I Do Not Really Like Change, But God Does

Change! Why? Because God's Knows What Is Best For You.
Author: Pastor Pat Aman
10/30/2016

“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭12:1-5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

WOW! When I think of change, I immediately think of Abraham.
We
Change!

God told Abraham just to pack up and leave. Leave Family. Leave Friends. Leave his home. Lead his land.  Leave everything he has built.

As I see our daughters now grown and on their own, I really have a hard time.  They are  slowly leaving from under our, or I might say MY, protected wings.  I really think it is harder on a mother than a father. Maybe because we protected them and carried them inside of us right next to our hearts.  You have heard the old saying, "only a child has heard their mama's heart from the inside."  So, I now say, "I watch my heart from the outside, when I look at them.

We are so proud of them, but we know we have to let go. We know that God will bring someone special into their lives one day and we will have to share a piece of our and their heart with  them.

I pray daily that God will send a sold out man of God into their lives. A man that will have to go through God's heart to get to their heart.

God has blessed us with a extended family and we are just as protective of them.

We pray for all our children everyday.

Change happens to all of us. But, we need to realize that change even though maybe hard, it is good. Change is God's way of cleansing us and growing us. If there was not change, then we will become stale. And then we will burn out, rotten and begin to stink.

As Joe and I have been in the ministry 40 years together, we have seen changes.

Some change was very hard. I remember leaving the church we raised our family, and we still have so many good friends there, but, without change, we would have never met so many new and wonderful friends.

We must remember God is always in control. And, the only time when things fall apart is when we go out on way and not God's.

As long as we keep our heart and eyes in God, we will stay in His will for our lives.

CHANGE! Yes, it can be hard, but if God is in control it is just a new road to walk for Him and His glory.

Change is God's way of saying, "hey, I got this, now walk through this new door. I have already gone before you and laid the map out. You will not get lost . I will bless you. "

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman

Also, please know that:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with Joy.
Philippians 1: 3-4

I end each message with "My Blessings, Love & Prayers," I truly mean that, and I pray for each of you every morning and evening.

Unless otherwise stated, all content on this site is © 1996 - 2016 Coffee With Pat.http://coffeewithpat.org

The Alabaster Box

The Alabaster Box

Author: Pastor Pat Aman

Have you ever just felt like throwing your hands up and screaming? If you say NO, I will pray for you because we all have felt this way at sometimes in our lives.

As each of you that read Coffee With Pat daily, you know that CWP has not been able to post on the website. It seems that there is one problem after another. I have at times become very irate over this situation. But, I pray that I have finally figured it out. I hope I have finally learned the new program to work on the CWP site.

I know that some of you maybe thinking, Pat, there are people who are sick, depressed, angry, and have so many more problems and issues then you not being able to work website at the computer.  Well, my answer to this is, "that is the exact reason I need to be able to post devotions and maybe say something that may help those persons in their time of despair.

Since 1996 Coffee With Pat has touched so many lives for the glory of God. People have been saved, healed and even stopped from taking their lives because they came across Coffee With Pat while searching the web for an answer to their hopelessness. So, now you may understand while I have been in despair myself, when I have not been able to post on the daily devotion site.

See, there may have been someone out there who needs a touch from God's hands and heart, and  just possibly, the Word the Lord gave me to share on a certain day, or even today, touched them and turned their lives around.

More of this devotion coming later....My car is ready to pick up at garage before they close. LOL. Yes, see, I do not have someone or a group that do the devotions for me. I do each and everyone with the good Lord and me. And, yes, just like you, I have other things that come up, just like my car leaking transmission fluid after I had it changed. See, I  am one person as you are and I am just human with daily things to take care of just like you do... 

Be back in a little bit..... More to come.....

Well, I am  back. They put a new seal around the pan from changing the transmission fluid. I should be able to put a couple 300 thousand on my 2007 Chyrsler 300. Someone asked me why don't I buy a new car? I said, "why"? There is nothing wrong with the one I have and it is pay for, and besides, I do not have any idea what I would want to buy.

I can hardly believe it is almost Easter Time. It seems we have just celebrated Christmas.

