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/

Why Would They Be Resentful of Me?

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

I'm glad that I can always count on Jesus being the same, because I can't totally count on anyone else that way. I would think people would be happy for me, after being allowed to lose the weight, but that's not always the case. Instead of smiling when they see me, knowing that I am healthier, happier, and more at peace, they act resentfully, instead.

I couldn't figure out why they would be resentful of me. Are they worried that I'm not the same person they knew when I was heavy? Are they jealous that I was allowed to lose weight and they haven't, yet? Do they think that I'm flaunting my weight loss, when they are still struggling with their weight loss? Do they think that I'm not going to be their friend anymore, since I'm no longer heavy? I have no idea why anyone would respond this way, but it's happened quite a few times. Fortunately, not everyone responds this way.

Instead of worrying about why these people are reacting this way, I have to stay focused on Jesus. He wouldn't have me lose the weight if He didn't want me thinner. It would have been much easier for God to leave me heavy the rest of my life, but He didn't. He had some reason, whether it was my health, my self-esteem, this blog, or some other reason that He will show me. If this is the case, then, I shouldn't let other people's negative responses to my weight loss make me feel guilty. Maybe they will feel differently later, but I know I can count on Jesus all the time! Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my overeating, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse.

These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

Spreading Myself Too Thinly Between All My Obligations...

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. John 20:21

Sometimes, I feel like I am spreading myself too thinly between all my obligations. At times like this, I feel that God wouldn't want me doing this, so I look to see which things I can take off my overwhelming plate.

Sometimes, these obligations are for the church, and this confuses me. I want to do God's will by spreading the Word, but don't want to become overwhelmed and lose my balance in the process. Fortunately for me, Jesus didn't say, "Giving My life for sinners like Debbie is too overwhelming. I think I'll take that off my plate and have a more balanced life."

So, how do I know what to take off my plate and what not to? That's a really good question and I wished I had the answer to that. All I can say is to be prayerful about it and be open to hearing the tugging that God has on our hearts to do His will. Only God knows what His needs are. He will lead us to a balanced way to accomplish His needs so we don't end up hurting our relationship with Him, our family, and our sanity.

Does it mean that we have to be on the Decorating Committee for the church potluck, the Fundraiser Committee for the Youth Group, etc.? God, alone, knows what He needs us to do and how it will positively impact the people He wants. Fortunately, God always sees the big picture! He knows if these are vital ways He works through us, or if they are nice things that overwhelm us to the point that we aren't willing to volunteer to do the crucial things He wants us to do. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. John 20:21

Since this is the first anniversary of the Christian Overeaters Past and Present Blog, if you leave an email address under comments on this blog or the Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life blog I will send you a free PDF copy of the book Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life until October 22, 2013. Feel free to pass this message on to others. Debbie Seiling

Since this is an example of the positive influence God has made on my overeating, this may not reflect the whole meaning of the Bible verse.

These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:



Are My Computer, iPad, Tablet, and Social Media False gods?

And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:14

I never expected this verse to ring out my name when I read it this morning. Being prayerful about it, I realized that I have been all-consumed with my computer these days. I've started on a new means of Social Media recently. I have found myself asking family members to wait a little longer while I finish pinning things on my boards. I have found myself not thinking about reading the Bible as much as I used to, because I can't wait to get to the computer to get caught up on things. I have found that when I'm stressed, I have gone to the Internet and gotten busy on one thing or another, rather than turning to God in prayer with my stress.

When these things came to mind, I realized that I have been letting technology interfere with my relationship with God, my prayer life, and my relationship with my family.  I haven't told you, but I need to be honest with you. There are some nights that I have kept my husband up late while I'm doing one more thing on the computer, followed by one more, and one more very important thing.

Any time that I'm turning to things instead of to God, it has become a false god to me, because I have put it's importance above God and my family. Does this mean I have to give up technology all together? Not necessarily. It just depends on whether I can turn my compulsion with technology over to God and listen when God tells me enough is enough! If I abide by these instincts and don't put God, my prayer life, my family, or my other obligations on the back burner, then technology may have a place in my life. It's only when it becomes more important than these, although I might not think it is. My actions speak louder than words and if I continue to put God and my family and responsibilities off, then I need to be even more prayerful about turning this technology compulsion over to God's very capable hands. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. Deuteronomy 28:14

What Is Vain Deceit?

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8

I have found myself led to engage in philosophical discussions on religion, at times, but have since learned to be more cautious. I especially feel compelled to engage in conversations where the person is telling me that god only helps him who helps himself. This was the so-called passage that got me started reading the Bible from cover to cover. It's funny how people will say things like: god only helps them that help themselves to people who are overweight. Don't they realize how insulting they are being, making it sound like the person isn't even trying to control their eating? Many times, this is very far from the truth!

At first, I tried to find key words from this so-called passage in the Concordance at the back of the Bible, to no avail. I finally gave up looking for it and decided that reading the Bible was the only way I would ever know if it was in it. I read the Bible from cover to cover, but it wasn't in there anywhere or anything similar to it. Actually, God through the Bible tells us in a variety of passages that we are supposed to turn to Him in all things (pharaphrased). We are not supposed to help ourselves first.

Years later, when I was using Aesop's Fables to prepare my students for a state test, I found that god helps him who helps himself is in Hercules and the Wagoner. This isn't talking about the one true God, but a mythical god. I found this passage when I read the Bible. And they shall turn away their ears from the Truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 2 Timothy, Chapter 4:4

Although I can't quote a lot of verses from the Bible by memory and others are able to dance circles around me with their philosophical talk while quoting Bible verses out of context, I have learned to not engage in discussions of this nature. I tend to only respond when people say something about god helps him who helps himself, because I know it's not even remotely in the Bible. The good part about this was that I was led to read the Bible from cover to cover to find out the truth. In doing that, I found I love reading the Bible so much that I've read it cover to cover 16+ times. I find this an ideal way to start my day! Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Colossians 2:8

Getting that Exhilarating Bargain Hunter High...

