GOD , please let me be just half the man I once was .

[rondog]

Interesting stories! I grew up in Enid, OK, and did a brief stint on a rig in the late 70's. I quickly decided that job wasn't for me, I don't have the hard-drinking, bar-fighting personality, I hate pain, and I'm rather fond of my fingers and toes. I ended up in the machine shop world, making and repairing all kinds of oil field stuff. I was much better suited for that kind of work, and I miss it!

[Boaz]

You made the better choice . You should have mentioned you got to be out of the weather .

[rondog]

You made the better choice . You should have mentioned you got to be out of the weather .

Eh, depended on the shop! Some of 'em weren't much more than unheated barns, and semi-dry.

[Boaz]

I need to wrap this up , taken too much of your time with oil field stories and the like . Didn't mean to drag it out . The reason I put it up was to solicit your prayers to finish the work GOD has started in my life , prayer is heard , prayer does help. I am also not encouraging anyone to do what I did in so much as changing or discontinuing any medicines or treatment prescribed by a doctor, don't be stupid . I do encourage getting second opinions though . Thank you for being with me as I try to give praise to our Lord by the telling of his work in my life .


I weighed 402 pounds , couldn't breathe , couldn't work , my business had nose dived , I stayed nauseated and sick , hurting 24 hours a day, there seemed to be no future for me here. . If GOD wanted to take me I was more than willing to go but leaving my work unfinished with Becky was an unbearable thought .

With GOD helping me I started weaning off the medicine , steroids went first, I know GOD showed me what to do . Take it on faith or not , up to you . Started in September of 2014, January second of 2015 I started a diet , before I had to eat something steady to attempt to keep the medicine down . I could go into detail on the period between then and now but no purpose would be served .
I have quit the oxygen at night a while back , I will attempt to quit the cpap (Sleep Apena) machine soon . I am still taking three pills in the morning and two at night , I hope to eliminate two of those in a few months . I haven't thrown up in almost a year. I weighted 243 pounds this morning , lost 159 pounds . GOD is guiding me , he is renewing me . The title of this thread was intentionally deceiving , I don't want to be 25 years old again But I would like to get the weight down to 200 , half the weight I was a short time ago .

Left on my own I'd be dead by now , GOD saved me from myself . Like the old hymn says ... I will follow you , no turning back , no turning back . I have shared this to remind you to check your personal relationship with him and at the same time refer to the book of James in this passage
James 5 ; 16
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James is the most read book in my bible . James was plain spoken , James didn't mince words . The book of James is short , I recommend you reread it often . He was threaten with being thrown off a two story building if he didn't stop preaching the Gospel , he refused . When he survived the fall he was put to the sword . James may have been hard headed like me.

I would appreciate any prayer you could afford me , my journey is not complete to be half the man I once was but I'm gettin there with his help .
Thank you
Boaz

[square butte]

You are in my prayers

[rl69]

Thank you boaz for your story. I love you and of course you have our prayers, i can't wait for the day I get to shake you hand. You have taught me so much in thise last few months.

You our know as well as I your size your job is not who you are.you are the man who showed your daughter to trust in Christ,you are the man who has been helping me with my pride, you are so much more then boaz you are a child of God

[Boaz]

Thank you square butte , I need all I can get.

rl69 losing the pride took more weight from me than losing the pounds . I'm not restricted in my walk with him after losing the pride . The pride is still within me but my Lord has bound it . I still feel it stir at times wanting to be set free but I'm the one that controls it instead of it controlling me . Thank you !

[jcren]

Thank you. Prayers sent

[jmort]

"I put it up was to solicit your prayers to finish the work GOD has started in my life , prayer is heard , prayer does help. "

I well be praying for you Brother. I need to lose 40 lbs, you have done that 3 or 4 times over, very hard to do, but if God is for us, who can be against us? We can be our own worst enemy. Thank God for your grand-daughter and the hope and inspiration she gives you. Great thread.

