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/

Christ Has Lessons for Us Everywhere

1 Peter 2: 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 

 This passage talks about Jesus being gracious, but am I gracious? I remember sitting in a dentist's office a couple of years ago and a grandmother was talking with her grand-daughter. The girl was complaining that her teacher had made an error in grading her paper and the grandmother asked her if she was gracious. The girl continued to tell her about the teacher's mistake, but the grandmother again asked her if she was gracious. This gave me a new perspective on grace...not just my focus on being forgiven for ALL of my wrong doings, but forgiving others when they err against us! See what you can learn in a dentist's office! Christ has lessons for us everywhere!

Actually, this passage is saying even more. It's saying that because we've tasted Christ's graciousness through His death and resurrection for us, we are drawn to the Word of God so that we can grow in grace, as well. Am I doing that? To be honest, yes and no. I read the Bible daily and I try to focus on all Christ has done in my life, but I don't focus so much about how Christ wants me to be gracious to others when they do wrong.

Instead, I've gotten caught up in anger or resentment and wanted to eat the doorknobs off, rather than turn those sinful emotions over to Christ's very capable hands. I no longer want to be an Ungracious Christian and want to be more focused on being a better example of all Christ does for me! 1 Peter 2: 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.



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Bible Passages That Can Influence Your Life

I Struggle With This One A Lot

Matthew 6: 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I really struggle with this passage a lot. I guess I'm a Have Your Cake and Eat it Too Christian! I want Christ to forgive me for all my many flaws, trespasses, and vices, but I want to stay angry with those you are rude and insensitive to me. 

 This passage reminds me that I can't have it both ways. I can choose to stay angry with people who have wronged me knowing that I might not be forgiven for my many, many trespasses. Or, I can work harder at turning that anger over to Christ, knowing He's already layed the ground work for my forgiveness.

 So, just how do you do that? It's easier in some situations, but in others it's down-right hard to let go of the anger! The thing is, when I'm holding on to anger toward anyone, I feel the urge to eat things I don't normally eat and at times that I don't usually eat.  Lately, I've been praying for God to have me be more open to being gracious to others, despite their actions. I also pray when the event happens. It's working, but I need to keep remembering to turn it over to Christ's very capable hands. I can't slip up and forget to add this to my daily prayers each day or I fall back into my old routine.  Matthew 6: 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I Thought I Had a Good Plan, but I Went Overboard

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10

 I told you in the previous post how I craved the light, healthy versions of oatmeal cookies I made for my husband. In that I still was craving those nutty oatmeal cookies, I had what I thought was an inspired plan. Since I was craving the nuttiness of the oatmeal cookies, I would just put more nuts in my oatmeal and other foods. 

 I must have put a cup of chopped walnuts in my oatmeal that morning. Since that was so good, I decided to have nutty oatmeal for dinner. I had the nutty oatmeal again the next morning, but didn't have them for dinner again. Actually, it got to the point that my jaw was hurting from chewing all the nuts. To top that off, my plan backfired and I gained extra weight! Ugh!!!

 I was so proud of myself-big mistake!!!! I thought I was doing much better, because I didn't eat any more of the oatmeal cookies I was craving. Notice the underlined portion, I was proud of myself. That shows me that it was an I-Me thing, not turning it over to Christ like I thought I was doing. I used to ask God to help me lose the weight, help me stay on a diet, help me...  He showed me how I was trying to be in control of my food, body, and eating and all aspects of my life. When I turned to God and asked Him to be in control of these things instead of me, the weight started coming off and food wasn't important any more in the way that it had been. What's that say about me now? For one, it shows me that Satan knows my vulnerabilities and uses them to lead me astray. I have to turn these over into Christ's very capable hands, because He alone can heal me of these. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10

When Light Cooking Isn't Enough

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10

I made some healthy oatmeal cookies for my husband. I used honey and Stevia instead of sugar and I used applesauce instead of oil. He wanted me to put lots of walnuts and raisins in the cookies, so I obliged. Since the cookies had ingredients I could eat, I decided to try one and see how they turned out. Big mistake! 

