Have a Blessed Day! All glory to God most high!

Losing weight in Christ's love, Page 7

 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." (Matthew 7:2) 

If we look to criticize others, we internalize it ourselves. Negative thoughts about others are toxic thoughts to ourselves.

"Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." (Philippians 4)  

First, be honest. If you want to lose weight for Godly reasons, for health, for energy, to repent from possible gluttony, for husbands, to find a godly husband, (most important) to give glory to Him; then God is wherever you are to carry that burden. If your goal is to drive men wild, to lord it over other women in social settings, to feel superior, well, believe me, God knows and I highly doubt you will find much here. 

Dieting almost always fails because so many of us approach it with an attitude of "I'm not good enough" as we are. Many beat ourselves up while mentally dangling seductive visions of ourselves born from today's culture. If we are in Christ, then the Holy Spirit is indwelling us, and we might be able to lie to ourselves about our motives but He knows us better than we do. So first and foremost, be honest with yourself. Once you have that, get ready to love yourself through Christ's eyes, which melts away that kneejerk reaction to toxic thoughts that cripple us. Toxic thoughts about ourselves and those around us. Anger, guilt, rebellion, there are so many reasons besides good taste that cause us to eat too much. My prayer is that all of us discover God's truths about how He sees us, about the love that He has for us, about His protection and strength in carrying the burden as we discover Him through our trials and the trials of others on this page. 

Losing weight enfolded in Christ's love Page 6

Lord I pray that You lift each one of us today, cleanse our hearts and minds of all negative thoughts, help us to find the beauty in every person we come across this day, help us to see everyone through Your eyes, especially those that are difficult. Help us to become Your vessels that Your agape love would flow to us and through us and to everyone around us. Silence the enemy and let this day be one of newness and light. In Jesus name, amen.

Someone else in the group complained about her difficulties and needs (I have no problem posting my stuff, but won't post what others say in the group except generally)

I know that need. I get a handle on it and it creeps back. It's so hard to resist when you get in the thick of it and you feel like you just want to relax and indulge and it's been a tough day so why not? And it's hard to remember that it's that one thing that pushes you back into a void, when really, what we need is refreshing in the Holy Spirit. I don't know why I do things like listen to talk radio that gets me down when listening to praise worship puts me in such a great place. It's weird.

Christians losing weight in His love page 5

 Lord I lift up every member here and pray for your strength and encouragement. Only You, Abba Father, can quiet our minds, only You remain at our sides through the good times and bad, only You can orchestrate every circumstance that we can grow as You shape us into who You desire us to be. Whatever that is, Lord, we just seek freedom and relief from self-sabotage or boredom. Keep us awake, keep us on guard, stay with us as we keep watch, explode through our hearts and mind with worship song...and help us find those songs that just set our hearts on fire. We praise You, we love You, we worship You, we give it all to You because You are the power and the glory forever. Thank you so much for being there, for caring, for watching over us, for keeping the wolves at bay, for Your patience as we learn to walk in ever stronger ways. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Losing weight enfolded in God's love, page 4

If you don't know this in your soul, drink up! For it is good http://www.fathersloveletter.com/fllpreviewlarge.html <--video format

You may not know Me, but I know everything about you…
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up…
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways…
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered…
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in My image…
Genesis 1:27

In Me you live and move and have your being…
Acts 17:28

For you are My offspring…
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation…
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in My book…
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live…
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made…
Psalm 139:15-16

I knit you together in your mother’s womb
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born…
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know Me…
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love…
1 John 4:16

And it is My desire to lavish My love on you simply because you are My child and I am your Father…
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could…
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father…
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from My hand…
James 1:17

For I am your Provider and I meet all your needs…
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope…
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love…
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore…
Psalm 193:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing…
Zephaniah 3:17

Losing weight enfolded in God's love, Page 3

"I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day...being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you... and I am persuaded is in you also. Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you...For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

I looked up the verse and thought so much of the context was perfect for here. Lord I lift up each one of these people and ask for Your blessing upon them. Help us to walk in the Light as You are in the light. Show each of us what we need to know today and thank You for Your presence and guidance in our lives. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

I don't know about anyone else but the only success I have had is when I wait until I'm hungry, I learned it with the Weigh Down Workshop, and with that you can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT as long as you're hungry. It's awesome, you never feel deprived, you just have to wait, it teaches patience. You also learn to listen to your body signal what it's craving because I believe God gave us bodies to help us know what it needs. So I started out a LITTLE hungry but...I pray to do better tomorrow. Other than that it was pretty good. Anyone else? I know you have different strategies, how are you doing?

