Dr. Laurette Willis joins us today to spill some seriously uplifting gems about the power of laughter and faith in our fitness journeys. Right off the bat, we dive into how laughter isn't just a good time—it's a healing force, both physically and spiritually. You’ll hear about her unique approach with Praise Moves, a Christian alternative to yoga that emphasizes stretching and scripture, proving that it's perfectly fine to have your cake and eat it too… just maybe not every day. We chat about her personal journey from emotional eating to finding joy in fitness and faith, and trust me, it’s a wild ride. So grab your favorite snack—maybe a carrot cake if you’re feeling cheeky—and let’s get into how we can all embrace a little more joy and a lot less guilt in our lives.

Dr. Laurette Willis brings a refreshing dose of joy and laughter into the often serious conversation about health and fitness. Her approach, which she terms 'Praise Moves,' is a unique blend of physical exercise intertwined with spiritual growth. Throughout the episode, we get a glimpse into her personal journey—a journey that began with emotional eating at a young age as a way to cope with her surroundings. She shares her early experiences of growing up in a seemingly perfect family that was marred by alcoholism and emotional turmoil, leading her to seek solace in food. But that was just the beginning. Dr. Willis recounts her transformative moment when she surrendered her life to Christ, turning her struggles into a ministry aimed at helping others find their way. The conversation flows into the importance of laughter as a healing tool, with Dr. Willis emphasizing that 'a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' Her insights are not just theoretical; they are backed by her personal experiences and supported by scripture, making for a compelling and relatable narrative. For anyone grappling with their relationship to food, fitness, or faith, this episode offers a blend of encouragement, humor, and actionable insights to help navigate the complexities of life, especially during the food-filled holiday season.

Takeaways:

• Dr. Laurette Willis emphasizes the importance of joy and laughter as healing tools, particularly in fitness and spiritual contexts.
• Praise Moves is introduced as a Christian alternative to yoga, highlighting the incorporation of scripture during physical activity.
• The podcast discusses the dangers of emotional eating and how food can become a coping mechanism for deeper emotional issues.
• Listeners are encouraged to renew their minds with the Word of God as a way to overcome struggles with food and emotional addictions.

Links referenced in this episode:

• praisemoves.com
• christianweightlosskit.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Praise Moves
• Christian weight loss
• cancer treatment centers of America

Foreign.

And we have been two little ladies giggling over here.

I had to press record because this is energy.

And I am so blessed to have Dr. Lorette with me today.

Thank you, Ashley.

It is a blessed blast being here today.

I'm so thrilled.

It's wonderful.

We are, you know, you know, the joy of the Lord is your strength.

And we've got that joy unspeakable and full of glory.

And it just, it spills out of us, you know, in laughter.

And laughter is so healing.

It's wonderful, you know, physiologically, emotionally, and also spiritually leading into rejoicing, you know, that's so, so beautiful.

In our ministry, Praise Moves, that's one of the certifications that we have.

It's called lift laughter in fitness training.

And yeah, it's incorporating laughter.

That's actually used at the cancer treatment centers of America and other hospitals use laughter because like scripture says, a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

So we're on the right track.

Yes, yes.

Now to take a step back because we probably like, what are we talking about today?

Who is this person?

So.

So the founder of the Christian weight loss.

So you're a Christian weight loss coach and you're a founder of Praise Moves fitness ministry.

Yes.

And today the timing is very fitting because the holidays are coming up and I do not discriminate with pie.

I do not discriminate with cake, cookies.

Lord fills me very well during this time of year.

But it is a very interesting subject because we're not only going to talk about, you know, as far as eating and nourishing our temples that the Lord has given us, but also a journey.

Because food is very fascinating because we do need it to nurture our bodies.

But your story is a beautiful story of testimony in which you had.

Food was a mechanism that, that you used to make yourself feel better.

That's true.

It's self medication.

I became an emotional eater at the age of six and you know, on the outside of my family growing up on Long island, everything looked lovely.

My both my parents were attorneys.

My mother was the first woman assistant district attorney on Long Island.

My father was also a judge and had his own law practice.

And everything just seemed like, oh, so rosy, lovely.

But on the inside, there was alcoholism.

My mother had three nervous breakdowns.

My dad was also a emotional eater, compulsive, overeater and a rage aholic is called.

And my mother was an alcoholic.

So it a lot of emotional turmoil.

And as a young child not knowing how to deal with these things, I found food at an early age to numb me sufficiently so that the emotional trauma didn't drive me crazy.

And I'll tell you, the Lord is so gracious because I, I had a close relationship with the Lord when I was very little.

I used to have visions and I would hear the Lord's voice telling me everything was going to be all right.

I used to tell him jokes because I thought in my own child's way, my own child's little voice here, your job is so hard, you need a good laugh.

And so I would come up with these jokes that would make the Lord laugh.

And they were always scriptural because I had a little picture Bible.

And I don't like to say Bible stories because it makes, it sounds like they're, like they're make believe, like they're fairy tales.

But I say historical accounts.

And so I would look at the historical accounts there and the pictures even before I could read.

And I'd sit my little stuffed animals around in a semicircle in front of me and I'd share from the word of God.

And you know, I invite those who are listening and watching that any child in your life, and I believe the Lord's putting someone on your heart right now needs a Bible, even if they don't read yet, because the Word will minister to them, I believe, through the pictures that they see.

