Empty Spaces

I whispered, “I am not my burnout,” a phrase I held underneath my breath just silent enough so no one else could hear. These words erupted as Jen Hatmaker was giving a stellar keynote at the recent Brave On conference. While I do not recall Jen’s exact words, I sharply remember her speech triggered a new…

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Being Brave

I remember the first time I took a pregnancy test and the two pink lines appeared letting me know I was a mother; a baby was growing inside of me. We told everyone, and I began imagining and dreaming for what that coming little person would be like. It was pure joy, until the morning not…

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The True Dance

“Oh Woman, come before us, before our eyes longing for beauty, and tired of the ugliness of civilization…Dance us the sweetness of life. Give us again the sweetness and the beauty of the true dance.” Isadore Duncan   On the morning of September 15, before the Brave On guests began to arrive, I stood in…

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Bravery with Self

As I was preparing my talk for the Brave On Conference, I was searching for clues as to why March 22, 1990, was the day that changed my life. It was a pivotal day that ended my 25 years struggle of an eating disorder addiction.

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Braving On.

I can’t seem to stop taking a mental inventory of my backpack and suitcase, the one somewhere in the belly of this plane, not the one still holding some of the contents from my trip to Grand Rapids for Brave On over the weekend.

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A Bit More About The Brave On Story

Last year on a chilly summer Michigan morning I was standing in my closet, contemplating which pair of jeans would be most comfortable and facing down the reality that none of them seemed to qualify as a “well-worn, favorite pair of jeans” when my phone rang.

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