Cheri MacPherson

I was born in a religious home in the Midwest, where church and religious school were a big part of my life growing up until I graduated from high school. Of course, that is all I knew and trusted in as being a secure part of my life but when I look back and remember and read my journals I was not a peace at all and always discontented and lacked true joy! I knew I did not really have a strong belief in God but knew someday I would when I would "grow up" but first I wanted to experience more of the world.  I wanted to have a little fun, so I moved away and tried new "sins" that my Midwest family would look down on. All that time, I did not fear losing my salvation because I still "believed in Jesus as my Savior". That "belief" was all I needed to get to heaven. All my sin did reap consequences and those consequences made me more unhappy with life so I would have times when I would ask for forgiveness and then start changing my ways, get more involved with church, etc. Life was full of ups and downs, fears and discontentment and I was always searching for that "something" to make me happier. As long as I can remember I loved food and had to be on a diet or exercise to control myself from becoming obese like my other family members. So many years of focusing on all of that made my life center more around me and so I had a difficult time REALLY loving my husband, children and other relationships. Guilt would come in and then I would try harder to please people and when they would not recognize my trying, I would get hurt. All of that was PAIN, a PRISON, which continually grew to a point when I needed antidepressants to get me up in the morning and needed therapy weekly to get through life. I was always sick, had foot and knee pain from so much exercise, sores, allergies, etc. that plagued me constantly. GOD was so merciful to lead me to the WEIGH DOWN WORKSHOP and my life instantly changed. Just applying the principles for one week gave me HOPE, for deep down inside I knew GOD was the answer. Losing 60 lbs, keeping it off for years now without daily exercise and constant "control" of a diet has been so FREEING! From listening to the TRUTH of what I heard in Weigh Down, God continually freed me from all depressed thoughts, worry, and selfishness. More and more prison doors were opened and my marriage, parenting, relationships with others kept on improving over the years. I now no longer need to fill up my heart with food, money, shopping, career, "fixing other people" vacations, home decorating, (the list could go on and on), because now GOD's LOVE and my LOVE for HIM, and love for my neighbor, fill my heart every day. God eventually led me to this beautiful fellowship of believers whose leaders' are the very lives I want to imitate as they imitate Christ. They will lay down their lives to help us all grow in our faith and to always point us to this relationship with God and obedience to HIM. My husband and 3 daughters have a beautiful, peaceful, loving home and our lives are forever changed. My daughters were developing eating disorders but now they are FREE and have their own beautiful testimonies. All glory to God for HIS TRUTH that truly does and has SET our family FREE!!! Why wasn't I free before when I was in church and church school all my life? That was a question I did have to ask myself and did find an answer in God's Word. False prophets and teachers are out there and we can be deceived. I am so grateful to God for his mercy in leading me and my family to Weigh Down and Gwen Shamblin and to this fellowship where we could learn and apply God's Word and obey it. Jesus DID come to set us FREE from SIN and to destroy the devils' work! Our whole family knows now, what following Christ means. We were blind before, all the time sitting in church, twice a week, but NOW, by God's mercy, we can SEE! No one can take that JOY away! All glory and praise to our Almighty God through Jesus Christ!! We are eternally grateful for the Truth presented in Weigh Down and Remnant Fellowship! NOW we are Heaven bound!