By Pamela J. Masshardt

Full of Faith (or full of food?) exists to touch the hearts, minds and souls of compulsive overeaters and food addicts everywhere with confident expectation of ongoing recovery through faith and hope in Jesus.

Full of Faith (or full of food?): Christian 12-Step Recovery from Food Addiction

Includes Bibliographical references

It is with pleasure that I offer Full of Faith (or full of food?) to food addicts who wish to join me in recovery.

Scripture taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, l987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright © 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

15 Questions, Copyright l986. Reprinted by permission from the publisher.

The excerpts from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, as adapted by adding biblical scriptures are reprinted with an adaptation of biblical scriptures with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.) Permission to reprint these excerpts and reprint the adaptation of the Twelve Steps does not mean that A.A.W.S. has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that A.A.W.S. necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only – use of the Twelve Steps in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, or in any other non-A.A. context, does not imply otherwise. Additionally, while A.A. is a spiritual program, A.A. is not a religious program. Thus, A.A. is not affiliated or allied with any sect, denomination, or specific religious belief.

Back cover, Food Addiction: The Body Knows, Kay Sheppard, Health Communications, Inc., l993. Used by permission.

DEDICATION:

In loving memory of my mom, Lorraine, and to my dad, Donald Martin, my husband, Carl, my children, Dan and Joe and to overeaters and food addicts everywhere; God’s grace and love to you forever.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

To Jesus: Thank you for your never-ending goodness, mercy and grace.

To my son, Joe, my right-hand-man, technical advisor, prayer partner: This project would not have seen the light of day without your kind heart and incredible patience in teaching me basic computer skills, and your ability to design http://www.fulloffaith.com was a gift from the Lord. Thank you for your constant love, encouragement and assistance.

To my husband, Carl: Your love and support enabled me to accomplish what seemed like an impossible dream. Thank you for being my helper, financial advisor and my best friend.

To my son, Dan, and his wife, Heather: Thank you for your prayers and love from afar.

To my step-mom, Bev Martin: Your creative input helped me to move beyond the first chapter. Thank you.

To Allen Johnson, PhD, Lori Johnson, Charlie Douglas, RN, Gail Buckley and Nikki Gillotti: Your constructive criticism gave me knowledge, insight and understanding from unique perspectives. Thank you for believing in me. Your thoughtful words of encouragement kept me focused on my vision and purpose one page at a time.

To Pastor Douglas Geeze and the people at Faith Baptist Church in Auburn, MA: I will be forever grateful. You brought the Word of God to life for me (and my boys), and you taught us that Jesus (and the church) loves real people in the real world.

To the members of The Twelve Steps for Christians Meeting on Tuesday nights at Faith, A Baptist Church, Auburn, MA and the members of the e-mail loops foodaddictsfulloffaith@yahoogroups.com, zonedietforfoodaddicts@yahoogroups.com and 12stepsforchristians@yahoogroups.com; our joint venture to get well gives me ongoing hope. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to recovery.

And last, but not least, to Dr. Barry Sears: Thank you for your ongoing efforts to supply this generation with nutritional insight and for graciously granting me permission to use a modified version of the Zone Diet in Full of Faith (or full of food?).