Perserverance

According to dictionary.com the definition of perseverance is:
1. Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
2. Continuance in a state of grace leading finally to a state of glory.

I'm pretty sure there is very little that I have done that would equal the first definition and I thank God for His grace that I can live under the second. For the moment, pretend there is only the first definition. I hate difficult things, people, jobs. You name the difficult *insert here* and I run, sometimes walk, but mainly run from it. I never persevere especially when it comes to my diet. I always start with the best intentions, but then something triggers me off the track. Now if I would remember to live under the second definition then these words from 1 Corinthians 10:12-14 would apply. "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

God's truth is that I can persevere because 1)I do live under God's grace and 2) God has given the strength to endure through difficult *insert here*. I can live in perseverance victory, because He builds an escape route for me. Powerful thoughts for someone who has never truly finished anything.

Spiritual Nourishment

It is Day 4 of No Sweets May for me. I've been blah and cranky. Things keep coming up (like my screaming one year old, a disappointment, an old memory, a pound lost) that I would normally reach for chocolate or reward myself with dessert. I've been barely scraping by this week on my own strength until I read this today in Made to Crave, "If we fail to understand how to fill our souls with spiritual nourishment, we will forever be triggered to numb our longings with temporary physical pleasures." Another lightbulb went off: I have been numbing myself with substance that cannot answer what I'm truly longing for. So what am I suppose to be doing? Instead of filling my body with garbage, I should be filling it with the fruits of my Maker. Psalm 107:9 says, "For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things." I am definitely longing and hoping to be filled with good things!

Besides learning about spiritual nourishment, I've been reading up what my body truly needs to function. I've gained some great insight from those "eating clean" and considering how to adopt some of those practices into our family. Anyone out there eating clean?

Lamentations 3:22-25 "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;this mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness. 24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him."

No Sweets May

Last year, Tim and I had a friendly competition in May. I had to give us sweets and he had to give up his beloved Mountain Dew. I had 3 "cheats" and he didn't have any. I ended up losing thanks to having butterscotch pudding after my 3 cheats were up. Oh well until next year... Now May has come upon us again and this time I'm in this competition alone. No need to torture Tim for another year :) My month will continue my 14 day journey of no bread, pasta, processed foods and sweets. Basically eating "clean" for the week and one splurge meal on the weekends (pretty sure I'm won't be doing Georgios again though). I will allow myself cheats, but only 2 this time. Mother's Day and our friend's daughter's birthday (she promises the best brownies ever!).

So cheers to another month of eating better then ever and growing closer to God!

Waiting

I have spent, what feels like an eternity, waiting on the Lord. Waiting for His presence, His voice, His will, His direction. Then I read this verse: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14 (NIV) It reminds me that waiting will not be easy and doesn't have a time limit. But waiting will get me my heart's desire. My true heart's desire not the frivolous ones that I sometimes offer up in prayer.

What is my heart's desire? My true heart's desire to make a difference in this world and change lives for Christ. I've begged God to give me a ministry to love on women. I don't want to be a women's director (my friend Heather does a great job at that). I want to just love women in the place where they are hurting the most. Right now I see that women are hurting from their stomachs. That food and the craving of food has a stronghold on their lives and Satan is living in their kitchens. They are destroying their bodies, but more importantly they are moving farther away from God. So I asked God to make a ministry to help with this hurt and He is.

Waiting on the Lord is creating a ministry for me that I never dare dreamed could happen. It begins this fall with the book, Made to Crave in my Healthy Living class and it won't stop there, but for now that is the plan. I do hope you join me for a ride that will change your life.

Did you miss me?

I know I know I haven't posted in awhile. Were you on pins and needles how the end of my 14 day journey went? Well the end wasn't as dramatic as I wanted it to be, but God still showed up. In 14 days, I lost 7 pounds. Not bad for a girl who hasn't lost anything in months. I felt better so much better not having bread or sugar in my system. I did go off the wagon for Easter weekend and I felt so sick Sunday night. I feel much better today with clean eating Monday behind me. I do want the temptations out my house again. The Hawaiian rolls and leftover Easter dessert need to go, but so far I'm holding out strong.

