Sunday December 30th PEACE from God

Sunday December 30th   PEACE from God

(I don't blog on the day set aside for our LORD.  Please enjoy some of God's
Pre-Recorded  Messages  for us all.
(That phrase in honor of my second Recording Studio's producer, with laughter! He runs online streaming and videos for one of God's large city churches, and sometimes they re-play services to re-share them with people who had missed God's message earlier)

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                 FROM   THE   VERY   BEGINNING,               

  GOD  HAS OFFERED  US    ** PEACE  **

         along with His commandments for our sakes:

Exodus 20: 18 to 24, right after God provides commandments

 for   living.... living.... LIVING .....

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; 

but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear;   for God has come to test you, 

and that His fear [reverence of Him]  may be before you,  so that you may not sin."

So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God [was]. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 'You shall not make [anything to be]

 with Me--gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.

"An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it 

your burnt offerings and

your peace offerings,

your sheep and your oxen.

In every place where I record My name 

I will come to you,  & I will  bless  you."  -- GOD 

            -- end of selection from Exodus 20.

DO   WE  ALLOW  GOD  to   RECORD 

        HIS NAME    ON  US

so that God will BLESS us with His PEACE???

ABOUT GOD'S BIBLE:

“.....These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name .”    -- Gospel of JOHN 20: 31

Much peace and comfort to you from God on this day.  -DianaDee

Sunday December 23rd MORE Comfort from God

Sunday December 23rd  MORE Comfort from God

(I don't blog on the day set aside for our LORD.  Please enjoy some of His
Pre-Recorded  Messages  for us all.   (To borrow the common Live Streaming message!)

ISAIAH  40

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.  

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  
4 and 5    LORD God is FAIR to all peoples:
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see  [it]  together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it] . 

26   LORD God is CREATOR:

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things], that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.

27   LORD God is JUDGE over  evil, selfish me:....My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?     
   

28   LORD God is STRONG CREATOR who understands all:

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.

29  God is s COMPASSIONATE HELPER:

He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.

31   God helps ALL who obey Psalm 46:10 and elsewhere, waiting:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint. 

Praying for Coyotes Parable........... by DianaDee Osborne

December 22

First the freshly grown lush grasses of the new homes brought the deer.  The former town and city dwellers were delighted to have a few peaceful creatures.

Then Peaceful Creatures multiplied.

Not so great, but the former town and city dwellers were glad enough for
this reminder that sidewalks and honking vehicles and crowded yards were now history for them.

Then the Peaceful Creatures population exploded with cute babies growing up to 

eat all the garden and flower foods they wanted in the subdivisions....

and somehow the concept of Intelligence growing in the herds as the stupid ones died from denting cars didn't happen.  The deer just kept jumping in front of cars and causing major damage and even pain along with financial burdens.  Deer aren't so cute anymore.

Solution?  Some locations decided to allow the wild coyote herds to develop
to kill off the deer
to save gardens and flowers and car collisions.

The result was predictable.  Lock up Fluffy and Spot at night.
ok --  what's this gotta do with dieting?
Well, at first I   -- we --   overate just somewhat.
Our younger bodies could manage some unhealthy eating habits since we were active, after all.
Then metabolism issues kicked in and-or pain and-or lack of time to exercise.

The fun little habits,  like nibbling deer,  just seem to multiply until we

feel out of control.

After years of this, I found myself praying to God: 
         I am  SO  tired of caring about what I eat.  
         I am so bored with this temptation and  praying about it over and over.  
        Can't Satan just bug off on this one and give me something
                    different to be tempted about?

Praying for coyotes.  What a dumb few months of prayer that was.

Maybe -- hopefully -- you've never been that foolish.  But just in case, I figured I'd share my experience and comment:
            Thankfully, God never answered that prayer.
            Interestingly,  a couple of people mistakenly *thought* I'd given in to Coyote Level Sins.
            Educated-ly, a lesson from LORD God, 
                     I realized how dangerous my prayer had been.

And that the weariness

that leads to such thought-less praying

is USED by SATAN to get us to use our minds in ways 
God would not like -- including
praying for a different temptation -- for Coyotes -- 
instead of Ephesians 6:10 to end  prayers for PROTECTION from the nibbling deer sins.
Instead of First Corinthians 10:13  DELIVERANCE  from the nibbling deer sins.

Stay alert.  Let God use experiences from foolish people like myself to fore-warn and for-ARM you:

NEVER PRAY FOR COYOTES.  

Pray for the SHEPHERD to beat off

the coyote-serious-level sins  and the cute-nibbling-deer sins   that tempt you.