When I think of Easter, I think of Mary annointing Jesus feet. She once was a broken person, but, Jesus touched her. Because Jesus had touched her and gave her a new life,  the Holy Spirit spoke her to anoint Jesus, preparing Him for the steps He would soon take to walk the Road to Calvary.

 I love the story of Jesus, Mary and the Alabaster Box.

I often tell people, "do not judge others by what you see, because you do not know what is in their Alabaster Box!"PAA

She broke a box of ointment and poured it on Jesus. This ointment was valued at 300 pence. A pence was the daily wage of the average worker. Therefore, in modern terms, it was worth about $15,000.00. This spikenard was produced from a rare plant that grew in India. It was very expensive and many people saved for years to be able to provide this for their own funeral preparations. However, this woman, poured it out on the Lord Jesus.

A lot of preachers teach on the subject of how expenses the oil/perfume cost. Others teach that it meant Mary was giving her best, her all.

But, I think of it this way. 'What was really in Mary's Alabaster Box?

I like to imagine that as she broke the vessel so that she might extract every drop of ointment for use on the Lord Jesus, she was also showing Jesus every broken part of herself.

The vessel was her broken life, filled with the oil of all the hurts, sorrow, jealousy, hatred, disappointments and even happiness that she had experienced.

Yes, she had paid a great price in her life, the way she had lived, but, Jesus only saw the broken vessel as clay that He could mold into a beautiful vase. And he did not judge or smell the unpleasant odor of her sins, but the sweet smelling aroma of her love and her willingness to scarified everything to follow her Lord and Savior.

Whatever you may think about when reading this story, Mary gave all she had to Jesus for His glory! She totally opened herself up to Him. She did not try to hide one part of herself.

I wonder have we broken the Alabaster Box of our lives and poured out ourselves, every drop for Him? All the broken of our sinful lives.

God is seeking people who have surrendered everything they have, everything they are and everything they hope to be. He is looking for people who will assume the place of servants before Him. He is looking for those who will merely respond when He speaks to them. He is looking for those about whom He can say, "They have done what they could."

I think of Apostle Paul also when I read this story. In 2 Timothy 4, he says,

"⁶ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing."

I feel that after Mary anointed Jesus, she also, felt the very same way that Paul did.

Are you now ready to break the Alabaster Box of your life? Please right now, open your Alabaster Box to Jesus. He is waiting to heal you.

I have added the video link below: The Alabaster Box by: CeCe Winans. If video does not show up please click on the link to listen to this wonderful song and watch the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kfVwIARBZW8

 

 

 

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman

Also, please know that:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with Joy.
Philippians 1: 3-4

I end each message with "My Blessings, Love & Prayers," I truly mean that, and I pray for each of you every morning and evening.

Click Here to Contact Pastor Pat

Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman Book © 1996/2013 "Coffee With Pat Daily Devotionals"

Bible Verses: The New King James Bible

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Mama's Petunia Garden

        Mama's Petunia Garden

 

 

 

October 22nd will be the Fifth anniversary of Mama's Homegoing. I do miss her so much. She was 93 years young.

 

Mama loved flowers. The last few years of her life on this earth, she had those old timey petunias growing around the house. Everyone who came to visit took some of them home, including me.

 

The first two years my petunia garden was a delight. The petunias seem to just multiply and they were so beautiful. Then the next year not one petunia came up. The bed was so empty. As I sat on the porch and looked in the corner where they were planted, it was so sad to not see them blooming, mostly at a time I really needed to see them. I needed something that Mama had grown, something she had touched.

 

A good friend of mine who took her Heavenly Journey Home last year, had given me some yellow cannas and where I had put them they had not really grown, so I decided to move them to that spot, the exact place where the petunias had been for the last two years. The cannas are still blooming, and the yellow flowers are wonders to behold.

 

A few days ago, I walked outside in the yard. As I walked, I noticed something in the flower bed that was not a canna. I walked over, and my eyes filled with tears as I realized it was the most beautiful petunia plant. The leaves were dark green, and on the plant was one bloom. A lavender petunia with white around the edges. The first words out of my mouth was thank you God, thank you for letting this petunia grow and bloom this week, the very week that I needed to feel a touch of my Mama's Hand.  It let me know she is okay and I will be okay. And also, I thought, God is also letting the yellow cannas grow around the petunia, so I can  remember Kaye and Mama. Kaye loved mama and they both loved to plant flowers, so God gave me and extra blessing.

