Hello new/old friends. If we are not yet MFP friends, please feel free to add me.

My Name is Nicolette.

In my faith, (Pentecostal) and in the Lords word, we are all Brother's and Sister's in Christ. I choose to carry that through to our daily lives, so that is why I will call you Sis, or Sister (unless you are uncomfortable with that), and I usually sign my name Sis Nicolette or Sis Nic.

I am seeking a closer fellowship with the Lord, and also with Women who love the Lord as I do.:flowerforyou:

I am seeking to change my scattered, fractured existence, to one which pleases the Lord.

I have tried to write more..but the more I try to express myself, the more I end up deleting.:ohwell:

So, for now..this is it..Hope to get to know all of you in a more intimate way during this study.:blushing:

"The Creator of this universe calls me His child-what a blessing! What a privilege! What a responsibility!" ~Margaret Fishback Powers

"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD ALMIGHTY." ~ 2 Corinthians 6:18

In Christ,
Sis Nic

Hello Sisters!!
Well, I am a little behind, but I will catch up quickly!

My name is Christine, I am 46, mother of 2 boys-Gage 21 and Logan 17, wife to my sweet Teddy for 19 years this October 28th:bigsmile:

My life story is pretty rough on first reveal, but if I had not gone through everything I have gone through to this point I would not be who I am in the Lord now. I lived the life of Samuel in some ways....

Grew up Catholic in an alcoholic home. We walked on egg shells alot because we never really knew what condition he'd be in when he hit the door. Catholic school, mass 3x a week, no Bible instruction-I actually got in trouble one time for ascking where the Gospel of John reading came from one day in church!!! Can you believe that??!!

Anyway, at 11 I dicovered alcohol and drugs and took off on my own adventure. That lasted til I ended up in treatment in 1985. I was only 18 when God rendered me sober through that treatment center and Alcoholics Anonymous. In AA you develope a relationship with a "Higher Power" of no specific name or religion. It worked. I know in my heart today that the Lord showed much mercy on mein those early days because I was willing to believe in Him even though I did not know at the time who Him was.

I married my first husband when I had 5 years of sobriety. When our son (Gage) was 10 months old I found out my husband had a girlfriend who was 8 months pregnant. Do the math...she got pregnant during my 6 weeks post partum!! I divorced him after realizing he had absolutely no remorse for this and was bound and determined to do the right thing by her and not abandon her....WHAT???!!! What about doing the right thing by his wife??? Me and God were not on very good terms at this point, for sure.

Now, my husband now-Teddy- was my pen-pal and had been since before I married my first husband. I would call him and tell him how "J" was just never happy and I couldn't seem to do anything right-he would tell me that it sounded like I had done everything I could and that maybe "J" had a problem...WOW!! I never thought of that!! After my divorce, Teddy came down from PA where he was born and raised to TX where I had grown up and took care of Gage while I went into the hospital for my severe anorexia. You see, with out Jesus Christ and only having the higher power I had found in AA I was still trying to control my own life. I weighed into the treatment center at 107 pounds, which for a woman of 5-9 is pretty frail. I would not drink, or do drugs and now I was determined to not abuse my body by starving it anymore either. When I got out of rtreatment, Teddy went back to PA and we continued writting letters and talking on the phone.

Eventually we decided we wanted the same things and had similar goals so Gage and I packed up and moved to PA and Teddy and I got married. Teddy soon adopted Gage. After I became pregnant with Logan, Teddy said we should find a church because he thought that was important for kids....I had steered clear of church after my Catholic experience so this was a hard one for me. I had a friend who I met through my son when he entered kindergarten. She invited me to a thing at her church called MOPS. I figured, well, its not church, and they talk about God the same way I do, so, ok. Little did I know that Jesus was waiting in the wings to flood my heart throuigh those women who knew I needed him desperately!!!

I was given a Bible by one of the ladies in my MOPS group and started reading it. I was totally freaking out! There were so many thing s that conflicted with what I had percieved the nuns teaching me in school and what I heard in mass!! I would call Carol crying asking if I was losing my mind! The Holy Spirit was taking over and I confessed my sinfulness and let Him come in-I get goose bumps thinking about it still!!!

