Now that you're free, hold up the banner!

I've been posting over at my other blog site "HOLDING UP THE BANNER" and I wanted to encourage you to go there to continue to receive encouragement & hear a word from the Lord. Since the Lord truly has freed me from this bondage of food, I've been on a quest to stay close to Him and make my worship & quiet time become more of a priority than it has been. I believe that's the only way to walk in the freedom that the Lord has given. It's something we continually have to fight for because the devil so longs to take it away from us & keep us in bondage.
I'll still post here when I feel I have something important to share pertaining to food addiction, so please subscribe to the feed so you don't miss anything. At this point my focus has been on holding up the banner of victory! It is my prayer that all the the Lord teaches me will be a blessing to you in your own walk.

If you are here looking for freedom from your own food addiction, please read the blog posts here (start from the beginning), browse the links on the right of the page & join the fight4freedom support group (link on the right). There are many ways to freedom, and the ones on this site have been the most effective in helping me obtain my own freedom!

God bless you as you learn to walk into freedom!

Turning the devils attacks into blessings

I apologize for not having posted recently. I've been on a hiatus of sorts. I've been so very busy I've been behind on my blog posts & so much else. I feel so negligent. I got to the point where I just wanted to shut down & go away for a little while just to escape the frenzy that has been my life recently, but God is faithful & it has been my relationship with Him that has kept me moving forward.
I just learned that my stepmother is getting sicker (cancer taking yet another member of my family), my mother is getting ready to retire after suffering a mild nervous breakdown, I'm STILL trying to finish moving my office to it's new location, I had a flood in my basement due to a theft of copper piping in my neighbors empty house, I had to plan & lead a graduation ceremony at my co-op, then finalize everything for one years end, and prepare for the next years beginning (orientation being this Tuesday & I needed to prepare 4 classes that I'm teaching next year), my daughters two best friends were in a bad car accident this past Friday (totaled the car) and I've been overwhelmed with counseling several Christian friends on a variety of subjects. Add all of this to my regular work of running a home business, babysitting my 5 year old nephew, dog sitting, keeping up on laundry, yard work, housecleaning, raising my own 6 year old, prepping 3 meals daily for my husband to take to work (done before 7:30 am) and I'll tell you there are days that I feel like Dorothy from the wizard of OZ being swept up into a giant tornado.
In the past, I would have taken such situations and turned them into opportunities to eat. Now, however, I have been taking these situations & turning them into opportunities to meditate & draw closer to the Lord. I find the early morning spending time alone with Him to be my greatest refuge.
I don't know what you are going through, and I don't know what you need, but HE does. He'll be everything & more and He will provide ways for you to get through the ever present storms of life so that you may receive the peace He so longs to give you.

Keeping Your Attitude In Check!

This past week I was attacked regarding an issue at the co-op where I teach. It escalated to a point in which I began to retaliate and I allowed anger to consume me. I was truly out of control within myself, and I could not focus on releasing the anger, as the devil used several people around me to feed it. From the beginning of the point in which I became angry, I opened the door for the devil to latch on to me. I acknowledged to those I had spoken with that I was spiritually weak and I was not handling things properly. Unfortunately, because some of the people I was interacting with are not spirit minded, they did not understand how important it was for me to strengthen my spirit before I was able to deal with the issue in the proper fashion. Those are the people that the devil can use best. It's not that THEY themselves are trying to hurt me. In fact, quite the opposite, some of them love me very much & were only trying to help the situation. Unfortunately, because they are not walking in the spirit, they do not recognize the snare of the enemy. Fortunately, however, I do have one very close spirit minded friend, who knows my heart and encouraged me in the Lord. After talking with her, I spent time in quiet meditation & prayer, and IMMEDIATELY my attitude changed from one of anger & malice to one of humility & love. I was then able to go back & deal with the issue in a calm and rational manner. In fact, I feel that the end result was far greater than I could have expected, and the best part of all is that God received the glory.
Even in a sin filled world we can be lights for Him. By admitting our dependence upon Him, we assure ourselves victory in all we do. When we admit to those around us that we are wretched without Him and allow them to see our faults as human beings, we take the focus off of ourselves & put it on Him, where it rightfully belongs! When we practice humility, our attitude becomes the kind in which God can use to reach those around us.
God truly is good my friends. We can trust Him with even our ugliest sins because He loves & cares for us. Philippians 2:5 teaches, "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus." In order to develop an attitude like Christ, we must begin by becoming humble and submit to the Father, just as He did.
There's a good article about checking you attitude. You can find it here: Check Your Attitude!

