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...
Building Personal and Spiritual Growth

Building Personal and Spiritual Growth

I hated Algebra in high school. Geometry, however, made sense to me. I really liked ‘if-then’ statements like this:  If a = b, and b = c, then a = c. It works great when you have to find the angle of a parallelogram. But often we adapt...
Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

You’ve probably heard this quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” Many of us dream of having great relationships with a spouse, children, co-workers, neighbors, friends or extended family. Even self-professed...
Change Bad Habits with the Power of Replacement

Change Bad Habits with the Power of Replacement

Replacement is my new watchword. It’s my key to changing anything I don’t like about my life. This may seem simplistic and even intuitive but let’s see how well we measure up with this little quiz. The Vacuum of Habit If you answered true to any of these questions,...
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....
Playing God and Robots

Playing God and Robots

Recovering from codependency is kinda like living in Florida—days go by when everything is sunshine. Then wham! out of nowhere, you’re hit with a surprise storm and find yourself drenched head to toe standing in the onslaught, wondering how it snuck up on you from a...
What’s in a Name?: Finding Our Real Identity

What’s in a Name?: Finding Our Real Identity

I remember when I was 17 waking up nearly naked in a strange bed next to a young man I barely recognized. I also remember gathering up my remaining clothes and fleeing. Later, I couldn’t help asking myself what had happened. I knew I had gone to a friend’s...

Lessons from a Lock-jaw

I’m sure I’ll be needing dentures long before the average woman my age.More often than not lately, I find myself unconsciously clenching my teeth.  A few times I’ve actually awoken in the morning with my jaw so stiff and sore you’d think I’d spent the night gnawing on...

Lists, Lessons, and Lyposuction

I’d have made a good Pharisee.  I love lists.  Further, I love checking off my lists.  I love looking at all that I’ve accomplished in a given period of time.  It makes me feel productive.  It makes me feel powerful and in control of something in my life (With three...