Made to Crave: The Urge . . .

*Please note that I am in no way affiliated with Lysa TurKeurst or Proverbs 31 Ministries. This is my own work using Lysa's book Made to Crave as reference. Thank you - Jennifer.*   

There's a question that many of us Christians are asked frequently. "How do you grow close to God?"

How would you answer that question?

I'm sure there are a myriad of answers: pray, read scripture, go to church . . . Those are almost a given.
But at the same time, you can go through the motions all you like, and never get close to God.
That's because, as Lysa says, "God can't be reduced to a checklist".
Quite frankly, you cannot get close to God unless you want to.
The one part of the equation that many of us forget to tell is that you have to have a desire to grow close to God: You have to have the urge.
It's exactly the same when it comes to a healthful journey.
If you don't have the urge to change, then change won't come. Period.

Recently my Made to Crave group has been dwindling.
As of right now we are down to less than five women, and possibly even less than that.
This has been discouraging for me.
We've been told more than once, "My heart just isn't in this" or some equivalent.
And that's kind of the point of this post.
These women will not be successful right now because their hearts aren't in it. They don't have the desire. They don't have the urge.
I can't say that I blame them: This is a hard road paved with ugly stones of the past that we have to face and trip over one by one.
I haven't always had the urge myself.
But what's discouraging is that I am led to believe that perhaps these women have been at this for all the wrong reasons.
Perhaps they've just been in this for weight loss alone.
Perhaps they've no intention of making any sacrifices.
Perhaps they're just fearful for some reason or another.
Whatever their reason, I pray that they come back. I pray for them to find their urge.

Something else I would like to throw in here, since we're talking about urges . . .
This weekend I had the biggest urge for chocolate chip cookies.
These are quickly becoming my weakness, because every time I have an urge for them, I bake them.
Then I eat half the batch single handedly, which is what happened yesterday.
Not only did I give in to my own weakness and my own temptation, but I dragged my best friend down with me.
I confess, those cookies tasted REALLY good.
But looking back on it now, the guilt I felt after eating them, and the guilt I felt after my best friend partook (I felt like Eve in the garden, let me tell you!) was SO not worth it!
But this morning, God got me up (by way of my Great Pyrenees).
It was a reminder to do all the things that I promised I would do every morning, and have yet to: read my devotional, pray, write . . . And God led my heart to this today.

Now, I have a project for you guys this week.
I want you all to make a list of the things that you have urges for.
Food, money, sex, television, cars . . . whatever. Then scrutinize it.
Then, rip it up, burn it, crumple it and throw it away, whatever you have to do to get rid of it.
Then make a new list:

Things I Have An Urge For
1. GOD

Because God made us to have urges.
He made us to crave: God, not food.
God bless you all,

Made to Crave: Having a Journey Partner . . .

*Please note that I am in no way affiliated with Lysa TurKeurst or Proverbs 31 Ministries. This is my own work using Lysa's book Made to Crave as reference. Thank you - Jennifer.* 

Do YOU F*R*O*G?

fully rely on God

I have tried to make it a point to stay away from certain words . . .
Ahem . . . Diet
I call it a journey instead.
I like to think of this process as kind of a road trip, if you will.
I am on the road to better health and an improved closeness with God.
And, lets face it, road trips are so much better with two.


My "Journey Partner" for the past year has been my best friend - 

We have shared our strengths, weaknesses, struggles and successes.

Laura has been such a value to me through this whole thing, because she can completely empathize with what I'm going through and she has a great ability to be able to push me through when no one else can.

Could I do this without her?

Probably, but I wouldn't want to. 

Alone, I get discouraged and break out the funyun's.

Together, we get discouraged and pray for each other then have a grilled chicken salad.

Alone, I step on the scale and get upset when I gain or don't lose anything.

Together, we remind each other that the purpose of this journey is not about weight, but about God.

Alone, I spend too much on snacks and treats "for the kids".

Together, we help each other avoid that aisle and focus on healthy snacks the entire family can enjoy.

I have another journey partner - my husband. 

He is also there to encourage and guide me when I need it.

And a group of wonderful women at my church: our Made to Crave Girls Bible Study Group.

They are amazing women that I don't know what I would do without.

But beyond Laura, and my husband, and my bible study group . . .

Beyond all that there is one Journey Partner that I have to have, 

One that I have to 100%, fully rely on.

God.

Because, really, this journey is not about me, or weight loss, or my friends or family. This journey is about Him and my relationship with Him. This journey is about me re-focusing all my desire and cravings onto God, not food.

Because we are Made to Crave God, not food.

This week I will be starting a food journal. I won't necessarily be writing down calories or anything like that, but I think that it will be a great tool for me to see what I'm eating and not eating. I would love to hear your personal experiences with food journals! Feel free to comment below and tell me what you think about them!

God bless you all!

Made To Crave - God, Not Food

It's been a while since I've sat here at the keyboard pouring my heart out for the world to see. For a while there, blogging just got to where it wasn't fun anymore. It became tedious. I became more concerned about followers and readers than about the real reason I started this journey to begin with: ME. So this and my other blog, The SuperMom Blues will both change slightly over the course of the next few months. Thank you for reading, and enjoy.


