You Are Made for More

It’s another member of the smiling Osteen family. Lisa Osteen Comes is Joel’s sister, and she is also on staff at Lakewood Church in Houston, pastored by her well-known brother, who contributes a foreword. Comes’s smile is hard-won, since she has paid her dues. She was almost killed by a mail bomb that was sent to the church in 1990; she was born with an apparent birth defect, which she overcame despite an early and gloomy prognosis; she went through a devastating divorce. Her faith has been tested, and she has thought through her experiences. They give depth to the affirmations that will sound familiar to Osteen followers (“God made you unique”; “you, too, are anointed”). Comes cites the Bible regularly for scriptural grounding, another anchor for her aphorisms for living. Some will invariably say this is overly simple; others simply want useful faith, and Comes provides faith help for those facing hardship. (Jan.)