Soooo proud of myself today….and I think I even saw Cardboard Jesus wink at me as I headed out the door to the gym; my fourth day in a row. Woohoo. I am happy to be getting the activity part of this new lifestyle down but still find the food part a bit challenging. I can’t say that I never “craved” snacks before but I don’t remember sitting around the house wondering what time it was, how many points I had already eaten that day, and just what I could eat with the remaining points? It seems that when I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted… I didn’t. But now that I am watching what I eat and told that some things (or as many things as I wanted before) are off limits; I NEED it more and more and I can’t.
Activity….Check. Food cravings….Working on it. More time with Jesus….Soooo there and loving it. Of course I was super excited to find more gold from Paul when spending time in the Word today too. There are NO accidents. He says: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers (ahem….Gidget), in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2
Paul urged me to offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God because it is my spiritual act of worship. THIS is just what I needed to hear. (Thanks Paul). When I am in church I can never sing during the beginning of the service when we worship him before our pastor speaks. I cry. I can’t even “Milli Vanilli” it without tearing up. (Note: Milli Vanilli was a musical duo from the 90s that lip synced everything and won a Grammy before anyone realized it; later stripping them of the award). But… I digress. I have recently realized that just looking at the projected words on the screen and knowing how they speak to me…gets me choked up. But Jesus knows that my heart sings above the congregation in perfect tune and doesn’t judge me for not moving my lips. That being said and reading Paul’s words, I was reminded that there are many ways to worship him and I have the opportunity to forget what the world is about and give him what He is waiting for; renewing my mind for what is possible.
I know what I need to do and am so grateful to have so many illustrations and examples of just “how to” do it. But it is one thing to know the right thing to do and another to live it. James was the epitome of this realization and put it best: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-26. I just need to remember that I can’t be too hard on myself but continue to move forward regardless of what the scale says, what others tell me, and what happens around me. I just need to do what I say I am going to do and not blame others for the challenge I feel when it comes to the cravings. Admittedly blaming Eve of all people (yes….Eve of Adam and Eve) for the downfall of ALL women. I thought it completely appropriate when I read Lysa’s devotion for today when she mentions Eve by name too. I literally giggled and was in awe as I opened the “Day Four” Email…. “Are Cravings Chasing You?”
I share with you: “Eve’s temptation in the Garden of Eden. While the object that enticed her might have been an apple, the core of her struggle was that she wanted to be like God, knowing good and evil. The very downfall of humanity was caused when the first woman surrendered to a craving to eat something she wasn’t supposed to eat, and to pursue a power that she was never intended to wield.” Whew…. At the risk of sounding like we are ganging up on Eve, I am soooo glad I’m not the only one that “went there” to notice that Eve started it all. Darn her.
But today was a productive day and a fun day, crossing a few things off my To Do list; the most alarming of those things being a “Before” picture. What the heck? There is no “Before” picture without an “After” picture. Taking a picture now is truly just a chunky girl on the receiving end of a camera. Um…. Okay. But, after just five minutes I figured out how to use the time delay feature on my camera and began clicking away. Still working on the lighting and placement since it was just placed on my ironing board with a ten second “Ready, Set, Go.” In looking at them now (and hiding in a random folder on my laptop) I am holding my breath that there will be a couple “After” pictures to redeem myself.
I dress in layers and love mixing colors and patterns so that is handy, but… I would like the option of NOT having to wear so many tops or jackets to hide the “muffin top”…. proof that jeans are entirely too tight in some spots and saggy in others. So, truth be told, there is a “Current” picture that will hopefully be called a “Before” picture when the faith and footwork has been put to the test and an “After” picture will be, not only necessary, but appreciated and posted.
No comments:
Post a Comment