Endurance

First of all, I want to thank you for your words of encouragement about my last post, whether it was through a comment here, on Facebook, text, or in person.  They each meant so much to me and I was humbled to hear your stories of loss as well.  Thank you.  I am still choosing joy, by the way.

Ray and I take a class at church and this month's topic was endurance.  When they handed out our papers and I started reading the characteristics of one who endures, my head sagged.  I couldn't honestly say that I possessed even one.  As they began teaching, I got more and more discouraged because I usually quit when things get difficult.  I don't stand firm with quiet endurance; I flail about complaining loudly.  So I chose to set my mind on other things instead of listening and allowing the Holy Spirit to encourage me toward change.  Nope, not gonna hear it!


The teacher had assigned homework for us to look up a list of scriptures and choose some that spoke directly to us and write down how they pertained to things going on in our lives.  To say that I did not want to do that would be quite the understatement.  Duh, I already know that I suck at endurance.  After two weeks of ignoring it, the night before I went ahead and did it.  And God went ahead and spoke to me through his word.  So, I'd expected to feel convicted about all my food issues, but I wasn't expecting to get slapped by Hebrews.

  "Do you see what this means, all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on?  It means we'd better get on with it.  Strip down, start running-and never quit!  No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.  Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in.  Study how he did it.  Because he never lost sight of where he was headed-that exhilarating finish in and with God.  He could put up with anything along the way:  cross, shame, whatever.  And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.  When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through.  That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"                                         Hebrews 12:1-3  The Message

No extra spiritual fat?  Other versions say to lay aside every weight that encumbers you.  It just kinds stings a little more when you call it fat.  I've got some pounds of spiritual and literal fat to lose.  So I started thinking about my journey and how endurance comes into play.

Over the past few months, I've had some awesome encounters with God.  He has spoken over me words of encouragement in many ways that have brought healing.  But honestly, I haven't experienced the kind of healing I should have, and I just figured out why.  See, God does his part when he brings me a word about a certain area of my life.  Then, it's my turn to take that seed (word) and plant it deep in my heart and help it to grow.  If I hear the word and let that seed fall on shallow ground, its roots can never grow deep into my spirit.  It's like sorta believing what God says about you for a minute but then not so much.  Does that make sense?  We have to cultivate it.  Hide his word in our hearts and let it sink in.  I've read the parable of the seeds in Luke but it has never come alive for me until this very moment.



So what I'm getting at is, that we need to keep on going after the initial excitement of starting something new.  Keep pressing through when things get difficult.  When we find ourselves wanting to give up and trying to lose faith, let's turn to Jesus as our model.  How did he handle tough situations?

Let's lace up our shoes and start running.  And let's not give up when our hearts beat fast and we can hardly breathe.  Because breakthrough is just on the other side of that hill.

Monica

Starting Over

Well, hello.  As you can probably see, I have been avoiding this blog like the plague. I haven't written recently because the only thing I would have to talk about is the amazing lack of self-control I've been experiencing lately.  Everything has been out of whack with me and I am just tired of it.

I had a nice visit at Monica's house yesterday, which is a rarity because we live about 90 minutes from each other, and we both had to laugh a little at each other.  So the conversation went something like this, "We are so dumb.  We know what we are supposed to be doing!  What is wrong with us?"  Yep, that sounds about right.

I shared with her that I have felt for a while that God is leading me toward a life that does not include sugar, bread, & potatoes.  I, of course, am not happy about this one bit but I know that this is what He is speaking to me.  When I tried to argue my case on this one, I felt God gently reminding me that there are countless recovering addicts who are living their lives each day without alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, etc.  Yikes.  What do you say to that?

Don't get me wrong, I am not advocating Atkins or some low-carb diet.  I am simply admitting that these foods are triggers for me and, as much as I don't want to, I am going to have to lay them down.  So for the next 30 days I am doing a fast of these three areas of food.  Today has been the first day and I honestly feel relived, like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.  I don't want to be disobedient and I don't want to avoid this blog.  There is such a sweetness to walking in obedience and surrender.  I have known this feeling before and have let it slip away.  I am praying to be reminded of this when things become difficult and I want to turn back to my old ways.

Maybe you are like me and you just need to have a do-over.  It's ok.  We can be not dumb together.  Also, Daylight Savings Time begins tomorrow so set your clocks ahead tonight.  If you are reading this a few years from now, don't worry about it.

Love,
Celeste

Yeah, what she said!

