Christianity Oasis Forum

[goldieluvs]

Hi everyone. I have been resistant to God's urging for me to quit smoking cigs. I have become convinced this is something I need to give to God. O talked about giving a habit in church Sunday and I am convinced this is the habit God wants me to give over to Him next. I am planning some studies and working on coping techniques and accountability partners. I welcome any suggestions or advice or anything anyone feels led to share
GBU all

[flutemusic67]

Hi, Goldie! God bless you and keep you while you try to beat this addiction.

I heard something on television about a patch or something that will taper you off nicotine. Sounds like something worth looking into.

My mother smoked from age 16. She died in 2005 from COPD. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. She had asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema.

By smoking all those years, the air sacs in her lungs were ruined. They absorb the oxygen. They don't heal once you quit smoking. People are put on oxygen (tanks or other) eventually and must remain on oxygen for the remainder of their lives.

There is no cure for COPD. They can make you more comfortable, but that is the best hope.

Mother was diagnosed in 2003. They gave her a year to live, but we were blessed with her until May 2005. However, she was dying for her last year. She was in a lot of pain for a long time. It was difficult to see her suffer so.

We miss her, but have WONDERFUL memories of her, are happy she is in no more pain, and know that she is saved.

Goldie, I mention this to you and everyone else so that you know about this terrible disease.

It is one of the most difficult addictions to overcome, but please, please, please for your own good and for the sake of your loved ones, stop smoking NOW.

Stay strong in HIM, Goldie. I will pray for you and will be here if you need to talk.

God bless you and give you strength.

Love you, goldie golderson!

flutie

[xxJILLxx]

goldie!

Hi am so proud of u!

i stopeed smoking in october of this year.

this is what i did
i set a start date
i searched my triggers for smoking stres,, boredom, after a meal etc.
then i set out a plan
anytime i had an urge i did a few things
i looked at pics online of smoking lungs
i threw out my cigs day before start date
i chewed on straws and toothpicks
i called a friend and talked for support
and of course alot alot of prayer that God would replace my addiction with His love and guidance and to give me stregth to over come
the first 2 weeks were hard

but He got me through and i havent smoked since about oct 18th or so.

Hope this helps
gbu love ya lots
jill

[goldieluvs]

Ty my sisters So far, so good, I've been tempted but i reached for nicotine gum which is totally nasty by the way!! I am home early from work today. The devil tempted me with stress today, but Praise the Lord, cuz God has seen me through. I just gotta keep relying on Him and yielding. It worked with other addictions, i just never gave this one to Him before.. so it has been uhmmm since 1000pm Saturday since i have had a cig. Thank God... Ive come this far,, two weeks huh jiwal??? Well, God will help me!!! cuz its awfully hard to do it by myself. Hopefully in a couple weeks it will be like i dont even want one anymore!! Flutey COPD is horrible, i have seen people on oxygen and still smoke. My roommate is sounding horrible but he is still smoking. Smell seems to be the first thing that is coming back.. boy i never realized how bad my house and my dogs stink . So, I come home to do some cleaning. GBU all and luvs u all

[Lionhearted]

OH DEAR GOLDIE !!!!


it is certainly an interesting addiction isn't it. i started smoking when i was 12 years old ... i'm 44 (45 in january); i wish i could say that i'm in bad physical health ... i am not, i'm very physically fit (i do carry extra weight) but i do workout everyday, weight train, power walk, and ride a recumbant cycle ... what i mean by fit ... is that i've got very good lung capacity and an excellently strong heart, and i eat very well. as far as the cost goes ... i wasn't really a 'heavy' smoker ... 2-3 packs a week, so it wasn't as expensive as my hubby's was 1-2 packs a day!!

i didn't believe that it was 'sin' perse ... like drugs or alcohol, my logic was simple ... the more drugs you smoke and the alcohol you drink, the less your faculties work ... well, smoking wasn't like that ... ergo --> not the same as being "drunk with wine"

i'm not debating the whole 'sin' issue ... or not; just stating my frame of mind with my addition. and those of us who ARE addicted ... know, how so very personal, addictions are.

in short, i believed that if the Lord wanted me to quit, then He would deliver me, just like He delivered me from ....(something else, i don't wish to go into here) ... i didn't want to 'fight' the addiction EVERYDAY for the rest of my life.

i had tried to quit lots and lots and lots of times and it never worked. what it ended up being, now that i can look back after the fact and see; was, ...let me see how long i can go for, without a cigg... and self-deceptively calling/believing it quitting.

okkaayy... here comes the freedom part ! i'm reading the most amazing book called LIES WOMEN BELIEVE and the truth that sets them free

in the first chapter, the Lord blindsides me ... ... don't you just love it when He does that. this author's premise is that all addictions are bondage and they can ALL be linked back to a lie that the user is believing. ... i thought ... BUNK !! i don't believe it !!

she states that there is a natural process that happens with humans:

1. listen to a lie
2. dwell on the lie
3. believe the lie
4. act on the lie

equals BONDAGE/ADDICTION

again, i thought BUNK ... so in my prayer time with God ... i asked him ... "ok, Lord, everyone says that smoking is bondage ... and i don't believe it ... if what she's saying is true, please show me .....

AND HE DID ... it was very simple, and very straightforward.

