Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Sweet Place of Breakthrough

For the blog hop this week, one of the choices was to share a personal victory you have experienced in the past.  Well, this past week, I have experienced the sweet place of breakthrough not once, but twice.  Hallelujah!  Interestingly enough, the Lord is supporting me in this battle by using people around me.

Let me preface this first account by telling you that my ten-year-old son, Jaden, and I have signed up for our very first 5K.  I must say that he is extremely motivating to have as a running partner.  I'll also be honest and let you know that he has his work cut out for him...I'm no runner! :-)  But this week, he blew me away.

You see, we were running past a house that had a very large dog that was unattended who obviously wanted a piece of our even larger lab/golden retriever mix who runs with us.  Si (our dog) wasn't going to let that dog get anywhere near his "boy".  Unfortunately, Jaden had Si's leash and when he took off, he took Jaden with him.  But my little guy never once let go of that leash as he was pulled across the road until I was able to get to him.  He bravely got up, fought back the tears, and told me he would like to go back to the house while I finished the run.  "No problem," I told him and when we reached the next road, I turned to finish the run as he headed home.

I got to the end of that road and turned around, feeling myself losing steam.  I wanted to stop running...I was starting to hurt.  But as I looked off to the end of the road, I could see a small figure running toward me.  It was Jaden and Si.  I could feel the stinging in my eyes.  When I finally reached them, Jaden said, "Mom, I told you that I would support you in this, so I just had to come back."  So, I kept running.  God is good!

Later in the week, I arrived home from work in an unpleasant mood.  It had been a rough and stressful day and my plate was so full of things that needed to be accomplished that I was starting to feel like I was drowning.  Then my husband got home and took Jaden to gymnastics and picked up a healthy dinner on the way home so that I would have time to get in my workout.  It may not seem like much, but it was a HUGE deal to me.  And as soon as the workout was complete, my mood had completely changed.  Praise the Lord!

These are my personal victories.  I wanted to give up, but the Lord gave me what I needed to keep going.  It would have been easy to throw in the towel and not work out on the bad day I had, but God provided a way for me to keep up this fight.  #Determination!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Need You Now

When I started this journey with M2C, I heard this song on the radio.  It is exactly what I needed to hear, so I wanted to share it in case someone else needed to hear it today! :)



Thursday, January 23, 2014

#Empowered



Our word for this week in the Made to Crave Bible study is EMPOWERED.  I certainly haven't felt "in power" in terms of my weight in the past.  It may sound hokey, but as soon as I decided to GIVE UP power in this area I began to be empowered...I was free of the fight.  I turned it over to God and let Him do the fighting.

When I looked up "power" in the subject guide of my Bible, it said POWER (see also MIRACLES).  Hmmm...that's interesting.  It certainly seems like a miracle that I would ever be able to look in the mirror without judging myself...guilt, shame, disgust.  But I'm going to be honest with you...IT IS HAPPENING.  And here is the reason why:  I am no longer focusing on the outside.  If the outside improves, BONUS!

Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."  My reasoning for this journey is not vanity...for once.  I want to FEEL good.  And I AM feeling good.

But I'm about to get real...really real.  I've been super motivated to work on my relationship with Christ and I've been faithful.  But what if I lose motivation?  What if this "feel good" feeling ends...like a New Year's resolution?  In reality, the "What if" should probably be more like "What will I do WHEN"?  Because I know the devil isn't going to give up that easy.  I will be tempted.  I will fall down.  But I must remain faithful and thankful.  

Thank you to my sisters who are completing the Made to Crave Bible study with me.  You are helping me to remain faithful.  Let's continue to encourage and #EMPOWER each other!


Monday, January 20, 2014

Food Journal

I created this food journal last time I was facing this weight battle, which is why it says "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".  I wanted to replace it with scripture that we've discussed with M2C, but I can't seem to find my original copy, so I thought I'd post the original version anyway, in case someone wanted to use it.



The conference call this morning was inspiring.  I'm so glad I invested in the add-ons with this Bible study.  I need the motivation!

My goals for this week:
1) Keep up with the M2C schedule.  There are A LOT of resources and I don't want to miss a thing!
2) Continue my morning Bible study.
3) Work out 5 days this week (one day down, four to go!)
4) Make healthy food choices

Happy Monday, y'all!


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Jumping Off the Page

Today is the first day of the Made to Crave online Bible study that I am taking part in.  Throughout my day, three verses have jumped out at me.

The first came from my morning reading from The Duck Commander Devotional.  The first line may as well have been flashing neon for me...I'm seeking true godliness and contentment.



I found the second in my morning reading of the Made to Crave Devotional.  I must seek Him daily.



Finally, while I was blog hopping some of the Made to Crave bloggers, I stumbled across this verse.  Although I grow weary, He does not.  He understands my heart and loves me unconditionally.



I'm going to be tackling some tough issues over the next few weeks.  I may be able to reveal some serious truths and I'm sure things are going to get messy.  Hopefully, my stories will be helpful to someone else as well.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

You Are Invited...

A couple of weeks ago I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, when I see a friend has posted about an online Bible study through Proverbs 31 Ministries.  I'd never heard of them before, but their upcoming study was "Made to Crave:  Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food" by Lysa Terkeurst.


Year after year, my New Year's Resolution has been about my weight.  This year, I made a conscious effort for it NOT to have anything to do with trying to lose weight.  It's a never-ending battle of depriving myself, working out, falling from the wagon, wallowing in guilt, losing the motivation, and on...and on...and on...

So, when I come across this post, I have a moment of clarity.  This is EXACTLY what I need!  I can address these issues in a way I NEVER have before.  You see, in the past I have invested hundreds (probably thousands) of dollars trying to feel good about myself by focusing on the outside.  I've been doing it backwards this whole time!  I signed up for the study, purchased the book, and invited my sister-in-law and mom to join me.

The book study starts tomorrow.  Mind you, I started preparing right after New Year's.  In the meantime, I started reading the devotional that Lysa also has.  (I coupled this with The Duck Commander devotional that I started at the beginning of the year and the I Am Second challenge that I absolutely love.)  I'm up early every morning, craving the Word of God (which is where the blog name was born).  Immediately, I begin to feel more peace.  Why have I never thought to give this burden to God?  This is the area that makes me feel the least worthy and I will overcome through HIM.  This time, I'm not focused on a number on the scale.  I want to feel good from the inside out.  My primary focus is strengthening my relationship with Him.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not sitting on the couch expecting God to make me skinny.  I'm asking Him to help me with motivation, praising Him each and every day, and thanking Him for the many blessings that I have.  My sister-in-law and I signed up for my very first 5K, which will help keep me motivated in the exercise department.  I joined Spark People to help me track my weight and exercise (which I heard about through M2C).  And I'm taking part in this book study to help me connect with people who feel the same way I do so that we can motivate and support each other.

I am so excited to begin this journey and have decided to blog my way through the good, the bad, and the ugly so that I can take part in the M2C blog hop and share this journey with my sisters in the study.  LET'S DO THIS!


 

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