Jesus had to endure a brutal death to pay the price for all sin.  He bore the punishment for all of my wrongs, including gluttony, and love of food.  Because He rose up from the grave, I am free to live.  Psalm 51:1-2 is, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.  Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.  Wash me clean from my guilt.  Purify me from my sin.  (Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 1996, 2004, 2007).  On this Easter, I am grateful that my sin has been taken away.  I have been washed from my past sins andRead More →

I don’t want to surrender everything in my life to God.  I need my “me” time to relax and recharge.  It hard for me to join a new bible study or spend more time in God’s word. This has been one busy week where I can think of many other things to do, including rest, instead of writing this post. My stubbornness in surrendering is not limited to time. I also am tempted to hold on to money, possessions, and even my food intake. During Lent, I normally focus on Bible readings about Easter and sacrifice. My current devotions are about surrendering everything to God andRead More →

I don’t follow a specific diet or meal plan.  This allows me to enjoy my favorite foods without guilt.  I never was able to lose weight following a diet or restricted food plan.  I did eliminate processed sugar and high fat foods for 5 years, but started bingeing on rice cakes and other diet foods.  Food had always been my comforter for hurt feelings and celebration for successes.  I am learning that food is to nourish my body and not the answer to all of my problems. It has taken me a long time to slowly identify and remove all the damaging old habits from my mindset.  I wouldRead More →

“Doing the right thing” is a daily challenge for me.  I have to decide if I am going to do what my flesh desires, or be obedient to God.  I make daily decisions like how to behave when I get mad; stay clam and trust God, or react.  Deep down, I know God wants me to eat healthy and not be overweight.  I make choices throughout the day concerning food.  I chose to pass up a snack since I am not hungry.  I eat the vegetables my body is craving instead of junk food.  Without God’s help, I would eat when and what I feel likeRead More →

Deep down, I know God can be trusted in all areas of my life.  He continues to show me what I need to improve on and gives me the strength to do this.  However, when I get weary or things get tough, I am tempted to give up and lose faith.  It seems I will never lose these last 15 pounds.  After a week of eating fairly good, I look for weight loss, but still feel the same.  Deep down, I know it will take consistency to get rid of these last few pounds.  Instead of giving up, I am motivated to run to God. PsalmRead More →

I want to do everything that pleases the Lord.  I know overeating is detestable to Him, so I try to only eat food my body needs.  Unfortunately, I am human and fail many times.  After failing, I used to either continue doing the wrong thing or get overwhelmed by guilt.  I am learning to stop and immediately ask God for forgiveness.  This keeps a mistake from turning into a trip down the wrong path. Hebrews 8:12 is, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more”. (Holy Bible, New International Version, 2011). God forgives my wrongdoing, no longer holding it against me.  I amRead More →

In the past, I kept busy to avoid overeating.  Always doing stuff kept me from thinking about food, but did nothing to draw me closer to God.  I used busyness to fill empty spaces only God should fill.  Many old “diet tips” temporarily stopped my overeating, but did not address reasons behind why I ate too much.  It may be because I was tired, bored or stressed.  Ultimately, I overeat to fill needs only God can provide. Keeping busy eventually makes me tired so I need rest.  Matthew 11:28 is, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”Read More →

Old messages like “you deserve to eat after a tough day” and “you can enjoy and overdo it just this once” get me in trouble.  Last week,  I discovered I was unable to relax and unwind without reaching for food.  I felt the need to snack to enjoy my well-deserved day of rest. This is proof I need to get rid of all old messages and habits that lead me to overeat. I am peeling away layers and understanding reasons behind why I choose to slip.  Every time I put excess food in my mouth, or eat when I am not hungry, I am choosing to disobey God.  Today,Read More →

Weekly meal planning has never worked for me.  Many times my family ends up grabbing fast food on the go, or we eat a fast prep packaged meal.  Meal planning involves thinking about food.  Once I start thinking about food, my mind fixates on how good it will taste. With traditional meal planning, I ended up giving into temptation and overeating. My solution is God guided menu planning.  Proverbs 16:3 is”Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (God’s Word NIV, 2011).  God can plan my family’s meals better than I can.  I no longer worry about overeating when I planRead More →

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”  Slogans and saying like this never helped me stick to a food plan.  I ate all the time, whether I was hungry or not. When I was on a restricted diet, I binged on low-calorie and “free” foods.  After I started gaining weight back while still following a no sugar/low-fat food plan, I gave up and ate what I wanted. I decided I had no self-control and was doomed to stay fat forever. I ate all the time to fill a need only God could provide.  I used food to fill my need for spiritual refreshment. Psalm 119:103 is, “HowRead More →