Hey there!  As I was reading Chapter 6 today I got a little overwhelmed - in a good way.  This chapter (just like chapter 5) has really hit me hard.  Honestly, I have put the book down for a few days because it has been dealing with a lot of things that I just haven't wanted to think about.  God keeps using this book to confirm things that He has been speaking to me for some time now.

I need a little more time with this chapter before I can really share everything it has brought up with me.  If you are reading along, you know the weight of this chapter.  In the meantime I thought I would share a short video clip that sums up this book. Lysa has several videos on youtube on all sorts of topics that have really been a blessing to me.  I love seeing people speak passionately about what God is doing in their lives. 

Love,
Celeste (and mostly Lysa TerKeurst)

A Sisterly Kick In The Pants

I got called out today.  There are two people that I cannot hide from:  God and my sister.  I have been slipping up for almost a week now and I didn't even have to tell Monica, she just knew it.  After a very long and stressful day I found myself being wooed by the siren's call that is the Taco Bell drive-thru.  Ever since then, it's like I can't jump back on board.  I have been kinda coasting along this week, still reading this great book, but only allowing it to get in my head instead of my heart.

Well, Miss Monica called me out today on the whole thing and, boy am I glad she did.  She confronted me and told me exactly what I needed to hear.  It seems like that conversation is exactly what I needed to snap out of this fog I have been in.

Let me just tell you how unbelievably thankful I am to have her holding me accountable on this journey.  I am a firm believer that having an accountability partner is crucial to this process.  If you do not have someone that you can be completely honest with and who will push you toward your goal, I think you need to find that person today.  I know,  I know - it isn't easy being open and honest about the ugly parts of our lives but it is an integral part of dying to ourselves and being set free from the things that tangle us up.

So, thank you, sister.  I needed that.

Celeste

Plans. Big Plans.

Hey there!  Hope ya'll are doing great.  I must say that Monica has been doing a fabulous job talking about chapters 1 & 2 of the book we are reading.  Man, oh man, I am loving this book.  If you haven't checked out Made To Crave yet, I highly recommend that you do so.  Monica has the paper copy and I bought the digital edition for my Kindle. (only $3.99 in the Amazon Kindle store)  And no, we aren't being paid or anything like that - it's just the perfect addition to this blog.

So, I am going to talk about Chapter 3, entitled "Getting A Plan."  If you have been following this blog at all you know that I love a plan.  I get so excited about making plans, especially diet plans.  I have latched onto the Weight Watchers plan, Atkins plan, Master Cleanse plan (for approximately 3 hours), Low Calorie Plans, Low Fat Plans, doctor supervised plans, Body For Life, and on and on.  I know that most of these are great plans.  The plan is not the problem - me putting all of my trust in the plan and my subsequent lack of "follow-through" has always been the problem.

In the beginning of this journey I thought that God wanted me to give up all of my plans and just trust in Him to lose this weight and heal my heart.  I now know that this is 100% right but He has also revealed that I need to have some boundaries (notice how I avoided the word "plan" - I am sneaky like that)  I have been afraid to latch onto any plans because of my natural inclination to put all of my hope in them.  God's timing is so perfect.  He knew that I needed these few months to just focus on Him and to prepare my heart to follow a plan while I keep my eyes fixed on Him.

In Chapter 3 Lysa shares how God revealed to her that true change takes intentionality and time.  Real and lasting results will come but they won't be immediate.  Patience - something I am extremely lacking in - is what I need God to work on inside of me.  I am going to be walking out James 1:2-4, "Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."

Lysa shares the plan that works for her in this chapter.  She encourages readers to find out what plan is best for them.  I love that this book is not about a diet at all - just total surrender in every area of our lives.

So there you go.  This is what chapter 3 has spoken to me.  I pray that we will continually turn our hearts away from the things of this world and fix our eyes on our Heavenly father this week.

Love,
Celeste

What Do You Crave More?

Hey guys, we were originally going to take turns reviewing each chapter of Made to Crave, but Celeste has a lot of stuff going on right now.  Like a pipe bursting and flooding her kitchen and bathroom.  Add to that 5 boys and there's a good reason for me to go ahead and write this one in her stead.

Chapter 2 of Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst is titled Replacing My Cravings. It made me laugh and kinda hurt my feelings all at the same time.  I like that.  There are a few things I want to touch on that impacted me.

