Regardless, after several weeks of wrestling with God, I can now say that even if I don't lose I am content to stay where I am until the Lord sees fit to change me. And He does promise to do so here and here. Oh, and here. But it's always in His timing, and it's always in His perfect way, not mine. Or yours.
Speaking of God, I started a book last night called Women, Food and God, by Geneen Roth. She has written several bestselling books on food, weight loss, etc. My mom saw her promoting this newest book, the one I am reading, on Oprah not too long ago and told me about it. I haven't had much time for reading lately and when I do I try to make it be the Bible or my magazine subscriptions (Better Homes, and Southern Living) but for this one I'm making an exception.
I am into the first couple of chapters. It is quite interesting. There are lots of cuss words which I find annoying. They totally distract from the essence of the book, in my opinion. At any rate, I am predicting that my conclusion after finishing the book will be that Ms. Roth is so very close, yet so very, very far away from the TRUTH. (Not because of the cuss words:) I will let you know though. As I said, I've only just begun...
I'm really interested to to hear thoughts about the book from anyone who has actually read it (not just seen on Oprah). I know someone suggested it to me a while back. Please leave a comment and if you wish, include your own personal beliefs about "God" so I will have a frame of reference from which to better understand your thoughts. I would love to do a post after I finish the book and include insights from other readers.
Thanks in advance!
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11 comments:
Ooh... I like what you said about being content to stay where you are until He sees fit to change you. That is super powerful!
I have been hovering around the same weight for months. I think that would be great if I were trying to maintain, but I seriously doubt this is where I am at my healthiest.
However, God has worked on so much more in me over these last few months than just the number on the scale. I wish there was a scale to determine the amount of metal baggage lost. I would see a huge loss there.
I have heard about the book from another blog. I think the reader was disappointed. With the God's name on the front she thought one thing and found another. Wish I could remember where I saw that.
Good attitude to have...staying content and focusing on His timing! That's awesome.
Oh and about the book...you know you can gain alot of info apart from what she might believe on Truth. Which I know you know and have a good attitude about :)
Chris xox
I know you said you don't have much time to read. But...Here is a link that I thought might interest you.
http://higherfitness.com/
My mom bought the book. She wanted me to read it. It wasn't really my thing, but I "skim" read in two or three nights.
The essential message that I walked away with is that the weight is a symptom of something else. If you address the weight without addressing the deeper, internal, emotional issue, then you'll either gain the weight back or cause yourself lots of stress or name-some-other-bad-thing.
For the most part, I agree with that message. After all, I didn't get to my heaviest weight without LOTS of emotional baggage.
All in all, it's not a bad read. Just remember that everything is a name game. Her name for God, Christ and the Spirit are obviously different, but the recognition that she is loved and considered special by an omnipotent, omniscient being is the same.
It's so hard not to look to the scale for affirmation. If you figure out how to do it, let me know! I keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect, and that I just need to do my part in this who process :)
As for the book (and I'm a Christian who believes the Bible is the ultimate authority), I remember hearing about it, and knew Oprah had promoted it in some way. For her promotion, I was a bit leary, b/c her beliefs and mine differ a great deal. But then I think I checked out reviews on Amazon, and I remember thinking that the book as a whole probably wouldn't jive with my faith. All that to say, I decided not to buy it, so I don't really know! I'll be interested to read your review!
I finished her book the other day. I wrote about my getting the book a while back and Ms. Roth wrote a comment on my post. I thought that was pretty cool. I also saw both episodes of Oprah. All that she wrote about were things that weren't new to me. I call my blog stuffing my feelings because I am well aware of what I am doing when I eat. And the "God" in the title isn't necessarily "God" in the Higher Power sense, but it is the feeling or revelation we hope to achieve from our over-eating; I eat to relieve the stress from work, or the stress from my students, or the stress of husband traveling. It is a sense of peace or joy or numbness, etc.
Despite all the good advice and revelations, I am not quite ready to work hard at stopping my behavior. I've yet to figure out how to do that for me.
I'm about 60% of the way through the book and I really like it.
To me, it really rings true.
I'll let my own thoughts marinate on this book before I post a review of my own - but I'm looking forward to reading yours.
I think the concepts presented in the book are quite solid. However, she does miss some crucial points about a true relationship with God that don't REALLY address the root of the problem. I do believe, that could she have been able to get to just one level deeper in her thoughts, she might have grasped it. But worth reading, if only to build those concepts into your OWN relationship with God.
What I always say is "Don't fill the God sized hole in your heart with anything but God." And well? Food fits in that category for me sometimes. Drinking, food, sex, shopping. That hole is a bottomless pit for such things, but when you fill God with it, there is bottomless love. That's what I think she's trying to get at in the book, but never quite makes it.
A great book! However, after seeing your many faith based posts, I will warn you, this is NOT a book about God. Not even close. I, too, thought it would have a biblical vibe to it, but it does not.
It does a great job in making you realize something I never stopped to do. Think before I eat. I just eat. She wants you to feel whatever you are feeling and deal with it, rather than comforting yourself with food. If you are sad then feel sad. If you are happy then feel happy. Deal with your emotions.
A great read, just not about God in any way shape or form...
Jeremiah 29:11 is my FAVORITE verse...yes, HE does have a wonderful plan for us...and gives us HOPE we need...in EVERYTHING!! Hang in there...IN HIS TIME...the scale will show a loss!!! So glad to see you keeping the faith..you are truly an inspiration!!!
I'd like to develop a Biblical study for weight loss groups. Currently I'm just trying to compile a list of books on the subject for my own research.
I've added this book to my book list. I plan on reading it for the information, though I'm extremely disappointed by the lack of sincere faith based weight loss literature.
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