Compared to Who? Body Image for Christian Women

We live with more information than ever, but more knowledge doesn’t automatically make us wise. This episode explores how Google, AI, social media, influencers, and endless advice can shape what we believe, how we make decisions, and whether we turn to God first. Best-selling author and host, Heather Creekmore discusses how all this knowledge is influencing us and potentially impacting our faith and trust in God. 

This conversation focused on the difference between knowledge and wisdom and how you can filter knowledge and stay grounded in the truth as you consume it.

Also in This Episode:

• Why personalized social media feeds can make opinions feel like facts at 03:37

• The difference between knowledge and wisdom, including the famous tomato and fruit salad analogy at 05:26

• How knowledge can produce pride when it isn’t guided by love at 07:10

• Why wisdom is rooted in reverence for God and expressed through humility, discernment, and good conduct at 09:41

• How to evaluate health, food, exercise, and body-image advice online at 14:15

• Why knowledge without discernment can leave us “carried along by the tide” at 16:00

• How instant answers from Google can compete with dependence on God at 21:19

• The importance of testing confident, spiritual-sounding claims against Scripture at 19:34

• Four practical ways to pursue wisdom:

  1. Pause before absorbing information.

  2. Anchor convictions in advance.

  3. Ask God for discernment.

  4. Pay attention to what you’re taking in.
     (These applications begin at 30:43.)

Key Takeaway

Knowledge tells you what. Wisdom asks how, why, and whether it should be applied at all. The goal isn’t to reject information, but to filter it through God’s truth so that decisions come from humility, love, and discernment rather than pride or fear.

Learn more about Compared to Who? at https://www.improvebodyimage.com You'll find resources about Christian body image coaching, Heather's books, Heather's YouVersion plans, and more.

Check out and pre-order Heather's new book (coming 2/2/27): https://link.amazon/B0iBBJ8aA

(Amazon affiliate link -tiny portion of purchase goes to support this ministry)

Scriptures Referenced:

• Proverbs 1:7

• Proverbs 2:6

• Proverbs 3:5–6

• Proverbs 4:7

• Proverbs 9:10

• Proverbs 18:15

• Hosea 4:6

• Matthew 7:24–27

• 1 Corinthians 1:19–21

• 1 Corinthians 8:1

• 1 Corinthians 13:2

• James 1:5

• James 3:13, 17

• Ephesians 4:14–15

• Philippians 1:9–10

• 1 Thessalonians 5:21

• 1 John 4:1

• 1 Kings 3:9

• Psalm 1:1–3

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How can you tell if your pursuit of a better body, better schedule, better finances, or better life is quietly pulling your focus away from Jesus? As the "Over the Influence" series continues, this episode features host Heather Creekmore discussing the differences between self-improvement, self-optimization, and scripture's self-improvement plan: sanctification.

The conversation examines the Christian messages that add Bible verses to familiar self-help promises, from “become your best self” to “invest in yourself,” and asks what those goals are really producing.

You’ll hear why Jesus isn’t a self-improvement hack, why transformation means becoming new rather than simply polishing the old self, and how goals can lead either toward Christlikeness or deeper self-focus. The episode also offers five practical questions to help you evaluate your goals, including:

• Who is the source of this improvement?

• What is the real goal?

• How are you measuring success?

• What results are your goals producing?

• Is your focus turning inward or overflowing into love for others?

Listen for a fresh perspective on body image, productivity, discipline, and the pressure to become an ideal version of yourself. You’ll leave with a clearer way to recognize whether your growth plan is producing pride and burnout or humility, freedom, and greater dependence on Jesus.

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In this second episode in the "Over the Influence" series, Heather Creekmore explores the difference between being less influenced and becoming Spirit-led. Outside voices from family, culture, social media, and comparison shape us early, often turning learned assumptions into deeply held beliefs. But awareness alone doesn’t bring freedom. The Holy Spirit must become the voice guiding our thoughts, decisions, and desires.

In this episode:

• Influence begins before we’re fully aware of it. Heather Creekmore explains how family, culture, geography, and socioeconomic context teach us what feels “normal” and valuable 05:21.

• Not every belief we carry is biblical. The values behind comparison may come from family or culture rather than Scripture 08:38.

• Awareness is important, but it isn’t the same as healing or freedom. Heather Creekmore points listeners toward Jesus as the healer 15:15.

