tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post7691774865988168246..comments2023-08-10T08:24:08.460-06:00Comments on Mama Needs Coffee: Won't *something* wreck our bodies eventually?Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07923751596148085363noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-44273997823996738802014-08-28T10:43:37.400-06:002014-08-28T10:43:37.400-06:00Thank you! I really needed to hear this today. N...Thank you! I really needed to hear this today. Number 8 is 6 weeks old, and I'm so tired of the (self-imposed) stress of the gain weight/lose weight pregnancy cycle. Babies are so wonderful, and we need to realize what amazing things our bodies are doing, and that we're above all the Glamour magazine standards.<br /><br />And give ourselves a break! :)Marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06498320007390028812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-25240644782368563592014-07-18T21:40:13.259-06:002014-07-18T21:40:13.259-06:00Love it. Let go of your body. But still respect it...Love it. Let go of your body. But still respect it as a temple of God. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03340295455924252285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-68634163299059269602014-07-02T11:13:33.763-06:002014-07-02T11:13:33.763-06:00Beautiful reflections, Jenny! Thank you <3Beautiful reflections, Jenny! Thank you <3Calveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08862225132726923007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-85370535805779702652014-06-30T13:03:23.043-06:002014-06-30T13:03:23.043-06:00Thanks for sharing this, I really needed this.
Com...Thanks for sharing this, I really needed this.<br /><a href="http://heinbroconsulting.com/" rel="nofollow">Compliance Hong Kong</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13918286271556773755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-39585313113559416332014-06-29T19:01:26.825-06:002014-06-29T19:01:26.825-06:00It's like when Christ said to His disciples &q...It's like when Christ said to His disciples "this is my body, given up for you..." Just as marriage reflects the Trinity so also does motherhood reflect that life-giving act of Christ. We give up our bodies according to His plan. It really is something beautiful to reflect on.Lorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09257187530138620086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-57357003061551508762014-06-29T14:08:52.507-06:002014-06-29T14:08:52.507-06:00I really loved this. It's nice to be reminded ...I really loved this. It's nice to be reminded of such things when we are hit over the head every moment by our culture with the exact opposite message. Thank you for sharing!Rachel B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02768498323975181759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-23985659394832677762014-06-29T09:34:37.601-06:002014-06-29T09:34:37.601-06:00I so appreciate this column! I have been beating ...I so appreciate this column! I have been beating myself up for gaining so much weight through the course of the last 12 years (and 5 babies) while at the same time appreciating the beauty of the "church grandmas" I know (you know--the older ladies who dote on the children, give the mom hugs and tell us we are doing wonderful!!! Our church is by and large an over 60 group!). Your writing finally gelled these two opposing thoughts--thank you. Although I will continue to work (and pray) to lose these unneeded pounds to keep my body working reasonably for the next 40 or 50 years, I feel much further along the road of loving myself as I am because of you. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-38547093003194118182014-06-29T05:38:11.972-06:002014-06-29T05:38:11.972-06:00That's a nice way to put it:) thank you.That's a nice way to put it:) thank you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16623350308197825002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-52724618767801281662014-06-28T12:26:00.022-06:002014-06-28T12:26:00.022-06:00This has been a truth that has been speaking to me...This has been a truth that has been speaking to me lately too. It's so centering and gives an honesty and peace when I embrace it. It's like, looking at life the way it is, really, and with me in the center of it. (Literally: as in, hitting middle age - despite the world saying that 30s are the new 20s etc etc. I'm turning 34. I'm no spring chicken - I'll be in this middle phase for a good long while and I don't feel old - but mortality is real! Kids and life are taking their toll, and my wrinkles are not going anywhere except deeper into my epidermis.) <br /><br />I like the balance here - again (like your parenting piece I liked recently) - the both/and (it's always about the both/and for me, so tempted to black and white thinking for so many years!!) - that caring for ourselves and putting effort in is *worth it* and *important* but because of the mortality and the dignity combined. (This paragraph: "Now maybe you don't wear makeup. That's fine! I don't wear a ton, but I find that on the days I go further than my spf tinted moisturizer, blush/bronzer and eyebrow filling, I feel markedly better. Even with the same amount of sleep/coffee. There's something very life-giving for me about getting dressed, albeit in very simple, preppy clothes, and swiping on a bit of mascara. It helps me take my job more seriously as a mother, and it helps me present a more joyful persona to the general public." Yes.) <br /><br />We just had an awesome and sobering experience with my dad - he began a crazy experience with heart disease 30 years ago at the age of 34 - yup ,same age as me - had a heart attack and emergency bypass surgery, brought on by a combo of heredity and lifestyle (beer, smoker, diet - though not morbidly obese or terribly extreme in the eyes of the world, certainly "unhealthy"). Thus began a gradual total shift in lifestyle, as a young dad of 4 and 2 year old daughters, quitting the substances, a few years later having a spiritual conversion, doing the 1980s heart-healthy diets, and by 1990 he was svelte, cholesterol 176 and ready for his 2nd bypass - disease had been set in motion. Turns out he could help but not compeletely stop it. Well, last Thursday, with a 3rd bypass and some stents