I had an eating disorder for six years. Anorexia was the name of my game. I never threw up; I couldn’t bring myself to do it. And it never got so bad that I had to be put in a rehab center. But it plagued me for years. You never would have known. I mean,…
The Trouble with Pleasures
The Life of Christ Speaks of Sacramentality If the life of Christ shows us anything, it’s that the Stuff of Earth is meant to point us to the substance of Heaven. How? Consider the way He came eating and drinking. Jesus’ best buddy, John, set out to record the life of Christ, miracles and all,…
Digging Behind “Never Enough”
I wish you could meet Harlie. She knows what’s up. I met her over a decade ago at the bakery next door to my church in downtown Atlanta. I’d go there five days a week and order coffee. You want to get better at turning strangers into friends? Here’s a pro tip: Remember names. Someone’s…
Seeing Yourself as God Sees You
Do you have a photo of your spouse, significant other, or children as your phone background, eager to show them off at the first opportunity to anyone and everyone? What about your driver’s license photo? Do you delightedly show it to others? Pass it around at parties? Copy it to your online profile? Or…
Hunting Down the Spiders
My family recently moved to a new home on the south side of Nashville. “New” is probably a little misleading, but what can I say? It’s new to us. Actually, it’s a 1955 ranch-style home on a corner lot in a great neighborhood. I like the corner lot because that means more people can…
Hostage Negotiation
Figure out what’s holding you back. It was September 1973 in Stockholm, Sweden. A convicted felon left prison after serving a portion of his sentence. Think of it like probation. He was getting a second chance at life, a chance to prove he could reenter society and do it right this time. It didn’t…
Dear Twentysomethings…
Imagine Sunday night youth group at a big suburban church. We’re in the gym and its “Parent’s Night.” The high schoolers, some of them reluctantly, have agreed to let their parents join them in the hopes of building a little understanding between generations. We’ve done a few icebreakers and no one has died of embarrassment…
I Thought God Picked the Wrong Person
Our tastes of Heaven sometimes require a trip to hell — preferably roundtrip. As a food and fitness speaker and author, I’ve spoken to a wide variety of audiences and have always felt like I was doing God’s work. But when I was asked to present to a group of a few hundred recovering…
Say Goodbye to The Pit of Family Pileups
Pileups happen. Especially in families. That’s what happened to mine. That’s what happened to Keith’s. That’s the nature of family. The ties are so close that the same cord that hangs one tangles all. They say alcoholism is a family disease, but it’s not the only one. Both of my girls experienced some second-hand effects from…
We Can’t, but God Can
“It’s just me, and I ain’t much.” We’d been talking for well into an hour before she said the words. We’d worked our way through two cups of machine- brewed, hospital-waiting-room coffee. Hers with sweetener, mine with powdered creamer. Small of stature she was. No makeup, hair matted. Her T-shirt was loose fitting and crumpled.…
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