• The Holy Spirit guides believers into truth, convicts them, and leads them in everyday life 19:29.

• Being Spirit-led is an ongoing process of “keeping in step with the Spirit,” including repentance when we recognize we’ve gone off course 24:06.

• Wise counsel still matters. The Holy Spirit’s leading will align with Scripture, and trusted believers can help us discern what we’re hearing 25:49.

• A Spirit-led life responds instead of reacting, rests in identity instead of approval, and follows peace instead of FOMO 29:54.

• Listen to the end for a list of comparisons between spirit-led and overly influenced living.

Reflection Question

What’s one thing you sensed today that felt like peace, conviction, or a gentle nudge? 

Scripture Mentioned

• Proverbs 3:5–6

• John 15–16

• Romans 12:2

• Galatians 5:25

• Romans 8:14

Key Takeaway

An influenced life chases the loudest voice. A Spirit-led life trusts the steadiest voice and asks, “What is God saying to me specifically right now?”

Connect with Heather at: https://www.improvebodyimage.com 

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Are you making your own spirit-led choices, or are influencers, algorithms, trends, and other people quietly making them for you?

In the first episode of a new series called "Over the Influence," Heather Creekmore takes an honest, funny look at the everyday decisions shaped by outside voices. From mushroom coffee and vibration plates to the “it” water bottle, a dress recommended by Instagram, and a restaurant she suddenly doubted because other people didn’t love it, the details reveal something bigger: we’re influenced far more than we realize.

Heather Creekmore explores:

• Why a 10-second video can shape what you buy, believe, wear, eat, and even how you see your body at 03:58

• The hidden messages constantly telling you who to be, what to want, and what will make you valuable at 05:20

• How a stocked refrigerator revealed the surprising power of shared cultural influences at 08:21

• The question that matters more than whether you’re influenced: who or what is the loudest voice in your life right now? 10:51

• The difference between an influenced life that reacts to outside noise and a Spirit-led life that follows one steady voice at 12:47

• Why “self-forgetfulness” can help loosen comparison and body-image struggles at 13:28

• How to examine your scrolling, spending, self-talk, clothing, food, and entertainment without rushing to give the “God answer” at 16:46

Your homework: pay attention this week. Track what’s influencing your decisions, then ask whether those choices reflect your preferences or someone else’s instructions.

The series begins with a simple but unsettling invitation: notice who’s driving the car.

Learn more about the ministry of Compared to Who? at: www.improvebodyimage.com

Want your question to be featured on the show? Record a message at: https://www.speakpipe.com/comparedtowho

 

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Procrastination often looks like laziness, but Dana K. White says the real problem is usually overthinking. We try to solve the entire project in our heads before taking the first step, turning a manageable task into an imaginary maze of problems.

In this episode, Dana sits down with Heather and explains how to start when a project feels too big, why “project brain” causes us to fizzle out, and how working with your actual brain is more effective than trying to become a completely different person. They also talk about a really profound discovery about why we don't like to get rid of clothes that don't fit, and what to do if you have a problem wanting to keep every "good bag" or "good box." 

Listen to Dana's previous interview on Compared to Who? podcast here.

In this episode:

• Why starting with a huge project often leads to burnout and unfinished work 04:25

• The smallest step you can take when the entire task feels overwhelming 05:03

• How simply looking at the situation can break the cycle of overthinking 06:26

• Why making a plan should come after observing and experimenting, not before 09:17

• The role of “noncommittal experimentation” in finding what actually works 10:40

• Why trying to become a different, more organized person keeps us stuck 13:19

• How decision-free steps create momentum before the hard decisions arrive 17:06

• Why decluttering clothes can involve grief and the end of a season of life 19:43

• How to clean out a closet without starting with the most emotional items 20:40

• The practical question that helps with good boxes, bags, jars, and other useful clutter 26:19

• Why every space in your home is a container with a limit 28:38

Key takeaway:

You don’t have to become a different person to get things done. Start with what’s actually in front of you, take the smallest decision-free step, and let reality shape the plan.

Check out Dana's brand new book on procrastination here.* 

*Amazon affiliate link. 

Connect with Heather and Compared to Who? and learn about the many free resources here.

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Should you take a GLP-1? Is self-love really the key to loving others or feeling loved? And what do you do when another woman’s seemingly perfect life makes you feel like you’re losing?