One led to two, which led to three cookies and then I stopped. I had eaten my portion of carbs for that meal and figured I would eat a light and have some more that evening. I ate a light meal, but all I could think about from lunch until dinner was having more of those nutty oatmeal cookies.  That's when it dawned on me! I was slipping back into my old behaviors! Over 30 years ago, when Christ was in the process of showing me how food had become too important in my life, He allowed me to see how food had become a false god in my life. I was turning to food to comfort me when I was stressed rather than turn those issues over to Christ's capable hands. I was turning to food to celebrate, I was turning to food...

Realizing I was on the verge on slipping back into that counterproductive pattern from years past, all I could do is pray. I prayed and prayed through that evening, because I really wanted them! Sure they were light, more healthy versions of a food I used to enjoy. But, if eating them causes me to go into a tailspin and loose my focus on letting God be in charge of my eating, it's not worth it. My life has been so wonderful since I started turning my stress and the rest of life's issues over into His hands. That doesn't mean everything is wonderful, but that when I know that God is in charge of these and I don't have to be fretting over them, it's wonderful! Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Ephesians 6:10

What Happens When Real Life Sneaks In?

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14 

What happens when real life sneaks in? I am a Ducks-in-a-Row Person and go to great lengths to plan things out, so that I can meet all my obligations. I wanted to end that- "With a Smile," but being honest, I don't think I've done things with a smile lately. That's a whole other issue I need to turn over!

I missed getting out two of my blog posts, when I try so hard to schedule them ahead. Too many unexpected things have happened lately, plus misjudging the timing of the things I did know about. Part of me wants to explain all the things that have happened, but that would be getting into the weeds and that's counterproductive! When things are hectic like this and feel like they are out of my control, I feel more tempted to eat and eat and eat which is even more counterproductive than getting in the weeds! 

The thing about this is part of the last sentence has the key to all of this. My overeating is worse when I feel like I'm not in control. My dieting is worse when I try to be in control.  I found this out 30+ years ago, when I turned my eating, food, and body over to God's capable hands. I told Him that if He wanted me to be thin, He'd have to do it, because I just couldn't do it any more! The urge to eat large quantities of food and desserts were taken away from me. I spent a lot of time prayerfully contemplating why Christ allowed me to lose 80+ pounds after all the diets I had been on over the years. What I was shown was that when I turned my eating, food, and body over into God's capable hands, I was also turning the control over to Christ. All those years, I asked God to help me lose the weight, help me solve the stressful situations, help me...  

So, although this Bible verse talks about the righteous not having fellowship with unrighteous, it makes me think about applying it in a different way. I don't want the positive behaviors Christ has allowed which brings light into my life to slip back into old patterns that caused darkness all those years I tried to be in control rather than turning it over to Christ. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14 

Follow-Up Post on Kettle Corn Fiasco

Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 

So, the last few posts have been about my episode with eating 2/3 of a bag of Kettle Corn which said it was low in sugar and fat. Well, you can get quite a lot of both when you eat 2/3 of a bag. I've shared some of the other effects of eating all that in the other posts. I wanted to explain about what happened the night after I ate it all.

I had eaten dinner and a salad, but still felt hungry. I ate an apple, but still felt hungry. I ate another apple, but still felt hungry. Since I felt so hungry, I went through the things I had eaten to see if they had been substantial enough to get me through the evening and they were. I couldn't figure out why I was feeling that hungry, because I rarely have strong cravings like that anymore. 

After praying about it, I found out that the strong hunger cravings were, because I had eaten all that sugar the day before. Once I was aware of that, I prayed and asked God to take over, because I knew I wanted to get into a bag of tortilla chips that were calling my name.