And hopefully their parents or you can read the Word to them.

But it will accomplish what he pleases and it will prosper.

Breakthrough to success in the thing for which he.

He sent it.

Well, at the age of six, the wall came up.

You could say that's wall, that's what I used to call it.

The wall came up.

I felt this separation between the Lord and myself.

The age of accountability that Paul talks about, he says sin revived and I died.

And many believe he's speaking about that age of accountability and not knowing that one could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Even though I had it, you know, from the ages of like three and a half to six, I was very close to the Lord after that, not, not at all.

I.

And, and I was looking for the Lord in the church that we went to, I didn't hear about a relationship with God.

So then When I was 7, my mom found yoga and where, whenever, there.

And we thought it was just exercise.

I was involved in it for 22 years, from the ages of 7 till I was 29, thinking it was just yoga, but it really is.

And this, these are not my wor.

In Hinduism today, he talked about yoga teachers being yoga missionaries sent forth into the world.

And because it is, I call it the missionary arm.

Yoga is the missionary arm of Hinduism and the new age, it led my mother and me away from Christ.

We started going to an ashram in upstate New York.

We started getting into new age and metaphysics and all of those things.

Because, you know, whenever there's a vacuum, Ashley, the, The enemy rushes in with.

With a counterfeit.

And I'm.

I'm just amazed.

The things that the Lord has been able to turn around.

All the negatives in my life, he's turned around.

But I had to surrender my life to him first.

Wow, that was a lot.

I'm digesting what you said.

Thank you for sharing your testimony.

It's interesting.

Wow, that was a lot.

You had a sermon and a testimony all.

All at the same time.

Well, God.

God is merciful.

He's merciful.

I'll say it.

I call myself a talking donkey because I say to the Lord, if you can use a donkey, you can use me.

You know, like Balaam's donkey.

And you know what?

And Balam's donkey was a female.

It says in.

In the word.

Yeah, it says she this.

So you know, instead of Hee Haw, you know what she said?

I made that one up all by myself.

Nobody helped me on that one.

Have you thought about doing voice acting?

Yes.

I was known as the woman of 101 voices.

I did the Betty Boop show off Broadway.

I certainly did.

It was a one woman show.

And I, in my BC days and days is spelled D, A, Z, E.

It's all rushing in my mind.

That's right.

Because when I read, I was like, I, I didn't put two and two together.

I. I didn't put two and two together when I was reading.

Well, math is not my strong suit either, so don't feel bad.

Sorry I keep interrupting you.

No, you're okay.

You're okay.

Oh, goodness.

And you know, another thought was that I had was yoga because it's very interesting as a Christian and I admittedly have done yoga because the stretching is great.

Like, there's no other practice that can really stretch your lower back than some yoga move.

You know, face moves.

We should really rename it.

But as it's very fascinating because I've done yoga classes, but I've never gone as far as you have.

You know, it's really just getting in there.

It was just getting some exercise points, you know, make myself feel good.

Because I don't want to sweat.

I don't run sports.

I rather watch.

So yoga was just like a really good, you know, exercise, if you.

What you call it.

But it's great, you know, stretching.

So, you know, the, the argument of yoga and what yoga can bring is something that I know, I have wrestled with because for me, I'm like, well, I'm not going that deep into it.

I'm just using it to stretch.

But yeah, those are my thoughts.

I mean, is it wrong that I'm doing yoga?

Well, think about it this way.

Would you say that there can be influences that we cannot see that can affect us?

Because when you think of it, yoga, the poses in yoga are actually offerings to the 330 million Hindu gods.

That's what they are.

It's a twisting of Romans 12:1, present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

They talk about emptying the mind, but actually, Romans 12:2, right after presenting your body and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed.

How?

By renewing of your mind.

On what?

On the word of the living God.

For what purpose?

So that you may be, you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

That's what we do in, in.

In Praise Moves.

So there, there are subtle cues.

See, I was involved in yoga for 22 years, from the ages of 7 until I was 29, as I said, and I had taught yoga as well.

I was blessed in air quotes by Swami Satchidananda when I was a small child.

And I just felt myself just always looking for God in all the wrong places.

Now, the Christians that I who do yoga, or so called Christian yoga, which is an oxymoron or contradiction in terms, like a Christian Buddhist, there's no such thing.

But Praise Move.

Well, then what is Praise Moves?

Well, it's the Christian alternative to yoga.

And people can find out about it@praisemoves.com There's a lot of good information there.

Free workouts.

We've got certified Praise Moves instructors, fitness ministers, we call them all over the world, women and men ages 18 to 80s do, do praise Moves and are Praise Move instructors as well.

So I would, I would look at that, Ashley, and also to consult the Holy Spirit, because people have come up to me over the years saying, you know, I wondered why I had like this, this check in my spirit, like something went right with the yoga, because Even the way we describe things in yoga, bring the energy down, you know, through the top of the head, let the energy come out through your fingers, through your fingertips, through your toes.

That's manipulation of life force energy you could say, and it's pranayama is the breathing.

Prana is the same as chi and Tai Chi, the same as key in martial arts.

It is the, the life force energy, you could say, and it's a manipulation of it through the breath or through some kind of a chant or a forcefulness.

It's messing with things I don't feel were to mess with.

It's spiritual manipulation.

In Praise Moves we do deep diaphragmatic breathing, which is the same as you do in praise and worship or as an actor.

