This is going to be a fun one.  I loved listening to Georgie’s end of the year podcast and the things she learned this past year of 2017.  It made me think.  What did we learn this year?  What were the lessons you learned?  Did you find freedom?  This year I had the blessing of starting a podcast, hoping to encourage those who are struggling with eating disorders, body image, comparison, how to balance social media with caring for your mental and spiritual and physical health, and most of all reminding young women of their worth as being made in the image of God.   I learned that living for God’s glory doesn’t have to be a burden; I learned that it is such a joy.    2017 was truly a wonderful year in every way with all the tears, all the trials, all the lessons, all the laughs, all the friendships, and so much more.   

I’m linking up with Meg and the Week in Review peeps for this ‘Year in Review Podcast.’   

This past year of 2017 for the first time in 10 years, I think I was truly learning what LIVING looks like.  I learned that I’m not living on this earth permanently, but living because of Jesus and for Jesus is the greatest thing ever.    

This was a BIG year; yet it was a quiet one.  I learned so much, and I had to step back from so many things.  I had to let go of some things and embrace others.  I learned that the scale is not my friend, but that intuitive living and intuitive eating is becoming my friend again.  

I found some of my favorite podcasters who address the tough topics of recovery with gentleness and care and balance.  I learned that as a Christian in the body image, recovery arena, I need to be truthful about my beliefs but gentle and kind too as I listen to others.  

Some of the lessons I learned included in the podcast that I delve into: 

• Why I Learned I wasn’t as Recovered As I thought 

• It’s Okay to Write Less Blog Posts 

• Why It’s Okay to Rest 

• Where I Found More Peace 

• How God Gave Me More Freedom 

• How Others Helped Me Cultivate More of a Desire for Deeper Friendships 

• My Life Scriptures to Describe the Year and Lessons Learned

• Why Intuitive Living is Incredible Freeing More Than Numbers and Rigid Restrictions
• Finding Some of the Best Social Media Influencers, Bloggers, and Podcasts for Recovery
• Why I Narrowed Down on Which Social Media Outlets I Use 
• Why I Figured Out I Wasn’t Doing Long Distance Running for the Right Reason I LOVED this past year; and I cried a lot this past year.  I really LIKED someone who didn’t like me back, and I learned to swallow the disappointment.   I learned that it’s ok to feel and to communicate with others.
  

  A recovery podcast recapping a year of #freedom, learning #intuitiveliving, and more…
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  I mentioned two podcasts on the podcast:

  Nourishing Minds Nutrition (These women have some GREAT knowledge on nutrition and intuitive living.  Not every episode is completely clean, so I will just tell you that to let you filter through it!) 

  Paige Smathers RD – This girl is one of the podcasts with SO many resources and stories on eating disorders and conquering disordered eating and intuitive living and exercise and so much more.  I have really enjoyed every episode I’ve listened to.    

   Communication is a GOOD thing, and that’s why I’m thankful for my family, this little space of the internet called my blog.   It’s so essential for recovery. And it’s ok to tell people that you are struggling, that recovery is HARD, that you feel like you’re failing, and that you need them to pray for you.   This year was a year of learning that grace is GRACE.  It’s undeserved favor; I can’t be a ‘good enough’ Christian to merit God’s love.  Herein is love.  Not That I loved God, but that He loved me.  I’ve treasured the book of 1st John and Ephesians 3 in reminding me that the love of God revealed to us through Jesus is so deep and wide there is no world that can contain it all.  I didn’t have to be the best person in the world; Jesus came for SINNERS; wicked people, to make them clean, to make them white as snow.  That made me throw off the anxieties and fears around trying to ‘paint’ myself up and be good enough.  It made me want to hunger more after knowing God through His Word, instead of just reading the Bible as a check list item.  It made me realize that being a Christian isn’t a drag or a glum thing.  

  It’s a glorious thing! 

  

  And I learned that PODCASTING IS THE BOMB like my friend Lyss talking about how being an influencer on Instagram can HELP not hinder recovery, Sarah’s story about being a mama and overcoming an eating disorder, Kat telling her story about dealing with comparison, and so many other stories. 

  

  What did you learn in 2017?  What was the most significant lesson?  

  What was your biggest trial and biggest triumph in 2017?   

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