1 Corinthians 10:12-13

It's time for the Proverbs 31 OBS blog hop!  It is the last one for the Made to Crave study - bitter sweet!

This week's verse is 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.  You've probably heard it before if you have battled some sort of temptation.
I must admit, I struggled with making this verse my own.  I'm still trivializing the temptations I face with food as "real" temptations sometimes.
How can I compare my food cravings to the cravings of an alcoholic?  or drug addict?  or thief?
Sad thing is, I know that my temptations are as much a distraction from my walk with God as anyone else who struggles with temptation.  We have turned our addictions into idols.

Ew…I don't like saying I have a food addiction!!!

Anyway - on to the verse!

Here's my take: 

I cannot be fooled into thinking I am unwavering (invincible).  I must be aware of my choices so that I don't fall.  I have no excuse: there is no temptation I have ever been faced with that hasn't been faced before.  All of mankind has struggled.  GOD is true, thorough, and trusted.  He WILL NOT allow me to be attracted to something past the point of my ability to handle it.  But, when (not if) I am lured to something, he will supply other options (HE IS MY PORTION) so that I can resist with patience.

I can't let my guard down.

Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour.  Satan doesn't give up, so why should I?

God will ALWAYS be my portion.  He will ALWAYS provide a way for me to avoid those things that haunt me.

Want to see what others have to say?  Click that button over there ~~~>

I have SO enjoyed and grown in this study.  Thank you to Lysa TerKeurst and the ladies at Proverbs 31 Ministries for this study.  Thank you to the other ladies (and a few men) who have stuck it out and done this with me.  It has been eye opening and #empowering!

The next OBS will be the Action Plan that goes along with Made to Crave!  Very excited to start that soon.  If you have never participated in an online Bible study, I encourage you to join one soon! It has helped me with the discipline of daily time of prayer, Bible reading, and journaling…not to mention the self discipline with my health!

If you are wondering - I have lost 7.5 lbs during this 6-week study.  I am THRILLED that the number on the scale is going down.  But, I'm even more thrilled that another area of my life has been enveloped by my "spiritual" life.  My desire is that my entire life will be my spiritual life!

Unpacking 2 Corinthians

God's love is enough for me.  His authority exactly fits my needs at exactly the right time for an exact purpose when I lack strength.

How do I know this?  Because I read 2 Corinthians 12:9 over and over.  I meditated on it, I looked up words in the dictionary, and I let it speak to my exact needs.  

I am weak. He is strong.

I am far from perfect. He is complete.

I fail. He is perfect.

No matter my struggles, He will provide.  When there is not way to succeed - He steps in and saves the day!

Yeah for an absolutely perfect Provider!

See what others have to say about this verse.  Click the P31 Online Bible Study button over there ~~~>

#Truth

What is #Truth?
Truth, to me is the honest to goodness fact of the matter!  God's Word.  Through the first 11 Chapters of Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, the Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study, and my own reflection and prayer, God has revealed many #truths to me.  While these may not apply to you, they speak volumes to me.

In case they do speak to you, I'm going to share!

#Truths I've learned so far:

• Scripture is my truth. I need more truth!
• My weight is a direct reflection of my choices and my state of health.  And I am ashamed of my choices and state of health.
• Truth is power.  The more saturated I am with the truth, the more powerful I am to resist temptations.
• My "thing" with void is more about indulgence than filling an emptiness.  Feeling indulgent makes me feel important.
• My key: SELF-CONTOL in ALL areas of my life.
• Craving is a prompt to pray.
• I can, in fact, follow a plan.  They become habits and I am good at habits.
• I don't want to need accountability, but I do need it.
• My best eating plan: clean eating (a diabetic diet so I don't become diabetic).
• There is nothing in this world that is worth losing the love of God!
• I feel empowered when I focus on my true identity in Christ.
• There's a deeper purpose behind our disciplined commitment - it's about embracing a chance for deep and wonderful connections with God.
• We are made for the same hope and power that raised Christ from the dead!
• I really really enjoyed food - all of it.  But not just bad for me food.  I think the bad foods have made me feel indulgent and even a little rebellious.  AHA moment!
• I'm never truly satisfied by food!  My only peace comes when I am aligned with Jesus!
• I need to eat foods that fuel my body and keep it running well.  then I need to use that fuel to satisfy He who lives in me.  And because He lives in my heart, I will have a satisfied heart!
• 2 Peter 1:3 Divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.