I learned it how to project my voice, opening up the lower part of the lungs.

Athletes do it, dancers do it, and so that is it, purely physical.

The spiritual part of Praise Moves is the word of God that we meditate upon or speak aloud while doing stretching, strengthening postures.

We have over 160 postures in praise Move.

Each one is assigned a scripture that we meditate upon.

So I love to say that the exercise is the witty invention to get you more into the word of God and more of the word of God into you.

That's Praise Moves.

Thank you, thank you for that.

Because I mean that is a debate that is going online.

You know, I'm one of those who be like, well you know, my relationship is strong, you know, I'm not diving deep into the meanings of, of the, of the moves.

You know, it's great because I sit on my butt all day and it just lowers, you know, it relieves the lower back, you know, you know, not knowing or not thinking of any alternatives because that, that's all I know right now, you know.

Well, it's very popular, you know, people have accepted it more and more, but once see what it is and the Lord to whom it's dedicated.

Yoga is actually a discipline of death.

It prepares the body for death.

That's the idea.

The suppression of aspects of the body.

For what purpose?

Why would it do?

Well, if you believe in reincarnation, which is Hinduism, the sooner you get out of this body, the sooner you're on to the next.

And so the lord that it's dedicated to is Lord Shiva the destroyer.

And there is a skewed trinity of sorts in Hinduism.

Brahma, the so called creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer.

And he's known as Yogeshvara, which is the lord of Yoga.

And so I ask, what is a practice dedicated to the lord of yoga, Shiva the Destroyer, doing in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ?

The two cannot, cannot mix.

And even though it's very subtle, there are subtleties.

I mean, that's how Satan came into the garden.

He said, surely, as God said, sort of questioning little things like that.

And so it's, it's not accusatory.

It's not judging.

It's.

It's just, I. I just ask people just to, to seek the Lord about it and look to see, well, what is yoga?

Go to praisemoves.com we have extensive research.

We've.

We've.

So we've.

We've got a lot of evidence, a lot of testimonies of people getting healed.

I mean, it's something about moving to the word of God also.

Ashley, this is so cool.

I've had so many people say I could never memorize scripture before.

Now with praise moves, I've got so much on the inside of me.

Well, it's because you're not memorizing it.

It's going beyond the logic in the brain.

You're speaking it.

It's becoming a part of you.

That word is becoming flesh, if you may.

It's just becoming a part of you, and it comes out.

And the Holy Spirit brings all things to remembrance, as Jesus said.

So that when you're praying, you start having these scriptures come up.

So you're praying in line with God's word.

And I'm reminded of First John 5, verses 14 and 15.

This is how you can get your prayers answered.

First John 5, verses 14 and15 says, this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And if we know he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have those petitions we've desired of him.

The Amplified says, we know that we have as our present possession those petitions we've desired of him.

So that really is the modus operandi.

The secret sauce of praise moves is to get the word of God into people so that they get better prayer lives.

Their prayers get answered.

It changes lives.

That's the word of the living God.

Thank you for that.

Thank you.

Absolutely switching gears.

Your testimony is a beautiful one.

And one thing that stood out to me is God likes to joke around, and we just don't know when he jokes around until the end.

But you were.

Of all the days, you were delivered on April Fools.

Well, I Went from being a fool for the world to a fool for Christ is how I see it.

And you know, the Lord will use whatever it takes to bring you to your knees.

Now he does not necessarily cause those things, but he will use those things happening in your life.

Yes.

That bring you to the end of yourself.

Yes.

And at the end of ourselves, he is there.

And when I was, when I was 13, I found alcohol.

My parents were divorced, getting divorced, and I started drinking and I still held down jobs, you know, I was a high functioning alcoholic, you could say, known as the woman of 101 voices.

Was off Broadway, had other jobs, you know, very skilled, doing a lot of things, but dead on the inside.

Basically.

15.

Found smoking cigarettes and, you know, some drugs.

Never really got too much into those drugs.

I had my other drugs of choice, you could say.

And then 16, excuse me, promiscuous lifestyle, death style.

You know, it's amazing I'm still alive.

The things that, that, that I did, especially while under the influence of alcohol and because of those other substances, it kept the weight at bay.

My highest weight was when I was 12, 13 years old from overeating.

But then with the alcohol and the other thing that numbed me sufficiently so that I didn't eat as much.

But I was miserable on the inside.

And then at the age of 24, my mother sadly took, took her own life.

Two years later, my dad died of diabetes and heart disease.

Their only child.

And I started looking for God in all the wrong places.

I thought, okay, let me get out of New York, let me travel.

So I went to 20 countries in six and a half months.

Backpacking around Europe, going to all the so called sacred sites.

Desperate, desperate, Always feeling like, always feeling like that donkey with it with a carrot dangled in front of its nose, you know, going to the next, all, going to the next, looking for that next conference, that next book, book, that next experience, that next high.

Because you can have tremendous spiritual experiences in the new age that are false.

It's like living on cotton candy.

It tastes sweet for a moment, dissolves in the mouth, but it will kill a person if they try to live on it.

There's no nutrition in it.

There's, there's nothing to it.

It's, it's a vapor.

And I came back from Europe and I moved to a new age community on the top of a mountain in northeastern Oklahoma.

I went to Peru, went to Machu Picchu, you know, again, looking for God, you know, nothing, Nothing.

