How 16 Friends Lost 159 Pounds

How 16 Friends Lost 159 Pounds

We started on February 2, 2017 and by the time we finished on April 19th, our I Am S.T.R.O.N.G. Team had collectively lost a whole person—159 pounds. It was a life-changing experience for all 16 participants.   A Passion to Empower It was an experiment born from...
Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

Overcoming the Need to “Medicate” Emotional Pain

It is human nature to flinch and flee from physical and emotional pain. And the torment from abandonment, rejection, verbal abuse, and shame can linger long after physical trauma has healed. But because those wounds are on the inside where no one can see them and...
The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

I could spit on every romance novel I read as a teenager. They deluded me into thinking that marriage was one, long romantic adventure. What a crock. I’m not down on marriage. I endured four difficult years of separation because I believe so profoundly in marriage....
3 Signs of a Tender Conscience

3 Signs of a Tender Conscience

Last week, my husband got into a bit of a funk. As we lay in bed after another exhausting day of parenting, work, household chores, and church activities, he opened up about feeling like he wasn’t doing his best to help our special needs son, to support our family, and in serving others in the community. We can all feel like we are not living up to God’s expectations. We question our…

World Numbers

World Numbers

It’s easy to live comfortingly in the cocoon of our own little world. Numbers like this wake us up to the fact that there is so much more going on in the world than we can possibly fathom. And while we may not be able to keep up with it all, God can....
Who Will Inherit My Treasure?

Who Will Inherit My Treasure?

I have seen a squirrel run up a tree backwards. I have seen the pale blue smoke of dirtbikes hanging in the morning mist. I have seen mailmen without a smile. I have seen ants heft a crumb, heaving in unison. I have seen a dead friend in a casket. I have seen puppies...

Three Weeks and Counting

I know, I know. I’ve been out of touch. No, I’m not dead. Although I think my muse has slipped into a coma. Yesterday someone helped me reconsider how I can keep in communicado with my adoring fans–I mean, friends. Thing is, I’m on the cusp of...

A Hundred Rabbits Out of a Hat

Mankind is pretty impressive. The things that we have created in just the last 500 years, to say nothing of the first 5,000+. From horse power to horsepower, from printing press to e-books, from air balloons to Ares rockets, from daguerreotype to digital photography,...