• It's so important to fill our hearts and minds with God's words and vital to make His truth the foundation not only for our identity but how we deal with food. 
• God wants to be in communication with us.
• Dissatisfaction gives Satan just enough room to move in with his lie that strips me of motivation: "your body is never going to look the way you want it to look, so why sacrifice so much?"
• GOD CAN CHANGE ME
• I can actually become one of those folks who has self-control when it comes to food and exercise.  And I want to.  In fact, I know I can!  And those people are probably healthier and more fulfilled that those "naturally skinny" people.  The prospect of being one of them is thrilling!
• I have to establish new habits…and I am!
• Control over my thoughts and actions doesn't belong to food.
• I don't think I'm necessarily looking for comfort in food.  But, when I'm feeling upset or stressed, I don't want to use the brain power it takes to make the best choice.  I want the control of eating whatever I want and just not thinking about it.

So, that's it so far! :)

See what everyone else is saying about Truth on the P31 Blog Hop!  ~~~>

How I Define Myself

How do you define yourself?  Are you somebody's wife?  Somebody's mother?  Your profession?  Your flaws?
In the Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study, I've had to reflect on my identity while reading Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. 

How do I identify myself?
Well, I'm Ken's wife, Jennifer, Amber, and Whitney's step-mom, Bob and Karen's daughter, a former teacher, etc.

How do I define myself?
Sadly, my initial answer isn't so great.  It isn't good for me and it isn't a good example for anyone else.

Yup.  It's true.  That's how I sometimes see myself.  As I read that, knowing that others will see it, I feel even more insecure.  I'm embarrassed that I think these things.  I'm embarrassed that I would be so hard on myself.  I'm embarrassed because I'm sure this isn't how everyone else sees me.

I'm mostly embarrassed because this is NOT how God made me!  

After reading and reflecting and praying, here is how I want to define myself:

Yes!  I am beautiful!  Because God says so!

However, that isn't even how I want to be defined.  Not outer beauty, anyway.

I want to be defined as a woman after God's own heart.  A woman who has so much self-control that she cannot be called anything but obedient to him.  A woman who is so full of love for her Lord that she follows His desires for her life and not her own fleshly cravings.

How can I do this?
Well, I've got to make a habit of it.  Reading the Word and understanding how He sees me, how He created me, and what He wants from me, helps me know Him more.

By understanding the Creator I can understand the creation.

Let that sink in for just a minute - I need to!  I want to know Him so well and be so in-tune with his heart that I can see His will and His purpose in my life.
I am 100% sure His purpose for me isn't eating, fretting over my weight, dieting, and being disappointed.  There is so much more.  I WAS MADE FOR MORE!

I've got to practice better health habits - eating right and getting exercise. The more I take care of my body, the more I appreciate it - flaws and all!  He did not make this body just to be thin!  He made this body for His great works!  I WAS MADE FOR MORE!

That is OBEDIENCE!  Knowing him and loving Him by being the best you can be FOR HIM!

1 Peter 5:7-8

1 Peter 5:7-8 says "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  Be self-controlled and alert."

I've read this verse before.  In fact, I've read it over and over when I was feeling anxious.  But, I don't know that I've ever tried to take it deeper than the words that are written.  What does it mean to me?

I took some time with this one!   The very first word, cast, gave me a lot of insight.  That doesn't simply mean give.  I means to hurl - throw it away from you towards God.  LOSE it!  Lose that anxiety!

And not just some of it - give it all away!

The definition of anxiety says it is caused by fear.  And 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God does not give us a spirit of fear.  That anxiety was never meant to be ours in the first place!

