Stop Smoking praise thread!!

[jadbad2004]

Thank you Mary :hug By all means I will be :pray for all of you trying to quit and for those who have, to remain strong against the addiction.

[bghtnpd4]

Jesus did it!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE NOW BEEN SMOKE-FREE FOR ONE WHOLE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!!!!!!!THANK YOU, LORD!!!!!!!!! You are my deliverer!!!!!!!!!!! I praise and honor Your name!!!!!!!!

:yeah:yay:woo:woo:cheer:thankyou:bow:woohoo

[bghtnpd4]

For those who wanted to know how others have quit, I went and found my story on the RF site. This is for all those who are still struggling. May God use it in a mighty way to give you courage, hope, and strength to overcome your addiction....


July, 2008
I wanted to just take a minute and say bless all of you who have been praying for me. I cannot express in words how much they have meant to me. I have never been so sick in my life, and have never had physicians refuse to try and find out what was wrong with me, like they did this time. It took me 3 trips to different ERs and my PCP before an ER doc was willling to look past my symptoms that didn't fit this or that diagnosis to try and find the problem. I am so grateful to that man and those wonderful nurses and techs in the hospital who cared so gently for me, knowing I was frightened and in tremendous pain that they couldn't find a reason for. So, I wanted to briefly share my symptoms with my brothers and sisters here, in the hopes that it may save someone the agony that I had to go through, just to get the needed treatment.

I first noticed that I was feeling fatigued and overly tired and my head and back began to hurt. That pain went to stiffness and finally into shooting pain from my neck up into my brain and down my spine. Eventually they figured out that this was a symptom of dehydration. I also experienced numbness in my hands and feet, as well as a variety of symptoms similar to someone having a heart attack or stroke (chest pain, back teeth and jaw hurting, etc.). Before they were finally able to confirm my diagnoses of Pneumonia, I had a temperature of 103 and my BP was 50/30 and dropping at a good pace. I had told them that I felt like I was dying and that if they didn't do something soon, that my neck would break from the pain. I was so certain I could die that I requested a Chaplain come and pray for me and the physicians trying to find out what was wrong with me. Because the previous physicians didn't catch it, it cost me to spend 6 days in the hospital in severe pain. If they would've caught it several days earlier, it would have been much easier to treat and the recovery time would've been shorter, from what I now understand. My point is not to bash doctors, because it was a doctor who saved my life, but it IS to say DON'T BE QUIET AND ACCEPT WHAT A PHYSICIAN SAYS WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR BODY IS TELLING YOU SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Keep talking, keep telling, keep fighting, keep praying, and Jesus will do the rest. I know that He answered my prayers all those days I was in agonizing pain, begging for healing. I know He was with me every second I was in the hospital and was giving those physicians and nurses His wisdom to bring healing to my broken body. So, I give Jesus all of the glory that I have made it through...

The best part of this story is yet to come, I am certain. See, for months now, I have been praying that the Lord would heal me from my addiction to cigarettes. I have smoked since college and have cried out to the Lord MANY, MANY times to heal me, because I couldn't quit on my own...I knew it, and He knew it. I knew I was living in rebellion, no matter HOW I tried to justify it, and it was killing me (in more ways than one). But the one way that hurt most was that it interfered with my intimate relationship with Jesus. Did He ever leave me or cast me out because I smoked? Absolutely not. But, It DID hinder the quality and intimacy that I crave with Him. So, for months I have been praying, "Lord, do whatever it takes to heal me from this addiction. Whatever it takes, I don't care. Do whatever it takes!" Well, needless-to-say, I quit smoking on the day before I entered the hospital because I was actually too sick to smoke(thos smokers out there know exactly what I'm talking about..). As an addict you are NEVER to sick to participate in your addiction because you HAVE to have it (whatever IT is). So, when I say I was too sick to smoke, that lets the other smokers know that I had to be close to death to give up those cigarettes, and that's the truth. That's how powerful, cunning, and baffling addiction is. So, I am thrilled to tell everyone that I have now been smoke-free for over a week and have had no cravings for a cigarette. Am I saying I received a complete and total healing? No, I'm not. I'm saying that as of today, Jesus has kept me from that addiction for the last 7 + days, and that every day I will be relying on His power and not my own to keep me from that addiction. I can say with all honesty, that it became very clear to me this week as I was praying, that Jesus knows EXACTLY what I need, when I need it. I was praying Wednesday night (my first night home from the hospital) because I was miserable because when I would lay down and try and sleep it felt like I was drowning. So, I cried out to God like I had each and every day during the last week and said, "Jesus, please heal me, now. I know all of the verses that talk about how you are our healer and our great physician, so please, Father, take this from me. I'm so exhausted and need to sleep." I was desperate, exhausted, and at my wits end. Then, as clear as a bell in my head I heard, "Shelle, My Grace is sufficient for you." I was in awe. That's not AT ALL what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear, "Absolutely my precious child, be healed". But I didn't. I cried and cried and each time I prayed I heard the same thing, "Shelle, my grace is sufficient for you".