And after a year, Ashley, of being in northeastern Oklahoma at This new age community.

I just wanted someone to love me for myself.

I was 29 years old.

I was as.

As desperate emotionally as, as empty as searching as I'd been when I was in New York.

I tried the geographical cure, right?

Leave New York, come to Northeast, or thinking everything's going to be okay now.

But crummy me followed me from New York and I was still the same person.

The geographical cure does not work.

And one day I was coming home.

It was the day before April Fool's Day, and I'd been in.

In town and I drove home and I turned onto the dirt road that led up the mountain to the new age community where I lived.

And I heard this voice over my shoulder.

And it was the same voice that I'd heard when I was a little girl.

When I would hear the word of the Lord.

I'd hear him say, everything's going to be all right.

Whenever I was upset, I would hear his voice over my right shoulder and I would see a vision.

And it just was just amazing.

When I was little, three and a half to six.

So I knew it was his voice.

And this is the question that he asked me.

And I say this because I want you never to give up those who are, who are listening, who have a child, who have a spouse, a relative, a co worker, a friend who doesn't know the Lord.

Keep praying for them, keep seeing them as saved, keep praising the Lord for it, because he will use that one plants, one waters.

God gives the increase.

Be kind to them.

Show them Christian love.

Don't point the finger, but point to Jesus as the love that they need, that they're desperate for.

And this was the question the Lord asked.

And I know people were praying for me because this was a supernatural experience.

The voice over my right shoulder said, what if everything you thought about God was completely wrong?

Would you be willing to give it up to know the truth?

And I said, wow.

What if everything I thought about God was completely wrong?

Would I be willing to give it up to know the truth?

I'd spent thousands of dollars, I'd been all over the world looking for God in all the wrong places.

Yes.

Yes, yes.

If everything I thought about God was completely wrong, yes, I would be willing to give it up to know the truth.

Thinking that maybe it was a philosophy or something, not realizing the truth.

Truth is a person, Jesus, the way, the truth and the life.

And I said, yes.

And the next day, Ashley, I was in my little home, and I'm walking around and around in the kitchen.

This little island in the kitchen and my dog Tula.

Little border collies watching me go around and around, around.

There's like this battle on the inside.

I could just feel this fight on the inside.

And suddenly I just.

I just shouted out, and I knew I was speaking to the Lord.

I said, I surrender.

I give up.

Up.

You win.

If you could do something with this life, you could have it.

And then I fell on my knees and on my face, and I felt this physical weight lift off me that I learned later was the weight of sin.

And New Agers don't believe in sin.

We think it's an acronym for self inflicted nonsense.

Well, if there's no such thing as sin, why did Jesus come?

Oh, he was just a good teacher.

And that's.

That's the lie.

And that weight, it was like the weight of my body on the earth.

I really thought it was my weight, that it was like 30 pounds physically lifted off me.

Sin has weight.

And then peace descended upon me for the first time in my life.

Peace that.

And from the center of that peace came joy.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory.

I just.

And I know at that moment the Lord delivered me from alcoholism.

I never even asked for it.

I didn't even think of it again for an entire year.

It was totally washed from my mind.

And I'd been drinking just about every single day since I was 13.

That was for 16 years.

I didn't even realize it was gone.

I didn't even think of it.

It was totally washed away.

And as I said to the Lord on my face, I said, if you want me to be alone, then give me peace.

If you want me to be with someone, get.

Send them soon, because I can't live like this anymore.

And that's when I felt that peace come upon me.

And four days later, I met my husband Paul, who had three years clean and sober, and alcohol, drugs never came into our relationship.

We were married three months later on 4th of July, which we call Interdependence Day.

Glory to God.

And we've been together ever since.

Hallelujah.

So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

The Lord redeems and he changes.

In his infinite mercy.

He realized, this girl's not going to be able to faith her way out of it or pray her way out of it.

I'm just gonna deliver her from it and deliver it from her.

But then the smoking.

I had to believe God, for I had to stop doing it with willpower and had to trust the Lord.

And he had me to fast and pray and delivered me from smoking.

But when those were gone and the new age was gone, all that.

The original drug of choice, the overeating or really the under feeling.

It's not a food addiction.

It's an overeating addiction that's really tied to an under feeling addiction.

Numbing the pain.

And that's a walk that I walk out every day.

And I'm so grateful.

I'm so grateful to have that.

That, you know, it sounds strange.

Well, don't you want him just to have that, like, completely delivered to, so it's not even in your consciousness anymore?

Well, you know, it's kind of like what Paul said.

I.

He said how he glories in his infirmities and infirmities there.

He doesn't mean sicknesses.

It means weaknesses, you know, and he said, where.

Where I am weak, he is strong.

If I were like, oh, it's okay, God, I got this one.

One.

I got.

No, but I have to do my.

I call it my Galatians five.

One walk.

Every day.

I stand fast in the liberty, the freedom by which Christ has made me free.

And I do not allow myself to be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Now, I could.

I could fall back into that anytime if I want to.

I can have.

You know, I can have all the whiskey, the wine, the cigarettes, the cake, the candy, the whatever that I want to.

But actually, I don't want to.

My want to has changed.

And that's an inside job that only the Lord can do.

So the Lord gave us Praise moves, the Christian alternative to yoga for that, you know, that negative in my life.

And then from the overeating, that negative he gave us Weight loss without willpower.

The W3 Sisterhood Ministry.

