Who is in charge of your mind?

When my body is telling my mind to have it my way,  I feel tortured.  Recently, I have struggled with tracking my food.  The tracking happens at the end of the day or even the next day.  No surprise here, I am regularly exceeding my healthy food limits.  I bought into the lie that my hectic schedule is a reason not to track my food and physical activity.  The scale on the other hand reveals the truth. 

Today in my quiet time, Paul’s writing to the Romans 8:7 helped me. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

I am encouraged by the good news.  When we allow the Spirit to control our mind, we enjoy life and peace.  Tracking my food and exercise helps my mind to know when enough is enough.  I am focusing on the care of my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.   In the same way I ask the Lord to bless my food, I need to ask him to bless my tracking.  Tracking my activity allows the Holy Spirit to govern my mind.  Peace comes when I have tracked at the time of my meals.  From this point forward, every time I fill out my tracker, I will thank the Lord for the Holy Spirit who is in me.  (1 Corinthians 6:19)

My prayer today: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I have resisted tracking and allow my flesh to govern my mind.  Lord, you are my strength; your Spirit gives life because of your righteousness.  Help me to allow your Holy Spirit to govern my mind.  Thank you for the resulting peace and healthy life.  Amen

Check Your Motive

Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

When our motive is to please people, we are not serving God.   Serving Christ is our priority.   When I am trying to please the world, I give up and quit.   Before Christ I had decades of repeated weight loss, giving up and gaining back weight.  Each time I was heavier.  The chart looks like the stock market, up, down, up, up, down, up, up, down.   My weight gain was a steady rise over the long haul.

In my quiet time (First Place 4 Health bible study), I questioned my motive. Why did I want to lose weight?  When I sensed the love of the Lord my motive changed.  I want to serve the Lord every day, always. When I changed my motive, I was able to maintain weight loss.   In order to serve, I needed to be healthier.  I find it easier to choose the right quality and quantity of food and find time to strengthen my body when I see the actions pleasing to God.

Lord, forgive us for all the times we focus on the world and not you.   You are our salvation and strength. Show us what is pleasing to you.  Provide us the strength and power to please you with each step we take towards You.  Thank you, Lord, for your mercies and love. Amen

Why is rebelling my first response?

But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.”  Ezekiel 2:8

The old Helen daily devoured a large bowl of ice cream with bananas, nuts and a cherry on top.  I worked hard and deserved this delicious dessert.  When I started reading labels, I was in sticker shock.  My nightly sundae was over 600 calories:   banana - 105 calories, 1.5 cups of “lite” ice cream - 350 calories, add nuts – 150 calories, and then chocolate syrup, and the cherry.  

In Ezekiel 2:8, listening is the first action we need to take.  How amazing that the Lord wants to talk and direct our ways.  The next action is what not to do, rebel.  When I listen, I find the first thing I think is “No, I don’t want to”.  Why is our natural response to rebel?  I want to obey the Lord, so I fight this and proceed to “Yes, I want to do this.”  What do I need to do/change/consider so I say, “Yes”?  

Scripture about food jumps off the page at me.  This scripture is no different.  We are to open our mouth and eat what God gives. Finding healthy replacements to the worldly food is critical to our healthy success. Cold turkey works for a few weeks, even months.  Slowly, we become resentful and our resolve weakens. 

I discovered Fruit Smoothies were a worthy replacement to my end of day treat.  When you blend 1 cup of skim milk, ¼ of a banana, and a cup of frozen strawberries, the result is a large volume of naturally sweet milkshake with only 190 calories. I am thankful for the healthy delicious food the Lord provides.

My new self is committed to eating only what the Lord provides.  The world takes the healthy food the Lord provides and adds to it.  Ice-cream sundaes started out as milk and fruit.   As we processed our food more and more, we added the sugar and the fat.   I am thankful to have healthy replacements.   Often times, the healthy replacement is food in the natural state that the Lord provided. 

My prayer:  Lord, forgive me for the wrong choices I have made in the past.   You are my Lord; help me to seek you first in all things. Remind my ears to listen for your direction.  Give me courage to not rebel against you.  I want to take up your cross daily and share in your mission.  Lord, help me to eat your food and resist the food the world has tempted me to eat.  Thank you Lord, for loving and providing for me.  Amen.

What are your worthy replacements?

Do you have an accountability partner?

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV)   Though one may be overpowered,  two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I met my accountability partner in Houston, TX July 2010 when I first reached my goal weight.  Jenn Krogh lives in Wisconsin and I live in Pittsburgh, PA.   We Skype together every two weeks.    Each time we skype, I am thanking the Lord for technology that allows us to bridge the distance.  We live 660 miles apart, yet Skype allows us to be in the same room together.  Our hour time goes by fast as we laugh, cry, encourage, challenge and pray for each other.  I love the treasure God has provided through our friendship.

