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 Do We Tell Ourselves?

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.

Hearing some youngsters calling names, putting each other down, I wondered what we tell ourselves. Do we do the same things to ourselves? Do we put ourselves down? It didn’t take me long to say a resounding Yes! I have put myself down more than I would ever like to admit.

When I was heavy, I used to make joking comments about myself being fat, trying to beat others off at the pass so that I said it before they did. I always secretly hoped that someone would say that I wasn’t fat and shouldn’t say that, but no one ever did. Actually, it just reinforced to me that others just viewed me as fat, which further hurt my sagging self-esteem.

When someone would complement the clothes I wore, instead of saying thank you the way I should have, I would find some aspect of the clothing to minimize it. I might say I got it on sale, or at a thrift shop, or that it had a minor flaw. It amazed me that the same person who had just paid me a complement about my clothing would squirrel up their face and look at the same piece of clothing with disdain. When I said these things, I thought I was being humble, but in reality it ended up being another time that I felt worse about myself.

Just think of all the times we say, “I’m so stupid,” for such and such. “Oh, I’m such a ditz,” and the list goes on. The thing is, this passage says that God comforts us in all our tribulations. Unfortunately, we are the cause of many of our tribulations by what we tell ourselves. Our comments to ourselves are just as destructive as the comments of others.

Fortunately for me, God shows me that my life is of value to Him. I am not stupid. I am not a ditz and if I’m overweight, that God loves me no matter what size I am. 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.

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.

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I Will Be Happy When This Happens…

1 Peter 4: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

The other day, I was sitting in the kitchen thinking I will be happy when it rains. Then, I asked myself what will I be if it doesn’t rain? Will I be unhappy? One thing led to another as I prayerfully contemplated this and God allowed me to remember what I used to say when I was overweight.

I used to say, I’ll be happy when I lose all my weight. About ten years after I started saying that, I looked back as an active overeater. I thought about how I was maybe only 20 pounds overweight and didn’t enjoy being that thin then, because I was waiting until I lost all the weight before I could be happy. I grieved for myself, because at 80+ pounds overweight at the time, I wanted to tell my younger self that I should have been happy then and enjoyed it, because that seemed so thin to me at my current weight.

As some of you know, I’ve been blessed to have been allowed to lose the 80+ pounds of excess weight and to keep the vast majority of it off for over 30 years. Now, did I do anything particular, in and of myself? No! I just gave up control of my food, life, and stress and turned them over to God’s very capable hands.

I want to say this didn’t happen overnight, but in some ways it did and it didn’t. There were lots of months prior to this point where Christ was showing me the control food had on my life. I was turning to food rather than to Jesus, so it had become a false god in my life. I felt cranky when I was overeating, which affected my relationships with my family, others, and myself. Additionally, I didn’t want to go to church much, because I didn’t want others to see how overweight I was.

Now, when I actually gave up control and told God that I gave up and would never be thin and if He wanted me thin, He’d have to take care of it- that happened the same day. That very same day, eating excessive amounts of food had no appeal to me. I was hindered as much about what others thought of me, but still had to struggle with this as I learned to turn other people’s opinions over to God’s capable hands. 

God shields me from my fears and stress, and bolsters my self-esteem. He teaches me to have joy in the moment and that I don’t have to lose every pound before I can allow myself to be happy. God wants me to be happy now and He can do the same for you, if you let Him. 1 Peter 4: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. 

Losing Sight of God…

But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:11

The other day as I was saying my prayers, I asked God to not let me and my family lose sight of Him-to keep God in focus. After I said that, I wondered about what I had just prayed, so I prayerfully contemplated my prayer.

I thought about when I had an art class and was taught to draw with perspective. We learned about the vanishing point, where the object we had been looking at from a distance vanished from view, but was still there.

This got me thinking about several things. One I was elated to think that although I sometimes feel that God has vanished from view, He is still there watching over me. This was very reassuring, because I am apt to lose my focus at times, especially when I’m turning to food to deal with my stress rather than turning to God.

On the other hand, my prayer alarmed me. I would be alarmed if a child were walking away from their parent, so that all they could see of that parent was a speck on the horizon. So much could happen to them. They could make a poor choice and step out into the street and get hit, but be too far to hear the parent or have them rescue the child in time.

This made me think that it’s not a good thing to wander so far away from God that we can’t hear His warnings and possibly get led astray. This gave me lots of food for thought. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Galatians 3:11

Since I am applying these Bible Verses to my life, it may not convey the whole meaning of the verses. Debbie

Blaming and Excuses…

1 Thessalonians 5: 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The other day, I was watching something on TV about the overeating epidemic. It showed a segment about a teen who had bariatric surgery and regained the weight back. I noticed a tone of blame on the part of those narrating the segment. It seemed that they said the teen must have a psychological problem to have gained all the weight back after having lost it with the surgery. I, frankly, was appalled to see that they had to have someone to blame for the weight gain. How dare they blame the teen and suggest that she have a psychological problem!!!

Maybe it shouldn’t upset me so, but I was overweight during the majority of my childhood.  I didn’t have a psychological problem and I don’t think the vast majority of overeaters do. Most overeaters I’ve seen are pretty sensitive people and are not real assertive. I feel that many don’t stand up for themselves against those in their lives who take advantage of them, put them down, ignore them, disregard their feelings, etc. I think that instead of saying, “I don’t deserve to be talked to like that,” they overeat to stuff down the hurt feelings and shame. 

