Impossible Beauty

In today’s episode I talk with Dr. Charlotte Markey about body image pressures impacting us and the next generation. Dr. Markey is a body image expert, professor of psychology and director of the Health Sciences Center at Rutgers University-Camden. She has authored several books, including The Body Image Book For Girls: Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless, Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys, and the forthcoming Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life. 

Dr. Markey also writes monthly for U.S. News and World Report, Psychology Today, as well as other publications, focusing on individuals’ eating behaviors, body image, and health. She has also been featured in and interviewed by The New York Times, The Economist, The Today Show, ABC News, Time Magazine, and Men's Health, among others.

In our time together, we talk about recent trends related to social media use and body image, how to build body confidence in ourselves and the next generation, as well as what’s behind the increasing rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders among males. Dr. Markey’s wisdom is a needed voice in our increasingly image-focused society. May we become thoughtful observers of these trends, so we can opt out of the messages and beliefs that don’t bring life.  

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

John Van Sloten is a Calgary-based writer, teacher, and pastor who is passionate about helping people engage God everywhere. Over the past ten years he has preached dozens of creation and Bible-based sermons on topics like radiation therapy, river hydrology, chemical catalysts, tree branches, human knees, and DNA repair mechanisms. John is a regular columnist with the Calgary Herald and his books include The Day Metallica Came to Church and Every Job a Parable. Over the past ten years, he has been awarded three John Templeton Foundation subgrants for preaching science, has been part of an Ambrose Seminary Science for Seminaries, and has been a Sinai and Synapses fellow. 

In my time with John, we talk about his latest book, God Speaks Science: What Neurons, Giant Squid, and Supernovae Reveal About Our Creator. John teaches that we can not only learn about God through the Bible, but through creation as well. He shows us that God’s love and character can be known more deeply as we marvel at the complexities of His amazing creation. John also shares how his conversion to following God caused him to change his vocation, as well as about the new journey God is leading Him on. John’s heart for God and his ability to see him in all things is inspiring. My hope is that this conversation may awaken us all to experience God’s presence and work everywhere.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Diane Summers, MS, RDN, CD is the founder of Hope Nutrition Therapy and a nationally registered and state certified dietitian. Diane has treated the full spectrum of eating disorders and concerns since 2004, has been supervising eating disorder dietitians since 2009, and works with clients and consultees around the world. She is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Narrative Focused Trauma Care practitioner.

In my time with Diane, we talk about what diet culture is and how it impacts our relationship with our bodies, how diet culture impacts societal beauty ideals, and the prevalence of disordered eating. Diane also helps us unpack the topic of religious fasting during this season of Lent, including disentangling some unhelpful ideas often surrounding this practice. She also reminds us of the redemption and healing present in story work, as well as the richness that can come from growing older. Perhaps most importantly, Diane calls us back to the wild beauty that is innate in all of humanity, including you.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

In today’s episode, we consider how looking heavenward can breathe new life into the present. This consideration is not a practice of escapism, but an opportunity to take a step back to see the larger story of humanity, where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

Thankfully, today’s guest is a gracious and thoughtful guide. Amy Baik Lee is the author of This Homeward Ache: How Our Yearning for the Life to Come Spurs on Our Life today, a literary member of the Anselm Society Arts Guild, and a contributing writer at Cultivating Magazine and the Rabbit Room.

In our time together, Amy unpacks what she calls our homeward ache, those moments of beauty or peace that cause us to long for a world we haven’t yet experienced. In Amy’s view, these moments are piercing hints of heaven that reveal “the great promise of a coming restoration.” Amy helps us understand why this homeward ache matters, how it has altered every area of her life, and how it helps her live more fully in the present. As Amy explains it, Beauty is breaking into this world and someday (to paraphrase J.R.R. Tolkien) everything sad will come untrue; here and now we are invited to be a part of that work of restoration.


Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Felicia Wu Song is a cultural sociologist, speaker, and author who studies how social media and digital devices alter the family, community, and organizational life. Felicia has studied History, Communication Studies and Sociology at Yale, Northwestern, and University of Virginia and her expertise has been sought by organizations such as BioLogos, The Vatican, Notre Dame University, and Fuller Theological Seminary.

In my conversation with Felicia, we discuss her latest book, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age. Felicia helps us better understand how social media is shaping our relationships, our understanding of beauty, and how we engage beauty. She also unpacks how we can engage digital technologies in ways that don’t feel all-consuming, as well as how we can help safeguard the kids in our lives from the negative impacts of social media. The truth is the technologies we engage are shaping us. Felicia helps us see how we can use our agency to mindfully participate in our soul’s formation amidst this current reality.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Kimberly Wilkerson believes in the power of language; how it impacts us and those around us. Kimberly is a speech language pathologist, as well as the founder of Token Clothing Co. At Token Clothing Co., Kimberly has fused her passion for language with her interest in fashion, to give women an experience that helps them overcome limiting beliefs and negative self-talk.

