"Crave" Week 4

Welcome to Week 4 of "Crave". There's a lot to cover so I'm ready to jump in! As always make sure to stop by Crystal & Rebecca's pages, as well as link up at the bottom to join up!

Chapter 5: "Made for More"
I love how Lysa starts this chapter discussing the "honeymoon phase" of a healthy eating plan. I love that I'm not the only one that has been there!! After my eat-all-you-can-in-on-evening phase right before beginning a healthy eating plan, I get really excited. Maybe some of you all get sad, and I understand that too. But primarily I get excited to think of the fresh fruits and veggies and new things I'll try. The excitement combined with the initial feeling of perseverance is enough to get me going for sure! But that only lasts so long, right? Give me a few weeks (or days) to realize that I actually like junk food more than healthy stuff-I'm sorry, it's true. A bad day eventually rolls around giving me the perfect opportunity to say "never mind, I don't even care what I eat right now-it's been such a bad day I deserve this pizza."

This is where Lysa meets us in this chapter. In that moment where you are not only ready to throw in the towel, you're already planning what that deliciously unhealthy meal is going to be. But then she reminds us wait...we are made for more than this.
More than disappoint.
More than defeat.
More than giving up-again.

I read the last paragraph in this chapter with tears in my eyes,
"We were made for more than excuses and vicious cycles. We can taste success. We can experience truth. We can choose to stay on the path of hard work and perseverance. We can build one success on top of another. We can keep "made for more" at the top of our minds and on the tips of our tongues. And our eating habits can be totally transformed as we keep asking, embrace our true identity, find the deeper reason for claiming that identity, and operate in the hope and power that's like no other." (55)

Operating in the hope and power that's like no other...I don't know about you-but I'm needing some more of that in my life.

Chapter 6: "Growing Closer to God"

"Growing closer to God has a whole lot less to do with any action we might take and a whole lot more to do with positioning our hearts toward Him." (59)

I've shared with you before that I've been on this weight loss journey before. Unfortunately this is by no means my first time around these hurdles and struggles. My first time around I relied so heavily on prayer to get me through those times of intense temptation. So this scenario might seem silly to some of you-especially if you've never endured this specific battle with weight-but I still get tears in my eyes when I think of this. I vividly remember one night, after a very, very difficult week where I almost completely gave up numerous times, that I went into my closet feeling emotionally drained. I have no idea why, maybe built up frustration, I grabbed a pair of very old jeans that I hadn't fit into for years. I decided the time to put them on was perfect because I knew they wouldn't fit and because I was in such an awful frame of mind it wouldn't make things any worse than they already were. (Twisted much??)
Suddenly, they slipped right on. No dancing around the room to get one leg in, no holding my breath, they just simply slipped on. Not only that-they were too big.
Ya'll...I fell to the floor on my face weeping. What came in a moment of jean sizes was actually much bigger than that. It was what the result was of weeks of what felt like I physical, actual fight. A battle I had fought-what felt like constantly-for weeks now. Because of the power of God through me, I had done it. HE had done it. I remember it like it was yesterday, and that night on my face as I wept I mumbled the words to God-I don't care if I lose another ounce...I just want You.

What had started out as a seemingly "worldly" thing like a diet had turned into a deeply spiritual journey. One in which had led me from my initial desire-to lose weight-to a whole different desire-more of God. Throughout the process I had depended and felt the power of God so strongly that it became my sole desire. I feel like this is what Lysa is saying in this chapter. No matter what the vehicle we take might look like, our ultimate destination is intimacy with God. For me it was my battle with weight, it might be something totally different for you. But whatever it is when we endure that struggle with the power of God we are sure to grow closer to Him. Also for me, I had unintentionally and very unknowingly put food over God. I was finally putting who I wanted to be #1 in my life back there. "Becoming a woman of self-discipline honors God and helps me live the godly characteristic of self-control." (61)