Fast forward to today. Teddy and I are still married. He got saved 5 years after me which is funny when I think that it was him who said we should find a church....we moved back to TX where my whole family is. I celebrated 27 years of sobriety this past March and I also can claim victory over other addictions in my life-drugs, alcohol, pornography, cutting, anorexia, and cigarettes. God is so awesome and loves me soooooo much to bring me this far!! I look forward to where he will take me through this study! I was telling Jenni I actually got to go to a weekend with Joyce Meyers in Hershey, PA in 2004. Talk about inspiring!! I am grateful for every affliction I used to try to change how I feel and for every surrender of that affliction to Jesus Christ when He brought me to the realization of what I was doing!!! WOOOO HOOOO!!!

Sorry for the book! So excited to hear all our stuff!!

You Sister in Christ,
Christine:flowerforyou:

Wow, what a testimony of lives and our journey's. My name is Kristy & I live in Dayton Ohio. I've been overweight all my life. And I know it's all mental, that causes this physical downfall.

I was 25 when I met my husband, and we got saved 9 months into our dating. We were then apart for 9 months, and then back together for 10 days when we got married (neat story behind all that). When we got married, I was about 250 pounds. I got pregnant with my son about 3 years later. I was nearly 300 by then. When my son was 2, I was 351 pounds. I had Gastric Bypass Surgery December 2002. I lost 120 pounds and got down to 229 (my lowest). But in 9 years, I gained 60 back.

I started here at 289 (12/18/11). I've lost 37 pounds this year thru counting calories and exercising as best I can. But the food/mind battle is tremendous. I want to graze every moment on food. It's ALL mental.

When I met my husband in 1995, he suffered from Anxiety/Panic Disorder - and still does. My son, now 11 (almost 12) is now showing signs of anxiety, and food issues. I have a 2 year old (almost 3) daughter. I work 4 am to Noon, and homeschool my son. I go to bed at 6:30 or 7 p.m. to get up early to work. Life is very stressful.

So, what can I do to create PEACE in my home. We're ALL so stressed. All so BUSY.

My husband & son just returned to church about 4 weeks ago, and my daughter & I joined 2 weeks ago. I realized I was MAD at God. Why would my family suffer so much.... I am now on a journey to a better relationship with God. To increase my faith. To better know His Word. To find Peace, Healing & Deliverance, in Jesus Name.

I look forward to this journey with you all.

KRISTY in Dayton Ohio

Hi there my name is Gwen and I am very happy to be part of this group, I too am behind but I downloaded the book and started reading it and hopefully will have the workbook soon. I am a born again Christian since 2006, since I gave my life to the Lord seems like my whole life spiral downhill. I now realize that I needed to be humbled in order to effectively give my life to the Lord and to share His grace and glory!!!

Hi! Many of you already know me, but not all of you, so here is a bit about me. I have been VERY touched by how open you have all been in sharing things from your past, so I will try to be equally honest here.

My name is Ali. I am 42. I'm originally from the UK, but have lived here in Mali, West Africa for the past 16 years. I am married (for 15 years now) to a wonderful man, and we have 3 beautiful kids (aged 12 (almost 13!), 11 and 7).

I grew up in a non-Christian family, but my best friend at school was from a lovely Christian family and she used to drag me along to the youth group at their church. I therefore gave my life to the Lord at around the age of 12. I actually had a fabulous childhood. My parents are wonderful people and I have two great sisters. However, my parents are both teachers and for them the MOST important thing in life is a good education. Thankfully I was intelligent and always did well at school, going to university and then law school. I ended up getting a job as a lawyer in a very large international firm in the City of London. My parents couldn't have been more proud of me. The only thing is that I always felt their approval when I got good exams results, good reports from school, or when I got my job (they drove across the country when they heard about my job offer and ended up on my doorstep with champagne!) I don't remember ever being complimented or made a fuss of for any other reason. I know they DO love me very much, but they are very achievement orientated.

Which meant that 16 years ago when I decided to leave behind a good career (and great salary) and come and live in Africa, marry an African and be a missionary they went CRAZY over it! Not only was I "throwing everything back in their face" (all they had paid out for my private education, those holidays abroad they had sacrificed etc) but I was throwing away my future and not even going to earn my own way in the world. To them, being a missionary (and raising my own support) is "living off charity". They are not Christians, so had no understanding of the idea of God's call on my life, and they blamed God and Japhet (my husband) in equal measure for this decision! There followed some very horrible years, when my parents hardly spoke to me. (I remember ringing my mum to tell her I was pregnant with my first child and she told me "She won't be my granddaughter though, will she."!!!!) I learnt, the hard way, that their love was conditional - on my doing what THEY wanted.

