I'm a Beautiful Daughter of God Who Thinks She's Fat

"The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matthew 6:21-23)

True life: I'm a beautiful daughter of God who thinks she's fat.

You may be able to relate. 

For years, I've heard that I'm a beautiful daughter of God. It was once novel for me to hear that. It is still a wondrous thing. 

And I know that God loves me no matter what. 

But I am human, and I am worldly. And I have a tendency to believe I'm fat. 

Review: The Perfect Blindside

Today I am excited to share with you the very first one more catholic book review! Cathy Knipper of Pauline Media asked me to review Leslea Wahl's The Perfect Blindside, a novel for Catholic teens.

Courtesy of lesleawahl.com

First, I want to applaud Wahl for telling a realistic story, weaving in the Catholic faith artfully without overwhelming her readers or detracting from the plot. When I was a young teenager, many of the Christian teen novels I read frustrated me because they were cheesy; the characters, model Christians in constant inner dialogue with the Lord, lacked depth. With The Perfect Blindside, Leslea Wahl strikes a harmonious balance between the Catholic faith and her moving story.

Praise for the Steubenville Conferences

LifeTeen Steubenville East Logo

Five years ago, I attended my first Steubenville East youth conference, and God rocked my world. 

I was not yet fourteen, preparing for my freshman year in high school. I had braces and primarily wore brand-name clothing because I thought it looked cool. I looked and felt incredibly awkward, at all times, without exception. 

My older sister had invited me to our parish's youth group a few months before. I heard about the Steubenville East conference after a holy hour with the youth group. My youth minister bounded up to the podium and delivered an invitation to a conference for Catholic teens. Having experienced Eucharistic Adoration for the first time that night, I felt compelled to learn as much about the faith as I could, to join this "new" community of young Catholics. So I grabbed the forms for Steubenville East and headed home.