PRAYER
Ephesians 6:10 to end, I pray O LORD.
I choose to put on the armor You give -- but don't shove onto me.  Help me stand firm.
First Corinthians 10:13,  I pray to You O LORD:  Deliver me from temptations.
Luke 11:4 and Matthew 6:13  Jesus's prayer words, I pray O LORD:
Deliver me from ALL temptations and evil.  I choose to obey you.  I need Your help.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
Other encouraging resources:  http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com/

Christmas Cookies Parable, by DianaDee Osborne

December 21
I spent yesterday making about 20 dozen cookies with my dear daughter who knows this isn't the happiest time of year for me.  At her place, we spread out a few dozen plates to fill with goodies for her neighbors and co-workers.  As cookies cooled, we loaded up the plates. And chased off twin Siamese kittens and their cohort in crime, Jacob the collie.  All afternoon and night.

But some cookies crumbled.
Sounds like my grandmother's old reassurance when I was upset:

"THAT'S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES."

Whatever that means,   I would think.

Some really sad things have happened between the last Christmas that was happy
and this coming one that I hope shall be.
That's the way the cookie crumbles.  That's life.  Everyone has something sad.

Yesterday, quite a few cookies crumbled.
We created a plate for the crumbs... and feasted off them for dinner.
NOT EXACTLY A GOOD ADMISSION FOR A BLOG ABOUT daily DIETING!!!
I confess.
But actually, we both were "good".  enough:)
But that's not the point that IS the point for when we're "dealing" with whatevers---------.

Often our cookies crumble.  Our hopes crumble.  Our Heart cruMple.

But there's goodness in the crumbles, too.
There's actually a joy in knowing we don't have to seek perfections.
A joy in knowing that God LOVES us AND will help us.... seeing the
goodness that God brings out of the crumpling crumbles that Life sometimes makes out of our days.

   Romans 8:28 does not say that God makes our cookies break apart.

   Romans 8:28 says that WHEN our cookies crumble,  God builds a dinner out of them.

c2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved, but you are welcome to photocopy and share for personal use.

Little Diet Sins -- NOT.............. by DianaDee Osborne

December 20

Yesterday was a "Good Day" in self control.
I  was so sad about something that I didn't feel like eating.
So I suppose,  technically,
Yesterday was a "Bad Day" in the REJOICING category of Life.
Yet:
I do trust God  to still love and forgive me (when I ask)
in the failures I do in my life.    And in my dieting.  We ALL can (whatever our personal "besetting sin" that keeps tempting us) :

After all, it's logical ---

     1 -   Jesus is God   (way too much amazement to discuss in today's blog)
     2 -   God is and always was without the limit of time
     3 -   God knows everything...     pretty logical for the Guy Who created the Universe     
So Jesus knew even as He hung in the Cross that I was going to be self-centered today,    not rejoicing as much as I should in HIS marvelous amazing love and grace toward me.


By the way -- that's the best logic I've ever heard to explain "Once Saved Always Saved."
The logic came from one of Creflo Dollar's sermons awhile back... easy to remember it.
When we realize the Truth of God's Word
     (remember ----- the Guy Who created the UNIVERSE ! ),
we  easily quote that Jesus died so we could be forgiven for our sins,
But then SOME preachers tell us wrongly  that this sets some sort of  time line.
My personal picture is of the bully drawing the line at the playground
          and daring you to cross it.
Some false teachers say that sins done AFTER we prayed Romans 10:9 are
insults to God  (TRUE) and put us in danger of losing our salvation (FALSE, which makes
the whole sentence false).
It's not LOGICAL-- Jesus is not limited by time,  

so He died for my 

"After I Accept Jesus as LORD and Savior"  sins     as well as  for those sins  done a few days or years before that prayer to God.   Like today when I was so self-centered in a tiny thing.

Remember that the tiny O ring got too cold and failed, causing an entire rocket to crash and kill .....
My "BIG" sins are  NOT  "worse than"  my "small" self-centerednesses.
One  (1)  tiny sin keeps us OUT of heaven-living  with HOLY  God - unless we ask forgiveness and cleansing through Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice to remove that sin-- 
for God  is SICKENED by anything not Holy. 
Rightly so, for our sins are nauseating even to US when we honestly  consider them.

2nd Corinthians 9:15

Thanks [be] unto God for his unspeakable gift.        KJV

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!       New KJV
Thank God for this gift* too wonderful for words!   NLT
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!              NIV
¡Gracias a Dios por su don inefable!                          ESV

PRAYER
LORD thank you.
Thank you.
thank you.  So much.

ENCOURAGEMENT from God

Titus 3:5
For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  But when the
kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us,
through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior,
that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Seek Great Bad News for Your Diet, ..... by DianaDee Osborne

December 19

I loved poetry college courses.  How can you NOT  ace
a paper where you're asked for your OPINION  on
"What does the fast-flowing stream across the rocks symbolize?

 I mean -- they're Opinions.  How can one be right or wrong???

Some professors figure a way, though.   (Seen it.)
And I have enough self-confidence to stand when professional opinions are against mine...
so  nowadays,   I'd probably flunk. 

I'd reply "Maybe the poet was just sitting by the waters on a gorgeous day and decided to

record the beauty in a poem instead of with a camera.

