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LORD,
Thank You for making each day a new beginning.
Keep me
focused on this day only. If difficulties arise today, I remain confident
the You will provide the strength I need to rise to the occasion. I will
not let yesterday or tomorrow detract from the joy that can be found in
today.
Thank You
LORD for giving me perspective. Amen.
I Want to Change and Grow!
Awesome! Change, growth--real transformation requires a commitment. The Bible says, “Examine me, O God, and know my mind. Test me, and know my thoughts. See whether I am on the wrong path. Then lead me on the everlasting path” (Psalm 139:23-24, God’s Word). Change and growth starts with you and is empowered by the work of Holy Spirit. Some steps to permanent healing and growth:
- Read a devotional—growth focused book: it helps strengthen your commitment to take responsibility for your own growth and transformation and fosters the sanctification process.
- Church involvement: getting involved in a Bible teaching church fosters healing and whole person growth.
- Is there a Bible study group or mentoring program or support group you can become part of?
- Read, memorize & meditate on Bible verses and passages. True and powerful transformation into Christlikeness comes as we evaluate, single out, and compare our thoughts to God’s thoughts. Then we are in a position to make choices based on clear and concise biblical reasoning. Memorize verses like: Heal me O Lord and I will be healed; save me O Lord and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise" -- Jeremiah 17:14
- Prayer support: ask 2—3 people to pray for you everyday (and pray for them too).
Journal
your thoughts and insights. One way to begin breaking down a wall is through journaling. Many have
found writing helpful in coming to terms with the past, or processing
fresh pain. This study requires writing many of your answers in a journal.
Some people prefer a chart format in order to pinpoint specific situation
that need additional work. Suggested entries:
o Thoughts and Emotions
o Physical Sensations
o What you did; What you could do next time
Keep
track of your goals in a journal. Write out and track your new nutrition
plan and your thoughts about it. Try to memorize the thought and Scripture.
Write it on a card & carry it with you or use a scripture memorization
program like Memlok.
- Gratitude
Journal: to gain perspective. "I'd write down 5 things each
night that I was thankful for... helped me see that my focus on food/eating/starving/weight
was really pointless, and to look at what I have that so many people
don't have in this world. It helped get the focus off of ME (the eating
disorder's focus on ME has really messed up my perspective)."
- Gratitude Jar: Every day that you are grateful for your recovery, drop a quarter into your Gratitude Jar. On really good days, put in two quarters. Put what you would normally spend on binge food, candy, etc. into your Gratitude Jar. Before the month is over you will have more money that you probably expected! Splurge!!
- Share
your observations. Help and encourage one another.
- Apply
the Daily Recovery Thought to your day. Share with your family
and sponsor how you will implement it in the week ahead. Again, journal
this information and refer back to your journal for further insights.
- As a child you learned
to say "please" and "thank-you". Let your first
prayer of the day be a "please" for food sobriety, and your
last prayer of night be a "thank you" for the progress you
made, the abstinence for the day. We can ask God for help, but the job
is ours to do.
Recovery Ideas and Thoughts ~
MOST
IMPORTANT: Surrender your body and heart to God and know that
God created you and loves you no matter what you look like. The
Bible says, "He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds
up their wounds." -- Psalm 147:3
#1
Meditation: One
way to establish a relationship with God is by thinking about
his Word throughout your day. Meditation is often misunderstood
as some difficult, mysterious practice by isolated monks or mystics.
The Bible urges us to meditate on who God is, what He has done,
and what He has said. Meditation is simply focused thinking
and listening, a skill you can learn and use anywhere. When
you think about a problem over and over, that's 'worry'. When
you think about God's Word over and over,
that's 'meditation'. If you know how to worry - you know how to
meditate! Just switch your attention to Bible verses. The more
you meditate, the less you worry. This site is loaded with verses
for you to meditate on.
Recovery
Thought: It is the pain of living that creates a hunger for healing
that only God can satisfy.
Surround yourself with support people.
Take part in activities and friendships that enrich your self-image
and refuse to focus on things that emphasize your physical appearance.
Make
a list of all your strengths - creativity, intelligence, compassion,
patience, goodness, faithfulness, etc. Don't include physical
appearance. Focus on these gifts and talents God gave you.
Write
out: What is wrong with the "Thin is In" or the "Thin
is Best" message. What is right and good about your body
~
Recovery
Thought: Patience is the companion of wisdom. - Augustine
Stick
to a Schedule. Set times of day for each meal and snack. This
way if you have a tendency to skip or forget meals, you won't.
A schedule is a way to begin new healthy habits, and meditate
in sitting down and relaxing.