 

An extra note, the petunias at my sister, Ruby's house, where Mama lived her last eight years, did not bloom this year either. But when I called Ruby today to tell her about the one petunia blooming in my flower bed, she said Pat, would you believe that I also have one petunia plant that has grown in the back yard also. Of course, she started crying, and I joined her as we rejoiced together in the special way that God decided to bless us today. Yes, one, lone petunia, but that is all we needed.

 

Thank God for the small Miracles that He blesses us with, to show us His love.

 

Fannie Mae Wade Hunter 12/26/14 - 10/22/08 My Mama’s Bible   Written and Copyrighted Coffee With Pat Ministries 2008   Mama's Bible, so ragged and worn, Its pages are scribbled, ripped and torn. Its been around for ages, she's had it for years, Some pages smudged by rain and some by her tears The name on the cover is faded, it's true. There might be a page missing, or two. To look at that book one might scoff and frown They may say, "Why, there's no use in keeping it around. "A new Bible, I'm certain, is what you must need, With pages so perfect, and pictures indeed." But friends, I know better and I'm here to persuade' There's more in that ol' book, more than I can say. For she read it and held it so close to her heart, Its Knowledge and Wisdom and Love to impart. She held it so tightly, through storm and through chill, But ever much closer when her children were ill. Her faith can be seen on each page and each line, Her writings of love time after time. She carried it high through thick and through thin, So proud of the holy scriptures contained within. Of all of the treasures in this world we can hold, This Bible of mama's so ragged and old. Is far more precious than silver and gold. . No memory is more precious, none that I hold so dear, When the storms of my life bring me much fear The vision of mother, the love on her face . . .  As she read that old bible and told me of Jesus saving grace.   Poem and Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman  August 26, 2008 - Copyright     Devotion Written By: Pastor Pat Aman  Book © 1996/2009 "Coffee

                     Holy Ghost Revival

2 Chronicles 7:13, 14, "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 

 

Today we read church signs, bulletin boards, newspaper articles that say, "Come to A Holy Ghost Revival." But they forget one thing. They forget to invite the Holy Ghost when they make their invitation list. Churches everywhere are seeking Revival, but none are preparing for the Revival. How do you prepare for Revival. Pray! Pray! Pray!

 

Too many churches have 3 day Revivals, some a week, but how many pray week after week, really understanding that Revival must begin with their own heart. It is time churches stop saying, "Well, you know the week of June 6th or September 8th, will soon be here, and you know we must plan our yearly Revival." Who are WE going to get to come preach our Revival?

 

It is time we decide to pray and have Revival all year long. No man or woman can bring a Revival to your church. If you do not pray and prepare, you will just have someone come, preach, and then when they leave, you will go back to the same routine of just attending church services. Yes, bored, dry, and no anointing at all. You will have the same few people, doing the same things, going on with the same programs. If you want Revival, again, Pray! Pray! Pray!

 

Christians must seek the face of God on their knees. Churches must have corporate unity to bring the anointing, that will bring a true Holy Ghost Revival. Too many people are seeking God for answers, and wanting to work for God, but they are not getting up off the pew and working to get the job done. You cannot just come to church week after week, and not do some foot work, and win lost souls to God. Remember, if Peter had not got our of the boat, he would have only knew the disciples, but he took a step of faith and got out of the boat and meet Jesus.

 

 I do not know about you, but as I wrote the words above straight from my heart, I can tell you now, I want a real Holy Ghost Revival, and I am starting it within myself on my knees. How about you?

 

 I read the article below about the great Revival  of 1799, and I want to share it with you.

