Dieter's Prayer Book : Spiritual Power and Daily Encouragement

by KOPP, HEATHER

• ISBN13: 9781578563968
• ISBN10: 1578563968
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-01
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press

Summary

Friendly Support. Daily Encouragement. Spiritual Empowerment. Diets and diet books have never been more popular. At the same time, recent studies show that Americans have never been more overweight. It's no wonder, then, that women who are trying to lose weight--be it 10 or 100 pounds--are among the most frequently discouraged people around. Every day we are faced with fridge wars, bad mirror moments, diets that don't work, skinny friends who can eat whatever they like, and husbands who reminisce about the size 8 they married. Yet victory can be yours. Increasingly, scientific studies are indicating that in health matters, prayer works--and inThe Dieter's Prayer Book, you'll find that daily ounce of spiritual encouragement you need. Not tied to any one particular diet,The Dieter's Prayer Bookcan be used in conjunction with any healthy-eating program, or on its own. Each day, these upbeat prayers will remind you what really matters, make you feel less alone, and empower you to achieve your goal of healthful living.

Author Biography

Heather Harpham Kopp is a freelance editor, author, and advertising copywriter. For four years, she wrote the popular column, "Out of the Ordinary," for Virtue magazine. She is the author of fourteen books, including <i>Praying the Bible for Your Baby</i> and <i>I Stole God from Goody-Two-Shoes</i>. She has also co-authored numerous titles with her husband David Kopp, including <i>Praying the Bible for Your Children</i> and <i>Praying the Bible for Your Marriage</i>.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Tending Our Bodies, Nourishing Our Souls	1	(12)
Is ``Diet'' a Dirty Word?	12	(2)
New Beginnings	14	(2)
You Are What You Pray	16	(2)
Five Pounds by Sunday	18	(2)
When God Looks at You	20	(2)
Thin for Thin's Sake?	22	(2)
The Trouble with Denial	24	(2)
Destined for Fatness?	26	(2)
Go to the Source	28	(2)
More Than Conquerors	30	(2)
Temple Tending	32	(2)
The Strength of My Heart	34	(2)
Free Indeed	36	(2)
A Giving Strategy	38	(2)
Pray for Me	40	(2)
More Power to Me!	42	(2)
What's on God's Mind?	44	(2)
Honest Scales	46	(2)
Fools Forgiven Here	48	(2)
Is Fudge Sinful?	50	(2)
A Dangerous Business	52	(2)
Pound Prejudice	54	(2)
Self-Control	56	(2)
Take Each Bite with Gladness	58	(2)
Blessed Are the Beggars	60	(2)
A Busy Body	62	(2)
Soul Wounds	64	(2)
Eve's Dieting Tips	66	(2)
Barbie Bondage	68	(2)
Escape Routes	70	(2)
Thin Happy	72	(2)
The Powerlessness of Will Power	74	(2)
Comfort Food	76	(2)
Dressing-Room Lies	78	(2)
Romanced by God	80	(2)
Holy Beauty	82	(2)
Son-Bathing	84	(2)
Waste Not, Lose Not	86	(2)
Hunger Pangs	88	(2)
Binge Alert	90	(2)
In the Eye of the Beholder	92	(2)
A Lighter Load	94	(2)
Desperate Measures	96	(2)
Miss Piggy	98	(2)
The Overweight Church	100	(2)
Fasting from the Heart	102	(2)
Feeling Green	104	(2)
Fat and Happy?	106	(2)
The Lies We Tell Ourselves	108	(2)
Little Sister	110	(2)
Mercy Every Moment	112	(2)
It's All in Your Head	114	(2)
Do I Look Fat in This?	116	(2)
Under the Influence	118	(2)
Fresh Mercies	120	(2)
Watch the Salt	122	(2)
The Full Treatment	124	(2)
Veggies with Love	126	(2)
Get a Life!	128	(2)
Husbands and Other Obstacles	130	(2)
Nothing Is Impossible	132	(2)
Source of Strength	134	(2)
Excuses, Excuses	136	(2)
Me? Special?	138	(2)
The Secret of Contentment	140	(2)
A Spiritual Makeover	142	(2)
Grow Old Along with Me	144	(2)
Just Say No to Perfectionism	146	(2)
That Hurts!	148	(2)
Hungry for Goodness	150	(2)
The Diet Police	152	(2)
Give It Up	154	(2)
Crash Prevention	156	(2)
Ode to Joy	158	(2)
A Gentle Approach	160	(2)
Unabashed Passion	162	(2)
Healing Words	164	(2)
The Land of Temptation	166	(2)
Shut My Mouth	168	(2)
Your Father's Lap	170	(2)
A Remedy for Rejection	172	(2)
Dearly Beloved	174	(2)
A Dry and Weary Land	176	(2)
``The Devil Made Me Do It''	178	(2)
``Do You Want to Get Well?''	180	(2)
A Family Affair	182	(2)
Naked and Unashamed	184	(2)
The Failure of Food	186	(2)
A Refreshing Idea	188	(2)
When Jesus Shows Up	190	(2)
Cheaters Anonymous	192	(2)
Heavenly Bodies	194	(2)
Pressure Sensitive	196	(2)
A Compassionate Christ	198	(2)
A Treasure to Hold Close	200	(2)
Looking Outward	202	(2)
On the Verge of a Breakthrough	204	(2)
Between the Now and the Not Yet	206	(2)
God-Sized Prayers	208	(2)
O Come Let Us Adore Him!	210	(3)
Topical Index	213

