Emily Wierenga
About the Author

Emily T. Wierenga is an award-winning journalist, blogger, commissioned artist and columnist, and the author of six books including the new memoir "Making It Home: Finding My Way to Peace, Identity and Purpose" (Baker Books, 2015). Proceeds from Emily’s books benefit her non-profit, The Lulu Tree. She lives in Alberta,...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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Comments

  1. So beautiful. Really touched my heart. I guess the thing I love most about my body are my eyes. 🙂 Thanks for offering the giveaway!

  2. I love my height… at 5’11” I might be hitting my head on things and constantly wearing too-short pants, but I can spike a volleyball and see to the front of a crowd with the best of them! 😉

      • I am a 7I year old lady[will be in oct] and the reason i love my body is that I can
        still move very well and do things that a forty year can’t do. I praise the Lord
        for this. I teach three to four Spin classes a week to people in their thirties. I ride
        a bike one hundred miles a week. This i can do in three days. I teach Pilaties and
        train people to move their bodies. Never give up and move every day at something.
        I still run 5k’s and 10k’s. The Lord has Blessed me greatly. I could do nothing with
        out Him.
        A very Blessed body,

        Doris
        .

  3. I love my hair and eyes and the fact that I can laugh easily! I LOVED your post and thanks for always being so uplifting to women everywhere 🙂

  4. My hands…to go forth & do the work that the LORD calls me to do. Thanks for the wonderful book offer.

  5. I would have to say that i love my ears mostly because without them I would have no where to hang my glasses so I can see my hubby, our children or the gorgeous sunsets everyday. Thank you for writing a book that needed to be desperately written.

  6. I love my arms from shoulder to fingertips my shoulders hold the weight of my family, my arms hold and hug the ones I love and others who need a hug, and my hands so I can hold the hand of a child or a friend and my fingers so I can quilt and write this post but mostly my hands can join together as I pray.

    • what an incredible gift our hands are… everything from sewing to praying… and there is SUCH power in prayer. So appreciate this friend. thank you, e.

  7. The “what do you love about your body” question is the hardest for me. I guess my long legs are ok sometimes- they let me run, which is one of the few times I’m able to shut my mind off & just go!

  8. My favourite thing about my body is the strength in my arms and legs. I love how I can run at. 215lbs. and my legs carry my body and are strong as I dance in the kitchen to my favourite music.. I am strong! I carry books, clean house, and hug many little first graders everyday. I have cradled babes, chopped wood and hauled suitcases to Kenya. I am beginning to love myself and thank God for my body and actually mean it!

    • Oh, just REJOICING over here over the joy in your voice and the love that you’re discovering for yourself! I understand completely. Bless you friend! e.

  9. After continuing to battle Epilepsy, I’m thankful to Lord allows me to use the muscles in my legs to run.

  10. It takes some thought to think about something I love about my body but my mind went to my legs immediately. They are long and strong and no matter what other criticisms I throw out about my body, my legs (and even my arms – they’re just naturally thin – even if the rest of me isn’t) keep me balanced. 🙂

  11. I love my eyes that see beauty where some might miss it.
    I love my hands that type words that long to be written.
    I love my ears, because they are really quite smashing.
    I love my hips because they do so well at baby carrying.
    I love my shoulders because they hold the burdens.
    I love my heart because it can ache for others too.

  12. This may sound strange, but I actually like the stretch marks on my stomach. I earned those through four pregnancies! That’s the only “flaw” that I don’t mind. They are a constant reminder that four amazing kiddos spent the first bit of their life close to my heart.

    • it doesn’t sound strange to me at all, Teish… stretchmarks are lines of valor and courage, testifying to the greatest beauty a woman can create.

  13. I have fallen in love with my smile. It may sound weird but let me explain. 🙂 My almost three month old baby girl smiles and her whole face smiles with her. It truly makes my heart melt. My husband has been telling me since we were dating that my smile does the same thing, but now seeing this attribute of mine passed onto her, I truly believe it.

  14. Thanks for the opportunity and the incredible post. My favorite part is my legs that they are still strong and allow me to run.

