The ex-Victoria's Secret model walked away from lingerie modeling for her Christian values.
At 19, Kylie beat out 10,000 other girls during the 2009 "Victoria's Secret Model Search" for a contract with the lingerie giant. She strutted the runway as an angel during the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, with the likes of supermodels Miranda Kerr, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Doutzen Kroes. It was all she had ever wanted, but something didn't feel right. A young, newlywed Christian during this time, Kylie was beginning to read scripture more and more. As God's Word started to infiltrate her heart, she slowly realized that modeling lingerie wasn't in line with her beliefs. So when her contract was up with Victoria's Secret, she walked away. Now, at age 21, she's trying to be a role model for Christ. She's showing other girls that you don't have to be a sex symbol to be happy and accepted and successful. She's spreading a message of how our bodies are sacred, and meant only for our spouses' eyes. She's speaking out for modesty. And in a world where sex sells, it's a bold and brave message.
Sometimes the heart's call tries to overpower instincts, and it's up to you to draw the line.
Your heart and your instincts are often at war, and there's always a blurred line between them. The old adage says to "follow your heart, but trust your instincts." I've always found that statement difficult to make sense of. If your instincts say leave and your heart says stay, then which do you listen to?
The holidays inspire us to think about whether we believe in God. I don't.
As an atheist, it's nice to know that I'm less likely to ever become president than a devout Christian who's cheated on his wife with everything that moves. Hypocrites much? Even as an atheist, I know the Ten Commandments better than some conservative folks.
Calling on your faith may be the best way to combat signs of depression.
Some of the symptoms commonly associated with depression include loss of appetite, energy, and enthusiasm, diminished interest in things previously enjoyed, sleeplessness or hypersomnia, poor concentration, and social withdrawal. Some people have feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness or inappropriate guilt. Others face low self-esteem and too many have suicidal thoughts.
Dating is a little more complicated when you're following God's list of deal breakers.
Religion is just the first in a long line of other deal breakers. "You are not called to missionary dating," Christian writer Max Lucado writes. Then he advises, "Marry someone who loves God more than you do." So, not only do I need a guy who calls himself a Christian, I need one who walks the walk—I need a guy who helps me love God more fully. Need more deal breakers? I've got 'em.
Why natural family planning strikes me as ridiculous.
The argument against contraception is that it undermines the primary goal of marriage: to create a family. But I disagree. Contraception does what natural family planning tries to do, it just does it more effectively. Contraception gives couples choices and allows them to build a stronger relationship which will result in a stronger family, when the time is right. I have a daughter of my own now and I am amazed at the way she's changed our lives and our relationship. Seeing my husband in her and seeing my husband with her, does make me love him more than I ever have. But having a kid has also made my relationship more difficult.
If the Bible is indeed God's word, as this Christian writer believes, gay marriage doesn't fly.
To be honest, in the beginning, I wasn't sure about writing this piece. I usually don't mind giving my opinions on a range of topics, especially involving Christianity. However, this issue is far more complicated than anything I've ever been able to verbalize. But I decided to do it, to write about homosexuality just after New York's historic vote to legalize gay marriage, because I think the Christian view on the subject is widely misunderstood.
Trust, to be real, is like peace and love: it has to come from within.
Last week I wrote about the three layers of trust in relationships. Since then I’ve been noticing how and when I trust people and situations, as well as how and whether others trust me in our interactions. What I’ve noticed is that my own ability to trust runs deep, and that my deep trust is contagious. It’s not universally contagious, but it has the potential to be. This deep trust carries with it a strong sense of peace and well-being, as if all is right with the world, even when appearances seem to deny it.
The following checklist will help you determine your level of love or approval addiction.
In my experience as a counselor for many years, I have found that love addiction and approval addiction are far more prevalent than any other substance or process addictions. We live in a love-addicted, approval-addicted society.
What does it mean to be love/approval addicted? Below is a checklist for you to see if you are addicted to love and/or approval. Believing any of these may indicate love or approval addiction.
Author Frank Schaeffer remembers the girl who tempted him to break his parents' strict moral code.
I’m guessing that The Girl Who Let Me had been looking at the mountains, waiting for a boy, any boy, to come along. I wish I could remember her name. I said hello, and she said hello, and I said I lived up the road—not mentioning that I was one of the weird missionaries, though later she told me she knew who I was because her uncle disapproved of us Schaeffers and said so. Anyway, that first day she didn’t ask awkward questions. I asked her where she was from, and she answered Paris, and then, with a sudden flash of inspiration, I asked her if she’d like to go for a walk because the crocuses were still blooming only a fifteen-minute hike up the steep path.
She said yes!
Preparing yourself for marriage is even more important than preparing yourself for the wedding day.
We spend lots of money and time preparing for the wedding day. The penguin suits and puffy white dresses, cakes, champagne, the guests, where the service will be, then the reception. A lot of work for just a few hours of time. Often, we spend more time and energy preparing for the wedding, than we do preparing for the marriage. What would happen if we actually prepared ourselves for marriage, not just the wedding? What might that ‘preparing the garden’ process look like? Read on for three tips to prepare YOUR garden for marriage!
