Sweet Grace for Your Journey

Trying to amass all the knowledge to make a decision about how to attack my weight gain is part of what kept me stuck in super morbid obesity for way too many years. The truth was I knew what to do to lose weight. I knew what my problem was. I was just trying to find a different way to lose weight, one that would let me eat what I wanted and lose weight at the same time.

How do we grow up in God? We fasten, bolt, secure and fix our minds on God and what He wants for us. This takes a submission of our earthly desires, thoughts and feelings to Him. Adulting is hard, but the rewards are so worth it.

Strongholds are mindsets that God says must be broken. If we can get to the core issue or the lie on which any stronghold has been built, the stronghold has to fall. I used to think sugar was a stronghold in my life. It wasn’t sugar that was the stronghold, it was the thoughts, desires and feelings I had that made me think I needed sugar or I would die. Crazy thing is it was my overeating of sugar and other comfort foods that almost killed me.

Every year since 2013 God has given me a word for the year. The word He gives me is one I don’t want really want to focus on. Now He’s given me another word that is both exciting and scary for me at the same time. It’s a small simple word that packs a lot of punch. It is the word “More.”

Christmas or any holiday, birthday or celebration used to be a time I looked forward to for the food that would be served. Just thinking about eating all that food made me merry. I looked forward to giving into all the temptations that would be there. But actually, eating all those foods made me miserable.

Many times we can make a plan to keep ourselves from temptation, but what happens when that plan goes awry? On the podcast I share a time that happened to me and seven things I learned from that because we need to understand how the tempter can easily manipulate us without us even knowing it is him, how he uses others to trap us, how our own desires can take over our commitment to live right and how when our plans fall through we usually fall as well.

We love comfort and temptation. The two seem entirely contradictory. When we are tempted, it is not a comfortable feeling. And yet, what happens when we feel temptation is comforting? Temptation is NOT supposed to be comforting.

We are all tempted and God tells us He will give us a way of escape. Here are seven things to do before you are tempted to help you when temptation comes. Listen to the podcast for more information.

We can survive temptation during the holidays and any time. Listen to the podcast for 7 ways to help you survive temptation!

Before I lost an extreme amount of weight and made some drastic changes in my life, I had a love-hate relationship with Thanksgiving and any other big holiday. I loved the food, but I hated the fact that it seemed like I had no ability to control what and how much I ate. Every year I’d lose and then gain back more than I’d lost. It was a never-ending roller coaster ride. I wanted off but I couldn’t find the stop button.

This episode talks about how we can be in the grip of something or caught in bondage which then becomes a stronghold and not even realize it.
I lived in shame and condemnation for nearly 30 years. I knew I had an issue with food. I knew foods made with processed sugar and flour were like drugs to me. I knew I was guilty of something God had clearly showed me I needed to stop. I just couldn’t give it up. And thus, shame and self- condemnation ruled my life.

I would not have known the real meaning of restore at the beginning of this year. To be restored, I had to face my own mortality. I’ve faced it many times. Now that I’m through my recent abdominal surgery, I can talk about it more. There is just something that happens inside you when a surgeon says, “This is what we want to do, but to tell you the truth, we’ve never seen this before and we don’t know what we’ll find when we get in there.”