Episode 084-Flesh Versus Spirit This episode is going to be the first in a series I’m doing based around the book of Romans. It’s really a book that talks to us about Spirit-led Transformation so that will be a topic we’ll be exploring for the next several months. Because these episodes are so foundational I am putting them into a course that will include the transcript, action steps and challenges. Those last three will only be available to those in Overcomers Christian Weight Loss...

Episode 241-Finding Freedom One minute I was sitting in the green metal lawn chair in my uncle’s front yard, talking and laughing with my aunt while cousins and our children played hide and go seek. The next minute I felt the bending and eventual collapse of the rounded legs of the chair as they slowly lowered me to the ground. Even though I’m sure the sight of a 430-pound woman sitting on a pile of metal was funny, all laughter stopped. My uncle jumped up to help me. Being super morbidly...

Episode 240-What God Wants I’ve learned since childhood that I should listen to God. I knew He wanted me to give up sugar and flour and eat more meat, fruits, and vegetables. However, I continued to do the opposite. I was like the people of Jeremiah’s day. “We will not listen to your messages from the Lord. We will do whatever we want … For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles!” (Jeremiah 4:16-17 NLT). My desire to do my own thing regarding what I ate...

Episode 239-King of My Heart Who or what is King of your heart, the most important thing in your life? The first stanza of the song, King of My Heart says, “I’m in a war every minute. I know for sure I’ll never win it. I am David up against Goliath and it’s a fight for my attention. I’m being pulled every direction.” However, David’s real giant was not a huge hairy man, but a beautiful woman named Bathsheba. He saw her. He wanted her. He took her even though she was married and knew it was...

Episode 238-Intimacy I love this episode! I love talking about real intimacy with my husband and with Jesus. Intimacy is a deep, close relationship that makes us feel validated and safe  In simple language  Jesus told us how to be his intimate friends “You show you are my intimate friends when you obey all that I command you … I call you My intimate friends for I reveal to you everything I have heard from My Father” (John 15:14-15 TPT).  Obedience to God unlocks the door to intimacy with...

One of my issues growing up was I was the oldest child and my mother had many issues that caused her to be unable to do a lot of household duties. Many of these fell to me because otherwise they wouldn’t get done. So, as the oldest child of three, I stepped into a controlling, bossy mini-Mom.  From an early age I took on a works mentality. I took over Mom’s duties to they would get done. I did housework, laundry, cooked supper, took care of the kids, and did my own homework and school...

Episode 236-Hiding from Fear? Are you afraid of people, things you failed at, things that want to make you go somewhere and hide and never come out again? Many are. This episode contains a fictional story about a woman who wanted to just live never having to deal with fear. When she thought about stepping outside the room, she felt naked, exposed, and vulnerable. To go for her dreams felt way too difficult, impossible, and scary. Fear can keep us stuck. Fear can cause us to disconnect from...

Episode 235-Self-Effort Are you doing things in your own self-effort? Or are you doing them with God’s help and strength? How do you know? How can you do things with Him instead of for yourself? Overcomers Academy link: https://TeresaShieldsParker.com/Overcomers  

Episode 234-Who Am I? Who am I? Who are you? Many times in our lives, people knowingly or unknowingly tell us who we are. This happened to me when I was six years old. At the time, I didn’t really know what was said would define me. I tried to push it out of my mind. It stayed there until another similar statement when I was an adult jogged my memory. And I realized how what was said along with what others said had set the tone for my life. I finally understood that I should allow no one...

Episode 233-Forgiven I sat on the back deck of the lodge at the north rim of the Grand Canyon while my family was hiking. I just wanted to sit there forever and take in the glory and the splendor of God’s majestic, vast creation. The canyon is miles across. It looked huge. I thought of the song, “There is a cross to bridge the great divide.” The width of the chasm visibly reinforced the fact there is a wide gulf between me and God. There is no earthly way I can jump to the other side of the...

Episode 232-Am I Greedy? I never really thought of myself as greedy, but my journey has really been one of greed. What is greed? The definition of greed is “an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food.” Did you get that? It’s not just an intense desire for money or position. It’s also a selfish desire for food!  Are you greedy? Listen to this episode to find out if you are and what to do about it. Overcomers Academy Link:...

Episode 231-Deception A person who deceives is one who misleads by a false appearance or statement. Isn’t it interesting Satan can appear as an angel of light.  One big deception the enemy threw to me was that I needed food to eat so I could eat all I wanted to. The devil is a deceiver who turns something, which looks good, into something which leads to death, even though it may be a while coming. So what can we do when we have bought into a lie that has become such a habit we think we can...