That led me to believing Satan's lies - particularly that I am only worthwhile when I do as others think I should. I have worked hard at the relationship with my parents, and we have made some major progress - to the point where they now welcome me, my husband and the kids when we go back to the UK (although we still never stay at their house). We still have our issues (normally now over how much I am making their grandchildren suffer / depriving them of a good education / etc. ! Note it is at least THEIR grandchildren now!!!) It is all SO much better than it was, but I have over-compensated in seeking my approval from others.

All this has led me into a spiral of doing things because I think other people will approve! When I came to Mali 16 years ago I KNEW that God wanted me in French-speaking West Africa. That was clear (since my first visit to Africa in 1993). However, the reason for being in Koutiala, Mali was because my fiancee (now husband) was there, and I joined YWAM because he worked there (and after all what else was an English-qualified lawyer going to do in Mali!!!) I honestly never received a "call to missions" in that sort of clear sense.

I worked for YWAM for 14 years. Being a "missionary" gave me a title. It gave me "approval" and "respect" in the eyes of my home church, and in the eyes of people here in Mali. I needed to know I was valued by others!

Just over 2 years ago, I became increasingly aware that I was not actually doing anything specifically because GOD has told me to, but more to please others/gain their acceptance. ( I have so struggled to try to fit in here and be "Malian"! I will NEVER be Malian! I had to learn to accept that I will always be English! I just need to adapt enough to not shock Malians. My husband has been the one person who has NEVER asked me to be something I am not! When I cried - often - because I just couldn't be like the Malian women around me, he kept telling me: "I married you because I love YOU. If I wanted a Malian wife, I think I could have found one!") Anyway, back to me and my walk with God. I began to realise that everything had become a "mask". I put on my Christian missionary mask each day, and did the things that were expected of me. Yes, I had begun to do some things I enjoyed too (like meeting up with some lawyers in the capital and meeting every couple of months for prayer together - THAT made my heart race! I LOVED those times!) but most of the time I was living what others expected and my personal relationship with God was pretty non-existent. I was also very over-worked because I just couldn't say NO. (Always have to please people!) I had taken on more and more responsabilities in the mission, and yet was increasingly feeling that it was not my place. Add into all this that I was very unhappy and was comfort eating and piling on the pounds, and you have a recipe for disaster.

I got to the point where I was so depressed and I almost just walked away from it all. Thankfully just over 2 years ago, I cracked and my husband made me take time out. I took a year's sabbatical from the mission and just concentrated on family (my kids go to the local school here, but I also supplement that with English home schooling a couple of times a week) and on my lawyer contacts. (I had also begun some translation work that I was enjoying so I continued that, but ONLY when I felt that I wanted to.) I made it a priority to spend time with God too. It was a great year. And by the end of it I knew that my place was no longer in YWAM. I love YWAM, and I am glad for all it did build into my life, but MY place was not there. God told me clearly to develop my work with the Christians lawyers, which has just taken off so amazingly, and to concentrate on HIM and on my family for now. I am so glad this "crisis" was 2 years ago, as if all that had happened this year(more on that below!) had happened BEFORE I got those things sorted in my mind, I would have had a total breakdown.

I am now doing MUCH better in myself. I have not been an "official missionary" now for over a year. I don't have a problem with that any more. I still know I am called to Mali (know it even more clearly now that I ever knew it before!) and although I don't fit into some nice category or role I am fine with that! I still have an overwhelming tendency though to want to please - and also a need to "achieve"! But I am working on that! I realise so much of my thinking is still messed up, and I believe this study will help me get to the bottom of some of that.

Life here in Mali right now is VERY uncertain. We had a military coup back in March, and for the months of April and May my family and I were evacuated to neighbouring Burkina Faso. We are now back home in Mali, but the coup led to the advance of a rebellion that had already begun in the north and 2/3 of Mali is now controlled by Islamic extremists (linked to Al-Qaeda), so although we are in a safe part of the country, noone really knows how this situation is going to pan out. We keep a close eye on it and are ready to leave again if we need to. In all this I have so totally seen God's faithfulness. And yet I STILL get negative when something goes wrong (like my daughter's malaria attack last week!) One thing doesn't go how I would like it and I get negative, down and "blame" God! I so need to win this battle in my mind!!

