Pleased to be Conned Dieting Parable.... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 11
I am actually quite   pleased  to have been conned at a huge (acres and acres) Tennessee outdoor market a few days ago.

  Say  WHAT?? you may ask.                        

Well,   I still can use what I had bought as name-brand socks and, in my rush, didn't remember that the brand always puts its logo on socks.
       And I did get 21 pairs of socks for $10.
       And they actually are a decent enough quality, to have   
               fooled me at first.
Best of all,   I  NEEDED this reminder to stay aware.
To remember that some people are self-ish, some find joy in deceiving others,  and some are themselves deceived.
God describes it well through  2nd Timothy  3:13....

But evil people and impostors will flourish. They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived."   

(CLICK HERE  for full description).

Only a few days earlier, I had shown someone why a "discount" COACH purse was a cheap knockoff.  
I had let myself be careless, but the cost was small.

But you and I must be careful lest others deceive us...

tell us what we want to hear.

(You're not overweight... just big-boned.  A nice compliment that tempts us to not get healthier.) 
    (This pill taken 3 times a day with water will melt the fat off.)
           (God doesn't care what you weigh....)

which is true in terms of the scale reading.

But when we don't take care of the temple He's given us to
worship Him in, our bodies.... we deceive ourselves to

say God is satisfied with our  poorly managed  sacrifice of ourselves.

No -- the scale does NOT matter.... but let us each pray for wisdom to not be deceived,
      to find the right medical help if needed.......
           to know that with God's help, we CAN fight any
temptation, if we just humbly and repeatedly ask Him.

Don't let Satan con you saying God doesn't care.

James 4: 7 and 8 .... let any thoughts that might be a con
simply drive you to be closer to our wonderful LORD God
Who PROMISED   First Corinthians 10: 13...
We can survive ANY con with God's help!

PRAYER

LORD GOD,  I dearly do love You.  Help me to show that through my life... my body.

God's Supporting Word
For the WORD that your body is to be God's temple,  CLICK HERE.



©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

Look Before You Sit On An Ant ____ Dieting Parable ... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 10
I've learned a few things visiting the gulf state of Alabama:
At the top of the list:  Some of God's critters are even less fun than others.  A really high-on-the-list new priority:
When you pull out a guitar and blanket to go write a song in the grass, NO MATTER how lush and green the grass looks........

  Look -- Before You Sit On A Fire Ant!          


Seems like these critters are popping up nests everywhere this time of year....

It would be easy for people who live here to feel overwhelmed.

After all, they're outnumbered in   millions-to-one   ratios. 

People have several choices: 
(1) Give up, live as long as you can in the house before the ants cover the yard;  or

(2) buy some ant killer and hope the ants haven't gotten immune; or

(3) Go find someone trained to know about ants with the materials to HELP you win this essential battle. 

I've learned a few things about dieting that's related to fire ants.   At the top of the list:
(1) I can NOT give up.  My health would eventually suffer, and I'd be less able to serve our LORD... and for less time;

(2) If I'm not careful, I'll get immune to the awareness of #1;

(3) I can CHOOSE to go find a doctor to help with various issues including thyroid problems;  and I can CHOOSE to pray First Corinthians 10:13, asking our LORD God to help me win the battle. 

PRAYER

LORD GOD,  I do want to stay alert... I do want to see the fire ant mounds in my life before I just sit on one and end up in pain or ill.  I do need help.  I pray James 1:5 -- please give me WISDOM in my choices,  DETERMINATION to follow Your way.  Please help me, I pray.

God's Supporting Word
First Corinthians 10:13,  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

A Sad Sins Psalm 51, by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 9
Psalm 51   always has seemed so sad to me.
For GOD  as well as because it's so true for all of us to pray,
          if we are honest about ourselves.  First John 1: 8 and 10.
God had done  SO  much for David...  and yet David had to
completely ignore God for a number of days -- weeks maybe -- in order to be able to willfully choose to do what he knew would disgust God.  Are not these words of verse 3 SO sad?

           For I recognize my rebellion;                 
             it haunts me day and night.                   

Yet they can easily be our words to God, too.

