Made to Crave

I have been wanting to blog about "Made to Crave"(or anything for that matter) but child care keeps me hopping. At nap time I have my computer time while the kids are napping but I just haven't had the time to blog(read or write). I try to mop the floor, do laundry & prepare supper as well while the kids nap. I am really enjoying child care & do not regret it for a moment.

What is Made to Crave?
It is a book by Lysa Terkeurst. It is about satisfying our deepest desires with God, not food.

I have started a Made to Crave group. We meet 2x a month to watch a video & have a discussion time. In between get togethers we have "homework" to do. We read the book & answer questions. I thought I would blog along the way. This is a journey & I would like as many as possible to join me on this journey, whether you are on the same path to healthier eating & weightloss or are able to encourage me along the way. Some of you may have other struggles. Maybe you crave other things or put them before God. Wherever you are I hope you will join me on this spiritual journey.

I want to share some highlights from the book(in italics) along with my thoughts.

I have read this book a couple of times & have put things into practice in my life but then I get off track. With having the group, I am hoping that accountability makes a difference.(I know it has in the past with emailing my food lists to friends)

If you are on this journey with me, I encourage you to read MTC(Made to Crave) along with me, highlight the book & write in a journal.

"It is not the "how to" I am missing. It's the "want to".....really wanting to make changes and deciding that the results of those changes are worth the sacrifice.

That is exactly where I am at. I need to find the "want to". I feel overwhelmed with weight loss & do not even know where to start. I know "how to" lose weight but it is overwhelming to make all those changes at once. My goal over these 2 weeks is to drink more water & I have started doing that(still not as much as I should) and I was down 1.25 lbs at TOPS last night. It is a start but I need to consistently lose & keep on going.

"We feel overweight physically but underweight spiritually"

I think we will all agree that we could all crave God more, spend more time in His word & in prayer.

Matthew 19 talks about a rich young ruler. We may think that this story does not apply to us. We may not be rich with money but we are rich with food. In Matthew it says "I have all these things, yet what do I still lack?"

"The rich man is unwilling to deny himself; he doesn't want to feel deprived of his possessions.

With weight loss I often feel deprived when I have to cut foods out of my diet.

"If we learn to feel EMPOWERED rather than deprived when we make a healthy choice, everything will change"

Mark 8:34 says"if anyone would come after me, he must dent himself and take up his cross and follow me". In other words, "I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me." If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves.

"Getting healthy isn't just about losing weight. It's about recalibrating our souls so that we want to change - spiritually, physically, and mentally." 

Spiritually - We need to ask God to give us the desire to be healthy

Physically - My weight is a direct reflection of my choices and the state of my health

Mentally - I am made for more than vicious cycle of eating, gaining, stressing. I am made to rise up, do battle with my issues and using the Lord's strength in me, defeat them to the glory of God.

With this study Lysa give a word to focus on for the week(or in our case, 2 weeks). The first word is:

EMPOWERED

We are not supposed to feel discouraged or defeated. Have peace. Stop waging this war.

If we can look at healthy options and make healthy choices - and not feel deprived but instead empowered - everything will change. It will change us mentally, spiritually and physically.

The story of the rich young ruler ends with 

"With men this is impossible but with God ALL things are possible." Matthew 19:26

It is possible to feel empowered.

This is a journey and I hope you will join me.