That was a sermon.

I.

You know, I think we're done.

We've only just begun to live.

Come on now.

I just got started here.

There's nothing I need to add to this.

Thank you.

We are done.

Oh, no.

Just starting to have fun.

Wow.

I. Wow.

I. I have nothing to say but wow.

I could share with you what we do in W3, how we.

How we do that.

I mean, how can people lose weight without dieting?

I mean, isn't that amazing?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

How does that happen?

Right?

So we might have as.

Oh, my gosh.

We might as well switch gears.

Like, there's nothing for me to add to that.

Like, thank you for sharing your testimony.

That was beautiful.

That was powerful.

I pray that somebody will be able to hear that and receive that.

And begin their journey with Christ.

Because there is.

There's nothing, there's nothing to add to that.

Well, you know, that's.

That's an amazing thing.

I'm so glad you opened the door to that.

Because if there is someone who's, who's listening and you're like, well, how do you.

How do you do that?

How do you receive Jesus Christ?

Romans 10, 9, and 10 make it so simple.

And I'm so grateful for Romans 10, 9, and 10 that says if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord.

And you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Now, what does saved mean?

It means made whole, complete.

Everybody has a missing piece on the inside of them.

P, I, E, C, E. And it's the missing piece.

P, E, A, C, E of God, the Prince of peace.

Jesus, known as Sar.

Shalom in Hebrew, the Prince of peace.

And shalom also means salvation, wholeness, completeness.

Nothing missing, nothing broken.

And it also means the power that destroys chaos.

And many of us have that chaos in our lives.

We're looking for God, looking for peace, looking for stress relief.

And what we're looking for truly is Jesus, the Prince of peace, to come on the inside of us.

And this the simple thing to be the.

To be on the throne of your heart.

You could say, you know, to stop trying to play God ourselves like I did in the new age, or just think of all the things that could be God out there.

How about making Jesus the Lord of your life?

He created you.

He absolutely did.

And so all you have to do is say, jesus, I want you to be Lord of my life.

And then check your heart right now.

Do you believe that God raised him from the dead?

And it's like, yeah, I do.

It's not up here in my head.

It's like, yeah, I believe God did raise him from the dead.

Well, that's all you have to do.

And just repeat after me.

Father God, I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus.

I come to you in the name of Lord of Jesus.

Forgive me of my sin.

Forgive me of my sins.

Jesus, come into my heart.

Jesus, come into my heart.

Be Lord of my life.

Be Lord of my life.

I believe God raised you from the dead.

I believe that God raised you from the dead.

I am a Christian.

I am a Christian.

I have been saved and made whole.

I have been saved and made whole.

And Father God, I give you all the glory.

Father God, I give you all the.

Glory, the honor and the credit for it.

The Honor and the credit for and I love you.

All my days in Jesus name.

All my days in Jesus name.

Amen.

Well, if you've just accepted Jesus for the first time in your life, for the first time in a long time, I want you to write to Sister Ashley and let her know and she'll be so thrilled to share with you some resources and perhaps help you find a church in your area.

The most important thing, find a Bible that you can read.

Start with the book of John.

Don't start in the very beginning.

And suddenly, who are all these begets and so and so beget so and so and oh, I don't know about begatten and so and so's you're gonna go into that, go into the book of John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and you will see Jesus.

And I tell you what, the word of God will speak to you.

The Holy Spirit now dwells on the inside of your recreated human spirit.

You have been made brand new, my sister, my brother.

We are in the family of God right now, now for eternity.

Hallelujah.

Isn't that wonderful?

He is so good.

He is so good.

Amen.

All the time.

He is.

And you know what we do in weight loss without willpower is renew the mind on the word of God.

So back to what we were talking about before, because how can somebody lose weight without dieting?

We like to say we don't diet.

We live it.

We get in touch with the signals that the Lord placed in our body to begin with.

And like you were saying, you know, with the holidays coming up, oh, but I want to have, you know, my cake, my pies, my different.

You still can see, that's it.

We just plan for it.

We give our food plan to the Lord.

We just, you know, we listen to him.

What would he have us to do?

We get in touch with our hunger and satiety signals.

And satiety is just a big word for enough or full.

And I didn't have a full Signal for about 30 years, from the ages of 6 till I was 36 and I went to Overeaters Anonymous for 5 years.

It's like Alcoholics Anonymous, but it's for people who have issues with food.

And that helped me somewhat.

But really getting into the word of God and the principles that we share in weight loss without willpower.

In fact, your, your viewers and listeners can go to christian weight loss kit.com, that's christianweightlosskit.com and I have an exercise that I can share with you before we get off the, the Podcast today that cuts cravings in five to 10 seconds.

It is a bilateral brain stimulation technique that we combine with scripture, because what we do in weight loss without willpower is we renew the mind of on the word of God and then retrain the brain using neuroscience principles and techniques based on scripture so that you can lose the weight without dieting, without deprivation, and without delay.

That's the good news.

Okay.

Wow.

Switching gears, when it comes to our relationship with food, alcohol, drugs, what is one thing that the general public just doesn't understand?

Whenever we go to a comfort food, comfort activity, comfort substance, instead of to the comforter, the holy spirit, that thing can become an addiction because we're using it to change our state.

We're using it to not deal with a situation, an emotion, a feeling, a thought.

And this is where the retraining of the brain comes in, Ashley.