I TRULY have heard of a famous poet who was told something like "We love the way you used the rushing waters to symbolize how quickly life flows by!"  -- and the poet replied,  "No.  I liked the water's beauty and just wrote pretty words about it."

Here's my point for YOUR diet:

Are you assuming your own opinion is right and you just keep 

gaining weight because you over - ate?

Or are you adopting the opinion of doctors who tell you that?

Resulting in slamming yourself with blame?   DON'T!    KEEP SEEKING ANSWERS,  and
praying (KEEP praying, don't give up until you hear God's answer)  for James 1:5-6 guidance from God,  if you honestly are gaining more than the
amount of overeating you are doing.   (Because we all overeat when discouraged that we kept gaining while being hungry and denying ourselves.)

In yesterday's blog, I said I consider it 
really GREAT   BAD news from the doctor 
that new tests show my thyroid still is barely responding to all medications.
Why?   Because -- for 3 years -- doctors were telling me that I kept gaining because
     1-   I was eating more calories than I thoughy.
     2-   Telling me I was eating more than I thought because I was depressed.
Never mind that I was filled with joy at all the songs God was gifting to me to develop.
Never mind the 5 hours plus per week at the gym.
After much seeking -- and having reached a point of  NOT  EXPECTING to find an answer,
but with prayers thinking that God would want me to try at least a couple more time,
     I finally found one doctor who believed me,
     who guided me to Dr. S --- who believed me,
     who guided me to the specialist Dr. V --- who took the SAME blood tests but looked for
DIFFERENT  components indicating things about my body.

God made our bodies complicated.
They are yet another EVIDENCE of a divine creator.   And  they change over time.
So pray for wisdom and seriously consider
going to see a doctor who specializes in HELPING you SEEK   bad news -- to find out IF  your metabolism is slower than normal....
        so you can begin the steps that GOD guided
     doctors to find as part of our body's healing process. 

GOD'S   ENCOURAGEMENT
First Corinthians 12:  8,  different people have different gifts from God. We're allowed to ask for one.  WHY?   So we can help OTHERS  (verse 7),  as I pray this blog might help you.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit [of all]:

for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit..." 

Promised in James 1:5 and 6 -- If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

PRAYER
Father God, it is so easy for me to get discouraged.  And that -- itself -- discourages and embarrasses me.  How can I doubt Your promises of help after all you've done?  Please forgive me.  Please help me to have the energy to KEEP seeking Truth not only about you, but also about how to help this physical body You have entrusted to me.  So that I can do what you said in First Corinthians 12:7 -- to go and encourage other persons with struggles I've experienced and guide them to know You shall help in.  If they ask.   As You continue to help me.  If I continue to humbly ask.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Really GREAT BAD News Diet Parable .... by DianaDee Osborne

December 18

I got some really GREAT   BAD news from the doctor this week:
1.  bad...  new tests show my thyroid still is barely responding to all medications.
2.  bad... the number for my cholesterol level is high,  but...
3.  good... the 'good' cholesterol is so high (which is good), that it ...
4.  good... makes the total number look falsely real bad.  Plus now ....
5.  ... the doctor knows I'm not lying about working out hard at the gym without...
6.  ... being able to lose weight though eating  right .....

And so it goes.
Have you ever noticed,  any time we get good news,
seems like something bad is sure to come and offset any good news?
Guess that's why they say "Bad Luck Comes in Threes."

And I guess that's why they say "I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."
Ya know,  I never  DID understand that one.  Drop from WHERE?  WHOSE shoe?
Should've asked Grandmother....  Anyway....

That's Romans 7 and 8 in a parable nutshell.

1.  Bad news..... we sin.    (Check First John 1  if you're adding up your good points.)
2.  Bad news... God is HOLY,  so sinners cannot live with Him in heaven.
3.  Good.... Jesus died on a cross to save us... me... from eternal hell.
4.  GREAT ... all I have to do is pray (and really mean) Romans 10:9.
5.  WONDERFUL!  "You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God"  (Romans 7:4  New Living Translation.)

6.  Bad.... but now that I see all Jesus did for me, 
        I  REALLY want to stop sinning.  
        I really want to stop being self-centered.
        I REALLY want to stop overeating and overshopping and gossiping and being proud when I  SUCCEED in my diet, etc ---
           simply because that HURTS our wonderful LORD.

7.  Worse  and  Worse .... But the more I  TRY  to "be good",  the more I fail!  Miserably!

THE REALLY GREAT BAD NEWS:

We are    REDEEMED    sinners!  That means:

Jesus paid our debt on the Cross so that we can humbly thank and worship Him and serve Him -- share His    REALLY GREAT bad news Truth   with others.... and  one day live with Him through eternity.

GOD'S   ENCOURAGEMENT
"But there is another power within me that is  at war  with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God!  The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is:

" In my mind I really want to obey God's law, 
but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."
-- Paul in Romans 7 at the end.

