Body Truth Collective

Helping Young Women Become Compassionate, Capable, and Strong

Juleeta

What Your Doctor is Looking For: Interview with Pediatrcian, Dr. Sue. Bacsik

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Photo by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash

 

Readers, you’ll appreciate this interview.  Dr. Sue Bacsik has a wealth of experience with young women.  She seeks God’s wisdom in how she approaches each patient, each family, each set of questions, concerns, and celebrations. She sees patients in Oak Cliff — Dallas, TX, so check out her practice at Oak Cliff Pediatrics.

Juleeta:  Hi, Sue.  Thank you for taking time to meet with me today.  I know it’s busy.

Dr. Sue Bacsik: It’s not too busy, and I love getting to talk to you about young women.  Ask me anything, and I’ll answer as best I can.

Juleeta: Sounds good. My first question is about how it looks when parents approach you if they are concerned about their daughter’s body image. For example, when parents are concerned about their daughter, what steps do you take in guiding them? [Read more…] about What Your Doctor is Looking For: Interview with Pediatrcian, Dr. Sue. Bacsik

Listen, Lovely. Can You Hear Your Name?

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Photo credit: The talented Baylee Grambling @ Unsplash.

Girl, next time you post a photo of yourself doing something fun — playing at the beach, eating dinner with girlfriends, snuggling with your younger sibling, be ready.

There is always someone out there who does not want your good.

There are some people who are not your people.  Yes, there are girls (and boys, alike) who will call themselves your friends in the hallways but who choose to whisper crude and vicious names for you, covering their own mouth and the listener’s ear with a cupped hand, attempting to hide their words.  But the words, spilled out all over, spoken quietly from one person to the next, travel quickly and get exaggerated, like messages in an elementary game of  “Telephone.”

And those kinds of words, the crude and vicious names — they hurt.

Even when someone justifies, “Well, it’s true.” 

Listen, Lovely.  Only people who completely love you know what is true about you.

Did you hear that? I called you Lovely.

Your birth name or your adopted name might be Brooke or Elizabeth or Jane. But keep this in mind, and train yourself to hear Your Maker’s voice as He whispers your name into your ear. Your Creator has always called you Lovely. From your very beginning, you were beautifully crafted and uniquely made.  

But I am sure you have been called other names that eat away at your joy and crush your spirit.

Fat.

Flaky.

Weakling.

Beanpole.

Ugly.

Hoe.

Nerd.

Loser.

Idiot.

Have you ever wondered: Why do I hear these names repeat themselves to me more often than Lovely, especially when I look in the mirror? [Read more…] about Listen, Lovely. Can You Hear Your Name?

Girls, Are You Ready for Change?

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It’s out on DVD. If you haven’t read the book, yes it is worth your time this summer. Both the book and the movie will change how you see and love. I promise.

The Hate You Give – Have you seen it?

The first time I saw the movie, I laughed and cried and laughed more. I remember the evening well.

Bright lights flickered and faded to grey and then darkness.

I scooched back into my snuggly, red plush seat, and the projector revealed a figure on the screen.  I looked right, barely able to make out the face of my girlfriend sitting only inches away. The pitch black of the theater invited me to focus on one image — the man about to speak to me, large and looming, straight ahead. 

That evening, the darkness of the theater held a special kind of superpower.  It created an intimacy between myself and the man who had just introduced himself as George Tillman, Jr — the incredibly gifted and bold director of The Hate You Give.

His deep voice spoke.  With conviction, Tillman looked into the camera, his eyes seemingly focused on the millions of us sitting in the theater.  He introduced this story of Starr, an African-American teenager whose name was gifted her by her father, that she might be a bright light for truth. 

The book was written by Angie Thomas. But the story is also being written out in our lives today.  How will teenagers, especially young women, respond in conversations about racism?  Will young women be receptive to hearing and seeing the social ramifications created by hundreds of years of white-impelled shame on people of color?

[Read more…] about Girls, Are You Ready for Change?

The Skinny Truth – You Might Need Help Believing You are Beautiful

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Photo provided by photographer, Danielle MacInnes. Her images are beautiful.

When it comes to your body, who is making the decisions?

Who is protecting you?  Who is fighting for you? Who is teaching you how to care for the God-given body you find yourself in today?

Maybe it’s just you.  You might be feeling alone as you look in the mirror and wonder:

  • How am I going to make choices that protect my body from harm?
  • What if I’m not strong enough to get out of a situation where I feel powerless?
  • Will there be at time when I know the difference between a “joke” made about my body vs. a disrespectful comment that hurts to the core?

And maybe, it’s not just you — protecting, fighting, learning, and teaching. You might have a huge support group around you, encouraging you to believe Godly truth about your lovely body.  You might be one of those girls who has a daddy who tells her she’s gorgeous and friends who encourage without jealousy.

Whether you feel alone, supported, or somewhere in between, you can trust the voices that you hear at Body Truth Collective.  You will be told today and tomorrow (and you may whisper behind your back to the girl you were yesterday) that beauty is in your reach. Beauty is in your reach because it is already a part of who you are.

But you will have to be a little bit brave to hear the truth.

Wait.

Let’s imagine that your already are brave. And strong. And worth the work of believing you are beautiful.

Try saying this with me.

I am brave to admit that my negative thoughts about my body cause me pain that the Lord wants to comfort.

I am strong for wanting to lift and discard the burden of  MEASURING.  I dare to see myself anew.  My weight and size are details, not the unfixed variables in an equation that determine my value and worth.

I am worth the work that’s required to believe the truth.  My Creator, the God of the Universe, formed me uniquely and lovely.

I am the light of the world.

Keep repeating those sweet words. Allow yourself to be encouraged.

It’s okay to need a little help believing the truth about who you are. You’re not alone. We are with you.

Let’s begin on the journey together.  And feel free to bring your friends along.  There is plenty of space for all of us.