I am not a fan of pictures of me. I am very uncomfortable facing the reality of what I look like. I have been on this weight loss journey for several months and have written down my weight every Wednesday since June 26, 2014. I have finally reached my mid-way point and I truly will never ever head back in the direction I once was.
God asks for all of me, I am not my own and I have had a struggle giving all of myself to the Lord and fully trusting Him. I could hand over my family, my finances, my work, my church but I could not hand over the cookie to The Lord. I used food as a way of celebration, having family time or just because it was Friday night. I literally wear my sin around my waste. Instead of pressing into Christ I would indulge in food. Some peoples sin is hidden and mine I wear like a neon sign for all to see. It’s a horrible feeling and I can’t even recall how many times I would love to hide and not be seen. I believe that the Lord deserves my pure heart as well as my family, friends, and church.
In March when I started to contemplate and pray over all the changes I needed to make I picked up the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. She made me laugh and cry and showed me the biblical answers I was looking for. Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book.
“I was made for more than being stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat. I am not made to be a victim of MY POOR choices. I was made to be a victorious child of God”
“ There are natural consequences for not taking care of our bodies”
“I’m not on a diet. I’m on a journey with Jesus to learn the fine art of self-discipline for the purpose of holiness.”
“Life as a follower of Christ will always be a learning process of depending less on our own strength and more on God’s power.”
“God made us capable of craving so we’d have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only one capable of satisfying them.”
“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, we’ll have to redirect them to God.”
And my very favorite!
“With each temptation, Jesus, without hesitation, quoted Scripture that refuted Satan’s temptation. 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 where they should be directed-to the Author of all truth.”
My journey is not over, and it never will be. I am passionately pursuing Christ with everything I am and it’s a lifelong journey. Until my last moment on earth I will continue to rejoice in my weakness and seek His strength in all I do.
I’m feeling a little brave today so here is a before and a mid-way picture. Loving life and freedom in Christ!
Yay!!!!! Beautiful mid-way picture! Love you!
ReplyDeleteKaren
Oh how I hate pictures!! Thank you so much. I am having to buy a few new things and that can be scary! I can't wait until I have lost everything to really go shopping! :)
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