    • catherine, i appreciate your encouragement, friend. i love that your legs allow you to run. it’s one of my favorite past-times too!

  15. What a blessing these words were..I guess I love my hands-especially when they show tenderness, gentleness and strength as they minister to others in love-HIS love! thanks!!

  16. What I love about my body: Growing up I secretly liked my legs and almost everything else. In my 30s almost 40s now and happily married I realize it is now when I really get to finally feel comfortable in my own skin and appreciate all of who I am.

    • this gives me such hope, Leyla… i love this perspective… the older we get, the more comfortable we become in our own skin. love it.

  17. Oh, my word. So much truth in this – and as someone who hates to look in the mirror, that’s saying something! I love my eyes, but not my thighs.

    • I’m so glad it spoke to you Elaine. I pray that one day you will LOVE looking in the mirror!! You reflect him, friend. So much love, e.

  18. I love my smile! It’s big and wide and toothy and hands down my best feature, even if it is a little crooked. 🙂

  19. I love my right foot because it saved my life 11 years ago when I fell through the attic onto the garage floor.

  20. I love that I am in control of my body – making choices of what and when to eat; I also specifically like my smile and my hands {which are there to help others}.

  21. What a powerful post! Thank you so much for those words, they truly touched my soul. My favorite part of my body are my eyes. They look exactly like my father’s and remind me every day what a kind hearted, gentle spirit he is and how I want to be that too.

  22. This was so about me! But I do love my hands. I’m not quite sure why completely, but I love them and most of the time, I even love my eyes 🙂

  23. The thing I love most about my body is my strength…. and the more I repeat to my infant daughter who stunningly beautiful she is, the more I remind myself that it is the young women who relate to what their body is *capable* of …. strength… love… creation… who are least vulnerable to problems with self-image. So I tell her she is ridiculously cute… then I tell her she is strong. And anyone who should dare to disagree, just doesn’t know her yet.

    Check out this poem by Sarah Kay… it’s a favorite of mine since my daughter was born:
    http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_kay_if_i_should_have_a_daughter.html

  24. I really needed this post! Thank you! I don’t love
    anything about my body or my face for that matter; but,
    if I had to choose something I would choose my eyes because
    I am so thankful to see and love the beauty that I see in Gods
    creation all around me and in others especially my dear hubby!
    Corinne

  25. Thanks so much for speaking truth, I really needed to read that today. So encouraging! My favorite part of my body is probably my shoulders as weird as that is haha.

  26. I like my hair, my little feet with high arches, and the fact that my body could give birth! Most days I like my curves, and my husband likes them too.

  27. Thank you for the great reminders!

    I love my stretch marks….I know it is weird and they aren’t meant to be seen or flaunted….but they remind me of the babies that God allowed me to carry and to love.

  28. Oh, this is beautiful. I needed these reminders on a Monday morning!

    I am thankful for my curls…they express my personality, and they don’t need different care or clothes based on my weight fluctuations! 😉

  29. thank God for your encouragement and for the boldness but gentle way you bring out the loveliness in ourselves.
    the best thing i like in me is when i am able to encourage and assist an elder person as i know i am lacking in many ways. i may not have the best shoulder or back to lean on, but still able to help them in my own little way. so, i still treasure my health- my shoulder and my hands are important to me.

  30. Hi! I never loved my body growing up….But as a now 58 year old woman things have changed. I look like my grandmother and father. I am proud of that. I love my eyes, mouth, hair and have learned to at least like my Russian nose. It is part of who I am. My body is short and stout. I have a layer of fat on it. But, I know that this is who I am. I do have the power to change some things, but mostly I am content. I take care of my Mother 3 times a week and enjoy keeping her spirits up with my sarcastic wit…I love to make her laugh. My daughter is staying with me, temporarily with her little family of husband and two little boys. She is about to have a third baby, a girl! I know this book would be helpful for not only me, but also her.

  31. Well, right now, I’m 8.5 months pregnant and really love my baby bump (okay, beach ball). But prior to that, I loved my legs and I pray the swelling goes away!