I have gone on for ages! And there is so much more about my past I haven't shared - in between that conversion at 12 years old and my coming to Africa, there were a few years of some major rebellion! But maybe that is for another time. The things I have mentioned are those I feel I need to deal with now. I know in my heart that God loves me, that I am now doing what he wants me to do and being where he wants me to be - but sometimes my head / thoughts / emotions tell me otherwise! Satan has a party in my mind at times!!

Thank you for having the patience to read all this! I look forward to walking this journey with you!

Love, Ali

I know I'm late joining in, and I ask that you forgive me for that. I had the book already, but needed the workbook. I started reading the book again and doing the workbook and the next day I was spiritually attacked. So for the past two weeks it's been a hard haul. I just put it together and realized what was going on. So with that said... I gather you get the fact that this is very much needed in my life! Thank you for letting me be a part.

My name is Debbie, I'm 49 years old, and my husband and I celebrated our 30th last July. I live in Sacramento, California. We have identical twin girls that are 28, and a son that is 16. Yes, there's a twelve year span between them. I couldn't get pregnant, and then when I did I kept miscarrying. When I finally let go the thought of having another baby and we got a dog, I got pregnant six months later. God is good!

I grew up in a dysfunctional home. We never went to church, but my mom always said that God was taking care of us. I really didn't know what that meant, but I believed her. My mom and dad both had depression problems, but didn't understand that until I was an adult. I have a brother that is ten years older than me and was addicted to drugs and/or alcohol from the time I can remember. Our home was extremely messy. You know the hoarding show you see on TV? Our home wasn't as extreme, but very, very close. There was a lot of fighting and arguing, a lot of anger, and because my mom worked to help make ends meet, I was left alone a lot. My fear issues started at a very young age. I was always afraid as a little girl, and it's followed me my whole life. It just comes out in other ways.

I don't know when my overeating began. The pictures of me as a little girl I was always chubby, but the real problem started when my home life got worse. When I was in 5th grade, I weighed 150 pounds and was about 5'4". Not only was I the tallest child in 5th grade, I was also the widest. The summer between 5th and 6th grade my mom took me to Weight Watchers and that summer I lost 20 pounds and grew 2 inches. When I went back to school people noticed me and actually wanted to be my friend. After so many years of being called names, spit on, the last to be picked for sports, humiliated, standing on the playground alone, I finally had friends. That was the year I became aware that my looks and my weight could make me happy.

When I was nine years old I went to summer vacation bible school with some neighbors, and accepted the Lord, but it was hard because I went home to a house that didn't practice anything about God. So even though I wanted Him in my heart, I didn't quite get what that meant. But I truly believe the Lord held me in His hand for all those years, until I finally came to know Him when I was 19 years old.

Because of my extreme insecurities and constantly needing the attention of boys, I became obsessed with my weight. I had a boyfriend when I was a sophomore and for two years I was verbally, physically, and sexually abused. It was a very sick relationship, but I thought it was what I deserved, and believed no one else could "love" me like he did. In this relationship I ended up gaining about thirty pounds and hated myself. He ended up going behind my back and was seeing someone else, and then eventually broke up with me. I thought my world was coming to an end. Because of the abuse, he took me away from all my friends and I was left with no one. But God had a plan...

Because of my need to be wanted by boys, I ended up starving myself to lose weight. If I ate something, I would not eat for days. I then became obsessed with not eating. I loved the attention I got. I ended up losing the thirty pounds I put on, plus about another fifteen. It was probably the thinnest I'd ever been. I weighed about 130 and was 5'9". I was only able to stay at this weight when I was starving myself. It was easier to not eat, because when I did eat, it was out of control. I was a sick girl.

When I was a senior in high school I met my husband. He went to the same high school I did, but we didn't know each other when he was there. I met him when friend introduced us. They were room mates in the Navy and were stationed in San Diego, I lived in Sacramento. Being the boy crazy girl I was, it was love at first sight! Part of the reason I was so into him was because he was very unavailable for me emotionally. He also was a messed up kid. He was a drug dealer, addicted to drugs, and drank too much. I didn't know all this, but I was in "love." We ended up keeping in touch for the next year and while he was on a cruise with the Navy for seven months, he was coming off a high and realized that he couldn't stop using without God. So on a beach in Hawaii, he called out to Jesus and asked Him to come change him. In that moment God healed him of his drugs, his drinking and all his emotional baggage. I believe it was because God knew what he'd have to put up with in me. So through his letters he wrote me all the time while he was out at sea, I accepted the Lord and started seeking God. We got married four months after he returned home from his cruise. I was 19 years old.

