Full Redemption

"...put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption." Psalm 130:7

There are days I wake up feeling hopeless, I'll admit. As the weather turns colder, I'm seriously fighting the urge to pack in the food and burrow under the blankets. I'm feeling the heaviness as the season is changing...(and I normally LOVE Fall!). This morning to combat these feelings, I knew it was time to worship. I played my piano and sang to the Lord, "putting on a garment of praise" and singing hallelujah. He reminded me that my only hope is in Him.

God's love is unfailing. Even if we fail - or when we fail - God's love is still there. He will always love us. It's a pretty amazing thought since our love tends to be conditional. Not only does the Lord offer us His unfailing love, but this verse tells us that with Him is full redemption. I looked up the word redemption, and synonyms include: salvation, deliverance, rescue, release, liberation, emancipation and recovery or exchange, conversion and trade-in. Full redemption! Full salvation, we know...but full liberation? Full emancipation from this bondage? I could cry! Full conversion...yes, yes, yes! I want to be converted! I want to 'trade-in' this body for a newer, healthier model. I want to exchange my yoke to sin for Jesus' light and easy yoke. I want to be freed, rescued and delivered! How about you?

So, we put our hope in the Lord. He can do it...He loves us enough to do it...let's believe He will do it!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You so much for the Bible. Thank You for Your unfailing love. God, I confess I don't always understand this love, especially when I screw up. But, I'm grateful for it. Please show us Your full redemption...please save us, emancipate us from this bondage to over-eating and laziness, please liberate us to live the godly lives you've called us to, please grant us full recovery so that our bodies are better than we even expect them to be at the end of this journey. Please convert us and allow us to trade-in what we currently have for the best, i.e. what You planned for us from the beginning. God, we love You. We put our hope in You. We can't do this on our own strength. We need You! Please help us! Please allow us to glorify You in the process. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Physical Training & Godliness

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8

Have you ever wondered if people in Biblical times had to work out? I've always thought that most people were physically fit before the invention of cars and other modern day conveniences. But, the Bible shows us that God knows both the struggles of the past and those of our present (and even the future!). 

God tells us that physical training is of some value. He cares that we work out our bodies! There is value in it - it is worth our time and efforts. But, what's most important to Him is godliness. It's most important that we focus on His Word and maintain godly character. For me, this includes saying no to ungodly passions like over-indulging in food. Godliness - or obeying God's Word and applying Biblical principles to our lives - is important for this life and also "holds promise" for the life to come!

So, know today that the efforts you are making in physical training and in learning God's Word are valuable to you and to Him. May you be encouraged in this journey to stay focused for the right reasons!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You understand our needs and desires. Thank You that Your Word tells us that physical training is of some value. We also thank You that You direct us to focus on godliness. Lord Jesus, make us more like You! Help us say no to ungodliness, including over indulging in food we don't need to eat. Help us say yes to learning the Bible and applying it to our lives. Give us motivation to keep going on this journey. Help us not lose heart and give up. You are our prize and treasure that we seek. Make us healthy and thin for Your ultimate glory. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Hope & a Future

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares to the Lord, 'and I will bring you back from captivity...'" Jeremiah 29:11-14

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. I've loved the beginning of these verses from the time I was a small child. Isn't it great to know that God has plans to prosper us and give us hope and a future? Sometimes we lose that hope as we go through life, I'm afraid. But, God knows what's in store for our future, and He plans good things for us!

These verses show us that we need to call on Him, pray to Him and seek Him with all our hearts. When we do, God will listen to us and be found by us. But, best of all, He will bring us back from captivity. While we may not be living in Egypt or Babylon, we are still God's chosen people being held captive by the outcomes of the sin we chose to tango with. I believe an addiction to over-eating is like any addiction to a drug of choice - we feel so bonded to it, so overtaken and entangled by it, so overwhelmed by it that it's become a very real part of our life - it's what we do and think about on a daily basis.

Even now that I've been on this journey for awhile, as the weather gets colder, everything in me is crying out to hibernate. I'm in the mood to cook, bake, eat and sleep! But, I have to seek God to break old cycles, habits and behaviors to free me to accomplish His good plans and purposes for my life. Now, I'm not saying that baking, planning and napping are bad for other folks - but, I know for myself that if I make something, I'm going to eat it...ALL of it. And many times, eating too much just makes me feel lazy in general.