 

I truly believe the quote from: Alex Dodson

"We live in a day when the preaching of the Word of God has taken a back seat in many evangelical churches to other things. The great pulpits of the past have been removed and the stage opened up for the worship team. It is not that the worship team is doing something wrong but that what they do has priority over the preaching of the Word of God which used to be pre-eminent in our worship services. Many Christians no longer take the Bible seriously or have no confidence in much of what it says. We are living in a time of compromise. No longer is the Bible revered as the very Word of God. Even seminaries compromise with modern day science theories and philosophy. The whole Bible is not considered trustworthy anymore. Darwinian philosophy has taken the place of a truly Biblical and Christian philosophy in the public schools of this land and even in some Christian schools."

In the last several months, I myself, have noticed that people do not even take their Bibles to church. The scripture is on a screen in the front of the building behind the pulpit, so why carry my Bible into the sanctuary?

 

Now that is not a problem, unless, it means that Christians cannot even find their Bibles anymore at home. If they are not taking the time to pick their Bible up and study God's Word, their lives will become totally dormant.

And then we wonder, hummmm? Why and I having such a bad day or week?

God Bless You,
Pastor Pat Aman Lenox Massachusetts in 1799
Notes taken from events of Rev. Samuel Shephard of Lenox, Mass. who wrote about what happened in his church in 1799.

 In 1799, there was a revival that swept through the Northeast. Many came to Christ through the standard means of the faithful preaching of God's Word and prayer. We have not had a national revival in the United States since 1858, when the Prayer Meeting Revival began in New York City.

 

I came upon a list of seven characteristics in a general accounting of what occurred during this revival in Lenox, Massachusetts. Most interesting to me was what did not occur during this revival. It was not driven by emotional outbursts, but rather was a solid contemplation of the individual's position before God and state of the soul. I intend to summarize the seven points below without much comment. It was a work of God. There was a marked change in the appearance and pursuits of the people. The revival began in the church.

 

When God is about to bestow spiritual blessings upon a people, it is His usual method, first to awake His professed friends out of spiritual sleep. There began a striking importance given to the means of grace. Prayer became precious. The Lord's day was honored. People studied and cherished the Bible with a newfound love.

 

Every opportunity for religious instruction was prized, and fellowship with the people of God involved serious conversation. Nothing was said about dreams and visions, hearing unusual voices, or seeing uncommon sights. No extravagance, either in gestures or outcries, appeared. No wild enthusiasm attended the revival in any stage of it. There was a unity of faith and understanding.

 

There was a focus on the need for regeneration (being born again). There was an additional emphasis on the need for a moral life as evidence of having been justified. All these, and other, aspects of the faith were "received by all with one consent." The revival in this town proved the "death-wound" to vain amusements. The youth are remarkable for their sobriety.

 

One distinguishing feature, both here and elsewhere was humility. Humility has been the common effect of the operation of the Spirit in the hearts of sinners in every age during a revival. The author gives the end result of the effects of the revival in Lenox. He says the result was: happy families, happy neighborhoods, happy societies, happy towns, happy states, happy kingdoms, and a happy world.

 

 If you are one who longs for revival this list is an example of what one looked like. I found numbers four and seven the most interesting, because both of these are not typically what we look for when there is an outburst of God's grace and mercy. I'm not intending to say that God has to work this way. In fact, I gave this list because of how surprised I was by it. If we seek revival, it may be the case that the Lord brings it in ways that we are not expecting.

 

Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman

Also, please know that:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with Joy.
Philippians 1: 3-4

I end each message with "My Blessings, Love & Prayers," I truly mean that, and I pray for each of you every morning and evening.

The Desires of Your Heart

Tonight as I read these scriptures I realize how true they are to the Righteous of God.

God cares about each of us. He knows the desires of our heart. He even knows the simple things that we need to enjoy life.

Read these scriptures and then at the bottom you will read how God has bless Joe and I in even the simple things. The things that some people take for granted everyday. The gift of Love.

The Heritage of the Righteous

Psalm 37

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.

⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.

¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²² For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³ The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.

²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,And dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.

³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;None of his steps shall slide.

³⁴ Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it

³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰ And the Lord shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,Because they trust in Him.

As each of you know we have two daughters by birth. Because of their life occupational choices they have been going to school all their life.

We also have an adopted daughter who also seems to be making herself a career woman. She has her Master's and is a College Basketball Coach.