If you're struggling with issues of pride & anger, or any other attitude that has kept you from experiencing true freedom, spend time in meditation & prayer & give it over completely to the Father. You will feel a wonderful sense of peace & a great lifting of burdens!

God bless you as you keep your attitude in check!

Do not abandon your commitment!

I'd like to say I have been on a sabatical, a wonderful retreat in which I become spiritually renewed. I've always wanted to take one of them, but unfortunately it just doesn't work for me. In fact, the past two weeks have been so busy for me I can't even remember what I did each day! You can read more details here: "Sticking with your commitment"
I don't want to repeat myself, but what I do want to say is this. No matter how busy the devil keeps you, no matter how hard he tries to fill your days & nights with work or issues you need to take care of, there is NO reason whatsoever that you have to abandon your commitment. There's no reason you can't find a small space of time to spend with your Lord. He should be the most important thing in your life. He should come first, before anything else. There should ALWAYS be time for Him! He'll take even the smallest increment you are willing to give Him, THAT'S how much He loves & adores you! Without Him, you will never win this fight.

God bless you as you stick to your commitment!

Once The Battle Is Won From The Inside The Outside Automatically Lines Up

How long does it take to win the battle from within? I don't know...it's different for everybody. What I DO know is that the battle is always won from within first, if it is TRULY won. You will see people losing weight like crazy, but some of them just can't seem to keep it off. Why?
For a food addict things are more than just diets and exercise & weight loss. We have deep rooted problems that cause us to over eat in the first place. We can't keep the weight off because inevitably the issues we struggle with will rise up again, or perhaps even new ones will come, and once they do we go right back to our comfort...food!
We must win the battle from within first before we can ever hope to achieve the weight loss we so desperately desire. The enemy is slick, and he does not want us to win. He wants to keep us under his thumb for as long as he possibly can. God has given us everything we need, but we still stay stuck. Sometimes we just can't move forward. There are so many reasons. Sometimes we are afraid to face the things we have kept inside. Sometimes we are actually afraid of succeeding because we don't think we're worth it! Can you imagine that? It's true! There are many Christians out there who have succumbed to the lie that they are worthless. Only God can take those lies from your mind and He does it when you read the truth in His Word.
Take the attitude of the Psalmist! Psalm 119:97 says, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long." I really believe that meditation is one of the most neglected disciplines in the Christian's life today. I'm not the only one who feels that way either, there are numerous books & websites dedicated to the subject. Meditation lines your thoughts up with God's thoughts and keeps your attitudes right. When you focus your energy on fighting the battle from within, you can be assured that your body will follow. You WILL lose the weight you've been struggling to lose for so long. For the first time in my life I feel different from within. I fight for freedom, but I win so many more battles than ever before. I'm aware of the enemy's schemes, I recognize his attacks more than ever and I can see the "spoils" of the battles I have won. I get the great pleasure of seeing my "outside" lining up with the changes that are happening within. I am FINALLY losing weight, the RIGHT way...God's way! Today I celebrate a 10 lb weight loss. I have the honor of giving God the glory for it. If you have not taken the 10 day challenge I posted about before, consider trying it now! You have nothing to lose but weight! *smile*

God bless you as you fight the battle from within!

Making a spiritual commitment

Daniel 1:8 says, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."
Daniel PURPOSED in his heart. That means he made a decision, he made a commitment to uphold God's law no matter what. In order for us to enjoy our freedom, we, too, must make the same type of spiritual commitment. When we commit to something and offer it to God in order that He might bless it, we can be sure that it will be much easier to keep. We "purpose" in our hearts to stay on the right path so that we might honor God with our bodies. It is then that He can bless us completely, for He blesses our obedience. Pushing on toward the prize, we must make a spiritual commitment to run this race. If we do, we can be assured we will win.

