The Lord's Prayer diet

Eating slowly, and thankfully, could be the answer to the low-fat/low-carb wars | Marvin Olasky

We're celebrating this week what sometimes becomes a frenzy of eating, so it's time for a meditation on food that begins, as does much of life, with a memory of bats and balls.

The first church I joined was a fine Conservative Baptist church in La Mesa, Calif., nearly three decades ago. As I became involved, church officials saw the power of softball evangelism and allowed me to play second base on the team. Astoundingly, my participation increased team speed, since other players had the traditional mark of a softball power hitter, a big gut.

Two games from that season stick in my memory. The first, early in the season, followed directly my dinner consumption of a huge mound of mashed potatoes. Alas, in softball as in life your sin will find you out: The first batter hit a hard grounder right at me. I bent down for it like a slow elevator stopping on every floor. The ball went right through the wickets.