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

Being Captivated

Hey y'all!  It's been a minute, huh?  I don't really have a reason for the break in blogging the past few weeks.  I had stuff to talk about but just kept forgetting to write it down or I didn't want to talk about stuff.  Either way, I'm back and I've got something to say.

I read Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge a few years ago and thought it was pretty good but not life changing or anything.  I am reading it again and wondering if I had read a different book 'cause it is seriously amazing.  If you haven't read it, go get it.  Stat!

So I have been frustrated and asking God why I'm not losing any weight doing this thing his way.  Isn't that kinda the point after all the dealing with issues and stuff?  I have been really wanting to go on a diet lately.  I want a plan.  I want to go back to something that I know has worked in the past if only for a short time.  I have been feeling real frustrated and gaining weight like I'm getting paid to.  So a week and a half ago, I made a plan and set a start date.  I was going to take control and lose some pounds before Christmas.  Then the conviction started.  I wondered how I would diet and still blog.  How can I be honest and yet go against the whole cause of this space?  Maybe I just won't talk about it?  Every time, I thought about it, there was a catch in my spirit.  God was wearing me down.  Then I read this in Captivating and it knocked down my last bit of fight...

  "Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so she cannot find her way.
    She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
    she will look for them but not find them. (Hosea 2:6-7)


    Jesus has to thwart us too--thwart our self-redemptive plans, our controlling and our hiding, thwart the ways we are seeking to fill the ache within us. (That's the part that really got me)  Otherwise, we would never fully turn to him for our rescue.  Oh, we might turn to him for our 'salvation,' for a ticket to heaven when we die....But inside, our hearts remain broken and captive and far from the One who can help us.  
    And so you will see the gentle, firm hand of God in a woman's life hemming her in.....Wherever it is we have sought life apart from him, he disrupts our plans, our 'way of life' which is not life at all."


So how's that for reading my mail?  Yeah.  It's like I'm a wounded animal thrashing around trying to get free from a trap but hurting myself in the process.  Then the gentle hands of Jesus hold me tight until I settle down and stop moving.  He can see things I can't see.  He has the strength to set me free but I have to give up control and let him do it his way.

Monica

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

In the Quiet

I've noticed it's been pretty quiet around here since Celeste announced our 30 Day November Challenge.  So, I want to explain a little bit about why I want to do this and hopefully encourage you to join us.

Last week I was singing the song None But Jesus and it starts out, "In the quiet, in the stillness I know that you are God.  In the secret of your presence, I know there I am restored.  When you call I won't refuse; each new day again I'll choose.  There is no one else for me.  None but Jesus....."

I have sung that song a hundred times but that time was different.  Jesus put a challenge in my heart to spend time in the quiet.  He called me to live out the words I was singing.  How many times do we sing empty words to him?  I know for me, that happens all too often, but I digress.  I had remembered years ago reading a story that my favorite author, Brennan Manning wrote in one of his books.  The gist of it is that he was talking to a man that was depressed or struggling with his identity and challenged him to spend time alone with God every day.  He was supposed to hear from God about his identity etc.  He came back after a while and told Brennan that it didn't work.  Upon questioning the man, he discovered he had been sitting alone listening to classical music for a period of time each day.  Brennan said of course it didn't work, I didn't ask you to spend time with Mozart, I asked you to spend time alone.

There is hardly ever a minute of my day that I spend in total stillness and silence.  I always have music in the background or I am reading or on the phone/computer.  What about you?  Do you ever spend literal quiet time with yourself or God?  So he laid it on my heart to begin carving out 30 minutes each day in silence.  No worship music, no devotional reading; just me and my savior hanging out.  It will look different every day, I'm sure.  Some days I will just "be" or I will write to him, read my Bible or pray.  The other day I spent my time picking weeds and allowing God to speak to my heart through his creation.  It was pretty great.

We are asking everyone who reads this blog to accept our 30 Day November Challenge.  Pray and ask God what he would have you do with 3 goals; spiritual, food and exercise.  Commit to stick with them for the full 30 days in November and see what changes in your life.  We aren't looking for perfection here 'cause Lord knows I'm probably gonna mess up a day or two.  That's not the point, though.  The point is to get closer to God through discipline; to hear his voice.  After praying about which goals to set for the next month, here is what I have come up with:

Spiritual - spend 30 quiet minutes each day with my focus on Jesus
Food - eat only when I'm hungry
Exercise - run each day

I encourage you to listen to the song on this video and pray about what God would have you do.  If you feel led to do this November Challenge with us, leave a comment letting us know you'll be joining.  And if you're really brave, tell us your goals!

It's not about perfection, it's about the journey.

Monica

It's Go Time!

In my last post I talked about setting some goals.  I knew that this was the direction God was leading, I just had no idea what my goals should be.  After a few days of praying and talking with Monica, we have come to a decision about the next step with this blog.  We want to start our very first "30 Day Challenge" in the month of November.

We want you to join us in making 3 goals (1 spiritual goal, 1 food-related goal, & 1 exercise-related goal) and we want you to stick with those goals for all 30 days in November.  It can be as simple or detailed as you like.  Just remember that the fix is not in the goal or your ability to stick with it.  We want these 30 days to be about laying things down in order for God to have greater control in our lives.

We have about a week before this thing kicks off, so start seeking God today & ask what He wants your 3 goals to be.  I am really excited and I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in each of our lives during this challenge.  It's Go Time!!

Much love,
Celeste