I started gaining weight when we got married. I had put on about 40 pounds before I got pregnant. When I was 21 I delivered our twins. I had gained 10 pounds the first trimester and the nurse told me if I kept gaining like that I'd be as big as a house. We didn't know we were having twins yet, but it stuck with me and so I started starving myself. I only gained 25 pounds with them, I was afraid to gain weight. Two weeks after I delivered them, I weighed 25 pounds less than before I got pregnant. When my girls were born, one of them was born without a left arm, past her elbow. I then began blaming myself. The shame and guilt rushed over me like no other time before. I believed it was my fault that my daughter was born without an arm. I then started gaining weight again and began to use food as a crutch and comfort and became completely out of control. I then had a friend that introduced me to Overeaters Anonymous, a twelve step program. I was a part of that program for several years and God healed a lot of my guilt and shame. I lost weight and was doing well. I then became frustrated with the "higher power" thing of the twelve step program and felt God lead me into starting a group at my church dealing with eating disorders. I belonged to a very, very large church and so the group became very big. It was amazing to see God moving in so many lives and healing them of their pain of over, or under eating. I started speaking in front of large crowds and was being asked to speak at woman's groups and at different conferences. I was getting the attention I had always dreamed of. All those years of being a little girl and always feeling like I was standing outside the bubble looking in, I was finally standing on the inside of the bubble wanting to bless those that stood on the outside. It lasted about three years and then something happen. A pastor was brought in and he decided that he wanted to change everything that all the recovery groups were doing. I completely came against it because he knew nothing about compulsive overeaters and was telling me how to run the meeting I believed was being lead by God. I tried to stand up when he wanted to bring the refreshments of coffee and cookies in the room. I asked if they were bringing in the drugs, alcohol, or pornography also. He then labeled me non submissive and my life became a nightmare. I had people, many friends I'd had for years, come against me without even knowing all the information. Needless to say, it was one of the saddest times of my life. Something I felt so called to do was being taken from me, and I didn't deal with it very well. I stepped down as leader and we soon left that church. The pain was horrible. I didn't realize that Christians would do that to you. It was my first taste of the reality that people, especially Christians would hurt you. I thought I was seeking God in this situation, but I just kept packing on the weight. Year after year, the pain grew and root became deeper and more grounded.

After I had my son twelve years later I weighed 235 pounds. I could never say that it was my kids fault that I was so heavy. At my heaviest in January of this year, I weighed 285. I have gained and lost so much weight over the years that I probably have a couple of mes walking around somewhere. I was depressed and needed to be on medication, I had stopped doing things with my family, I had avoided people in stores, I had stayed in my house not wanting to go anywhere or do anything in fear of seeing someone I knew, and I'd lied to people to avoid seeing them. The lies that ran through my mind, the times I wanted to end it all because I was so miserable. The amount of times I went to the alter and got on my face before God, and pleaded with Him to take this away from me, and the amount of times I felt confident on Sunday, and then when Monday rolled around, I was eating again. I've had so many friends pray with me over this issue, it's embarrassing. I just hadn't realized yet, that God wanted me to grow and rely on Him to make it through this eating thing. That this was not a curse, but a blessing that I had to completely and whole heartily turn to Him every day, sometimes every minute to get through. If He had healed me of this, I know myself, I would have said, "Thanks God" and been on my way. He knew me that well. He knows what I need!

About 10 years ago we started going to a church that was nothing I was used to. It was small and the pastor just let the Holy Spirit lead him on what we were going to do that night. Through this body of believers and worship, God healed pains from my past. He taught me that I had unforgiveness for the people of the church that hurt me so many years ago. He healed me of guilt and shame I had been carrying since I was a little girl. He showed me how to love and be loved. I had always followed and loved the Lord, but He showed me what true love was. I just had this little thing I'd been dealing with my whole life that still was deep rooted in me... OVER EATING!!!