One of the things we told them was not to get married and have children until they finish their education.

Well, when we said those words we did not know that they were going to make a career out of going to school. LOL!

Our oldest is a Head Assistant Principal, and she is now in her last year working on her Doctorate. When she finishes in May 2014, I understand that she is going to begin school again. Another degree. I told her all contracts are now null and void. Forget what we told them.

Our youngest just finished her Surgical Residency last July, and is a small animal surgeon.

My point here is, Joe and I will be 60 years old on our birthdays. We pray that God will send our daughter's a sold out man of God for them to fall in love, marry and yes, have us some grandbabies.

Well, we are still waiting. God does have a sense of humor I have learned.

About 3 years ago, we have friends visiting us from Louisiana. We were all talking  one day about having grandbabies. I casually mention in the car on the way to eat at Andy's, I guess I will have to adopt me some grandbabies. (Oh, we were going to Andy's to see is Joe and Cleo could eat the big Hamburger Deal they have. You eat a huge burger with fries in a certain amount of time and it cost you nothing.)

As we were on our way, we passed by Golden Carroll, and the men decided to stop there instead. Using the excuse they wanted buffet. We think they just chickened out of eating the homogenous hamburger.

We went in and got our food and was just enjoying talking. Then I noticed a couple with 3 children. The parents were making sure the children were using excellent manners, eating their food and not wasting it. Also, saying yes ma'ma and no sir. And held hands and said their prayer before they ate.

Now you are talking about around the ages 9, 6 and 4.

I could not stand not saying something to them. You all know me and my big mouth.

I went over and thank the parents for raising their children to be respectful and in what truly seem like a Christian atmosphere. I also told them how precious the children were and how beautiful they were.

And of course I mention we did not have any grandchildren, and I hope when we do that ours were as wonderful as their children. Then I said, "I guess because our daughters have made a career out of school, and we are just going to have to adopt us some grandbabies."

When I said that, the couple looked shocked. She look and her husband and said, "Tell her what I just said." He in turn said, "She just said that we were going to have to adopt our children some grandparents.

Now for the rest of the story: We now have 3 beautiful grandchildren, now ages 11, 8, 6. God also blessed us with a new daughter and a new son.

We are now Papa and Nana, and we are having a ball. Papa is putting erector sets together with the boys and I am taking the granddaughter to get our nails done this weekend.

Papa and I have taken them to the movies. We have seen Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, Turbo, and I think the next  movie we are going to is Planes.

Anyway, God has blessed us with grandbabies that may not be our blood, but we could love them no more then if they were. They are such a joy and we want to be around them all the time.

Even if our 11 year old granddaughter painted my fingernails green and blue and ask me to wear to church last Sunday and I DID. Oh, my toenails were blue.

We now understand what it means when someone says, "You will do anything for your grandbabies.

Now, I want you to know that yesterday and today, I told out oldest daughter, "Do you realize that is you and your sister get married and have children in the next 5 years, Daddy and I will be 65 years old. And when they are 10 we will be 75 years old. And when they graduate high school we will be 85 years old.

When I mentioned it again today, we said, "Mama, this is the second day you have told me this." I said, "well, I will say it again tomorrow, because I heard the 3rd time is a charm." LOL

Anyway, church, God has given Joe and I desires of our heart. We now have three beautiful adopted grandbabies. He has did it He's way right now. 

But, I do have faith that if He does not return soon, we will have more grandbabies to love.

Bring them on. The more the better.

Oh, and it looks like our friend who was here is going to get her a grandbaby real soon.

Ain't God Good!

My New Life. Living Healthy in an Unhealthly World - Part 2

 

Proverbs 3:6
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

   

 

 

 

 

 

Is it easy? No! Anything that is worth doing is going to take some work.

 

The pictures above were taken in October 2012.

 

As you can see I need a new wardrobe. I was a size 30/32, and I am now an 18/20.

I just went through my closet and I have 6 BIG bags of clothes to give away.

 

I now own 2 pair of jeans, 1 pair of dress pants, 1 jacket, 4 shirts, and 4 pair of shoes that fit and 1 dress I bought for church two months ago is now to big. Praise God!

