I teach a
Bible study for compulsive overeaters on Tuesday nights at my church. After two
years of every Tuesday without a break and no back-up, I found myself burned
out. Other classes and studies took a summer break, so I did, too. We began a
new study on September 15.
The week
after our first class stress moved in and settled into my life with a super
busy mostly out-of-town schedule, health problems, and computer malfunctions.
My baby daughter had been laid off. We feared for her emotions and for our
finances if she was off work for long. (Praise God for blessing her with a new
job in only a month’s time. He is faithful.) I was overly tired and
tremendously overwhelmed.
I began
the new week on Monday by studying and preparing for my Bible study. I was gone
most of the day on Tuesday then stopped for a review of the lesson and a prayer
before class. I arrived early and waited and waited … No one came.
At our
Bible study on Wednesday night, our teacher focused on encouraging and
supporting fellow Christians. One lady told how she took food to a family who’d
suffered a death. Another talked about visiting some in the hospital.
Right
there in church, the devil pounced on me.
He
whispered, “You’re a failure. You do nothing but sit and write your little
stories and then have the nerve to try and sell them. You rarely visit anyone.
You’re not a cook. In fact, you’re doing nothing to encourage and help others.”
Since
then, I have prayed. My husband has prayed. Like when I weighed 250 lbs, and
felt lost and empty, I couldn’t fix myself. But, God …
Greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
I John 4:4b
KJV
The devil
may pounce, but God reigns supreme. By today, the Lord is clearing the
darkness. The light breaks through like my jonquils in early spring. God’s hope
wins, the devil loses.
If the
devil jumps on your shoulder and tells you that Christian writing isn’t a
ministry that helps, pray for the joy of the Lord. He blesses Christian fiction
and non-fiction alike and uses it in places we can only imagine and may never
know about. He blesses our willingness to teach even when no one shows up for
class. Thank you, Jesus, for using the strengths you gave me, not those you
gave someone else.
LACEY CHANDLER helps her mother, her
sister, her friend, and then she binges on food and wonders is there really a
God?
BETTY CHANDLER hates being handicapped and
useless, so she lashes out at the daughter that helps, and the God who doesn’t
seem to care.
TOBY WHEELER loves being police chief in
Wharton Rock, but when the devil invades the small town, he can’t release
control.
Book Trailer Click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTotxQGtGn0
This inspirational women’s fiction is available now at http://www.pen-l.com/WorthHerWeight.html
And on Amazon:
ABOUT Janet K. Brown lives in Wichita Falls , Texas
Worth Her Weight is the
author’s first inspirational women’s fiction, but it makes a perfect companion
to her previously released, Divine Dining: 365 Devotions to Guide You to
Healthier Weight and Abundant Wellness. Both books encompass her passion
for diet, fitness, and God’s Word.
Worth Her Weight marks Brown’s third book. Who knew she had a
penchant for teens and ghosts? She released her debut novel, an inspirational
young adult, Victoria and the Ghost,
in July, 2012.
Janet and her husband love to travel with their RV, work in
their church, and visit their three daughters, two sons-in-law and three perfect
grandchildren.
Janet teaches workshops on writing, weight loss, and the
historical settings of her teen books.
Find her at http:/ /www.janetkbrown.com
on Twitter at https://twitter.com/janetkbrowntx
E-mail: Janet.hope@att.net
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