She said something that I have probably said to myself 200 times.  For real.  "Tomorrow will be a much better day to keep my promises to eat healthier.  And since this is my last day to eat what I want, I better live it up."  I cannot tell you how many days have been my "last day to eat bad."  They never really are.

Lysa tells about her realization that things had to change in her life.  Not just because she was overweight (she wasn't huge by any means, just not healthy) but it was more about her heart.  It was all about surrendering to what God wanted for her.  It was more for her spiritual health than her physical health.  She asked herself a real tough question.  Then she asked me, her reader, the same question.  I did not enjoy my answer.

So here's the question:

"Is it possible we love and rely on food more than we love and rely on God?"

Aww man.

When I first read that, I got real honest and had to answer, yes.  Today, my answer is different because God has done a work in my heart.  I have repented and accepted his forgiveness and allowed his grace to change me.  I must ask if your answer is no, could you replace the word food with something else?  Money, facebook, your spouse, beauty, security, tv, iPhone?  The list could go on.  What is the thing you go to for comfort, reward, or joy?  How about when you're stressed or sad?  Allow God to search your heart and illuminate anything you might rely on and love more than him.  I know it's hard.  It's even harder to blog about it.

God gave Lysa a very valuable key to unlocking the door to freedom.  She said, "Each time I craved something I knew wasn't part of my plan, I used that craving as a prompt to pray.  I craved a lot.  So, I found myself praying a lot."  That was such a revelation for me!  That is the difference in doing this thing my way and allowing God to draw me closer to him through my struggle.  Do you get how huge that is?

If you haven't gotten this book yet, you should!  I just realized it kinda sounds like I'm getting paid to plug the book but I'm not.  It's just so good.

If you're feeling brave, go ahead and leave your answer to the question in the comment section.

Monica

What's Really Going On Here?

Celeste talked briefly in her last post about the book we are reading, Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst.  Can I just say how dadgum awesome it is?  I am almost finished with it and it is very underlined and starred.  If you have ever had an issue with food, go and get this book as fast as your little feet can run or your little fingers can type.  Seriously, go get it.  Like right now.  It has changed my life.  Plus she's funny.

We want to do short chapter overviews here on the blog 'cause it's that good.  (Even the intro is good!)  By no means will we cover even half of the content but just want to touch on the points that have impacted us personally.  We want to share the ways God has spoken to our hearts through this book.

Alright then, here's chapter 1 for me.

It's titled What's Really Going On Here?  She starts off talking about diet companies and how they teach people how to eat better and why that doesn't always work.  The real issue is what we crave and that our cravings aren't going to be satisfied just because our bellies are full.  God made us to crave him and his presence and we feebly attempt to fill that craving with food, sex, drugs, shopping, insert any addiction.  We will never feel full on the "food" of the world when that is not what we were made for.

Lysa then touches on Eve's temptation vs. Jesus' temptation (when he was fasting and Satan came and tempted him).  She says, "Eve was saturated in the object of her desire.  Jesus was saturated in God's truth."  She shows how Jesus, who hadn't eaten in 40 days, was able to resist Satan by quoting scripture and using truth as a weapon.  That is available to us to use as well!  "Truth is powerful.  The more saturated we are with truth, the more powerful we'll be in resisting our temptations.  And the more we'll naturally direct our cravings where they should be directed - to the Author of all truth."  I love that!

As Christians, our goal is to be Christ-like so it's amazing to have an example in the Bible of what Jesus did when tempted with food.  I really appreciate that.  So what have I been doing?  Quoting scripture to get me through tough situations.  I have been declaring truth from the Word to get me through times when I'm flaming mad that I'm not eating cake with everyone else.  And hey, it works, so that's cool.

There is a ton of content that I didn't touch on in the 1st chapter, so you should really go read it all for yourself.  I know God will speak to your heart through what she says, that is unless you have your heart-ears plugged.  Isn't that a funny/weird picture?  And I leave you with that.

Monica

Waiting For January

Hey there.  It has been a while since I have posted.  Throughout the month of December I had absolutely no desire to even think about anything to do with being healthy, surrendering to God, or this blog. I told Monica that I wanted to title this post "Bah Hum Blog" but I thought it sounded too depressing.  I'm not one to be down in the dumps but this month has just been weird for me.

