People often ask me what my real name is. They can't believe that Maxie could be anyone's real name. They want to think it's a nickname, or short for something like Maxwell or Maximillian. Can you imagine me being named Maxwell? That's far too predictable, far too strong. And Maximillian? That's far too grandiose for me.

And folks who don't know me, when they see my name in print, often think I'm a female. I suppose they think Maxie is some sort of abbreviation for Maxine. When I was at The Upper Room, I used to get letters all the time addressed Miss Maxie Dunnam.

Now that's made a little more probable to strangers when they see Maxie and Jerry Dunnam on a piece of paper, with the Jerry spelled with a "J".

But I'm Maxie. That's it, and my Dad isn't quite sure where he got the name. But…