Fortunately for me, Christ gave me the feeling that giving into cravings wasn't going to help me one bit and could lead back to old eating patterns I used to have. So, every time I felt like I could eat the doorknobs off, I prayed for God to heal my willingness to turn this over to Him. I tried to find something else to do rather than watch T.V., because the commercials made me want to eat all the more. Christ did get me through the evening and I haven't had the cravings since. If I had given in to them, the good would still be controlling my life, instead of my putting my food, my body, and my eating into Christ's very capable hands. Mark 14:38 Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 

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 verses. Debbie

Do I Love My Food More Than My Family?

 We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4: 19

I explained in some recent posts that I ate 2/3 of a bag of Kettle Corn. Of course, it said that it was low fat and low sugar, but it still adds up. If I figure out a servings worth and multiply how many servings I ate by the grams of sugar, it really adds up. This is of special concern because I don't handle sugar well, because I'm Hypoglycemic.

 The day after I ate the Kettle Corn, I was cranky with my husband. One of the many ways I'm affected by sugar is that it elevates my blood sugar, then it wears off and bottoms out, leaving me cranky with those I love. Usually, I stay away from sugar, but as you know, I deluded myself into thinking it wouldn't affect me, because of the low amount of sugar in it. Maybe it wouldn't have affected me if I had eaten a normal amount, but I ate several servings worth of Kettle Corn.

 Everything my husband was saying was getting on my nerves. I couldn't believe how insensitive he seemed to me. When I feel overwhelmed, I've learned that it's beneficial to have some quiet time with God about it. I like to go rest on my bed while I prayerfully contemplate things with Christ, my Savior.

 Well, it turned out, as you probably well suspected to be all my fault. God let me realize that it wasn't my husband who was being insensitive, but that because of the sugar in what I had eaten the previous day, I was impatient and everything was getting on my nerves! Once I was aware of what I had done, I prayed asking God to take that edginess away from me and He did. I wasn't cranky the rest of the day. Then, I had to go apologize my husband for being so edgy all morning. 

 At times like this, I have to ask myself if I love food more than my family, and of course that's not the case. It just reminds me that my actions have to be aligned with my feelings. Fortunately, the Lord, who loves me greatly, gets me back focused on the right track. The thing is, Christ doesn't just love me, He loves you too and can do the same for you. Just pray and put it into His capable hands every time you eat. He may have some lessons for you first like He did me, but He can take this compulsion away. It doesn't mean that it doesn't sneak back up from time-to-time, because that's how Satan likes to test vulnerable Christians, but the Lord will get you through it if you let Him.  We love Him, because He first loved us. 1 John 4: 19

Skipping a Meal to Snack Isn't a Wise Move for Me!

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2: 21

In the previous post, I told you about the Kettle Corn that I let get me off track. Well, I didn't tell you about the way I did it, which seems to be a pattern that often gets me. Any time I miss a meal or skip the main part of a meal to compensate for snacking on something like Kettle Corn, etc. seems to catch up with me and has a negative effect on my eating program.

I had figured that since I had found this low fat, low sugar brand of Kettle Corn, I would just eat it for my bread and eat light for lunch. That started the process, because Kettle Corn is not substantial to base a meal on. (This thinking leads back to my compulsive overeating days when food became a false god to me. It wasn't until Christ showed me through the way I was turning to food instead of turning to Him in times of stress, worry, joy, etc. that I let food have too much importance in my life.)

Next, I figured I would snack on it in the afternoon rather than the apple I usually have. That included eating the leftover Kettle Corn that the younger ones left behind. (They are smart. They eat what they want and they leave the rest, but when I get into that old eating mode, it was difficult for me to throw it away.)

With this snacking, I figured I would count it as my bread/carb group for my evening meal and eat light. That didn't work out well. I felt hungry and dissatisfied and kept snacking on other things to fill me up. Fortunately for me, Christ showed me through my actions, that I was treading on very slippery ground and needed to turn this old eating pattern back into His very capable hands! As this Bible verse says that whosoever shall call on the name of Lord shall be saved, including being saved from their vices!  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2: 21

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 verses.

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