Don't get me wrong, a lot of great things happened in December.  I directed 56 amazing kids in our church's Christmas Musical earlier in the month.  My husband and I also headed up a Christmas toy giveaway event where we were able to give 1,000 kids a wrapped gift, a new blanket, and a bag of candy.  We saw about 2,500 total people come out that night for the giveaway & they all had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

By the time Christmas came I was exhausted.  We didn't even put up a tree until the week before Christmas.  I hate to admit this but here goes - while the boys were opening up their gifts I couldn't stop staring at the tree, imagining how quickly I could get it all packed up again.  I didn't even really enjoy the day like I normally do.  Christmas is normally my favorite time of the year and I just couldn't understand why I wasn't feeling it this time.

All month long in the back of my mind I have been saying to myself, "When January gets here, I'm going to really get in line and eat better."  I enjoyed November immensely when we did our 30 Day Challenge but as soon as December rolled around I felt out of control again.  Why is it that I can stick to a set of rules so well but I can't just do this on my own?

Monica and I are both reading the book Made To Crave by Lysa Terkeurst and we already cannot put it down.  She talks about the fact that God gave us the ability to crave for a reason - to have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone.  It is such a trick of the enemy to twist this natural desire that God placed inside of us into an unnatural addiction to food or other things.  In the first chapter she says, "With Jesus, if we want to gain, we must give up.  If we want to be filled, we must deny ourselves.  If we want to truly get close to God, we'll have to distance ourselves from other things." 

I feel like in all of my "good-doings" this month, I have really lost sight of what is most important.  I had such a fire inside of me when we first started this journey a few months ago and I feel like I have let that flame go out.  I am praying that God will light that fire once again.

So, tomorrow is January.  I do love the idea of January and fresh starts and clean slates. I am not making any resolutions but I am committing myself to denying myself and following Jesus.

Oh, I almost forgot - Happy New Year!

Love,
Celeste

Letting Go

Hey there.  I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as I did.  Getting out of town and being with family did me a world of good.  I was having a rough time when I wrote last and I want to thank you all for your kind words and prayers.

I have to tell you something pretty great that happened last week.  When I wrote that last blog I was really discouraged.  Immediately after that post I went to get my nails done.  The place I normally go was closed for the holiday & I ended up going to another little nail shop.  Normally I am friendly and talkative but I just wasn't feeling it that day.  As I was sitting in silence, the man doing my nails started talking to me.  Out of the blue he said, "You know, sometimes you just have to let things go.  You can't make things happen on your own.  Things have to be done in God's timing." I'm sure my mouth was hanging open.

He kept going for almost an hour - totally reading my mail - and giving me words of encouragement.  I was literally stunned.  I just needed a reminder of what this whole thing is really about.  I am thankful God is ready and able to help when we are in trouble.

Admitting that I need help is another huge part of the "dying to myself" process.  Everything inside me wanted to sweep all of that discouragement under the rug and just go along like things were fine.  If I had done that I would have missed the blessing God had for me that day.  I am so thankful for you all and also for the obedience of the man who showed the Father's love to me last week.

Who knew that a blog about food addiction would bring about so many other things. I was just trying not to be fat, y'all.  I had no idea we were going to get all up in each other's business!

November is almost over, by the way.  I have really enjoyed these weeks & I can't wait to hear from you all about how our first 30 Day Challenge went for you.

Love,
Celeste

Day 21 - Celeste

Can I be honest with you?  I am discouraged.  I want this process to be over already.  I am tired of it.  My life has been pretty stressful this week and I haven't really handled things so well. My normal reaction to stress is to eat ....  a lot.   Since I have been trying not to use food as a comfort, I find myself just being plain mad.  I have been quick tempered with my kids, rude to my husband, and a general joy to be around. 

This is dumb and embarrassing, but here it is.  I know that this is just part of the process of dying to myself but I honestly never thought it would be so hard.  I'm in the middle of the mess right now and I am trying to press through.  I so easily forget that this is a spiritual fight, not a physical one.  I know that I am not alone - God is mighty to save.

Pray for me today, please & thank you.

Love,
Celeste 

Check In

Just a quick check in tonight...

It's been a week without sugar and it feels really good.  I'm not gonna lie though, there have been days that I wanted to eat some but I didn't.  I did have some pretty terrible days this past week.  My iPhone fell out of my pocket the other day and my screen completely shattered, so that was neat.  It's hard to learn new ways to cope with stress but I'm working on that.

My running has been a little here and there.  I've been consistently working out but not running like I intended.  Good thing we have lots of days left to our 30 day challenge!

