Thursday, September 30, 2010

Who I Am

Who is Molly? Ask a dozen people and you’ll get a dozen answers. My mom will tell you different things about me than my sister will. Nathan can tell you stories that are different than the stories my best friend would tell you. All of these stories are me, but none of them are the complete picture of who I am.

There are two other voices that compete for my attention and tell me who I am.  One is the voice of Truth, the other is the Father of Lies. I can choose whom I listen to. Satan, the great Accuser can use his voice in many ways. Through the media, through my emotions, through other people. I’m sure you’ve heard his lies too. Lies like, “You’re a failure, you’re worthless, you’re not worthy of love, you’re nobody, you’ll never amount to anything.”

So, for myself and all those who refuse to listen to those disgusting lies from the pit of hell: who I am and who you are in Christ Jesus:

I am accepted...

  • John 1:12 I am God's child.
    Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

  • John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.
    I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

  • Romans 5:1 I have been justified.
    Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

  • 1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
    But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

  • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
    Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

  • 1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ's body.
    Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

  • Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

  • Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
    For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

  • Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.
    For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

  • Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.
    Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I am secure...

  • Romans 8:1 I am free from condemnation.
    Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

  • Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

  • Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
    What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughter"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  • 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
    Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

  • Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
    Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

  • Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
    being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

  • Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.
    But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

  • 2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
    For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

  • 1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.
    We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

I am significant...

  • John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
    "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

  • John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
    You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

  • 1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God's temple.
    Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

  • 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

  • Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
    And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

  • Ephesians 2:10 I am God's workmanship.
    For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

  • Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
    In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

  • Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
    I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

  • I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father.
    Romans 8:14,15
    because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
    Galatians 3:26
    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus
    John 1:12
    Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

  • I am a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away and all things have become new.
    2 Corinthians 5:17
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

  • I am in Christ.
    Galatians 3:26,28
    You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

  • I am an heir with the Father and a joint heir with Christ.
    Galatians 4:6.7
    Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, " So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
    Romans 8:17
    Now if we are children, then we are heirs heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

  • I am a saint.
    Ephesians 1:1
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
    1 Corinthians 1:2
    to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ their Lord and ours:
    Philippians 1:1
    Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

  • I am a citizen of heaven.
    Ephesians 2:19
    Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household
    Philippians 3:20
    But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

  • I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.
    1 Corinthians 6:17
    But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
    I am a slave of righteousness.
    Romans 6:18
    God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

  • I am the righteousness of God in Christ.
    2 Corinthians 5:21
    God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

  • I am enslaved to God.
    Romans 6:22
    But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

  • I am chosen and ordained by Christ to bear fruit.
    John 15:16
    You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

  • I am a prisoner of Christ.
    Ephesians 3:1
    For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles
    Ephesians 4:1
    As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

  • I am righteous and holy.
    Ephesians 4:24
    and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

  • I am hidden with Christ in God.
    Colossians 3:3
    For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

  • I am the salt of the earth.
    Matthew 5:13
    "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything,except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

  • I am the light of the world.
    Matthew 5:14
    "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

  • I am part of the true vine.
    John 15:1-2
    "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

  • I am filled with the divine nature of Christ and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.
    2 Peter 1:4
    Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

  • I am an expression of the life of Christ.
    Colossians 3:4
    When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

  • I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved.
    Colossians 3:12
    Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience
    1 Thessalonians 1:4
    For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you

  • I am a child of light.
    1 Thessalonians 5:5
    You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

  • I am a partaker of a heavenly calling.
    Hebrews 3:1
    Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

  • I am more than a conqueror though Christ.
    Romans 8:37
    No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

  • I am a partaker with Christ and share in His life.
    Hebrews 3:14
    We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first

  • I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house.
    1 Peter 2:5
    you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

  • I am a chosen generation, a royal priest hood, a holy nation.
    1 Peter 2:9
    But you are a chosen people, a royal priest hood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

  • I am the devil's enemy.
    1 Peter 5:8
    Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

  • I am born again by the Spirit of God.
    John 3:3-6
    In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

  • I am an alien and a stranger to this world.
    1 Peter 2:11
    Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

  • I am a child of God who always triumphs in Christ and releases His fragrance in every place.
    2 Corinthians 2:14
    But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

  • I am seated in heavenly places in Christ.
    Ephesians 2:6
    And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

  • I am saved by grace.
    Ephesians 2:8
    For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God

  • I am a recipient of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
    in Christ.
    Ephesians 1-6 (The Whole book!)

