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/

I Have a Difficult Time Forgetting

Luke 17: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 

I don't know about you, but this has always been a difficult thing for me to do. I still remember the person who said that I didn't look pregnant when I was near my delivery date. For some, that might have felt like a compliment. For me, it felt like she was saying that I just looked heavy like usual (I hate using the F_ _ word). It hurt my self-esteem so much!

I remember being left off of teams, was the last one to be selected, and left out of groups.  I used to feel there was something wrong with me, like I had done something wrong to have people ignore me or neglect my feelings and opinions. It wasn't until much later, I realized it was because I was heavy all that time. It probably wasn't until I had lost all the weight and started finding that people included me in things, asked my opinions, and acted like they mattered. I had to do a lot of prayerful soul searching to figure it out, but realized the weight loss made a difference in people's interactions with me. Once I realized this, I was angry with those people who now paid attention to me and treated me nicely when they ignored me before.

This Bible Passage reminds me that I need to be a Forgetful Christian, forgetting and letting go of past experiences and forgiving others regardless of what they did or didn't do, the same way that Christ forgives me. Luke 17: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.  

These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

Bible Study: Relating the Bible to YOUR Life!

Types of Christians

A Christian Caregiver

Christ Wants Lost Souls to turn to Him as Their Savior

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25

I think there are some who look down their nose at those who aren't  living their lives as Christians. I think there are some who feel those people aren't worth the effort to share their faith with them. The thing is, Christ didn't turn His back on us and wouldn't want us to turn our backs on anyone else.

Christ didn't give up on me when I was turning to food instead of turning to Him. He didn't give up one me when I was letting food interfere in my relationships with with family friends and my self-esteem, not to mention my relationship with Him. He was there with me through thick and thin and He wouldn't want any less of us.

So, if Christ wants these who appear to be lost souls to turn to Him as their Savior, how is that going to happen if we all turn our backs on those who aren't focused on Christ? We have to make the effort to share our faith with others, even when we feel it may not be productive. Christ wants Better Late Than Never Christians, because He is the Shepherd of us all. We need to give up on being judgmental and be open to giving freely of our faith. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 1 Peter 2:25
These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

Bible Study: Relating the Bible to YOUR Life!

Types of Christians

A Christian Caregiver

Not Ignoring the Needs of Others

Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. Proverbs 21:13

 It's easy to think that we know what Christ wants us to do on His behalf and head off in our own direction. I've tried that more times than I would like to admit. I have to remember that I need to be a Monkey See, Monkey Do Christian, following the positive examples shared in the Bible.

Reading the Bible on a daily basis has changed my life on so many levels. One way is that I know what has really been said in the Bible and what hasn't. You wouldn't believe how many people misquote the Bible, sometimes deliberately, to support whatever they are trying to convince a person of. Reading the Bible has given me a sense of calm, turning to the Lord in times of stress instead of to food the way I had in the past. Reading the Bible daily gives me this sense of peace that no matter what happens in my life, I know Christ will get me through it.

Reading the negative outcomes in the Bible of those who went off on their own and didn't stay center on God's will for us, has helped me pay more attention to the positive examples of followers in the Bible. The more I read the Bible, the more I am reminded that I need to be a better example of my faith in all areas of my life. I don't want to be ignoring the needs of others like this Bible verse and be only focused on my own. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. Proverbs 21:13

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

God Had Lots of Things He Needed to Show Me, First

Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5

I wonder if people read these blog posts and expect that they will start losing their weight immediately after praying. Although that could happen, I think it's a lot like starting our faith walk with Christ. We need to be One Step at a Time Christians. We start out and gradually come to know Him more and more as our Lord and Savior and our faith walk becomes stronger!

I know that I prayed for years for God to help me lose the weight, but it didn't happen then. He had lots of things He needed to show me first. God allowed me to see that I had been turning to food in times of stress, making it a false god in my life, because I wasn't turning to Christ. He had to show me that I let food interfere in my relationship with my family, friends, my self esteem and my relationship with Him.

