LAZY

Cannot believe I have been so lazy about my blog. Perhaps my progress in weight loss has something to do with it. Have lost 2 pounds in 2 months. Thank God no gain, but this is pathetic.
How do you like my new profile pic; it hides all my flaws. lol

Worrying about nothing

The lesson in Freedom from Emotional Eating centered on trusting God (Week Three-Worry). The story is told of Jehosophat in 2 Chronicles 20; he faced an adversary, and he had the people first seek God, then sing, then go to battle. He thanked God ahead of time for the victory; the Israelites did not even have to fight to win. The battle was won for us.

I wonder how many times I have battled in the flesh, and I have also worried.
Philippians 4:6-8 says

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what ever is admirable-if anything is excellent and praiseworty-thin about so things."

How often do I worry a couple of hours before I pray. Women seem to have this tendency more than men; we think it is our job to worry, if we do not worry, we must not care.

That is not to say we should be in denial; if the situation is serious, we should pray with all our hearts. Asking the Holy Spirit to pray through us, we can be sure we are praying in the Spirit and in the will of God. He says that we have not because we ask not. After we seek God with all our hearts, we should then spend some time praising Him and thanking Him for all He is going to do. If we do not have peace in our soul, then God will give us time to pray about it again. It may not be right then, it may be in the middle of the night when we are more open to God's leading; or perhaps it will be early in the morning when we have our quiet time with Him.

I am so guilty of this, but I have to confess worry is sin, and sometimes I worry because I am not disciplined enough to get alone and seek God's face.

New Bible study

I am doing a Bible study now Freedom from Emotional Eating by Barb Reveling.
Starting TW taught me that I had a lot of anger still over losing my daughter, and over dealing with the obstacles that my grandson faces doing without his mom.

I worked through the Freedom book, truth journaling about my anger. It helped tremendously; I feel so much happier, and I think I can better deal with the food issue.
TW has good concepts on waiting for hunger, but I do like Barb's truth journaling. I set my boundaries (taught by TW), and then I am truth journaling when I do not eat right, or act right.
Emotional eating is so sneaky; I think I had it under control for awhile, but it is rearing its ugly head once again so I know I still have "stuff" to deal with and want to please the Lord.

One of the truths that a person could apply to any situation is the truth journaling. Barb says that we don't need self-control to set us free; we need to know the truth and the truth will set us free. I study the Word plenty, but I am not always able to see the truth about my behavior. As I pray and write, the Lord reveals the truth to me throught the pen. This amazes me.

This same concept happened to me when I was going through the grieving process. We would be at church discussing our problems, and the Lord would reveal to me as we were talking what to do about the situation. We need each other,and the support group helped me so much to deal with the grieving process.

4 years have passed, and I found that I still was angry over issues with my grandson. One of the truths I faced was the enemy of my soul magnified some problems. I learned to ask for discernment. The other problems were real, and I had to ask good godly friends to pray for Caleb as he is getting older (he was almost 3 at the time of the loss of his mother), he is grieving in a sense over the loss. It is in small doses thank the good Lord, but God is showing me not to overlook his pain and be in denial. So I am always discussing his progress with my other daughter, his stepmother (who is a prayer warrior, but she is very young and needs prayer in dealing with a seven-year-old, she is 22 herself), and my husband. We are interceding for Caleb, and I must say he has a very happy life. However, there are times when he asks me questions that pierce my heart through and through. For instance, he asked me if the dress she was buried in was dirty by now. Can you imagine the pain that caused me, and then I had to wonder what was his little mind thinking.

I want to say that God is a healer and I am happy. God has blessed me to stay close to Him, and as long as I do I have joy. Isn't that the way it should be for most Christians?

The West Virginia Hills where I live

I love these hills. This picture was taken when I was four wheeler riding with my husband.

Neglecting to blog for awhile and feeling a little guilty. Just got tired of talking about me. I love other people's blogs, and enjoy getting to know everyone.

The weight loss journey has been better this week. I liked the way the Thinwithin book describes our goal: to be on the outside what we are on the inside. Lately I have liked the inside because my main focus has been on the Lord.

