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/

Hiding in the Shadows

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:23-24

I was blessed by the Youth Service today at church. It was wonderful to see how involved the youth were, attending missions, etc. What really impressed me was one young lady who shared how she was impacted during one of her recent mission trips.

She talked about how they were helping mend the home of a lady who lived in a very unkempt and dangerous neighborhood. She noted that the lady left her home and went across the street and shared her faith with a man who had been sitting with others across the street drinking unidentified beverages out of a bag. She went on to say that man embraced the lady after talking to her and asked her to tell him more about Jesus, because he wanted to come to know Him.

When I heard this, I was moved, but thought about the risks the lady took. She didn't hesitate to go talk to these men sitting across the street. All odds were that she wouldn't be well received, but she did it anyway. And what's more than that, she was successful-her efforts paid off and this man wanted to know more about Christ. It made me think of all the times I'm a Hiding in the Shadows Christian,  fearful of sharing my faith with others for fear of how they might react to me. I need to be much more prayerful about being a better example of sharing my faith with others. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. Mark 11:23-24
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


Can People Who Were Formerly Muslims, Buddhists or a Member of Another Faith Have Salvation?

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

So, what test do you have to pass for salvation? We don't have to have a certain skin color or ethnicity. We don't have to be thin or to be vice free to have salvation. We don't have to be smart, rich, or belong to the in-crowd to have salvation. We don't even have have to have particular political beliefs to get salvation.

So, this is saying that people of any color or ethnicity can have salvation as long as they believe that Christ is their Savior. That also includes people who had other beliefs prior to becoming Christian.  So, if someone was formerly a Muslim, Buddhist, or was a member of another faith, but comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they can have salvation.

If God made it possible that people of former non-Christian religions can have salvation once they become Christian, why are we so reluctant to share our faith with these people? How will they ever come to know of the love of God the Father if we don't let down our biases in order to share our faith?  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

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

After I Lost All That Weight, Am I Skinny Now?

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way for escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Well, that's a good question. The thing is, I'm about five pounds above my goal weight, but even at goal, I'm never going to be skinny. I look normal for my height. I look and feel healthier. I have leftover bags and bulges and droopy parts that are mostly underneath my clothes, but they keep me from ever being skinny. I'm not sure that's totally true. My bone structure also contributes to that, but do I want to be skinny?

I think that's the better question. In the beginning, I thought my whole life would be better and I would have lots of friends if I were skinny. I have come to find out that skinny isn't where it's at. It's the peace of mind I have when I turn my eating and stress over to my Lord and Savior instead of turning to food. It's the sense of self-esteem that Christ has allowed me to develop that was virtually non-existent, when my life revolved around food and eating instead of turning to Christ.

Do I still struggle with food? That's another good question. I bounce around with the last 10-20 pounds over the years. Satan knows that my weakness is food in times of stress. There are times, I will find myself with a bag of tortilla chips and have downed half a bag before I wonder what I'm doing. Why am I eating all of this when I had a full dinner? That's when God blesses me by allowing me to realize that I'm stressed about something out of my control. Once I'm aware of that, I can turn it over to God's very capable hands. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way for escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

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

Do I Love Jesus More Than Food?

Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it,  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

 When I read, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind," it makes me contemplate whether I love Jesus more than food? You would think that's an easy one for me to answer, because I have told readers how food used to be a false god to me. I had turned to food when I was stressed, happy, worried, etc. rather than turning to Christ with all my problems.

Then, Christ showed me what I was doing and how I was turning to food instead of to Him in times of stress, etc. When He showed me this, it took a long time before I was willing to admit that I was actually doing it. Stubborn, aren't I? Then, I finally got to the point when I realized that Christ was right, eating, fantasizing over eating, or the planning for future eating occupied a major space in my day, my mind, and my life. Food really had become a false god. It numbed me to the stress, worry, etc. and I just mindlessly munched through these feelings.

In that I now know what I was doing, it bothers me when I find myself reverting back to those old patterns with food. Do I love Jesus more than food? I certainly do, but Satan knows my weak points and tries to lure me in to slip sliding back into old routines. Fortunately for me, Jesus is patient and shows me time and again what is happening and helps me through these weak spells. Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it,  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

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

What Do You Say When Christ Asks You This?

And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:28-29

So, here's a question for you. When you ask Jesus to heal your compulsive overeating what is your answer when He asks you, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" Do you say, "Yea, Lord, as long as I don't have to make any changes in my life. I don't know if I can totally do that Christian thing. I like gossiping, swearing, being rude to people I don't care for, and fitting in with my group of friends."

