I began ministry life as the wife of a church planter in the American South. My cultural influences and ministry models were wrapped up in being the godly, virtuous woman I had been taught was represented in Proverbs 31. My models for ministry were extroverted, competent, self-confident women who seemed to navigate the church world effortlessly. I saw the woman of Proverbs 31 as a competent doer...
At first it was just a diet. Then it was exercise and weigh-ins. Then it was lists of rules and pictures cut from magazines. Then suddenly, a car accident shook my world of order and planning. At one moment, I was standing on the edge of a metaphorical cliff of my own making, and the next I had toppled into a world I had never intended to fall into. My eating disorder felt like normal behavior...
We had only been together for a year when my girlfriend (now wife) first revealed to me that she had an eating disorder. It took more than ten years for Krista to overcome this struggle, and it took me nearly that long to figure out how to help her. Helping her required that I understand her heart better and learn to draw it out. Far too often, helpers in all kinds of scenarios settle for...
Everyone has their own unique story—a way of weaving together past experiences and relationships with current joys and sorrows to make sense of their lives. When we live our stories without looking to the master Storyteller, it’s easy to become lost and confused. In Restore: Changing How We Live and Love, pastor and author Robert K. Cheong helps readers reconnect with God and remember where their...
Grace is essential for overcoming addictive strongholds—the compulsive behaviors and false beliefs that have ensnared you. The fact that God offers you grace shows you that you have value to God; it’s a value that isn’t based on your performance. Grace is God’s unearned favor or kindness toward you. You and I don’t deserve God’s love, but he offers it to us by grace. Therefore, recovery is more...