In our time together, Kimberly and I discuss the impact of our self-talk on our brains and bodies. Kimberly also shares about her process of discernment in starting Token Clothing Co., as well as what she learned about beauty when participating in the Miss America program years ago. As we move toward redefining beauty in our lives, it’s especially important to notice what messages we are believing about beauty and about our worth. My hope is that this conversation may not only help us become more aware of our self-talk, but also encourage us to speak words of truth and life over ourselves and others.

Free I AM printables page here:
https://www.tokenclothingco.com/pages/iam


Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

With the start of the new year, we find ourselves in a season inundated with diet and fitness-related ads. We are being saturated with and sold the message that now is the time to change, reshape, or perfect our bodies or food intake.

My hope is that today’s guest will help us all detox from the current flurry of diet culture messaging and be reminded of the goodness of food and of our bodies. Lisa Diers is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified yoga teacher who specializes in supporting eating disorder and body image recovery. Lisa has a combined over 20 years of experience in nutrition and yoga services and previously served as the National Nutrition and Yoga Director for a large national eating disorder treatment program.

In our time together, Lisa and I discuss the prevalence of disordered eating, as well as what a balanced relationship with food actually looks like. Lisa also explains how nutrition and yoga can be instrumental and complementary in reconnecting with our bodies, why “carbs” and sugar aren’t the fear foods diet culture makes them out to be, and offers guidance for those struggling with body image this time of year. My conversation with Lisa was like a breath of fresh air; I hope it is for you as well.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

In 2007, Kristi McLelland went to Israel and realized that God is better than she ever knew. After studying in Egypt and Israel in 2007, Kristi’s life took a turn, and she began leading biblical studies trips to Israel in 2008. Kristi is an author, professor at Williamson College, and a biblical culturalist who teaches the Bible in its historical, cultural context. Kristi’s most recent book is entitled, Rediscovering Israel: A Fresh Look at God’s Story in its Historical and Cultural Contexts. Kristi’s study trips to Israel, Italy, Turkey, and Greece, as well as her in-person and online resources position Westerners to discover the Bible within the Middle Eastern context in which it was written.

In my time with Kristi, we talk about what she experienced in Israel that helped her encounter the goodness of God in a new way. Kristi also talks about her reflections on the current situation in Israel, the relevance of the Bible in our lives today, why she believes the Bible is the greatest story there is, and how God is a God who sees his children and acts on their behalf. In this season when we reflect on the birth of Jesus, my hope is that this conversation may help us all enter more deeply into the reality of God’s nearness to humanity, and to each one of us.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

Registered dietitian and author, Dana Sturtevant, believes that society has ruptured our relationship with food, movement, and our bodies. Food has become something to restrict and our bodies a project to tweak and “perfect.” But Dana believes it doesn’t have to be this way. She has spent more than 15 years helping people let go of chronic patterns of dieting and disordered eating and move ​​into a more authentic, sustainable way to occupy and nurture their bodies.

Dana Sturtevant is the co-author of Reclaiming Body Trust: A Path to Healing and Liberation and the co-founder of the Center for Body Trust. In our time together, Dana discusses the origins of the Center for Body Trust, how diet culture so often gets in the way of trusting our bodies, how “health” has become an aesthetic, and how to engage joyful movement versus toxic fitness culture. Dana’s insights are fresh and freeing. My hope is that this conversation may help lead us into more connected and nurturing relationships with our own bodies.

Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.

All too often these days, bread gets a bad rap. In many ways, diet culture has taught us to fear “carbs” in all forms. Today’s guest, however, helps us see bread in a new way. She not only invites us to see bread as a gift, but as a sacred reminder of God’s presence and provision.

Kendall Vanderslice is a professionally trained baker, speaker, and author, including her most recent title, By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God. Kendall is the founder of the Edible Theology Project, an educational media project connecting the Communion table to the kitchen table. She holds a master’s degree in Gastronomy (Food Studies) from Boston University and a Master’s of Theological Studies from Duke Divinity School. Both personally and professionally, Kendall explores how God meets us in preparing food and sharing food with others.

In today’s episode, Kendall shares how she has come to love bread, how being a baker has shaped her faith, how what we do with our bodies shapes us spiritually, and how she has come to see food as a gift, after experiencing a disordered relationship with food. Kendall’s insights are fresh and important. May this episode open our eyes to the gift of food, the gift of our bodies, and how God is forming us and teaching us through all of it.


Buy Melissa L. Johnson's book, Soul-Deep Beauty: Fighting for Our True Worth in a World Demanding Flawless, here. Learn more about Impossible Beauty and join the community here.