Here is what I learned from my 14 days:

By sacrificing something small, God revealed something big
I feel more in control by letting God take control of my eating habits
I feel more powerful in saying no to food temptations then in giving in
I do not miss the morning guilt after binging on ice cream or other desserts
I have more energy and did not need to nap right after lunch
God IS with me and holding my hand when temptation is near
I CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me

It felt so good to be so close to God, to hear His voice and feel His presence. I'm continuing to not eat bread, pasta and dessert. I am continuing to eat egg muffins for breakfast, salads for lunch and healthy dinners. I am allowing myself one meal a weekend to go off the wagon (as Jackie Warner recommends in her book). I am watching the amount of sugar hidden in other grocery items. I actually look at the ingredients on a package now. I'm eating more fruit and vegetables. I'm not snacking on processed foods. I don't know how long I can keep this going, but I like it and pray God keeps me to my commitment.

May He bless you in your journey as He has blessed mine!

Day 9 - God is moving

Day 9 and I have lost 7 pounds! Not bad for someone who usually has trouble losing 1 pound a week. God is stirring something deep in my soul that is starting to come to the surface. Though I don't know what exactly it is, I can say it is life changing. I've been watching Jamie Oliver's new food revolution and the last time I watched it, Healthy Living Inside & Out was started. This time I've got something even bigger brewing in me and I can't wait to see if it is the direction God takes me in.

Other things to mention: I managed to avoid the tempting cupcakes and doughnuts at MOPS this morning. A big deal for me as I felt tempted and said "I WAS MADE FORE MORE!". I started to feel jealous of the women around me who don't have this idol of food, but then came to my senses that ridding myself of this dysfunctional relationship is the very thing that is bringing me closer to God. As Mr. Gru says "Lightbulb!"

God has me discussing my journey with more and more people. It is very exciting to share this passion and the things I have been learning with others. Even more exciting to see God stirring up their hearts too.

God has also been showing me the amazing women that surround me in my life and how each and every one of them brings a different piece to the puzzle. I don't know if you read this, but thank you my twin, my mentor, my new mom friends, my cff, the one who lets me love her boys, my healthy living partner in crime, the 2 most amazing 20 somethings and every other woman who touches my life. I am humbled to be called your friend and to walk any part of this journey with you. God had used you to show me how to live again and what the definition of true friendship means.

Days 6-8 It's been a long couple days

I haven't forgotten this blog or my covenant, but the past couple days have flown by. Day 5 instead of binging on cake, cookies, alcohol or anything else sugar/idol related, we did have Georgio's calazones which did add 3 pounds back. Yep one meal added 3 pounds. So I've been slowly taking those 3 pounds back off and I'm almost there. So right now in 8 days I have lost 5 pounds. Not bad in one week.

I have 5 days left of my covenant with God and it now includes small group, dinner with my in-laws and Easter. Not an easy 5 days to stick to this diet. I'm in charge of dessert tonight and my house smells wonderful. The kind of wonderful you want to lick the bowl until it is completely gone wonderful. Why torture myself you ask? Because the house we meet in is going gluten-free and I wanted to make something their kids would love and the adults would find tasty. My in-laws are planning on Subway with KFC sides so I'll be emailing asking for my sub to be a salad.

I made another round of egg muffins for breakfast this week. These are so much easier then making an omelet every day. This time I did shredded chicken, green peppers, tomatoes and little bit of feta cheese. My taste tester, Sophia loved it.

Breakfast - 2 egg muffins (slightly shared with my taste tester)
Snack - carrots (definitely shared with my taste tester)
Lunch - romaine, strawberries, feta cheese and sliced almonds with poppyseed dressing
Snack - vanilla yogurt (mostly taken by my tast tester)
Dinner - turkey taco salad (yes again, but easy when you have 30 minutes to eat from when your hubby gets home to leaving for small group)

I'll share my Made to Crave thoughts tomorrow....good stuff happening!