  • I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
    Revelations 5:9
    And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."

  • I am part of the Bride of Christ and am making myself ready of Him.
    Revelations 19:7
    Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

  • I am a true worshiper who worships the Father in spirit and in truth.
    John 4:24
    God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.

  • Saturday, September 25, 2010

    The Story of a Cherished Shoe

    By Laura
    Once upon  time I, brown shoe size nine, was sitting on the sales rack just waiting for the right person to come along and bring me home. I had had a tough life before this, heartbreaking, I was picked up and thrown around. Bought and returned a million times. Until they stuck me on the sale rack to rot away. Until one chilly spring day I saw her coming to get me. She was striding down the aisle straight toward me! “Here mom these are the ones! And they fit perfectly!” she said. It was the sweetest voice I had ever heard and I knew I was going home.

    Well she started wearing me everywhere. I went to church, the store, walks, ski practice, people’s houses, grandma’s house anywhere she went I went, all her friends were my friends. You could just say we were best buds! For two whole years. She took such good care of me too! Washed me when I got muddy. Super glued me when I broke. Dried me when I was wet! It was super! 

    Then one frightful day she came back with two new pairs of flats and I guess they were in better shape than I and probably more cute too. Guess what she did? She picked me up and threw me away. So now I guess my life is over and I am glad for what I got out of it. So good luck new pair of flats and goodbye dear friend.DSCN1401

    Monday, September 20, 2010

    Running Toward Solitude

    Alone. Still. Quiet. Peace.

    Some of us have trouble with these words. Our American culture has trouble with these words. We live at such a frenetic, break-neck pace that sometimes we don’t even realize that we are exhausted, burnt-out and broken until something major collapses in our life.

    Our health gives way. Someone dies. Our marriage implodes. A child rebels.

    A lot of us are incredibly busy doing a lot of really good things. But a lot of really good things simply adds up to just a ton of stuff. Stuff that makes us tired and cranky and unable to connect in meaningful ways with those who mean the most to us, and more importantly to the One who made us and wants to have a relationship with us.

    My friend and mentor, Bonnie Thomas, always said to me, “Ministry is the wake you leave behind as you are running after Christ.”

    What a beautiful picture! Ministry is not stuff that I do. Ministry is not more obligations or programs. Ministry is what happens naturally when I am passionately pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ.

    Lately, this has become hard for me.  I’m burnt out. Exhausted. Fried. Sick of the drama. Tired of having to forgive. Hurt. Depressed. I’ve focused more on people than on Christ. And so ministry has become stuff to do. It’s become work. A drag. When we take our eyes off of Christ and put them on our problems and on others, we are most generally going to be massively disappointed. Why? Because people and things are broken and unsatisfying. Only Jesus is perfect and can fill my deepest longings.

    I hear Him calling.

     “And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves.” Mark 6:31, 32

    Are you ever so busy and frazzled you don’t have time to eat or think? So many people coming and going and calling and talking and blah, blah, blah. It’s enough to make you want to scream.

    Or get away.

    Simply running doesn’t help. But, running TO Someone does.

    So, I’ve been taking the time to do that lately. Spend some time in a quiet place. Away from the noise, the distractions, the people, the problems and just listen again. Time to confess my own distractedness and sin, and renew my most important relationship.

    I want to run fast. But, I don’t want to run aimlessly around like a chicken with my head cut off. I want to run after Christ and leave a wake a mile wide.

    “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

    Thursday, September 16, 2010

    Day Forty-six – One Shoe to Rule Them All

    There are shoes, and then there are Shoes, with a capital S. That’s what these shoes are. As my friend, Lindsey, so aptly put it, “Those aren’t shoes, those are a work of art.”

    shoe-1 

    This shoe is no shrinking violet. This shoe says, “Sit up! Take notice! Pay attention to ME!!!” And that’s exactly what I did that fateful day last winter. I walked into the store, and spotted this shoe from afar. Everything else went fuzzy around me as I honed in on The Shoe. I knew I had to have it. And I bought it. No questions asked. No bargaining. No arguing. You don’t argue with a shoe like this, you simply take it home and cherish it.

    I called Lindsey that night and said, “I just bought the most gorgeous pair of shoes EVER at Charlotte Russe today.”

    “Oh my goodness,” she exclaimed. “Are they the grey suede peep toe wedges with the ruffles down the front!?”

    “Yes!” I said. “How did you know!?”

