It is a late but oh, so welcome spring here in the Canadian prairies! We are praising God that it is almost time to plant!

Brought Safe Through Tornadoes and Floods!

As we got close to Nashville to gather with the rest of the Remnant Fellowship for Passover and the Messiah Celebration, it was almost strange how peaceful we felt, considering we were driving right INTO the path of several tornadoes! The sirens were going off to warn everyone to get into their basements while we were still at least 1/2 hour away from our destination. But I remember thinking, "The safest place in the world is going to be right where Gwen and the rest of the Saints are who are praying and living to please God every day." Our prayers were answered and the tornadoes passed us by, though it was sobering to see the destruction they did wreak a little bit further southeast.

There was so much to learn both on the journey and during the beautiful festival. God was glorified, hearts were convicted and faith was strengthened. We came back different and stronger than before we left.

Then on the way back to Canada, more prayers were answered when we were given a dry path through the midst of the Red River (symbolic of the exodus through the Red Sea!), which had overflowed its banks in North Dakota. The photo to the left above was the view to the left of our car, and the one below and to the right was the view out the right side of the car. Rain was predicted the day we drove through the last of it, but that rain never materialized till we had gotten through. God, You are too cool!

A Day in the Life

One accurate way to share the difference God has made in my life through Weigh Down and Remnant Fellowship is to contrast a day in my old life with a day now. It's not that the activities in my life (work, play, etc.) are so unusual, but if you look closer you will see a changed heart. This change is in answer to my fervent prayers to God for a new heart (after Gwen's words in Weigh Down classes convicted me of my own arrogance). Please remember that none of the changes in my life are because of anything special about me at all. Everything good that has happened has been because of God's mercy and grace in reaching out to the likes of me through Weigh Down, and He's even been the One who changed my heart and helped me change my ways, every step of the way. I owe Him everything and I will never stop being thankful He let me find these teachings. Here's a description of an average day now:

When I start waking up in the morning but it's not quite time to get up yet, I pray that God will allow me to be perfectly rested on whatever amount of sleep I've had, and to get up just when He wants with a spring in my step, thankful to have another day with Him. (I used to sleep in as long as humanly possible, then grumble and grouse about having to go to work--I hated all my jobs--and maybe I'd call in sick when I wasn't sick because I felt like I "deserved" more time off. The only thing that got me jumping out of bed in those days was wanting to eat something.)

When I'm getting ready, I remember Mrs. Gwen saying her mom always told her, "Do thebest you can and then forget about it" (re makeup, hair, clothes, etc.) So I quickly do the best I can, and then quit thinking about how I look. (I used to worry and get even more grumpy, or worse, if I thought I looked good, feel proud about it. I also used to pop an antidepressant every morning. I let go of those when I first joined Remnant, and have never needed them again since.)

My husband, Bernie, our daughter, Sam, our son, Nick and I all get down and pray in the mornings before work and school. I no longer think I can handle a day without God!

Nick is homeschooled and Sammie is his supervisor (she's 22 now and does her college classes online), and sometimes we start the school day singing songs like "Count Your Blessings" before Bernie and I head to work. I love this, it spurs me on and makes me glad! One of our favorite things to remember is "NO EXPECTATIONS and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS"--the secret to a happy life following in Christ's footsteps!

Before we leave, I check the Bible, Weigh Down and Remnant message boards, my email, my daily Bible verse, etc., to see if God puts something on my heart to do for Him this day.

I drive Bernie to work or he drives me. In my old life, I thought we "needed" two cars. This way (we have one car now) is easier on our finances, and just involves the odd death to self, which is great because I want to be selfless anyway!

We have a great time checking in with each other on how we're doing with our obedience to God, asking how we can be doing better, and encouraging each other. In the old days, our marriage was like walking on eggshells, because each one was secretly in it for what we could get out of it for ourselves. Through Remnant Fellowship, I learned even before Bernie decided he too wanted this life that it only takes TWO (God and me) to make a marriage great, and my focus changed to loving Bernie as unto the Lord. It is a double blessing that Bernie now lives this way too, but I want to encourage those whose spouse is not interesting in this message: your marriage can be heaven on earth too, as long as YOU are willing to make the change!