John 8:  Jesus came to set us FREE from the results of our sins.... if we believe Him.
First Corinthians 10:13,  God WILL free us from temptations, if  we ask.

PRAYER
LORD God, I truly am sorry for how often I give in to temptations.  For how often I hurt you AND do not show others what a wonderful LORD you are.  Please help me have the words to share with others, as your promised in John 14: 26 and 27.  Thank You!

©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Psalm 10 Surely not about me? .... by DianaDee Osborne

December 17
I awoke at 5 AM with the basic melody in my head. Remembering my longtime, deep prayer to serve our LORD “Bringing Music Back” to His Psalms, I prayed for guidance, looked in my Psalms journal to see which of the 3 dozen psalms I had NOT written out lyrics sets or music for. Psalm 10 was one of the first blanks in my record list. And it fit perfectly. God's Psalm 10, set to music with creative inspiration from His Holy Spirit--- and I finished "Psalm 10 Renouncing God"  at 8 AM. Lyrics, Music, three piano tracks. In 3 hours. It's God's song.
It's a sad song Psalm.

It's about wicked people "renouncing God" and causing harm.   It's not about me,  I thought.

I'm not wicked.  My house is a mess, and I get annoyed at lousy drivers, and my long-haired cat has a huge clump I haven't clipped in a couple of days,  but I'm generally a good person.  Smile at people, give some money to help others, mind my own business.

(I DO love God's warning that against being BUSYBODIES -- 2 Thessalonians 3:11 and First Timothy 5:13.)   

Hey, I never renounce God,

I said.

Then I re-read Psalm 10.  God speaks of many self-centered decisions.

That's me every time I over-eat or over-shop or  over-talk (otherwise called 'gossip').

God speaks of the wicked not expecting to see any accounting from God for sins (Psalm 10:13)

That's my hope every time I step on a scale.

If others see me as a typical self-centered person,  

How can I tell them about Jesus and the PEACE

     He would give them if they ask?

My lifestyle would show them that I care more about me,  

     that I trust food and things to give me peace... not God.

That Jesus is rather like a hobby

rather than a Holy Savior that I humble myself to and obey.  (John 15).

PRAYER
Lord, I pray humbly to you, for I need Your Help, o my Lord and King.  Psalm 10:16, You are.
You hear the desire of the humble, and I humble myself to you.  Psalm 10:17.
Help me to be like Jesus Christ Your Son,  reflecting Him.  2nd Corinthians 3:18.
I yearn to serve You and give You joy,  so that through me you can reach and help those
who feel hurt and oppressed by not only other people, but by all that Jesus would save them from.
Please give me not just Your Words for them  (John 14:16-17),  but also Your heart for them.

And forgive me my sins that hurt You, I pray.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Proverbs 3:  5 and 6 especially
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones:
©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Sunday December 16th COMFORT from God

(I don't blog on the day set aside for our LORD.  Please enjoy some of His
Pre-Recorded  Messages  for us all.
(That phrase is in your honor, Claxton, with laughter!)

PEACE:
"But the Helper,                      [the old King James version uses the word "Comforter"]
                                [the RVR (Spanish version) uses the word  with root word for "Consolation"]
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things,
and bring to your remembrance
all things that I said to you.
 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; 
not as the world gives do I give to you.         
Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid."  -- Jesus
John 14:26 and 26

Second Corinthians 1:2 and on
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
          who comforts us in all our affliction
so that 
we will be able to comfort those
who are in any affliction with the comfort
with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance,
so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
========

Much peace and comfort to you from God on this day.  -DianaDee

Gladly Dieting to Help the Hurting ..... by DianaDee Osborne

December 15
Yesterday's national news is devastating to people who care.
Yet another shooting in a school.  Yet more young lives stolen from them.
Yet more heartaches and questioning -- how can this happen? Where's God?

Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered --
Does it  really  *matter*   if I weigh more than I want, 
or more than other people think I should?  Does it really *matter* what I look like?

   Have you ever wondered -- what's the point ??  May as well just enjoy myself and hope it works out.  Who knows if I'll be alive tomorrow.  Hey, there is that joke showing two people in heaven discussing regrets;  one sadly comments on missing out on the last night's chocolate pie......

Here is why it matters:  

Here is why we keep striving to do what is right 

even in food choices  &  exercise choices:

NOT  to make God love us more.  That's impossible.  How can God love to any greater "percentage" someone He already loved so much that He sent His son Jesus to be mocked and killed on earth to fulfill our sacrifice-requirements that we couldn't meet in order to live with God in Heaven?   It's NOT LOGICAL  to think that "good works" will make God love us more.
                              (Romans 7 and 8;  Hebrews entire book, especially Chapters 3,  8,  10)

We keep striving so that we will be HEALTHY enough to serve our Wonderful God ----

to COMFORT people who read so MANY reports of devastating news and ask "How can we believe in a God who lets this happen?

