Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for August 29, 2011

The ‘F’ word might not be so bad after all

It’s a 2-for-1 on the blog today. It’s been a few weeks since I updated on my weight-loss progress for the My Loss Their Gain challenge, and I’m reading books like crazy to finish out the Tyndale Summer Reading Program, so I’m doubling up on posts today.

We were home in Illinois for two weeks, and I was sure my weight loss efforts took another beating. Good food. Lots of it. Little exercise. Frankly, I came home a little depressed. Then we had a hurricane when we got back to Pennsylvania, and we found a bat in the house, and the kids and I all got sick with a stomach bug. I remembered to weigh in today and discovered that I’d actually lost about 1.5 pounds since I last weighed in two weeks ago. Most of that is probably from the stomach bug. Not the most enjoyable way to lose weight.

So, with that little bit of encouragement, I’m resolved to restart my campaign to lose weight and donate money to widows and orphans in Liberia.

Speaking of Liberia, I learned another little encouraging tidbit this week while reading In This Place by Kim L. Abernethy, who spent time in Liberia as a missionary. When she and her husband first arrived in the West African country, the people were so excited and greeted them with these words “Thank you teacher for your fat wife!” Abernethy, understandably, was a little taken aback by this but came to learn that Liberians associated fatness, if you will, with blessing. To them, a person who is overweight must be blessed because they have more than enough food to eat.

Funny. I haven’t thought of it that way. I’m not fat; I’m blessed!

“Fat” is such a dirty word in our country. No one wants to be called “fat” which is why Abernethy reacted negatively when the Liberians used the word to describe her. I still bear the scars of a friend calling me “fat” in third- or fourth-grade. I can’t think of any positive ways we use the word “fat.” (Unless of course, we’re talking about “phat.” That’s supposed to be a good thing.)

While I have my own struggles with weight, having kids increases them. Both of our kids are “above average” when it comes to weight. Their doctor doesn’t make a big deal out of it, but the WIC nutritionists have labeled them as obese already. They’re 3 and 1 1/2. That seems a little premature to me, so we try not to stress about it. We try to make healthy choices as a family and encourage activity.

I don’t want my kids to have to bear the consequences of being overweight. Seeing their weight as a blessing because we don’t have to worry about food is an attitude shift I hadn’t considered.

So, I’m still aiming to lose weight by the end of the year, but I’m not going to beat myself up for failing to do so.

“Fat” doesn’t have to be such a bad word, although I’m not sure I’m ready yet to use it as a compliment.

Can you really trust a guy whose last name is ‘Malarkey’?

Blogger’s note: This review published in 2011. In January 2015, Alex Malarkey recanted his story and the book was pulled from shelves. You can read more about that here. I’m leaving the review up despite my initial skepticism and the recall of the book.

Kevin Malarkey, with the help of his son Alex, wrote a book. It’s the story of Alex’s time in heaven and some of the revelations he was given by God Himself after Kevin and Alex were in a horrific car accident.

I will admit: I was skeptical. I often am of near-death experience stories and accounts by those who have seen the unseen. That their family name is Malarkey did not help my skepticism.

After reading The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, however, I can say that even if their last name was Truth or Truestory, I could not have believed them more.

It’s arrogance, really, and pride, for me to be skeptical of their experience. I was caught up in their faith as I read, challenged in my own walk with the Lord, and humbled by circumstances I think are insurmountable or overwhelming. This family is an inspiration, and it’s not because they walked through this trial perfectly without fear or doubt but because they chose to believe God even when the odds, the doctors and the facts offered them little to no hope.

The Malarkeys are honest about their struggles and weaknesses. Alex, who was 6 at the time of the accident in 2004, was even reluctant to write the book because he didn’t want people to exalt him above God. Theirs is a story of hope and encouragement. And while they have a remarkable story of Alex being in heaven, talking with God and having the ability to see angels, they don’t expect you to take only their word for it. The Bible is their source of truth, not Alex’s experience, and everything he tells them, they filter through Scripture.

His story is not the only one of its kind. I’ve read 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. I have not read Heaven is For Real by the Burpo family.

It’s easy to dismiss stories such as these as incredible. It’s much harder to accept that God is making Himself known to people in a variety of ways, for His purpose, even in ways that seem unbelievable.

Matters of faith are not always black and white, scientific or tangible; that doesn’t mean they don’t matter.

Kevin Malarkey

The Malarkeys’ story is fantastic. When you think about it, so are the stories in the Bible. Skeptics of the Christian faith may not be changed by reading this book, but Christians can be encouraged by it.

Check out the first chapter here. And stay tuned for a few more book reviews this week. The Tyndale Summer Reading Program wraps up at the end of the month, and I’m sprinting to the finish.