Excerpts

Excerpt

1 | Is "Diet" a Dirty Word?

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7

You might read the verse above: Some trust in diets, some trust in calorie counting, but I trust in God's plans.

    Many experts say that diets empower food, not people, because they're based on deprivation. And when we deprive ourselves of food we want, desperation takes over in time. We blow it. This is why the majority of books on weight control spend the first chapter declaring, "This is not a diet book!" (even if they use the word diet in the title).

    To those who have failed with diets repeatedly, Gwen Shamblin writes in The Weigh Down Diet , "God has never asked anyone to eat food off a list, to count fat exchanges, or to take an appetite suppressant. You have just been applying the wrong medicine to this condition."

    This isn't to say that all diets or weight-loss programs are bad. God can and does work in conjunction with these. What matters is that He is central to our plan. For the purpose of this book, let's redefine the word "diet" to mean:

• a D ecision to change the way I eat and the way I approach food

• an I nvitation to experience God's power and guidance

• an E ducated plan for long-term health and happiness

• a T rust that God will never give up on me or love me less--no matter what.

Food for Thought

"Diet" doesn't have to mean deprivation.

A Prayer for Power

Dear God,

I admit that I have come to both love

and hate the word "diet."

On the one hand, it represents hope for change.

On the other hand, it's like a sign flashing "Failure ahead!"

I don't want to simply embark on another faulty plan, Lord.

I want to embark on a journey with You

that is led by You and depends on Your power.

I can do nothing on my own!

And I don't want to just punish and deprive myself.

You and I both know where that leads: to rebellion and failure.

Show me the right path that will enable me to change.

Show me, as only You, who know me so intimately, can,

what works for me, what is healthy for me.

I want to think of this venture in positive terms, Lord--

not that I am signing up to be miserable or in want.

I want to learn to redirect my thinking, to feed my body

what it truly needs when it truly needs it.

And to feed my soul with the Bread of Life--You!

Today I place my future, my failures, my setbacks,

all of my hopes and plans into Your hands.

There alone will I find meaning

and true success in my life.

Amen.

* * *

2 | New Beginnings

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!

Isaiah 43:18-19

You are beginning a new journey of spirit and body. Larger spirit and smaller body, you hope! What a remarkable moment it is right now ... you are reading in trust, waiting in expectation, listening ...

    New beginnings take so much courage, mostly because we remember all those other times we began again ... and all the slips and fits and failures that happened next. How humbling to start over. Beginnings always call for bravery, became a beginning is a creative act. You want something to come into being that doesn't exist yet. Something new. Something better.

    Here is a grace note for your first day of beginning again: God does it too, all the time! Every day is a new start. Every season, every year, every miracle of conception in a woman's womb ... God reaches into the mysterious workings of earth almost as if to say, "I don't mind--I'll start again!"

    The German poet Goethe once advised: "Whatever you can do or think you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."

    The very fact that you are beginning again is a validation of God's presence and handiwork in your life. He has invited you to this page. He knows you and loves you, and at this moment He is ready to begin again to create His own beauty in your life.

Food for Thought

I can begin again!

A Prayer for Power

Dear God,

thank You that You are a God of new beginnings!

You didn't stop creating on the sixth day

but continue to create and recreate this world

and this person that I am.

I confess that it is hard for me to begin again.

I'm afraid to try to change

because I've failed so many times before.

But this I know: You don't waste any pain or any failure.

And You never give up!

You never throw up Your hands, walk away, and say,

"That's it! You'll never change!"

Instead, You are wholly and happily ready

every day to begin all over again with me.