After all He has done for us....   after all His blessings.

PRAYER

LORD GOD,  I dearly do love You.  
Psalm 51:2 --
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.


Psalm 51:3 above.  Psalm 51:4 --
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.

Psalm 51:7  to 9 --
Purify me from my sins,  and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Oh, give me back my joy again;
you have broken me— now let me rejoice. 
Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

Psalm 51: 10 to 12
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 
Do not banish me from your presence,

and don't take your Holy Spirit  from me. 

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 

--------------
Notice the ancient reference to God's Holy Spirit.

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

Deeper Music Dieting Parable ....... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 8
During a 700-mile trip ---- weary of searching for decent radio stations ---- I found a $5 CD in a store 
         for a rock music band that I used to love... years ago.  
*  Long before I became a guitarist.
*  Long before I became pretty good on bass.
*  Long before had recorded and published 300 songs
        on DianaDeeOsborneSongs.com   for free downloads.
*  Back when I had a really poor audio system.                      

So as I listened to this CD driving down the interstate,
the bass and viola tracks vibrating their depths into my heart
    (figuratively --not all THAT loud!) --
     the flutes and rocking guitar lines
          played against each other on stereo sides...
I was just awed.  Amazed at all I had missed over the years.  
              SAD   at all the deeper music  I had missed.                

I felt like I did the first time I watched
THE WIZARD OF OZ on a color TV after watching it every year
in black and white for years...
I never knew that when Dorothy stepped into Oz,
                     the scenery exploded into vivid colors.
And as I listened to this CD,                                            
I realized I had never known how extremely talented   
this band was even beyond my enjoyment back before
I had the recording and the bass and the guitar skills   
to recognize just how talented they were...               
and the sound system to show the    deep music.  

When we start reading God's Word, 
     perhaps even as children,
we get the basic ideas of what God is saying.
But the experiences of life help us to see how       

            deep the words really are,
                  to see how gorgeous God's Word is,  

         to see all His many  patterns of Truth.         
And as we accumulate experiences, we start finding that
more and more, God's Word deeply applies to "real life" --
including help us deal with our many problems that
caused our focus on whatever we've become focused on (not just food).

   and to help us enjoy life -- ABUNDANT      LIFE,  Jesus called it.   John 10:10. Promised.  



PRAYER

LORD, help me to set aside the past and remember that,
If I honestly ask You to, You will help me to grow spiritually.
To see the depths of Your Word and how it applies to my life.
I yearn to follow You more deeply...
and have found so much joy doing so 
           as my experiences with You grow.  "Deeper  Music."  
So that I can help others find Your deep John 10:10 abundant,  joy. 


God's Supporting Word
John 10: 10, Jesus speaking:

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

A few verses earlier,  In John 8:44,  "The Thief" was defined by Jesus as Satan

"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

Missing the Great Picture Dieting Parable .... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 6
At a gorgeous scenic overlook stop along one mountaintop,
   overlooking miles and miles of green valley,
          with two mountain ranges in the near distance,
lots of people were photographing the great scene.
Admiring God's beautiful creation.

Not one young-ish man.  Yes, he  did  have his camera out.

But he had his   back   to the gorgeous scene.

He took photo after photo of his 

apparently new huge black truck.

With the highway as background.

He did grin sheepishly at me

        when he noticed me smiling at his lengthy photo session! 

   * How often are we the same?
   * How often do we ignore the magnanimous     blessings that God gives us while focused on     STUFF and unimportant things?                      



PRAYER

LORD GOD,  I assuredly do often get distracted from what is important.
I decide what "toys" I want in life,  often pray for them, often ignore Your other
so-called ordinary blessings... the beauty of this world. The amazing ability of eyes to
see it and ears to hear it.... fingers with more nerves to touch and feel that any other
of your creations have...

           Please help me to get my priorities right.

           Including to quit caring so much about things like food.  Such silly things...         nice for awhile,  useful for a time,  blessings from You always, but not priorities. 

Holy Spirit,  help me to always put THE LORD first in my life.
And to not miss Your great pictures by turning my back to them.