God has been doing amazing things in my life despite my lack of perfection.  Isn't that encouraging?  We don't have to be perfect for him to make something good out of us.  I'm just asking for his help as often as I can remember.

That's it, y'all.  I'm off to sleepytown!

Monica

Keep On Keepin' On!

Hello there!  I hope you have had a great day so far.  This week has been challenging for me but oh so rewarding.  My prayer time has been nothing short of amazing.  Just slowing down and turning everything off (even worship music) has completely transformed the experience.  The nearness of God is what has surprised me the most and it is shocking to see the difference this has brought about in my behavior.  The awareness of the presence of God throughout my day has been a great reminder that I am not alone in this struggle.

I am still trucking along with my food & workout goals. I had an insurance physical today (don't be jealous) and I found out that I have lost a little more weight.  Also, I took some "before" pictures this week.  Oh my my.  I had no idea that I was nine months pregnant!  There has got to be something wrong with my camera.  But seriously, I encourage you to do this if you are trying to lose weight.  This is totally non-spiritual but 100% butt-kicking in the motivation department. 

So we are at the halfway point - can you believe it?  How are things going with you?  I am praying for consistency and steadiness for all of us on this road.

Love,
Celeste

Changing Things Up

We are on day 11 of our 30 Day Challenge and it has made quite an impact on me so far.  I have had some amazing high points and some unfortunate lows.  Makes me sound a tad bipolar.  I posted earlier this week on being free from addiction.  I felt great!  I was walking around in all this freedom and happiness.  Then I had the urge to bake.  Because I was free from addiction to sugar, I decided to make some killer sugar free cookies.  They were "low" everything but tasted real good.  After a few, I started feeling the guilt creep back in.  The thoughts like, "Yeah, you just thought you were free.  Look at you, you are still the same old person doing the same old things."  I was embarrassed.  Too embarrassed to blog about it because after posting about such an amazing event, I didn't want you all to see me fail.  I haven't failed, though.  I did a little "Croc-walk" (what my husband and I call it when the sticky rubber of a Croc makes a person trip a little) but I didn't fall.  Let me tell you what God showed me about my recovery.

With nearly all addictions, there has to be abstinence.  A person addicted to meth can't just shoot up every once in a while and expect to stay clean.  My addiction to sugar is deeply rooted.  I've been cultivating it nearly my entire life and I expected to wake up Monday morning with absolutely no desire for it again.  While I know God could have taken it away, he didn't.  I thought I could have some of my "drug" every once in a while and be cool.  Not so much.  He showed me that I need to completely steer clear for a while.  I did not want to tell y'all that 'cause putting it here makes it real for me.  Plus, Thanksgiving is coming up and I make a mean pumpkin roll.  I will not be partaking in desserts this year.  Alas, such is life and freedom and such.

So I'm changing up my goals nearly midway through this thing.  Instead of the half-hearted, don't eat unless I'm hungry goal, I'm going without sugar.  I'm doing it 'cause that's what God wants me to do.  It's going to be hard but I have a feeling I won't regret it.

"And the Master, God, stays right there and helps me, so I'm not disgraced.
Therefore I set my face like flint, confident that I'll never regret this."

Isaiah 50:7

Monica

Little Black Dress

Things have been a little crazy today at my house. The morning started off with our oldest son throwing a ball through the living room window and ended with my husband and two of the boys shooting BB guns at a mouse in our house.  Have I mentioned I am the only female in a house of 7?  The mouse thing is particularly offensive to me as a housekeeper.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is all part of living in the country.  The window thing...well, let's not talk about that one.

Needless to say, my rigid morning routine was thrown out of whack.  As I was frantically looking for something to wear to work, I pulled Ole Faithful out of the closet.  I am referring to my Little Black Dress.  I have a serious love/hate relationship going on with this dress.  Snatched off of the sale rack at Lane Gyant, this dress has been a go-to item for me for most of 2010-2011.  The loose fitting cut and forgivable fabric hide a multitude of sins. The problem is, I wear it all the time!  I try to be sneaky & throw a cardigan over it or maybe dress it down with casual accessories, but seriously, I am fooling no one.

My tired little dress is a great reminder of the situation I am in. No matter how much I try to dress it up or camouflage it, my little issue with food is not hidden to the outside world.  I mean, people can see all of this weight I am carrying around. As much as I'd like it to be, my problem with food is no secret.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "..let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."  "Sin which clings so closely" is the real convicting part of the verse for me.  My sin is clinging pretty closely around my mid-section at the moment.  I absolutely hate the thought of not just pounds of fat that I am dragging around, but pounds of sin.  Yikes.  Let that sink in for a minute.

