Search Results for: label/Made to Crave

Made to Crave – Chapter 10

August 9, 2011 By 2 Comments


So, is anyone out there still with me?? I haven’t posted in a few weeks about Made to Crave, but you can read all the previous posts here. And I am still very much on this journey!!
So, who is with me? Post in the comments so we can encourage and pray for one another!!
The big news at my house is that I FINALLY am past a “plateau” of 13 pounds lost. As I’m typing this, my total weight loss is 18 pounds!! Woo-hoo!! I was stuck at 13 pounds for about a month, but thankfully in the last week or so I’ve started losing again. Thank you, Lord!!
Chapter 10 is called This Isn’t Fair. I had to chuckle at this chapter because it is SO ME. I get so frustrated (at times) with all the goodies I feel like I am “missing out on.” Ugh.
“Saying ‘it’s not fair’ has caused many a girl to toss aside what she knows is right for the temporary thrill of whatever it is that does seem fair…our flesh buys right into Satan’s lie that it’s not fair for things to be withheld from us.” from Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food, p. 100.
Friends, I have said this to myself so many times it’s not even funny. And now that I see it in print and read it for the LIE that it is, I am humbled. I don’t deserve anything, much less food. And, the fact that food had this hold on my heart is also very disturbing, amen?? :)
I found that for me, the more I ate it, the more I craved it. I could not just have a coke once a week…because in a few weeks, I was wanting it everyday…and going to Sonic for my large vanilla coke became a habit. It was a BAD habit that I have had a HARD time breaking…but, I think I am *nearly* broken of the habit!! Can you say HALLELUJAH with me!! :)
The other day I was out by myself and thought to myself, “it’s been MONTHS since you had a soda…just try one and see how it tastes.” I have had so many people tell me that after a few months you don’t crave it or even like it anymore. Well…I learned 2 things that day…first, I DO STILL CRAVE IT. Secondly, I got a large diet vanilla coke from sonic and within about 2 hours I got a headache. Hmmm.


A few months ago before I started this healthy journey, I was getting headaches VERY often…and I’m happy to say that lately I have not been having headaches AT ALL!! Til the day I had the large diet coke!! (I don’t even like diet, with the vanilla it tastes good though.)
So, all the more reason not to indulge!!
The other thing that Lysa reminds us of in this chapter is that everyone has a battle. I may wish I could eat anything and not gain weight like my friend Susie. But, Susie has her own stuff, ya know? We all have stuff we struggle with, eating healthy is just one of mine at this stage in life. But everyone’s got their own stuff. Good reminder.
So, this is my update for today…I want to hear from you!! How are you doing on this journey??

Filed Under: Books I'm Reading, Healthy Living, Made to Crave

Made to Crave ~ Chapter 7

June 30, 2011 By 1 Comment
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-11

I love this passage!! His power has given me EVERYTHING I need for life and godliness!! Whew! He sure has given me a lot. :) I am so needy, so desperate for Him, but I don’t have to worry…He has promised to give me what I need.

For this battle towards a healthier lifestyle, I have so many needs! Self-discipline, motivation, grace, courage, faith, prayer, support, encouragement, hope…the list goes on! But, through Christ I can do this!

This morning I am praying for grace to make it through another day…grace to eat the right foods, grace to not despise the battle I am in but be THANKFUL for it! For through this battle, God is making me more like Himself!! Praise God for this beautiful grace in my life!! I praise Him because through this battle He is giving me humility, grace, self-discipline, holiness, more and more of the character of Christ. So, it’s not all bad, right, dear friends??

What about you? What are you praying for today? Where are you struggling? Let us pray with you…if you have written about this journey on your blog, please post a link in the comments so we can share in this together!

I am still down 11 pounds…but this was a bad week for trying to weigh myself, if you know what I mean!! I’m hoping in a few days to weigh again and notice a difference. Being a woman is just no fun sometimes. :)

Follow along with us:

