My Knight In Shining Armor

I have been busy reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst again as I find myself having lots and lots of downtime due to my knee issues.

I came across the following quote and was amazed at how much it resonated deep within me (yet again!):

But I did need to make changes.  I knew it.  Because this wasn't really about the scale or what clothing size I was; it was this battle that raged in my heart.  (Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave, pg. 28)

Dear Friends, this battle has been raging strong lately in my heart.  Not being able to be physically active has left me with this sort of empty feeling.

I know that I have not been faithful in my journey as of late.  I know that I have allowed myself to occasionally turn to food before I have turned to God.

Let me be clear, it is not like I have forgotten my journey.  That is always at the forefront of my mind.  However, I realize that I am merely human and that I do slip up from time to time.

Does this excuse it?  Definitely NOT!  However, it most certainly helps me learn from it.

Lysa TerKeurst refers to her battle as a mountain.  As she continues to bring her battles and struggles with food to God and turn to Him, she removes bricks from her mountain and turns it into a pathway to prayer.

This does not mean that we will not struggle!

However, it gives us faith to know that the more we continue to press on in our journey to become women who crave God and NOT food that we are building our pathway to a greater and deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father.

I know that this post has taken a long time to be written.  I started writing and then would delete it.  Started and then delete.  Time and time again I have been trying to find the right words to write down.

My struggle runs deep . . . daily.  The more I find circumstances pressing in on me the more I find it increasingly harder to turn and give all that I have and all that I am to our God.

Dear Friends, if you are struggling please know that I lift you up daily in constant prayer.  You are not alone in this journey.

I know that I am comforted in the fact that God is carrying me in his arms as I write this.  I would be so lost if I did not have the love of our Heavenly Father and the faith to know that He will continue to wage war for me in my battles.

He is my knight in shining armor!  Riding forth on his valiant steed with sword raised and shield readied to fight for me.

How comforting!

We serve a great and glorious king and I am reminded of this daily.  My prayer is that you, too, will know just how mighty and powerful and great of a God we serve and that you will learn to pour all that you have and all that you are into an everlasting and deep relationship with Him.

Power to Resist Temptations

Wouldn't it be nice if all of our temptations were as easily visible as this?

It would make things so much easier wouldn't it?

I can see it now.  Sitting on the couch watching a movie and this big orange fuzzy monster comes walking in with chips and popcorn.  How much easier it would be for me to say no to that!

Yet our temptations are not as easily visible to us or to others.

Earlier I wrote a post titled Turning Your Cravings into Blessings.  Here I urged you to do battle against your temptations with scripture and prayer.  

Some of you have expressed how difficult it is to fight off your temptations.  I can definitely relate to this!  Temptations for food have a way of getting under our skin, into our entire being!  We can taste them, see them, touch them . . . . and it breaks us.

Temptations appear in many forms for many different people.  Most of you that read my blog struggle with the same temptations towards foods that I do.

We are bombarded daily by ads in magazines, commercials on the television, pictures that we see on the internet.  All of these images ignite in us a desire, a craving, to consume foods that we know will leave us with a deep sense of dread and guilt if we allow ourselves to indulge.

It consumes us.  

Yet we have the power within us to fight off these temptations.  We just may not know it yet.

When we turn to God in our deepest time of craving and wanting we are slowly retraining our minds to crave a higher power than that of food.  When we take the time to fervently ask God to help us break down the hold that temptations have on us we are striving to deepen our relationship with the One we should crave daily.

God provides us with the tools we need to overcome our temptations if we merely ask Him for them.

Don't get me wrong, dear friends.  I know that we think it cannot be as simple as that.  I have found myself in my room, curled up on my bed, tears streaming down my face as I fight off the urge to binge on foods that I know will leave me with an even deeper emptiness than before.  

If we seek out God during our times of despair He will answer us.  

We are designed, made, fashioned, created to crave.  Yet not what our body desires but what our heart and soul desire.  A true, deep, desire for a relationship with God.  

Here are some Healthy Eating Go-To Scripts from Lysa TerKeurst.  Dear friends, when you find yourself reaching for those irresistible temptations, turn to the One who can give you the strength to move past them.  Read the passages provided, pray, cry if you need to.  Know that this is not a battle that you need to face on your own.  We have a Creator who wants to do battle for us.

My favourite scripture passages to help resist temptation is:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.  1 Corinthians 10 vs 13

"He will provide a way out so that you can endure it."  Dear friends, this brings me comfort.  To know that if I ask, He will provide me with a way out so that I can endure it.

You are not alone.  You are walking with your Heavenly Father.  Call out to Him in your times of struggle and He will help you find rest.

