Diet culture boggles my mind.

Over the months of her first year of life, I experienced some very negative comments and lies about my daughter's beautiful baby chub. She has a lovely, wise body, which stored away as much chub as it knew it needed to support her growth and development.

As a baby who was exclusively breastfed up to 6 months, and continued to be breastfed alongside solids beyond that point, I know my child's body has been given ample support to grow strong and healthy.

This isn't a criticism of people who feed their children differently, it's just a fact that you can trust your child is getting exactly the amount they need when they have been breastfed like mine - at least, that is what professionals have told me.

I find it very sad that I already find myself needing to defend a body's wisdom in a child who was not even a year old. We live in a culture fixated on controlling bodies in a way that is simply not healthy or good.

I know this is a complex and nuanced...

Moving your body and eating can be worshipful when motivated by freedom, not shame. And living in freedom isn’t about ignoring or neglecting our bodies but shepherding them with grace and love.

Instead of moving and eating to become someone new, what if you move and eat to come home to yourself?

Consider the story of the prodigal son. He left home and spent his inheritance on things that didn't satisfy or last, only to be let down, experiencing a new level of hunger, and feeling remorseful about his choices. Then, a severe famine hit the entire country, and he was in desperate need.

He found a job feeding pigs and hit a new low when his hunger became so great that he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating. He dreamed of coming home, pleading for his father's forgiveness and acceptance.

One day, he headed home. When his father saw him coming, he was FILLED WITH LOVE AND COMPASSION, ran to him, threw his arms around his neck, and embraced him!...

Welcome to the FINDINGbalance FREEdom Blog!

Today, we’re doing a “soft launch,” which means we’re putting it out there but not everything is final for this space. Currently, there will be two blog postings a month, each one alternating with our Old School Food Freedom podcast, and we hope to have more frequent releases as time goes on and as more bloggers join us.

We have writers from across the world, of all ages, ED experiences, recovery experiences, and life experiences! They’ll be writing from a place of hope, about enriching your relationship with God and encouraging you in your walk to FREEdom. As one of our prayer group leaders said, “May the Lord use each one to help others heal and strengthen their faith walk”, and that's why we're here.

If you, or someone you know, love to write and encourage others, please send them this link to our Blog Ministry Guidelines. This too is a work-in-progress as we...