In this episode of Compared to Who?, Heather Creekmore tackles three questions that show up again and again:

• Whether GLP-1s can be used wisely, especially when you have a history of disordered eating

• Why “love yourself before you can love others” doesn’t come from Scripture

• How to respond when you feel intimidated, inferior, envious, or competitive around another woman

• What your personal “ruler” reveals about the standards you use to measure worth

• Why the answer isn’t more self-love, but finding your identity and security in Jesus

If body image, comparison, or the pressure to change your body has been taking up too much space in your heart, this conversation will help you ask better questions before you take your next step.

**Correction to audio: Heather cites a statistic that says one-in-three are on a GLP-1, the correct number is 11% or closer to one-in-eight.

Resources mentioned

• 40-Day Body Image Workbook

• The Comparison-Free Life

• improvebodyimage.com

• speakpipe.com/comparedtowho, to submit a question for the podcast

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Negative thoughts can feel relentless, especially in a dressing room, in front of a mirror, or anywhere body-image fears get loud. But today Heather Creekmore explains why simply telling yourself to “take your thoughts captive” often doesn’t work.

In this episode, Heather explores 2 Corinthians 10:5 and clarifies that taking thoughts captive isn’t thought suppression, positive thinking, "Jedi mind tricks," or a battle of willpower. The deeper issue is often the belief beneath the thought.

In this episode

• Why taking thoughts captive is not step one 02:19

• What “captive” means in the context of spiritual warfare 03:54

• How negative body-image thoughts can reveal doubts about God’s character 04:23

• Why trying to suppress thoughts can make them feel even more persistent 07:26

• The difference between a thought arriving and choosing to dwell on it 08:00

• How hidden beliefs shape recurring negative thoughts 08:39

• What “I believe, help my unbelief” has to do with thought battles 13:03

• Why confession and knowing God’s character come before taking thoughts captive 19:32

• How bringing secret struggles into the light can help expose lies 22:26

What to Do Before Taking Thoughts Captive:

1. Get honest about what’s underneath the thought. A thought like “I look horrible in this dress” may be connected to a deeper fear of being rejected or unworthy of love. 

2. Confess the lie and the unbelief beneath it.

3. Remember who God is by searching Scripture for specific truth about His character.

4. Invite trusted people to speak truth with grace and help bring the struggle into the light.

5. Take the thought captive once it has been exposed as a lie and brought under the truth of God’s Word.

Learn more about Heather Creekmore's books and programs here: https://www.heathercreekmore.com

Join the 40-Day Journey or one of Heather's coaching groups at: https://www.improvebodyimage.com

 

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You replay the conversation, reread the text 100 times, re-analyze the comment, Google the symptom, or fixate. The loop promises that if you think hard enough, you can prevent the bad outcome and finally feel safe. But Heather Creekmore explains that the real issue usually isn’t the topic of the thought. It’s the grip it has on your brain. Overthinking often reveals a deeper desire for control and safety, especially when life feels uncertain.

In this episode:

• Why overthinking can feel productive, responsible, or even spiritual at 06:08

• How body-image obsession can become an attempt to control one small part of life when everything else feels uncertain at 08:38

• Why telling yourself to “stop thinking about it” usually doesn’t work at 12:10

• What Martha’s story teaches about setting down the need to hold everything alone 

• How to exchange a posture of control for a posture of trust 

• Why obsessive thoughts grow stronger in isolation 

• Five ways to interrupt the loop - and none of them sound like "just stop thinking about it."
• A super practical, physical practice for surrender you can start using today!

Mentioned in this episode:

• The final 40-Day Journey starts Monday, September 14th. Join here. Replays are available for missed sessions or if you're learning about it after 9/14/2026.

• Heather Creekmore’s upcoming book, Did I Say the Right Thing? and a Million Other Micro Fears That Keep Christian Women Stuck, which she says launches in February and is available for preorder on Amazon. (Amazon affiliate link)

• Meditate on 1 Peter 5:7, casting anxieties on God because he cares for you.

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Ella Langley's country song "Be Her" describes a woman who seems to have it all figured out — grounded, secure, at peace — and an aching desire to become her. At first blush it sounds like a song about envying someone else. Yet, the lyrics aren't describing another woman; Langley sings about the version of herself she wishes she could become. In this episode, we use that ache as a lens on one of the sneakiest idols we build: not comparing ourselves to an influencer or a stranger, but to an idealized version of ourselves. It's a "her" that stays just out of reach. We talk about why that chase can never actually deliver peace, what Scripture says about being transformed into an image that isn't self-made. To have this kind of ache is human, but there's only one place the ache can be cured.