I also mentioned my concern about all the excuses in the segment. When they confronted the teen about the weight gain after bariatric surgery, she blamed many in her life and society as a whole. Now, this is understandable because, as humans, we tend to blame others for what we do, rather than take responsibility. Blaming others doesn’t get us anywhere either, because, we are negating any responsibility for turning to food to console ourselves through life’s events.

Fortunately for me, God took the urge to eat large amounts of food away, the need to turn to food in times of stress, and the control the scale and other people’s opinions had on me. Instead, Christ showed me over time, in John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.  

When I started turning the stresses in my life, my sagging self-esteem, and aching soul over to His capable hands, Christ took away the hold that food had on me all those years…and He can do it for you, too! 1 Thessalonians 5: 22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. 23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Since I am applying these Bible Verses to my life, it may not convey the whole meaning of the verses. Debbie

Not Giving God the Glory…

 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Acts 12:21-23

There’s this passage and another passage in the Bible: And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?  There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. Luke 17:17-18 Both passages talk about not giving God the glory.

You would think that giving God the glory is an easy thing to do, but not always. I have found that whether it’s losing weight through God, sharing an idea I was given, or something as simple as saying how thankful I am for what God’s done in my life, there are those who will argue with you about it.

Somehow, these misguided people, think that it’s better for our self-esteem if we take the credit for positive events in our life rather than giving God the glory.  They say this even when I tell them that my losing 80+ pounds of excess weight happened after I prayed and told God that I gave up and if He ever wanted me to be thin, He’s have to do it Himself…and He did! 

I always figured that’s probably the first time I gave up the control over my eating, my body, and my life and put it into God’s very capable hands. Anyway, it didn’t happen by any plan of mine. It didn’t happen by visualizing myself thin sitting on some beach. It happened when I turned things over into God’s capable hands and I plan to keep giving God the glory for this miracle! And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Acts 12:21-23

Since I am applying these Bible Verses to my life, it may not convey the whole meaning of the verses. Debbie

Wanting the Easy Way Out

And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts. Mark 4:15

It seems like I’ve always looked for the easy way out. When I was dieting, I was always looking for an easy diet that required no major effort on my part. I wanted a diet that allowed me to eat most of the same foods I was already eating, in almost the same amounts I was eating, without having to sacrifice anything.

In school and work, before I would hunker down and do the necessary work, I was always looking to see if there were an easier way to tackle any project I had to do. I have always been looking for the easy way out, which isn’t necessarily always good for me. If I had found the easy diet I was looking for, I wouldn’t have been open to God showing me how to change my eating patterns and turning to food in times of stress instead of Him. If I had found easier ways to do some of my school work and jobs, I might not have had the self-satisfaction of sticking with a job until it was completed.

Like these two examples, it makes me think of this passage where the Word of God is shared with someone and it goes by the way side and Satan undermines the Word that was sown in their hearts. I need to be more mindful of not always looking for the easy way out. Christ is the way to salvation and that’s what I need to focus on. And these are they by the way side, where the Word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the Word that was sown in their hearts. Mark 4:15

Since I am applying these Bible Verses to my life, it may not convey the whole meaning of the verses. Debbie

Which Law Do I Follow?

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.

That's a good question? I explained in my last blog post that my air conditioner went out. Actually, the motor did. This may seem funny reading about posts related to air conditioners when this comes out, but I wrote these posts months earlier and scheduled them to come out on a later date.

Anyway, we have a home warranty that should have covered the new motor, but they didn't. We could tell that they probably wouldn't when we started getting the hem-haw when we told them that our air conditioner started shutting down.

We ended up getting our own company to handle it, at the suggestion of a few others. They are extremely efficient and are taking care of the matter. What more could I ask for? Early on when it looked like our home warranty company wasn't going to do the honorable thing, I prayed asking God to have me respond throughout this as a Christian, not ranting and raving about my rights, etc.

The new company told us that the home warranty company should have paid for the new motor without a doubt. He even called them to explain, but they didn't feel the same way about it. There's this part of me that still wants to rant and rave and threaten to sue, to contact agencies that expose companies that don't follow through, etc.

I've struggled with this, felt like eating nuts, but decided to go to bed early and ended up writing these posts. I needed to allow God to work through these things with me while I process them. A few minutes ago, I was hopping mad. Fortunately, God is here by my side to show me the Christian He wants me to be even though I feel vindicated in my anger. With that, I need to forgive the people who make the decisions in this company. Not all home warranty companies do this. Actually, this company has been excellent up to this situation. Anyway, I need to let go of the anger, so that I can be the Christian that God wants me to be. 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.

It Isn't Easy Being a Christian When It's Hot!!!

Colossians 3: 8-10.But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him.

Our air conditioner went out and it is hot, Hot, HOT!!! They've had to order a new motor and it happens to be during one of the hottest times of year, although this post is coming out some months after I've written it.

What I find is that my forgiving, patient, Christian nature is not as apparent when I am Hot! I found that I tend to get cranky easily and am far less patient with everyone else. To make matters worse, everyone else is hot, as well, and they are less than patient themselves. It crossed my mind to eat over the stress that's occurred today in our household, something quite uncommon.

Fortunately for me, God's shown me that when I feel led to food, it's the last thing in the world I need at the time. When I'm stressed, if I turn my concerns over to Christ, He will get me through whatever situations that arise.

 After writing this, I don't feel frustrated any more, because God's helped me see that the response I see in others is just that they are hot, as well. When I'm wanting them to be patient with me because of the heat, I forget that they are depending on my patience as much or more. I set the tone in my household and if I let the heat get to me, what is that saying to the others? No wonder things have been so tense. Colossians 3: 8-10.But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him.

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