God can free us from this captivity. He promises He will in these verses. Continue to seek Him with your whole heart and mind. Dive into the Bible like it's the best food you've ever tasted. Don't give up! You will find Jesus...your prayers will be heard... you will have the future you're looking for!

Dear God, thank You for freeing us from captivity. Thank You for wanting to prosper us even when we don't deserve it. I'm so thankful for Your hope and the future You have for me. I don't want to miss any part of the good things in store, so please free me from sin. Bring me back from captivity! Restore us to You. We ask for more of You, oh Lord. We seek You with our whole hearts. I pray for everyone reading this, that we would all have healthy bodies for Your glory. Beyond that, give us the future You had originally planned for us. Prosper us, oh God. And may we enjoy You in the process. We love You, oh Father God! Thank You for loving us, too. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Little by Little

"I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." Exodus 23:28-30

I think everyone would like to miraculously wake up skinny one morning. Isn't it our dreams to go to bed overweight and wake up completely transformed? I believe God could make us lose 100 pounds overnight if He thought that was best for us. But, I believe our Heavenly Father is all about the process...and He's all about us and our protection.

I was thinking about my own weight loss journey and the process it has been, and these verses from Exodus came to mind. Similar to the reasons God had for not delivering the entire Promised Land into the hands of the Israelites all at once, there are reasons for us not experiencing drastic overnight weight-loss. For one, I'm not sure our skin could handle it. As we lose weight slowly, our skin has time to shrink along with our body. More than the physical reasons, though, I think there are Spiritual reasons we haven't thought about.

Can we handle it? Being blatantly honest, if you thought you looked 'good' or 'smokin' hot' (my favorite!), how would you handle it? Would you be more likely to sin in another area of life? Would you be an easier target for the enemy in some area? Would you be quicker to judge others going through similar struggles? Is your heart guarded to worship God alone and not think too highly of yourself? Would you struggle with pride? While these are tough questions, you can answer them honestly for yourself. I've had to lose weight via a journey with the Lord so that my heart, motivations and desires were more pure than if I had done it on my own. I needed to guard my heart and my mind with the Bible verses I've been studying. God knew that if I woke up one day looking extraordinary, I may not handle it well. Instead, He's allowed me to walk the path with Him, and I get to learn from Him in the process!

While my journey is far from over, I'm glad that God has driven back the 'fat' little-by-little so that I have no room for pride. It has been Him producing this change in me. All I can do is bow on my face in worship of the Most High God. I pray that He continues to take us (me and those of you reading this) to the Promised Land of a healthy body for His glory. May we drive back the enemy and come to a place in life where we can fully handle the responsibility that comes with this new territory. Praise be to the Lord!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You know best. Thank You that You won't give us more than we can handle. God, we ask that You would prepare our hearts and minds for the next step in our lives, where we are healthy and thin for Your glory. Keep us humble, keep us alert against enemy deception and keep us in holy communion and worship with You, our only God. May we glorify You with all we think, say and do. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Clay in the Potter's Hand

"Yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

I love that the Lord is shaping us and molding us, literally. Just like I am on that potter's wheel, I can picture where my shape got a little awry and our Lord's loving hand re-working His creation. I'm so thankful to know that He is the one who is molding me into His image! I don't have to stress about my body - the Lord (our loving Father) is taking care of it. I just need to allow Him to work on me.

I've lost over 70 pounds with God's help. I don't say this to boast by any means (Lord knows, I still have weight to lose) but I want to give glory to God. I am the work of His hand. At one point, I remember feeling hopeless... I didn't believe I could change and I feared that I would get all sorts of diseases that come from obesity. I remember feeling an overall despair about the situation I had gotten myself into. But, God hears our cries. He sees our struggles. And when we ask Him for help, He lovingly breaks back out the potters wheel, gets His Living Water, and begins to work on this big ol' lump of dirty clay...removing the excess and giving us His artistic touches to transform us into something beautiful.

We are all in progress...this life is a process. And with God in charge, we are going to be the beautiful piece of artwork we were meant to be. And when we are finished, may we honor and glorify God and praise Him alone!