all Made to Crave posts

Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food from amazon

Filed Under: Books I'm Reading, Healthy Living, Made to Crave

Made to Crave ~ Ch. 3, 4, 5

June 14, 2011 By 4 Comments
Happy Tuesday, friends!! How has your week been? For those of you on this journey to BETTER HEALTH, please share an update with us!! I would love to hear how it is going for you so I can know how to better pray for you!
**Also, if any of you are blogging about this journey and would be interested in some kind of linky fun here on my blog, let me know in the comments and maybe we can do that next week!
Here’s an update on my health before we jump into the chapters:
1. I have been completely off lexapro (after weaning fairly slowly) for 1 week now and have a LOT of light-headedness!! Saturday I was about at my wit’s end…but then Sunday and Monday were better, so I am *hoping* I have seen the worst!! It is still there, mostly in the afternoons/evenings, but not nearly as bad as Saturday. I have googled a lot and found that this is very common.
2. My total weight loss at this point is a little over 8 pounds. I do enjoy having a digital scale, like Kimberly mentioned in the comments recently. It encourages me even if I have lost a few ounces!!
3. I am doing well with my eating better and drinking lots of water…I had a moment of weakness over the weekend – I was very discouraged about the lexapro and being so lightheaded, but I did NOT cave in and have the coke that I wanted so badly!! YAY!! I did, however, have chips and queso. At least it wasn’t an entire box of ice cream, right?? :)
On to the book…chapter 3 discusses the need for a PLAN. Lysa discusses how much easier it is for her to stick to her healthy eating if she has a PLAN for what she will eat each day. I do this to an extent, but not completely. I don’t plan out each meal, but do know in my head the “list” of foods I can and cannot eat. I am trying to get better about planning our suppers regularly, but all these t-ball games at supper time is kind of messing with our schedule. A few more weeks of games and hopefully we can get more into a routine.
“Poor food choices were sabotaging my body, my mental energy, and even my spirit. Food had become like a drug.” – Lysa TerKeurst, from Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food, p. 37.
Chapter 4 discusses the need for accountability!! I know it definitely helps me to discuss this with other people who are on this same journey! It helps me SO much to know that some of you are praying me through these days! I am praying for you, too!! I hope to share at least 1x per week and let you know it is going. I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments, too!!
The title to chapter 5 is “Made for More.” I love that this chapter discusses VICTORY that we have in Christ!! Girlfriends, we were definitely made for more than this!!
Lysa shares some tips in this chapter that I think are so important and encouraging!! These tips are based on the following Scripture:
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:17-19
1. Be Persistent: keep asking!! We need to keep going back to God! Don’t just pray about your healthy eating plan one time and ask God to bless this journey and then never go back to Him again!! I have been praying many times through the day for perseverance, grace, encouragement…and He is so faithful to supply!! That doesn’t mean that every time I am able to win the fleshly battle, but I know that my God is faithful and just when I need it most, He always provides encouragement through a friend, a blog post, a Scripture passage, a song…etc.
2. Embrace a True Identity: Glorious Father. Why are we made for more? Because God tells us so in His Word! I love this section because Lysa gives us scriptures to plug our own names into and repeat to ourselves when we are struggling!! Here are just a few examples that are some of my favorites…
Candace, the accepted child of God. (1 Cor. 1:2)
Candace, the set-free child of God. (Rom. 8:1-2)
Candace, the victorious child of God. (Rom. 8:37)
Sometimes I just need to DWELL on God’s TRUTH about me!!
“Living in victory tastes sweeter than any unhealthy delicacy.” – Lysa TerKeurst, Made to Crave, p.l 53.
3. Find the Deeper Reason: So that you may know Him better. Lysa discusses the importance of knowing the REAL reason we are praying for wisdom and revelation from God…it is not so we can feel better about ourselves, be skinnier, fit into old clothes, etc. The goal is to KNOW HIM BETTER. I love that!! That helps me focus in on what is most important without getting caught up in numbers, focusing so much on food and every bite I take, etc.
4. Discover a hope and power like no other: that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. This is probably my favorite part of the passage in Ephesians. I want my eyes opened to the POWER that I have in Christ through the Holy Spirit who lives in me!! I want to dwell on the HOPE He gives me! I am made for more!!
Well, this has gotten long, friends! I hope you are enjoying this book as much as I am!! Please do share how you are doing in the comment section! And, read through the comments if you get an extra few minutes, please take a moment to pray for the others on this journey!!
Remember, you are made for more! You are made for victory!!

For all the Made to Crave posts, click here.

Filed Under: Books I'm Reading, Healthy Living, Made to Crave

Gratitude leads to contentment…

June 13, 2011 By 3 Comments
Sunday night at church our pastor talked about how gratitude can be the solution to many problems in our life! One of those is discontentment that leads to covetousness. The more ungrateful we are the more likely we are to complain, be jealous of others and their possessions, and generally be unhappy with our life the way it is.
So for me, learning to be thankful is a journey…it is a journey that I am so very pleased to be on. Can I say that I am thankful to be learning to be more thankful?? ha!! It is so true though, I am so thankful to be on this journey and thankful that the Lord is not finished with me yet!!
This week I’m counting these blessings…
kids swinging and squealing
hubby grilling steaks!!
a beautiful and sweet morning of worship with our church family
tears that come easily
being silly with my kids — I know this sounds odd, but since coming off my Lexapro I noticed 2 different times that I was silly. I haven’t been silly in a very long time…I think the lexapro took the silliness and some of my “extreme” emotions away…I’m thankful for the tears and the silliness today!!
prayer
words of encouragement
the book Made to Crave and the lessons God is teaching me through this journey
God’s grace poured out over my life
watching my boy play t-ball
hearing people behind me (that don’t know I’m his mommy) talk about my boy and how he must be “a natural…” hee hee. I loved hearing them talk about him “behind my back” in a good way!!
walks at night with my honey
what a wonderful, glorious, marvelous Savior You are! (our choir song from Sunday that I love, love, loved!!) He IS wonderful!!
how high, how wide, NO MATTER where I am, healing is in Your hands
how deep, how strong, now by Your grace I stand, healing is in Your hands
{I love Christy Nockels’ music…we sang this in church yesterday and I cried through the whole song…healing truly is in HIS hands…He is sovereign…he may choose to never heal me of depression, nevertheless, I WILL PRAISE HIM!!}
]
#1704 – 1717…many blessings, all gifts, all grace.

Filed Under: Gift List