Turning Your Cravings Into a Blessing

Dear Friends, if I could encourage you to go out and buy the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst than today would be a glorious day!  This book is so powerful!  If you could only see the post it notes that I have strewn throughout the book as I vigorously write notes while I read!  Lately I cannot be seen without my pencil, Post It Notes and my book!

If you recall in this post, I talked about the First Story of Temptation.  How Eve was tempted with food by Satan in the Garden of Eden.  Satan wants to do everything possible to draw us away from the one who love us.  He wants to do everything he can to replace our cravings for God with something else.

Lysa TerKeurst writes:

Satan intentionally chooses his tactics.  He knows where we are weak.  He desires to lure us away from God.  And he knows what works . . . the cravings of the sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has or does.  (1 John 2 vs 15 to 16)

We already know that Eve was tempted in the Bible and the story of Satan tempting Jesus is just as powerful (Matthew 4 vs 1 to 11).  What is important though, is to look at how differently both Eve and Jesus reacted when they were tempted.  You see, Eve was saturated in the object of her desire and Jesus was saturated in God's truth (Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave pg 23).

Can you think back to the last time you had a bag of chips?  Or maybe a chocolate chip cookie or a brownie?  For some of you that will be a long time ago, for others that is just around the corner!  Now here is the bigger question:  were you able to eat just one?  Be honest with yourself.  Chances are you were unable to stop at just one.  You may have wanted to stop at one, but even subconsciously you were still reaching into the bag.

Well here comes the hard truth.  We crave what we eat.  If we allow ourselves to eat unhealthy foods and to make unhealthy choices we will continuously crave unhealthy foods with gusto!  If we allow ourselves to make healthy food choices and to eat more fruits and vegetables, then eventually we will begin to reach for those healthy choices and push aside the desire for pre-packaged convenience foods that are loaded with sugar or salt or fried goodness.  Eve craved what she focused on.  We crave what we think about.  And what we think about can consume us if we are not careful (Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave pg 23).

Look back at the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert.  What is one thing that stands out to you?  Is it just the fact that He was tempted?  Look deeper if necessary.  Pull out your study Bible and delve deep into that passage.  When Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus fought back with the power of God's word.  What better way to fight off temptation than with the overwhelming power of Scripture!  You too can fight off temptations using God's word!  Truth is powerful.  The more saturated we are with truth the more powerful we'll be in resisting our temptations.  And the more we'll naturally direct our cravings to where they should be directed -- to the Author of all truth.  (Lysa TerKeursst, Made to Crave pg 24).

Dear friends, as you spend time in prayer and studying God's word, write down passages that you feel will help you come stand before God boldly to fight off and resist the temptations that we face!  Keep these passages with you so that you can fight back with the power of God's word!

We may see our cravings for food as a curse but miraculously we can use our cravings for food as a blessing! We can turn our cravings for food into strong powerful cravings for God and His word and all that He can do for us!  I know that I will now see my cravings in this way.  No longer will I allow myself to be the victim!

A Reminder About Why I Am On This Journey

This journey started off when I was reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.  I have long since finished that book and placed it on my table beside my bed where it sat, buried beneath more books that I have since finished reading.  It was not forgotten, just neglected - like many other things in my life seem to have been.

Today I decided that I needed to pick up the book again.  There was this nudging feeling in my heart that I have felt many times over the last month or so.  This time, however, instead of ignoring it, I listened to it.  I am glad that I did.  I am not even done the Foreward and the book is reaching out and grabbing hold of me again.

My friends, let me tell you that this is one powerful book.  It seems like when I read it there are things that stand out to me that did not stand out to me before.  Like things are more relevant this time around then they were the last time that I read it.  Lysa has this way of drawing me in and pulling me closer towards my relationship with God.  Reminding me, ever so gently, of where I am failing and falling short.  Not to reprimand me, but rather, to gently guide me back onto the path that I was wandering very far from.

I would love to be able to write this book out word for word for you, but instead I will highly recommend that you go out and pick up a copy for yourself!  Please understand that while I use this book in relation to my food cravings, the same concepts that she speaks about can be applied to any other craving that you might have in your life.

Lysa speaks about the rich young man in Matthew 19 who comes to Jesus and says "What do I still lack?"  (Matthew 19 vs 20)  Jesus responds, "If you want to be perfect [whole], go, sell your posessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  (Matthew 19 vs 21)  The rich young man goes away sad because he won't give up the one thing that consumes him.  Is this not like people today? Is this not like me?  Refusing to make healthy choices and live a healthy lifestyle so that I too can follow Him? Refusing to give up the hold that food has on me.

