Sunday, January 13

After flying home on Friday, I made a quick, 12-hour trip to Atlanta today where I spoke at Church of the Apostles, an evangelical, Anglican congregation founded by Dr. Michael Youssef, who has an amazing life story. Dr. Youssef was born nearly sixty years ago in Egypt, but his mother was in poor health when she became pregnant with Michael. The doctor recommended an abortion, but before Michael’s mother underwent the procedure, her family pastor reassured her and the family that God was involved with the pregnancy and that the child would be “born to serve the Lord.”

Michael, through another series of miraculous events, was allowed to leave Egypt and immigrate to Australia, where he studied at Moore Theological Seminary in Sydney and became an ordained minister. He and his Australian-born wife, Elizabeth, moved to the U.S. in 1977 and founded the Church of the Apostles ten years later in Atlanta.

I spoke to the congregation about a Perfect Weight America weekend seminar that we’ll be doing in May at Church of the Apostles. Eight hundred people showed up, which was our biggest crowd of the year and bodes well for the event.

Before my departure for the airport, I visited one of my favorite restaurants in America—R. Thomas Deluxe Grill, opened under the direction of Richard Thomas and located in the Buckhead/Brookhaven area north of downtown. Years ago, R. Thomas was an offbeat burger joint, but you should see it now. The menu has been totally revamped with high-quality organic ingredients, but the place still retains its quirky, hippie atmosphere. I ordered the Thai Express Bowl with chicken, quinoa, and veggies, chased with a smoothie inside a young coconut. Nothing better than flying home with a great healthy meal in my stomach.