My Healthy-Eating Journey...The Faithful Weigh

I thought it was time I introduce the ministry that God has given to my dearest friend, Laurie and I.  This week marks our 2nd Year Anniversary of a group we called  "The Faithful Weigh", a faith-based weight-loss support group.   Like most of us in the middle-age range, we have been on hundreds of weight-loss programs from cabbage soup to wonder-herb pills.  Although we have lost weight, it usually returned with some added pounds, too.  In a past profession, I found myself as a weight-loss coach for a program through a healthcare office, in which Laurie had joined me in doing.   We were both successful on this particular weight-loss program called Ideal Protein and coached several clients through a weight-loss of over a thousand pounds.  During this time, we learned so much about eating patterns, emotional eating, nutritional values and the false idea that weight-loss is just about the food and exercise you must do to achieve health.  When we both left that position and continued on our healthy eating on our own, we started to feel that God had a ministry for us but we just didn't know what it was.  We had a wonderful group of godly women praying with us that God would show us what He had planned for us to do.  Well, as we know, God is faithful to those who seek His will.  I was working in the church kitchen with a couple of friends, preparing a meal for a church event, and we were chatting about foods, nutrition and how and why we eat what we do.  One of them said to me…"Mary Ann, you should do something with all of this information you have!"  That is all it took to get the wheels turning and God started forming the desire to "do something".   I called Laurie the next morning and said what I  had been thinking since my conversation with these ladies and that we should start a weight-loss coaching group.   She replied to me that she had been in her beautifully finished basement the night before and  thought to herself,  "I should be using this beautiful room for some purpose."   Talk about chills down your spine!!  God has spoken to us His will!  We got together and started brainstorming and planning.  We would form a ministry group and meet in her basement!   I wandered into our church library the next Sunday and my eyes were drawn directly to one book among a whole shelf full.  The title?  "Faithfully Fit" by Claire Cloninger & Laura Barr.  I started reading it and knew, without a doubt, that this was the book God had planned for our group to start with.   It put into words what we were learning...that God was interested in our eating!  I, personally, along with many others that we have ministered to in these 2 years, had not even thought that God cared so much about our eating habits! Why?  Why didn't we figure this out during all of these years of dieting?  We started praying for a name and God gave to us, The Faithful Weigh.  We had an informational meeting in which 20 some ladies showed up to.  We had a couple of possible weight-loss programs to follow but let it be known that they should seek God's counsel on what weight-loss program, if any, that they should follow and that we would support and encourage them on their healthy-eating journey.  That is how we started and for 2 years now, we have been blessed over and over, week after week, by the work God is doing in all of our lives.  Some of our ladies have met their weight-loss goals and moved on in their  journey.  We learn the "tools" through God's Word and the study through godly books, but most of all, from the grace, mercy and encouragement from our wonderful group of ladies who come week after week.    We have a "secret" Facebook group, in which we can invite those in that would like to join us.  We have email mailings that we do with our weekly handouts and encouragement during the week, for those not on Facebook.  We are heading down on the scales but more importantly, closer to God as we continue this journey.   Now that you know about our ministry, I will most likely be posting thoughts and insights now and then on my blog.  My prayer is that God will use whatever He has deemed good in my blog post for His glory and that which is not of Him, will fall along the wayside.  Email me if you would like more information at maa319@frontiernet.net. Blessings!