Hi, Everyone.
I need to take some time away from posting the Life Plan Devotional. Please read previous issues on my OH profile blog. I may or may not visit the Board during this time. Everything is all right. I just need some time.
Blessings & Prayers,
Mary

Hi, Everyone.
I've been working on computer issues for hours, and I pray I can get this devotion posted. Technology is grand, but when it messes up, it's frustrating.
Have a good day. Let's lift each other up in prayer.

Life Plan Devotion #162 [Think about it, first]

John 7:3-6 [NLT] "Jesus' brothers said to Him, 'Leave here and go to Judea, where Your followers can see Your miracles! You can't become famous if You hide like this! If You can do such wonderful things, show Yourself in the world!' For even His brothers didn't believe in Him. Jesus replied, 'Now is not the right time for me to go...'"

     Hebrews 2:18 says, "Since He [Jesus] Himself has gone through suffering and testing, He is able to help us when we are being tested. Jesus experienced, firsthand, ridicule and rejection from family. Jesus knew what was right and when to act. He resisted the timetables, agendas, and expectations that others--even His own brothers--foisted upon Him.
     Premature publicity of personal decisions or life events may lead to unnecessary attacks from others or inflated pride about our personal successes. Either will stand in the way of what God is trying to accomplish in and through our life. Often, it is best to remain quiet until the time is right.

What this has to do with weight loss: We who are contemplating or have recently had weight-loss surgery struggle with if, when, or how to tell others about our weight-loss surgery. These are very personal decisions, and each person must contemplate one's own cir****tances and situation. Take the time to make the right decision for you.
     If you choose to tell others about your weight-loss surgery, you may still face ridicule, rejection, or expectations from others, but if you are confident in your decision and are prepared for whatever may happen, you will come through with peace within.

Today, think about how you make decisions. If you realize that you are too impulsive or speak without thinking first, come up with a decision-making plan or a way to remind yourself to think before you speak. Listen to Andrew Johnston, a 13-year-old contestant on "Britain's Got Talent," (who decided to persevere, despite ridicule from others) as he sings "Pie Jesu" ["Holy Jesus"].
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K2EA8SWhh8

"Pie Jesu" is Latin. "Pie" is pronounced "pay."  Andrew's version, with English translation:
Pie Jesu [Holy Jesus]
Pie Jesu [Holy Jesus]
Pie Jesu [Holy Jesus]
Pie Jesu [Holy Jesus]
qui tollis peccata mundi [You take away the sins of the world]
dona eis requiem [Give them rest]
dona eis requiem [Give them rest]

Blessings,
Mary

Thank you for sharing that story, Karyn. It's precious, and I will be sure to pass it on to Leah. She's already talking about how hard it will be to see Regan go back to Indiana on Monday. I reminded her that he will be moving here in just a few months, but I guess that seems forever, when you're in love. :)
It was fun to hear from you on a Saturday. :)
Blessings,
Mary

Hi, Everyone.
Last evening, at the dinner table, my daughter and her boyfriend (the romance of the century) were talking about what they and my grandson (9 years old) were going to do tomorrow. He doesn't have school on Fridays, and my daughter has taken the day off work. When my grandson heard that they'd all be going to the zoo, and that tomorrow night is the church campout and he would be going with Regan (daughter's boyfriend visiting from Indiana), my grandson said, "Am I dreaming? Somebody pinch me." It was very sweet. He is so ready to have a godly father, and it looks like that's going to happen. :)
Please pray for all those having surgery today or recovering from surgery. Pray for all those who need renewal to happen in their lives, whether physically, financially, emotionally, or spiritually.
Have a great weekend, and the Life Plan Devotion will be back on Monday, Lord willing.

Today's devotion is from my personal journal dated May 15, 2007. I hope you enjoy it, and, as always, I love to hear from you.

Flashback Friday Devotion #37 [I'm not the same]

     An old song came to my mind today, and I began to sing, "Thanks to Calvary, I am not the [one] I used to be. Thanks to Calvary, things are different than before." I just love that one of the benefits of being a Christian is that God makes Christians different people than they used to be. 
     I read somewhere that when we become "regenerated," we are spiritually "regened." I haven't really thought of it in that way before, but I like that!
     The Lord impressed upon me that even if I have been an overeater all my life, even though I am now obese and suffering the consequences, and even though I sometimes feel as if I am unable to change any of it, the truth is that no matter what I was, that is not what I am in Christ.
     The Lord showed me that who we see ourselves to be is how we act. That makes sense. If I think of myself as an overeater, then I will overeat. The opposite should be true. If I think of myself as an overcomer, even in the area of overeating, then I will act as an overcomer, even in the area of eating.
     I was reminded of the verses that list all the types of "used to be" people, and I found it in 1st Corinthians 6:9-11. I love the last part that says, "Such were some of you; but you were washed,...sanctified,...justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."
     At first, I didn't "see" myself in that list, but then...there it was, "idolaters." I was an idolater, because food was my idol. Now, I was still saved, but the Lord began a work in me that continues today, that of changing me. Even though I couldn't see it at the time, the moment I gave my heart to Jesus, at the age of 13, God changed me and gave me a new identity. That's glorious!
     My greatest desire is to be so changed that my outside mirrors my inside, that people will want to know what has happened to me, so I will be given the opportunity to testify of what God's grace has done in my life.
     How precious it has been for me today, to have God put in my mind what a change the Word and Grace of God have made in me. How glorious the change that grace makes! How amazing that, because of grace, I am made righteous and holy in the sight of God!
     Yes, I am counted in the "Such were some of you," for I am not what I once was. I guess some might say that overeating is "no big deal," but I can testify that if one is in bondage to it, it is as defeating as any sin.
     I'm going to work at thinking, speaking, and acting as a person who has God-control (I like that better than self-control). Some people who are obese give themselves cutesy nicknames, like "dough boy" or "pleasingly plump." I've never understood that, because there's nothing cute about being fat!
     I see, however, that, while I have never given myself a "cute" nickname, I do speak in a way that shows that I loathe myself. That's not of God, because that is not who I am.
     I just remembered a story about St. Augustine, who, shortly after he was converted, was walking and passed by a prostitute he'd "known" well. He did not even glance at her. She said to him, "Augustine, it is I," and he replied, "Yes, but it is not I." His response shows that he knew the truth that he was not who he used to be.
     I thought of Paul, who was so changed by His encounter with the Lord, on the Damascus Road. I love the passage in Galatians 1:13-24, where Paul talks about how he "used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it," and then he uses my favorite 2-word phrase, "But God." "But God...called [Paul] through His grace," and the result was that people were talking about the one "who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." Not only that, but Paul goes on to say, "And they were glorifying God because of me." May that be the case with me, also, is my prayer.

Today, make a conscious effort to think like an overcomer, even in the area of overeating. At the end of the day, see if that made a difference in your eating. Do you see yourself as God sees you? Have you allowed God to change you?
Listen to George Younce, former bass singer for the Southern Gospel quartet The Cathedrals, who moved to Heaven in 2005, as he sings "Thanks to Calvary." George tells a cute story before singing. I hope you enjoy the song and express thanks to the Lord, for what He's done for you.
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=c060409ea8e97f afec9e

Blessings,
Mary

Good morning Mary, thanks you for your lesson this morning. I have found myself so much in the face of people who don't believe. But it has just strengthen  my my faith all the more. Now what they believe, has been harder,  that we just came by a big bang. Now that takes some hopeful thinking.   May God continue to bless you, Sandra