Roberts - Wholeness: winning in life from the inside out

ZONDERVAN

Wholeness

Copyright 2018 by Tour Roberts

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Epub Edition January 2018 ISBN 9780310352532

ISBN 978-0-310-35394-2 (special edition)

ISBN 978-0-310-35319-5 (audio)

ISBN 978-0-310-35253-2 (ebook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Roberts, Tour, author.

Title: Wholeness : winning in life from the inside out / Tour Roberts.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, [2018]

Identifiers: LCCN 2017044656 | ISBN 9780310351948 (hardcover)

Subjects: LCSH: Excellence--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Christian life. | Identity (Psychology)--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Classification: LCC BV4509.5 .R624 2018 | DDC 248.4--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017044656

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked ASV are taken from the Authorized Standard Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked YLT are from Youngs Literal Translation. Public domain.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The author is represented by Dupree Miller and Associates.

Cover design: Jennifer McMillan

Cover photography: Dana Patrick

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

First printing December 2017 / Printed in the United States of America

I dedicate this book to all of Gods creation from

every tribe, language, nation, and culture.

Humanity, this ones for you.

O ne doesnt have to live a long time before realizing that neither the multi-billion-dollar cosmetology industry with its makeup magic nor the distinguished dermatology profession with its ability to correct flaws we all wish we didnt have can cover the scars that lie deep within. Yet we expend countless dollars to add to our bag of tricks various shades, textures, and fabrics of the fashion industry with its memorable brand-name apparel, expensive accessories, and accouterments of glitz and glitter, none of which can remove the bruises of experience.

Not one of us is exempt from the residuals that certain memories and mismanagements have left deep inside the human soul. All of the artificial solutions only camouflage the shattered individuals beneath their elaborate masks. We need only take a tour of the homes of the rich and famous or stride into the urban areas, red-belt states, and Appalachian Mountains to know that while the tools are different, the issues remain the same, hidden beneath cowboy hats and Levis or the sagging jeans and overpriced sneakers of low-income kids: all cultures and classes pay exorbitant prices to cover what they cannot correct. Twenty-four-hour fitness centers hiss and turn until the wee hours of the morning to help us maintain the physiques we all like to see. But when all is stripped away, we live not with our image but with our realities, which neither treadmill nor eyeliner can erase.

Although the outer appearance may look fantastic, anyone who has ever dated can tell you that what you see isnt always what you get! Once you date the so-called beautiful people, you find out that not all that glitters is gold. This is not to say that the less aesthetic ones among us are any more whole or healed, because pain is without prejudice. It reaches us all.

This is why Im happy that you are about to embark on a journey of wholeness! Author Tour Roberts has penned a powerful reminder to each and every one of us that no amount spent on that which surrounds us will deliver us from what mars that which is within us. This powerful, thought-provoking messenger is indeed the drum major who dares to beat the drum that leads us to the place where we can finally hear the sound that transforms us from the mundane to the miraculous. It is the inner life of those of us who march through life with half smiles and fully broken hearts to the dissonant sound of real regrets and mayhem that are Tours focus. It is a less than merry band of lifes participants he feels committed to lead into a place of harmony that they never thought they could successfully attain.

I first met Tour Roberts when he was courting my youngest daughter. I opened the door of my home with the skepticism that most fathers have when your daughter is talking too much about someone about whom you know too little. It is from this watchful perch I became a spectator and ultimately converted to the rhythm of his wisdom far beyond his years.

I pulled up a chair and dropped my glasses to the bridge of my nose to observe this young man who I thought on first blush was just another bag of britches and brawn. But on closer observation, I found that he has survived the vicissitudes of life with a gallantry and poetic cadence that dont seem to show the scars of a life filled with dangerous beginnings and less than perfect origins, and has emerged undaunted. As I watched and listened, prayed and pondered, I became more and more impressed with his insights and honesty, intrigue and curiosity from which his message of Wholeness is formulated. I eventually become so captivated and convinced, as Im sure you will, that he is the perfect one to discuss wholeness with us.

Eventually, Tour went from suitor to groom. And me? Well, I traded my skeptical glare for a gaze of deep admiration. We have grown in our relationship, and I have evolved from doubter to Dad as I became a spiritual mentor and a father in the faith to this uniquely gifted individual. Although I originally met him as the guy who seemed too good to be true, he quickly turned into a resource and I wondered how we ever did anything of consequence without him.

His story is captivating and his words transformative, and one would never guess from his peaceful presence and quiet tone the tempestuous ride Tour has taken to prepare himself for the task of drum major of a band of less than merry men and women. In his message you can hear the honest application of truth, coupled with the fact that he emerges from his dangerous beginnings having tried what he teaches and having partaken of what he now preaches to any who will listen and read his map to recovery. What is inspiring is his infectious love of people and his dedicated commitment to leading all those around him to that place of wholeness and tranquility at which he himself has arrived.