Good Morning, Mary.

I thought this seemed quite related to weight loss.  I've certainly been known to wallow in some chocolate when things in life were stressful or disappointing.  It is amazing though how much better prayer and praise are as coping mechanisms. =)  Our God is great.

Thank you for the wonderful video link.  Very nice song.

Vickie

Hi, Everyone.
Today's devotion, at first, may seem not to be connected with weight loss, but hang in there, please. Let me know what God is doing in your life.
From my personal journal dated May 3, 2007:

     Have you ever had one of those days when the stresses of life and family relationships have you two inches off the floor? Today was like that, for me. I began looking at the list of "Current Life Cir****tances," and it was so large that it loomed over me. I felt I couldn't breathe. I finally whispered, "Father, it's too much. I can't do this." What I wanted to do was some major emotional eating.
     The Lord led me to Joel 2:21, that says, "Don't be afraid, my people. Be glad now and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things." I sure haven't seen God do "great things" yet, in regard to the current difficult cir****tances of my life, though.
     The word "great" from Joel 2:21 seemed to glow on the page of my Bible. I began to focus on the greatness of God. One of my favorite passages is David's song of praise, in I Chronicles 16:8-36. It begins with "Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim His greatness" (v. 8) and ends with "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever"(v. 34) and "Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting!" (v. 36).
     I thought of one of my favorite songs called How Great Is Our God. I played the CD and soaked in the words, "The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty... Let all the earth rejoice... He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide and trembles at His voice... How Great is our God, sing with me 'How Great is our God!' and all will see how Great, how Great is our God. Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands, beginning and the end... The Godhead Three in One, Father, Spirit, Son, the Lion and the Lamb... How Great is our God, sing with me 'How Great is our God!' and all will see how Great, how Great is our God. Name above all names, worthy of all praise, my heart will sing 'How Great is our God!'"
     I was so overwhelmed with the greatness of God. "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales?" (Isaiah 40:12). The answer is God.
     At that moment, I embraced the greatness of God. He had become so BIG in my eyes that my problems paled in comparison. Overwhelmed by His Presence, I could not even consider giving in to the cir****tances, overeating before Him, because it would have meant that He was not enough for me.
     Somehow I know that He truly "has done great things." [God worked mightily in every one of the difficult cir****tances. It took some time, but He worked everything out. I praise Him for it.]

Today, even (or especially) if you're going through something difficult, focus on God instead of your problem(s). Meditate on His Greatness, and thank Him for what He's going to do in your life.

     I hope you have the time to enjoy the video song of How Great is Our God, by clicking on 
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=222ae9cdf71b55 a02193.

Blessings,
Mary

I use the multi vitamin and the calcium citrate from Bariatric Advantage. I find they are much better suited for me after my surgery.  Sometimes it i**** and miss but as Mary says as far as protein is concerned I bought samples. It took me almost 2 months to find one that I can tolerate. It is a process. God bless you

I am reposting off the main board. I know their are so many prayer warriors that read this forum and know that this little girl needs all the prayers she ca n get.

Post Date: 7/2/09 6:25 am I don't usually start topics, but a little girl in our community (Fort Worth, Texas) needs as many prayers as she can get.  Her name is Brittany Husted (no relation to Dr. Husted, as far as I know), and she has Down syndrome (which is how I know of her - her family is in our local DS support group).  A year ago, Brittany wasn't expected to live - she had to have open-heart surgery, she was on a ventilator for quite a while, and it looked like she might lose kidney function.  Well, Brittany is one of God's special children, and she has a fighter's spirit, and she managed to pull through all of that and was finally able to go home and go back to school after a long rehabilitation. She was readmitted to the hospital in March with what turned out to be viral pneumonia.  She was released, but then had to go right back in because she was having problems with the circulation in one of her feet.  The doctors aren't sure what is causing this problem.  She was able to go back home, but a couple of days ago, she was rushed to the ER, vomiting blood and bleeding around her feeding tube (I guess she has been on TPN since last year).  They did an endoscopy and found several small ulcers and determined that she has gastroenteritis.  The doctors told her parents that anyone else would have been screaming from the extreme pain, but Brittany hasn't complained once (Brittany is 11 years old, but she has never been able to talk).   She has been receiving monthly blood transfusions, due to anemia, so they are hoping that this is the source of her blood loss. Unfortunately, yesterday the doctor who has been following Brittany for her foot circulation problem came by to check on her and expressed some serious concern about the condition of her foot.  He is afraid that they might have to amputate her foot, because he doesn't think that just taking the toe that is currently infected will allow the rest of her foot to heal enough.  Her parents are afraid if that happens, she will never walk again. Please, folks, pray hard, swing chickens, whatever it is that you personally do, for Brittany, her parents Doug and Kathy, and the doctors who are taking care of Brittany that all will be well.  I visited Brittany and her parents at the hospital last year, and they are the nicest people - they really deserve a break.  Brittany is an only child, and it took a long time for her mom to get pregnant.  She is the light of their lives, and they are understandably scared right now. If you would like to leave a personal message for the family, there is a Care Page set up for her - the "name" of it is BrittanyPrayerPage.  I don't know if you can just access it or if you need to get approval from the moderator, but I don't think there should be any problem getting your name added to her "approved list" - just let them know how you heard about her. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support for this sweet little girl and her family-  Teresa Koch Fort Worth, Texas

Hi, Nita.
Thank you so much for the update on our brother in Christ. So often we are asked to pray but then do not hear an update. God deserves our praise and thanks, not just our petitions and supplications. :)  Not to speak for everyone on this board, but I feel confident in saying that we will continue to pray for his recovery.
Thank you for your kind words about today's devotion. God is so faithful, and He uses His Word to speak something into every person's life, who is willing to listen and obey. You are right, you cannot make relationships work without God (Who is love), Jesus (Who intercedes for us), and the Holy Spirit (Who teaches and comforts us).
Blessings, in Jesus,
Mary