Sour Grapes

Many of the women at my church started a new weight loss program and are losing lots of weight quickly with very little effort. It's one of those "all natural" supplement programs and they are getting some really great results. Start up is over $200 a month. That is WAY outside of my price range.

With their weight loss though, I found myself fighting the green monster,

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then depression because I wasn't getting results as quickly,

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then anger that I was HURTING physically from my exercising (need I say that my muscles are totally rebelling at doing even the basic forms of strength training?).

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I haven't lost weight in about 2 weeks and I found myself praying for God to just give me even a small change in the scale because i was getting so discouraged with it all. Now I don't mean just a little prayer as I step on the scale, I mean some serious prayers ... with tears and everything.

Then, during my Bible study time, He responded to my prayer,  Not with what I wanted, but an answer that I needed. In Isaiah 5 the people are doing their own thing. Not so much that it was the wrong thing as much as it was they were doing it without GOD. The chapter begins with an analogy of God preparing and planting a vineyard that He expected to produce fine, sweet grapes only to get sour, wild grapes.


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He compares His people to the wild grapes. They didn't become what He had envisioned and went on to do their own things. Then you get to Isaiah 5:19 where they are mocking God saying "Hurry up and do something! QUICK show (me) what you can do. (I) want to see what you have planned." What a huge awakening for me! I have gotten so wrapped up in what the scale says (which isn't a bad thing in and of itself) that I have left out God! He has given me everything that I need to do this right, but rather than allowing the Son to help me grow into sweet grapes I have focused on how I compare to the other grapes in the field and that is making me sour and bitter. He should be my focus and the center and not how I am doing compared to others.

Chapter 5 continues with several lines of "destruction is certain" for His people who are not focused on Him. I can not do this alone. I have tried MANY times before and failed each and every time. Not only failed but gained MORE weight. I am now trying to refocus on why I started this study, which was about growing closer to the only one who can truly satisfy, and less on the temporary satisfaction of smaller numbers on the scale, because one day those numbers are going to stop getting smaller and then what do I have?

Another hint that I needed to bring God back into this journey was a DVD I found while grocery shopping with the hubby. Now I just want to say that I have looked at this particular rack of exercise DVD's several times over the last week trying to decide whether or not to purchase the DVD version of a VHS program I already own. That would allow me to workout downstairs rather than in the living room only. While going back and forth about it I have browsed every DVD on the rack. On this particular day there was 1 and ony 1 copy of a new DVD I had never seen before.


(You can check it out at http://amzn.to/Ap9Hqn)

So I bought it, and I have to say I LOVE it. That doesn't mean I enjoy the workout, because it does challenge me. What I do love is that throughout the DVD the encouragements are not along the lines of "what a beautiful body you are creating" but rather along the lines of "you are doing a great thing be being a good steward of the body God has entrusted to you". It reminds me the whole time that this body is a gift from God and is His temple and I need to care for it. I am challenged to do my best through the entire workout. It is great for keeping me focused on what is really important.

And that is the challenge I want to leave you with.

If you are going to do it, do it with all of your might!

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Do EVERYTHING for God's glory

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and do it with all your heart!

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So I am still on this journey towards a smaller me, and a more peaceful me, but I learned that my focus needs to be on God.  If my focus is in the right place, everything else will fall in line!

You can find out more about Made to Crave  and do the FREE 21 day challenge here.  You can also join me on SparkPeople for a free weight loss plan.  You can find me as Sunflowers4Me.
Until next time,

One Word 2012

I have seen this idea floating around the internet and have been really thinking about what word I would chose as my goal or resolution this year.  Haven't heard about it?  The basic concept is this, rather than coming up with a new year's resolution, or a list of things to do this year, chose one word that encompasses everything.  You can read about this here.

So I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and finally chose my word:

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I have been holding on to a lot of hurts in my life, a lot of anger over postponed plans and dreams.  I have been so busy looking backwards or forwards that I have lost the pleasures of the moment.  I don't want to do that anymore.  John 14:27 tells us "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid"  Peace is a gift to us, but like all gifts it must be something we accept.  I have decided it is time to accept this gift.  I no longer want a troubled heart, I don't want to worry about the future.

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"in ME (Jesus) you may have peace, in the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world" John 16:33

The first thing I need to do is to focus on the one who gives peace.  As the verse above tells us, it is in Jesus that we have peace, even when things get hard we can still find peace.  (This was a huge ah-ha moment for me sitting in church listening to this sermon.)  So that is what I am focusing on right now.

Since I so often turn to food as a comforter when I don't feel peaceful, I joined an online Bible study based upon Lysa Terkeurst's book Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food.  In it I have learned so many truths that are helping me to reach my goal of peace in 2012.

So throughout the year, I will be bringing back the scripture cards every week to share scriptures that can help us to either attain the peace God has offered to us, or to help us create a peaceful environment in our homes.  And since accountability is a biggie in the Made to Crave study, I plan to keep you all posted during my journey to reach peace with my physical self as well.  If you are interested in how I am achieving this you can find me on SparkPeople as Sunflowers4Me.  I would love to be friends with you there.

How about you?  Have you chosen a word for 2012?  I would love it if you shared it with me!

Until next time,