    “Because,” answered my sole sister. “I saw those last week and drooled over them for at least a half an hour. The only reason I didn’t get them was because I’m being deployed in a month!”

    Poor Lindsey. I contemplated going back and buying her a pair.

    I should have.

    Oh, and in case you are wondering, that heel? It’s 5 inches tall. And no, I haven’t fallen off it.

    Yet.

    Day Forty-five – Fleece lined Clogs

    One of the challenges of living in Minnesota through nine months of winter is staying warm and looking stylish and cute at the same time. There are times it is just impossible, but I’ve found ways around this dilemma.
    Keeping my feet warm is my biggest issue. My feet are ALWAYS cold! SmartWool socks help. And this pair of cute shoes succeeds where others fail. Behold, the fleece lined clog!

    shoes-1-17

    An adorable, suede wedge that looks good with all my jeans and winter pants, but is also shearling lined. They feel oh-so-toasty on my feet from September to May. And wouldn’t you know it, they just happen to be one of my favorite brands, Rocket Dog! Rocket Dog comes through again! These felt awfully good yesterday on what I’d have to deem was our first “official” Duluth-y day. Cold, wet, windy. Oh yeah, this is what the tourists miss when they only come in the summer. We’re a hardy breed up here! It takes a special person to survive on Lake Superior, and a good, warm pair of shoes. . .or 30.

    Wednesday, September 15, 2010

    Day Forty-four – Teeny-tiny Silver Shoes

    I love sparkly things in my hair. I love sparkly things; period. Nathan says I bling everything.

    A few years ago on New Year’s Eve, Nathan and I went out for dinner and to the Symphony with our friends, Jim and Mardy Rodman. We were all dressed up, and I had put body glitter on my chest and then sprinkled some in my hair. I mean, what the heck? It was New Year’s Eve! We were having dinner at Blackwoods, and I realized Jim was looking at me funny.

    “What!?” I asked, kinda paranoid.

    “Do you have glitter. . . in your HAIR!?” he asked, slightly disbelieving.

    Mardy and Nathan cracked up, because they know me well enough to know that yes, I probably did have glitter in my hair. But, poor Jim had never seen a girl with glitter in her hair!

    Fast forward to this summer.

    I was shopping with my mom at one of my favorite stores; Fig Leaf, in Canal Park. They had adorable, sparkly bobby pins and hair clips on sale, 5 for $10. That is an incredibly good deal. Usually, even at Target they can be $4 or 5 apiece. And these were really cute. Little bugs, grasshoppers, dragonflies, swirlies with flowers and a pair of bobby pins that I had to pick up and wore in my hair yesterday. I think you’ll understand why:

    tiny shoes-1

    Tuesday, September 7, 2010

    Day Forty-three – Black bow stilettos

    Hooray for Tar-zhey!  This pair of shoes always garners me loads of compliments and then an “Oh no way, you got them at Target!?”  I think they sort of look like what shoes would be if Mary Englebreit designed shoes.

    shoes-3-2

    Monday, September 6, 2010

    We Are His Story

    "We are His story, we are His song

    A beautiful melody to show the world His love.

    When we’re on this journey, when we’re on this road

    We are a part of the greatest story ever told.”

    -Addison Road

    Just the other night we sat around the campfire with another family, some good friends of ours, and we talked about showing Jesus through the way we live our lives to others around us.

    St. Francis of Assisi most famously said it, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

    We challenged our kids to show God’s love to their friends and neighbors as well, which is not always an easy thing for children to do! Other kids can laugh at them and call them weirdoes!

    Today as I was standing at my kitchen sink snapping beans I watched Nate and Daniel take a new friend back into the woods to show him their fort. About the time the big kids all came out of the woods and took off on their bikes, the friend’s 5-year-old brother came riding up. From the body language I could tell what was going on. He wanted to see the fort too, and he just couldn’t quite keep up with the bigger kids. His face melted and he put his head down on his bike’s handle bars and started to cry. I watched for about a minute and then I saw Nate come back.

    Yes!

    Nate talked to him for awhile and then took him back to the fort and showed him around and then waited for him to catch up on his bike and away they went. All told, it took Nate maybe an extra minute or two, but I know it meant a lot to this little boy.

    I just happened to be listening to the Addison Road song I wrote at the top of my blog at the exact same time Nate did this. Wow, talk about making a mom proud and putting tears in my eyes!

    God, give me faith like a child.

