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Pamela Friesen
 Hello, I am Pamela Friesen, a Weigh Down Workshop Online Coordinator. As a member of Weigh Down Workshop MY LIFE HAS CHANGED. I am JOYFUL all the time! Before Weigh Down, I went to churches all my life only to be full of anger, control, lust, pride, rebellion, anti-authority, disrespect and then became 105 pounds overweight. My back and hips hurt, lungs and heart were stressed, had hypoglycemic symptoms, stomach, gastric, digestive and circulatory problems. Our finances were out of control. Church and life in general was all about me. I tried many diets, starved myself with anorexia, tried exercise and weight lifting and knew nothing worked permanently. I always felt deep down, if I spent this much time on my body and not on what God wanted, it wasn’t right. The problem was that I didn’t know how to DO what God wanted.
Hopeless, angry, and broken, I found Weigh Down which taught me hope in God and how to DO His will! I was so happy to turn, repent, and replace love for food with love for God, and I lost over 100 pounds. What really pierced my heart was learning that my anger was sinful. I was mean, unkind, rude, obnoxious, impatient, and gruff. I loved getting angry. It made me excited watching people react to my anger. Anger drove my life. It was the underlying force that kept me rebellious, lustful, prideful, disrespectful, controlling and anti-authority. I was a horrible wife and had used food to satisfy my anger. I began crying out to God for how to remove the anger from my heart. Suddenly it popped into my head, "You know what to do, you have done it with the food." I had done it; turn, repent and focus on God! I praise God for having so much mercy. I cannot believe it. It is a huge miracle of God to be able to bear the fruit of the Spirit instead of anger.
John 5 tells about the man that Jesus healed and told him to "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk". In verse 14 Jesus says to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." I am well again and have stopped sinning. Whatever God gives to test my devotion to Him is only a chance to share in Christ’s suffering and focus All Love and Glory on God. All glory to God that He has healed my marriage, my attitude, my life, my body and our finances. I now know how to live free from sin. There is no other way to live. Jesus said, "The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life," John 6:63. I used to force a smile for attention to self. Now I can’t keep from smiling for attention to God and can’t wait to have opportunity to say, "Praise God!" I do have deep gratitude for the Shamblin family. This is life, truth, and peace. I know how to DO the will of God. It’s ALL about and for God Almighty! I finally learned true repentance and am here, alive today set free from sinning, false religion, financial problems, the extra weight, and the all the other physical conditions forever! My relationship with God is 100 times improved and everything is God.
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