I get to work early, and start early, and try to give more time to my employer than I'm paid for. At coffee breaks, I go into a nearly unused room, get down on the floor and pray again, and then read my Bible or do WD homework or write a letter to God. Sometimes Rhonda, who's also in Remnant (we work at the same office!) and I get breaks at the same time, and we go and pray together! It is awesome! (The old me would have grabbed as much time off as possible, always thinking it was never enough, and I would have used much of it to EAT.)

I do the best job I can! I love my job, my bosses and the police officers who I serve (I'm an administrator at police HQ, a job that God definitely got me) and I try to make life easier for those around me. I don't complain or grumble. (Complaining used to be my native language, and when I first tried to quit griping thanks to these teachings, it was really hard! It was quite a stronghold. But God helped me as I persevered in this, and now it is rare that I stumble in it.)

At lunchtime I drive home (Regina is a small city) and hang out with the kids, and eat a small amount of food (prayerfully, when and if I have a stomach growl, and stopping when I am just satisfied--not stuffed), then take off for work again. This small meal with my children is a delight, but again, the old me would have bemoaned my "short" amount of time getting to EAT. (In the past I would have started eating before getting hungry, then eaten till I was over-full, and kept picking at snacks, chewing gum, and drinking all day. I used to feel gross, fat, ugly and out of control; yet I tried to train my family and friends not to dare mention weight to me. I wanted the world to accept me and think I looked good, even though I couldn't even manage to convince myself to do so. It was truly miserable, and I am so thankful for this miraculous deliverance from overeating.)

After lunch I work as unto the LORD again, and then after work I pick Bernie up from his workplace. We talk about the day and what we learned on our way home.

When we get home, we find that Sam has prepared supper for us and Nick has finished his school and done his chores. When we are physically hungry, we eat a small meal. In the evenings, guess what we used to do? You've got it--eat, drink and be miserable! Nowadays, we either:

- go to a class (we stay in Weigh Down classes locally and/or online);
- hang out with the family and pray, read the Bible, and check in with each other on how we are each doing in our walk with God; we also like to watch a dvd together, looking for what God has to show us through symbolism, or play Rock Band or SingStar as a family (this really takes dying to the fear of making a fool of yourself!);
- attend a worship service (Wednesday evenings - by webcast, gathering at homes);
- coordinate a class (I love coordinating online classes and meeting others seeking total obedience to God);
- hang out with the Saints, praise God, and encourage each other on;
- have quiet time with God in prayer, in the Word, in Weigh Down homework or listening to the audio lessons;
- encourage others by email, phone or on Facebook;
- or Bernie and I go out for a date sometimes while Sam and Nick enjoy games or fellowship with other young people.

Weekends: We worship on the Sabbath, again gathering in homes to join the Remnant Fellowship webcast that reaches all over the world. We love seeing our brothers and sisters who are running with all their heart, soul, mind and strength after this submitted relationship to God!

Friday evenings and early Saturdays are spent preparing for and participating in the Sabbath assembly and fellowship afterwards, and Sundays are usually either family time or more fellowship. I also get together online for coffee chats with my Weigh Down class participants one of these evenings, for mid-week encouragement. (I used to protect "my time" but now I am finding that it is funner and actually more relaxing and peaceful to remember it's ALL God's time.)

(A side note here--I thought when I first joined Remnant that I wouldn't have "real" friendships, but God has so bonded my heart to those of others who are putting Him first that I now have the closest friendships of my life with many dear friends covering a continent and even the world! God is so generous! He has also blessed our family with many trips to gather with the rest of the church for festivals in Nashville, when we used to think we could never afford to travel. Yet it hasn't broken the bank. Our pockets were always empty before, and now He has prospered us even in the midst of an economic downturn. These holy festivals, commanded by God to be kept forever, powerfully nourish the Body of Christ so we can go back home and be living lights to those around us.)