We keep --- I keep-- seeking God's forgiveness for self-centeredness

that may LIMIT the amount of time on earth 

to reach out to SO MANY 

HURTING people in this World.

So many people who haven't yet found what I do in all the "probability" evidences that
God DOES exist and care.   People I can comfort by telling them how much Jesus IS the Savior who drew these childlren to Him,  who calls us all to Him.  Because He not only cares -- He died to show that impossible-to-fully-comprehend love to each of us.  NOT  just John 3:16 and 17.
Second Peter 3:9.

ENCOURAGEMENT

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."   Galatians 6:9

Which followed, logically and mathematically (or is that "arithmetic"?)  Galatians 6:8's warning
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature 
will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.
But those who live to please the Spirit 
will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

PRAYER

Lord,  help me to be the person you want me to be.
Help me to serve You in this world by helping those who are devastated by so much that happens,  the evils, the sorrows.
Help me even in this dieting -- something that seems unimportant in the long list of things to care about -- so that I can serve you LONGER.
You Jesus gladly died for me.  Help me to gladly diet for you --

for my heart TRULY yearns to do this to honor You, my Lord.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Bad Egg Dieting Parable

December 14
I reminded a friend of Psalm 46:10, 
but "stillness" is a matter of the heart;
We can be still with God while serving to help His hurting people.
Reminding myself, amid the Season.
C.S. Lewis gave this parable in "Mere Christianity"--  "It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad." 

That's sorta 1 Corinthians 3:1 on.  God calls us to mature, to stop acting like babies.
He was talking to "the Church" at Corinth, according to the first chapter.
But also to people within the church.  Telling individuals like me and you to "grow up."

I remember "way back when" no one  knew what cholesterol was.  What a pleasantly ignorant time.  We ate all the eggs we wanted (and have thankfully learned they aren't that bad in moderation).  We ate fried chicken because it was better than broiled, unless we were watching calories.  And potato salad was classified as a vegetable.

But now we know better.   It's time to eat like reasoning mature people.  Thinking completely differently   about those 1/3 pound  hamburgers.

Too much cholesterol is bad for my heart.  No immediate consequences.  But eventually.......
Exercise is good for my heart.  But too much exercise and not enough rest is NOT.
What a conundrum we face!  How do we choose?   SIMPLE ANSWER is always James 1:5 --
ask God for wisdom.
And a second remedy for our hearts:

(GOD'S COMFORTING SUPPORTING  SCRIPTURES)

Back to Psalm 46:10.  Be STILL.  Know that God is God (and you are not).
Grow up, mature - I tell myself.  Learn to REST IN MOTION -- rest on God's promises even while going around doing good.  Like Jesus, who we should reflect,  did:
"how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."  -- Acts 10:38
Once I know the way God has called me to act,
including setting aside foolish self-centered ways like overshopping and overeating,

it's too late to crawl back into my shell.

(Yet what a tempting thought after such a weary week.)

PRAYER
DEAR LORD GOD,  I repeatedly sin by trying to go back to old days.  Help me remember that my memories don't exactly match the facts that were.  I'd love to again be free to eat all types of junk food without gaining weight.  Love to stop caring about cholesterol.  Love to crawl back into my shell of safety until someone rescues me from making decision.  I'd love to stop being "accountable."  Dear LORD God, please help me see a return of joy for times worshiping you in church
AND in being still -- even while I'm in motion, help me to rest in you, remember you're still GOD..
             Help me to fly --- shell free,  worries free as I rest in You.   

"But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew [their] strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint."  --Isaiah 40:31 New KJV

Low Overpass Dieting Parable ...........by DianaDee Osborne

December 13
Some people compare sinning to speeding.
SO  many times I've heard the sermon about God's Grace--
that the Old Testament is the "LAW" and the highway speed limit sign is the "LAW".  But God's New Testament removes the law -- like the Autobahn in Germany (or some American deserts)  where there is no speed limit sign.

And sometimes the sermon parable adds,  "Oh yes, you still have to travel a safe speed."   And then that or another sermon might say  
"We look around for the police officer and then start speeding if we're sure we won't get caught."
But somewhere in there we're losing another pretty good parable:

GOD created His Laws not just to keep us "in line" but to HELP us.  

Many scientists and nutritionists and social psychologists have looked at the original covenant laws and seen how beneficial they could be to follow.

God's definition of the sin of overeating (gluttony.... ouch, how I hate that word), for example --

 I would LIKE  to think of it as a speed limit.  

When no one's looking ---- 
well, that cookie is calling my name.  
Ok, honesty here:  So are all its dozen friends.  And the scale won't tell on me for awhile.

But God's warnings against all the sins not only are so we'll learn to respect and obey Him, but also for our benefit.  God's warnings in Ezekiel 16:49 for example were really not about food, but attitude and self-centeredness -- and disobedience to God.

God's definitions of sins are really more like 

LOW OVERPASS WARNINGS --                                

Doesn't matter if there are  no police cars in sight.  

