What a blessing it is when you meet someone whose heart beats like yours!This was my experience getting to know my friend Constance Rhodes, Founder and CEO of FINDINGbalance, a leading non-profit resource for DAILY help with eating and body image issues. Constance is a passionate follower of Christ, a leader, speaker, author and advocate for those struggling with eating disorders. If I had to sum her up in one phrase, I would describe her as a small stick of dynamite that packs a powerful punch. She is tenaciously focused on helping those who, like her, have battled an eating-related issue.
If you have never struggled with an eating or body image issue, chances are, you know someone who does. Eating disorders are a daily struggle for 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States. Four out of ten individuals have either personally experienced an eating disorder or know someone who has. Eighty one percent of ten year olds are terrified of getting fat, yet obesity is now at epidemic levels around the world. Eating disorders are clearly on the rise, and most of us can admit there are times that we just don’t like our bodies. Yet for many, eating and body image issues remain a largely hidden issue. For those who struggle in the shadows, hope is something that feels desperately out of reach.
Every year, Constance and the team at FINDINGbalance host the Hungry for Hope Conference. This year the conference “Love Well” is June 25-27, 2015 at The Factory in Franklin, TN. The conference is packed with clinical information and training, powerful Christian speakers such as Teasi Cannon, author of My Big Bottom Blessing; Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of Love Idol, Megan Osborne, author of Greater Than a Princess, Michelle Watson, author of The Abba Project, and many, many more. Yet there is so much more than just information. The weekend is filled with amazing devotions, powerful worship, and a spirit of loving community.
I was privileged to attend the Hungry for Hope Conference in 2014. I was deeply impacted by the speakers, the testimonies, the worship. I laughed, I cried, I learned. I found information, I found inspiration, I found hope. Hope that filled the hungry places in my soul. Hope for my journey toward finding the balance I so desperately needed!
If you know someone who struggles with eating or body image issues, or if you struggle yourself, you do not have to hide in the shadows. You do not have to walk alone. Please join the FINDINGbalance community. They will help you. They will support you. They will bless you!
Join the Findingbalance community at: http://www.findingbalance.com/hfh/
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