Books
Over the years, I have dedicated hours of my life to reading about weight loss. I've decided to revisit Love to Eat Hate to Eat: Breaking the Bondage of Destructive Eating Habits by Elyse Fitzpatrick because her book is very different from most other weight loss books; this book focuses on our heart relationship with Jesus Christ. If you are interested in reading this book yourself, please click here for ordering information: Love to Eat Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick.
Book Highlights
According to Elyse, there is hope for me. Being that my 2014 goal is to Run My Race with JOY, I'm choosing to highlight portions that lend themselves to this theme. Here are a few thoughts from her book. If something touches your heart, will you share it in the comments below?
Confidence: Where to Place it
"There is only one place where you should put your confidence. It is in your loving, faithful, holy, and powerful Father. He has promised you the JOY of His glorious presence."
My Thoughts: How many times have I leant my confidence to diet pills, a new healthy eating magazine, a different exercise program instead of relying on God? Why do I think that my faith in God is often separate from my weight loss journey?
Life Purpose: What's our main purpose in life?
"The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to ENJOY Him forever." 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
My Thoughts: How in the world do I glorify God with my eating? I'm figuring this is going to be a life-long lesson to be learned. Maybe I should stop equating so much JOY with food and focus on ENJOYING God instead.
"Does God really care about how much we eat? Yes, God really cares. He cares because He loves you and me, and He cares because He created us to sparkle and shine with His light for others. Remember, Paul said that we can glorify God whether we eat or drink or in whatever we do."
My Thoughts: Of course God cares about what I eat. Don't I care about what my daughter eats? Don't I care about what my husband eats? Why wouldn't God care?
Godly Change: The Reflection of Jesus in You
"The change that God wants to accomplish in you is something much more meaningful, penetrating, and permanent than (gaining or losing a few pounds.) He wants to change your heart so that you will become more and more like His Son, Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 says, "We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.""Does God want to change you? Yes, of course He does. Don't settle for some temporary outward change. Rest and REJOICE in His promise to you. God has something better for His children; His change is eternal."
My Thoughts: I'm glad God is not as shallow as the societal pressures that often plague me. This morning my pastor preached about how God doesn't change, but when we trust in Him WE change. I never have to worry about downloading the newest version of the Bible because God's promises NEVER change. There will never be a day that I grieve the death of God because He is eternal. God is immense and holy; He is filled with perfect wisdom and knowledge. The joy of losing a few pounds simply doesn't measure up to the true JOY of loving, knowing, and worshipping God.
LIES
"If we could just look like the latest supermodel, we would find true happiness and contentment. We would have peace and JOY. We would have the adoration of others. We would no longer have to worry about paying bills or staying up with sick children. Life would be perfect....Our world's obsession with outward appearance and weight has led many of us to think in shallow terms about what makes for peace and JOY.....We believe the lie that outward perfection (which by the way, is an impossible goal) is the key to inner peace and JOY....."
My Thoughts: First, the obsession with outward appearance reminds me of 1 Samuel 16:7--But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at this appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I've thought about this passage many times, but never in the context of how God considers my weight. Here's what I think. There are many people, who are dear to me, in my life that struggle with their weight. Do I care about their outward appearance? Yes, but it's because I care about their health. So if I, being earthly, care about my friends' and families' health, wouldn't the Lord, being holy and perfect, care just the same for my health?
Final Thoughts
As I've shared before, my goal with this blog is to be HOT: Honest, Open, and Transparent. Just keep in mind that I have serious commitment issues to my weight loss efforts, but NOT with Jesus.
1) 8:00 am this morning: Started my day with a super healthy low calorie Herbalife shake and logged it into My Fitness Pal.
2) 11:30 am: Joined the Weight Loss Competition at my Church. My Goal: TO FINISH (This will be my fourth competition, and I have yet to make it a goal to WIN)
3) 11:45 am: Ate Captain D's for lunch---(I WAS STARVING....Herbalife shake really didn't hold me over the way I was hoping it would. Thinking I need to add more protein to my breakfasts.)
4) 1:08 pm: Finished this blog on how God wants more for me than just simple outward change, and trying not to beat myself up for eating Captain D's.
5) 1:09 pm: Wondering if I should ditch logging my Captain D's lunch into My Fitness Pal because I simply don't want to see how many calories and carbs I ate.
6) 1:11 pm: Thinking I can choose to make positive eating choices for the rest of the day regardless of how many Captain D's calories I consumed.
7) 1:12 pm: A little worried that my 16 year old daughter is talking about tattoos.
8) 1:14 pm: Thinking I need to go back and reread the blog I just wrote to refocus my thoughts.
Have a Happy Sunday!
-Dizzy Lizzy
I love this post because it is just further confirmation from God on what I was supposed to get out of my two hour stay at church today. Our Sunday School lesson today was on the inner struggle. Paul talked about how when he wants to do go, evil is with him and he does the wrong thing. When he wants to do bad, God is with him Taken from Romans I believe it was. It's a constant tug of war. I want the donuts for breakfast, for example, that the rest of my family might have for breakfast. But God is whispering in my ear...but my dear, your body is where my spirit lives. Is that what you think my temple needs to have in it? Then there are other times that I am sitting down to have an amazingly healthy salad with chicken and veggies, lemon juice as my dressing (by choice I might add)...and then all of the sudden I feel like slathering it with ranch. Arg, seriously?? Then the sermon at church was basically about the same thing. I come here, and guess what? The same thing, just in different terms and words. I might add that I believe God is dealing with me on different life issues but it translates to nearly every aspect of one's life.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being so HOT.
It's funny how God will speak to us in multiple ways through multiple sources. I had been working on this blog post for a few days when I went to church this morning. Pastor spoke right to my heart. I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes back and worth between healthy salads and donuts. PS. I LOVE lemon juice!!
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