You disobey that law, you're going to get hurt.

I am so deeply grateful to LORD God for His grace that forgives.  
But there are consequences if I keep disobeying Him.  Not surprising that the consequences of most sins involve physical health.  Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan is real,  Satan is a liar  ("a few little sins won't hurt anything")  Satan has been a murderer from the start --- and from the start has implied that God lies,  we won't die from our disobedience to Him.

ENCOURAGEMENT   from LORD  GOD

"But He gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires.
As the Scriptures say, "God opposes the proud but favors the humble."
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Come close to God, and God will come close to you."   -- God through James 4:6, 7, and 8a NLT
           It's our choice........
PRAYER
Lord, God, I need Your help just to pray for your help.  Thanking You for Romans 8:26!
Please forgive my carelessnesses in the past, in everything -- not just food choices but also
how I treat others, or how I complain, or how I sometimes don't truly trust You.
I depend on Your grace, 
I THANK and praise You for your loving grace,
but in my love for You I plead:  Help me to stop hurting YOU with my sins.
Including...... ouch..... gluttony.

HINTS 

Ecclesiastes 4:  9, 10, and 12 are God's type of providing  someone to help us "police" our choices :)   Dieting is easier when you can confess to  &   yourself *support* someone else. 
©2012 DianaDee Osborne;  all rights reserved.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!

Happy 12-12-12 Patterns in Dieting........ by DianaDee Osborne

December 12
HAPPY 12-12-12 !

Enjoy it while you can!
You won't see another date pattern like this for
another     88   &   1 / twelfth  years!
The first day of January in almost a century from now, 2101,  will have the pattern
01-01-01
:)
Speaking of PATTERNS -- It is so COOL to find 
Patterns of Encouragement
in God's Word.  
Patterns to help you REMEMBER God's  encouragement as you diet -- or anything else.  For example,  look at all of the
CHAPTER 12 VERSE 12 patterns in scriptures.

DEUTERONOMY 12:12                                        read it here

"And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God...."

WHY?  (It's important to look at surrounding verses.)  Because "He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety" (verse 10).  God KNOWS we need rest from all the types of enemies -- especially temptations to not trust Him, temptations to pride, temptations to have fears about money,  and of course the chief topic of this blog set, temptations to eat too much to give ourselves comfort.  And God SHALL give us rest as we need -- First Corinthians 10:13.

ROMANS   12:12                                                       read it here

"...rejoicing in Hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...."

Just a few things that God reminds us to do.... there's a long list if short, easy phrases that God shares.  Verse 8 is about encouraging others, and 9 is to love without hypocrisy and abhor evil...
By our definitions, overeating is not "evil."  Yet it's not a great witness to our great God.
Verse 8 definitely fits -- let us encourage one another, even amid temporary failures!
And verse 9 -- as we DO lose weight, let us not start preaching at those still in the process of getting handle, with God's help, on eating patterns.  Our HOPE-- God will help!
My  VICTORY -- staying patient and waiting on God even when the scale won't budge.
My  SOURCE -- our relationship with LORD God, talking with him "steadfastly in prayer."

ACTS   12:12                                                       read it here

(Peter's just been miraculously freed from jail by an angel). So   when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary... where many were gathered together praying...."

How often do I remember to thank God for statistically-improbable answers to prayer?
How often do I gather with friends to pray for help in a "normal" setting -- not just church?
Maybe if I,  if we,  had a daily plan to meet with God,  any temptations in other times would seem unimportant enough to bother being tempted with.... I mean, I even forget to thank God before each meal.   (Please forgive me, LORD.)  Suppose I were to 'say grace' for every snack also?.......

First CORINTHIANS   12:12                           read it here
This fits SO perfectly with Acts 12:12  ---- The original Greek is awkward to translate so here is a paraphrase:
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ."   When we support each other,  it's so much easier to behave as Christ would.

In ANY area.... not just bad habits.

One more for today:  REVELATION  12:12                           read it here
"Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea!  For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE "GOOD NEWS,  BAD NEWS"   verses --

The good news is that we don't have to put up with Satan's attacks on us after we die!

The bad news is --- 
no, wait,  there IS  NO  bad news!  Because it fits the
PATTERN OF GOD'S LOVE  even if not the PATTERN OF 12:12--

First CORINTHIANS   15:  57                            read it here
THANKS BE TO GOD, WHO GIVES US THE VICTORY through our LORD Jesus Christ!

PRAYER -- Lord, please continue to protect me from temptations. Forgive those I gave in to.  And please help me openly see others whom I can encourage as I go through this phase in life, fighting self-centeredness that comes in the form of overeating.

Chocolate Thrones Parable .............. by DianaDee Osborne

December 11

If you haven't done it, you can still imagine the gross-ness:

Sitting down into your comfortable reading chair,
enjoying the relaxation,
suddenly realizing something is wrong,
standing and looking down into the chair to see:

Someone -- hopefully not you -- dropped and lost a bit of chocolate bar

on your chair.  Your throne of     comfort.