Episode 230-Prayer Answers For many years I was frustrated because I would pray and it felt like God wasn’t answering my prayers. I knew the Bible said He would, but I didn’t believe it because I wasn’t experiencing the answers I wanted, which was to have my mother healed of her bipolar disorder. They weren’t selfish prayers so why wasn’t He answering? This episode examines two huge instances of how God answered prayer but it wasn’t because of me. It was because it was because it was in...

Episode 229-This is My Surrender The other day I was listening to a church service and they were singing, “I will Make Room”. As I sang along with them the words arrested me. “Here is where I lay it down. Every burden and every crown. This is my surrender. This is my surrender.” God stopped me and asked, “How are  burdens and crowns alike so that when we lay them down they define surrender?” Burdens are negative. Crowns are positive. We want to get rid of burdens. Crowns are what God gives...

Episode 228-Backdoor Grace "Crisco, Crisco fat in the can" churned around and around in my head for decades after a three-year-old said that to me when I was 11. He said it so he could distract me.  Thoughts of I am fat went through my conscious mind and were archived in my subconscious right then. Our childhood emotions can lie dormant for years ready and waiting to be retrieved and then expressed in our actions.  Through the years I did gain weight. God told me what to do, but I didn’t...

Episode 227-Lies or Truth? It’s hard for children to separate truth from lies. When we grow up lies from childhood still chase us and take us down treacherous roads.  Then my lies sounded like this: “I can eat whatever I want whenever I want it. If I want sugar or dessert I can eat as much as I want. It doesn’t hurt me. If I’m upset foods with carbohydrates will make me feel better.” Losing physical weight is wonderful. Many things change just because of being thinner, such as having more...

Episode 226-I Can't Lose Weight I CAN’T lose weight, I just can’t. I carried this feeling of defeat with me for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was always outgrowing my clothes. Hey, it’s what kids do. They grow.  It was true, as a child I couldn’t lose weight. I was designed to grow, not lose weight. The difficult part, especially for a child, is separating out what is true and what is a lie. A child is not meant to understand all of this. They are to be loved and supported by the...

Episode 225-Listen to Gdd All the time there are at least three voices vying for our attention: my voice, the tempter’s voice, and God’s voice. For years, though, I listened to the tempter’s voice constantly. It always has an element of truth to it. What he tells me is half-truth, half-lie. In the past he hadn’t needed to be too subtle. He just put the bait out there and like a hungry, naïve fish, I’d bite, and gobble it up plus more.  I listened because my rational mind agreed with him. My...

Episode 224-Fighting the Battle Eleven years ago I weighed 430 pounds. Now let’s be honest that’s really, really large, especially for a woman who isn’t that tall. I’ve lost 250 pounds and I feel a whole lot better. However, to me the more important thing is I’ve undergone a total lifestyle change of a slow, steady weight loss. No matter what the quick fix, it doesn’t work to keep the weight loss off. We must change our habits. It’s not easy, but it is worth it.  The only way to change our...

Episode 223- God's Great Adventure Most of us love a good adventure story. I love Sunday nights when we’d hear foreign missionaries tell us about their adventures. They seemed so different from my life, which was very boring in comparison. I longed for a bit of adventure, and a great adventure with God would be even better. Back then I didn't have the concept that following God completely would always be a great adventure all on its own.  I’ve learned since then that there is nothing more...

Episode 222-Confessions of a Sugar Addict I am a sugar addict, set free by God Almighty. Most people greatly dislike the concept of surrender. It feels too hard, too difficult, too unnerving to actually give in to God. To me it is just the opposite. Surrender is beautiful because we finally discard everything we’ve been holding on to that is keeping us from being all-in with God. Surrender is a key concept on the journey out of sugar and food addiction.   It took me a long time to...

Episode 221-Eating Myself to Death Most of us want to blame someone else for any problem we have. I knew good and well no one was to blame for my extreme weight gain, but me, myself, and I.  My desire to do my own thing regarding what I ate and how I didn’t exercise or listen to God about my health was not working well for me. As a matter of fact, I was eating myself into an early grave. The cardiac surgeon told me that and stamped an expiration date on me if I didn’t lose 100 pounds and...

Episode 220-Move My Mountain In order to lose weight and keep it off we have to begin and continue.  We have to be committed to transformation. I was a reluctant loser, but God helped me lose 250 of the 430 pounds I once had on my body.  I say I was a reluctant loser because God told me to give up sugar and I didn’t want to. Today, I'm a Christian weight loss author, coach, speaker and podcaster. I pray my story impacts and moves you to do what God wants you to do, whatever that is. If you...

Episode 219-Overcomers Academy New God called me to coach others with weight issues after I lost 250 pounds. With His help I’ve been coaching now for 10 years. I was hesitant, but I have learned if God calls me I don’t have to worry about my qualifications. When God asks us to do a specific task, He and He alone will qualify us.  He goes before us to pave the way. He is all we need to complete whatever He calls us to do. “It is not your strength, but it is God who is effectively at work in...