Last night my husband & I went out to dinner. It was his day off & we try to do something enjoyable together. We usually always go out to eat because we really like doing that, and I didn't want my fast to get in the way of it. I really did "purpose in my heart" to honor God during this fast & I truly did make a spiritual commitment. Having that commitment really did make a difference in how I was thinking. Wanting to enjoy a nice dinner out with my husband without compromising my commitment, I thought hard about what to do & my solution is something I'd like to share with you.

I decided that we should go to a Chinese buffet because I was only eating fruits & vegetables & I know that the Chinese buffet we go to usually has a large selection of these. Likewise, the one I chose had a lot of fish & shrimp as well as a Mongolian buffet, where they cook very thin sliced meats & vegetables on the grill right in front of you, so you can control what goes in it. This is great for my husband who likes to eat his meat, but is on a diet as well.

Let me just say that we had a FABULOUS dinner!! I enjoyed an abundance of fresh fruits & vegetables and left very full & satisfied, all without compromising my commitment to stick with the Daniel fast. I'd like to encourage you to take that step toward cleansing your body from within. Make a spiritual commitment to God to honor your body & see how he blesses you!!

God bless you as you experience true freedom!!

Following Daniel's example

The Lord has placed heavily on my heart recently that I spend "40 days in the desert to prepare for ministry" just as Jesus did. As you know, Satan has sent many messengers to "buffet" me and receiving this call will open the door for him to send many more. Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. I believe that was to build His spiritual muscles, and keep Him focused. I believe that is what the Lord intends for me as well at this season of my life.

When Jesus was led into the desert, he fasted for 40 days. This enabled Him to stay focused on prayer & fellowship with His Father. Jesus drank only water during that time. Two years ago, when my father was dying, I partook of that same fast, 40 days without food, only drinking water. It was the most spiritually exhilarating time of my whole life. This time, however, I was convicted to partake of a different fast. Commonly known as the "Daniel Fast", a person consumes only vegetables & water as Daniel did. You can read about it in Daniel chapter 1. I, however, was not convicted to eat only vegetables, but I was also convicted to eat fruits. Ezekiel 47:12 says, "...fruit for food:leaves for medicine." Since a part of my ministry will be to teach others the benefits of life giving foods, it only makes sense that I partake only of them while preparing for this ministry.

Daniel set an example for us regarding resisting temptation. His unwavering integrity is an example we should strive to follow.

In Daniel 1:12-13, Daniel tested those who opposed him. He said to the guard:
"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days."

Now see what it says in Daniel 1:15-16:
"At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead."

At the end of 10 days, they looked HEALTHIER and BETTER NOURISHED!!!! Friends, can you not see that God chose to honor their obedience?
God does not want us to live inside these overweight shells we have created for ourselves! He wants us to be HEALTHIER and BETTER NOURISHED!!!

So here is my challenge to you:
You try eating like Daniel did for 10 days, only 10 days! You try it & see for yourself if it doesn't make a difference! Daniels choice to consume vegetables changed his appearance. You are reading this because you, too, desire to change your appearance. Though Daniel was not looking to change his appearance (he was doing it out of the desire not to defile himself with the king's food) the fact is that the direct result of this decision is that his appearance DID change!
I decided to log my experience & results on a separate blog page. If you want to follow that, you can find it here:
40 Days in the desert

Daniel's way of eating is not a "law" for us to obey, it is an example of good stewardship.
1 Cor. 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" Daniel did just that by taking good care of his body & purposing not to defile it.
Paul tells us that we are no longer under the law, so even if it WAS a law to eat Daniel's way, we would no longer be subject to it. There are a lot of voracious meat eaters that oppose Daniel's way of thinking. I am not here to challenge them.
1 Corinthians 10:23 says, "all things are lawful, but all things are not beneficial" In other words, just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD! There is a lot of death & disease attributed to what a man puts in his body.

I hope that you accept the challenge to follow Daniel's way for 10 days. It is my prayer that you will experience a rejuvenation you never thought possible!

God bless you as you follow Daniel's example!