Alexis A. Goring -- Overcoming Sugar Addiction

Author Alexis A. Goring

Alexis, welcome to Overcoming With God.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers! It's an especially timely topic during summer. Thanks for sharing!

Would you tell us about the one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

One of the most difficult things in my life that I had to overcome was my addiction to refined sugar. I used to crave it morning, noon and night. The cravings would not subside until I feed it with something sweet. Some people can simply sleep off the cravings but I’m a natural night owl so I couldn’t resolve it with a good night’s sleep and that’s when the cravings would hit me the hardest.

Sugar --image from Pixabay

Thankfully, through prayer and fasting, God helped me to overcome my cravings for refined sugar. It wasn’t easy but it was worth it. When the sugar cravings hit, I coped by eating oatmeal and fresh fruit. I did this fast a few summers ago when nectarines were in season and that was my substitute for refined sugar. As the days and weeks continued without me giving into my cravings, the nectarines started to taste sweeter and my appetite grew to be satisfied without consuming sugar. By the 41^st day, I felt free. No longer do I experience midnight cravings for sugar that won’t let up until I give in. Years later, I still don’t crave it like crazy and I am so grateful that God honored my fast and set me free from the stronghold of sugar.

I know that my prayers coupled with the prayers of my prayer warrior friend really helped me to reach the point where I no longer craved sugar. I am forever grateful to that friend and to God for working together to set me free.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

Philippians 4:13 was a very helpful Bible verse to me during that time because it taught me that I can do ALL things through Jesus Christ who, in this case, can strengthen me to overcome my sugar addiction.

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

Prayer support from a prayer warrior friend and a few pastors who I talked to about my sugar addiction. My own prayers to God coupled with fasting helped me to cope with this difficulty.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? 

Do you have any in large print? 

No, neither of my books are available in audio format or in large print. Sorry.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

No, I don’t. Sorry.

BIO: Alexis A. Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.

Alexis A. Goring’s Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexisAGoring/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PennedbyAlex

Website: https://alexisagoring.jimdo.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/capturingidea/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7260528.Alexis_A_Goring

“God is Love” blog: http://capturingtheidea.blogspot.com 

Book Links for A Second Chance:

Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/2kAP4HX

B&N - http://bit.ly/2uguncU

BAM! - http://bit.ly/2tafzga

Giveaway: Leave an answer to Alexis's question to enter for the giveaway of Alexis's romance! Question:Have you ever needed a second chance? If so, share your story.

When My Husband Overcame Cancer - by Erica Vetsch

Overcoming With God – Guest Post

By Erica Vetsch

July 29^th, 2016.

That’s a day I will never forget. Heading to the hospital with my husband whom we thought might be suffering from appendicitis or a hernia.

The tests. The waiting. Then the doctor returning with a sober expression. She said a word I never wanted to hear again as related to one of my loved ones.

She said…cancer.

Time stopped, my mind went blank, inside somewhere a voice was shouting, NO! Inside I was shaking my head, handing back that word and saying, “no, thank you.” But there was no going back.

That moment became a continental divide in my life. There were times before we knew. There are times after we knew.

Surgery, recovery, doctors, scans, blood tests. Chemo pills, insurance, appointments. We are blessed to live in the same town as the world famous Mayo Clinic with the best oncologists and surgeons on the planet. God sent us a surgeon who is not only the best in the world at GI Oncology surgery, but he’s also a Kansas University grad and big-time Jayhawk fan. (Anyone who knows me knows I am crazy about Jayhawks basketball.) God gave us a wonderful oncologist who specializes in sarcomas, and a nurse practitioner who knows Jesus and is such an encouragement to us!

Through all of this, our church stepped up in a huge way, loving on us with meals and prayer and encouragement through the surgery and recovery time, and they continue to bless us in lots of ways. Peter said it was like seeing the Love of God in action. People not just ‘doing’ church but ‘being’ The Church.

When people online and in person asked how they could pray for us, my answer was always for peace and strength. The Peace of God that passes all understanding and the strength that comes from the Everlasting Arms.

I remember, a couple of days after Peter’ surgery, when we received the initial pathology confirming what the doctors thought, that my husband had a massive tumor that was replicating at an incredible rate, that I felt peace. A peace that had nothing to do with me. I knew that had to come from God. God was using the prayers of His people and the faith that He had begun in my life decades ago to bring peace in the midst of our storm.

There have been tears, there has been a lot of prayer, and surprisingly, there has been laughter. We feel things more deeply, and we express those feelings more readily. We know the reality of not being promised tomorrow, and we are learning to trust and lean on God’s strength for today. Our hope rests in the promises of our forever future, and our eyes are fixed on that eternal goal.

This journey through cancer will, I hope, be a long one. I hope we have a lot of routine CT scans and blood tests ahead of us. As of now, the doctors are declaring my husband cancer-free, and the chemo he is taking is to assure that no cancer will return. And because God has proven His faithfulness over and over, we rest in the assurance that no matter what the coming days and years bring, He is strong enough to carry us through.

Bio: Erica Vetsch is a transplanted Kansan now residing in Minnesota. She loves history and romance, and is blessed to be able to combine the two by writing historical romances. Whenever she’s not immersed in fictional worlds, she’s the company bookkeeper for the family lumber business, mother of two, wife to a man who is her total opposite and soul-mate, and avid museum patron.