Because there are a lot of people who love the Lord, and yet they're wondering, why is it I have this issue with.

With food?

Or maybe it's smoking, maybe it's pornography, maybe it's alcohol, maybe it's drugs.

And it's like, why am I keep going?

Why do I keep going around the same mountain, the same mountain again?

And it's because there is a.

A route that the brain takes.

You know, there's a certain way that.

That we have been sinking, that we need to change.

But I'm also a cognitive behavioral therapist.

And so what we do is we learn about retraining the brain.

But here's where a lot of people have missed it.

Looking at just the secular arena, you can have some success there.

But unless you get it on the word of God, build it on the foundation.

That's why we always go back to the word of God.

And that's, you know, the exercise of that we can do.

It's called make the shift.

And all you need is a pen.

And I can show you how that works and cut cravings in 10 to 15 seconds if you'd like.

You want to do it?

All right.

All right.

And how about our.

Our listeners, our viewers, are you good to go?

Now, if you're driving, don't do this, all right?

But if you're not, you can, you know, take a.

Take a pen or you can take a, you know, a key or a stone.

You know, just any.

Anything at all.

I usually like using my little happy stone right here.

Look, he has a little smiley face.

Isn't that just so cute?

That just makes me smile.

So I use my happy stone.

But let's use A pen.

We can use a pen.

All right, this is called make the shift.

Now, what I want you to do is I want you to think of a food that you have given into for cravings.

Like, when you think of a craving food, it's just like, I know exactly where it is.

It's, you know, is it in the fridge, is it in the freezer, is it in the pantry, is it in the cupboard?

You know exactly where it is.

Now, don't worry, we're going to cut that craving in just a few seconds, but I want you to get in touch with that.

You might even find yourself kind of even salivating thinking about it.

The, the different chemical releases the dopamine.

Just thinking about it where it is, you're going for it.

The brain is used to doing that when it sees you as stressed or upset or something like that.

You know, it's like, well, this has worked before.

Remember going to the co.

Comfort food instead of to the comforter.

So what we're going to do is we're going to cut that right now, and then we're going to solidify it with scripture.

And so I'll ask you to repeat after me, but right now, first see yourself going to that.

You can have your eyes open or closed.

And again, if you're driving, do not do this exercise, but just pay attention to that.

And you're about to, you know, open the bag or open, or get the spoon or whatever it is.

And now, now take that pen in your hand and pass it from one hand to the other.

One hand to the other, one hand to the other, one hand to the other.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

And repeat after me.

All things are lawful for me.

All things are lawful for me.

But not all things are helpful.

But not all things are helpful.

All things are lawful for me.

All things are lawful for me.

But I will not be brought under the power of any.

But I will not be brought under the power of any.

First Corinthians 6:12.

That's what that is.

Where'd the craving go, Ashley?

It's gone.

Yeah, I was thinking about that carrot cake I had yesterday.

It was good.

And it's gone.

And it.

Because what happens is when you're doing this, it breaks.

Correct.

The current.

That's.

That's why it's a bilateral two sided, bilateral brain stimulation technique.

Now this is where in cognitive behavioral therapy they usually stop right there.

But no, no, no, no, no, no.

We want to bring it back to the word of God to really make the truth get in.

We Want to press Jesus into the situation.

We're just going to press truth into the.

The situation.

And that's what makes the big difference.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

It's funny because I do love cake.

I do love pie and I do love cookies.

And you are right because I don't know when it happened or how it happened because I used to, my daughter would make fun of me because I will go to the grocery store and I'll easily just put.

Pick up a cake.

It didn't need to be a birthday, you know, it'll just be like.

Like.

What kind of cake do I want today?

You know, just put it in my cart.

But all of a sudden it just, it just, it just literally dissipates.

Like you just don't know when you had it last.

It just all of a sudden, you know, weeks go by and you'd be like, you know what?

I did not go to the store and, and do this.

I, I didn't drink.

I, I didn't, you know, do things that, that are unhealthy to the temple that God has given.

Well, it has a lot to do also with your, with your.

Why your.

Wh.

Y. Oh, yeah, yes, yes, that is, yeah, we see the, the statistics now.

43% of adults are overweight and that's worldwide.

That's over 2 billion people.

And in Western culture that's 73%, 74% rather, 74 of adults in Western civilization are overweight, 43% of them are obese.

And you know, the highest population population of, of obesity where it's found in the church among evangelical Christians.

Yeah, they've done studies at Purdue and Northwestern.

In fact, there was an 11 year study at Northwestern University on something like 3,600 people over 18 years.

And they found that the highest prevalence of, of obesity was among people who went to.

It was like up to 50% who went to church at least once a week.

Wow.

Yeah, See, we're to be leaders, not feeders.

You know, what, why is that?

And I remember when I came out of the new age, New age is very much salvation by works.

You know, you meditate, right.

You do the right poses, you do the right exercise, you, you eat very, very clean.

Everything was organic.

There's, you know, vegan, there's vegetarian, there's almond.

All the things to do, you know, take care of, of the body.

But it was salvation by works from the outside in.

Right, right.

And we know through Scripture, Romans 8, 11.

This is, this is why, this is why it's so powerful.

To get healed and, and made whole through the word of God.

Romans 8:11 says, if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from, from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead, which is the Holy Spirit, will also quicken or give life to your mortal body.

How?

Through the right diet, through the right cream, through taking a special exercise class.

