Stef blogs at http://onthejourneywithmae.blogspot.com/ about all life’s issues, but this particular post, originally published on May 17th, fits my blog’s intentions so well that I requested a repost here.
I am embarking on a book study with some wonderful ladies-- "God's Girls" so we've come to call ourselves-- at work. We are studying through the book "Made to Crave: Satisfying your deepest desire with God, not food" by Lysa Terkeurst. My initial thought was that this would be interesting at best, but it has hit home much closer than I anticipated. How often do I run to food for comfort, as a reward, when I feel joy or experience stress, when I am sad, happy or bored? Painfully, more often than I'd like. The issue at hand isn't my pant size, but my heart condition. And one is growing and the other isn't, if you get my drift.
God never intended we love anything more than we love him.
Interesting! I particularly related to the story in Matthew 19, where a rich young man comes to see Jesus and explains that he is following all the rules but recognizes something is missing. "All of these (rules) I have kept", he says to Jesus. "What do I still lack?" Jesus responds by telling him to sell all his possessions to the poor. And the man goes away... sad... because he doesn't want to give up the ONE thing that consumes him.
In other words-- Jesus wants us to give up the one thing we crave more than Him.
What is it for you? What do you crave more than God? Is it food? Appreciation? Comfort? Money? Pleasing others? Clothes? Home decor? Well behaved kids? A well taken care of house? Exercise? Being well respected at work? Approval from peers? Appearance?
As I prepare for our book study, does anyone have an idea about how we can "reward" ourselves without food? This might show you how far gone I am. I can't imagine rewarding myself with a pedicure or new shirt, because then aren't I trading one craving for another? Is the answer here that I should pray to be content celebrating with God and not "rewarding" myself on this green Earth? Can I reward myself with a new iTunes download if it's Christian music? This is me, calling out for help :) Would love to hear from you on this one.
The other thing I have been thinking honestly about is all my excuses for not eating more healthy and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. Things like:
* It's not that bad the way it is.
* I should learn to love myself the way I am
* It's my age
* It's my metabolism
* It's my genetics
* Surely it's not Runza, hamburgers and fries and chips!
* This is a bad time to start a new healthy lifestyle-- I'm pregnant.
* This is a bad time to start a new healthy lifestyle-- I have small kids.
* I have the rest of my life to be healthy
* I should focus more on Dekker/raising kids for this season of life
I am putting together that the most important thing I can do to be the Mom, friend, wife, daughter, employee, that I can be is to love God more. And to love God more, I need to surrender the things that I crave more than Him.
I hate to write this publicly. Next time you see me saddled up to the salsa at La Mesa just know I'm a work in progress, okay.
Bless you all.
On the journey,
Stef
God never intended we love anything more than we love him.
Interesting! I particularly related to the story in Matthew 19, where a rich young man comes to see Jesus and explains that he is following all the rules but recognizes something is missing. "All of these (rules) I have kept", he says to Jesus. "What do I still lack?" Jesus responds by telling him to sell all his possessions to the poor. And the man goes away... sad... because he doesn't want to give up the ONE thing that consumes him.
In other words-- Jesus wants us to give up the one thing we crave more than Him.
What is it for you? What do you crave more than God? Is it food? Appreciation? Comfort? Money? Pleasing others? Clothes? Home decor? Well behaved kids? A well taken care of house? Exercise? Being well respected at work? Approval from peers? Appearance?
As I prepare for our book study, does anyone have an idea about how we can "reward" ourselves without food? This might show you how far gone I am. I can't imagine rewarding myself with a pedicure or new shirt, because then aren't I trading one craving for another? Is the answer here that I should pray to be content celebrating with God and not "rewarding" myself on this green Earth? Can I reward myself with a new iTunes download if it's Christian music? This is me, calling out for help :) Would love to hear from you on this one.
The other thing I have been thinking honestly about is all my excuses for not eating more healthy and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. Things like:
* It's not that bad the way it is.
* I should learn to love myself the way I am
* It's my age
* It's my metabolism
* It's my genetics
* Surely it's not Runza, hamburgers and fries and chips!
* This is a bad time to start a new healthy lifestyle-- I'm pregnant.
* This is a bad time to start a new healthy lifestyle-- I have small kids.
* I have the rest of my life to be healthy
* I should focus more on Dekker/raising kids for this season of life
I am putting together that the most important thing I can do to be the Mom, friend, wife, daughter, employee, that I can be is to love God more. And to love God more, I need to surrender the things that I crave more than Him.
I hate to write this publicly. Next time you see me saddled up to the salsa at La Mesa just know I'm a work in progress, okay.
Bless you all.
On the journey,
Stef
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