How to control weight from a spiritual standpoint.

When I became pregnant with our son, I was wearing a size 6. Within a year after his birth I was wearing size 16. To say the least, I was horrified. How did this happen? Why did this happen? A few months later, I became pregnant again and decided that something had to be done about the weight problem. I turned to God for guidance, as I’m used to doing for every situation. At the time, I was home schooling 4 high school students and so for our PE time, we took a one mile walk 3 days a week. Mind you, one mile is only walking for 15 minutes, but it’s all I could manage. I wasn’t walking to lose weight. I was walking because I could. God gave me freedom, energy, joy, movement, etc and I needed to use that instead of just sitting around or chasing my son all over the house.
My eating habits changed too. But, not in the form of a diet. I just decided that over eating wasn’t what God wanted for me or any one. Was I making a god out of food? Was I giving more power to food than I was giving to God? As I sat down to each meal, I asked God if I needed the next bite. Materially speaking, we learn that our stomachs are actually only the size of our fist. So, why do we think we need an entire plate full of food. I know my fist isn’t that large. Anything more than a fist full seemed to be overeating. Oh, but the food tasts too good to eat just a little! But I had to question “Is God telling me I need to eat more? Or are these thoughts not from God?” I didn’t feel limited in any way about my eating. I wasn’t counting calories or obsessing over fat grams. Again, was I going to give calories or fat grams more power than I was giving God? Of course not!
The day after my daughter was born, I had lost twenty pounds from the time I became pregnant with her. After that, I increased my activity level by taking both children for walks around the neighborhood. Now, I could walk for an hour instead of just 15 minutes! For the past year I’ve been back down to the 130’s and it comes from my choice to not give power to food. I have so enjoyed turning to God for my fitness. Another thing I focused on was having a fit state of thought. Not only did I desire to be physically fit, but I knew I needed to be mentally fit as well. So, I began practicing questioning each thought. “Is this thought from God? Or am I letting the world around me take my thinking away from everything good and focus on the bad?” Every time we think a thought, we have a choice to think good, true, God-like thoughts, or we can think worldly, negative thoughts. I know which ones I prefer!

What does it mean to be REALLY loved?

Have you ever wanted to find the kind of love that is lasting? Did you think you found everlasting love and then it went away? Have you considered digging deeper and finding love from a spiritual perspective? There are 280 citations in the Bible that talk about love. For instance Deut 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” It doesn’t say love just a little or when we feel like it. How can we possibly love God that much? Jesus tell us in Luke 6:27 “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Wow. How often do we actually do that. It is so much easier to react in a bad way when people are not doing good to you. However, Jesus commanded us to Love our enemies. If we spend our time forgiving and loving unconditionally, then we are open to feeling God’s love for us. God has already wrapped us in his arms of divine Love. His love for us never ever goes away. We are His beloved and cherished child. Sometimes we don’t feel God loving us, but that’s when we’re not really listening. We must question our thoughts every moment of every day “Is this thought a good, loving thought?” “Is this thought full of peace, forgiveness and love, or full of negative thinking?” The more we practice turning our thought to love, we will begin to feel the unconditional, never ending, always available Love that God gives us. Every kind, loving thought we think means we love God. Every time we forgive, we are loving God and his children. Keep doing this. Include yourself in this forgiveness. Soon you will begin to find that you are already filled with the everlasting love from God.

New Ringtone for my phone brings me closer to God…

Today the thought came to me that I should get a new ringtone for my cell phone. In contemplating what to get, my favorite hymn popped into my head. It’s hymn 412 from the Christian Science Hymnal, to the tune of Danny Boy. I was so excited about getting this hymn as my ringtone because every time someone calls for healing, the ring puts these words into my thinking “O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking, O captive, rise and sing, for thou are free” etc. That lets me know we can awake to see the truth about our being. We can awake from this dream and realize we are already free of all seeming mortal conditions. As God’s children, God’s image and likeness, we are naturally free. We are at one with God every moment of every day. Instead of hearing the startling ring tone, I’ll be immediately putting my thought back on God before answering the phone. Below I’m posting a copy of the hymn.

O dreamer, leave thy dreams for joyful waking,
O captive, rise and sing, for thou art free;
The Christ is here, all dreams of error breaking,
Unloosing bonds of all captivity.

He comes to bless thee on his wings of healing;
To banish pain, and wipe all tears away;
He comes anew, to humble hearts revealing
The mounting footsteps of the upward way.

He comes to give thee joy for desolation,
Beauty for ashes of the vanished years;
For every tear to bring full compensation,
To give thee confidence for all thy fears.

He comes to call the dumb to joyful singing;
The deaf to hear; the blinded eyes to see;
The glorious tidings of salvation bringing.
O captive, rise, thy Saviour comes to thee.

Praying for your neighbors

Yesterday morning I awoke to a strange sound. It was 5am. Lights were flashing. Upon looking out the window I saw a fire truck and two ambulances across the street at my neighbors house. What to do? I could have decided to cuddle under my warm cozy down comforter and fall asleep (which was very tempting.) However, my thought was flooded with warm, loving thoughts for this family. One ambulance left with someone laying in the back. Even though I’ve never met those neighbors, I knew that they were still God’s beloved children. I had an obligation to clear my thoughts about this situation. The initial thoughts that came were “Oh, poor family. I hope everyone is ok.” But then God’s thoughts entered and let me know that our Father/Mother God is always in control. Since we are created in God’s image, we naturally reflect each and ever one of Gods qualities. The people in that house and in that ambulance naturally express completeness, peace, joy, confidence, freedom. Why would I even think for a moment to look at them in pitty. It is my duty to see everyone the way God sees them. The Bible tells us “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jesus healed by seeing people the way God does – spiritual, complete, whole, not limited or material. Jesus beheld their true identity. After listening for those God-like thoughts and praying to see my neighbors correctly I felt completely at peace knowing that their only choice is to be at one with God, expressing His qualities.
As we practice turning our thoughts away from the seeming material picture, to the Truth of being, our experience will change. We stop looking at things from a limited perspective and see things from the unlimited eternal way they truly are. Those around us can feel the difference and we change the world one day at a time.

