READ: GENESIS 1:26-27; 3:7-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19-20 I’m fat. My skin is broken out. My nose is too big. I’m ugly. Thoughts like these have haunted me most of my life, particularly during my teenage years. I often wondered what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I look different? Sometimes just looking in a mirror [...]

READ: ROMANS 10:9-13; EPHESIANS 2:8-9 When I was in high school, I played varsity basketball. That might sound impressive, but there were no cuts on my team, so anyone who wanted to could play. I sat on the bench a lot, but I didn’t mind. I knew my playing time reflected my skill. I knew [...]

I'll never forget the first time I saw it: the foreclosure notice tacked to the front door. At fifteen, I was old enough to understand its meaning. The bank was coming to take our house away. I'd experienced enough under its roof to know that this outcome was inevitable. We were already living without heat [...]