The Next Food Network Star: Freedom in Our Imperfection

My wife loves “The Next Food Network Star,” and compared with other cooking shows, that bore me to death even while feeding me well later, this show I like. The reason I mention this is because Susie Fogelson, one of the Food Network executives and judges on the show, made a divine statement last week.

Every chef competing to be the next star has to cook meals and then present them to the camera, so the judges are looking at their food competency and their star power on the screen. One particular chef prepared a nice meal and then flailed on camera. Ramblings and stutters. Then a long painful silence. A complete disaster.

After the one minute of torture was over the judges asked why he froze. He said he gets so worried about it being perfect that it messes with his head and he can’t do anything. Susie perfectly responded with a statement we should consider painting across the front of our churches and homes:

“There’s no room for perfection here. Just be yourself.”

Tags: freedom

Book Release: 8 Days Out – 2 More Endorsements

Eight days till take-off. The ebook releases next Friday, the 1st, and my publisher, Tyndale House, continues to make pitches in the media hoping to get some bites and some articles written about the book. I’ll keep you updated as some of that plays out. For now, below two more folks, Dr. Michael Youssef and David Zahl, weigh in on 40 Days without Food.

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“Russ has done an excellent job in opening a window into his inner life to reveal to us the human side of faith.”

- Dr. Michael Youssef, founding rector at The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, Georgia

“In 40 Days without Food Russ courageously tells the truth about himself with unfailing insight, negotiating the treacherous internal terrain of self-doubt and self-pity, deftly avoiding the pious pitfalls that normally plague such accounts. He fearlessly allows us to witness his fearfulness, not to mention God’s love for him in the midst of it. For anyone wrestling with questions of purpose and value—of what it means to be human—this book will be a source of immense wisdom and comfort. I can think of no better guide to connect all of us weary travelers with ‘the heart of the matter.’”

- David Zahl, editor of Mockingbird Blog

Tags: book

The Love of God

Maybe no loved you for you.
My friend, that day has passed.

Tags: grace

God’s Tummy

(My little girl, Josie, had a collision with her cousin while on vacation and came away with a dark black eye. Here’s our dialogue last night. A week after the wound.)

Josie: Daddy, my black eye is gone. Look. It’s not there.

Me: Oh, it sure is. Completely gone. Where do you think it went?

Josie: In God’s tummy.

Me: Really?

Josie: Yep, in his tummy. It’s not here anymore.

Me: Do you think that’s where our sins go when he takes them?

Josie: Yep.

(So that settles it, and it’s pretty good theology: all our imperfections in character, heart, and action are taken away, no longer our’s to deal with, absorbed in the loving being of God.)

New Coldplay – Mmmm, Good

Heard this yesterday. (I know, I’m a few weeks behind.) I’ve listened to it about 37 times in the past 24 hours. I’ve been a Coldplay fan for years. I have a vignette on Chris Martin (lead singer) in the book I’m presently working on – his ability to sing in front of thousands and get lost in it – performing without the imprisoning reality that usually comes with the burden of performance. Anyways, on to the listening, enjoy.

40 Days Endorsements and Publicity

We are in full throttle these last couple of weeks leading up to the release of 40 Days without Food on July 1st. If you can shoot a prayer or two heavenward I’d be real grateful as next week the Tyndale House publicist begins to make pitches to the media. Then, we just sit and hope we get some exposure.

Also, below you can read a couple of endorsements for the book from two great editors. Two more endorsements should be releasing next week.

“Though quite entertaining, and casual in style, 40 Days with Food caused me to confront the motives behind my daily actions. The book is a short, yet profound, look at what it means to truly live–something today’s fast-paced society woefully lacks.”

- Jim Reimann, editor of bestselling books My Utmost for His Highest and Streams in the Desert

“Russ tells a story filled with contemplative and entertaining insight. His prose proclaims the faithfulness of God is experienced bit by bit in slow drawls as much as in sudden blinding epiphanies.”

- Jordan Green, editor of Burnside Writers and the book, Besides the Bible

Back from Paradise, Back to the Computer Screen

We’re back from the beach, and I’m now sitting in front of a computer screen rather than the rolling Atlantic, the blue sky traded for some ceiling tiles. We had a stellar time last week in Hilton Head, and it’s taking me a little while to get back in the blog mood, so the below will have to suffice for now:

A killer post on Judgment and Love over at Mockingbird.

Over on my wife, Kristy’s, blog you can catch up on some beach pics of the kiddos. Below is a cute little teaser…

Tags: family

Off to the Beach

My family left for the beach this morning, where I will not be blogging or working. As little thinking as possible. I’m going to sit on the beach, build a sand castle with my daughter, and eat ice cream in the evening.

Mockingbird Post: Man Drowning, Rescuers Watch

Make the jump over to the Mockingbird Blog for my post on the recent drowning of a man in the San Francisco Bay while firemen stood and watched, bound to the shore.

Book Update – 4 Weeks Out

[If you're new around here, take a moment and read "The Book" page to get caught up on my book releasing July 1st.]

A little bit about 40 Days without Food:

Just four weeks out and at this point Tyndale House has the manuscript, and I’m not allowed to make any more major changes to the book. Their editorial team is combing through it, line by line, correcting any mistakes they find. The wheels are all in motion: assistants emailing me for endorsements, acknowledgements, and the dedication. Tyndale’s marketing department is forming and revising their plan for release. I hope to share my endorsers’ comments with you in a week or so.

A little bit about e-books:

I’m a late adopter, and with e-books I’ve been no different. I knew I would enter this world of Kindles and Nooks and iPads eventually, but I didn’t think it would be with my own book leading me there. A couple facts: $1 billion worth of e-books were sold last year. Fiction and non-fiction narrative e-books sell the best, which makes sense because those are not the types of books you pull off your shelf two years later for some particular fact and figure.

Publishers are trying to figure out how they can maximize the benefits of e-books in order to maximize the impact of a given book. Tydale’s first go at this is their “digital first” program. I’m their first non-fiction author. I’m the guinea pig.

The extremely bias moral of this blog post: Buy a Kindle, then buy my book.

Here is Tyndale House’s press release about the program and the book.