Experience Your Own 15-Minute Miracle!

By Julie Morris –

If you knew that you could spend just 15 minutes a day—and it would change your life in incredible ways—would you do it every day?

I discovered almost 30 years ago how to start my day in a brand new way, and I have been amazed at the results: I have been able to do things that I thought were impossible! Because I seek the Lord first thing every morning, I have lost my harmful extra pounds and have kept them off. And I’ve lost most of the worries that weighed me down as well. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not.

Here’s what I do:

I have a prayer journal—a loose-leaf notebook with 5 dividers and lots of notebook paper. I write in my journal during those 15 minutes so I can stay focused and take advantage of every second.

Section #1 Prayers. I spend 3 minutes using the ACTS structure of prayer so I come into God’s presence with ADORATION, CONFESSION, THANKSGIVING and last, SUPPLICATION (intercessory prayers). Before I started using this type of prayer format, I spent most of my time asking God for things, or heaven forbid (!), telling Him what to do.

Section #2 Organization. I spend 3 minutes looking at how I did the day before to see if I have been off track. On my Monthly Activities Sheet I record how I spent the day before (I write the date in the left margin and record activities for each day of the month on one line per day). During the 3 minutes in my Organization section, I also write what I ate the day before, and I write down how I did with other weaknesses.

Section #3 Journaling. I spend 3 minutes journaling about my problems. I have found that in this section I am able to cast my cares on the Lord—not the refrigerator, pray about the problems that I will have to face that day and plan how I will handle them.

Section #4 Meditation. I send 3 minutes meditating on a verse. I choose the verse as I read ½ chapter of the Bible each day and find one verse that stands out. I consider this verse a letter to me from God and respond by writing Him a short letter (2-3 sentences) about what His Words mean to me that day. There are many other ways I meditate on Scripture. I’ll tell you about them next month.

Section #5 Memorization. I spend 3 minutes memorizing an encouraging Bible verse. I write it in this section of my notebook. Then I put it on an index card and take it with me to study while stuck in traffic, in line at the grocery store or waiting on hold when I’m on the phone. During my memorizing time on the following days, I continue to work on this verse until I know it well, but I keep it in my memory section to review from time to time. I have learned lots of ways to make memorizing fun and have found that memorizing Scripture is the best way to get God’s Word from my head to my heart.

I have discovered that when I have a daily quiet time in this manner consistently each morning, my days go so much better. I am able to rely on God’s power—not my faltering willpower. I am directed by His Word—not driven by my circumstances, and I am guided by Him—not my feelings or worldly desires. Email me at julie@guidedbyhim.com if you want to know more about how to experience your own 15-minute miracle.

Is There a Ravenous Monster Living Inside of You?

By Julie Morris –

Some of us feel like we have a Ravenous Monster living inside of our stomachs. He growls angrily when he is hungry, and when we feed him the comfort foods he demands, he is stilled momentarily—but all too soon he growls for more and more. Nothing seems to satisfy him.

If you can identify with the Ravenous Monster I’m describing, I want to give you some food for thought: The more we feed him, the hungrier he gets!

But there is a way to defeat the Ravenous Monster and calm our cravings. Try this experiment for one week and see if you can make your Monster meeker:
1. List foods that make you hungrier (for example, candy, desserts, fast foods, comfort foods). Everyone is different so listen to your body and recognize the foods that awaken your Monster within.
2. List ways of eating that make you hungrier (for example, eating too much, standing, second helpings, gulping, grazing, in front of the TV, in the car, in certain restaurants, with certain “binge buddies”).
3. Stay away from these things for one week.

At the end of that time, see if you have made your Monster meeker. If your cravings have diminished, extend your experiment another week—then another. While you’re at it, start other habits that will do away with his ravenous roaring:
1. Pray before eating anything–that the Lord will satisfy your desires with good things (Psalm 103:5).
2. Every morning, ask God to be Lord over your eating that day. Don’t allow yourself to have “two masters” (Matthew 6:24).
3. Don’t make excuses. Recognize how destructive overeating is to you (Philippians 3:19).
4. When you are tempted, praise God that you are more than a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:37).
5. Picture yourself receiving God’s power to make healthy choices in your eating—one day a time (2 Corinthians 9:8).