  32. I guess I have always enjoyed being 5′. I can fit in a lot of tight places. I love that I got my Daddy’s cleft in my chin and get to see it in my son and grandson. Kudos for stepping out into this area with your book! It is greatly needed. 🙂

    • oh Elaine, i LOVE this answer… everything from fitting into a lot of tight places to your Daddy’s cleft in your chin. beautiful. e.

  33. What an encouraging read that penetrated to the inner most of my being. How much did I long and needed to hear this today. The part I love about my body is my neck because it displays a scar that reminds me to be thankful for everyday I breath and I m alive.

  34. I love my eyes & lips. I get many compliments on my eyes. The Lord has given my daughter my lips and that makes me smile!:)

  35. I was an anorexic as well and my weight dropped down to 100 and it was going down like a ton of bricks. It took 10 years to bring the weight back up to 112, so, I don’t do diets. Then in my forties it dropped back down to 105, so, I’m ever in danger of regressing. I’m fat now but fearful of diets. I don’t do diets. This is why.

    • i’m proud of you, friend, for not doing diets. i don’t do them either. we have to protect ourselves, right? good on you for taking care of yourself.

  36. My curves have changed over the years – they have widened, but I can embrace them. I have always loved my eyes – they are big and green.

  37. Wow, what a great post & necessary book! (Am wishing I hadn’t succumbed to the cookies on the markdown shelf at Kroger this morning.) I think lipstick is important, too! And I like my arms.

    • lol… i LOVE your honesty Nadine! it’s so refreshing. we all have bad days, but so long as we keep trying to care for ourselves and love on ourselves, that is what counts. so glad you like your arms!

  38. I recently delivered our second child, via c-section. For awhile there, the scar was getting to me .. but now? Now it’s one of my secret favorite things about my body. It’s a reminder that God is good, soo very very good. He blessed us with a second child. Her life is far more important than a scar across my belly. 🙂

  39. I love my wrinkles because they remind me that I have lived and that I smile! :). I also love my sagging breasts because they nourished four beautiful children!

  40. I love the natural confidence that I carry regardless of what I’m looking like. (Thanks, Mom & Dad.). And my smile.

  41. I love how everyone’s body is different than the next. I love how my body was created to carry, nurture, and love my child and how it gives me what I need to show love to others.

  42. When I reading your words it was like you were peaking into my heart and soul. Thank you. To answer your question: I believe the first thing you have to love is your inner self, your heart, your mind, your soul. That is what I love the most about me. <3

  43. Thank you for these encouraging words. I have a hard time with the question also, but if forced to choose, I love my shoulders.

  44. Thank you for the chance to win. It has taken me some time to love this about myself but it is my belly. I would always think I was overweight and who could love me. I gave birth to two lovely girls and they are the reason my belly is perfect as it is.

  45. Oh Emily this has stirred my soul. Love you! I love: ”It’s time to awaken your soul. It’s time to put on some lipstick and go dancing.” I love my body as a whole, loved and cherished by our beautiful Creator..

  46. This post was just what I needed to read today and so eloquently put. Struggling to love myself, but am thankful for my eyes that allow me to take in all the beautiful things God created.

  47. What I love about my body is its ability to continue on when my brain wants to quit. My hands never want to be idle and my heart is always wanting to give true and sensible compliments to women who don’t see all the beauty that they are to me. I love that my body is a carafe to carry goodness with me where ever I go and share it with others when they need it most.

    • oh Laura I LOVE this: I love that my body is a carafe to carry goodness with me where ever I go and share it with others when they need it most.

      So amazing. Thank you! e.

  48. Thank you so much for such a wonderful read! Very encouraging 🙂

    What I love most about my body is my eyes; no matter what the circumstance or feeling (even one I might be trying to hide), my eyes always tell the truth. Even when it’s a challenge to find words, sometimes a look is the only communication that’s needed. And eyes are said to be the window to a person’s soul; I hope my eyes radiate peace and love!

  49. I have always hated my body. I swallowed my Mother’s words of ” too short, too fat, too curly, not feminine, too loud, etc..” those things swallowed became my very bones and flesh, and I despise them. I quit trying, since I can never measure up. That is what happens when there is no hope. Despite my husband always telling me I am pretty, despite the unconditional love of my Grandboys, the poisoned flesh and bones haunt me.