Dear God, thank You for being our loving Father. Thank You for taking the time and having the patience to work on us. Lord, I remember trying to do pottery at a wheel when I was young and it all fell apart. But, Lord, I know You are the master. I've seen a potter transform a mound of clay into a beautiful piece of artwork with his touch, cutting away the excess and creating beautiful curves. Lord God, we ask that You do that for us. Mold us into Your image and likeness. We thank You that You are the potter and we are merely clay in Your hands. There's no where else I'd rather be. Thank You that You are doing the work. We are in awe of Your creation and touch. There is no one like You, God! We praise You, thank You, honor You and glorify You. We bow down before You and lift up Your holy name. May You receive our praise and adoration. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

I Will Be Healed

"Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are the One I praise." Jeremiah 17:14

This past week during Bible study, we looked at Genesis 3 where Satan is first introduced. In Genesis 3:1, the serpent asked Eve "Did God really say..." to introduce doubt into her mind. We see in this Scripture that doubt is one of the first attacks of the enemy. Did God really say He would heal you? Did God really say that having a healthy body is important? We were reminded that we have to have knowledge of God's word and faith to believe that it's absolute truth.

The above verse tells us that if God heals us, we will be healed! If God saves us, we will be saved! It's a done deal. He is the only one worthy of our praise. Focus on Him today and His healing power in your life. Get rid of all doubt. You are healed..you are healthy! You will be saved.

Lord God, we thank You that You give us Your Word so that we may have knowledge and discernment. We ask that You erase all doubt in our minds...we stand firm on the knowledge that You want us to have a healthy body for Your glory. We rely on You to heal us and save us and make this life change. We know You are able to accomplish this in us through the power of the resurrection and the blood that was shed for our sins. Forgive us, heal us, make us more like You. In Jesus' name we pray, AMEN!

Saying No

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:11-14

I was talking a little bit with my husband's step-mom today about my weight loss journey. She & I were sitting at Friendly's with my kiddos chatting about our lives. As a background on her, she is incredibly thin and lost around 50 lbs on Weight Watchers while I didn't think she needed to lose weight from day one. I told her my biggest area of struggle is saying no to eating. I'm doing the work outs, I'm trying to get enough rest for my body to recuperate each day, but when it comes to eating just enough calories to lose weight, I'm still falling short on many days. For example, my salad today came with a free happy-ending sundae. And while I knew the salad in and of itself was more calories than I needed to consume at lunch time, who can give up free ice cream? I rationalized with her that I want to make this a life change and I'm not going to give up dessert forever... however, I'm not sure that that's the attitude I'm meant to have.

I confessed to her that I really struggle when we go out to restaurants. I can't seem to order the healthy options when the delicious unhealthy favorites can be made-to-order and brought right to my table. At home, I just don't buy the stuff I can't have so it's not a temptation in my cupboards. But, at a restaurant even the salads can be devastating to your diet! I don't know how many of you watch the show "The Biggest Loser" but my mother-in-law told me (I don't watch a lot of TV in general) that this week was about that very same issue. Many of the contestants didn't lose a large amount of weight even though they were working out because they were eating out.

As I read this passage, I see that God's grace gives us all that we need to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. For me, overeating is a worldly passion. I can't seem to say "no, thank you" when I'm ordering off a menu; but God's Word tells me I can. I have all I need. What I need to do is rely on Him and make the effort. The Bible tells us that we have all we need to "live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age..." God knew in this present age, we would be on-the-go eaters, restaurant frequenters, etc. And He still gave us His grace to be self-controlled and godly.

And, these verses end with what should be our motivation...Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us and purify us as a people who are His, ready to do good. We need to be fit for service! We need to be holy & pure as Jesus' own people. Thank God He redeemed us and purified us! We don't need to dwell on our past choices but instead remember that by His Word and by His grace and by His blood, we can say NO!

Dear Heavenly Father, help us say no to ungodliness and wordly passions. Instead, help us be self-controlled, upright and godly. Thank You that You purify us and redeem us. Lord, I specifically pray that when we need to go to a restaurant that You give us wisdom on what to eat and how much. I ask that You help us eat healthier things even in our homes. Help us say "NO" to things that You want us to say no to. Help us win this battle! May we glorify and honor You with our bodies today and every day. In Jesus' name, AMEN!