Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

TWENTY TWO | FALL FAVS

Today’s prompt: Fall favorites. Share your must-haves for this season.

It’s no secret, Fall is my absolute favorite season. So this topic is incredibly easy for me to write about. Let me be more specific…

Fall Favorites 
Leaves changing colors. Pumpkin flavored creamer. Ladies Bible Study. Knitting. 
Boots with every outfit. Truck pulls. Cozy Scarves. Pumpkin Candles. Golden light. 
Carving Pumpkins. Scary movie marathons. Burlap Wreathes. Crisp air.
Curling up with a book. Friday night football games. Chili. 
Bonfires. Dressing in Layers. Halloweentown. Mums. Thanksgiving.
Caramel Apples. Craft shows. Warm soup on a cold day. Hay rides. Pumpkin patch.
The smell. Driving through falling leaves.  Trick-or-treating.
Decorations. Boot socks.  Thanksgiving.  Fall festivals.  Apple butter.
Wearing layers.  Boot socks.  Christmas is around the corner.
Potato soup and bread bowls.  Annual family photo shoot.

TWENTY | KNOW + BELIEVE

Today’s prompt: Something you wish more people knew or believed.

Empowering women to love their body, as is, is one of my passions. So many times, we let the wrong factors define our worth. We allow failed relationships, body image, abuse, past choices and health to define us. We allow feelings of being useless, ignored, ugly, overweight, unloved or forgotten to circle around us. Sadly, we repeatedly allow these factors to define us. We allow our feelings to dictate our identity.

In those moments of weakness, where the lies seem to continually circle around, refuse to give in to them. Remember that you are loved, as-is. And retraining your heart to know that is absolutely worth the fight.

I have lived life in a size 12 body and a size 24 body, and every size in between. I have been called fat, a cow and lots of other names. I have been told I have such a pretty face, if I would just lose some weight. Mean words that are said without a second thought, but they stay in my head for years. I have carried oh-so-much shame around with me over those years. And it seemed no amount of self-help books, dieting or trying to sort it out in my head ever worked. I had an unhealthy and unfortunate amount of shame and self-loathing toward my body. I could not imagine why God would give other girls perfect bodies then give me this one. And to be honest, I was a little mad at Him for that.

Learning to love myself regardless of my size was one of the most crucial turning points. 

Women today are continually exposed to what society sees as the ideal body. The perfect hourglass shape with no arm flab, a thigh gap, full lips, perfect breasts and a flat tummy. And if you don’t have those, then you aren’t beautiful. We believe from the time we are little girls that we must have these things. If we’re not the ideal beautiful, then we should be ashamed and not feel like we are good enough.

“I am unwaveringly ME; and the same goes for YOU. No matter what you’re struggling with, embrace what you have to offer, love yourself right this minute and start affecting positive change for yourself and others.”—Whitney

What does Jesus think of us? What does He think our worth is? Well, He thought you and I were worth dying for! And if He thinks that much of us, why would we ever allow others to degrade the life He went through so much to save? He thinks we are worth far more than rubies! {Proverbs 31:10}

Some days, without fail, old insecurities will come knocking on the doors of our hearts. We’re tempted to tell lies about ourselves to ourselves when we’re rejected or knocked down or feeling not quite … enough.

But in those moments of weakness, I refuse to give in to the lies. I will continue to tell myself I am loved, as-is, not as I think I should be.

Retraining my heart will take years. But I know it is worth the fight.


Let me speak directly to your heart. Believe it, sweet girls. Pretty please with cream and sugar on top. Know that what Jesus says about you is genuine – that you a treasure, of great worth, a woman with infinite value. No matter what size you are.  No matter what you look like.  No matter what anyone says. No matter what you’ve done. No matter your past. No matter how you feel. It’s true!

NINETEEN | FAV POSTS

Today’s prompt: A list of your favorite blog posts you’ve written.

Oh, how fun this prompt was! I always love going back and re-reading past posts I’ve written. Here is a list of my top 10 favorite blog posts ever.

1.  Parenting A Child With Anxiety – This post is so very special to me, and so close to my heart. With this blog post, I want to give you a glimpse into parenting a child that has been diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, slight OCD and Dyslexia.

2.  Why I’m Not Raising A Feminist Daughter – This explains why we teach submission, headship and living a Christ-centered marriage. While it might not be the worlds opinion, we are following Gods word. That will bring joy, peace, contentment, fulfillment and freedom! And in turn, your life will bring glory to God. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

3.  An Open Letter To My Husband On Our 20th Anniversary – Twenty years ago, we became husband and wife. At 22 and 20, we were just a couple of kids so madly in love. We didn’t know a lot back then, but we knew one thing for certain: we belonged together.

4.  Saving Your First Kiss – We need to recognize the kiss as an incredible gift that God has given each one of us to fully embrace and enjoy in the right context. Instead of lowering its value and blowing it off as just-a-kiss let’s view it as a precious, sacred gift.

5.  Dear Body – Remember when we were little and we were friends? You weren’t good or bad or fat or thin or ugly or beautiful. You were just me.

6.  Walking Through Valleys – I am walking in a wilderness right now. A wilderness full of friends walking hand-in-hand, while I walk alone.

7.  I’m Tired Of The Not-Enoughs – I had all the right words for her but I was too busy living with not enoughs, I couldn’t model this truth for her.

8.  An Open Letter To Those Who Have Walked Out Of My Life – I will always love you. I know that sounds unbelievable for me to say. Especially since you’re the one who chose to walk out of my life. But those words hold true.

9.  Piece By Piece – Sometimes a difficult day comes out of nowhere, surprising you with its emotions and frustrations.

10. Kindness Matters – Kindness is honestly one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. As Christians, kindness is something He expects from us.