Posts by Jennifer Smith Lane
Pursing God Instead of Perfection
As a recovering perfectionist, I asked myself, why do I get so caught up in being perfect? While I recognize perfection is impossible, there is still something deep inside me that fuels my desire to achieve it. I began to wonder where this notion came from. Surely it is a godly pursuit, isn’t it? I…
Read More4 Ways God Can Transform Eating Disorders
By Lisa Samra Row after row of airbrushed magazine covers. Passionate testimonials about new diet plans. Social media posts featuring idealized images. It can be hard to navigate through all the confusing messages we receive each day about food, eating, and our appearance. For many people, the issues around food and body image can quickly…
Read MoreTestimonies Transform
“Leaving her water jar, the [Samaritan] woman went back to town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’” John 4:28 NIV Like the Samaritan woman who sought love and rescue from life’s problems in the arms of men, a dark season…
Read MoreConfident Dependence in the Face of Fear
Last year my husband, an otherwise healthy man in his mid-forties, was diagnosed with cancer. The news blindsided us. Further testing led to the discovery of a second, unrelated cancer in his kidney. Another blow. This was particularly surprising because my husband is a urologist. Not only is kidney cancer his surgical specialty, it has…
Read MoreImage: What does it mean?
You hear people talking about body image all the time but what does that really mean? What is an image? How is our image created? Who is our image for? How is our image formed? When you think of the word image, what comes to mind? For some of you it may be a physical…
Read MoreThe Problem with Expectations
Expectations can be a source of hope or anticipation in our lives. Giving us things to look forward to like a vacation or a friendship. However, unmet expectations can lead us into a place of disappointment or failure which can drastically change how we think and feel about ourselves. Problems arise when expectations are unmet.…
Read MoreSheep in need of a Shepherd
I learned something about sheep today. I have been reading Phillip Keller’s book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. He takes this well-known Psalm and helps his reader to see it through a new lens; through the eyes of a shepherd. Most of us aren’t familiar with the nomadic life of a shepherd, leading a flock…
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