    • oh, my dear Patty… this reminds me of my Nanny. She was never able to believe it either, in spite of her husband telling her over and over how beautiful she was… I’m so desperately sorry for the damage your mother did. And I am praying that God will somehow give you new eyes to see yourself as he does: remarkable and stunning and loved. e.

  50. First I was going to say my crazy long legs. Not my saggy belly. But then….I realized that saggy belly with a C section scar across it is PROOF of 4 amazing pregnancies resulting in 4 amazing babies that are now young adults. So I Love My Saggy Belly!

  51. I found your blog to be incredibly informative and inspiring. Soul searching has been a constant lately after going through multiple health problems this last year. What am I here for? What does God want me to do? And then there’s the weight gain. But now let’s get to the good stuff…I have fantastic and youthful skin, even at age 46. Thanks to the Lord and my use of Lubriderm for the past 28 years!

    I do hope I win a copy of your book. My self confidence seems to be running on empty lately.

    • So appreciate your encouragement, Patty… Praying that the Lord speaks to you and gives you hope and joy… may he give you eyes to see how beautiful you are, friend. e.

  52. I love my hair. I have struggled with body image since having my first son; a beautiful blue eyes baby. He loves to play with my hair and everytime he does I am reminded that he finds joy in it.

  53. Lots of truth & food for thought in this post.

    I love my brown eyes and hair and my olive skin. They are beautiful and they connect me to my strong grandmother & great grandmothers.

  54. Thank you for this! After kids and cancer, my body looks nothing like it did before!
    But I love my ankles, no matter how fluffy I get, they stay skinny!!!!!

    Ellie

    • Friend, it sounds like you’ve had quite the journey! And your positive attitude is such an encouragement to me. Praise God for ankles! Bless you, e.

  55. I LOVE ME AND ALL MY CURVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT MY HANDS ARE SMALL BUT THEY ALWAYS ARE OPEN WHEN SOME ONES NEEDS ME TO LEND THEM OUT…. OR HOLD THEIR HAND……THANKS FOR THE BOOK AND TO ALL IT MAY HELP…..

  56. Everything about your post exalts wives and mothers as the ideal and/or the default lifestyle for all women. The reality is anything but. What about the single woman who does not have the opportunity to be a mother, or the infertile woman–I’m sorry, womb-an–who is reading this?

    I am not saying that your words or your message are invalid. However, it would be nice if you could acknowledge the rest of the female population who does not fit your definition of womanhood.

    • Dear Jennifer, I’m so sorry that this post hurt you. You are right–there are so many women who struggle with infertility, or who are single, and I by no means meant to degrade them. I myself struggle with infertility, so I have a special place in my heart for that issue. I hoped through this post to show that while we might not all have children or partners, we, as women, are born creators… we are born with the desire to create… and that translates into many forms, not just into biological families/children. I do admit, my message is a bit extreme here because I’ve been so saddened by all of the women who feel they have to be like men. Who feel like being a mom or a wife isn’t enough. It makes my heart ache, and so that, in part, is why I wrote this post, too. To help women realize they ARE enough because Jesus made them that way. And to embrace their femininity, whatever that might look like. Bless you, and thank you for your honesty. e.

  57. I love so many things about my body, but I think my favorites are the little scars I’ve gathered over the years. No one else may notice them, but for me, they’re all reminders of a time, place, and experience. It’s like my own private storybook!

  58. I did not love my body, especially when my daughters where young, but I so want them to love their bodies and especially now that they have daughters. So for my girls and theirs and for me, let us embrace all that God has made us!

  59. I would have to say I love my legs they are finally long & lean. I’ve lost 90lbs this past year & I can finally take long walks w/hubby & dog & keep up w/a 1 1/2yr old granddaughter. I feel blessed to be making positive changes in my life. Now if I could just know when it’s enough to not obsess about my weight. When is it OK to stop losing. Thanks for your story & your journey.
    God Bless

  60. I have been reading your blog for a month or so now, and each time I am struck by the simple truth of your words and have been meaning to say thank you!