1 Thessalonians 4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

I can find a bargain with the best of them, but at what cost? There have been times in my life that I couldn't afford to buy things unless it was dirt cheap! I used to worry and eat over my finances, before I learned to turn these issues over to God's very capable hands. I prided myself in finding good deals almost everywhere. Unfortunately, my actions made me a poor example of my faith, at times.

There were times where I found an item marked lower than it rang up on the cash register. I hate to admit, but there were times I have argued with the store clerk, telling them that they were obliged to give me the item at the lower price. I indignantly stated it was the store's fault because it was not priced correctly. In hindsight, I realize that it's not the clerk's fault that things weren't priced correctly. I shouldn't have taken out my frustration on them.

I had found through my bargain hunting, that if you look through all the same items on the shelf, you will sometimes find one with a cheaper price label on it. It became a common thing I did in trying to get that "exhilarating bargain hunter high" I enjoyed so much. One time, I felt guilty about this and called the store owner to apologize. The owner was appalled to know that I deliberately did this in order to find a bargain. I tried to explain that as a Christian I wanted to apologize for my actions. To be honest, I kind of expected the admiration of the store owner for being so honest. Instead, I heard in the owner's voice, "How could a Christian do something like this?"

Instead of getting the admiration of the store owner for my honesty, I got disdain. It caused me to look at this in a different light. When I'm using the previously mentioned methods for getting a good deal, it's as if I'm taking money out of the owner's and worker's wallets. More than that, I'm not being a very good example of my faith. It never dawned on me that I could be such a poor example for God. The urge to get that "exhilarating bargain hunter high" at any cost crosses my mind, at times, because I have a sinful human nature. I have to turn these urges over to God's capable hands and stick to the posted bargains and ads. 1 Thessalonians 4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

Why Am I Writing About South Korea in a Christian Overeating Blog?

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21 

My husband and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit South Korea. In fact, we just got back on Friday night, thus my writing this post at 3:30 a.m. instead of sleeping. While we were in South Korea, we were fortunately to meet many very helpful people. One such person, shared lots of background information with us. Some of the political concerns are currently listed on my other blog: Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life. 

One insight this person shared was about how in America we have a variety of sizes for the needs of a wide variety of people. In South Korea, the dress makers often have a one size fits all approach and that size is extra small. That means that there are lots of women who are constantly focused on dieting to fit those extra small clothes. I know that there have been times when not fitting the smaller clothes hurt my self-esteem. Does it affect Korean women the same way? Does their media make people feel like failures if they don't have a perfect size two body like it does here?

It wasn't until I turned my food, my eating, my stress, and my sagging self-esteem over into Christ's very capable hands, that these concerns were taken away from me. I no longer saw myself as a failure by not always living up to the norms of society, but saw myself through the all-forgiving eyes of God. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21 


I Can't Go Back...

For it had been better for them to not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2 Peter 2:21

I think this Bible verse sums up why I began to panic when I had gained back 27 pounds of the 80+ pounds I had lost over 30 years ago. It goes far beyond not wanting to have to deal with being overweight again. It goes far beyond not wanting to go back to having a low self-esteem again. It goes far beyond not wanting to worry about everything again.

It has more to do with not wanting to let the wonderful relationship I have with Christ slip through my fingers. He showed me how He takes care of every detail in my life and will get me through them, good or bad. He gave me this sense of peace that He was in charge and I no longer had to worry about being in charge in order to have everything work out. Jesus would take care of it and I no longer had to fret, control, or worry about it.

There was a time where I thought that I was the one who had to find a solution for all the problems of my friends, my family, other people, and the world. How realistic is that? Not very, but somehow, I would take it on myself to try to find some way to resolve issues far beyond my abilities. When I turned everything over to God's capable hands, I no longer had to be the one to solve all the problems of the world.

This very is significant, becasue I can't go back. I can't lose that peace, that wonderful feeling that Jesus is right there taking care of me, good or bad. I can't lose the positive sense of self-esteem He gives me regardless of what the scale says. I can't go back to worrying about everything, because it does no good. I know how wonderful it feels to be enveloped in my Savior's loving arms-life would be horrible without Him. I can't go back to feeling empty, alone, and afraid.  For it had been better for them to not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2 Peter 2:21

Life Would Be Perfect When I Lost All the Weight...

The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:26

When I was reading this verse in the Bible this morning, I was thinking-that's exactly what God did in my life. My life used to be fraught with turmoil. I was always worried about something, especially our finances. I never knew how we were going to make ends meet and I fretted, calculated, and stewed over our sagging finances.

I bounced from one diet to the next, trying to find the one that would allow me to lose all that extra weight, because "Life would be perfect when I lost all the weight." I kept feeling worse about myself the more these diets failed to lead me to the perfect life I dreamed of.

Then, when I gave up trying to control everything, my weight, my finances, my life, my eating and turned it all over to God, miracles happened. That same day, God allowed me to stop craving large amounts of food. I no longer needed that, because Jesus filled me with His Holy Spirit. I stopped needing to worry about finances, because Jesus made me aware that He provided for my every need. I stopped worrying about not having the perfect life, because Jesus gave me a peace through all of this that is indescribable. I no longer needed to be hyper vigilant about my eating, because I learned to start turning my worries over to God when I was feeling compelled to eat over the stressful events of life.  The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Numbers 6:26

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