We are both blessed big losers.  She has gone before me, maintaining a 150-pound weight loss since 2001.  You can read her story beginning on page 133 in Carole Lewis' book First Place 4 Health.  This week as we skyped, we reminded each other of the hard work and battle we are in every day.  I wish I could say it is simple to keep off the weight.  No, it is work.   Tracking our food every day and strengthening our body with exercise is the work we do. We both agreed that the overriding key is to see our bodies as God’s temple. 

Jenn shared with me a blog by PINKHOPE on SparkPeople Blog, When You Don'tWant to Lose.   Pinkhope points out that when you ask most obese and very overweight people if they want to lose weight, they will quickly answer "yes". Often what they are saying "yes" to is BEING THINNER - the "result" of losing weight. If you take the phrase "losing weight" and expound the process, some will begin to have glazed eyes and their attention will wane.  WHY? The why is that they desire the result but don't want to do the "work" required to experience it.

PINKHOPE’s goal in writing the blog is twofold: First examine yourself, are you committed to do the WORK required to achieve the result? Secondly, be inspired to get busy and not WAIT until your health issues is the motivation. 

If you want help in achieving your goal, get accountability.  Ask the tough questions of each other.  

            What do you want?

            Why do you want it?

            Are you willing to do the work to get what you want?

What are you waiting for?  Get an accountability partner. Two are better than one.

Do you have an accountability partner? How are you helping each other?

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.  But pity anyone who falls   and has no one to help them up.   Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?   Though one may be overpowered,  two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Unhealthy, Good, Better, Best

So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! (Romans 6:15-18 MSG)

Today I discovered a new way of thinking with regard to healthy habits.  As I listen to the Lord about my health, He  leads me from unhealthy to good, better, and eventually to best choices.   I find going cold turkey or bare knuckling is almost impossible for me.  I am most successful when I replace with a healthy alternative. 

it is a stair step process for me. Here are some examples:

Unhealthy Couch Potato, no exercise
Good  15 minutes 3-6 days a week (3 years)
Better  30 minutes 3-4 days per week (3 years)
Best 45-60 minutes 3-4 days per week (1 year and counting)

Unhealthy enriched flour: cookies, cakes, white bread without limit
Good  50% white/wheat limit cookie and cakes on special occasions
Better 50-75%whole grain, limit cookie and cake on special occasion and limit serving size (one cookie/ small piece of cake)
Best 75%+ whole grain, special occasions are less than once per month 

Unhealthy Eating out: whenever and choose whatever
Good: Choose healthy restaurant, limit trigger foods (bread, pasta, chips, fries)
Better: Pack healthy snacks, choose healthy menu restaurants, pay extra and replace starches with extra veggies, even request no butter added.
Best ALWAYS have a Plan.  Eating out looks as healthy as eating in

Okay, your turn.  What is a step you are taking or need to take? I'd love to hear yours.

Unhealthy
Good
Better
Best

What needs to be removed in your life?

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:33   The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

Observation:  Jehoshaphat may have followed the Lord (vs. 32), he did not make all those he reigned over follow the Lord (he left the high places)

Application:  As a leader, I need to provide accountability so that people know what they are to do to follow the Lord.   How are they practicing the 3 Loves of Jesus:  Passion for God, Love for One Another, Love for a Broken World?

Prayer:  Lord, help me to see what needs removed.  What have I overlooked?  How can I help people set their hearts on you?

Obedience is better than sacrifice 1 Samuel 15:22

Scripture: 1 Samuel 15:22 22 But Samuel replied:  “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices  as much as in obeying the Lord?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 

Observation:  Obedience is better than sacrifice.  Listening and heeding first is better than repenting and asking for forgiveness.

Application:  I see this is so many areas of my life.  In my food, I have felt that eating right and exercising regularly was a sacrifice.  In truth, it is living in obedience.  The world says to biggie size, on the other hand, I know that for myself, I need to eat a kid’s meal at the most.  In another area, I tend to paint a picture with exaggeration.  I realize this is to influence others.  I am better at this now than before I came back to Christ.  Still, I catch myself and then have remorse and it nips at my heels and gives Satan a way to attack me.  In obedience, I need to speak only the words that God provides and not my own flowery additions to things.

Prayer:  Lord, you are my salvation.  I am forgiven through Christ’s shed blood and victory of death.  I want to delight you Lord.  I recognize that obedience is better than sacrifice and that they are different.  Help me to know your will, so that I can obey.   Heavenly Father, I love you!  I Love you!  I Love you!  Thank you Lord for this understanding.