If there are any Christians out there who are looking for special support during this time I thought we could start a thread related to this. It might help with those thoughts and doubts as to if this is the right thing we are doing or any other 'shares' that might come to mind. I could use some at this time in my walk.

Sister in Christ,

Valerie

Hey, I really need to be lifted up in prayer today about my food choices. I seem to be playing with how much ice-cream and sweets (chocolate) I can eat without gaining weight. Problem is I can't! I need strength to make wise food choices!!! The scale is going the wrong way!

Coltorismom - I don't know anyone who has a band that regrets it. I remember when I asked my doctor about having a hysterectomy and she said she had never been asked to put one back in after the fact. It's kind of the same thing with the band. I think most of us wish we had done it a lot sooner. I think the hardest thing to get past is us thinking we can still do this on our own, that a band is a cop out or something. The truth is that you will eventually hit a place with your band that you have to exercise and eat right also but their is a peace of mind that comes with the idea that I have to try pretty hard to out eat my band. When I am weak, my band is strong and won't allow me to get very out of control. My band is the will power I never had in this area of my life. Now I am focusing on using my will power to get up every morning and go to the YMCA or walk with my workout partner. I highly recommend getting a friend to work out with you. It helps to get up and get going if you know someone is waiting for you.

I know we think in are heads that we should of been able to do this with the Lords help and somehow it feels like we are letting God down from lack of faith to opt for a band. But I don't feel like that any more. God gave us a brain and the judgement to know when we need to go to the doctor and when we can self medicate. God gave surgeons the brains to do this operation and someone the brains to come up with the idea of the lapband. I don't see anywhere in the Bible that it says we shouldn't use the tools that God gives us to do good works for Him. I think he says just the opposite. I think my weight was getting in the way of God in my life because I was focusing on it so much. Now it is becoming a non-issue and I can't hide behind it anymore. Faith is putting your beliefs into action . . .I took a step of faith by getting a band because I believed it would help me with my food addiction and my portion control. It is my belief in the band that has helped me to have the faith I need to talk to other people about their weight issues open and honestly. It comes full circle . . this belief and faith thing. Blessings to you and many prayers for you.

AMEN!!! Very well put! I completely concur!!

Blessings!

Good afternoon everyone!!!!!

Wenjea, I am lifting you in prayer, as I sit here wishing for potato chips saying "Lord, help us both". LOL

I am going for a fill Monday and I hope that I have lost at least 5 lbs, but I'll take 10. I have been exercising everyday, hoping. I'm trying to eat less calories, too.

Glad to see we are increasing here. Strenght in numbers.

Stay focused and be blessed.

For all of those struggling with food issues and weight issues.......I am praying for us ALL! Deliverance in the name of Jesus!!!!!!! Hope this helps....did for me!:biggrin2::rolleyes2:

LORD, PROP US UP

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed, Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.

After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this...I got an old barn out back.

It's been there a long time, it's withstood a lot of weather, it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.

It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.

So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time.

I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times,

and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the

Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning, at times.

Sometime we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning

toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't. So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop u s up on

our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.

If you stare at this barn for a second you will see who will help us stand straight and tall again.

Good morning everyone,

Thanks for that Allen. I know I need some help not with JUST the eating, but other issues as well. Again ,thanks, it helps to be reminded just how much we need him in every area of our lives.

Hope everyone will have a blessed weekend.

Stay focused and be blessed.

I want to encourage you all to continue praying until your surgery dates and I am going to covenant in prayer with you. Also, will you please pray for a friend of mine (actually she is in my Sunday School class)? She really needs to have the gastric band, but just can't afford it and our insurance will not cover it. I promised her that I would pray for her.

One more word of encouragement... soon you will no longer be worried about taming your hunger -- you can spend more time enjoying Christian fellowship at those dinner-on-the-ground (as we call it in the south); pot-lucks (for everybody else) and eat like healthy people do. You will be more concerned about what is coming out of your mouth than what is going in! Enjoy this new experience! I certainly do.

Dedria, I see that you are from Louisiana. I have a daughter that lives in Baton Rouge. I lived there for 17 yrs. I remember those dinners at my ex MIL's house, I won't say she had a play in my weight, but she sure could cook. LOL

Oh yes, we sure do know how to cook and eat here, too. I live just outside Baton Rouge. Is your daughter going to church somewhere here in the area? Do you ever come to visit? We'll have to meet sometime if you do. Maybe I could invite you to one of our dinner-on-the ground events... it's so much fun, now, for me. There's another lady in my church and we still cook like crazy, but really enjoy being able to resist temptation... and Lord knows he delivers us from evil all the time, especially on those days!