No, it says he will quicken, he will change, he will make healthy and whole your mortal body through his spirit who lives in you.

It comes from the inside out.

So when I started going to, to churches after I got saved, Ashley.

And we would have, you know, fellowship after we'd break bread and we'd break cakes and we'd break our necks to get to the buffet table.

I mean it was like, this is crazy.

And I was like, is everything hot dogs and, and cookies here?

And, and I was just amazed is.

And I was thinking, you know, it even occurred to me is healthy eating of the devil, because I'm not seeing it here.

But that's why I'm so thrilled to see more and more people getting into healthful eating, you know, and, and yes, God has given us freely all things to enjoy.

That's absolutely.

And to pay attention to the signals that he's put in our bodies.

Yes, yes, yes.

And you can change your taste.

I used to hate water.

I couldn't.

I was a six pack a day Diet Coke girl when I was in my teens and twenties.

And when you drink Diet Coke.

Yeah.

Diet soda, what happens is it creates a craving for more carbohydrates.

And there are also excitotoxins, they're called, that are put in processed foods that make you want to eat more.

That's what they're designed to do you so the cleaner that you can eat and even if you say, well, I hate that, I don't like that.

You can seek the Lord and ask him to change your want to.

And I promise you he does.

Yes.

Yes.

Wow.

I learned.

I'm learning a lot.

And, and the time is leaving.

The time is leaving.

Before I move on to my last question, I just want to take the time to thank you for being here today.

I am blessed.

I am grateful.

I have learned quite a bit from you today, especially the statistics as far as obesity within the church.

And I pray that you continue to walk in the journey me that, that God has planned for you.

So thank you.

My great pleasure.

You know, I, I hope that this encourages those too who feel.

I'm just really sensing in my heart that there are people who are Listening, who have had a lot of shame or guilt or think that the Lord can't use them because perhaps there's been an abortion or there was something horrible that happened to you, that someone else did that kind of thing that God can't use.

You realize that that voice is of the enemy and is trying to stop you because you're dangerous.

You're dangerous to the enemy's plans.

And if you will give whatever that is over to the Lord, he will turn it into something beautiful.

That's what happened with my.

My whole background in yoga and alcoholism and overeating.

The Lord has turned it into a.

Into ministries that can bless other people because people see, wow, she's not just a talking head.

She's been there.

God did that for her.

Maybe.

Maybe he'll do that for me.

Our God is a consuming fire.

Scripture says so.

What happens when you throw something into a consuming fire?

It burns it up.

You just throw.

Just say.

Say, lord, I'm just giving it all to you.

I'm not taking the guilt or the shame anymore.

All those things from my.

From my past.

And if you use your hands at the same time, it has an effect neurologically on your brain that you're actually doing something.

It's a physical mirroring, if you will, of what's happening in the spirit.

And you just throw it all onto the Lord.

What happens when you throw things into a consuming fire?

What does it become when it's all burned up?

Ashley?

Yes.

Ashes.

Right.

Ashes.

And from that we see in Isaiah 61, he gives you beauty for ashes.

Beauty that will bless you.

Love.

Who is God.

God is love.

Love will work through you to be a blessing for others.

And it will be the greatest fulfillment of your life.

You're just beginning.

This is just the beginning.

No, it doesn't matter your age.

It doesn't matter how far you.

You think you've gone down.

The Lord says, I can use that.

I can redeem that.

He's been looking for someone like you.

He's not looking for your ability.

He's looking for your availability.

Make yourself available to the Lord.

He loves you so much.

But he loves you too much to make you stay the way you are.

Let him use you and change you.

That's awful.

Oh, my God.

Thank you, Jesus.

Any good?

Yes.

Oh, my goodness.

His mercy endures forever.

Forever.

It does.

I'm so grateful.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The joy of the Lord is my strength.

Except you receive the kingdom of God.

His little child will by no means Enter it.

Hallelujah.

Oh, man.

I.

Man, last question.

Golly, that's a sermon.

The holidays are here.

The cycle.

We.

We talked about this a little bit.

The cycle to eat, drink, and weight loss is going to start in January, you know, January 1st.

If, you know, if you're dedicated, if not before the summer, as we are, you know, the spirits telling me to ask something different.

Oh, Lord, this is not the question.

This is not.

Not the question that the spirit is asking.

Totally different.

All right?

And.

And.

And.

And that.

That's.

That's.

That's called communication, y'.

All.

The.

The spirit is.

That's not even a question to even.

Ask.

You know, as the spirit's asking me something completely different as we are approaching.

And for those who need this, your testimony today, your journey that.

That you've been through.

God's coming to me.

I can be hard of hearing sometimes that that is a true fact.

God be telling me something.

I'll be like, what.

What is one thing when it comes to letting go that people need to keep in mind?

Because.

We.

We talk about when we open up and, you know, dissipates, you know, sometimes that.

That isn't.

That.

That doesn't compute, because it's kind of like how.

How can.

How can something dissipate?

You know, how can.

What.

What is something to help.

To quantify that, if that makes sense, if I'm hearing him correctly.

To quantify letting go and it doesn't dissipate.

Yeah, no.

Yeah, because.

Because we.

We.

We talk about, you know, you go to him, he can take it away.

But sometimes when that message is being said, I.

Sometimes people can't quantify that.

You know, it is just beyond their understanding.