Losing weight enfolded in God's love, page 2

I don't know about anyone else but the only success I have had is when I wait until I'm hungry, I learned it with the Weigh Down Workshop, and with that you can eat ANYTHING YOU WANT as long as you're hungry. It's awesome, you never feel deprived, you just have to wait, it teaches patience. You also learn to listen to your body signal what it's craving because I believe God gave us bodies to help us know what it needs. So I started out a LITTLE hungry but...I pray to do better tomorrow. Other than that it was pretty good. Anyone else? I know you have different strategies.

Check this out, cause the SECOND I tell myself I can't have something, I WANT IT. With this you can have it and it makes sense, nobody wants chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner, not even me... You can read the first pages and get the idea. But I'm not pressuring anyone in the group to try it, I just think I'd be 300 lbs if I tried to diet these past years
http://www.amazon.com/Weigh-Down-Diet-Gwen-Shamblin/dp/038549324X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359486187&sr=8-1&keywords=weighdown+workshop

That's a lot easier to take than, NO! followed by self-condemnation because I need to lose weight. That's just so negative to me and toxic thoughts are a huge reason why I reach for indulgence in the first place. It doesn't even have to be toward me, I have noticed anger at others triggers a need, I think it might even be a need to self destruct.

I'm in a situation now in a car pool and they were just obsessed with talking about one woman's new bf and their sex life. Well...her new bf is married and I am having such a hard time with this. Someone else in the group is proud that she "got some" with a married man in her apartment complex. And I just sit there and try to be loving when inside I am seething. My ex was a chronic cheater and I have such issues with women that would lure away a husband. I was in such a sour mood all day after that and I think that has a lot to do with my overindulgence last night.

God is helping me with it though. I found it in Hosea. We all have different lessons to learn and it helps me to know that the Holy Spirit is in control of everyone's lives. She might need to learn not to , well... and I need to learn not to react the way I do, but right now it's the perfect op to learn to recognize how I get worked with this and then self destruct because of negative emotions about someone else.

I really think that happens with me. It's like something inside of me can't differentiate between anger at others or anger at myself, to me, deep in my soul, it's just anger. And part of my self-destructiveness is my effort to destroy that anger. Self-sabotage. It's an ugly beast.

A friend told me she would have said something to these women. The first time they talked like this, I didn't bite my tongue so well and all it did was alienate (which I tend to be fine with but the Lord calls me back) The truth is, this is the world of which we are not a part of. I had to remind myself about my own past, how I got dragged to a Bible study by some awesome women years ago. They all knew I was uh...doing the same kind of thing except he wasn't married. They just loved me and somehow it fell on me to read about how God feels about fornicators...But by then I was hooked on God and had to choose between God and my boyfriend. The boyfriend lost. If those women had behaved toward me the way I feel like behaving toward this cheating woman, well, I would have lost so much. I'm so grateful to them and I need to try to walk in that same light. God is working with her, I just need to pray for her. And NOT laugh and agree and encourage what she does...people can sense that you disapprove just by your looking away and saying nothing. Sometimes that speaks louder than anything.

God calls us to love everyone and I'm really learning in huge ways that when I think negatively about anyone, somehow it turns on me, deep inside, and that leads to unhealthy food for me. It's like I want to bury those negative thoughts with food. Some use drugs, but we want to bury it with something. Learning to combat those negative feelings is truly the battle that belongs to the Lord. Only with His help have I found ways to love people, SINCERELY love people, that I find hard to love. And in doing that, somehow that opens a door to love myself, and when you love and appreciate yourself, self-destruction no longer makes sense. It never really did.

Losing weight while enfolded in God's love

I haven't been posting or writing very much for a long time because I'm being still about certain things, and waiting. In the meantime, I have been active in various ways, one being as part of a weight loss group. If anyone is interested in a closer walk with God as He helps you break a trouble area, addiction, stronghold, these are what I have been posting there and with the prayers of other Christians, I can't believe how much God is blessing me. I have never felt so free. Here is the opening post and I'll be adding to this as time goes on. I pray God give you breakthroughs in your endeavors. Feel free to comment anonymously or by name at the bottom of the page and we will pray for you too. It says, "No Comments" to start with,  just click on that.  God bless!