Did you know that prayer doesn’t have to be words. It can be a smile or any kind gesture. Any act of love is a prayer. Prayer is said to be “an attitude of gratitude.” (source unknown). So what are you grateful for? Are we going through life complaining about all the negatives around us? Like “He did this to me” or “She didn’t do that” or “we don’t have enough money.” Personally, I find those thoughts lead to anxiety and depression. Then I question myself… Is God – divine Love – giving me these thoughts? No! Then these are not truthful thoughts. Anything that doesn’t come from God isn’t good. I try to replace those negative thoughts with pure, loving thoughts of gratitude such as “Thank you God, that you made all your children in your image and likeness.” “Thank you God for enabling me to see your children the way you do, instead of the limited mortal view.” “Thank you for providing each and every one of your children with the ability to see and hear spiritually.”
After this line of thinking my thought isn’t on the negative way mortals see things, but is turned to discerning things spiritually. God gave each of us the ability to do this! Aren’t we so grateful!

Check out my website on healing spiritually.

Julie Trevor-Roberts, CS 

The TV hit series "Desperate House Wives" really hit home with me. One character on the show has several young children. She always seems frazzled and at her wits end. It seems nearly impossible for her to control her children as they are loud and rowdy. No matter how much she does or how hard she tries, the work never finishes, her children are still out of control and she feels helpless and depressed.

In my own life I had been desperately searching for answers on how to raise a family peacefully. My children are 2 and 4 and we spent the past 4 years trying to get our son to be obedient - which wasn't working out too well!

There is always laundry to be done. The kitchen needs to be cleaned. My youngest throws half her food onto the floor instead of putting it into her mouth. Diapers need to be changed. Potty training never seems to end. The kids constantly fight and scream and torture one another. Bills need to be paid. Mom is losing her mind. Dad works all day and goes to school at night. Mom runs her own photography business. Things just seem to be chaotic and never ending. Depression and anxiety set in.

Somewhere along the line I questioned what I was personally doing to help or hurt the situation. Was I throwing bigger tantrums than the kids were? When they would scream and yell, I would do the same thing right back in effort to make them stop. If they weren't behaving the
way I thought they should, I would lose my cool. Then I asked "Is this they way Jesus treated children?" A profound "No way!" was the answer. Then why was I treating God's children in a way that wasn't peaceful and loving? Why did I have to get frustrated and angry every time my kids were losing it?

One day I made the conscious decision to slow down and be more patient with the kids.

Each day keeps getting better and better. I am able to control myself a little more each day. I now have notes posted all around the house to remind myself of the correct way to be thinking. I made several copies of the following three quotes and posted them all over the house. The essages are:

1. "Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick. Thus Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is intact, universal, and that man is pure and holy." SH 477:1. This one helps remind me that I need to be seeing myself and my children the way God sees us. Instead of thinking "my kids are so loud!" or "these kids are so naughty" I can think "These are God children, made in God's perfect, complete image and likeness." I have gotten into the habit now of clearing my thinking out loud. For
instance, if they do something naughty, I will sit them down and tell them " You are God's child. You can hear what God is telling you. You were made perfect and peaceful, etc etc." Then they become peaceful and run off and play nicely.

2. "Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter. It is plain that noghing can be added to the mind already full." My p10:3 - by Mary Baker Eddy.
This one reminds me to watch what I'm letting into my thinking. If I am making sure Truth and Love are filling my thoughts, then the depressed thoughts and views can't enter.

3. "And we solemnly promise to watch and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us and to be merciful, just and pure." SH 497:24 This reminds me that we have promised with all our heart to think the way Christ Jesus did. It also reminds us of the golden rule. It helps remind me to keep my
thoughts pure and loving. We're not just wishing we'll do this, we "solemnly promise" to do this.


I finally don't feel like a desperate housewife any more. I feel as though I have control over my thoughts and actions. If I am doing what the three statements above tell me to do, then I can't help but be happy, healthy and at peace. I can't help but see myself and my children as God sees them. It doesn't come over night. You have to train your thought to stop thinking negative things and fill your mind with Truth and Love.

So the kids are still loud (although far less than before), the dishes still need to be washed, the floors are constantly getting dirty, and all the other typical things are going on. But I have my sanity back. I choose God. I choose good thoughts. I choose not to listen to mortal mind trying to get me to believe what I see. I chose not to feel helpless. I choose not to accept as fact each of the things the children do that aren't loving. Each day is better than the last because my
thoughts are turning more and more to God.

There are countless moms out there feeling overwhelmed. You don't have to feel helpless any longer. It took me a long time to realize I actually had more control over the situation than I thought. The more I keep my thoughts filled with Truth and Love, the more the entire family
is at peace.

UPDATE: This article was written summer 2005. Since then, I have completely turned my thoughts and life over to God. I am turning to Him for every situation in my life and am now in the full time healing ministry. It's a privledge to help other people learn that they too can turn to God for help any time and for anything. Our home is now a peaceful one. The children are much better behaved - and so are Mom and Dad! It's no longer chaos and discord, but peace and harmony from leaning on God.