Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I love the reason for this season and enjoy spending time with people who are special to me.  In the past, my celebrations centered around food.  This year, I am working to make sure my focus is on God.  The past month, I increased my amount of Bible reading and spent extra time praying.  Today, I enjoyed a holiday meal, including dessert without overeating.   It is only December 20, and I have more Christmas meals to enjoy.  I am looking forward to enjoying everything about Christmas, even the food. As long as I keep my focus on Him, I don’t fear overeating. Read More →

Christmas has turned into a greedy, glutinous feast of excess.  I was shopping last night and felt the holiday shopping fever that causes one to buy stuff “just because”.  Because seasonal food is everywhere, I continually run into temptation.  I forget that my focus should be on Him, especially during the season we celebrate the gift of Jesus. When I focus on God, I am mindful of what I eat.  Hebrews 10:1-2 is, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus..” (Holy Bible,Read More →

Just because every store has been decked out in Christmas since September, I feel I am “late” by just now getting my tree and lights up. I enjoy sitting in my living room surrounded by twinkling lights.  No time to relax when there is so much to do.  Cookies need baking, dips and other party treats must be made.  Perfectly entertaining white elephant gifts take work to find. It is challenging to squeeze in every party and holiday activity I want to do. Isaiah 9:6 is, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, MightyRead More →

Food was once my comfort and hope. I grabbed chips to ease stress and gobbled cookies to stuff anger.  Happier times were a reason to indulge, because food was the answer to everything.  Before God changed my heart and thinking about food, my life was centered around food. It has been difficult to let go of food as my comfort.  Sometimes I am tempted to reach for cookies instead of praying.  After a challenging day, I opened a bag of potato chips to snack on while I cooked dinner.  Stuffing chips down my body did nothing to calm my stress.  Deuteronomy 31:8 is, “The LordRead More →

Happy Thanksgiving Day! One day is not enough to give thanks for all God has done. Expressing thanks is easy when good things happen.  The challenge for me is being thankful when bad things happen.  I have grown closer to the Lord each time I faced difficulty.  When I am forced to trust in God, my faith grows.  Bad times force me to develop my intimacy with God. I would hate to face tough times without God on my side.  Isaiah 41:10 is, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.” (Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 1996,Read More →