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Nikki Giovanni’s poem asks the most important question we face today.

What will we do, girls? What new thing is God asking you to think about as you see people with renewed compassion and empathy?

Whatever path God paves for you to walk down so you can see ALL of God’s people with love, be brave as you move forward in your journey.

While you grow in courage, expect Satan to try to wedge his way into your heart. He wants you to feel fear about moving forward. He wants you to fear being uncomfortable.

Satan wants us to see our physical differences as threatening. He wants us to see skin pigment, gender differences, and even the contrast between youthful, supple faces and aging, wrinkling faces as dividers.

We all look so different on the outside, but on the inside, we all need one thing. We all need the one thing that propelled every step Jesus took as he drug the cross over his shoulder, against the resistance of the gravelly road that connected Golgotha to the Crucifixion.

We all need LOVE. We need His unifying love.

Join us this month in an exercise to practice seeing all people with love, especially when they look different than you. Psalm 27 will guide us.

Look at her holding the sign, “Sorry for the inconvenience. We are trying… to change the world.”

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A black woman holds her oversized posterboard as motorists gather to stand behind Black Preston Hollow teens recently threatened at Sonic. She graces the front page of my Preston Hollow People that arrived last Tuesday. I’ve kept the newspaper on my dining room table to remind myself that I don’t want to go back to the way things were, before March.

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The conversations we’re having about how to see people with loving eyes…those are conversations our ancestors should have had four hundred years ago. But since they didn’t, we get to have those conversations now.

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We have an significant role to play in changing how people see.

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Mommas, daughters, sisters, future grandmothers, godmothers and aunts, we are the truthspeakers and storytellers for multiple generations to come. Together, we get to cultivate language that empowers a new #bodytruth.

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Helping people see with love is our privilege. Let’s embrace it, together.

“When I was younger, I was always a little self-conscious about my body, never really knowing what it was capable of. I think that when you’re younger, you’re so focused on appearances and imperfections that it’s hard to see the God given abilities you have. I had corrective surgery for scoliosis when I was 14, and I was always so concerned with what other people thought of how I looked.

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When I started painting the tiny portrait series of women who inspire me, the first thing I noticed about all of them is what they had been able to accomplish and the character they displayed through adversity, not so much their beautiful appearances.

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Most of them faced struggle and oppression. While the rest of the world shook their head, they rose up and changed narratives. They moved mountains and started movements when nobody else would speak up.

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When I think about the woman I am becoming, I hope that my body is merely a vessel for the things that I can do to bring a light to the gospel. Trusting that God is faithful, I know He created me to do something good.

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Because ultimately, value is not found in my appearance, but in how I am able to share the love of Christ through the creative gifts that are uniquely mine.”

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Girls, Taylor is bringing truth to our IG front door!!!!And I’m so thankful for her boldness to share her gifts. I hope it invites you to explore how God is working through your creative gifting.

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Enjoy your first weekend of summer, Lovely!

“God is teaching me to see my body as a gift by first reminding me, as I dive into the scripture, that I am not of this world. My true home is in heaven, but while I am here on earth, I am on mission.

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He equipped me with my body, created in His own image, to do His work. Therefore, knowing that the creator of the universe CHOSE me, DESIGNED me, and LOVES me unconditionally JUST AS I AM allows me to find rest and to truly love myself.

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The enemy is constantly going to tell me that I’m not pretty enough, skinny enough, or strong enough. However, what God constantly reminds me about the enemy is that he is the father of lies- NOTHING he says is true!!

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Satan does not want me to glorify God so he uses deceitful tools such as comparison and worldly views of a “perfect body” to weaken my mind, spirit, and feelings of self worth when trying to shine my light for Jesus.

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Think about it, when I spend time worried about body image, I am giving the enemy just what he wants!! He wants to steal the power I have been given to enhance the kingdom through my body.

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Therefore, when I recognize that a thought isn’t true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, or admirable, The Lord reminds me that ONLY in Him do I find my worth, and everything He creates is good!!

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My beautiful body allows me to run and dance and stretch and eat and spread His love to others!! The creator of the universe made the moon and the stars and mountains and the oceans and me!!

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Lovelies, it’s so important to be in the Word of God because it is nothing but truth. In it, we see the wonder and beauty of who God is and how we are seen as precious in His eyes.”

“When I was in junior high, I started believing that I had to perform to be worth something. This mindset carried over through high school and into college. If I could just be better, do better, look better, I would finally feel worthy of affection and applause.

Here’s what I’ve realized the more I read God’s Word:

God didn’t give us flesh so that we could earn His applause. 

He gave us flesh so that we can serve. With our hands open and knees bent.

We submit our bodies to His will because He worth it. He is worth everything. 

My sister once told me, “God doesn’t compare. He just creates.”

We weren’t created to live in competition with the people around us. 

Today, it can be easy to listen to lies of the enemy. 

“You’re not good enough.”

“You can do better. 

“You can look better.”

“Try harder.”

The enemy battles hard for my heart just like he does for yours, and he won’t stop until we become convinced that God simply isn’t enough for us. 

First and foremost, we were created to love God and serve His people. 

You never had to impress Him. You’ve been worth something to Him all along. 

You were created to walk in His freedom.

Do you believe it?”

Lauren Kinney is an author and blogger based in Arlington, Texas. Her new book, Unshakeable: Overcoming Fear to Discover a Life of Freedom, releases on May 26th. Connect with her on Instagram @laurennkinney or at thelaurenkinney.com

“As a teenage girl, I was focused on being an athlete and I think that distracted me from “looks” or focusing on body image.

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As I became a young woman, I found myself more aware of my body. People always pointed out my height and that I had long arms. I found myself admiring other women for having certain aspects that I didn’t have. I wrestled with “societal norms” and “standards of beauty”.

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However, I had an uncle that would affirm me often. He would tell me that I’m beautiful just the way God made me! I learned that I have to look to what the Bible says about me and my body and not what society says.

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Shortly after, I came across the scripture Psalm 139:4. The more I meditated on this scripture, the more my confidence grew! The fact that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the creator of the universe struck something deep within me. It gave me confidence that wasn’t easily shaken.

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When I read in Ephesians 2:10 that we are His workmanship, it makes my heart smile that my body is exactly how God intended it to be. I am to use it for His glory and to make Him known to people around me. My body is a gift, so I try to stay healthy and keep in shape to steward well the gift God has given me.

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So now, I joke often that God gave me height and long arms to use for “hugging ministry” which actually has proven to be something I do often! Not to mention, they served me pretty well on the basketball court too! ;)”

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LaToria’s gifts for songwriting and spoken word can be found all over the internet, but my favorite spots include her site latoriamusic.com & Spotify.