***

Everyone has their own ways of trying to lose weight and that's great, but the one common thread everyone can have is seeking God for help. So if you want to lose weight for Godly reasons, for health, for energy, to repent from possible gluttony, for husbands, to find a godly husband, (and most important...) to give glory to Him; then I believe God is wherever you are to carry you. If your goal is to drive men wild, to lord it over other women in social settings, to feel superior, well, believe me, God knows and I highly doubt you will find much here.

Dieting almost always fails because so many of us approach it with an attitude of "I'm not good enough" as we are. Many beat ourselves up while mentally dangling seductive visions of ourselves born from today's culture. I know I didn't have the right reasons many years ago and it was like beating my head on a wall. I have learned since then how much God LOVES us, just as we are, today. He knows why we reach for unhealthy foods, He watched us grow up, He saw everything that tripped us up even before we could remember. I don't understand myself but I know God does, and I am always learning to trust Him more. I honestly think the Holy Spirit kept me from achieving my goal because God knew the trouble I would get into if I had the body I hoped for (good grief how I would have!)

So first and foremost, be honest with yourself. Ask God to search your heart and examine why you want to lose weight. Once you have that on the right road with Him, get ready to love yourself through Christ's eyes, which melts away that kneejerk reaction to toxic thoughts that cripple us. Toxic thoughts about ourselves and those around us. Anger, guilt, rebellion, there are so many reasons besides good taste that cause us to eat too much. My prayer is that all of us discover God's truths about how He sees us, about the love that He has for us, about His protection and strength in carrying the burden as we discover Him through our trials and the trials of others on this page.

I had a page like this before and the insights of friends were such a blessing to me. Community prayer covering over ourselves and others on this page is a huge part of it. If you join this page, please come back often and pray over all of us together, openly or alone with Him. Christian, Catholic, charismatic or not, it's all about being born again. God knows His own and His arms are open wide! Praise God!

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s." (1 Cor 6)

I think God gave us a prophet for our time

http://www.charismanews.com/us/38133-jonathan-cahns-unapologetic-prophetic-message-to-america-goes-viral

“And in that day you will say: ‘O Lord, I will praise You - though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me! Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid - For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song - He also has become my salvation!’ Therefore with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation!” - Isaiah 12:1-3

from David Parker's Amazing facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/david.parker.3511

Pure ministry, I don't know why I get drawn to politics when God's word fills my soul

Gun Rights: When do we pick up arms and fight?

by Jen Shroder  http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/shroder/130117

It was 2 a.m., raining hard and my Dolphin motorhome was leaking. I was a college kid with 18 hour days of school, work and racquetball, so it made sense to live in a motor home. It worked out well until the dripping began, so I found shelter at a strangely lit, abandoned gas station. I climbed on top of my motorhome equipped with a tube of silicone to fix the leak. There was a busy street in the distance, I felt safe to think I was visible to passing motorists but I grabbed my grandpa’s old Remington handgun just the same. Half way through my repair, a man appeared under the light below me and approached my ladder with a menacing look in his eye. I told him to back off but he kept coming. I pulled out my gun, aimed right at him and repeated my orders. He froze and then quickly slinked off into the dark.

I read an article claiming weapons are rarely used in defense. On the contrary, it happens all the time. Was my story newsworthy? Would the camera crews roll up, microphones in hand? Did the world want to know exactly how close he came, how I held my gun and the puddle he left behind? Oh what a fascinating puddle, let’s splash THAT all over the six o’clock news. No, my story is common, no blood, no headlines, but without God and my gun, I’m fairly certain I’d be just another missing person or dead body turning up. How many women were spared such an ending but didn’t report it?

Another time I found myself walking a dark street, alone in a big city late at night, looking for a restaurant to catch up with my buddies. We were all unfamiliar with the area as we played racquetball tournaments all over the state. My last match went late into the night so I was trying to catch up to friends. Directions were hasty, the road was closed for construction, but I could see the restaurant a block away so I parked and walked past the equipment. A couple of men came out of the shadows and started trailing me. I stuck my hand in my purse and gripped the handle of my gun, was about to pull it but they seemed to read the move and suddenly stopped, muttered to each other and turned around. Criminals seem to be very astute at measuring their prey.

Is this newsworthy? No, but just because it’s not sensational doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. We live in a dangerous world with a false sense of security. The news will highlight ONE case of a missing person when there are tens of thousands missing under criminal or suspicious circumstances. Home invasions seem to be on the rise, but how would we know if we depend on the news?