One of my devotionals: Jesus Calling says:

Trust and thankfulness will get you safely through this day. Trust protects you from worrying and obsessing. Thankfulness keep you from criticizing and complaining: those "sister sins' that so easily entangle you.

Keeping your eyes on Me is the same thingas trusting me. It is a free choice that you must make thousands of times daily. The more you choose to trust Me, the easier it becomes. Thought patterns of trust become etched into your brain.

Relegate troubles to the periphery of your mind so that I can be central in your thoughts. Thus you focus on Me, entrusting your concerns into My care. (Co. 2-6,7; Psalm 141:8; 1 Peter 5:7)

If I keep my eyes on the Lord, all the other things fall into place. I have cried out to the Lord to help me to know how to do this. Praise does help; the more I am filled with gratitude the less fear and worry I have. The less fear and worry I experience, the less problem I have with food.

Starting the TW Workbook 1

Cindy and I are doing workbook #1 so we decided to start a thread each week to record our progress. I hope EVERYONE that wants to will comment, encourage, and mentor us on our journey. Today I began again reading the introduction. I was just so blessed by this paragraph:

"Our God is amazing! He who set the stars in the heavens and measured all of the waters of the earth in the palm of His hand desires intimacy with you (Isaiah 40:12). You are His beloved and He draws you with loving-kindness (Jer. 31:3). All the heavens declare His glory yet He esteems you (Ps. 8:3-8). It is this God who provides the grace, mercy, and strength needed for you to persevere as you trust and obey."

That God is so patient with me amazes me to the core of my being. I mess up again and again, and He forgives me. I ask Him to help me lose weight, and He shows me how and then I don't obey. This is the key: obedience. Help me, Lord, to be obedient today.I know that in me dwelleth no good thing. Rom. 3:10 says "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none tht seeketh after God." The legalist has no hope; our righteousness is as filthy rags. I must trust the grace of my Savior. When Paul sought God about his thorn, he told us in 2 Cor. 12 "And he said unto me, My grace is suffiecient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." I have known this power as God led me through the dark hour of my life when I lost my daughter. As long as I leaned on HIM, I could make it. When I got in the flesh, I thought I would die! Another paragraph in the workbook, p B-3 says
"The work of the cross of Christ is our stabilizing force. We rest in the fact that the grace of God is immeasurable and steadfast, which transforms and grounds us through His Word. When we stumble and fall, we rely on God's amazing grace and the power of the Holy Spirit as He gently leads us back onto the path of His provision (Is. 40:11)."

I included this drawing of my granddaughter and me. We were having our picture made at one of those machines; the first time I wasted money trying to figure out how to do it (it drew a picture of my sweater sleeve). The second time I realized what was happening, that the machine was drawing our picture and if we didn't hold still the picture would be distorted. I didn't get the picture I wanted (preferably centered), but I did get a better picture than the one of my sweater sleeve. We are both staring at the machine as it draws the finished product. What will our finished product look like? Do we sometimes try to help God not to let us look "distorted" to the world. I have learned He isn't worried about his reputation. He is worried about me: the end product. He is still working on me, and I must not "freeze" in a position to look pretty, but I must simply let HIM finish the work.
Last edited by Merry Browning : Today at 03:16 PM.

idolatry

God sets us free; we are promised that in the word. Why is the battle with food so difficult? Perhaps because we have to eat every day, and so anytime our flesh is acting up, we have to battle. Will we ever overcome it, or will this be a continuous battle? I do not know.
Eating is not a sin; gluttony is a sin.

Beth Moore helps me understand my battle in her book Breaking Free

"To travel forward on the road to freedom we must move the obstacle of idolatry. We begin by recognizing the obstacle as idol worship, but we may find removing it difficult. The first two obstacles to freedom (unbelief and pride) can be removed effectively by a matter of choice: we can choose to believe God, and we can choose to humble ourselves before God. I am not minimizing the difficulty, but I am suggesting the obstacles can be removed by volition. Some of the idols in our lives (things or people we have put in God's place) can take much longer to remove. Some of them have been in those places for years, and only the power of God can make them budge. We must begin to remove idols by choosing to recognize their existence and admitting their inability to keep us satisfied."