Why do we need to give him our fear?  Because he cares about us!  He loves us and has great plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Once we give our anxieties to him, we are off the hook, right?  Nope!  he wants us to do our part - to work for it with his help.  It won't be easy, but we can do it without fear and doubt.

So, if I were to re-write 1 Peter 5:7-8, it would look like this:

Lose my fear and doubt to God, throw it at Him!  He's got this!  He loves me and has better plans for me than I can make for myself.  But I'm not off the hook.  I must focus on the goal and make good choices. I need to stay aware of fear and doubt when they try to creep back.  

How do you see these verses working in your own life?

Unpacking Psalm 82:4

If this is your first visit, you need to know that I am part of a Proverbs31 Ministries online bible study.  We are studying Lysa Terkeurst's book Made to Crave.

If you have been here before, you know I've had a journey of total commitment to healthy eating and fitness to (now) wishing I had stuck with it.

Enter, this Bible study!

There are daily readings, challenges, and encouragements.  Today is Blog Hop Day!  It's my favorite way to share.  There were 4 options for blog topics.  Three of them gave me immediate ideas.  Option 2 was the most intimidating.

So I chose #2.

Unpack the verse Psalm 82:4.

I have read this verse several times this week and said to myself, "Yup.  I need to crave God more."  I'm not very good at digging into scripture. It takes me several times of hearing the same verse over and over to get deep into it. And usually it's because a Biblical scholar (or somebody I perceive as way more spiritual than I am) tells me what the deeper meaning is.

I am NO Biblical scholar.

But I have decided that I am just as entitled to the Spirit helping me understand as anyone else.

So I dove into it.

I want to let this settle with me for a while, but I do love how this verse unpacked for me!  I did discover more in this verse!

Not only do I need to crave Him, I need a strong and tender desire that comes from deep within me for his presence.  And from his presence, my fleshly desires and the desires of my heart will become tuned to His desires for me.

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

The more I crave Him, the more delight I will find IN Him.
The more delight in Him, the more my heart will be in tune with Him.
The more in-tune my heart is, the more I will desire His will for me.
The more desire for His will, the more desires will be granted.

I'm glad I chose option 2!  What a gift this morning :)

Join the blog hop and see what everyone else is talking about! There's a link on the side ~~~>

See how week 1 went for me by clicking here!

You Are Invited

I've been quiet for a while.
Again.
Because I've gotten busy and let a lot of things go.  A lot of things that had become important…that required discipline and planning…have gone undone.
Including my health/weight/fitness.
So it's time to start over…AGAIN!
This time, I'm asking about 33,000 of my closest friends to help me.  And, most importantly, I'm asking GOD to take over again!

"I know how to get healthy - I just can't get motivated!"

Ever said that?

Want to join me?

You know how much the book Reshaping It All meant to me in the beginning of my "better me" journey.  I still plan to revisit that one, but I'm starting a new book.

Its called Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.

I have heard her speak twice a the Extraordinary Women Conference.
She is hilarious.  More importantly, she has battled to be healthy and shares her experiences.  Most importantly, she is filled with the Spirit of God.

I cannot wait for this study to begin!  I've already been receiving emails from the host, Proverbs 31 Ministries, preparing me for what is to come.  I believe this study is really going to help me get my head on straight AGAIN!  And, let's face it, getting your head in the game is really what makes a difference!

I've already been encouraged in unexpected ways by the Facebook posts from P31!  They have obviously followed God's promptings because it has changed my attitude a few times already!

Here's a my own journey in a nutshell:

• Got super-motivated and started eating well and exercising
• Weight started coming off slowly, but was moving
• Started running - weight came off faster
• Lost about 25 lbs
• Went to Disney World, ate too much, enjoyed holiday after holiday
• Been trying to get back on track for about a year!
• Gained about 15 lbs back.
• Still down 10, but only 10

So…will you join me?  There's a button over there ~~~~~>

While I am committing to this study, I am also committing to share my thoughts, feelings, and experiences with you here.  I value your feedback and your own honesty too!