Just as the sun rises new each day,

so do my opportunities for new beginnings and totally fresh starts.

Help me to remember that as I take small steps toward You,

You are always reaching out to help me

and You are rejoicing in my progress .

Your focus is not on the distance gained or the final destination.

Let's begin again, God.

Right now.

Amen.

* * *

3 | You Are What You Pray

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

There's some truth to the old saying "you are what you eat." But you are also what you pray.

    Any change on the outside begins on the inside. "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Prov. 23:7, KJV). Because the spirit and physical body are inseparably linked, the role of prayer in transformation can't be overemphasized.

    And neither can the role of faith. The apostle James tells us that if we doubt when we pray, we are like a ship tossed about on the sea. And how easy it is to doubt or become frustrated when you've been trying extra hard to eat right and exercise but aren't seeing the results you hoped for.

    Today and every day God is calling you to a life of faith--and to commitment to prayers that ring with certainty. No matter what you see happening, God is at work "So do not throw away your confidence," wrote the author of Hebrews, "it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised" (Heb. 10:35-36).

Food for Thought

You are what you what eat, what you think, what you say, what you do,

and what you pray

A Prayer for Power

Dear God,

today I come to You in faith,

asking for what I fear I may lack--

great faith!

Help me, Lord, to understand

how I can stand firmly on shaky ground,

believe in what I can't see,

trust in what I can only hope for.

Bathe me in Your faithful love

that I might in turn love You more faithfully.

I surrender myself and my body to You right now,

along with all my expectations.

In exchange, may I receive from You

a confidence that can't be shaken.

Make me a woman of faith, Lord.

I am not strong enough to create all my own success,

but I believe that You will accomplish

all the good plans You have for me.

Amen.

* * *

4 | Five Pounds by Sunday

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

Proverbs 19:2

So. Your best friend's wedding, which you so wanted to look marvelous for, is just around the corner, but those unsightly five pounds you hoped to lose by then are still around your middle.

    It's tempting to panic at times like these, to have "zeal without knowledge"--as did the woman who prepared for a cruise by wrapping herself in cellophane and then jogging ten miles. She ended up in the hospital and missed the vacation.

    When you're feeling impatient with your weight-loss progress, don't panic and lose your head. Real change takes time, and shortcuts will likely lead you to "miss the way" altogether.

    When it comes to changing your eating and exercise habits, slow and steady is best. Most experts recommend that you lose no more than one to two pounds a week and consider a half-pound a week great progress.

    It helps to remember that your goal is bigger than inches or pounds can measure--and it's more important than any special occasion. Your goal is to become all that God created you to be--and to develop a patient spirit as part of the beautiful person you are.

Food for Thought

The fast track to lasting change is the slow one.

A Prayer for Power

Dear God,

thank You that even when I am impatient or foolish,

when I am so zealous to see results

that I rush things and miss the way altogether,

You forgive me and help me

to find the right path again.

Today I pray that You would grant me

the wisdom, will, and patience

to persevere in the process of change.

Help me to accept where I am right now.

With Your power at work within me,

I can keep my eyes on my true goal:

to become the best me I can be--for You!

Today I embrace Your loving intentions for me,

and I put all my hope in Your good and perfect timing

Amen.

* * *

5 | When God Looks at You

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! ... like a lily among thorns.

Song of Songs 1:15; 2:2

What do you think God sees when He looks at you?

    Though some days you feel like a walking ruin, your loving God sees the real you--a work of art, a lily among thorns.

    If you find those words hard to take in, you're not alone. For many of us, the choice to accept approval and honest admiration requires enormous courage, especially if we usually spend our energy focusing on our shortcomings. Frances de Sales advised, "Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself, do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage."

    Today ask God for the courage to simply receive His loving gaze upon you without turning away or refusing His affections. He knows you completely, so there's no need to hide. And His heart toward you is passionate, constant, and tender. Hear His whisper in your ear all day long

"Oh, how beautiful you are!"

Food for Thought

The One who knows me absolutely

thinks I am absolutely beautiful.

A Prayer for Power

Dear God,

thank You that You see all the way through

to my very core

and You love every part of me.

Even when I am weak, selfish,

or unattractive in spirit,

You still call me Your beauty and beloved!

Because I know

I am already lovely in Your sight,

I can "work" on becoming even more so

with confidence and joy.

Because You have called me beautiful,

grant me the power and the courage today

to believe it

and to touch every person I meet

with grace and hope.

Amen.

Copyright © 2000 Heather Harpham Kopp. All rights reserved.