Oh, it's near the crevice where you didn't notice,
now melting into the material from your comfy body heat while you just enjoyed sitting.

Every throne of comfort here on earth has something wrong--- 
something not so comforting after all.
The chocolate that's my goal to eat even after doing well on my diet doesn't satisfy for long.
The shopping was fun.  Playing with my stuff was fun.  But soon the bills come.
      And I usually have more work, taking care of and cleaning around all the new stuff.
Alcohol and drugs -- even the word "BUZZ" describes
            the quick fading of joy for a few moments of forgetting whatevers.

God's JOYFUL  scriptures- 
God makes the Endurance Worth it!
in Revelation 3:21,  this prophecy is actually Jesus's Word, spoken after His Resurrection.
How do we know?  Logic.   
NOT an "unthinking faith",                            (e.g.  Isaiah 1:18,  1 Corin. 2:11-end)
FOR GOD CALLS US TO THINK AND REASON WITH THE MIND He has given to us.

CONSIDER:   IS  NOT  Almighty God Who can create universes 
     quite capable of keeping mistakes out of His own Bible? 
And  God easily "catches" & deals with anyone who deliberately tries to fake His word.
FALSE prophets -- Whom He clearly says will multiply in numbers.
And thus Jesus tells us in Revelation 3:21 --
                  "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne,

                    as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."  (New KJV)

PRAYER.                                                                                      
LORD God,  Help me, help us, overcome.  I can't do this alone.  I wouldn't WANT to do this alone, for even  my   so-called   thrones   of success  quickly fall apart.
        First Corinthians 10:13 -- I rely on You, my chosen LORD.
Fully rely on Your offers, Your Promises   to help me  overcome what you describe
in verses 5 through 8 -- things that shall DESTROY me  if  I put THEM on 
my Life's Throne instead of You.  

Fully rely on Your offers, Your Promises  to help me overcome what we people call "normal" - the
pride and complaining that YOU  God describe in YOUR words through Paul
in verses 9 and 10 -- things that shall DESTROY me   if  I CHOSE to  put THEM on 
my Life's Throne instead of You.  

Forgive me when I ignore the help You're waiting to give to me
because I want to sit just a little longer on 

my comfy chocolate throne.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne; all rights reserved but you are welcome to
print and share with the copyright © info.

Dogs and Deer and Diets .............. by DianaDee Osborne

December 10

Night driving.... It's not enough to just stay on the road
minding your own business.
      Watch out for the 3  D's
       I would tell the youth group --        
                  Dogs,   Deer,   and   Drunks.

What does all this have to do with dieting?

I confess:   I think in weird strands of parables.  I rather enjoy God's odd ideas.
And that includes a parable of Dogs and Deer and Diets:

I've been fighting weight gain all my adult life.
Sometimes I wonder if it's punishment for whining to a church lady while I was in high school,
      "No matter what I eat or don't eat,  I always weight 112."   [pounds].
On this side of metabolic body changes, I understand the look she gave me.

And I confess:
One of the main reasons why I re-gained weight lost whenever I did was carelessness.
I looked ahead-- stayed on the road.

But didn't watch out for things that might JUMP OUT in front of me and

     snatch my attention to watching them instead.......
           temptations that would end up causing my life to run into the ditch,   like dogs.

Temptations that would bang into the side of my car,  like deer.
How DOES that species keep growing, considering how many jump in front of cars???

Temptations from self-destructive people that would bring me to destruction too
     if I didn't pray for God's protection.  And watch out.   First Peter 5:8 and on

Often I pray -- once more-- to God with embarrassment.....
         Who wants to admit staying in 7th grade for 15 years?
                  Seems like I should "grow up" and 
                             graduate from this temptation fight.

Thankfully, God hasn't answered that prayer with a "You're right, you've had enough chances."

Instead, whenever we ask,  God HELPS us watch out for the D's that threaten to get us off His road.   WHEN we ask.

God's Supporting Word

God tells us that there is ANOTHER devourer to beware of:  The LION.
"Be sober, be vigilant; because  your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  -- First Peter 5:8

But God gives us the WAY OUT  right away -- SHOWS us the DANGER!
"Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."   AND  James 4: 7-8,  promising that GOD will come to be BESIDE us
if we simply draw near to Him for protection from the Devourer.

PRAYER

God,  it is foolish for us, for me, to avoid praying to you because of embarrassment at past failures.    Please remind us, me constantly to USE  your Ephesians 6: 10-to-end weapons You have already provided.... and not for personal pride, but because I  LOVE  You and YEARN to stop hurting You with my sins.  To stop being such a poor witness to other people of Your Truths in Your Word.  I pray in Jesus's Name,  in thanks that You are faithful in Your promises to help me.... though I must choose to LISTEN and obey.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne; all rights reserved but you are welcome to
print and share with the copyright © info.

