Eat What Is Good

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare." Isaiah 55:1-2

These verses speak to me in many ways. For one, I feel like sometimes we complicate our life far beyond what it needs to be - the Lord tells us to come to the waters and drink and to come, buy and eat! I love that it doesn't say "go" but rather "come." When we go to Him with our deepest desires and needs, He satisfies them. We don't need money or have to worry about the cost. We don't need to worry about a lot of things as much as we do. Instead, we need to trust that God can and will and allow Him to satisfy us.

Jesus tells us in John that He is the living water and the bread of life. So why do we spend our efforts and money on things that are meaningless and give Him so little of our energy and resources when He alone is the one who can delight our souls with the 'richest of fare?'

I also love that it says "listen, listen to me" ... there are time that I think God is all but shaking us and moving our faces toward Him. Oh, child! If we could just learn to eat what is "good." I think that things that are good for us would taste extremely good if we could just stop eating those things that aren't meant for our bodies. I still struggle with this... every day, unfortunately. When I started my Daniel fast during that Bible study, I decided not to eat anything the first day because I knew I was going to have to be good and hungry to eat nothing but veggies and fruit for ten days. And, by the next morning, I was RAVENOUS! And that fruit and those veggies tasted like the most glorious and flavorful things I had ever eaten.

But, the Word also says when we eat what is good, our souls will delight in the richest of fare. So, it's not just about our bodies but delighting our souls, the very place we commune with God. I think our physical bodies intertwine with our spiritual and emotional health. If one is good, the others are good. If our physical health is bad, it's hard for the rest of our lives to be in order.

Rather than labor in vain today, "come" to the Lord, drink from the living water, buy and eat bread without cost, and delight your souls!

Dear God, please help us to eat what is good. Lord, we come to You, thirsty and hungry for more both in the natural sense and in the spiritual sense. Jesus, we can't do this on our own. We need You, living water and bread of life! Delight our souls as in the richest of fare and satisfy our cravings and longings. Again, Lord, we ask for healthy and slim bodies for Your glory. Our boast will ONLY be in You, Father God! Thank You for letting us come to You with everything that we need and want. We love You! In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Not a Matter of Eating or Drinking

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ this way is pleasing to God and approved by men." Romans 14:17-18

Once again, I think this verse points to where our focus is or where the treasure of our hearts is. If we're seeking first God's kingdom and righteousness, then we need to know that it's not about what we're eating or drinking but it's about peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. I personally love that this verse ends with pleasing God AND being approved by men. If we truly look at our motivations for losing weight, I think both of these are present - we want to please God, but we also want the approval of others. God knows where we're at, and His holy Word is full of wisdom for us in the area of desiring to live a healthier, thinner lifestyle. May we take His insight to heart!

Dear Father, thank You for giving us the treasure of the Bible. Thank You for reminding us that You know our every struggle in life and that You love us enough to dialogue with us about it through Your Word. God, help us not to focus on eating or drinking but seek Your kingdom and righteousness, including peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. May we continue to think of this journey not as a diet but as a significant lifestyle change, where serving You is our priority. We hope to please You in this way and also be approved by others. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your faithfulness in our lives. You are amazing! In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN!

Blessing Your Food & Water

"Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you." Exodus 23:25

I just got the stomach virus that was going around. What an AWFUL way to lose weight! (Actually, even with vomiting for 24 hours straight, I'm not sure that I lost all that much actual weight...UGH!) It reminded me of this verse, though, so I thought I would share it next. In my research on Israel, the main thing I noticed in the Old Testament is that God wants us to worship Him. We get so caught up in the things of this world, when really our one true purpose is worship. If we could keep that at the front of our thoughts and hearts, I think we would 'get' this life more. And, God promises to bless our food and water when we do!

I've often wondered why ice cream (a personal favorite) isn't completely healthy for us. How can something so marvelous be so fattening? And then I met two vegetarians that probably weigh around 100 pounds (if that) and eat ice cream every day. I'm learning it's not necessarily the type of food but the way we think about it and maybe how much we consume. But again, our thoughts and focus should not be food. Or dieting, for that matter. Our focus should be on worship, and God will bless our food and take sickness away! He can make us healthy! And thin! And financially well off! (Hey, why not?) God is GOOD! All the time!