    Saturday, September 4, 2010

    Day Forty-two – Nude Pumps

    Shoe lovers never fear! I’m still here with my shoe collection! We’re just slowly running out of summer shoes here. Thought that wouldn’t happen, didn’t you? But, the summer days are waning and we’ll soon be into my winter/fall shoe collection. Ahhh, the fun that awaits us!

    So. The last few pairs of summer stilettos.

    All good relationships require compromise and a girl’s relationships with her shoes is no different. A pair of nude pumps is right up there with a pair of black heels in being a “must have” fashion accessory in my book. They go with everything and make your legs look longer and thinner since they match the color of your skin. Think monochromatic.

    However, when I went shopping for a pair a month or so ago, I didn’t have a large amount of cash available. I found the perfect pair of Steve Madden’s. Perfect shade of nude, perfect platform pump. Exactly what I wanted: $80. Not so good. So, I put them back for another time when I maybe had $80 or they were on sale and went to look in the sale section at DSW and found these:

    shoes-2-7

    Not exactly what I wanted, but close enough. Oh and did I mention they were 40% off AND I had a $10 off coupon? In the end I ended up paying $12 for these shoes. Score!!!

    Friday, September 3, 2010

    Image is Everything

    I recently read an article about how Hollywood actresses and models starve themselves to stay thin. I think this is no surprise to most of us, I mean they all look like bobble-head dolls, but to read, in stark black and white, what they said, was really sad and eye-opening. One women said she ate water and and one English muffin a day. One. English. Muffin. Seriously. One other actress said she was just resigned to the fact that as long as she was an actress, she was always going to be hungry. She was being paid to starve herself. Ugh. And these are the women on the cover of every single magazine that bombards us when we stand in line at the grocery store buying our ice cream and bread and low-fat cheese, as if that’s going to help, telling us that they are the image of perfect womanhood. This what the perfect body looks like!

    It’s a good thing I’m not an actress or a model. Duh. I mean, number one, I’m short and have a crooked leg, but number two, I love all things created with flour and sugar. I’d never survive. My friend, Laura, brought Swiss Rolls on our recent girls week-end. Oh yum. I ate two packages. Just wolfed ‘em down in like three bites each. And my friend, Wendy, introduced us to a new bonfire delicacy. Roasted caramels squished in between brown sugar cinnamon Ritz. Bliss. I won’t even tell you how many of those I ate!

    Seriously though, there’s got to be a happy medium somewhere between starvation and gluttony, right? I believe so. And I believe it has to do with image. Yeah, that’s right, image. Not, oh-look-at-me-I’m-so-gorgeous image, but whose-image-am-I-created-in image. Ah-ha, lightbulb moment!

    At the very beginning of creation God said this:

     “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27

    You were created in the image of God. You were given meaning and purpose for your life. You and I are special. Here’s another one that is awesome to me as a woman:

    “Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear;

    Forget your people and your father’s house;

    Then the King will desire your beauty;

    Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.

    And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;

    The rich among the people will entreat your favor.

    The King’s daughter is all glorious within;

    Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

    She will be led to the King in embroidered work;

    The virgins, her companions who follow her,

    Will be brought to Thee.

    They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;

    They will enter into the King’s palace.

    In place of your fathers will be your sons;

    You shall make them princes in all the earth.

    I will cause Thy name to be remembered in all generations;

    Therefore the peoples will give Thee thanks forever and ever.”

    Psalm 45:10-17

    The God who created the universe, thinks I’m beautiful just the way I am. I need to be content with who He made me to be. So, here’s what I think about this whole eating/body image thing. I think God gave us all kinds of food to enjoy and we should do that. My key is “Moderation in all things.” Obviously starving yourself is wrong and so is overindulging. Whatever I happen to be feeling like eating, I eat. I eat when I’m hungry and I stop when I’m full. If I’m hungry for M’n’M’s I eat M’n’M’s, but not too many. If I’m hungry for green beans, I eat green beans. God also gave us our bodies to take care of, so I exercise, again in moderation. I don’t spend 2 hours a day at the gym. People are more important. But, I run every other day and am pretty active running after my kids the rest of the time. This recipe has kept me the same size for the past 11 years. I’m not as tiny as my friend, Sarah, and I’m not as tall and statuesque as my friends Judy and Nita, although I had you fooled with those high heels didn’t I? :) I’m learning to be content with just plain ‘ol Molly-in-the-Middle.

    I am created in the image of God who made me perfectly perfect. I’m not like anyone else in the whole world, and that’s kinda cool when you stop and think about it. I mean really, could the world stand two Molly’s????