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government" -- Thomas Jefferson, 1 Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people; that... it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson to John Cartwright, 1824. ME 16:45

"The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed." -- Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers at 184-188

As this is our forefather’s intent, then we should be able to attain as much artillery as our military! As our legislators argue over what new restrictions to impose, I demand LESS! Taking guns away from law-abiding citizens is only going to VICTIMIZE law abiding citizens. When someone is shooting at you, you do not throw down your guns!

Anti-gun politicians naively ask, "What does anyone need automatic guns for?" Do they really not realize the affront our government has become? The 2nd Amendment is already infringed, Pelosi laughs at the thought of adhering to the Constitution, Obama calls it a "negative charter of liberties" as he positions his executive pen, and an awakening America remembers what happens in emerging communist countries after people’s guns are taken away.

If we don’t need ID to vote, why do we need ID to purchase guns? If $6 to provide proof of citizenship impedes a person’s right to vote, then why doesn’t gun fees and licenses impede their right to bear arms? In fact, if we MUST provide Sandra Fluke her condoms, then I demand our government provide my ammo!

And yet.

I urge you, America, do not fight. We may have every legal reason to pick up arms and fight, but be at peace. When our founding fathers prayed and beseeched God for help, there was a future for America, a purpose. For generations we have been a Light on the hill, we have blanketed the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No other nation has sent out as many missionaries and charities in His name as America has. God had a purpose for us and gave us the opportunity to serve His Kingdom.

But what has America become? For what purpose are we asking to be blessed? That Christians in other nations would continue to be brutally slaughtered as we fawn over Kim Kardashian? Slave markets, torture, the blood of the saints continually spilled while we, in America, care nothing except for our own pleasure? We are told to tolerate, our schools write in their standards to teach our children to compromise on everything, that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, we throw down all understanding of God’s heavenly Kingdom to trample it with secular humanism, applauding multiculturalists like Karen Armstrong who writes that "religion is manmade" in our textbooks and has set out to prove conclusively that Christianity is "bonkers" while applauding Islam. We pollute our children with made up fantasies that we evolved from primordial goo randomly, insist they repeat it as fact, warp their minds to atheist beliefs and then ask that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob bless our cause to regain this perversion called freedom? That modern America can continue on this path of inflicting the butcher of the unborn worldwide? That we can continue to spread pornography, homosexuality, Christian persecution in all four directions around the globe? What America has become in the past ten or twenty years, is that what we are asking God to uphold?

God told us through the prophets what is to come that we would believe and many of us have recognized the slow turn of the wheels which have begun. I believe we are being divided by the angels as they separate the wheat from the tares or weeds, indeed as they bundle the weeds for (future tense) burning (Matthew 13:30), but as is common in the Bible, it happens much more slowly than we expect. Did you wonder how we all seem to be so blind and deaf to each other’s point of view, wonder how the other side cannot see what is obvious? I contend, this is why! They are being blinded as their time runs out, the separation is becoming distinct, depraved minds are falling deeper into their own depravity and they can’t even comprehend they are falling.

And so our nation has fallen into decline. It is like we are all in a boat and certain ones among us insisted on boring holes in the bottom of that boat. We will all pay the consequences as we sink but God will not forget His own. When hunger comes, when chaos and thieving and unmitigated murder begins, we are to defend our families, our guns will be of use in the face of chaos, we are to have a sword! But just as there was a purpose for Christ laying down His life, when the law against Christians becomes the law of the land, we are to survive the chaos that we can then lay down our lives and give glory to God. For that we will be persecuted and killed. Some will wonder, "Where is God" but God is right here! Submit! Not to evil, but to God! Recognize that the end times are and will be upside down, that evil will be called good and good, evil; that much of what God told us is happening slowly. But have faith! Let not your heart be troubled for we were told of these things!

We will not win America back. Our choices will be: will we pick up our cross and follow Him or will we pick up arms and attempt to fight for a continuation of the liberal perversion of freedom, leaving a trail of blood behind us? Will we lay down our lives in the name of Christ? Saints, I think America has run it’s course, and praise God for His blessing upon our nation that has brought so many worldwide to His Kingdom. Many of us are not ready to stop fighting for the cause, but I urge you, consider what that cause today truly is.

I will not fight to finance worldwide abortion mills, homosexuality, pedophilia, pornography, child slavery and everything that evil men have twisted "freedom" to mean. We have been corrupted from within and a darkness is coming, evil will appear to prevail but it will not succeed. We cannot fight this one world government that has already been laid out. We need to realize that it was foretold and keep faith. Hold your lamp high that all around you can see because your neighbors will need help in the coming days.

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God." (Romans 8)