Since I have used this Bible passage as an example of how the Lord God has positively influenced my overeating, this doesn't necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the verse. Debbie

COE Support Note:

If you REALLY want to read how Christ helped me throughout this weight loss and even when I was tempted, you should read some of the 100's of previous posts on https://christianovereaterssupport.blogspot.com/

What a Deal ...Until Your Pants Don't Fit

Romans 7: 24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Somehow, fiances have always seemed to be tangled up in my overeating. It started when I was really young. I remember going to The Creamery when I was in third grade. They sold an ice cream cone for ten cents and an ice milk cone for five cents.

Most people would have been pleased with the savings and would have bought one ice milk cone for five cents. Not me. I have always had a "Get the most for your money" philosophy. It would not have been uncommon to see me as a third grader wandering around town eating two ice milk cones, because I was getting more food for the same price. What a deal...until your pants don't fit.

I think it's the same philosophy that leads to me to order a dinner with two pork chops verses one piece of grilled chicken breast. I still feel like I'm getting this wonderful bargain. The pork chops wouldn't be half bad if I had taken one of the pork chops home for another time, but not me. I want to "Get the most for my money!"

I still am the same person, who tends to let my finances get tangled up in my overeating, but one thing has changed. I realize that even though I have these earthly vices, I have a heavenly Father who loves me the way I am and wants me to be the best I can be in order to do His will. He shows me that He will heal my soul that craves excessive amounts of food. He shows me that these aren't what is necessary for me to feel whole, to feel capable, to feel loved. He will be with me if I slip, picking me back up again and helping me to refocus on Jesus and His saving grace.

Being a Garbage Can So Things Don't Waste...

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

I hate to waste things and find that I am frugal to a fault. I mentioned in one of the healthy tips that it's better to give away left over treats rather than ending up eating them so they don't waste-something I did for many years prior to turning my eating over to God. He's made it easier for me to do this.

Since I've gained some of my weight back, I'm finding that some of my old overeating weaknesses have surfaced and I have to realize them before I can turn them back over to God. I was supposed to prepare some pie bars to take to a function. The frugal person that I am, figured that if I added extra pumpkin and eggs, I could stretch the filling and make lots more pie bars for less.

Well, sometimes I'm better with adapting recipes, but this definitely wasn't the time. The pie bars were really thin, mainly because I had poured them into several different baking dishes trying to make more from the mixture. They tasted kind of foamy/rubbery, but really had little to no taste, except that they reminded me of a custard pie of sorts, because of all the eggs.

I kept cutting the pie bars in order to try to salvage some of them to take to the function. All along, I was tasting some of the pie bars to see if they were palatable to serve to others. At a point, I decided they really weren't worthy of serving, but continued to taste the pie bars, as if I were sampling them.

At a certain point, God brought me back to reality. I was having a difficult time throwing them away. Not as much because I don't like to waste, but more because I don't like to waste money. Instead, I was eating them while I was slicing them, somehow thinking in the back of my mind that they weren't really wasting if I ate them.

The thought that was in my mind, which is often how God works in my life, was that if I counted all the pie bar slices I had sampled, I had probably eaten the equivalent of five whole pieces of good tasting pumpkin pie. Additionally, He let me know that I don't have to be a garbage can so things don't waste, including money. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6: 10

Beat Down by Feelings of Failure...

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

I read this Bible verse today and really liked the message it had for me and, hopefully, for you, as well. I tried so many diets over the years, that I just didn't think I could stick to any diet or food plan. I felt beat down by failure. Sure, I had lost weight on some of the diets, but I usually gained it back and even more.

I carried that feeling of failure around with me and it had to have affected all my relationships with my family, my friends, and others. That's not who God wants me to be. He wants me (and you) to be a good example of how He works in our lives. If this is a constant feeling, I'm not letting God's light shine in me. So what does this tell me? If God doesn't want me to be acting like a failure which affects my relationships with others, He has shown me this, because He wants me to change. If He wants me to change, He knows I can't make these changes in and of myself, but He can!

When I turn these negative feelings over to God to heal and ask Him for the willingness to turn these over to Him, He always takes care of everything. It's amazing that every time I've turned things of this nature over to God, my whole life seems lighter, brighter, and much more happy. Does this take care of these issues for ever? Well, Satan likes to use things like negative self-esteem as a subtle wedge in our relationship with God. So, I need to continue to ask God to heal these negative feelings when they creep up. Debbie

I Feel Like I Am Sinking in Quicksand...

Luke 6: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

 There are times of stress in my life and where I turn, determines the foundation of my house.  I have lots of options, some are healthier than others, but only one will secure the foundation of my house!

When I'm stressed, one of my common ways of dealing with it is to stay so busy I am unaware that I'm even stressed. It's often in times like this, I feel compelled to eat everything in sight, as if I have this gnawing, empty feeling down in the pit of my stomach. This method hasn't been productive for me, although I've used it quite a bit over the years.

Sometimes when I'm stressed, I will talk to friends to help me determine the best route to go. The problem is, friends have different points of view, all of which I seem to identify with. It has ended up when I ask the advice of friends, I just end up confused and even more stressed.

Sometimes, when there's a conflict with a person, I've talked to them about it. This is generally productive, although most times, they have no idea what I'm talking about. Usually, I've thought I've offended someone who is oblivious to this and I've made it more awkward by asking them about it, but it does resolve my stress.

