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Craig
B. Thompson
Open RNY 1997
-200lbs
In this Issue:
1. Article & Worksheet
2. Reaching Out
3. Book Progress
4. How YOU Can Help
5. Thank You
RenewedReflections.com
is primarily for those who have had weight loss surgery (WLS),
whether Roux en-Y, Gastric Banding, Distal Gastric Bypass, or
even if you had your lips stapled shut for a year. After eight
years post-op and talking with thousands of WLS patients around
the world, I have found a common thread most of us share:
The
weight wasn't the problem... I WAS!!
WLS
often taps into a host of other mental, emotional, and spiritual
issues that are not resolved with surgery alone. If you are
ready to listen to the experience, strength, and hope of some
of us who have “been there, done that,” then welcome
home.
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 As
far as I am concerned, God really outdid himself when he created
my favorite flower, the gardenia. When they are in bloom, I can
smell their sweet, buttery aroma for what seems like a mile.
There is truly not a more beautiful flower in
both design and fragrance on the planet. I have been in love with
them since childhood. My mother even wore a gardenia-scented perfume
periodically that reminded me of my fondness for this flower,
although never matching the exquisite bouquet it possessed in
nature. Inevitably, anytime I catch a whiff of a gardenia in full
bloom, an delightful satisfaction and pleasure wash over my olfactory
senses.
Gardenias, like many other flowers, hold back
most of their perfume until their petals are fully open. It didn’t
take a botany class for me to learn this simple truth. All I had
to do was to pick a bud and a bloom. Both were from the exact
same plant and therefore had virtually the exact same beautiful
potential. However, the open bloom I kept and the scentless bud
I threw to the ground.
One day, as a youngster, I went to my favorite
gardenia bush to pluck one of the candy-like blossoms, only to
find that a recent rainstorm had beaten up all of the open flowers,
leaving only a couple of buds. Even as a child, I wanted to have
things my way, and I came up with a brilliant plan to satisfy
my desire. I picked off a couple of the buds and sat down to help
God out a bit.
Read the entire article and download a free
personal worksheet at http://www.renewedreflections.com/Keep_You_Hands_Off_My_Bloomers.24.0.html
Reaching
Out
WLS,
as we know, only deals with the physical symptoms of our issues
related to eating. Although the surgery is very effective for
this physical treatment, we must also seek counsel as it relates
to the underlying mental and emotional issues. You are an incredible
work in progress; you are neither at the beginning nor the end
of the journey. Reach out today to someone who has been down this
road and has valuable experience to draw upon. Second, reach out
to someone who has less time post-op as you and may have a question
you can answer. I encourage you to visit both the message boards
and the chat rooms at Obesityhelp.com
to share your experience and learn from others. You do make a
difference.
Book
Progress -
Physical Bankruptcy™
I
ended the month of January with more than 15,000 words written
for my forthcoming book, Physical Bankruptcy. This puts
me somewhere in the midst of chapter three, titled “Seeing
the Hope on the Horizon”. I was grounded from the computer
this past week due to a cold, which turned me into a whiney cry-baby
husband for six days straight. However, the book is still on target
to go into the edit stage in March. Please keep me in your thoughts
and prayers during this time of writing.
Physical
Bankruptcy will be a guide for those who have undergone weight
loss surgery and are now searching for answers to the mental,
emotional and spiritual questions not addressed by the physical
nature of the surgery alone.
How
YOU Can Help
I
have found a common trait among most of us PostOps is that we
are great at giving, but have a very difficult time asking for
help. I am by no means an exception. However, to lead by example
I am listing some things that I could really use your help on.
My goal is to give back to the weight loss community. You can
play an important part by helping with these three humble requests:
1.
Share the good news. Please forward this newsletter on
to anyone you feel might find it motivating or enlightening. Encourage
them to sign up on the newsletter list themselves at RenewedReflections.com.
2. Tell others about this resource. Direct friends
and loved ones to read some of the articles
on the site.
3. Provide prayer and encouragement. I find that
the more I write this book and share the good news of the hope
I have found, I come under what I can only describe as an attack.
Please keep my lovely bride Leslie and me in your thoughts and
prayers as we navigate this path to completion.
Thank
You
You
will hear me talk about the importance of experiencing gratitude
the more you get to know me and my work. I recognize every day
the many people near and far who have had a direct hand in my
progress on this journey. Here are a few that have truly blessed
me over the past month.
1.
Leslie Thompson - The most beautiful woman in the world
2. Dr. Lawrence and Coral Kennedy
3. Dr. Neecie Moore
4. Dr. Jay and Regina Rosenberg
5. Dr. Sanae Tanaka (Tokyo)
6. Dixie Feldman - Author of Dixieland
at RetroRadar.com
7. All of the awesome folks in the Obesityhelp
chatroom |
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