Made To Crave Bible Study - Making Wise Choices Over Time

"Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Making healthy choices continuously over time is so important to success.  It can also be difficult.  You have to be careful that you don't allow the occasional human slip-up to send you on a downward spiral, right back to where you started.

I've been on that path before.  But - this time it's going to be different.  I won't say that I will never make the wrong choice again.  Face it...none of us are perfect, and that definitely includes me.  What I have to make sure I do is work through it - choice by choice, prayer by prayer - so that I build up my success one choice and one prayer at a time. 

Perfecting holiness doesn't mean we are perfect. Only God is perfect.  It does mean that we keep working at it, getting as close to perfect as we can and never giving up.  God knows - that I'm trying, that I want to get to that place where I'm always making right choices.  And that counts for a lot with Him. As long as I keep moving toward the goal and pick myself up when I make a mistake and continue on, I'll be on the right track.

And as long as I pray and talk to God continuously, especially when I make a mistake, He will be happy.  That is where I need to find my peace - and I will get there.

Made To Crave Bible Study - God, Fill My Soul

"For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." - Psalm 107:9

God promises to fill our souls, so we will hunger and thirst no more.  This is so important...so why do I forget way too often?

Food and drink cannot truly fill us.  Those are temporary fixes that still leave a void after the eating is over.  That's why we always feel so much worse after a binge.  It's not just the sick feeling in our stomachs or the thoughts of all of the extra calories that we don't need.  It's because food does not actually FILL us.

But sometimes I don't stop to think about that - especially when I'm stressed.  I feel like I need a "reward" after putting up with different issues or situations, without thinking what the real reward is.

The real reward is a closer relationship with God.  Turning to Him to fill me instead of food is much more satisfying. 

What I need to do - and will start doing as of now - is to take a deep breath and really think before committing to a "treat".  Why do I want the treat?  Is the reason something that would be better served by prayer or a heart-to-heart conversation with God?

I'd say the majority of the time the prayer needs to win out; if I do decide to have a rare treat, it will be because I talked it over with God first so He will help me limit it to a small serving instead of binging.  The only way I will win in this lifetime is by talking to God instead of turning to sugar or junk food.  And that would also cause me to be in better shape (body, mind, and soul) the next time I need to make a decision.  Then I can build the healthy cycle of prayer and better decisions into something consistent to make me a stronger, more confident child of God.

I think it's time to put a big sign in my kitchen - GOD FILLS MY SOUL, NOT FOOD.  The more I remind myself of His promise, the better I will be at saying no to unhealthy foods.  In turn, the better I will be at fulfilling His purpose for me!

Made To Crave Bible Study - The Voice of Truth

There is a song by Casting Crowns that always hits close to home for me.  If you haven't heard it yet here are the lyrics: 

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

[Chorus]
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

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Can you relate?  I know I can.  I've lost count of how many times in my life I've been afraid to do something, tried to get my courage up, and felt like there was a vice inside of my head saying, "What makes you think you can do this?"  or "You've failed before, you're just going to fail again."

 

But what is the actual truth?  That negative voice is the devil whispering in my ear.  He wants me to fail again - or worse yet - not even try.  He knows that God has a lot He wants me to accomplish for Him, and he doesn't want me to accomplish any of it.  Even when I do have some success, the enemy tries to tell me that it was a fluke...that I'd better enjoy that moment because I'll never have another one.  Sometimes he even uses people I know to try to bring me down, and it's hard enough to hear those negative things from my own head, let alone outside of it.

 

The truth is that God made me - so of course I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  God wants me to succeed, to listen to His voice telling me to put the fear aside and trust Him.  He won't steer me wrong. 

 

I know it will take time to get the enemy's voice out of my head, because even when things are going well he's always going to try to get me to stop believing in God and myself.  The key is to stay in continual prayer, so I can clearly hear the Voice of Truth and do what God wants me to do.

 

I'm ready for the challenge.  How about you?

Made To Crave Bible Study - Making Peace With My Body

 

 

 

This week in the Made To Crave Bible study, we're discussing how we are not defined by the numbers on the scale - how we should make peace with our bodies, no matter what shape they are in at any given moment in time.

 

Making peace with my body has been an ongoing process...I've gone back and forth between hating the extra pounds and loving myself for who I am no matter what I see on the scale or in the mirror for as long as I can remember. 

 

Growing up, I started to gain weight in 3rd grade.  Before that I was way too skinny because I was sometimes too nervous to eat more than a piece of toast before school.  So as a child/teen I always heard comments about my body, ranging from looking like I was starving to being "disgusting" because I had gained weight.  I don't think I ever heard that I looked good (other than from my parents) until I was out of high school and lost the weight for good, leveling out in a healthy range for my height.  Even then, jealous people would tell me I was still too skinny or notice every time I put on a couple of pounds and warn me about "getting fat again". 

 

Being young and impressionable, I listened way too much to those outside voices.  I'd torture myself over everything, which didn't help in my having a healthy relationship with food.  I'd binge, starve myself, pretend not to care...at one point I even used laxatives to keep my weight in check. Thankfully an angel voice inside of me got me to stop this destruction after about five months.  I gained weight, but at least I wasn't taking Ex-Lax or Correctol and harming myself that way.

 

I've made progress, both in loving my body and losing some of the excess weight.  My thoughts still fluctuate when I hear kids make fun of me and snicker, or get dirty looks from adults who should know better.  But this Bible study is helping me realize that other people don't determine my worth - GOD does.

 

So my challenge for myself - and for you - is to stop the minute we hear something negative about our bodies, whether from ourselves or from others who have no place to judge.  Replace those words and thoughts with thoughts of God.  We are His children - we are always beautiful to Him!