I am ready to lay aside this weight.  I am also ready to lay aside that little black dress.  As soon as it no longer fits, I promise you I am going to burn that dress.  That dress is nothing but a reminder of the struggle I have gone through and I am thankful that He is setting me free.  God is really stirring something inside of me this week and I pray that you are experiencing the same thing.  I just want more of Him and much less of me (in every way possible).

Quick check in on our 30 Day Challenge: Days 6, 7, & 8 have been good.  My food goal (no sugar or potatoes) is getting easier every day.  My spiritual goal (20 minutes of quiet time with God) has been amazing.  My exercise goal (30 minutes per day) is still not great.  I only did 15 minutes today and I had plenty of time to do more.  I want this to be the only day that I don't give 100% on all 3 goals.

I can't wait to hear from you all on how your first week went.  I am praying that HOPE will begin to rise up in you today.

Love,
Celeste

It's All in the Family

We are on day 7 of the 30 Day Challenge and things are going good over here.  Right now, I've got a tasty broccoli soup on the stove for supper and will have 30 quiet minutes as soon as I finish this post.  If it ever stops raining here, I'll go outside for a run but if not, I'll head to the gym.

So what I really want to talk about today is generational issues; unfortunate things that seem to be passed down through blood lines.  I want to tell you about how I got free from mine.  Last Friday, I posted about how I screwed up and found myself with cupcake crumbs all over my face.  My mom commented on that post about how sugar addiction is something she, her mother and her grandmother have all battled.  Each one of us grew up watching our mother fight this demon and learned to do the same.  I had just kind of accepted this as a part of my life and tried my best to get over it.  Not working so much for me.  Seeing it in writing on Saturday was pretty huge for me.  (I am so incredibly proud of my mom for having the courage to admit her struggle, by the way.)

I had been praying all day that God would give me a breakthrough in this area at church that night.  I was pretty sure our pastor wasn't going to call up people with sugar addiction for prayer at the end of the service.  I just wanted God to do something.  So that afternoon, I was praying about the song I was going to lead and God laid a verse on my heart.  I was like, "Hey, you know I don't like to talk during worship."  And he was like, "Yeah, I know but do it anyway."  So I was like, "Ok."  Fast-forward to me picking up my guitar and thinking, "Oh crap, I can't talk!"  Then a peace just came over me and I knew if I was obedient, my breakthrough would come.  I said my little verse and a few words of encouragement and it was cool.  Then our pastor came up and started talking about stuff in your life that has no place.  He literally said, "I don't care if you Grandmother had it and your Mother had it and you do too."  My eyeballs got enormous.  He talked about the power of our words and declaring things on earth to be as they are in heaven.  In the Lord's prayer, Jesus said, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  Jesus told us to pray that.  Then my pastor said go ahead and do it, so I did.  I said, "Today, I am free from addiction and it has no place in my life.  God, may your will be done in my life on earth as it is in heaven."  And then I laughed.  Not a weird, crazy laugh mind you.  I laughed at the thing that has held me captive for so long.  I was filled with joy over my freedom.

I am learning the power of my words.  I say so many negative things about myself that are keeping me in bondage.  It's time to speak life over ourselves!  During your time with God today, ask him to show you the areas in your life where you need to change your vocabulary.  What things do you need to declare to be on earth as they are in heaven?

We LOVE hearing from you guys; it's so encouraging!  If you don't feel comfortable commenting here on the blog, please send us an email.  setfreefromme.cm@gmail.com

Monica

Day 3, 4, & 5 - Celeste

Hello there.

I hope you are doing well on this lovely Sunday afternoon.  Just wanted to fill you in on how the 30 Day Challenge is going for me.

Day 3 (Thursday) was awesome.  No problems or hang ups.  Great workout & prayer time.  Eating was ok.  Still sticking to my food goals.

Day 4 (Friday) was not super great.  In my attempt to look cute for work I wore some too tall boots and totally wiped out in the hallway.  Did you hear about that earthquake in Oklahoma/Arkansas?  Yep, that was all me.  All of my many pounds landed on my left knee.  Yikes.  I got a lovely little goose-egg & bruise as a parting gift.  Instead of my workout, I spent the night on the couch with an icepack.  I am not going to mention the pizza that I inhaled ate.

