• inspiring quote

    stop quitting

    Monday, February 2, 2015

    We all have the tendency to be quitters. We quit when things get hard, quit when we don’t feel like it, quit when there’s opposition, and quit because it’s Tuesday. But why do we quit? Sometimes it’s because we allow people’s words to make us feel like we don’t have what it takes. Like we’re […]

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  • woman in mirror

    big thighs, blue dresses, and self-love

    Tuesday, September 9, 2014

    Under the bright dressing-room lights at Target, I try on countless outfits. I am seven months pregnant. My body looks different now with new curves and indentions and a belly that swells each day. “I am really pregnant” I think and put on long blue dress, hoping it won’t look as bad as the others. I turn […]

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  • girl with a map

    What do you really want?

    Tuesday, July 29, 2014

    What do you really want? It is a husband? A job? A group of friends? A healthy baby? A certain life path? It’s a simple question, but one I think we avoid asking because we’re afraid of speaking aloud the answer. Looking for an investing platform? Investing in bitcoin is considerably challenging because of the large fluctuations in its price. But these difficulties and challenges can be easily crossed by using credible auto-trading apps like Bitcoin Profit. Once you carry out a Bitcoin Profit test yourself,  you will surely want to make the deposit.  Because when we don’t want anything, then we can’t get our hopes up, which in […]

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  • Real Men Don't Text

    Real Men Don’t Text Book Club

    Wednesday, November 6, 2013

    I’ve received several emails from people saying how great Real Men Don’t Text is to talk through as a group. One group even invited me to join them for their last study. How fun! If you are in a book club, at a college, in a Bible study, a youth leader, a mom in a […]

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  • man giving flowers

    Forgiveness Won’t Fix Your Toxic Relationship

    Monday, November 4, 2013

    I recently had coffee with a victim of an emotionally abusive relationship. Every time she was ready to leave him after an outburst, he would return the next day and apologize profusely, sometimes with flowers or big displays of affection, begging her for forgiveness. After her somewhat unemotional description of his violent behavior, she asked […]

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  • couple on a bench

    16 Things Every Woman Should Know How to Say to a Man

    Monday, October 21, 2013

    The worst thing a woman can be in a relationship? Silent. But the art of expressing ourselves in living words, not typed ones, proves increasingly challenging. Here are 16 things I, like many of you, wish I learned to say to a man right as I came of age instead of a decade too late. […]

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  • Texting

    Are You Wearing Text Goggles?

    Wednesday, October 16, 2013

    As a millennial, I understand the appeal of the text message. It’s easy, convenient, non-threatening, and can be ignored. I have texted guys to suggest a hang out when I hadn’t heard from them in a while; I have received tweets, texts, and emails from men for last-minute ‘dates’ that never seemed to work out […]

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  • Bride and bridesmaid

    When God gives her a husband and you’re still single

    Wednesday, October 9, 2013

    Her email landed in my inbox just after 2am. “How could God give her a husband and not me?  I’ve gone home alone a million times when she went home with a guy. I’ve waited and saved myself for my husband and she hasn’t. She’s cleaned up her act recently but she’s only spent 6 […]

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  • sexy selfie

    A Letter to Sexy-Instagram Posters

    Wednesday, September 11, 2013

    (This letter is in response to this controversial letter to a teenage girl from a mom who blocks sexy-posters her from her sons’ social media feeds. Dear Sexy-Instagram Poster, I see you. That feels like a good place to start. I see how you long to be beautiful, to be told you are beautiful. […]

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  • © 1978 ABC

    Men: This is How You Ask Her Out

    Tuesday, September 3, 2013

    Real Men Don’t Text is officially available today everywhere books are sold! Michael wrote this post for the men out there who want to date differently, but don’t know where to start.  Spoiler alert: it will start with a plan and a phone call. When I was in high school and college, the easiest (read: […]

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my grandmother painting my nursery before I was born
Mar
3

an imperfect goodbye

She didn’t like the cold, she didn’t like the heat, and she didn’t like rain. My grandmother, or “Nana” as I called her, was very weather-affected. One story in particular stands out. I remember my dad planning to take her to Walmart-but when it started to rain, she refused to go. He told her she […]

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pregnant belly
Feb
9

Will God love my baby?

The subject line caught my attention. I opened the email to find a young woman pleading for advice. Lily* told me she became pregnant while engaged. The fear she felt seemed to seep through every word of her story. Why was she afraid? It seemed everyone around her was telling her the same message: God would […]

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inspiring quote
Feb
2

stop quitting

We all have the tendency to be quitters. We quit when things get hard, quit when we don’t feel like it, quit when there’s opposition, and quit because it’s Tuesday. But why do we quit? Sometimes it’s because we allow people’s words to make us feel like we don’t have what it takes. Like we’re […]

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girl walking alone
Jan
26

Should you settle for Mr. Good Enough?

There are some days when emotions take over. I want to stomp my foot and shout like a child, “It’s not fair!” There are far too many beautiful, incredible women (and men) wanting the right person to come along. Some are ‘putting themselves out there’, others aren’t. Some are ‘waiting on God’, others still treat sex […]

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brene brown quote
Jan
12

4 things you must stop saying about yourself this year

Words can really hurt. Not just words from friends, professors, bosses, or parents—but our words about ourselves can be the most damaging. I was in line at Urban Outfitters over Christmas and glanced through Lena Dunham’s new book, Not that Kind of Girl. Lena opens a chapter with, “I’m 20 years old, and I hate myself.” I only […]

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anne lamott quote
Jan
5

a year of baths : on learning the art of self-care

I took more baths in 2014 than all the years combined since childhood. When I look back on 2014, I picture myself either being asked 20 questions about my large belly or sinking into a (not too hot) bath. From February to May, I would sit in the bathtub ridden with nausea. During the hot […]

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Image credit: www.kristielloydphotography.com
Nov
3

an unfathomable joy: June’s birth story

I went to see my doctor on Tuesday. Michael came with me. I had slept a little less than three hours and taken two hot baths in the middle of the night. Waiting for a baby to arrive feels a little like being 5 years old and hearing that Santa will come any day. All […]

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anxiety
Sep
29

Anxiety, sleepless nights, & the illusion of control

I am writing this blog post at four am on Sunday morning. I was awakened by thoughts of tasks undone and the unknown future. After hours of trying to go back to sleep and thinking about how tired I’m going to be all day, I stopped fighting it. I sit in my dark living room, writing, because that’s […]

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Its on us
Sep
21

Obama is tackling sexual violence—and he gets it

“Our society does not sufficiently value women. We still don’t condemn sexual assault as loudly as we should.” Obama announced a public service campaign, called “Its On Us” to stop sexual violence on college campuses. This campaign will target both men and women, but will particularly focus on men. As stated by the New York Times, […]

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woman in mirror
Sep
9

big thighs, blue dresses, and self-love

Under the bright dressing-room lights at Target, I try on countless outfits. I am seven months pregnant. My body looks different now with new curves and indentions and a belly that swells each day. “I am really pregnant” I think and put on long blue dress, hoping it won’t look as bad as the others. I turn […]

Read More