At bedtime, I review the day and look for what I could have done better and pray to God through Jesus Christ for help because I am nothing on my own and can't do a thing. It feels so wonderful to have a clean feeling in my heart, knowing I have run the race this day as though to win the prize. (To contrast with my old life, I used to have such guilt and pain and feelings of hopelessness, like I would never be happy or have a worthwhile life.) As I'm falling asleep I just praise God and Jesus for such a wonderful day.

Your day and mine may have many of the same activities or may be totally different--but you can just imagine the changes God will make in your own life when you embrace the suffering that comes from hour-by-hour obedience to God and leave behind the horrible suffering that comes from obedience to your own will. As Gwen points out, this transfer is mere Christianity and always has been. If you want a new life, please don’t let anything or anyone stop you from putting God first in your life. You will never stop being thankful you made this decision. And if I can do it, you can do it too!

How Do You Lose Weight?

Quotes from The Weigh Down Diet by Gwen Shamblin:

"Once you stop going to food for sensual indulgence, escape, spacing out, a tranquilizing effect, comfort, and so on, and start swallowing regular foods only when your stomach growls, you will swallow or eat just one-half to one-third of what you used to swallow. The desire eating goes away. That means you will lose weight!"

[Chris: But you know you have a longing feeling, which is why no diet has ever worked permanently--eventually, that longing has to be satisfied. Don't worry, we were all built that way. But here's the answer, again from The Weigh Down Diet, chapter 1:]

"With God's help you can learn to stop in the middle of a meal and have no desire to eat the second half if your stomach is satisfied! God did not put chocolate or lasagna or real blue cheese dressing on earth to torture us, but rather for our enjoyment. However, He wants us to learn how to rise above the magnetic pull of the refrigerator so that food does not consume our lives!

We have been created with two empty, needing-to-be-fed holes in our body. One is the stomach, and the other is the heart. The stomach is a literal hole in our body which is to be fed with the proper amount of food. As for the heart, I am speaking figuratively of our deep-down feelings. To satisfy these deep-down feelings, needs, or desires of the heart, we may often turn to food and overload our stomach with more than it needs...We have been trying to feed oour hurting, longing hearts with physical food. We have also learned to love food. Therefore, the solution is as follows:

1. Relearn how to feed the stomach only when it is truly hungry.
2. Relearn how to feed or nourish the longing human soul with a relationship with God.
3. Relearn how to recognize the different "hunger" urges and not confuse them."

There is much more of this revolutionary Truth to be had. It has made all the difference to me, and if my life can change, so can yours. Please check out: www.weighdown.com and www.remnantfellowship.org. The Scriptures will come alive in your own life if you put what you learn through Weigh Down and Remnant Fellowship into practice. You will be thanking God every day for miracles. God bless you as you take this step of faith!

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Why Join Remnant Fellowship?

(Michelle) Elizabeth Shamblin Hannah puts it in a nutshell beautifully.

Continuing Change

When I look at this photo, taken at my in-laws' place over Christmas this year, there are so many things I am thankful for. I see life and joy in our faces rather than just pasted-on smiles for the camera. I can look at the photo now and not obsess about how my hair looks and what to do about the bags under my eyes, but praise God for the way He's changed my heart so that I can now sit when asked to and have my photo taken without makeup on! We knew without a doubt that this Christmas was not about us, but about God and Jesus and about loving our family members as unto Him. Thanks only to God's grace in letting us find Remnant Fellowship, we have been consistently taught to look for how WE need to change, so we have finally learned to quit trying to change everyone else. This was the most peaceful Christmas I can remember. Thank You, Father! We pray for our eyes to be kept open so we can see what else needs to go, so we can become more pure and holy and loving and gentle, like our Lord Jesus Christ. I am just so grateful. God is so good!