under his belt over the last decades, and no issues in the last 13 years, he had been experiencing some chest pain on exertion and they went in to check it out. Turns out those decades of discipline, caring for an already-compromised system, and offering up the inconveniences of his circumstances paid off. An already-bypassed-and-stented artery had closed - but - surprise! - no heart attack! His patched up heart had GROWN enough NEW collateral vessels to flow right around it and though the blood flow was limited, he easily survived and was in no risk of a subsequent attack because of it. He had been exercising diligently for years and years, which helps the heart grow these vessels, and had been eating well and taking the right meds and going for regular check-ups, etc. At 64 he was in better health, in many ways (not to mention personally/spiritually) than at 34. So mortal, so fragile, yet so alive, and caring for the mortal body he has been given. It was a powerful lesson on that both/and - and the regenerative power of life despite frailty. Nicely timed on the vigil of the Sacred Heart. God is so good - life is good. We live in a world compromised on the physical and spiritual levels - but the long-version of the serenity prayer keeps me mindful that this is no reason to protest or draw back - instead, seeing it, embracing it, and loving it is the only way to peace... : Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; So that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever and ever in the next.<br /><br />Amen.<br /><br />(Thanks Jenny!) LPatterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01513484184251700148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-34953803839705828522014-06-28T10:12:07.763-06:002014-06-28T10:12:07.763-06:00This is wonderful! Definitely some food for though...This is wonderful! Definitely some food for thought as my body is changing with my first pregnancy. I too feel a little better when I take the time to put on some extra makeup or throw together a cute outfit, but I need to remember not to make it be *about* that in the end. Because in the end it won't matter! Truly Mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10377756493364655272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-54321132111314658462014-06-27T17:17:10.976-06:002014-06-27T17:17:10.976-06:00Jenny, you put it in a way that reached me where a...Jenny, you put it in a way that reached me where all those other "get out there and do it for the kids/yourself" posts did not. Life is passing even as our bodies are sagging. So best be using them the way that will help us get to heaven: serving others and co-creating other immortal souls.<br /><br />P.S. Good job for walking 5 miles a day!Micaela Darrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04601442850363152303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-34930689046165720942014-06-27T12:00:22.911-06:002014-06-27T12:00:22.911-06:00I wore jeans, a t shirt with no writing on it, cut...I wore jeans, a t shirt with no writing on it, cute sandals and earrings to target today. Thanks for encouraging me to celebrate my current self. It was worth itMelissa Caskey https://www.blogger.com/profile/08188931380824724506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-10186894949332214412014-06-27T11:51:40.008-06:002014-06-27T11:51:40.008-06:00"The only real question is, will you give it ..."The only real question is, will you give it away, or will it be taken from you by force?" <br /><br />I have examples of both in my life. I knew which women I wanted to age like, and yet for some reason I didn't think of this in terms of being at peace with my body as it is *now*. So thank you.Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17699055172049185864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-34508548626792581652014-06-27T06:41:46.025-06:002014-06-27T06:41:46.025-06:00What a lovely way of looking at this issue. Defin...What a lovely way of looking at this issue. Definitely makes me re-evaluate some things.Krishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02999838147173390906noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-14666926949178675162014-06-26T20:06:31.953-06:002014-06-26T20:06:31.953-06:00This is a really profound realization....I definit...This is a really profound realization....I definitely should be spending more energy on serving others and a lot less worrying what I look like. Amelia Bentruphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04289052534608175705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-79493622891215686172014-06-26T19:32:33.025-06:002014-06-26T19:32:33.025-06:00Oh, this is so wonderful, Jenny. So, so good. Than...Oh, this is so wonderful, Jenny. So, so good. Thank you for it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-60438046275223026852014-06-26T18:51:59.600-06:002014-06-26T18:51:59.600-06:00I really love this.I really love this.Heidihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047404006544538053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-65158931410697541122014-06-26T16:22:53.294-06:002014-06-26T16:22:53.294-06:00Aw, I love this! If it's gonna happen anyway, ...Aw, I love this! If it's gonna happen anyway, you might as well give away your fleeting muscle tone to living life fully with a beautiful family. Definitely keeping this for future reference :-)Laura https://www.blogger.com/profile/17306677582500633622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-89658547591442720592014-06-26T15:31:18.525-06:002014-06-26T15:31:18.525-06:00This is just the most awesome post. Those last fe...This is just the most awesome post. Those last few thoughts after the picture are just perfectly put, and so inspiring.<br /><br />(And you look darn good, by the way.)Laura Pearlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16108081477711821273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1669762298855511295.post-80049005762305632312014-06-26T14:05:21.138-06:002014-06-26T14:05:21.138-06:00I like to call mine tiger stripes, not original bu...I like to call mine tiger stripes, not original but affirming and it reminds me of the strength that having children has given me. Great post. Love the bog. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02463849400203060771noreply@blogger.com