"One day at a time, one step at a time." Will never fail us. We will handle whatever comes to us if we follow that advice. I will accomplish what I need to today, on time, if I let God be in charge --Kay Marie Porterfield
Being
true. We believe we can become beautiful people, free of addiction.
God knows our true purpose in life and will help us. He knows
what we are capable of becoming, although others may misjudge
us. I pray that I may see the good within me and remain true
to my purpose.
Recovery
Thought: When pain is to be borne, a little courage helps more
than much knowledge, and a little human sympathy more than much
courage, and the least tincture of the love of God more than all.
-C.S.Lewis
Put
off purging longer each day. To say you'll just stop 'cold turkey'
probably isn't reasonable to most people- granted, it would be
much better to just stop, but if it were that easy, nobody would
have long term eating disorders.
Recovery
Thought: Don't sing of yesterday. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow isn't
written. Make today your song.
Give
yourself permission to not 'do recovery' perfectly. There will
be ups and downs, and times when you don't feel you're getting
better. Baby steps still get you somewhere...
Recovery
Thought: Level with your child by being honest. Nobody spots a
phony quicker than a child. - Mary MacCracken
"I
find I am at my lowest (especially my self-esteem) when I am least
reflecting the image of God. When I selfishly reach out to someone
in need, with no thought of reward, or self, that is when my true
self shines forth and I feel sooo much better."
Recovery
(Healing) is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice;
it's not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved.
The
gift of love means this: I want to share with you whatever I have
that is good. -- John Powell, S.J.
How loving are we, really? Do we keep score when we do favors
for a friend, keeping in mind that we're owed one? Do we hoard
rather than share a favorite treat, hoping to prolong our own
feast? And the good mood, when it's ours - do we use it to help
another raise her spirits or do we secretly gloat because we're
"in a better place"? The opportunity to respond with love visits
us throughout each day. A smile, a kind gesture, including someone
in a conversation, noticing a job well done, are acts of love,
acts that connect our hearts, at least for a moment. When someone
has shared love with us in some form, we notice it and are moved.
Recovery
Thought: God will tell us the way to go, but then we have to do
the walking.
"Since
I started recovery 5 years ago for Binge Eating Disorder, I have
kept a "Food and Mood" journal. It has helped me connect the dots
between my eating and not eating and my emotions".
Recovery
Thought: Weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the
morning.
Writing prayers
can be a powerful experience in some individuals' lives. Write
out a prayer to God regarding your healing. Come to God in faith.
If your faith is weak, tell God. If you think your healing is
beyond His love, care, ability, or power, tell Him. Just communicate!
Recovery
Thought: A walk with God takes place through one step of obedience
at a time. -- Joyce Meyer
Put your
ED in a God-box. A God-box is where you write down your problems,
people and issues that you're bitter about, whatever is on your
heart, and put them in a box (seal it if you want). Give those
things to God to deal with. He's got BIG shoulders to take them
all!
Laugh
at yourself first, before anybody else can. -- Elsa Maxwell-- A sense of humor is an essential living tool.
Unfortunately, it
is most difficult to keep a sense of humor when we're under stress,
and that's the time we need it most. In the face of a crisis,
we may have found it easier to be dour and nasty, even if we knew,
deep in our hearts, that such an attitude was not in our best
interests. Ironically, our problems have helped many of us
cultivate a humorous attitude toward life. Making the choice
between bitterness and acceptance is easier when we take ourselves
less seriously.
Seeing the funny side of life helps us deal with
the most difficult situations life has to offer. Humor cleanses
us through spontaneous laughter. It draws others to us and bonds
us. I choose to see humor and lightness in my life. I will
allow this attitude to brighten my life and that of those around
me.
Hope
is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only
take a deep breath and say, "Yes," and hope will reappear. --
Monroe Forester -- No matter how painful our life may have
been, we always have the internal resources to heal and grow into
happiness. We now have the strength, insight, and spiritual tools.
This combination teaches us that there is no unhappiness too great
to be made better. Opening ourselves up to the miracles of recovery,
we step from the dark of negativity into the light of possibility
and abundance. It doesn't happen all at once, but it does happen
- one day at a time. Today let me have complete faith that my
unhappiness will be removed as I work the steps of my program.
My
Savior, I used to think that seeing was believing. Now I understand
that it is by faith that I really see the Truth. It is by faith
that
I can be sure of the things I hope for and certain of that which
I do not see. Thank You for leading me in paths that I have not
known before; for making the darkness light before me;
for making the crooked things straight. Amen.
~ Who is God?
"One must release the past to accept the present
and move on to the future"
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