Yes, I visit in the summers when school is out. Maybe we can meet and you can help me resist the temptation. LOL

She goes to Living Faith Christian Church, her pastor is Raymond Johnson. When I was there we went to Bethany-pasotr was Larry Stockstill and we also visited Churchpoint Ministeries, pastor was Dwight Pate. I left there in 1993.

Dedria, I edited my message and took that last bit of infor off cause I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. You know what I mean about the situation about that pastor. I guess I should have sent you a private message. Sorry.

I understand and we'll keep those things private, BM&Y, from now on.

I understand and we'll keep those things private, BM&Y, from now on.

Yes, we should. LOL

:thumbup:GOD BLESS THE PARENTS WHO DRUGGED US.

The other day, someone at a store in our town read

that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old

farmhouse in the adjoining county and he asked me a

rhetorical question.

"Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I were

growing up?"

I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young: I

was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to

church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family

reunions and community socials no matter the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to

adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I

disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad

report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of

the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth

my best effort in everything that was asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed

out with soap if I uttered a profanity.

I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and

flower beds and cocklebur's out of dad's fields.

I was drug to the homes of family, friends and

neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to

mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some

firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took

a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would

have drug me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my

behavior in everything I do, say, or think. They are

stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and, if

today's children had this kind of drug problem,

America would be a better place.

God bless the parents who drugged us.

Praise the Lord, and thank Him for His delivering power!!!!!!!

Just thank Him for everything He has done, is doing, and is going to do! Praise God above! Still holding on until I have my sleep study done in May. Sometimes I get impatient:embaressed_smile:, but patience is a virtue, and so, I must wait. Please keep praying for my family and I. Thank you, prayer goes where no man can!

May we all have a blessed day with Jesus!

Amen. . . to that drug story!

First of all, sorry this is so long!! I've been wanting to reply to people all week, but it hasn't worked out. So here is a weeks worth of responses in one!! (Got to love the weekends!!!:huggie:)

sisterC, Yeah, I am a little concerned about what others think. Because I’m not banded yet it seems to some people that it might be open for discussion about whether it’s going to happen or not. The thing is that I’m about 99% sure that I’m going to do it. It seems like a great way to help keep my eating in check. I won’t be able to overeat like I can now. I try not to think about the other’s opinions and focus on my own need to be healthy. I think God let’s us use the LapBand as a tool to be healthier. Kinda like some people need to take medicine to help them be healthy (heart meds, insulin, anti-depressants, etc.). I sometimes wonder if I’ve told too many people. But I can’t go back on that now! I haven’t told anyone at work, but a lot of my friends and family know. I wanted support from them (emotional and prayer!!) but I also wanted to prepare them to the changes I will be making with food. I didn’t tell people so they could vote on whether I should do it or not. But that is the response from some. Mainly from those who don’t know how much I’ve struggled with weight, body image and self-esteem OR they just don't know about the surgery. I do try and just take their opinions as how they care about my well-being and leave it at that.

coltorismom, I like Joyce Meyer’s a lot. She is such an encouragement to me. I watch her show on-line while I work out on my elliptical trainer in the morning. It works out well because I can watch it when my schedule allows. She seems like she has a good balance of self care and taking care of others while following Christ, and that’s helpful for me. I think a lot of my earlier teaching was about how to only take care of others and then I’d eat to take care of myself! How did your eval on Thursday go??

Wenjea, How’s it going with the food choices?? I’ve been struggling with that too. I’m trying to just breathe deeply when I’m feeling like I really NEED a hot fudge sundae. (That and a massage were suggestions at a support group I went to and massages are great but need to be scheduled!!)

Everyone, thanks so much for your prayers! It’s so encouraging to know that there are folks out there praying for our surgery dates and the actual surgeries! And I love reading your prayer requests and being able to lift them up in prayer too. Prayer Changes Things!:w00t:

I have a praise, I was able to talk with the RN of the WLS program and she’s said I could call her on Wed. to find out what happened at the surgical review team meeting. (At the hospital I’m going to they review all the baratric cases 2 times a month, and last time I didn’t get reviewed because they didn’t get all my paperwork in time from my psych eval. After the review they send a letter to let the person know the next step/ doctor’s appointments/ surgical date.) I’m really glad to not have to wait for the mail! She seemed very encouraging about it. And I really appreciate that!!

As a side note, the group I went to had Gastric Bypass patients too, and I felt scared at some of the side effects they were having (vomiting EVERY time this one guy ate, the dumping thing, and one lady was down to 105 and couldn’t stop losing weight. But all of the situations seemed to be self-inflicted….. eating really solid food really fast, eating a lot of sugar, and for the lady she was smoking and not sleeping and other stuff.) It made me think that the LapBand was definitely the surgery for me. Does anyone else think about whether they should do Gastric Bypass instead of the band? (Thinking about it helped me see all the positives for how the band fits for me!)

Allens, love the drug story!! :biggrin2:

blessings to all,

Diamond