Lysa writes:

Jesus meant this for any of us who wallow in whatever abundance we have.  I imagine Jesus looked straight into this young man's soul and said, "I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me.  Then come, follow me."  Suddenly, Jesus isn't just staring at the rich young man; He's also staring at me -- the inside me.  The part I can't cover up with excuses and makeup.  
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  Mark 8 vs 34
It's not an invitation to drag our divided heart alongside us as we attempt to follow hard after God.
With  Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up.
If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves.
If we want to truly get close to God, we'll have to distance ourselves from other things.
If we want to conquer our cravings, then we'll have to redirect them to God.
God made us capable of craving so we'd have an unquenchable desire for more of Him and Him alone.

Wow!  What a true eye opener!  These words spoke straight to my soul today.  Right where I needed them to be!  Getting healthy isn't just about losing weight.  It's about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change -- spiritually, physically, and mentally!

We need to ask God to give us the desire to be more healthy.  You see, shallow desires produce shallow efforts.  We cannot do this on our own.  We need to seek out a spiritual want to that can only be provided by God himself.  We need to stop trying to do this on our own and realize that God can give us all that we lack.

I don't know about you, but that fills my heart.  God truly cares and He wants us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him and He knows that it is not something that we can do on our own.  We just simply need to ask for the empowerment.

Life Cafe

Tonight was more than I could have asked for.  It was a heaven sent blessing, that's for sure.

Life Cafe is our church's version of Coffee Break.  It is for women of all walks of faith that includes time of fellowship, laughter, fun and study.  The best part, is that it is held both in the morning and in the evening.  A perfect way to include everyone if you ask me!  It allows those that work during the day to have the opportunity to be part of something great, too!

I have been given the privilege to lead a handful of these women in Lysa TerKeurst's Made to Crave study and I could not be more joyous!  Oh how my heart was full as I was able to share with them not only my own personal struggles, but also something that has helped to reach out and touch my heart.

As you know, Made to Crave has been a God send in my life.  It has not only been an eye opening read, but has been a helpful aide in bringing me to a place where I can now acknowledge that my addiction to food has been controlling me for far too long.

To be able to reach out to these women and share with them my struggles (that are, I might add, continuous and ongoing) and to say that there is help was more than I could have asked for.

We truly serve an awesome, amazing, wonderful, loving God.  I never knew that starting this journey would take me down this path, but I feel blessed knowing that He wants me to do this.

When I started out, I truly thought that this would be a personal struggle that I would deal with on my own and with God.  I never thought that I would have the opportunity to share this and speak so openly about this topic with other women who feel the same way I do.  I felt that I truly was alone when it came to how I felt.  It almost feels like a breath of fresh air to know that I am not alone.

Now don't get me wrong, my heart aches for women who feel the way that I do and my soul cries out for them as I lift them up in prayer.  I don't wish these feelings on anyone.  Yet to know that God wants to use me, plain old broken messed up me, to help others is amazing.  Even better though, it is humbling.

Dear friends, I plead with you to pray for me.  Pray that I will have the right words to say at the right time.  Pray that I will be silent when He calls me to be silent.  Pray that God will guide our study together and that He will use me to bring light to others who are struggling.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  ~ Psalm 73 verse 26

It's Not Fair!

I think that I have said "It's not fair!" to myself more times then I can count.  I know that I have cried in my room on more than one occasion thinking that it's not fair that I look the way I do or that I feel the way I do.  It's not fair that I have this struggle with food and this constant feeling of "want."

Have you ever walked through your local grocery store and peeked at what items were in another person's grocery cart as you walked passed them?  I have.  In fact, I catch myself doing it all the time.  I don't know why I do it either.  I leave the grocery store feeling jealous and envious of others.  Why can't I look like her?

As I was reading Made to Crave last night, Lysa TerKeurst had an entire chapter written on this very topic.  Satan tempts us in so many ways.  He creates feelings of self-doubt in order to bring us further away from God.  He takes pleasure in knowing the exact words to say so that our sinful desires keep us away from building up our relationship with our heavenly Father.  How many times have I cried to my husband thinking that it's not fair that I can't look and feel good in a simple pair of jeans?  How many times have I stood in front of the bathroom mirror thinking that it's not fair that I don't look good in a bathing suit?  How many times have I wanted to give up this fight all because it's not fair?

Food may be a struggle in my life, but I am choosing to not let it be a curse.  Sure, it is going to take time and work and strength beyond what I am capable of, but I am willing to work at it.  My struggles may be outward in appearance and are evident to me each and every day, but they are how God is teaching me to be dependent on Him.

So while I may not be able to eat those french fries or that piece of cake or even that simple chocolate chip cookie, I will rejoice in the fact that God is helping me break down my idols of food and build up a strong dwelling place for Him in me.