 

I still have a long way to go, but with God's help, I know that I will continue in my journery of becoming healthly.

 

I would like to lose 100 more pounds, and be able to keep the weight off.  But to do this, I know I will have to change my lifestyle. I must educate myself by praying, reading God's Word, and doing research, to keep myself motivated.

 

And, I know that I have the support of my family. Praise God!

 

The word DIET is not in my vocabulary, and it will never be. I will always say I am learning to live and eat in a healthy lifestyle.

 

Understand, I had a gastric stapling in 1989, and a repair in 1996, but I lost then gained more back.

 

So, now, God and I want to take a different route so I can live a long life to grow old and happy and enjoy my family and someday my grandchildren.

 

I know you are wondering what I eat? Well, I eat about what I want, except I cook it healthy.

 

I love chicken, fish and all kinds of seafood, so I eat a lot of it. NO Tuna! I just do not care for Tuna. I do eat chicken salad sandwiches.  I love chicken salad. but, no more then 2 pieces of sandwich bread a day.

 

Remember, the key is keeping food in your fridge and cabinets that you can fix fast when you are hungry. Try to set a time to eat everyday.  Yes, I know that it's hard, but just make sure you eat. Your body needs to start your metabolism. If you starve your body, your body will store everything you eat.

 

Also, take the time to make your meal look pleasing.

 

Here are a couple of pictures I have taken of the food I prepared to eat.

 

1. A spring salad with crab meat, shrimp, oranges, and granola. If I want I can eat two plates of salad, but it is better to settle for one plate. Remember, you should eat 6 small meals a day. 3 meals and 3 snacks.

 

I buy the spring salad in the container, (not the bags of lettuce), and you do not wash the spring salad, and it stays fresh in your fridge for two weeks or more. I purchase immitation crab meat in a package ready to eat for $2.50 at a local super market/retail store. I also buy the shrimp in a bag frozen. It is ready to eat. There are about 40-60 shrimp in a bag for $5.00. I get however many shrimp out of the bag and put in hot running water. Then I prepare the other parts of the salad. When I finish, the shrimp  are thawed, and are ready to put on my salad. I keep the seedless fruit ready in my refrigerator. You can add a boiled egg, seedless grapes, pineapple, a few nuts, or just about anything you want to your salad.

 

Just try to keep your fat grams down to less then 9 for a full meal. I usually stay around 5 grams of fat.

Lower your carbohydrates. Yes, you can have about 6 crackers, (whole wheat) if necessary.

If you have a problem with gluten, you can get gluten free crackers.

 

 

 

2, Fish and steamed veggies.

 

I use the bagged steam veggies, but fresh veggies are better for you. But, if you are in a hurry, the steamed bag veggies are fine.

 

 

Question, do I ever want a candy bar, or something I know I should not eat? Well, YES!

And I may treat myself to a treat every once in a while, but, I do not let it make me feel bad or guilty. I enjoy it, then go right back to my routine.

 

Listen, if you crave something, you will eat yourself out of house and home, until you get a taste of whatever it is you want, so go ahead and get it over with and then smile and not let it get you down.

 

A free day is okay, every once in a while.

 

As Paula Deen says, " Sometimes you just need that good ole comfort food."

 

Just do not let a free day be everyday. Just once a week or every two weeks.

 

Well, this is all for today.  Just remember, you have to start somewhere at sometime.

 

Let today be your day.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...........

 





Blessings, Love and Prayers,
Pastor Pat Aman

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Journey of Faith

 

As I began my journey, I topped off at 321 pounds. I am five feet four and one half inches tall. So, I was short and fat. I knew if I wanted to live a happy and healthy life. I had to make some changes.

Yes, in 1989, I had a gastric stapling and lost some weight, but within two years I gained it back, plus more.

Why? I had not learned to eat healthy, and I did not change my lifestyle.

Then in 1996, I had a hernia repair and gastric repair, lost weight again, but I did not learn to eat and live a healthy life, so once more I gained weight back.