Dear Father, we worship You today. Forgive us where we have chosen to worship other things. May our focus be on You today and may our bodies be living sacrifices for You. Thank You for blessing our food and water, and we pray that You would take all sickness away in the name of Jesus. Please make us healthy and thin and financially well off for Your glory. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

A Display of His Splendor

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of His splendor."
Isaiah 61:1-3


You'll notice that the name of this blog comes from these verses. First of all, there is FREEDOM for those of us in captivity. Like I've said before, my weight loss journey only really began when I asked God to break the chains that have been holding me down for most of my life. I couldn't seem to free myself from the cycle of going back to overeating. I've been a prisoner of my own bad habits, but thankfully there is freedom in Christ! He can make this change permanent!

Second, how many of us need to hear that this is the year of the Lord's favor? I've felt His favor over this past year, and I'm looking forward to what God will do again this year. I say AMEN to the promises of God!

Third, I love the third verse. I'm so grateful to God for giving us a crown of beauty instead of ashes, gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise rather than a spirit of despair. There have been many times throughout my life where being overweight has earned me ridicule. In fact, there have been many tears cried because of my looks or comments said or both. (In fact, this makes me blush as I write this.) But, God is changing that around... He gives us beauty where we have had sadness. It is by His grace that our lives are changed.

Most of all, though, I can't stress enough that I started really losing weight when I made a commitment to re-wallpaper my thoughts with His truth. I had to give up the feelings of despair and the thoughts that I would always look a certain way and instead open my Bible everyday and see what God says. His word has renewed my mind and given me new hope and new motivation. Yes, I may be forming different habits, but it is only by God's grace in my life. I want nothing more than to be called a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. If or when I reach my goal, the glory is all God's.

Dear Lord, may we each be a display of Your splendor. Lord, we thank You for the year of Your favor. We ask that when we look back next year on this moment, it would be a defining time in our lives where we are able to re-wallpaper our hearts and minds with Your holy Word and give up thoughts of despair and feelings of sadness. May we be called oaks of righteousness, healthy and thin for Your glory! In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN!

Living Sacrifices

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Romans 12:1

Today as you say no to food that you would like to eat or as you workout when you may not feel like it, tell God that you are worshipping Him with your body. Offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God. There is nothing more that I want to be than "holy and pleasing to God." The very thought of it gives me the motivation I need to continue my quest to have a healthy body for His glory. If you're denying yourselves or pushing yourselves only for yourself, many times we give up, thinking that we're not worth the effort. But, when we realize that these times can be worship unto the Lord, we can remember that He is worthy of all our sacrifice!!! Offer your body to Him today and see what He does to transform you, from the inside out.

Dear Heavenly Father, today we give You our bodies as living sacrifices. Make us holy and pleasing to You. We pray that You would accept our worship...make us more like Jesus. We love You and want to honor You. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Don't Give Up!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galations 6:9

Today, after a long weekend of busyness, I must admit that I'm feeling a bit weary. But, I love the hope this verse gives us - at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we don't give up! If I follow God's plan for my life, I know that good things are coming in His 'proper' time. By His amazing grace, this past weekend I hit an all-new low weight in my journey, and I fit into a new smaller pants size. I walked out of the mall all but giddy, thinking of how much the Lord has done in my life over this past year. God brings the reward for continuing to do good, which some days is simply putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to trudge along this weight loss path even if we are feeling weary. May He receive the glory for the harvest we will reap!

Lord, we confess that there are times we want the harvest NOW instead of at the proper time. I always love instant change, but I know there are things I'm learning in this process, things about myself and things about You. Father God, please help us when we feel weary. Give us the strength and motivation to continue on this path, and help us remember that a harvest awaits us just around the corner. We love you, Lord Jesus. In Your name we pray, AMEN!

Suffering in the Body

"Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin." 1 Peter 4:1

Do you ever feel that eating right and exercising are suffering? I hope I'm not the only one! I was working out to a DVD the other day and thought "this is suffering in the body, alright!" But, the above verse gives me hope. If we can go through this period of suffering (which doesn't even come close to the amount that Christ suffered in His body), we can be DONE WITH SIN! No more addiction to food, no more devil getting the best of our bodies, done with over-indulgence and no self-control, done, done, done! Glory to God in the highest!

Lord, we don't like to suffer, but we want to be done with sin. Please give us the same attitude as You have - allow us to transform our minds and our bodies during this time. Thank You that You have overcome evil for good! Bless us today, Father, in our walks to become more like You!