Made To Crave Bible Study - Confident Child of God

Confident child of God (Ephesians 3:12)

This is something I've struggled with off and on through my entire life so far.  I'm sure to some extent I always will.  But it's time to make my struggle with confidence a rare and unusual occurrence. 

Why?  Because GOD wants me to be confident - to believe in myself, because He made me to succeed and be the best me I can be.

He doesn't want me to second guess (or third guess) myself every time I go to do something.  He wants me to pray and take all things to Him, of course.  But if He has put something in my heart and given me the ability and talent to do it, then I shouldn't keep being afraid that it won't work out.  I should step out in faith and confidence that He will work it all out for my good and the good of others.

So that's my next step in this Bible study - to give all of the worry and anxiety to God and just go ahead and do the things He leads me to do.  This goes for fitness and health issues...plus everything else I need to accomplish in life.

Doing this will lead me to the next step - victorious child of God.  (Romans 8:37).  Confidence leads to victory, and victories lead to more confidence...and so on.  It's a really good cycle to be on, and it starts NOW.

So here's to being a CONFIDENT and VICTORIOUS child of God!

Made To Crave Bible Study - Permissible But Not Beneficial

"Everything is permissible...but not everything is beneficial."  (1 Corinthians 10:23 NIV)

This is the verse/statement that hit me the hardest so far in the Made To Crave Bible study.  So many times we go on diets that tell us what we're "allowed" to have, and what foods are "forbidden".  I've been on those diets, and all it makes me want to do is have the stuff they tell me I can't have.  It's as if they want to treat us like two-year-olds by telling us that certain things are no-nos.  And we all know how toddlers react when they are told no!

This verse brings everything around to free will.  We can do whatever we want - but there are consequences to our choices and decisions.  Sure, we can choose to eat a box of candy, pint of ice cream, or bag of chips if that's what we want.  But eating those things won't be beneficial to our health. 

Just as someone with any other type of addiction does, we have a choice.  It may not be easy, and we won't be able to do it all on our own.  We need support from others on the road to healthy living. 

Mot of all, we need God.  Struggling with food addiction - or anything else - requires focusing on God rather than the addiction...and when you feel you are about to lose control and give in, well, that's when it's especially important to pray and ask God for the strength you need to get through the craving without giving in - every single time.

I've been known to binge on junk food at times, especially anything filled with sugar.  I've bought a small sheet cake and eaten half of it at one time.  I've scarfed down two pints of ice cream when I'm stressed.  When I was younger, I even had such a bad sugar craving that I finished off a half-used tube of cake icing just to satisfy the urge for sweets.  Obviously, I didn't need permission from anyone to do these things.  I did it because I felt like it.

But of course, none of those items were beneficial to me in any way.  I only craved sugar more.  After the sugar high, the crash made me feel lethargic.  And of course my stomach was not happy trying to digest all of that sugar at one time. 

This is not to say you can never have a small treat.  The operative word here is SMALL.  A scoop of ice cream, a slice of cake, one piece of candy...on occasion these things can be fine.  This can also keep you from binging on unhealthy foods, because you know you can have a little bit once in a while.

The trick is to ask God to help you make the right choices:  when to have that small treat, when to pass it up, and how to keep from overdoing it and binging when you do decide to have a small amount.  This will require daily practice on our part, focusing on God and bringing these struggles to Him in prayer.  It has to be taken on with Him as the guide.

I'm getting back into the habit of taking the stress to God, so He can help me deal with it in better ways than eating whatever I feel like eating at the moment.  I want my choices to be beneficial - just as they should be!

Join Me in the "Made To Crave" Online Bible Study!

It's time to do this - full out.

I read Lysa TerKeurst's book Made To Crave about two years ago.  It made an impact on me then, as it helped me get in the right frame of mind to lose weight by giving the issue over to God.  I've lost over 30 pounds since then, but something is still off.

I have about 60 - 70 pounds yet to go, and I want to reach my goal.  I've discovered that I still slip into old habits of eating under stress, especially sugary foods.  I don't always remember to ask God for the help I need to get everything under control, especially in the last few months dealing with an unusual schedule - unusual for me, anyway.  In addition to writing, working on getting my first novel published, completing writing assignments while looking for more, and my family's activities, I took on a part-time retail job because we really need the money.  My schedule changes every week, so I'm trying to fit everything in without losing my mind, especially without being able to having a relatively set schedule.  Sometimes I eat at odd hours, at times eating healthy stuff yet also grabbing whatever on occasion (more occasions than I'd like to admit).  I fit in workouts when I can...and I really miss being able to make it to spin classes on a regular basis.  I also miss my Pilates sessions, even though I do some mat work at home.  I've been going through some major bouts of insomnia because of the schedule and the stress.  And the more stressed I become, the more often I hit a drive-thru so I don't have to cook at 10PM, or I grab junk just to get something into my stomach.

It's time for this cycle to STOP.  So when this opportunity to read Made To Crave again, in conjunction with a Proverbs 31 Ministries Bible Study, came up...well, I literally jumped at the chance.  The invitation to participate caused me to get up out of my office chair and thank God.  This is exactly what I need right now, to get me out of this anxious and depressed rut.  Since I read the book the first time without studying the corresponding Bible verses at the same time, I only got partial help from it.  I feel that doing this in its entirety will be just what I need to finally get it together and make all of the necessary changes in my life to get to where God wants me to be. 

If you feel this will help you as well, I invite you to join me and many others in this online Bible study.  You can find out more and sign up here.  Let's make 2014 the year we do everything we need to do to be our best.  I'm excited to start - and hope you'll do it with me!