If you do these things, you might discover, like many of us across the country, that you can be free of cravings.

Eating certain foods and eating in certain ways awakens the Ravenous Monster within–and you can choose not to do that. Instead, you can join us in saying, “A few minutes of chewing is just not worth it! I will not be controlled by my cravings. Instead, I will do what it takes to make my Monster meeker!”

God Promises to Rescue Us from Pit-iful Living!

By Julie Morris –

There’s nothing I wanted more than to lose weight… yet I struggled for 30 miserable years, humiliated by extra pounds, failed diets and vicious cycles of shame and bingeing. Finally I discovered the way out of that pitiful way of living and I lost my weight in 1982 and have kept it off. My secret isn’t a secret at all: I learned practical things I could do to rely on God’s power at work in me.

The Message Bible paraphrase explains exactly what happened to me, and what can happen to you too. It might sound too good to be true, but I can tell you from personal experience that it’s not. “God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating” (Colossians 1:13-14).

If you’re trying to quit overeating or turn from other destructive habits, let me ask you a few questions to help you understand the awesome promises and commands in this short passage. Take a few minutes right now and write out your answers:

1. What dead-end alley or dark dungeon are you trapped in?

2. What sins have you felt doomed to keep repeating?

3. What are you doing to allow God to rescue you? If you’re not doing anything, what can you do to reach out to Him?

4. Has Jesus ever helped you to get out of “pit-iful” living? How did He help you? If you haven’t experienced His help, do you know anyone who has? Call and ask them about it!

5. Do you believe that Jesus can set you free? Do you believe that He will? If not, ask Him to give you faith to believe that He keeps His promises.

6. Say this prayer out loud:

God, thank You for promising to rescue me from the dead-end alleys I have been wandering down. I’ve been struggling so hard, but getting nowhere. It feels like I keep going down the same road…over and over…until I hit a brick wall and there’s no place else to go, so I go back and do the same thing all over again.

I have often felt like I was living in a dark dungeon—depressed and ashamed. But, even though I don’t deserve it, You promise to set me up in the kingdom of Your Son. And You tell me something else amazing: Jesus has already gotten me out of the pit and my pit-iful way of living! And He has gotten rid of the sins I felt doomed to keep repeating! The prison door is open. My white linen suit is there waiting for me. All I have to do is to take His hand and let Him lead me out!

I am no longer a victim, but a Victor in Christ. I am no longer a creature of habit, but a New Creation in Christ. I am no longer a pitiful failure, but a Precious Child of God through Christ.

Help me, Lord, to live in the kingdom You have promised me. Show me practical things I can do to reach out to You so I can experience this new higher way of living—out of the pit…out of the shame. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Julie Morris is the founder of two weight-loss programs, Step Forward www.stepforwarddiet.com and Guided By Him www.guidedbyhim.com—a lighter and easier version of Step Forward. She is the author of 12 books and a dynamic motivational speaker. If you are experiencing pit-iful living, contact her at julie@guidedbyhim.com.

Are You Eating But Not Satisfied?

By Julie Morris –

Have you ever noticed how often the Bible says, “You will eat and be satisfied”? What a wonderful promise we can claim! But some people miss out on this blessing. Instead, they are like I was—continuing to search for something to satisfy their hunger—when God had already provided it.

Let me tell you about someone else who hungered needlessly:
A poor young man, named Antonio, lived in Italy in the early 1900s. He dreamed of coming to America, so he worked to save his money and his family took up a collection for him. Finally he had enough to book passage on a ship. His mother packed him a large basket of food and he was on his way.