I longingly stare at the plate of chocolate chip cookies before me. Ooey, gooey goodness. Homemade. From scratch. Still warm from the oven. Calling to me. Beckoning me. Tempting me. I shove the plate away from me, stand up, and grab a banana from the fruit bowl instead. Chocolate chip cookie it ain't, that's for sure. But there's a part of me that is more fulfilled for choosing that banana. The cookies (yes, "-ies": ya' really think I'd only eat one??) would have satisfied for the period of time it would have taken to put them into my mouth, chew them up, and swallow them. Then, the guilt would set in. Almost immediately. "What have I done? I just compromised all that work I did yesterday! I am such a failure."

That's the one phrase that reverbs through my head consistantly through this journey: I am a failure.
But I am NOT a failure.
I am a woman of God. Fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.
Any setback will not define me for the next thirty years. It's what I do AFTER the setback that does.
Do I sit in wallow in my own self pity, depressed because I gave into a moment of weakness? Or do I forget it and move on?

This is the point of the book Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst. Well, one of the points, anyway. Lysa points out in her book that we don't have to be imprisoned by our cravings, chained by the choices that face us every day. God made us to crave: HIM. The entire focus is that we shift our cravings from ones for cookies and chips and fried chicken (my weaknesses) to ones for Him using prayer and scripture. And the best part is, in reality, it has less to do with weight loss and food, and everything to do with your spiritual relationship with the Father.

I still crave cookies. I struggle daily. Some days I win, some days the food does. But the bottom line is that with each setback comes opportunity to learn and to grow both emotionally and spiritually.

Beginning this week, I will start a series based on the Made to Crave book. This blog will become my personal journal, for the world to see. I will share my joys, my frustrations, my prayers. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all.

God's blessings,

New Outlook - Again . . .

After my meltdown the other day, I came to realize quite a few things.

1) Never weigh yourself then blog about it when you're hormonal

2) I have an amazing network of friends and family that love and support me

3) I need to hide my scale (and dear, dear Hubby has done just that for me)

4) Hubby loves me, no matter what I weigh (he told me so, too!)

5) GOD loves me, no matter what I weigh

6) If I am eating right and exercising, the weight itself is secondary

Looking back on last week, I've thought a few things over - while I DID do more last week then usual, it just might not have been enough. I exercised two times. I ate healthfully, but I probably ate too much (even healthy food can be bad if you eat too much of it). So, in retrospect, I need to "fuggetabowtit" and move on.

I also realized that I am disobeying God by relying too much on the scale. God wants us to rely on Him, and put our trust in Him. Instead, I was putting my trust in a machine. I was worshiping a false idol.

One thing that I often write about is self image. I apparantly forgot my own mantra the other day:

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) by God "in his own image" (Genesis 1:27). God created me as I am - fat and all. He made me with frizzy hair, big boobs and a flat tush. He gave me a mole on my nose, and missing incisor teeth. He gave me a quirky look that my husband just loves.

So, as I repent for all of that, I make a vow. Okay, two vows.

1) I will never EVER blog on PMS again.

2) I will F.R.O.G. = Fully Rely On God.

If I can do those two things, I'll be just fine.

Discouraged and Downtrodden . . .

I have fluctuated between the same five pounds for over a year now.

Sometimes I'm 288. 

Sometimes I'm 290.

Sometimes I'm 292.

If I were to ever see another number I'd be a happy girl.

Today was not that day.

Everyone - my husband, my friends, my family, even total strangers - tell me to not get discouraged. It takes time to lose weight.

But how can I do what I did this week and 

NOT. LOSE. A. POUND.

I am so discouraged right now, and I really feel like I am dealing with this alone, because I really don't think anyone understands.

I know that God has created me the way He wants me to be, but surly He doesn't want me to be 

290 lbs

??

I am praying for strength and guidance.

i just don't know what to do anymore.

Self-Image

Psalm 139:13-16 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Weight loss is a journey that many people embark on. Most people, in fact, have spent their lives trying to lose that 5, 10, or 15 lbs. And many of those people have even more to lose - 40, 50, even 100 pounds or more.

And many of these people, again I will venture to say "most", are unsuccessful for the long term. People on diets or eating plans often lose will power and go back to their original way of eating. People who have had weight loss surgery often find ways to "eat around" their bypass or lap-band.

Even I have been unsuccessful in my journey.

Of course this leaves one feeling dejected, heartbroken, worthless. We see ourselves as failures, and often as unworthy of love. I am guilty of this.

But there is one thing that many dieters don't realize.

Until we can accept who we are, as wonderfully made in God's image, we will not be successful. It is our dependence on the Lord that will help us in this journey.

Of course we know the way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. But the way to health? YES.

WE ARE HUMAN. WE ARE INHERENTLY WEAK AND CANNOT FACE THIS BATTLE ON OUR OWN.

As Christians, we have admitted our weaknesses to God, and have admitted to ourselves that we can't do other things without His help. Why is weight-loss any different?

ONLY BY LEANING ON HIM, CAN WE BE DELIVERED FROM OUR WEAKNESS.

2 Corinthians 12:9 

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

WE ARE WEAK, BUT HE IS STRONG

Try this for a week - when you are tempted to eat after you are already full, pray.

When you are tempted to eat when you are not hungry, pray.

When you are tempted to eat that entire pint of Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch in your freezer, PRAY.

PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY

The Bible tells us to "Pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:16), this means in every aspect of our lives.

We are "Wonderfully and fearfully made" in the Lord. When we start seeing ourselves as such, and start praying always, as commanded, then, and only then can we be 100% successful.

And remember, it's not about being THIN. It's about being HEALTHY and being the people GOD wants us to be.