I know that through reading the Word, reading "Made to Crave," and having the loving support of all my friends on the website, my family and church friends, I am winning this battle with food. On my profile page I wrote, "This time is different." I truly believe it is! Something feels different this time. I know that I could go back to my way of eating in a heartbeat, but I'm choosing to stay on this path that the Lord has for me in this journey of recovery. I'm so excited to go deep with all of you and even though most of us are half way around the world, we are one in Christ.
Wow! I had no intentions on typing this much, hope I didn't bore you. Please feel free to add me!

Blessings,

Debbie

Hello! My name is Alex...and I'm coming on board this journey extremely late...but nevertheless, here I am.

I'm 29 years old (30 this year!), and had my very 1st ever boyfriend last year.

My home life...wow...let's see if I can condense it. I grew up in a very volatile home...emotionally, verbally, physically and sexually abusive. The sexual abuse started w/ an uncle when I was 7, then continued on at home. If you look at all the pictures of me when I was little, I was a skinny kid, until I hit 7/8 and ballooned. When I was 18 and moved away for college, that was the first time I discovered that I didn't have to live w/ the abuse, but I still did, because that was all I knew.

Okay, so backtrack a bit...During my junior year in high school (I was 16), I said enough was enough, and I tried to commit suicide (to which my parents still don't know about). As I was taking the pills, the first one headed to my mouth, I heard this loud voice shout NO. It freaked me out--I thought I was alone in the house!!! So, thinking I was caught by my parents and about to get severely beaten, I searched the house...no one there. So I shrugged it off as fear/guilt, and continued w/ the pills...when I heard the voice again, NO YOU ARE MINE. Needless to say, for a 16 year old, I was freaked out. So, me being me, I told that voice in the air that if there was anything to live for, he/she/it needed to show me.

My sophomore year in high school, I had met this Christian girl who was homeschooled before then. She was the one who had invited me to her youth group, even though I was completely unsaved and had no idea who this "Jesus" person was who her parents kept talking about. Then, my junior yr came and I went to Acquire the Fire w/ a group from the Catholic church I was a part of (they didn't preach Jesus, trust me!!!!). It was there, while Ron Luce was talking about forgiving those who have hurt you, that I surrendered my life to Jesus.

Fast forward to college, and even though I had given Him my life, I still wasn't really living it. I turned to other things to deal w/ the pain of my past: pornography, eating, risky behavior... The 1st two being my biggest addictions. And I had been living and loving those lies for YEARS.

Now, fast forward again to about 3 years ago, when I finally, through the urgings of several friends of mine, went to go see an amazing Christian counselor at my old church. We went through The Wounded Heart book and workbook, and I finally began to see just how much the sexual abuse affected me. I discovered I had gained all that weight in the hopes that if men saw me as unattractive, I'd NEVER be abused or touched again; I wouldn't have to fear what happened before would happen again. But during that time, having to cut out what was dug so very deep, I gained about 60 pounds in the span of a year. And my weight continued to climb as I learned to confront my past, and my parents, regarding the abuse in our home. During that time, I cut off from my family as a way to begin to heal myself, but also because the boundaries set were not being followed.

Now comes in the depression, and the need to be loved. Which is where my ex-boyfriend comes in to play. I had transferred my needs to be loved and wanted...over to him. He was the first man who didn't mind all my weight, who thought I looked beautiful no matter what, and who even worked out w/ me and was a cheerleader for me. So, because I thought that was love, I gave him a part of myself. And then it ended. And I was right back where I was before, only deeper.

Deeper in the pornography, which no longer satisfied but became routine. Deeper in the eating, or lack thereof depending on the day. Deeper in the addictions to so much, and deeper in the depression.

It wasn't until about Oct/Nov of last year that I realized that something needed to change. That I couldn't live my life anymore like this...this constant yo-yo. And that so much of my battles have been mental.

Which is where this book comes in. It's all mental. And the Lord told me to book this book up once again.

So, that's my story. The story that it's not just eating that I'm having to fight mentally, but my whole life, my whole image, and who He says I am. Because most days it's hard to believe.

BUT (don't you just love those sometimes?!), I WILL learn to gain the victory in this! If I overcame my past, I know that with Him I can overcome this!!

Thanks, Zoey. I can already see His hand upon this journey...hopefully I can explain it more when I hit the Chapter 3 segment. This week has been...WOWZERS!

And thank you for the prayers. And the words. Those encouraging words mean so much more right now than ever before. He's been using those words of affirmation to speak His love in a much more tangible way.