He tried not to eat much, but a week into the voyage his food ran out. Desperate for something to eat, he searched the upper decks where the rich people stayed. He discovered that when they didn’t want to go to the beautiful dining room, they had food delivered to their rooms. When they finished eating, they’d put their trays in the hall for the steward to carry away. Sometimes, there was food they didn’t eat on those trays: stale bread, dried chicken bones and sour milk. Though they tasted terrible, Antonio devoured these left-overs.

Finally, on the last evening of the voyage, a steward spied Antonio as he searched through one of the trays sitting in the corridor. When Antonio told him what he was doing, the steward’s expression reflected his amazement. The steward asked Antonio sadly, “Didn’t you know that the meals are included with the price of a ticket?”

Let me ask you a question.

Are you living like Antonio—famished and constantly searching for something to satisfy your hunger when God has already paid the price so that you can eat and be satisfied?

In Psalm 103:5, God tells us that He satisfies the hungry with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. And in Psalm 63:5, He tells us that when we have a close personal relationship with Him—loving Him, praising Him, clinging to Him—our souls will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.

I know from experience that Psalm 103:5 is true. I lost my weight over 25 years ago—and my horrendous food cravings disappeared with my harmful extra pounds. I discovered that God really does satisfy the hungry with good things—things that are good for us. And I can tell you too that I feel better (and younger) now than I did all those years ago.

I also know that Psalm 63:5 is true. When I learned practical things I could do to draw closer to Jesus and be guided by Him, my soul became satisfied…as with the richest of foods.

Thankfully, I am no longer living like Antonio—eating but not satisfied. But if you are, don’t give up. There’s hope for you!

Adapted from Guided By Him…to a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You!

Julie Morris is the author of 12 books, a dynamic motivational speaker and founder of two Christian weight-loss programs: Step Forward (www.stepforwarddiet.com) and a lighter and easier version of Step Forward, Guided By Him (www.guidedbyhim.com).

The Day the Blackbirds Came

By Julie Morris –

The blackbirds descended suddenly on my backyard one quiet winter morning years ago. I could hardly believe my eyes as hundreds of them arrived squawking loudly to one another and perched themselves on every branch of every tree as far as my eyes could see, even in the woods behind my flowerbeds. It felt like a scene straight out of the old Hitchcock movie, The Birds.

When they arrived, I had been writing in my prayer journal. Only what I wrote wasn’t a prayer, but a gloomy list of all of the things I hated about myself: I ate too much, didn’t exercise enough, needed to pray more and watch TV less.… The list went on and on. I remember thinking at the time that this list reminded me of one I had made so many years earlier when I was a little girl. I took the list to my mother and she hugged me, and with tears in her eyes, she told me that I was precious to her just the way I was. Oh, how I longed for my mother. She had been deceased for so many years.

A quiet tug at my spirit brought me back to the present and seemed to be saying, “Pay attention to the blackbirds, because they will show you what is happening to you right now.”

Not knowing what that meant, I went back to my list and the thoughts that had been overwhelming me. I was thinking the all-too-familiar “I wasn’t good enough and never would be…” when a verse I had memorized years earlier floated into my mind. I couldn’t remember where it was or exactly what it said, but the words penetrated deep into my soul: “Who will free me from my slavery to sin? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord! He has set me free.”

“Wow!” I said to myself, “Jesus has already freed me!” Suddenly, the shame caused by all those things on my list lifted, and I looked up and saw hundreds of blackbirds, as if on cue, instantly fly away.

Ever since then, when the blackbirds descended on me and I have felt overwhelmed by my sins and weaknesses, I have thought about those words in Romans 7:21-25 (Living Bible), “So you see how it is: my new life tells me to do right, but the old nature that is still inside me loves to sin. Oh, what a terrible predicament I’m in! Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. He has set me free.”

Julie Morris is the author of 12 books, a dynamic motivational speaker and founder of two Christian weight-loss programs: Step Forward (www.stepforwarddiet.com) and a lighter and easier version of Step Forward, Guided By Him (www.guidedbyhim.com).

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