What I find that works best is to lie down on my bed and have some quiet time with God away from TV, the household chores, and any other distractors. It gives me a chance to be open to God's direction, because He always sees the Big Picture. He always knows the best way to resolve issues that I might have eaten over, otherwise. When I am truly prayerful and listen to the still small voice of God and the instincts He gives me on the matter, I have a peace that is indescribable. My life goes so much better when I turn to God rather than turning to food, TV, being overly busy, and turning to friends, for God provides a firm foundation for me when I feel like I'm sinking in quicksand.
He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. Luke 6:48

The Lifestyles of the Thin and Oblivious of Others...

1 John 4: 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
It seems it was easier once the weight was lost, to get caught up in the lifestyles of the thin and oblivious of others. It's easier to be in a group of people who know me only at the size I am and to sit there silently as they laugh at others who are heavy. It's easier to sit there as they put others down, saying they just don't have any self-control. It's easier to look the other way, instead of drawing attention to myself, in fear of being ostracized from the thin group.

The thing is, to sit there silently feels like I am helping them laugh at me, the heavy me, that I once was, that carried my pain as a layer of fat on the outside. I don't think God wants me to do the easier thing and just blend in.

God healed my pain and had me come to terms with all my insecurities. If I sat there and did nothing, I was turning my back on all He had done for me. This realization showed me that I needed to try to be more of an example of what God wanted me to be. I can say that I don't like comments belittling others, the overweight or those with other perceived shortcomings. I can pray for those who are overweight to feel God's healing touch and have them develop a life long positive relationship with Him. I can make sure I have a welcoming smile when I cross the path of those who are overweight. No one wants to feel that others are glaring at them, because of their size. I know I didn't. It can be devastating, and we CAN make a change for others. We CAN be the person who goes and talks with the overweight person who enters the gathering that we are attending. We CAN make a change if we are open to the instincts that God gives us.

Were Nutrition Classes, Books, Diets, and Articles Helpful?

Hebrews 9: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

For the sake of this blog post, I can take dead works in this verse a couple of ways. I can take it more literally, in that my overeating to excess is something that can actually kill me. You would think that an educated person, such as myself, wouldn't have such an issue with overeating or being tempted to overeat. Haven't I taken a college level nutrition class, read every diet book at some time or other, and read enough weight loss articles to make anyone aware of the harms of being overweight?

On the other hand, dead works are those that don't lead to eternal life. Do I continue to let myself be consumed with eating, thinking about eating, or making plans of how I won't be tempted to eat something? Every time I get caught up in this focus on food, I'm forgetting to focus on God. I am allowing food to work this very subtle wedge in my relationship with God, my family, and myself, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Sure, we can make all kinds of plans of how we are are going to do better, but I found that the plans didn't work for me. The diets didn't work for me and I tried lots of them. The articles and books didn't work for me. The only thing that has worked for me is giving up making plans and instead, asking for God to take care of all of it, because I couldn't. I had to let go of my control. Once I started putting everything, my food, worries, and other things that led me to eat, into God's very capable hands, a big burden was lifted from my shoulders and I was freed up to start focusing on doing more things that God wanted me to do on His behalf.  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Hebrews 9: 14

Taking an Active Stand, Although Uncomfortable...

2 Corinthians 1: 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

It would be easy for me to join the ranks of the thin and insensitive after losing all the weight. (Actually, thin people are not necessarily insensitive, but often many don't understand the plight of the overweight.) I could just ignore others who are dealing with the pain of being overweight and all the insecurities and issues that lead to this. I could try to remove myself from any contact with others who are dealing with these issues, but that's not what God wants from me. He wants me to be an example of how He works in my life, in my body, in my relationship with Him and others.

He wants me to comfort others, to show He has not turned His back on them and their pain. Sometimes, this pain is a means to draw us to the point of turning our lives and that pain over to God, even for us who have been long time Christians.

I don't always know how to do this. I try to stay clear of negative conversations about people who are overweight. I try to say a prayer for overweight people when I see them, asking God to have them feel His healing touch and come to have a life-long positive relationship with Him. Now, I feel He's wanting me to take a more active stand. It's a little uncomfortable and glorious at the same time.

It's difficult sharing such personal details of my life, my insecurities, lack of self-confidence, etc., especially knowing that there may be people reading these blog posts who know me. It is glorious in the thought that God would allow me to see His hand in comforting others. That He would help others through my pain, insecurities, and struggle to turn my food, eating, control, and life over to God, who can comfort us all. My prayer is that I don't allow Satan to work the subtle wedge of pride, because none of this comes from me, it is all a gift from God, "Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 

The Body of a Barbie Doll...

1 Timothy 6: 17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

Yes, I bought into society's view that all you have to do to be popular was to have the body of a Barbie doll and to have lots of money. Since, I had neither, where did that leave me?

I felt like like I had to strive even harder to attain both of these. The funny thing is, before I turned all my food, eating, and control over to God, the harder I tried to be thin the heavier I became. As you notice, the sentence had the word I in it. I thought God would just watch and help as I tried diet after diet to have the ideal body, but that's not exactly what this blog post is about.

In similar manner, I tried to gain financial stability, which is a very elusive goal. It seems that the more I planned and schemed ways to earn more, the more the money seemed to slip through my fingers. I had trusted in riches and an ideal body and thought that these would positively change my life. I had been mistakenly focused on superficial ideals rather than focusing on God.

It wasn't until later, I realized, that all that I have is given me through God's grace. Sometimes, I have more and sometimes, I have less, but He always takes care of me. 1 Timothy 6: 17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

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