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In high school, Natalie Grant was a pretty cheerleader who had it all together. In college, she dated the Big Man on Campus, the handsome guy who literally drove a red sports car.

"All the girls liked him," remembers Natalie, "and for some reason, he chose me."

They looked like a perfect couple, but they weren't. The guy constantly criticized Natalie's looks. He'd pick up a magazine cover and say, "You always ask me if you look pretty. This is what I think is beautiful." The guy even paid for Natalie to get braces, "because he wanted my teeth to be perfect."

In her quest to please her boyfriend, Natalie developed bulimia, an eating disorder. She'd eat, then force herself to throw up.

"I felt like I was in control," Natalie says now. "But actually, I was completely out of control."

The problem continued for two years until her siblings confronted her. "They were direct with me, but they didn't condemn me," says Natalie, who then went to a doctor and to her youth pastor to get help. She dumped the guy, and soon was on the road to recovery.

Now she says, "We should base our self-image on the Word of God. Scripture says inward beauty is the number one concern."

Check out Natalie and her latest CD, Deeper Life (Curb) at nataliegrant.com.

When David Carr, the drummer for Third Day, went to an Atlanta home improvement store, the customer service clerk called the warehouse to say David Carr was ready to pick up his order. The warehouse guy came running out for an autograph, thinking it was another David Carr—the starting quarterback for the NFL's Houston Texans. "It was hilarious," says 3D's David. That's not the end of the story: The other David, the quarterback, is a Christian who keeps one of Third Day's CDs in his car! (More: thirdday.com, houstontexans.com)

You wouldn't know it from his CD, but Jason Gay has a stuttering problem—he stammers when he talks, but not when he sings. Jason, whose music is reminiscent of Rich Mullins, decided his condition wouldn't stop him from pursuing his passion. "Our strengths are for impressing people," he says, "but our wounds can be a source of healing for others. My stutter has a way of inviting the audience to join with me in a spirit of brokenness and confession. God has called me to celebrate weakness and surrender." (More: jasongay.com)

In high school, Derek Webb never plugged into one church, skipping from youth group to youth group. "I became a Christian at 16, but nobody told me how important church was," says Derek, who recently left Caedmon's Call for a solo career.

Derek's top three reasons for faithful church attendance:

1) hearing the gospel weekly,

2) taking part in the sacraments, like baptism and communion, and

3) being in a community that knows and loves you. He also likes to remember why we're there in the first place: "Sometimes in church, we want our preferences—whether it's hymns or praise choruses or whatever. But it's not about us. It's about God." (More: derekwebb.com)

Christian rapper T-Bone joined gospel diva Yolanda Adams at the Stellar Awards earlier this year.

T-Bone rapped on Yolanda's latest CD, Believe. T-Bone also recently landed a role in The Fighting Temptations, now in theaters.

T-Bone plays an inmate who joins a gospel choir for a singing competition. During filming, he shared his faith with co-stars Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles. (More: houseoftbone.com)

Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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