Rewind to years before the Orlando conference. I’m ten years old. At ten years old I have no formal training in psychology or neuroscience, but I do know one thing: dancing helps me feel better. Simply put, when I let the music move me, life felt lighter. I didn’t know or intentionally understand that dancing was fundamentally healing my brain, but now I do.

The following letter was shared on behalf of one of our brave clients who wishes to remain anonymous. Written as one of her therapy “homwork” assignments, this letter was processed in session with our client. After she shared it, we knew we had to share it with you. Please read slowly and digest carefully; this is a message to God’s daughters that cannot be ignored.

While I’m not normally one to brave theatres on opening weekends just to see Hollywood’s latest ideals go big screen, our schedule happened to have an opening that aligned with the opening weekend of Barbie. A mother/daughter date ensued; the movie made for interesting conversation our whole ride home. Below is an (only slightly biased) review from the stance of a therapist who specializes in women’s issues, mother of both boys and girls, and follower of Christ.

Lakes, barbeques, poolside novels…. those are the things summer dreams are made of. With summer comes water. With water comes swimwear. And in light of more sunlight, today I pose an important question: to bikini or not to bikini?

You see, the step-mama conundrum is a very real one. There’s a reason we often become evil. We, like peanut butter in a PB&J, are stuck right smack dab in the middle. Between good intentions and less than ideal circumstances. Between dreams of unity and realities of split weekends. Between love and resentment, past and present, spirit and flesh. We are just so very human. Need some encouragement in your step-mom role? This one’s for you.

Is there an upcoming season in your life in which your soul might need a social media break? It's refreshing to give our souls something they need (which is often very different from what they want, mind you). Read more about the top five reasons I found myself going a year without social media.

If Spirit-filled believers began to pursue their Father’s work at the same intensity with which we pursue self-promotion on social media, the world would be turned upside down. That’s a good thing, for when the world gets turned upside down, it begins to look a little more like the Kingdom of Heaven.

Is it a sin to have a smartphone? Absolutely not. Do smartphones usher in a lot of sin when not used responsibly? Absolutely. And it’s tough for someone with an undeveloped brain to know what responsible use of this device looks like.

We, as women, are so very harsh on our bodies. And why wouldn’t we be? We are bombarded with images of perfection. We checkout at the grocery store next to sleek and shimmering bodies on countless magazine covers. We turn on the TV and suddenly our living rooms are paraded by 15-year-old Victoria Secret models. Come on! We think to ourselves. These “women” haven’t even hit puberty. This just isn’t fair!