So if I can let God's power work through me, I can overcome this obstacle of eating for satisfaction that should only come from my relationship with God. Paul said when we are weak then we can be made strong because God's power can work in us. Even he said the well-known phrase "Oh, wretched man that I am. Who can deliver me. . .?" The battle is raging, but I am not giving up, and I believe by faith that Christ is working in me, and that I will not listen to the flesh nor walk carnally.

five benefits and five obstacles

The last few days I have rested in His presence; the struggle is gone for now though I know I will have to deal with it as the Lord wills.
I have been reviewing Beth Moore's book Breaking Free.
She lists 5 benefits in knowing God, and they are very important.
To know God and believe Him, to glorify God, to find satisfaction in God, to experience God's peace, and to enjoy God's presence. The obstacles she lists are unbelief (which hinders knowing God), pride (which prevents us from glorifying God), idolatry (which keeps us from being satisfied with God, prayerlessness (which blocks our experience of God's peace), and legalism (which stops our enjoyment of God's presence).

As I look at these I can relate it so much to Thinwithin. The more I know God, the more I want to glorify Him, and the more I glorify Him, the more satisfaction I have in God and the more I experience His peace. The more I enjoy His presence, the more I find satisfaction in Him, and desire nothing else at all. The more I desire nothing else at all, the more I obey God, then in turn going back to glorify Him and thank Him for all the help He has given me with my problem.
Pride could become an obstacle if I lose weight and keep my focus on that. I have done that in the past, but right now my weight loss is so small that God keeps me justifiably humble.
Prayerlessness is no longer an obstacle, and just as sure as I go without it I am back to square one. However, I don't want to get into legalism and think I am earning the right to lose weight.
God surely has His ways of keeping me close to Him; I have shared the loss of my daughter 4 years ago. As I keep my eyes on God, I am free from pain, but if I start drifting away then God releases His hand and the grief is overwhelming.
So any problem we have God can use it to keep us close to Him, whether it is the battle with food, the battle with grief, or any other problem we face daily. We can thank Him constantly that He works to keep us in His presence.
Hopefully tomorrow I will talk about idolatry.

dealing with anger

In the Bible study Freedom from Emotional Eating, my lessons have been on anger. I wasn't feeling anger about anything; as a matter of fact, God just let me have a season of rest.
So I set that aside and told myself, I will use this when anger comes. And it did. And it was justified. I used the method of truth journaling, and ask myself why I was angry. I was hurt because someone actually told a lie on me. I didn't perceive it as a lie, it was a lie. And then the person embarrassed me in front of about 50 people. I am not exaggerating. I am telling this story not to get sympathy, but to express great delight in how God is teaching me to deal with life. For this is life; people are going to make us angry. Sometimes I get angry for selfish reasons, but such was not the case this time. I went before the Lord, and I refused to do anything but seek HIM. I told no one, and I took the Word and prayed it,and then asked Him for help. OF COURSE, He is always faithful. Why do I not do this more often??

A lady on TW told me about a devotional. I want to get it, but I was reading an excerpt that I just have to share today:

Because I am your constant companion; there should be a lightness in your step that is observable to others. Do not be weighed down with problems and unresolved issues, for I am your burden-bearer. In the world you have trials and distress, but don't let them get you down. I have conquered the world and deprived it of its power to harm you.In me you may have confident Peace.
(Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence—Devotions for Every Day of the Year By: Sarah Young)

seated in heavenly places

Sometimes I am so busy working on pleasing the Lord, and I find myself genuinely surprised that God leads me to rest in Him.
Ephesians 2:6-7: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness towar us through Christ Jesus.

Paul prayed for us to understand the love of God in Ephesians 3:16-19: That he would grant you according to his riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly aboe all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

When I am tired of thinking about it all, and I am simply trying to seek God, He blesses me to just bask in His love and His grace, and everything else grows "faintly dim, in the light of his marvelous grace." (I am quoting a song here, that I cannot place as of yet, I will footnote it when I find it)

with what judgment you mete

Lord,
Forgive me for judging others. I think I am not doing it, and then YOU show me that I am. I do not judge others for what they look like, what size they are, what they have; yet You have shown me that I judge others when they do not behave as I think they should. You have shown me this through feelings of disappointment that I have in others.
Thank YOU, Lord, for continuing to work on me.
When I am where you want me to be, I get my promotion: HEAVEN. Sometimes I can't wait. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen

I have noticed anger cropping up in me, and that is not something I ususally have to deal with; I believe I have used emotional eating to deal with it, and now I have to face up to my feelings. I ran across the lesson in my Freedom from Emotional Eating book that I wanted to share in hopes of being more of "the real thing." On page 101 B. Raveling tells of 4 things that might make us angry:

1. I'm expecting another person to make me happy. (I used to go through this with my husband
when we were first married, but I believe I have learned that only God can make me truly
happy)
2. I don't think I should have to suffer. (I know better and think I always have since I became
a Christian due to good, solid Bible teaching).
3. I have unrealistic expectations for others. (WHAM! The Holy Spirit punched me good!)
4. My self-esteem is dependent on the approval of others. (Not a problem that I know of, or
else the good Lord knows I can handle only so much chastening at one time)

The author says about unrealistic expectations of others:

This is a common source of anger for the person who has a highly developed sense of right
and wrong and for the perfectionist. Here are some examples of this;
getting mad at a daughter-in-law because she's a poor
housekeeper and you think everyone should have a clean house, getting angry with a co-
worker because she calls in sick when she's not really sick, or getting mad at a child or friend
who appears to have no ambition or passion when you have lots of it and think everyone
should have it!

Wow, she read my mind!! I don't have any daughter-in-laws and I am not a perfectionist about housekeeping. Someone may be judging me for that one. I do sin in judging people that might call in sick, and leave me with their work to do. And I think I know they are not sick, but just knew this day would be a very difficult one, and didn't want to face it. Well, sounds like judging to me. Guilty!

And I do get irritated with people that do not seem passionate about the Lord, and the Lord's work. Now sometimes I know people need to be more obedient, and it wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, but there are times I know I have judged wrongfully. How do I know? I have lost my peace.
Matthew 7 says not to judge for what judgement we measure out, will be given back to us. I need to get that huge beam out of my own eye before I try to help someone with a speck.
When I do I think I will have more success with the weight loss.

transparency

Posting a blog was never anything I wanted to do. I have been a rather private person.
As I read the blogs of others on TW, I admired them for being so open.
Guess what?? God is requiring this of me.

So here goes: Accountability partner-I must tell Allison how I have done and be totally honest.
I must also write here what the Lord wants me to write.

I have been doing this in obedience, but guess what I have gotten?? PEACE, sweet peace about the struggle with my weight.
Now it is obvious that some weight is coming off and some pieces of clothing are getting loser; also I can sit Indian fashion in the floor and on the bed, hadn't been able to do that in awhile.

AND a great blessing: yesterday I actually forgot to eat, yes it is a miracle. The bad thing is I forgot to feed my grandson. I offered to fix him pancakes for breakfast, he said no, and then at 2 I realized he had not eaten. Of course, he eats plenty, but I was just a little worried.
Last night I spend too much time on the computer; what I did was not bad in itself: looking at pictures, leaving messages, answering email, but I lingered to long and began to nibble. I didn't binge or anything, but ended a very positive day on a bad note.
I WILL not get on the computer tonight and I will go to bed early.

My study on Esther (Beth Moore bible study) is so rewarding.
Her words:

One of the most important partos fo fulfilling our destiny will be transparency.

We develop false shelters to protect us....The revelation of a person's destiny always demands a revelation of the person. Consider the wording (to Esther, ch.4): "If you remain silent at this time." The Hebrew word translated silent in this verse can also be translated conceal.

Of coure Beth Moore is relating the concealing of Esther's identity. Mordecai is letting her know she must now reveal her idenitity, and yet he was the one that cautioned her to hide that she was a Jew at the beginning. We can relate that to any of us as we become more open, and then we are more honest with ourselves. . If I am transparent with my problem with overeating, perhaps it will help others. I know that when I was so open about my mourning in the loss of my daughter, others reached out to me. Even today I am supposed to meet with someone that has so many losses and just needs someone to talk to. I want to be more transparent, even if it is painful, the end product will be worth it.

And as Beth Moore says, I want to make the enemy of my soul sorry he messed with me.

my flesh

Lord, I offer you my body today as a living sacrifice. Help me to honor you, and when I do fail I know you will bring good out of my failure and teach me something. I know my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and I want to behave like it is. In the name of Jesus I ask. Amen

The more real I am the more joy I have. I have been a private person, yet God is leading me to be more and more transparent. I am starting to see the purpose of that; things become clearer and I talk about them; I really do not like talking about me all the time; I want the focus to be on God, but perhaps it is going to take awhile to get me out of the way.

From Day Six of TW:

God is our foundation (Isaiah 33:6) and our body is His temple (I Cor. 6:29). We have the profound privilege of welcoming the presence of God to dwell within us, just as He once dwelt within Moses' tabernacle and Solomon's temple.

The dwelling places He chose for His glory were extravagant in every detail. Likewise our bodies are very special to God because He is the master architect, the landlord, and He has chosen to join us in tenancy. God doesn't dwell in the mediocre. He chooses only the most splendid structures in which to live.

Are you beginning to catch a glimpse of just how incredible and special you are in God's eyes? God esteems you. You are a favored one. You are an expression of His glory, created in His image to know Him personally and to make Him known.

As we continue this journey, let's remember that we are in the process of rebuilding or restoring this temple in which He has chosen to dwell. Thankfully we don't have to wait until the work is completed before He comes to live with in us. (Or to be happy, these are Merry's words) His work on the cross is completed, and because of that He chooses to dwell within us now. (Awesome, my words again) Let's be certain that our bodies, as His temples are suitable for His indwelling presence. (This is my heart's desire)

Day 5

As I said in a previous post, I believe God is directing me to go through TW again. I have not worked through it all, and I want to change.
Day 5 is called "My Body, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made."
As I went through the exercise of thanking God for each part of my body, I stand in awe of what God created. It is a miracle that everything functions today. The hands that use the fingers to pick up the smallest of items; the eyes that bless me to see everything God has created (my beautiful grandchildren, God's beautiful creation, the Bible); all these make me want to shout for joy, and I am doing that right now. Thank You God for my toes, my knees, my thighs, my hips, and I am not talking about what they look like but the job they perferm. Thank you for my elbows, my neck, my skull, for every joint, ligament, tendon, for every cell, tissue, organ, and organ system.

My daughter is the doing "The Lord's Table" and since I am her accountability partner, she sends me a copy of her lesson. Today's lesson talked about presenting your body to the Lord each day as a living sacrifice; to do it out loud, to say it to HIM.

I want to do that: Lord, I present my body to YOU as a living sacrifice today. As your power works in me, I can be what you want me to be, do what you want me to do,and say what you want me to say. Help me to lean totally on you, for in myself dwells no good thing. But when I am weak, then I am made strong.

a new day

I decided to review some concepts in Thinwithin, chapter 4 since I have gotten off track.
"A Path of My Choosing" is the title, and the emphasis is on the observe and correct technique (some call it confess and repent).

"'What could I have done differently to produce a better outcome?' If you ask yourself this same question, you will be amazed at how quickly you can learn, grown, and mature on the path of God's provision. Put away your club of condemnation. Instead, experience God's grace in action with the principle of observation and correction.

Enjoy the privilege today of applying God's grace in the present moment. You don't need to wallow in any measure of self-contempt. Observe what hasn't worked, agree with God, correct your behavior in the STRENGTH Hegives you. Then move on down the path of God's provision as you exprience the abundant life."

This is my plan. Today is a new day, and I am asking God for the power and strength to walk in His will.

Beth Moore says in the Bible study on Esther that God gives us the strength to stop sinning, to stop bingeing, to stop any behavior that is leading to a stronghold in our lives. I must believe that He can do this, and I do. I must then obey what He tells me to do.

confession

HereI am after Christmas, having eaten the wrong food at the wrong time.
However, I was reminded by the Holy Spirit just out of control my eating was at this time last year. So I did not gain the usual 10 pounds during Thanksgiving to Christmas. I am very thankful for that, but I wish I had done better yesterday.
Today is a new day, and I am spending lots of time in the Word, listening to Bible study tapes, doing my Bible studies, and working on memorizing scriptures.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

presence not presents

I read my blog yesterday; yuk! All the focus on me; I used the word I too much. Forgive me, anyone that reads my blogs.
Jesus is the reason for the season. Today HE WILL be my focus. Though Christmas has become too commercialized, Christians can gently lead the conversation to Christ. The whole world, or most of it knows about Christmas so I pray today those searching for that light will find HIM. The Bible says there is a light that lighteth every man, so let's pray those people that are searching for true light will find their way now.
HE is the answer to every person's problem, and HE IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD! HALLELUJAH!

victory

I have struggled so much with homemade candy. I love it, and several of my students brought me bags of the peanut butter chocolate. I had done so well,but I blew it and ate about 12 pieces. I didn't eat them all at once, but over the course of the day, and I was not hungry at the time.

I thought, "Now you've done it, no weight loss in 4 weeks, and you are going to gain." I had been faithful to seek the Lord's face, and have enjoyed my TW workbook, and my Beth Moore Esther Bible study. My daughter's husband has joined us; he doesn't understand it all yet, but wants to try. He is such a blessing to me, a godly man. I am so happy he is seeking God's will in this area.

So this morning, I felt the Lord urging me to weigh. I knew I would gain, but I said to myself, I know this is not me, no way would I weigh today. I was down 3 pounds, because of HIS mercy. I will continue to seek His face, and whatever happens with the weight I can handle it with his guidance. And HIS presence I seek more than the weight loss; HE has met me every morning!

I am starting to see progress here, but I can really see a difference in the pic posted on my profile.

Last night was a struggle; my husband went to a church dinner; I told him not to bring me a plate. However, a sweet friend of mine insisted and I received a plate of desserts, plus a good meal. I think I passed the test, and I chose a small piece of apple stack cake like my grandmother made. I ate some corn and green beans.

Today, though, my flesh has raged and I have craved sweets so I am praying about doing Heidi's type of fast: no sweets. I am praying about it, and I am reading the part about Daniel's type of eating in the book of Daniel. Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Sweets are very tempting, but the plate of desserts still sits in the oven.

He's still working on me

I have not posted in quite awhile.
I know God is working on me, but I cannot seem to open up about it. It is hard to describe.
However, I am going to try to post more often just to see if I can dig into how to explain what is going on.
I am faithful to study my workbook. My worship and prayer time with God is so awesome. My eating habits slip and slide, yet I feel like God is teaching me some things that are so needful to me. I am spiritually like I was physically when I broke my ankle. I did not get to walk on my ankle and I forgot how to walk, truly. I was used to walking with a walker, and the dr. did not allow me to put weight on my foot at all. From January to May I obeyed him, but when the cast came off, he let me start walking. I limped so badly, and was discouraged about that although I was ecstatic to be walking again. I had to think carefully to do something I had done naturally for years.
I must think carefully, pray, and try to listen to God with this eating thing. Yet if I am not very careful, I start focusing on ME. Even though that is not what Thinwithin is about at all.
As God directs me to worship HIM, spend more time with HIM, think about HIM more, I find my focus is off food. YET SOME VERY bad habits need to be broken. I pray for the habit on focusing on God constantly; God is blessing me to do that. It is so easy to slide back into "me" mode at any given point.
God is so good, and the mercy HE has shown me keeps me so humble. I do desire to please HIM in this walk.

Thanksgiving

I have tried to prepare for Thanksgiving by giving thanks to God for Thinwithin, for the forum, for the support, and for all the other many blessings I have. I have studied the Word, prayed the Word, now I must walk in and believe the Word. I made it through trick or treating without eating candy, the first time in my adult life.
I am trusting God for the grace to do His will and not mine.