In the winter of 2011 I started feeling ready bad. I prayed for God to help me.
I prayed for Him to help me to find a doctor who could show me what I was doing wrong. A doctor who knew about weight lost surgery, but a general surgeon also, because I knew there would be a lot to do to fix what was wrong with me.

God lead me to a great doctor, who found out that everything I was eating was digesting through my system, then re-entering back into my stomach.
I also had adhesions that were causing me so much pain.

Extra note: Since 1989, I have been in and out of the hospital, with intestinal blockages, I developed severe anemia, and my body stopped producing vitamin B-12. I also had a colostomy and a reversal. I had hernia repair, in which I ended up with living with surgical MRSA for a year, then had surgery to clean the MRSA infection out of my abdominal area. When this surgery was completed, I soon found out that I had surgical E-Coli in which I fought for a year.

As you can now see, I was not happy about seeing a doctor, or at the thought of having more surgery.
But on March 21st, 2012, I went into seven plus hour exploratory surgery. In this surgery the doctor had to repair my colon from letting food go back into my stomach. He had to bypass a large amount of my small intestines, and while the exploratory surgery was taking place, he found my liver had adhered to my stomach. He also was looking at the dead stomach, and staples from previous surgeries. So, he repaired what he could to save my life.

I stayed in the hospital for ten days. When I came home, I could do nothing for myself. My husband and daughter took all their days off, then a dear friend came and stayed with me for three weeks, doing everything for me.

What kept me alive of course was God, but my doctor had me to drink three 2-1/2oz bottles of Sunkist Protein everyday. Each bottle had 26 grams of protein. My friend Sam would fix me cream of chicken soup in chicken broth and force it down me a little at a time.

But, I will tell you that I truly believe God and those three bottles of proteins was a life saver.

Now, eight months later, it is God and will-power. But, during this time, I have learned to eat healthy and and keep healthy foods in my cabinets and refrigerator.

My husband and daughters have been very supportive. My youngest daughter said, "Mom, if your grandmother would not recognize it in the grocery store, then do not buy it."

I will get into more details about eating habits in a few days.

But, right now let's look at what God says about your temple.

Being a Christian, I decided that God loved me just as I was, and anyway, I am now 59 years old, and you just gain more weight and it is hard to lose, so I am just supposed to be this way. My dress size went all the way to size 32. At a size 32, I had to shop in expensive stores to find large women's clothes.

WOW! That is the first lie the devil was throwing at me.

Well, now I was letting the devil steal money from me. My suits were costing me over two hundred dollars and higher, because I was a minister, so I had to dress and look nice, right?

My husband would tape all the messages I preached, and when I looked at them I wanted to cry. Yes, I looked nice, but I was not showing the world that I was keeping God's Temple healthy.
Preaching one way and living another. "Keep your temple clean, and I was filling mine with junk foods."

I would even laugh and say to people, "hey, the Bible says in Malachi chapter four that the righteous of the Lord will be made fat, like a stall fed calf. And that is my story and I am sticking to it!"

I was watching TV awhile back, and there was a news report on showing the celebration of the oldest women in America. They asked her how she lived so long. Her answer was, "I do not eat junk food, and I stay out of other peoples' business." Now that is another sermon for sure.

Psalm 37:4

(KJV)

⁴ Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

I knew that to do the work God has called me to do, I needed to be healthy mind, body and soul. And if I delighted myself in the Lord that He would help me achieve the goals and desires of my heart.

So, for the first time in my life, I totally gave God my total mind, body, soul, and my eating habits. This was mean a drastic change to my life. No more diets, and to take the word diet out of my vocabulary, and replace it with healthy eating. Not just watching calories, but fat grams, carbohydrates, and sugars. Yes, reading labels.

I could hear the voice of the devil again, "eating healthy is costly." Well, friends, that is just another lie, because the only costly thing about not eating healthy is the loss of health and the enjoyment of life.

So, tonight I will end the first section of this blog by saying, "make your mind up that you want to live, and do not look at the five pounds to maybe the two hundred plus pounds you need to lose. Just take one step at a time and one day at a time, and God will guide and help you through your journery.

I look forward to sharing more with you in tomorrows night's blog. Please let me hear from you.

God bless you,

Patricia Aman, Phd

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