[Boaz]

"I put it up was to solicit your prayers to finish the work GOD has started in my life , prayer is heard , prayer does help. "

I well be praying for you Brother. I need to lose 40 lbs, you have done that 3 or 4 times over, very hard to do, but if God is for us, who can be against us? We can be our own worst enemy. Thank God for your grand-daughter and the hope and inspiration she gives you. Great thread.

jmort you touched on something I should have more than mentioned . This has not been hard , it has not been hard at all . I have sailed through the last year and 3 months feeling only relief . I actually layed it down and gave it to GOD . He did the work , it was easy .

[Pine Baron]

Boaz,
You need to know. In the short time that I have been a member of this wonderful site, I have come to regard you all as family. I am humbled and blessed to be here, with you all. Most here, and you in particular have brought the WORD to a brighter light. I am inspired and strengthened by all, as you are. God bless you.
Yours in Christ, Ted

[Preacher Jim]

isn't it nice to live the song, I am so glad I am part of the family of God.
Boaz keep up dating as the pounds go and we will keep praying then celebrate God's victory with you.

[Blackwater]

You know you're in my prayers, Charlie. You're one of the real good guys, and we can't afford to lose any! They're rare and getting rarer by the day, it seems. We can't AFFORD to lose you. And BTW, had a friend not long ago who died of apnea. It is NOT just a nuissance. It CAN kill you, so take care of yourself. Becky and we need you, and I know there are others who do, too.

FWIW, I too have apnea, and sleep with O2 because I can't tolerate the CPAP. Have lost some wt. but need to lose more. Being diabetic makes that a lot harder, but it's doable, as you already know. Just keep up the good work, and the Lord will hold your hand and lead you where you need to be.

And BTW, my own life isn't all that different from yours, except in the particulars. When I got out of college, all I wanted to be in the whole world was to be a state trooper. It was as close to being a real cowboy as I was likely to get. You just ride herd over traffic instead of cows, and try to rein in the strays. And the promise of some excitement kind'a appealed to me too.

I was just cocky enough to think I could handle whatever came up, or at least more likely to than most. But God seems to have had other plans for me. I wound up in probation, then parole, and then quit the state and went to work in other fields.

And I found plenty of opportunity to at least try to make a difference in people's lives for the better, and I now look back and am thankful I never got what I thought I wanted. I'd never have been home enough at critical times when he needed me there, for one thing, so I couldn't have raised my son as I was able to when I DIDN'T get what I wanted.

In life, I've come to the conclusion that we many have our own plans, but the more we go with what God puts in our pathways, the better off we wind up being, in the end. Ain't it funny how all that works?

But I think we were given advice about that some 2,000 years ago, weren't we? Life is not a playground, it's a test, and we have to pass it to get the happiness and satisfactions it really is that we actually seek.

Money comes and goes. So do friends sometimes. Even family leaves us eventually. Christ is our only really constant friend and companion. And the only one who'll never fail us. Even though we may often fail Him, He always stays true to what He taught us.

We just so often fail to realize what He's saying and doing in our lives. Mostly because we really aren't paying attention to Him, but to our own petty wants and desires. Are we a real piece of work, or what?

When left to our own desires, we can't seem to make a hill of beans of anything. But when we submit to Christ's will, we can't not prosper. That realization almost always comes later in life for most of us, but again, He tried to tell us this. We just didn't have the frame of reference from which to truly understand it.

But as Sonny and Cher sang, "The Beat Goes On," and if we have enough days in our lives, and at least try to pay attention once in a while, we CAN learn. We're just typically kind'a slow at doing so. But it's always worth it, in the end. Always.