Giveaway: A paperback copy of Seven Brides for Seven Texans Romance Collection.

Child Overcoming a Malignant Brain Tumor - Testimony by Dineen Miller

Dineen, welcome to Overcoming With God blog.  We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Thank you for having me! Always happy to share. Testimonies are powerful and encouraging. I love being encouraged by them and also love encouraging others with my own.

Would you tell us about one of the most difficult things in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help? 

In 2008, our 14-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Things moved very quickly after that—two surgeries, radiation treatments, MRIs, doctor appointments...and a string of miracles that continued to be revealed several years after it all culminated.

Before we even knew what was wrong, God answered in a moment of fervent prayer from a worried mother’s heart, “She’ll be okay.” I was relieved but realized God was telling me this because whatever was coming would be big. And He continued to answer and be very present through all of it.

Amazingly this unfolded after I had developed the story of The Soul Saver, a story about a mismatched couple, Hugh and Lexie Balitmore, who lost their toddler daughter to a malignant brain tumor. In the story, Hugh is a physics professor at Stanford University. In real life, a physics professor at Stanford University designed my daughter’s radiation treatments. It was all very surreal. Trips to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital also became research for the story I was writing. 

Through this and various challenges sine I learned that God is very complete and multifaceted in His love and provision. His ways are surprising and He always seems to have more than one purpose in what He does. But He always works to bring good out of everything we face. And since then I’ve learned that for every challenge we face, He’s already put a promise and provision in place for us.

What passages in the Bible have been most helpful to you in those times?

Romans 8:28 has been a life long favorite but truly came to life during that time. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

Psalms 91 and 27 are a powerful prayers of protection over ourselves and our family. 1 Peter 5:6-10 is about giving God our worries and trusting Him to restore and make us strong, firm and steadfast.

There are so many promises in the Bible. God’s Word is one big promise revealed in Jesus. I love 1 Cor. 14:1 so much. It follows the love chapter. It’s my ultimate verse to guide me in every thing I do. “Let love be your highest goal.”

How has praying helped you to overcome?

In the beginning of 2014, everything around me looked ideal. Yet inside I completely collapsed. My body rejected a medication I’d been taking for my thyroid, and all the stress of taking care of my daughter, ministry, writing and striving hit me with a powerful punch.

I met with God every morning on my porch with my Bible and my journal. Each day I would start with reading the Scripture the Holy Spirit had shown me to write down the day before and pray it out loud over myself. This is the key to what Romans 12:2 calls the transformed mind. I did this every day for several months. The result was a healed mind and thyroid. I continue to speak the truth and promises of God’s Word out over myself and my family. God spoke the world into existence and Jesus is the Word (John 1). That’s why the Bible says our words are life and death. What are we speaking everyday over ourselves, our family, our friends, even our nation? Praying Scripture is powerful and life giving. Jeremiah 1:9 says that God watches over His Word to perform it. That’s a HUGE promise!

What helped you get through or helped you cope with this difficulty?

Knowing without a doubt that no matter how bad things may look, that doesn't change or diminish God’s goodness and power. Romans 8 where the Holy Spirit sat me for weeks and began to reveal the lies I’d believed and brought me to the freedom we truly have in God’s love. I recommend that chapter a lot. It’s life changing.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

I wish I did have more to offer there. My two nonfiction books, Winning Him Without Words, and Not Alone are available in audio.

In this latest work, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

The Soul Saver deals with being spiritually mismatched and shows how we stand in faith in these places and learn to love others unconditionally just as Jesus loves us. Many of the keys I wrote about in Winning Him Without Words are shown through the characters in this story. So, if you’re in a spiritually mismatched marriage, I pray this book encourages you and inspires you to pray and hope for more what you can think or imagine for your marriage and your spouse (Eph. 3:20)

Question you’d like to ask readers:

What kind of stories inspire you? What parts of a story stay with you and continue to inspire you in your life?

CFP: MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR WRITING!!! Thank you for sharing with us, Dineen. What a powerful testimony of God's faithfulness!

Thank you! 

Bio:

Dineen Miller is passionate about God’s Word and truth. She’s been featured the Moody Radio Network, Focus on the Family Radio, Dr. James Dobson’s FamilyTalk, FamilyLife Today and INSIGHT on Miracle Channel. Dineen is the coauthor of the award winning book, Winning Him Without Words and Not Alone: Trusting God to Raise Godly Kids in a Spiritually Mismatched Home. She is also the author of the ACFW Carol Award winning book, The Soul Saver. She and her husband love to collect shells and walk the famous white sands of Siesta Key Beach. Visit Dineen online at SpirituallyUnequalMarriage.com and DineenMiller.com.

My Links:

My books: http://dineenmiller.com/books/

Websites:

http://www.dineenmiller.com

http://spirituallyunequalmarriage.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/dineen.miller

Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/SpirituallyUnequalMarriage

Twitter:  @dineenmiller

GoodReads author page:  http://www.goodreads.com/dineenmiller  

GIVEAWAY: We're giving away Dineen's ACFW Carol Award winner The Soul Saver and we have a secret Christmas book (from Barbour) we're also giving away during this Barbour-palooza month on OWG blog. Leave a comment to enter.