Day 5 (Saturday) was much better.  My prayer time was awesome and I still did not touch any sugar or potatoes.  I do have to admit that I could step it up in the healthy eating department.  Workouts have been good, but I am still just doing the minimum amount of effort required.  I am praying for God to give me a desire to be healthy and not just check something off of a list.

So, that's where I am at.  How about you? 

Love,
Celeste

Day 3 and Smidge of 4

Ok, y'all I'm just gonna be real here and say that I am weak.  I'm struggling.  Yesterday, I did good spending time with God and was quiet for a huge chunk of my day and it felt great.  Unfortunately, I didn't work out at all and my eating wasn't so great.  Dang, I do not like the way that looks.  I want to be perfect and when I'm not, it's so frustrating.  As you can imagine, I am frustrated a lot.  Ha!

This morning, I got up and worked out with my friend Stephanie over at chosenforreagan.com and it was good.  It hurt but it was good.  Then I went home and made myself a healthy lunch.  It was while I was watching The Office on hulu that the slope got slippery.  I got on the ol' Google and found a recipe for single serving cupcakes.  Did you know there was such a thing?  Yeah, there is.  So I whipped it up and scarfed it down.  It burned my mouth and wasn't even that good.  It was too eggy.  I wasn't hungry...at all; I just wanted something sweet.  You know what, while I'm being honest, I'm just gonna say it made two and yes I ate them both.  Even though the first one was kinda gross.  And now I feel like crap and I am embarrassed.  While feeling this way, I have some choices.  I can try and find a better cupcake recipe and make something much tastier.  I can say screw it all and eat horribly the rest of the day.  I can realize that I made a dumb choice and start back over from this point.  I can also go into my room and talk to my Father about it.  I can get in his presence and hide there for a while.  So, I'm gonna do the last two options and I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's to transparency.  Dadgum, it's hard.

What do you do when you mess up?

Monica

Day 2 - Celeste

Alternate Post Title:  "Are you gonna finish those French Fries?"

Ok, so yesterday I was really wanting some potatoes.  Mashed, fried, baked, whatever - I did not care.  It was almost funny to me how much I was obsessing about dumb potatoes.  Dying to my will is difficult because my will could basically be described as a large, less personable version of Madea.  She just won't quit, y'all.

 
Well, I didn't give in nor did I dive into the mountain of Halloween candy sitting in my kitchen right now. I decided to do this instead:  

 

I have to say, watching Netflix on the treadmill makes the workout go by pretty quickly.  Before I knew it, this had happened:

 

Now I know that 30 minutes of walking isn't news-worthy, but I am happy to say that I fit it into my very busy day.  I am also so thankful for God's grace in helping me stick with these goals.  

So, how was Day 2 for you?

Love,

Celeste

Yesterday and Today

From what I hear, several of us doing this 30 Day November Challenge had a rough first day.  Day 1 for me was not so hot either.  I went to see a nutritionist early in the day and found out I was kinda fat.  Doi.  I had to bite my cheek so as not to cry when she was reading me all my fat stats.  As embarrassing as it was, I knew I needed to hear the truth on Day 1 but I left a little discouraged.  After talking to my husband who always speaks truth to me, I was a little more encouraged.  That afternoon I spent some mediocre (on my part) time with God and then went running at 8:30 last night.  It wasn't till my shoes were pounding pavement that things got real.  God and I had good talks and I realized I had things flipped around in order.  I shouldn't have procrastinated all day to do the things he has called me to do.  So on Day 2, I have my workout clothes on already and I'm ready to go.  Here's to a better second day!

How was your first day?

Thanks to all who have joined in and shared your goals.  It's not too late to jump on this train!  Go here and read about our challenge and then leave a comment with your goals.

Monica

Day 1 - Celeste

Well, as the great & wonderful Carolyn pointed out, I haven't posted my 3 goals yet so here they are:

1.  Food - I am giving up potatoes & sugar (two of my biggest trigger foods)
2.  I will spend 30 minutes a day exercising (walking, swimming, biking, or zumba)
3.  I will devote 20 minutes of quiet time with God each day. (quiet is a foreign concept in my life)

Day one has been ok.  I have to tell you that this no sugar thing has been difficult with the mountain of Halloween candy in my house today.  No big deal though.  I am going to start a load of laundry, lace up my walking shoes, & hit the road.

How was your Day 1?

Love,
Celeste