    I read this and thought “why can’t I be so accepting of my mental flaws as I am of my physical ones?”

    I still get a tingle of joy when my 18 month old holds my little finger, so at the moment that is my favourite.

    • oh Leah, thank you! That means a lot to me, friend. And I love what you said about your 18-month-old holding your finger… such beauty in those moments. utter, simple, un-tarnished beauty… treasure them girl, always. e.

  61. Beautiful post, thank you for sharing. But what a hard question! i guess my eyes would be my favorite thing about my body.

  62. One thing I love about my body? That’s a tough one at the moment. I am finding I have haelth issues because I didn’t take care of my body. I have punished it severely. I would say my hair but I just chopped it. :'( My memory is awful now too. I am just not in a good place regarding myself. I can’t stand to look in the mirror. I only do it when absolutely necessary. Self image is something I have battled all my life. So much wasted enerfy towards it.
    I am thankful I can still read and stumbled upon this post! Thank you! Thanks for giving us an amazing opportunity to win a book that could help us with something a lot of battle everyday.
    I have a beautiful bubbly 6 yr old daughter that I pray keeps her positive self image. That others and myself do not take it away from her!

    • I understand this, MB. One thing I’ve learned is to forgive myself. It’s taken years. But it’s also taken a huge load off my mind and heart. Because we are human and God has forgiven us, so who are we not to forgive ourselves? Praying for you, as I know it’s so hard. And for your sweet daughter too! e.

  63. What I love about my body is that I can still walk, run and do exercises to tone up other parts that I have abused. I am a healthy 48 yr. old woman and that is awesome in this day and age when so many people have a number of health issues.

    Thanks for a great post and for making us look at what’s right with ourselves and stop criticizing ourselves.

    God Bless!

  64. Emily, I love reading your words here! Bless you and thank you for these words of love and God’s seeing power. My favorite thing about me: my eyes and smile. That people would feel seen and loved by me — yes, that would be my hope and desire.

  65. What I like about my body is that the Lord made it and designed it – so I read in Psalm 139 – and that has made all the difference in my being able to be comfortable in the skin I’m in!!

  66. I like my eyes. I am able to see God’s creation all around. I also like my hands. I am able to hold a paint brush to paint on canvas what I see around me.

  67. All my life I hated being short. Jokes about my 5 foot 2 inch stature were a dime a dozen. And then I got hired to play Alice at Disneyland, my childhood dream. Elohim used that experience to help me see the benefits of being short. My husband loves it too and always calls me “cute”. Now I embrace the jokes and laugh along with people. My size is part of me and I love that my Creator made me this way.

    • Sara, what an incredible story! Alice at Disneyland? So cool! Yes, your creator made you this way… and he loves you! Blessings friend, e.

  68. I love this post. Thank you! What do I love about my body? the fact that it so carefully carried my 3 daughters so that I may learn to have them love themselves as fully as I love them.

  69. i never would have thought one day i could say that there is something i love about myself. it has taken me 20yrs of destroying myself to finally one day begin to learn grace and love with regards myself. the thing i love most about myself is how my story has opened doors for me to speak life into other’s lives who feel hopeless.

    • oh Jesse, praising God for the way he’s worked in your life–but aching for all of the pain you’ve gone through. i love how you’re letting him use your story to help others. this is redemption friend. bless you, e.

  70. I’ve always loved my eyes – they’re such a bright blue, people often think I’m wearing tinted contacts.

  71. It is a wonderful topic for a book. We do need to stop the “bad mirror image” from hitting each generation. I had sworn I wouldn’t do what my Mom did. She would look in the mirror and actually say “Yuck” and I observed it and internalized it. I didn’t do that but often discussed my looking fat while in the mirror. This my youngest daughter tells me greatly affected her.

    Now I can say I love my straight teeth. I finally got braces when I was 18 and it fixed the gap between my teeth which I loathed. I wasn’t impressed that it looked like Lauren Hutton. =)
    I am okay with my feet too. My husband has taught me how to embrace my milky white skin tone as well. I am ever grateful for my clear skin as my oldest daughter really struggles with that. Wow, I had four!