Today, I can honestly say (as tears are streaming down my face as I write this), I am so grateful for those words. I am so grateful for my salvation, my husband, my beautiful daughter who had to be pulled away from my side each night because she didn't want to leave the hospital. My wonderful brothers and sisters here who love me enough to pray for me in my darkest hour without ever even meeting me. For Jesus' Grace to get me through such a horrible illness and allow that illness to bring me to a closer relationship with Him by removing my ability and desire to smoke. I just can't say enough, I am so grateful to be here, to be healing, to being closer to Jesus, and learning how to walk closer with Him and submitting to His Will when I don't understand the whys and hows of it all. I am just more humbled and grateful than I have ever been in my life, and I praise you, Lord for it. So, thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to pray for me when I so desperately needed you. And, of course, to my big sister, Suz, again, (as I shake my head in amazement) I am so grateful that Jesus put us together so many years ago. I couldn't have made it through this without you. You are always there encouraging me, praying for me, lifting me up, trying to always help me "figure things out" and I love you so much for it, you just can't know! So, thanks, everyone for reading my story, and I hope Jesus will bless the readers as much as He has blessed me by giving me the words to write. I love you all and can't WAIT until we're all around the dinner table awaiting the King's blessing over our food...

[mary]

Posters: I have got to share with you all some good news!!

My 85 year old dad who is in the hospital with a very
serious health problem... He accepted the Lord Jesus
as His Savior!!

[mary]

bghtnpd4


PTL! ONE YEAR SMOKE-FREE!


:hug:yeah

[bghtnpd4]

Oh, Mary, HOW AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! There is a celebration going on tonight in Heaven!!!!!! I bet you are on cloud 9!!!!!!!!!! Jesus is awesome and His word is absolutely true!!! All those who are His He will gather and NOT ONE will be lost!

[Vickimac]

How awesome Mary! That was a wonderful post to wake up to this morning! God is good!

I just realized my 1st post was 2 years ago on this thread! And now it has been 4 1/2 years smoke free! PTL!

Just a reminder to all who struggle, YOU can't quit smoking. That's what I said, you read correctly.

You can do nothing apart from God or on your own accord. BUT God can do all things IN you. He can & will set you free. He will give you victory. He is faithful to sustain you. He is sufficient.
So use whatever method helps you to be strong in Him, you can be smoke free!

[Estelle]

I never smoked but can understand what battle it must be. Praying for all of you!
Except for the major health issues I can imagine how much it cost!
See you all with the rapture! Prayer for the weaker ones. 'Cast your burdens unto Jesus'.

[jacey]

This is my first post on the board. Hi all!! *waves*
Anyway, the last two years, I've been praying for the strength to quit smoking. I started smoking 18 years ago, and smoked a pack a day for the last eleven years. I had tried all of the quit smoking aids and nothing helped. I just kept asking God for help and kept hearing, "When you're ready to be done, I'll be there." He knew I that while I wanted to quit, I was holding on to my addiction out of fear. I started taking Chantix the middle of May and by June 6, I was down to a couple of drags a day. June 7, I didn't have any. I haven't had any since then, either.
The great thing is once I let go of it, and stopped trying to do it on it my own it came easy. Well, easier than I had imagined it when I contempleted quitting.

[cat]

Posters: I have got to share with you all some good news!!

My 85 year old dad who is in the hospital with a very
serious health problem... He accepted the Lord Jesus
as His Savior!!

Mary, that's the greatest news I've ever heard, thanks for sharing!!!:yeah