Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

For those of you who may not know Lysa TerKereurst, she is a nationally known author, speaker, and founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Lysa has recently launched a new book and Bible study entitled Made To Crave.

Made to Crave tells of Lysa's own battle with food and the spiritual connections she made to overcome her struggle. Beginning on January 10th Lysa will host a FREE 6-week webcast based on her new book and Bible study. I plan on joining in the webcast. Let me know if you'll be there. It would be fun to share notes!

For more information about the webcast click here and visit the Made to Crave website. You may also want to visit Lysa's blog and read today's post on what to look for in a healthy eating plan.

Blessings!

New Year, New You?

I have lost track of the number of years I have resolved to lose weight and get fit beginning on January 1st. My resolve usually gives out the first time I pass a plate of homemade brownies or I have an overwhelming need to celebrate my "I-survived-another-day" fatigue with a big bowl of ice cream. Still, I get back up on that horse and try again...and fall off again. To be perfectly honest, I'm tired of hoisting myself back up on that horse.

So what now? Do I just give up? Wave the white flag? As much as I would like to, I know that is not the answer. God has given me this body to inhabit during my time here on earth and it is my responsibility to be a good and faithful steward of it. So where do I go from here? The first step, I believe, is to call my love affair with food what it really is: a stronghold.

In her book, Praying God's Word, Beth Moore defines a stronghold as:

"...anything that exalts itself in our minds, 'pretending' to be bigger or more powerful than our God. It steals much of our focus and causes us to feel overpowered. Controlled. Mastered."

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be controlled or mastered by anything but the Holy Spirit Himself! First Corinthians 6:12 reminds me that I don't have to be controlled by any earthly thing.

"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."

Oh, how this verse helps to put things in perspective for a legalistic Pharisee like me. Instead of focusing on the do's & don'ts and the can's & can'ts I now ask myself, "Is this profitable? Am I being mastered?"

Our gracious heavenly Father does not desire for us to be controlled or mastered by anything on this earth. His desire for us is an abundant life free from any stronghold. No chain of bondage or yoke of burden is too great or more powerful than our God.

Happy New Year and blessings for a new you.

Strength in the Struggle

Have you ever watched a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis? It is a fierce struggle. One cannot help but have their heartstrings tugged as they watch this weak and frail creature desperately fight its way out of the suffocating bondage of their enclosure. Yet offering well-intended assistance to the butterfly by ever so gently prying back the layers of the chrysalis ensures certain death for the emerging insect. You see, it is through this valiant struggle that the butterfly’s wings are strengthened for its life of flight outside the chrysalis. Without this time of fighting, pressing, pushing, and groaning (can you just hear the faint little groans?) the wings of this delicate creature will never expand to their full potential. The butterfly will never fly.

So it is with the delicate creature known as man. Sometimes life envelops us in a claustrophobic cocoon of trials and a fierce struggle begins. I know God’s heartstrings are tugged as He watches His precious child desperately fight her way out of the painful chrysalis of circumstances. I have to believe He fights back the intense desire to ever so gently peel back the layers of our turmoil in order to ease our struggle. Yet He knows that doing so would ensure certain spiritual death for His dear one. Without a time of fighting, pressing, pushing, and groaning our faith will never expand to its full potential. We will never be all that God intends for us to be.

The apostle James tells us to:

“Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” ~James 1:2-4

For the butterfly, the struggle to emerge victoriously from its chrysalis is brief, lasting only a few minutes. Once freed the butterfly spends the remainder of its brief life flittering about sipping sweet nectar (until it falls prey to a hungry bird or an oncoming windshield). For God’s children, though, the struggle can last a lifetime and flittering is more like flailing as we fight to keep it together. Still…we can praise God for His wisdom and goodness!

Although the trials of life can feel like repeatedly hitting an oncoming windshield we can rest in knowing that God painstakingly picks and orchestrates every single struggle because He alone knows exactly what kind of testing our faith needs. He knows precisely what to put in our path so that our faith becomes perfect and complete, not lacking anything. That, my sister, is like sipping sweet nectar and is refreshing to the soul.

Just like a butterfly must persevere in its fight to emerge from the binding chrysalis in order experience the freedom of flight, so we must persevere in our trials in order to experience the freedom and delight of a perfect faith in God.

Are you in the process of fighting your way out of the chrysalis? Have you learned a lesson in faith through a trial? I would love to hear about it!

Something in My Eye

Me? A Hypocrite?
We stood in the kitchen engaged in a heated “discussion” when suddenly the stinging words reached my ears and pierced my heart: “You’re a hypocrite!” I was dumbfounded at what I had just heard and, for a moment, lost my breath. As I left the room I remember thinking, “I may be a lot of things, but I am NOT a hypocrite!”

I stewed for a couple of days, licking my wounds and preparing a retaliatory speech to defend my honor and reputation. I then started to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, I might actually be a hypocrite. Okay… so my actions and my words may be contradictory at times but that does not make me a hypocrite. Right? Well, at least I don’t try to be one on purpose.

I tried to soothe my hurting spirit with God’s word by listening to some podcasts from Chuck Swindoll. Would you like to take a stab at guessing what Chuck was preaching about? You bet! Hypocrisy. Oh, and not just hypocrisy, but also our sin of judging others for their sins. It was a double whammy!

Me. A Hypocrite.
There is nothing more humbling than seeing yourself written about in the pages of Scripture. As I listened to Mr. Swindoll teach from Romans 2:1-16 about the wrath we store up for ourselves when we judge others I came to the realization, that I am, in fact, a hypocrite. You see, when it comes to the sins of those who reside within the four walls of my home I show little mercy. My contempt is rarely kept at bay when I believe a precious member of my family has sinned against God. Okay… against ME! Depending on the day or the time of the month I can either overlook an offense easily or I can be like that of a woman scorned.

On this particular day in the kitchen my hands on my hips, crinkled up face, and condescending tone weren’t exactly giving off a warm and loving vibe. My husband felt judged by me for something I frequently do myself. And he was right.

Oftentimes I forget that my family, myself included, is nothing more than a bunch of sinners in desperate need of the same grace and mercy as all other sinners outside my front door. Luke 6:42 now has a deeper meaning for me:

“How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”

I am not sure I ever want to be in a position to remove the speck from another’s eye. Like the thorn in the flesh perhaps the plank is necessary to keep me humble before God and others.

Can you relate? Do you think it is easier to be less judgemental of friends and strangers than of your own family? Why do you suppose that is? I would love to know your insights and experiences.