[Boaz]

Boaz,
You need to know. In the short time that I have been a member of this wonderful site, I have come to regard you all as family. I am humbled and blessed to be here, with you all. Most here, and you in particular have brought the WORD to a brighter light. I am inspired and strengthened by all, as you are. God bless you.
Yours in Christ, Ted

We are on the same page Ted , I depend on all you guys . This is not a church , I hope it never is . One of the advantages I had doing oilfield work was was working out of town . I was always curious sbout other churches, how they worshiped GOD . . Carried my suit and tie and visited many . There was never one that didn't welcome me in . I discovered we share the same GOD ,just different ways of going about it . In my own family we had Seventh Day Adventist , Catholics , Baptist's , Methodists , Grandma was Pentecostal , Heck everybody got along and visited the others church when they visited that person . I don't know how many travlin tent revivals I went to as a child , mom loved em . Heck I'm a Fundamental Baptist ..........but maybe with a better view of the bigger picture . Even among Baptists you got Primitive Baptists , snake handling Baptists , Southern Baptists , foot washin Baptists , Independent Baptists , Hard shell Baptists. Gets kind of confusing ..huh ?
I want folks to go where GOD wants you to be , the name on the building means little to me .
In this place we gather to support and encourage each other in prayer and praise ,commend and encourage good work. Denominational differences are layed aside.
Jesus Christ never wrote a book , he taught by example .

[Boaz]

isn't it nice to live the song, I am so glad I am part of the family of God.
Boaz keep up dating as the pounds go and we will keep praying then celebrate God's victory with you.

Jim I'll post every time I lose 10 pounds , it will take a while , GOD wants it to happen slow . I'm not riding a dang scooter anymore , I'm getting around a heck of a lot better . My breathing has improved about 300% , little pain except my back , sleeping good , optimistic again I have attended every activity Becky has had since the beginning of this school year . Becky can see how much better I'm doing , she doesn't worry about me anymore . Every morning I thank GOD for today, wasn't but a while ago I wondered every night if I'd wake up dead . Makes you appreciate another day here .

[Hickok]

I have greatly enjoyed this posting and have been visiting it regularly.

Charlie, I say this from having come to know you and being able to converse back and forth with you. God has helped you become far more "than half the man you once were."

Brother, you are farther along than you may realize. The Good Lord has to be well pleased with the progress He sees in your work and service to Him!

You friend, are much more than you ever were in the past. God's best to you. I will be praying for you continually.

[Boaz]

I have greatly enjoyed this posting and have been visiting it regularly.

Charlie, I say this from having come to know you and being able to converse back and forth with you. God has helped you become far more "than half the man you once were."

Brother, you are farther along than you may realize. The Good Lord has to be well pleased with the progress He sees in your work and service to Him!

You friend, are much more than you ever were in the past. God's best to you. I will be praying for you continually.

Thank you , the association of folks like those here should inspire all to do even better . We encourage one another , we share holding our Lord up in praise , we help each other and we care for each other. How many places can you go to get that done ?
I appreciate all the prayer I can get, GOD is renewing me . I'll just be an old rebuild model , I didn't leave him much to work with but It's gonna work out !
Thank you sir !

[Hickok]

Boaz, I get the gist of your title, "half the man I once was". I am very glad to hear of the progress as to your health, and my prayers are with you, and Becky.

But friend, I am not a "sir", just an old common WV hillbilly!

[Blackwater]

Hickock, you too are a lot more than you seem to realize. You're a real MAN, and I mean that in the completest and most complimentary context possible. REAL men aren't just overgrown kids who are still concentrating on getting what THEY want. They've realized God has His plans for all of us, and is on the same page with God in the process of life. None of us will ever quite understand it all, but we CAN, if we are diligent, understand quite enough to receive many blessings, most we didn't even know enough to even ask for. They don't call it the "mystery of life" for nothin'!

Guys like you set an example that's indispensable in our world, and maybe especially in these times in which we live. Thanks to both you and Boaz, and more here, just for being what you are as men and Christians. It matters.

[Boaz]

LOL, I understand , I'm not much a 'sir' either . We can use those prayers Hickok, we all need help time to time . I could have asked here and gotten it but Pride is a barrier with no purpose served except to hurt those the closest to you . We are warned about pride in many scriptures .
Thank you !
Boaz