuit of a hotter body and the pursuit of looking more like Jesus can sometimes be competing interests. Of course, our pursuit of beauty isn't something to be ashamed of. We've been programmed to believe that our value is based on our appearance or connected to how we look. It takes a lot of faith and trust in God to break free from...

How can I encourage my single friend who desires marriage? What do I say (or not say) to my single friends? Today, Jennifer Hand and I talk about her journey as a forty-year-old single woman. We talk about all the assumptions we make around our friends who are single or in any other situations that are "different" from our cultural norms. "Look what you can do if you're single." "It's a good thing...

You'll be encouraged by today's conversation on the topic of overcoming fear to say "Yes" to what God asks of us! Heather's guest today, Jennifer Hand, is Executive Director of Coming Alive ministries and a missionary who travels the world to minister to people who have just endured a natural disaster. Jenn talks about how she learned to put her "Yes" out there and surrender to God to walk out in...

Understanding your adoption in Christ can impact your identity in an amazing way. In today's 7 Minutes of Scripture episode we explore the passage in Ephesians 1 where Paul explains that we are adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus. Heather tells the story of how adoption should bring us incredible security in who we are, how we've been created, and what the King has in store for us. If...

Heather just got back from her first vacation as an "Intuitive Eater," and she learned a lot about herself and her food habits. Today, Heather talks to Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel of the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast. Heather's coaches take her on an unexpected journey talking about food, body, family, approval, disappointments and so much more. Here Are Some Places We Go in our D...

Did you know that your body image issues and cleaning your house like a crazy person may be connected? If you've ever turned into a cleaning Gestapo before company came over or if you've ever stressed way too much over how your house looked, you may be surprised to find out that there's a body image connection. Getting free to be yourself in your body may help you become a little more chill when i...

Today Heather's delivering vacation tips for women who struggle with body image and control issues. These struggles don't go on vacation when we do. In fact, sometimes a vacation can bring out the worst of our struggles. Between our disappointments, guilt over being "off-plan" with food choices, or feeling like we "look fat" in pictures we can spoil all the fun of our time away. This is your all-i...

Ready to feel lighter this summer and not so weighed down by body image issues? In today's episode, Heather shares the final tips of this 2 part, the "20 Ways to Feel Lighter" episode. You won't find diet or supplement strategies here. Instead, these are simple changes you can make to help you feel better in your body, all summer (and all year) long. None are expensive or time-consuming, but they...

Ready to feel lighter this summer and not so weighed down by body image issues? In today's episode, Heather shares the first several tips of this 2 part, the "20 Ways to Feel Lighter" episode. These tips aren't dieting or exercise tricks. Instead, they are things that you can do to help you feel better in your body, all summer (and all year) long. These aren't expensive or time-consuming, but they...

Summer is coming and culture tells us it's time to focus on how to look great in a swimsuit. So today, we explore God's word to see how scripture can guide us on this pursuit. Today, we're talking confidence, approval, and how most (if not all) women wrestle never feeling like they look good enough. What does the Gospel say to our insecurities? If you've ever felt like you just don't look good eno...

Do we need more self-control to stop eating? That's what many of us have believed. In this part two of a conversation between Heather Creekmore and Amy Carlson, RD -- we break down the spiritual fallacies surrounding applying self-control to wanting to be a "better dieter." Amy and Heather talk about the heart problems surrounding our desire to control our bodies through restricting food and what'...

It's a popular message in Christian circles when the topic of food arises--we need more self control. The message is subtle but clear. If you had more self control, food issues would disappear. If you had more self control (which is a fruit of the spirit) then you would always choose Jesus over brownies. If you have more self control, you'd never have an issue with your weight. We've made the bibl...

Today Heather welcomes author and podcaster, Mary DeMuth on the show to talk about Leah and other women from the Bible whose stories we may not have learned accurately in Sunday School! Her brand new book, "The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible" dives deep into stories of women such as Naomi, Rahab, Phoebe, Leah, and even the famously perfect Proverbs 31 "woman." Mary and Heather talk about so...

Today Heather digs into the concept of addiction--but not in a way you might expect. Heather isn't talking about drugs or alcohol or other things that you expect people to be addicted to. Instead, she talks about being addicted to body change--of chasing idols of body image and beauty through controlling and manipulating her body size and shape. Heather breaks down some amazing teaching from Dr. T...

Today's Intuitive Eating Coaching Call is filled with so many good nuggets of truth, you're going to want to listen to it twice. If intuitive eating doesn't feel very intuitive to you, take a listen to this. Heather talks about how she's feeling "safer" in her body and healthier in many ways but struggling to feel comfortable at a new size. Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel of the I ntuitive Eating fo...

One of the trickiest parts of healing our body image issues is recognizing the impact that parents and others may have had in the way they developed while, at the same time, not blaming them! Seeing the hurt and brokenness of our moms or our dads in this arena, and then forgiving them for the pain that they (most often) unintentionally passed on to us is a tricky thing. If you're ready to understa...

Everyone is talking about getting a summer "body" but as we enter a new season, my question is: How is your body image? Where are you on the path to body image freedom? I've had some friends walking this path with me for years now--you've probably heard me change, grow, and learn as God reveals new things to me in areas I previously didn't even know he wanted to change! Others of you may be brand...

Today we conclude the Spring book club series where we've walked through my latest book, The Burden of Better: How a Comparison-Free Life Leads to Joy, Peace, and Rest.  In this episode, we talk about ways to have more joy, contentment, peace, and how to find rest. Heather walks through the final section of the book which is dedicated to these topics and we discuss how our idols (and our ideals) l...

In this month's Intuitive Eating Coaching call with Heather's Intuitive Eating Coaches--Erin Todd and Char Lee Haze-- we talk about how hard it is to actually make it past step one in Intuitive Eating. Step one of Intuitive Eating involves recognizing and turning from Diet Culture so you can reclaim your power to choose the foods and methods of eating that are best for your body. But today we talk...

Today Heather chats with Jennifer Strickland, a former model who's appeared in magazines you've probably read and shows you may have seen and worked for designers you've heard of. Jen had amazing success in the modeling world but her life was missing meaning and though she had learned how to use her body to fit an image, she had not yet learned how to use her voice. Jen shares her story of finding...

Model Month continues with Heather's conversation with Kristen Clark from Girl Defined. Kristen spent some time as a showroom and conference model in her early twenties. Yes, she was that woman they paid to stand beside the new product to make it look good! But, Kristen shares how the more pressure to be "eye candy" took a toll on her soul. Kristen talks candidly about what happened in her heart a...

Our brand new series talking to former models continues today with the second part of my conversation with Amanda Cunningham, a former runway model. It's been highly informative to find out more about the secret life of a runway model. Today she shares more about how she came to know Jesus, what finally drove her out of the modeling business, and how God touched the hearts of both her and her new...