Then, one day, I gave up and turned to Christ and prayed saying that I give up and can't do it and if He ever wanted me to be thin, He'd have to do it, because I couldn't. It was that same day that the Lord allowed me to stop craving large amounts of food, sweets, and excessive carbs. I am thankful that Christ didn't answer my prayers to lose my weight immediately, because my faith walk might not have grown to know what a miracle He had done in my life. Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5

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

Now the Lord Fills My Life With Peace when Faced with Turmoil

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

I had been an compulsive overeatear for most of my life. I turned to food to solace my aching soul when I was stressed or worried about things out of my control. Although I turned to food, it never comforted me the way that Christ can.

Christ has given me a calmness when situations arise, knowing that He, in His infinite mercy will be there to guide me throughout the situations that arise. This peace is even more significant than the weight loss that God allowed in my life.

I feel like I'm a Pinch Me Christian, because it feels too good to be true! Fortunately for me, it is! Christ showed me how food had become a false god in my life, because I turned to it and not Him. Now, the Lord fills my life with peace that only He can give even when faced with turmoil. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

Bible Study: Relating the Bible to YOUR Life!

Types of Christians

A Christian Caregiver

Trying to Stack the Deck

Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:19

I think that with being overweight so much of my childhood, I struggled with my self-esteem. I tried to stack the deck to get the attention of others in ways to counteract that. I used to do favors for people hoping to get Atta Boys which I call Good Debbie's. I liked the praise I got when I did nice things for others and tried to get more and more.

I would anticipate things that people might need and attempt to accomplish them whether they really needed assistance or not. I am realizing that this is a common theme in my adult life, as well. Maybe, I'm still an Atta Boy Christian, even though I think I've grown beyond that.

I don't want to be dependent on the compliments of others to give me my self-worth. I get that from my relationship with Christ. He fills my inner void in ways that no amounts of food or compliments could ever do. I don't have to give up doing nice things for people, but it is much better to do it subtly so that no one is aware. God wants me to have a humble spirit, not focused on the Atta Boys or worldly gain for the things I do for Him. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Proverbs 16:19

Are You a Bitter Christian?

For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13

 I have talked to a few people who have lost their faith in Christ, because He didn't answer their prayers to save a loved one. Christ doesn't say that He will never have bad things happen in the lives of Christians. Christians will lose jobs, loved ones, will have illness, diseases and stressful situations in their lives like other people of the world.

The difference is that Christ will be there with us to hold our hand through these ordeals and will get us through them. I feel for those who have become Bitter Christians, losing their way, because their prayers weren't answered the way they had hoped. My prayer is for them to have a renewed faith in Christ, knowing that He will get them through both the good and the devastating things that happen in their lives.

I used to eat when I dealt with stressful situations and turned to food instead of to my Savior. I find that Christ quite often gives me The Peace Which Passes All Understanding to get beyond situations that seem insurmountable. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13
These Are Other Blogs I Felt Led to Write:

Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

Bible Study: Relating the Bible to YOUR Life!

Types of Christians

A Christian Caregiver


The Movie: Miracles From Heaven and Personal Reflections

Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5

I had something else supposed to post today, but rescheduled it, so that I could comment on the movie: Miracles From Heaven. I saw this movie yesterday and was so inspired through this true story. The whole movie was moving, but aside from the obvious story line of the miracle with the young girl's health, there were other aspects of the movie that had an even bigger effect on my walk with Christ.

At the end of the movie, they show some smaller miracles that others did on the family's behalf that made a major difference. This movie made me realize that I used to see the smaller miracles from Christ on an almost daily basis, but haven't seen these in some time. I'm not sure why, because they added joy to my life. All I know is that I want them back in my life. I am prayerful that God will open my heart to seeing and feeling those miracles that He has all around us. These miracles make me feel loved by Christ. They allow me to know that no matter how bad things get in life, He will always be there with me.

The flip side of this is being open to trusting the instincts that God gives us on a daily basis, so He can work through us to be a miracle in someone's else's life. An example from the movie was when the lady from her church came and watched her other daughter's, so she could get medical care for her declining daughter. Another example, is the person who bought the motorcycle from the father. This allowed them to pay some of their mounting bills. This is not an all inclusive list of ways we can reach out to those in need. Sometimes, we just have to be open to letting God use us to benefit others on His behalf. Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite. Psalm 147:5

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Links to Other Blogs I Felt Led to Create Below: