I’ve been struggling a little lately and I was trying to figure out how I got on this emotional eating rollercoaster. I think it started years before I had weight issues when I was in grade school. It started with self doubt. I didn’t feel worthy of anything. I was the kid who was always picked last for games...no athletic ability. I believe that’s when I started feeling left out and it set the pace for all my years in school. I was always the one looking in wanting to be accepted and living with the painful reality of just being on the fringe never able to cross over. Don’t get me wrong I had some good friends and a social life but I still didn’t feel worthy of their friendship. I was never funny enough, pretty enough or popular enough to be worthy of anything. I said so many bad things to myself it became my reality. This kind of thinking led me down a destructive path of bad choices and more misery. If it wasn’t for the grace of God I would be in a very dark place. It’s strange that these emotional scars have led me to the place where I’m at today. I can feel the same thoughts creeping in when I’ m tempted to eat something. “It doesn’t matter if I eat this piece of cake, I’m fat, so 400 extra calories won’t matter.” Or “I’m full but who will care if I go back to get seconds.” I have to remind myself that God cares! He loved me so much that He sent His son to die on the cross for me. He loves me! I have to keep telling myself that I’m a child of God. He choose me.
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart; Jeremiah 1:5
That is how awesome our God is. It will take me a long time to reprogram my thinking to where I know that I’m worthy. I, Sheila Austin, am worthy! I deserve to be loved, to be cherished, and to be healthy. So I’m not going to eat that piece of cake or go back for seconds because God loves me.
Blessings,
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
I Love You God...
I’m going to ask you for some indulgence as I post this blog today. It will not be about emotional eating but about how God Loves us.
It’s funny how God can reveal Himself to us. He does it in the most creative ways, through songs heard on the radio, a friend just telling us about their day and even through our children. I think God uses children, at least in my life, quite a bit.
When my oldest child was 8 years old we were on our weekly trip to the grocery store. During that time grocery stores gave out balloons to children instead of cookies. We got a balloon and it was our custom to let the balloon go when we got home. It was game to us, the last person to see the balloon won. This time was a little different. Chase wanted to write a note on it to God. I asked him what he wanted to say? He said, “Please write, I love you God.” Well I tried to persuade him to say it in a different way and write “God, I Love You. Chase.” He said “NO” I want it to say I Love you God.” Well, I wasn’t feeling too controlling that day so I said “ok”. We wrote on the balloon and let it go.
Fast forward about 5 years, we’re living in a different city. I was talking with a client at the end of a day and she shared with me how God was working in her life. She said it all started with a balloon. She said she was feeling discouraged and was praying to God outside her home when a balloon came floating down with a note on it. It said, “I Love You God” I looked at her in shock...I asked her when this happened and she confirmed that it was the same time my son had wrote his message to God.
It still amazes me how He can use the simplest moments in our life to make an impact on another person’s life. Most of the time He doesn’t reveal to us how he is using us and I’m thankful that God let me see how he used my son. I still cry when I think about this.
Do you need a balloon today? Just ask God to reveal Himself to you...He will, it could be through a song, a kind word from a friend, through prayer and or reading on His word. He promises to be there for us.
Blessings,
It’s funny how God can reveal Himself to us. He does it in the most creative ways, through songs heard on the radio, a friend just telling us about their day and even through our children. I think God uses children, at least in my life, quite a bit.
When my oldest child was 8 years old we were on our weekly trip to the grocery store. During that time grocery stores gave out balloons to children instead of cookies. We got a balloon and it was our custom to let the balloon go when we got home. It was game to us, the last person to see the balloon won. This time was a little different. Chase wanted to write a note on it to God. I asked him what he wanted to say? He said, “Please write, I love you God.” Well I tried to persuade him to say it in a different way and write “God, I Love You. Chase.” He said “NO” I want it to say I Love you God.” Well, I wasn’t feeling too controlling that day so I said “ok”. We wrote on the balloon and let it go.
Fast forward about 5 years, we’re living in a different city. I was talking with a client at the end of a day and she shared with me how God was working in her life. She said it all started with a balloon. She said she was feeling discouraged and was praying to God outside her home when a balloon came floating down with a note on it. It said, “I Love You God” I looked at her in shock...I asked her when this happened and she confirmed that it was the same time my son had wrote his message to God.
It still amazes me how He can use the simplest moments in our life to make an impact on another person’s life. Most of the time He doesn’t reveal to us how he is using us and I’m thankful that God let me see how he used my son. I still cry when I think about this.
Do you need a balloon today? Just ask God to reveal Himself to you...He will, it could be through a song, a kind word from a friend, through prayer and or reading on His word. He promises to be there for us.
Blessings,
Thursday, September 17, 2009
To Plan or not to plan?
Since I’ve began this weight loss journey I decided not to have a weight loss plan. I was just going to wing it and ask God to honor my decision not to have a plan. I was wrong! God doesn’t work that way. We see through scripture that God always has a plan. You can see it all the way from Geneses to Revelation. One example is in Joshua 6:2-5.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."
I believe my Jericho is my weight and my tools are a good nutritional plan, a diet, and God will deliver me from this strong hold but I must obey God. A part of that will be to lay down my bad eating habits, pick up good ones and stay focused on God.
Now, weight loss plans are abundant, if you don’t believe me just Google diet and see what you get. I’ve been praying on which one I should choose and God gave me the answer through a friend who wrote one. She gave it to me last night and I’ll start it soon. I still believe that my major problem is emotional eating and I’ll keep you up to date on what strategies I’ll use to overcome that impulse. Until my next blog I pray that God will bless you.
2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."
I believe my Jericho is my weight and my tools are a good nutritional plan, a diet, and God will deliver me from this strong hold but I must obey God. A part of that will be to lay down my bad eating habits, pick up good ones and stay focused on God.
Now, weight loss plans are abundant, if you don’t believe me just Google diet and see what you get. I’ve been praying on which one I should choose and God gave me the answer through a friend who wrote one. She gave it to me last night and I’ll start it soon. I still believe that my major problem is emotional eating and I’ll keep you up to date on what strategies I’ll use to overcome that impulse. Until my next blog I pray that God will bless you.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Missing?
Sorry, it’s been a while since I last posted. I’ve been struggling and wrongly thought I couldn’t let you down by sharing. I had some girl friends ask me why I haven’t posted and I shared with them I haven’t made any progress. They said, “Girl, that’s exactly what people want to hear.” They don’t want to see someone do it perfectly not showing signs of doubts or struggles...they want someone who can relate to them. So here I am back on board and I hope you can forgive me for not posting. God has been telling me:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:10-12
Wow! God is good...He has plans for me, so I need to depend on him to accomplish my goals.
God Bless
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:10-12
Wow! God is good...He has plans for me, so I need to depend on him to accomplish my goals.
God Bless
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