    Thanks for the question!
    Lina

    • oh Lina, these are the hard lessons we learn, no? The ones our daughters teach us? I LOVE your vulnerability and transparency here. Thank you for your heart, and the way you are learning to love yourself!!! Bless you, e.

  72. What an encouraging writting. I needed to read this today. I love my stretched marks around my tummy reminding me of my 2 beautiful children I ve carried near to my heart.!

  73. I love the way my pants fit WAY more now than I ever did in my 30s! 🙂

    And, I DO love my dimples that show deep when I smile!

  74. I’m owning this for myself, I am. I love my legs and feet because they carry me to places of discovery and because they are just the perfect length to make me distinctly the shortest person in my family.

    • lol LOVE this shelly! especially “they are just the perfect length to make me distinctly the shortest person in my family.” SO great. 🙂

  75. A beautiful post. We forget this so easily, it’s nice to be reminded regularly.
    I have always loved my shoulders. They are strong, a little wider to carry burdens for friends, and beautiful in that. I also love my eyes in recent years. They get more and more like my Nana’s eyes every year and someday I hope to see the same laugh lines and crinkles of a life lived well.

    • Nikita, Thank you… This is gorgeous. I love how your eyes get more like your Nana’s each year and how your shoulders carry burdens for your friends. e.

  76. I guess I’d say that I love my smile because others say that they love it. Seeing others respond to a smile is uplifting. Like you gave a little momentary gift of joy. 🙂

  77. Emily: Thank you so much for this post and for your book. This is such an important issue and what a blessing it is to get a Christian perspective on it. I’m hoping to serve women who are struggling with eating disorders and other crises to lead them to Christ and His saving grace. Thank you for sharing this message.

    Mary

  78. I love that even though the pain would cause me to see only disability, God reminds me that my body is still able. I am thankful for my muscles … both spiritual and physical. Without them I wouldn’t have the strength to move and accomplish all He has in store for me.

  79. I would love to received a free copy of the book. The thing I love about my body right now, is my belly which is round with new life growing inside it. <3

  80. This: “..and we don’t laugh nearly enough.” I love my eyes and smile.. and my daughter’s laugh helped me realize how much I love my own.

  81. I would love a free copy of this book. I would love to give one to my Mother, whom I take care of, and one to my daughter , who is having a baby in 6 weeks and is living with me. I just turned 59 and am with odds with my body… Trying to lose the unwanted pounds is so hard. I take my Mom with me to work out three times a week. It does her good and tires me out. She is in good shape for 82. I am struggling.

    • oh Paula… praying for you… the winners are unfortunately chosen randomly, but this book is available through the library system, and also at Barnes and Noble or online at Amazon. May God give you strength as you pour into others… try to make time for yourself, too. You are worth it.

      PS. I have two FREE ebooks available at my blog if that interests you; one is an e-sampler of my book, Chasing Silhouettes: How to help a loved one battling an eating disorder. If you subscribe to my blog you will receive them both immediately in your inbox: http://www.emilywierenga.com.

  82. I love my hands and the things I can do with them, from crafting to wiping the tears off my daughters’ cheeks.

  83. What do I love most about my body? Honestly, I don’t know. The question alone makes me tear up… I like my hands. I don’t know that there’s anything I really love though. :-/

  84. Your post was so timely as I’m hurting with a friend whose daughter is now in her third month of in-patient treatment for anorexia. Even though now retired, I have worked as an educator for many years and have shared with countless young women that the most important “cosmetic” that must be applied to their face every morning is a smile. I would have to say my smile and genuine hearty laugh are my favorite physical traits and have helped get me through even the rough patches of life.

  85. Great discussion. I love my strength even though its tough to maintain as I age. Muscle memory is s beautiful thing.

  86. Thank you so much for your posts–they’ve been exactly what I’ve needed to read this week.
    I guess I would say I love my eyes.

  87. I love my eyes. Seriously dislike the rest of my body until I remind myself that 4 babies have come out of it making it what it is today. Then I like it for about 5 mins. But seriously, I like my body lumps and all most of the time because of what those lumpy bumps represent.