God's Supporting Word
Matthew 10:  5 and on,  Jesus providing instructions about us providing for our trips:

Acts 3 shows Peter is far richer because he obeyed Jesus:

Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

Hearing and Sharing From Mistakes Dieting Parable ... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 5
Now that I have learned to play bass guitar well,
I can hear mistakes by less experienced praise band bass players.
When they want, I can share with them some cool tricks I've learned, like double stops and double string slides.  --See my other blogs for music guidance, such as  http://dianadeegarageband.blogspot.com

    I never criticize.  I just offer ways people can find more fun in music.    If they're interested.  


God calls us to do the same in churches....
             To Help without a critical spirit.  To suggest ideas
             without a critical spirit. Remember John 3:17
    as well as John 3:16.  If JESUS did not come to condemn,  then how can we or we-in-churches do so?


God calls us to do the same in fighting addictive tendencies....
And although I have learned some tricks to help with dieting,  even during periods of much success,  God calls me to NOT be critical of others who (1) haven't yet reached that or (2) don't care for my suggestions.

God calls us to help others.... and to keep praying and to not give up when we ourselves fail.  In anything.   
 

PRAYER

LORD GOD, thank you for all your help.  Please help me to HEAR Your voice
when I make mistakes in anything.  Please help me to SET ASIDE PRIDE when I goof.
Help me CHOOSE TO CHANGE  when I see the truth that I have drifted from You.
Help me to have WISDOM in SHARING with others .... when they want...
so that we can support each other.

God's Supporting Word

Ecclesiastes 4: 9

Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

 Ecclesiastes 4:10

 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.

Ephesians 4: 1

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to

      lead a life worthy of your calling,        

            for you have been called by God.     

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com

Cut Thumb Dieting Parable ..... by DianaDee Osborne

APRIL 4
I cut my thumb terribly a week ago.
While weeding a flower garden, I slashed it on broken pottery.
It was a hard impact -- for a bee had just buzzed my face, and I jerked back against the sharp edge.

I could not stop the bleeding.  Using a strong band-aid as a tourniquet helped only for moments before it was soaked with blood and loosened from my skin.   
       I rinsed the cut quickly under water, and was hit with terrible pain... plus a reminder to thank God that I don't faint when I see blood, for there was lots.  I was visiting a family and didn't want   their memories of the visit years later to include a trip to    spend hours in  an Urgent  Care   place!     So I called several prayer partners  in other cities to ask God to help me1        
          Hours later, after holding paper towels against new tight bandages, the bleeding stopped soaking through.
         But I had to take pain medicine for 3 days... something I seldom take despite pain.  Had to keep bandages piled on each other to pad the "valley" in my sin.

        Could not play the guitar for a week.  Could not sew on buttons.  Could not........  What does this have to do with dieting? 

   Here's the parable:  God healed this deep cut within a week.  God answered prayers for help from the results of my careless.  I should've been wearing gloves in fire ant  land anyway!    



Only a week has passed,  and the valley looks like a scratch... God has healed.  I have no doubt.  I always knew God COULD heal me... but still am always AMAZED that The Creator of the Universe CARES about me and answers prayers for help.

The Creator of the Universe CARES about YOU and answers prayers for help.  In ANYTHING.  Even dieting.

PRAYER

LORD GOD,  I know that I should not "edit" my prayers, deciding what is or is not important.  From the moment I am cut -- literally or figuratively -- help me to turn to YOU for help.... to trust You.   To not depend on me first and on You as a last resort.  I pray this, LORD,  in Jesus's Holy Name.

God's Supporting Word

Psalm 4: 3  - 5

"You can be sure of this: The LORD set apart the godly for himself. The LORD will answer when I call to him.  

Don't sin by letting anger control you. 

Think about it overnight and remain silent.    Interlude.  

Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the LORD." 

©2013 DianaDee Osborne (all material), all rights reserved. FREE personal usage; see website.  But feel free to print with copyright info, & share for nonprofit usage!
With thanks to BlueLetterBible.org  for providing God's Word in easy-to-research format.
Additional encouraging resources at 
http://DianaDeeSongStories.blogspot.com