Key Scripture references:

• 1 Samuel 16:7 (man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart)
• Romans 12:2 (do not be conformed, but transformed)
• 2 Corinthians 3:18 (being transformed into his image, from one degree of glory to another)
• Colossians 3:3 (your life is hidden with Christ in God)
• Ephesians 2:10 (we are his workmanship)

Discussion questions for listeners / community:

1. If you pictured your idealized self right now, what would she look like? What is she doing that you're not?
2. What peace or security do you think "becoming her" would actually give you? Name it specifically.
3. Where have you been conforming to a self-made image instead of letting yourself be transformed?
4. What would it look like this week to bring your ache for peace directly to God instead of to another round of self-improvement?

A note on the source material: This episode discusses themes and reported artist commentary about Ella Langley's song "Be Her" (from her 2026 album Dandelion) but does not reproduce song lyrics. Listeners are encouraged to listen to the song themselves for the full experience.

Links:

Join our next 40-Day Journey here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-day-challenge

Check out Heather's books on body image, aging, and comparison here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/books-for-christian-women-body-image

 

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Today’s conversation explores the profound and transformative topic of DELIGHT—what it means to truly delight in God and, perhaps even harder to believe, what it means that God DELIGHTS in you.

Our special guest, Stephanie Rousselle of Gospel Spice, is a Bible teacher, author, and founder of the Gospel Spice ministry. With her signature warmth (and lovely French accent!), she unpacks how the Christian faith is meant to be both flavorful and vibrant—not bland, boring, or stale. You’ll learn why delight isn’t merely a fleeting feeling, but a spiritual reality you can awaken to, even in the hardest seasons of life.

In This Episode:

• What is REAL delight?
  Stephanie Rousseau explains how the French word "délice" weaves together both "delight" and "deliciousness," inviting us to taste and see the goodness of God (04:23).

• The problem with vanilla testimonies:
  Heather Creekmore shares how she used to think her story was “vanilla,” and how Stephanie  reframes the idea that every faith story is a reason for delight (05:45).

• Eating disorders & delight:
  Why is it so hard for many women to see deliciousness as a good gift from God? Learn how our relationship with food often mirrors our relationship with delight, shame, and God (06:43).

• “Awaken Delight”—Satisfying Your Soul’s Longing for God:
  Discover why Stephanie chose the phrase “awaken delight” and how this perspective moves us from duty to genuine enjoyment of God (10:53).

• Does God really LIKE you?
  We discuss how Scripture invites us to go beyond intellectual acceptance to heartfelt experience, resting in God’s unwavering delight in us—even on our worst days (18:21).

• Moving from duty to delight:
  Are you stuck in a checklist, “onward Christian soldiers” mindset with God? Stephanie Rousselle shares how awakening delight brings you from drudgery to vibrant, embodied relationship (15:41).

• Practical steps & a special giveaway!
  Find out about Stephanie’s new book, practical ways to apply delight to spiritual disciplines, and how to get her exclusive 5-day devotional & enter a giveaway for a beautiful jewelry prize (34:51).

Resources & Links:

• Get your FREE 5-Day Devotional & enter the Giveaway:
  Visit gospelspice.com/heather for your exclusive resource from Stephanie Rousselle and a chance to win jewelry created by survivors of human trafficking.

• Order “Awaken Delight”
  Stephanie Rousselle's new book, Awaken Delight: Satisfying Your Soul’s Longing for God, is available wherever Christian books are sold.**  (Amazon affiliate link -tiny portion of your purchase goes to support Compared to Who's ministry)

• Join the 40-Day Journey here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/40-day-challenge
• Check out Heather Creekmore's books here: https://www.improvebodyimage.com/books-for-christian-women-body-image

Key Takeaways:

• God’s delight in you is not tied to your performance. He loves and enjoys you on your best and worst days.

• Delighting in God isn’t something you force; it’s something you AWAKEN to.

• Every story of coming to Jesus is DELICIOUS—never “vanilla” or boring.

• Understanding delight can transform both your spiritual life and your everyday experiences—the sensory, the beautiful, and even the hard.

If you feel stuck in spirituality as duty, or if you wrestle with your sense of “delightfulness,” this episode is for you.

 

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