  88. This is beautiful…You are beautiful!

    I would say the thing I like best about myself is my eyes – their color and shape and especially those little laugh lines that are starting to appear! 😉

  89. I love the curves on my calves and the shape/size of my feet. I like The way my hair is kind of wavy but not curly (which I used to hate). I also love my height even though people say I’m short- most of the time it’s the perfect height to be!

  90. I love my eyes even more now that I have sons and we share the same color. Your story will be an encouragement to many. I saw a friend travel the road of anorexia. Thank God for redemption!

  91. this really touched me, and i will be reading and rereading it for a long time. my body is in the habit of surprising me, doing things that i never thought it could. that is what i love most.

  92. I love my scars from surgeries to rid the cysts from endometriosis so I could get pregnant twice to 2 beautiful daughters (and a surprise pregnancy w/ my son not causing further scars!).

  93. I am pregnant with my 2nd baby, and even though I’m 2 sizes bigger this time, I love my pregnant belly! 🙂

  94. Oh, oh.
    I never liked my legs, silly and short. But then after the babies I started running to reclaim the solitude, and my silly short legs just fire it up when I run hills. That strength, it completely astonished me the first time.
    And I am from Europe, dont know if I can enter, but still, I had to join in. What a powerful sharing of beautiful women.

  95. Honestly, I had to really stop and think about what I loved about my body. I’ve had a few people comment over the years that I have a beautiful smile, and that has always stuck with me. So I would say my smile. But if the inside of my body counts, it would be my brain for the creativity God has given me and my heart for the compassion He allows me to feel for others that are hurting. I know I struggle a lot with body image, but I have 3 beautiful girls whom I want to encourage and be a good example for.

  96. I love my hands…that create and touch and give. Thank you for this post. Like a healing balm to my hurting heart.

  97. What I love about me is my smile and hugs to everyone. I recently was involved in a serious horse accident-7 broken ribs, broken back, punctured lung and broken wrist. Even through all the pain, I still can greet everyone with a smile and tell them this will past. Give them a hug to let them know, I still can give/receive hugs even though I am broken at the moment.
    Diana

  98. I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Aren’t we silly when we think that? I think I am going to bookmark this and read it everyday.
    Love, Patty

  99. Wow! I, like so many women needed to hear this. I have three young kids, one of which is 7 months old so I have been having several thoughts about my flabby tummy. Then I think how blessed I am to have kids after miscarrying twice and the extra skin is worth it! God is so good! As for what I love about my body it would be the green eyes God gave me.

  100. I stumbled across this post and the beautiful writing really spoke to me, especially the theme of body image. I have a small gap between my two front teeth and my teeth aren’t perfectly straight. I didn’t get braces when I was a child because I refused to have them! Although it didn’t bother me in the past I have been feeling insecure about my teeth over the past year or so. I am actually going to see the orthodontist this week about getting adult braces. But even if I decide not to, I try to remind myself that I am not judged by my smile. It is part of me, even though I sometimes feel self-conscious about it.

    Thanks for this article.

  101. Thank you so much for this! I have struggled with insecurities my whole life and even reading these comments makes me wish I could love this or that…I know one day I will be comfortable in the skin The Lord has blessed me with! For now, I love the part of me that has fed and kept my babies alive. I feel so empowered that I alone did that, I helped create and feed three cute chubby babies!

  102. Thank you for your post…really appreciate the heart of it! Hmm…what do I love about myself? The color of my eyes–they are very golden like a cat’s! Also I have this one crooked tooth that I wanted changed growing up–but now I love my natural smile. I struggle daily with crippling pain/fatigue due to disability. So to be honest–most days I struggle pretty hard with my body love–above and beyond the usual critical eye from decades of emotional/physical/sexual abuse…it’s been hard getting comfortable in my skin! There are terrible scars…but I’m growing to love them. Somedays I am even proud. It’s like, “I SURVIVED that!!!! And I can STILL laugh and smile and sing and take in the beauty of God’s world and commune with Him! So take THAT satan!!!!” My body tells a brutal story…but it also tells the story of a young woman with a warrior’s heart–who would NOT stop running hard after God–no matter how many times the wind got knocked out of me. I think I love that most–the warrior heart that beats within my chest.