I want so badly to help my children develop a healthy body image and a firm understanding of their identity in Christ. But can I be honest? At {almost} 40, I still struggle with it myself. As moms, we often try to teach our children truth from a place of knowing it in our heads before truly believing it in our hearts or living it out in our own lives. But one of the beautiful things about motherhood as a child of God is how he uses parenting to refine us further into all that he’s destined for us to be.
Confidence is an area in which we could all probably use a little boost. My new friend, Dr. Megan Osborne talks of a different kind of confidence, a God Confidence, in her ministry work with moms and children. I’ve been so inspired by her passion to help families like yours and mine. So I’ve invited her to be our guest here at Grace for Moms this year. Each month we’ll be hearing from Dr. Osborne on the blog. She’ll be guiding us with her expert wisdom and encouraging us to learn to accept and appreciate the body God gave us as he shaped us with his incredible love. I want us to get to know Dr. Osborne a bit this month. I know you are going to love her sweet and passionate spirit!
Introducing Shaped with Love + a Partnership with Dr. Megan Osborne
Welcome Dr. Osborne! We are so excited to have you joining us at Grace for Moms to share your expert wisdom and insight into a topic that is of utmost importance to every woman and child.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Currently my husband and I are raising our son and daughter in Boise, Idaho. We love to downhill ski as much as possible in the winter months and mountain bike as much as possible in all other months! We feel blessed to have great church fellowship that continues to challenge and grow us in the faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus. Each day is a gift from the Lord full of pure joys, and unique challenges as the Lord’s presence is guiding and directing us along His path.
I have spent the past 15 years specializing in the field of eating disorders, first in research and the past 10-years in clinical private practice. Currently I maintain a small private practice working predominately with women desiring to break free from binge/emotional eating. Most of my time is spent in prevention writing for moms, one-on- one consulting for moms with questions, or working on the next children’s book! I travel regularly speaking to MOPS and mother’s groups across the country.
Dr. Osborne, why have you devoted your life and ministry to helping children {and their moms} love the body God gave them?
Growing up as a teenager in the 90’s, I struggled deeply with negative body image and cycled through anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder; I found healing when I came to accept the Lord as my Savior and experienced a full and remarkable recovery rooted in receiving the Lord’s love and discovering my identity and value as a child of God.
After my recovery the Lord guided me to finish my Ph.D. and specialize in the treatment of eating disorders. I spent a number of years at Stanford University researching and developing school-based eating disorder prevention programs but it wasn’t until the birth of my first child that I grasped the extraordinary and special opportunity that mom’s have to foster their child’s healthy and happy body esteem. I saw it as a two-fold approach: helping moms love the body God gave them, and then helping them help their children do the same. It is my heart that this generation would grow up differently than my own…that they could grow up loving and appreciating the body God shaped with love for them.
Tell us more about Shaped with Love Ministries…
Shaped With Love Ministries began in 2010 as I was publishing my first children’s book, Shaped With Love. Moms needed tangible tools to guide their children and I knew how powerful the message within a children’s book could be for both parent and child. Currently I have four children’s books: Shaped With Love, Tummy Talk, Greater Than A Superhero, Greater Than A Princess…and coming next, Greater Than A superMOM!
Equipping and encouraging mom’s on a regular basis became a passion of mine and the ministry grew to serve mom’s through a weekly free subscription called The Mommy Window; giving “teaspoon-sized” prompts and conversation starters to use each week with their children.
In addition to my regular MOPS and mother’s-group speaking, the publishing of Greater Than A Princess in 2015 birthed the Mother-Daughter event called You Are Greater Than A Princess, hosted at churches across the country as an unforgettable way for both mom and daughter to engage in fully understanding that their beauty, identity and value are anchored in the Lord.
What is one simple piece of guidance you’d give moms as they begin to address the issue of body image with their children?
Many, many things come to my mind, but the most anchoring piece of guidance can be summed up in one word: confidence. Not our own confidence, but the awesome “God-confidence” that comes from knowing that He will meet us in every challenge. We need to be cloaked, as moms, in “God-confidence” so that when our kids come to us with questions, or they have a concern {body image wise, or anything else} we emanate that confidence to them so they know they can trust us with these big questions. It is always amazing how sensitive children are to our reaction; they can read us so well. The confidence that we exude helps them feel like, “Hey, mom gets this stuff. I can talk to her.” Confidence is foundational in nurturing a safe environment for our children to share with us openly.
And how would you encourage moms who are struggling in this area themselves but want to be a good role model for their children?
First I would say, {and always do say} “You are in the right place!” No matter how deep you are personally struggling with body image and disordered eating, just the fact that you are open and willing to become aware of these thought/behaviors is HUGE, and goes a long way as far as shaping your own children with a different outlook on food and their body. In my many years of specializing in this area I have found that women who become moms, or moms who are ready to take the steps to making peace with both food and their bodies, are often times most motivated by their children to find lasting freedom. Sometimes our best role models are our children. I love how children are born into this world already loving their precious bodies…do you remember the first time watching your child discover themselves in the mirror or catch a glimpse of their little hand or foot? They are delighted by the discovery of themselves! Let these little ones be our role models in how we should delight and appreciate the body God gave us as well! We are all on a journey, God will go before us and make the path straight.
Dr. Osborne, thank you for sharing your heart with us. We are excited that you’ll be back as a monthly guest to continue to encourage moms in this crucial area of body image; for our own lives and the lives of our children. We look forward to gleaning more wisdom from you!
Moms, is this an area of struggle for you and/or your children? Please share your questions or concerns in the comments or reach out to me via email so we can make sure Dr. Osborne addresses your needs in the posts to come.
Dr. Megan Osborne has a Ph.D. in Clinical Christian Counseling specializing in the prevention of eating disorders and negative body image. Dr. Osborne is passionate about the encouragement and equipping of moms to help their kids love the body God gave them {and moms too!} launching Shaped With Love ministries in 2010. The desire to give children and moms tangible tools blossomed out of her life long love for children’s books and the unique way truth can be shared through the turning of the pages together. She writes to touch the heart of both the mother and child. Her affection for children’s books combined with her research background, clinical experience, and utmost passion for the spread of God’s Word provides the base for each of her books. She happily resides in Boise, Idaho with the love-of-her-life husband and two adventure-seeking children where they can frequently be found mountain biking or skiing in the Boise foothills.
This post appears courtesy of Dr. Megan Osborne, through a generous grant from FINDINGbalance, Inc. For more tools + an amazing community of adults finding freedom and balance in the areas of food and body image, check out FINDINGbalance.
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