Well, it is a faith walk.

You may not.

You may not feel a difference right away.

And that's when we get to walk by faith and not by sight.

And here's the thing with faith that is so wonderful is that.

That is the power.

It's actually a substance.

Hebrews 11:1.

Hebrews 11:1 says, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

That evidence is then the peace that you have on the inside of you after you've prayed.

Yes.

It's like, okay, I did what the word said.

I asked, trust the Lord.

I trust him.

I receive by faith.

This is where a lot of people, I find, have missed it.

Ashley and I did as.

As well.

We pray, pray, pray, pray, pray, pray.

But we forget to receive.

And so whenever I.

And.

And I'm.

Maybe it's because Both my parents were attorneys, but I'm very legal minded when putting things together.

Now some may be more putting a recipe together or putting a formula, scientific formula together, you could do it that way.

If you're believing God for healing, for finances, for restoration, for your ministry, for your business, whatever it is, you find a scripture in the word of God that you can stand on.

Remember I said before, First John 5, verses 14 and 15 says, this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his word, his will, he hears us.

And if we know he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have as our present possession those things we've desired of Him.

Well, how can we have something if it's not in our head, our hands or our circumstances, yet we receive it into our spirit.

Because to, to believe God is to receive from God.

They're synonymous, they're one in the same.

Believing God is receiving from God.

So whatever your first part of the formula or recipe might be, if it's for healing, for example, Psalm 107, 20, he sent his Word and healed them and delivered them from every destruction.

I say, put it personally.

He sent his word and healed me and delivered me from destruction.

First Peter 2:24 Himself, Jesus bore my sins in his own body on the tree, that I, being dead to sin, might live unto righteousness, by whose stripes I was healed.

Those stripes that he bore on his back, he bore for you so that you wouldn't have to.

So any thing that you're believing God for, let that be the first part of your formula healing.

Now here's the secret that many have missed, and I know I did too for many years.

Now have the second part where you receive the answer.

Jesus himself said, whatever things you ask when you pray, honey, right this moment when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them.

Maybe not in your head, your hands, your circumstances yet, but you will have them in your spirit.

And then you start to walk by faith and not by sight.

Faith is a power.

It's a saying.

I believe you, Lord.

I'll ask this of you, Ashley.

When someone gives you a gift, what are the first two words out of your mouth?

Mouth.

When someone gives you a gift.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And so that's what we start saying to the Lord.

We start saying, thank you, Lord.

Thank you Lord, for healing me.

Not, thank you, you're going to heal me.

Thank you, you're going to prosper.

No, thank you, Lord, you've healed Me.

Glory to God.

I have it now.

Now your mind's going, wait a minute.

I don't compute.

Doesn't compute.

The devil says you're a liar.

You're lying.

So.

No, no, no, no.

God's not a liar.

He said.

Whatever things I ask when I pray, right this moment when I pray, believe I receive it.

And I will have it.

Not in the sweet by and by, but in the blessed.

Right here and now.

Yes, I have it in my spirit.

Praise is a highway from the heart to the head as you continue to praise the Lord that you have it.

And Romans 4:17.

Start calling those things that be not, not as though they were.

That's what Father Abraham did.

He started saying, I am Abraham.

I am father of many nations when he was a hundred years old.

Didn't have any evidence, but he believed God.

That's what we're to do.

Be imitators of God as dear children.

Ephesians 5:1.

You see how I back up these claims with the Word.

It is not just some empty headed ideas like I used to have in the new age.

No, this is standard on the Word of God.

And the Word of God is a person.

The Word of God is a person.

You know, you look at any book, I've got different, you know, different books.

Here, this.

This is a picture of the author.

This is a picture of the author.

This, the Bible is the author.

How do I know it's the author?

John 1:1.

In the beginning was the Word.

The Word was with God.

The Word was God.

Verse 14.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

That's Jesus.

And then.

Jesus is the Word of God.

Who.

Thank you.

That.

Ma'.

Am Bible study sermon there.

I just love the words.

It's just so good.

The Lord's so good.

There is no excuse.

Oh my goodness.

Oh, your services that you offer with coaching and weight loss.

There are.

There is no excuse for us not to be able to walk in the path that God has for us.

There is no excuse as far as I couldn't.

Because your services offer many things in order for any of us to be able to walk fully in the image that God has for us.

Praise the Lord forevermore.

You know, that he can take someone like me who was so messed up.

I mean, people could look and they wouldn't see anything.

But the Lord does.

Yes, he can clean.

You know, if we just empty ourselves of our preconceived notions how good we are, how bad we are, how messed up we are, how wonderful we are, what our ideas are.

Just be empty enough to be that vessel of honor that he can flow through.

Yes.

Watch what he'll do with you.

He won't waste a thing.

No, he doesn't.

Oh, goodness.

Hallelujah.

Glory yay.

Gonna have a running spell.

Gonna run the backs of the pews.

Here we go.

I was honestly thinking about getting up, and I'm like, how am I gonna sit back down?

Oh, my goodness.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Oh, my goodness.

Thank you, guys.

There is no excuse why you should not be having a relationship with God.

There's no excuse.

There are so many resources.

Here is one of them.

I am grateful.

I am blessed, and I just want to thank the viewer for watching.

Remember, God is love, and God wants you to show his love to the.

To the world.

Remember you.

There's no excuse.

No excuse.

Anyways, until next time.

Later.