Birdfeed Dieter's Parable, .............. by DianaDee Osborne

December 7
The birds are back today.
Even though I forgot to re-fill their feeders for a week,
they kept coming back to check.

Some birds have distinctive marks, like the 3 male cardinals that I've watched since they were fledglings a couple of springtimes ago that somehow inherited odd black feathers poking out of their gorgeous red feathers.  So that's how I know:

The birds came back.  They're not just new birds that lucked out on a Full Birdfeeder Day.

As I watch, I'm both amazed and humbled to realize that

these birds are smarter than I am in one way ---

The food that they need and I provide is sometimes there, sometimes not
since I sometimes don't fill the feeder.
But they keep returning to look.

The encouragement-spiritual-food that I need and God provides   is  always there.

I just need to keep returning.

This blog reminder is a cliche parable, a preachy reminder, a simple reminder:
Right now I'm really down about all my failures in the self-ish crevices of my heart.
In my repeatedly over-eating to cover hurt rather than turning to God.

But even cliche parables show a HOPE that EXCITES!  -- God forgives!  God WANTS to help us not be self-centered!

God's birdseed is always exactly what I need --

God's Wordseed  promises.

God's SUPPORTING WORDS                                                                                             

"That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  - 2nd Corinthians 12:10
The fact that I  NEED  God's help to fight temptations
causes me to DRAW to Him -- not to myself -- for God's   Wordseed that will sustain me.
I can't be proud in myself.  And I can rejoice in God's loving provision,
helping me as soon as I humbly ask.

prayer                      
       LORD  God,  we need your help so much.  I need Your help so much.  I REJOICE in Your love despite my failings.  I do humbly ask forgiveness and do want to reflect you.  Help me to remember that there are different types of "suffering for Christ" -- and that refusing to be self-centered in food choices and other bad habits not only obeys you but helps others to see:
      You indeed are a Holy and Righteous God.  Help me to truly reflect you in all things.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne; all rights reserved but you are welcome to
print and share with the copyright © info.

Canada Geese and Following These, by DianaDee Osborne

December 6
The oddly warm December afternoon drew me out to a picnic table by the bay.  There I stayed praying and reading my Bible until red clouds filled the western sky.  A huge flock of Canada geese flew overhead -- north -- to find rest for the night.

And then another huge flock flew overhead, honking and honking and honking toward each other as they followed the lead flock.

And then ANOTHER  huge flock followed the others -- north despite the growing deep coldness as the winter sun set -- honking and honking and quacking toward each other.....

QUACKING ????    I looked up from my Bible at this third flock.  As I did, about six mallard ducks suddenly broke away from their place in the middle of the Canada geese.  They quickly turned back southward, flew a bit over the waters, and then sailed down to the safety of the cat tail marshes.
They decided against "safety in numbers."
They decided against following the crowd in the wrong direction.
They apparently realized that they were not Canada geese!

As I watched this odd event, I began praying -- surely, God, there must be some PARABLE  in such an amusing scene that You drew my attention to?   Perhaps this is it,  for you and for me:

God's Supporting Word

A lot of people have told me, Don't worry about weight. 
Don't worry about your appearance.  You're fine.
God only cares about the real you, what's in your heart.  
And they are encouraging!  I'd love to follow their ideas and
decide that I don't need to watch my diet---

because, after all,  I  do truly, dearly love LORD God.

      But Jesus said "Follow me."  Over and over.  And obviously He was not speaking of physical footsteps.  Luke 9: 23 tell us how  (New KJV):

      Then He said to [them] all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me"

I'm not fond of that word "ALL".  
Jesus  was telling me words I'm even less fond of ----
I must deny myself.  

I must quit being self-focused and instead follow Christ.

Ever notice that Jesus never identifies EXACTLY what we must be denying to ourselves?

       That's because the details vary from person to person.
I have no interest whatsoever in  alcoholic beverages.  The so called "buzz" has always scared me;  guess that makes me a bit of a control freak, never wanting to risk unclear thinking.
       So it's no "denying" to me to not bother going to parties and drinking to be "popular" --
or even drinking all alone where no one would ever "catch" me.

But ah,  chocolate.   I dare not condemn a person who over-drinks when I over-eat.
Or one who speeds down the roads while I the speed-limit-driver head for a store to buy more than I need.  I  KNOW that I'm not following Jesus when I do things.
EVEN WHEN MY FRIENDS -- or strangers on TV, like geese -- 
tell me I'm normal and "OK."

God's Holy Spirit speaks to us -- lets us know HOW we need to be denying ourselves.  The details for "me" personally.
The details on how to not follow the flock in the wrong direction.   All we have to do is ask Him for wisdom -- 
James 1: 5 and 6
and ask Him for empowering --
Ephesians 3: 20 to 21.
For His Glory.  God answers.  Oh, LORD, help me  follow You.

©2012 DianaDee Osborne; all rights reserved but you are welcome to
print and share with the copyright © info.