1. listen to a lie: i was 5 years old!!! "if you smoke like your mom, your dad will love you like he loves her" (i don't think i need to tell you who the quotes are from)

2. dwell on the lie: i watched, with the intent of smoking when i grew up, (yup from 5 years old until 12) my mom smoke and dwelled on how my dad looked at her, while she was smoking... all the while building the yerning for that look in my heart, over those 7 years.

3. believe the lie: as i watched him ... watch her ... i could see that the lie was actually true .... i started to link the love in his eyes for her ... as linked to the cigg. i believed that when i was old enough to smoke ... he would love me the same way he loved her.

4. act on the lie: when i turned 12 .... i started to smoke .... but by this time, i didn't even realize that i was fulfilling a covenant that i had made with myself.

****

i woke up a thursday morning @ 3:00 am, a smoker ... by 7:00 am i was a non-smoker --- not ..."i had quit smoking" BUT .... a NON-SMOKER!!

i allowed the Lord to show me why i smoked, and how He could prove to me that it was infact a lie.

first, He showed my why i smoked, because i wanted my dad to love me, i wanted his affection. second, He showed me it wasn't the ciggs that he loved about my mom ... it was HER. the Lord asked me where my dad was right now (we are not longer in relationship because my mom doesn't want anything to do with me anymore ... so therefore my dad cannot talk to me anymore) .... to answer the Lord's question ... smoking didn't make a difference .... he's still ... gone.

at this point i was still slightly confused ... i thought i had figured out the lie ... but God said, your still missing it. i mulled over what He had just shown me --->... it's...not...the...ciggs...its...her...

i started to cry, and folded into a fetal position ... i believed i must be unlovable without the ciggs.

and He said to me .... that's the lie robyn, ... I LOVE YOU .... but, God, how do i know?

and then my heavenly Father started to sing a song THROUGH me ... He showed me how to claim the truth that i know ... the more He sang through me, the harder i cried; the harder i cried, the free-er i became and this cycle lasted throughout the WHOLE song ....

Jesus loves me this i know
for the Bible tells me so
little one ... , to Him belong
i am weak, but He is strong.
yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me,
yes, Jesus loves me.....
the ... Bible ... tells ... me ... so.

it was one of the most beautifully freeing experiences i've ever had with God.

[flutemusic67]

Awww Robyn! I always enjoy your insight! God bless you.

Goldie, stay strong! Here are some benefits of quitting to look forward to. Every hour, you improve!

20 minutes: Your blood pressure, pulse rate, and the temperature of your hands and feet will all return to normal.

12 hours: Your blood oxygen level will have increased to normal and carbon monoxide levels will have dropped to normal.

48 hours: Damaged nerve endings have started to regrow and your sense of smell and taste are beginning to return to normal.

72 hours: Your entire body will test 100% nicotine-free and over 90% of all nicotine metabolites will now have passed from your body via your urine. You can also expect the symptoms of chemical withdrawal to have peaked in intensity. Your bronchial tubes are beginning to relax thus making it easier to breathe. Your lung capacity has also started to increase.

10 days to 2 weeks: Your body has physically adjusted to again functioning without nicotine and the more than 3,500 chemical particles and 500 gases present in each and every puff.

2 weeks to 3 months: Your heart attack risk has started to drop. Your lung function is beginning to improve.

3 weeks to 3 months: Your circulation has substantially improved. Walking has become easier. Your chronic cough, if any, has likely disappeared.

1 to 9 months: Any smoking related sinus congestion, fatigue or shortness of breath have decreased. Cilia have regrown in your lungs thereby increasing their ability to handle mucus, keep your lungs clean, and reduce infections. Your body's overall energy has increased.

1 year: Your excess risk of coronary heart disease has dropped to less than half that of a smoker.

5 to 15 years: Your risk of stroke has declined to that of a non-smoker.

10 years: Your risk of death from lung cancer has declined by almost half if you were an average smoker (one pack per day). Your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat and esophagus has now decreased.

15 years: Your risk of coronary heart disease is now that of a person who has never smoked.

After just a few months, you will feel remarkable improvement!

I'll be praying for our Father to give you strength! Love ya, goldie!



flutie

[Lionhearted]

hiya fluters

THAT was so insightful ... thank you sis!!!

[Lionhearted]

where'd you find that info??

[flutemusic67]

where'd you find that info??

I found it online when I googled "benefits of quitting smoking". There are tons of places to look up!

Love ya!

[Lionhearted]

kewl

thanks!!!

[goldieluvs]

Awwww ty chas . I am on my third day, its not easy, but I keep asking God to help me thru and so far I havent yielded to temptation. I do have some nicotine gum. I used three pieces the first day, two pieces yesterday and I havent used any yet today. I know nicotine is the addictive stuff, but i figure gum is better than all the other stuff in cigs plus the smoke. I am off tomorrow and Christmas Day so at least I wont have work stress, then I am back Friday and off the weekend. So hopefully by then with Gods help, it wont be such a struggle if I can just stay true to the course. I been feeling convicted for awhile of the need to quit smoking and then in church when O talked about giving Jesus a habit for His birthday,, I knew wat had to be done. God's helping me but that enemy sure is tempting sometimes... God's will be Done. Lord give me strength!!! Luvs yall