Do you trust Jesus enough to be willing to making the changes that He shows you that need to be made in your life? I don't profess to be perfect by a long shot, but the changes that Jesus has made in my life have made me feel better about myself. Not with just losing the weight, but I feel better with losing some of the sinful ways that worked a wedge in my relationship with Christ, my family, and my self-esteem.

Does this all happen overnight? Somethings yes and somethings no. When Jesus healed me from my compulsive overeating, it was overnight. I just prayed telling Him that I couldn't do it. I had tried so many diets and gave up and if He ever wanted me to be thin, He'd have to do it, because I couldn't- and you know, He did. From that very day, the urge to eat enormous amounts of food is healed. Craving sugary foods that affect my moods are no longer an issue, unless I go ahead and eat them even when Christ has taken the urge away. I have to admit that I've done that at times when I've been stressed rather than turning that stress over to Him. Fortunately, when Christ shows me what I've been doing and ask His forgiveness, He gives it freely.

 Jesus doesn't expect that we will totally give up all our sinful ways over night, but we have to be open to giving them up when He shows us what needs to be changed. We can pray for the willingness to let Christ heal us from our vices and He will provide it if we ask and we believe that He can do it just like the blind men did. And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched He their eyes, saying According to your faith be it unto you. Matthew 9:28-29

Lacking in Sharing My Faith

Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Luke 12:8-9

Oh boy! This one hits at the core of my being! Sure I've been overweight and have turned to food, making it a false god instead of turning to Christ in times of stress, etc., but this is far worse. Knowing all that Christ has done in my life, all the miracles with His taking my compulsive overeating away, taking care of personal issues far out of my control and so much more, you would think that I wouldn't be so lacking in sharing my faith.

Unfortunately, I am a Chicken Christian! Why do I worry so much about what others think of me? Why am I afraid that they will shun me? Why does any of this even matter to me? Does it come from being overweight for all those years and knowing what it feels like to be avoided by others? I wish it were that simple.

I really don't have the answers for this, but I wish I did. I just pray that Christ heals my weakness as a Chicken Christian and makes me a better example of sharing my faith with others. Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Luke 12:8-9

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:

Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

Bible Study: Relating the Bible to YOUR Life!

Types of Christians

A Christian Caregiver

I Am so Glad to Be Feeling Happy Again!

But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Psalm 68:3

This Bible verse really drew my attention today when I read it. My family has had a tough Fall. My aunt was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in September and passed early in November. My one uncle's wife passed later on in November. Then, my other uncle passed early in December due to a long battle with liver cancer. God has gotten me through the holidays, but it doesn't take much to make me teary-eyed these days.

There was a time a time I would have eaten over these sad events, but have found strength in turning to God. He helps me in more ways than I would have imagined. The Good Lord allowed me to stumble across a book in a thrift shop recently, that called my name. Reading The Happiness Project written by Gretchen Rubin has been a really uplifting experience for me! She has a different focus on developing happiness for each month of the year. I really enjoy reading as she shares with great honesty about which strategies work for her and which haven't been as productive.

She shares tips and statistics from a wide range of resources related to happiness. I have only read as far as May, but I eagerly await finding chunks of time to read here and there each day. I, also, have found that I am working on being more tolerant of others. In addition to this, I realized how much I used to enjoy doing crafts, but rarely do them. Within the last couple of days, I have made great strides at preparing supplies, etc. to be able to do crafts, as I have time. I've also, been thinking of how to incorporate more fun things into my life and the lives of family members.

This Bible verse drew my attention to God wanting me to be happy, as well. I don't usually post from blog on days other than Tuesday and Thursdays. I decided that since, I'm feeling so blessed that Christ has opened up my heart when it was feeling so fragile, I wanted to share this information with you to celebrate the New Year! But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Psalm 68:3

 I decided to add an additional note now that I'm almost finished with the book. I was a little concerned with the author mentioned that she read books or listened to the advice of others who encouraged her trying the Eastern and Middle Eastern philosophies, in that this is a Christian blog. I was pleased that although she may have contemplated some of these or tried them briefly, she was honest enough with the readers to share that these were not a good fit for her. I think that's one of the big things I got out of the book. One of her ultimate goals was to be herself, not what other people or authors told her she should be. Reading that periodically throughout the book was very liberating! I think a lot of us try to live up to the suggestions of others even when it goes against what our needs are. I was very impressed with the way she stayed true to herself.  Debra Seiling

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