Desiring Inward Beauty

Breaking Free. A Journey to Being Truly Satisfied

Day 7

Bible passage 1Peter 3:3-5 Psalm 103:1-5

I am beautiful.  I may not always feel that way, but according to God’s promise that He dwells in me, loves me and has made me new, I can honestly look in the mirror and see beauty.  I have to stop thinking that my beauty is a measure of how thin I am or the jeans I may or may not get back into.  My beauty is not defined by how much attention I get from my husband or his level of desire for me.  From having children, my hips and waist will never be the same and I need to be ok with that.  And enough comparing already; if I spend my whole life comparing my beauty against others I will fail to see both mine and theirs.   

My prayer

Father in Heaven you created me in your likeness.  You carefully put me together and gave my life purpose.  Like in the beginning of creation you looked and saw that it was good.  Then I looked and became dissatisfied.  I saw and was not pleased or even able to see what you see.  Forgive me for not looking deeper and for not caring near as much about my inward condition and I did my external appearance.  I set out to please my own eyes and to attract attention from others rather than make myself presentable to you.  Open my eyes!  Set me free from this trap of superficial beauty so that I may desire to be the kind of women Peter describes in the passage today, a women of beauty on the inside with a gentle spirit.  Amen

My journal companion while working through the Made to Crave 21 day challenge and the book Made to Crave.

Being the Lone Ranger Doesn't Work. We Were Made For Community!

Breaking Free.  A Journey to Being Truly Satisfied

Day 6

Bible passage Proverbs 17:17

I am so grateful that I do not journey alone in this monumental task of breaking through one of the biggest strongholds of my life.  For me accountability is huge and a big factor in my successful eating.  If I am to be honest and report to another human being my struggles, failures and every bite, I am less likely to cheat.  We are not meant to venture through life flying solo.  It is not healthy or wise.  A Christian is much more likely to have a strong walk with the Lord if they are connected to a healthy church and to be in relationship with those people.  They can be visible means of God’s grace to us in all sorts of life circumstances.  Rather than share a joy with a plate of desserts how much more of a celebration would it be to rejoice with a dear friend in the Lord.  It’s a lot less calories for both of you if you share the plate! 

My husband is also a great source of strength for me.  Today while making lunch I admitted that because I had missed my morning snack I was ravenously hungry and feeling tempted to eat what I was in the process of preparing.  He stepped in and finished making lunch.  Temptation avoided and back-up support to the rescue!  I’m not afraid to admit that I do love a man in shining armor!

Friends, spouses and church family are all blessings from God, demonstrations of his love for us.  I especially want to thank one of my friends in particular for partnering with me in this. 

 

 My journal companion while working through the Made to Crave 21 day challenge and the book Made to Crave.

Cravings and Struggles Continue

Breaking Free: A Journey to Being Truly Satisfied

Day 5

1Corinthians 10:12-13, Galatians 5:16-26

God you have given me a way out of temptation, you have made it clear the specific times I struggle.  Now please help me to stop and think, not to act in haste or to be motivated by desperation, but to be wise.  I want to be able to see beyond my temporary need for food and out to the far reaches of victory, eternal glory and life everlasting.  I can’t see right now how my problem with food could get in the way of my salvation yet I can already see how it has prevented me from having a deeper relationship with my Redeemer.  If time and again I seek comfort or pleasure in food and not Him I slowly distort my view of him and say to my heart, “He is not enough.”

I am feeling like a need to take a breather and take in all that I am discovering about myself and my addictions.  There I said it!  I have avoided using that word because to me it is ugly and not my problem.  I heard recently that people often make incremental progress in their faith rather than dramatic big leap changes and I would be apt to agree with that.  This however feels like one of those moments of serious life change. 

Part of me fears that when this study is over or life gets carried away that I will fall back into my old patterns or that I may even replace this food addiction with a new one.  When I stepped on the scale this morning and had not seen a change I was disappointed, but I heard God gently whisper in my heart “Is this about looking better?  Or do you want to draw closer to me?”  If my only goal is to look better, get attention, have smaller clothes and feel more attractive then it will not last and my fears will become a reality.  If I replace this idol of food with a desire for attention then I am back where I started.  I see it in my blog too.  I’ve already had ideas about how to turn my journal into a series, but am I motivated by the idea of people reading my work or by the earnest desire to share this breakthrough so that others may be blessed by it.  These very real and raw emotions are hard to decipher. 

With my Bible open, drawn to the already underlined portions, I see the answer.  It is found in Galatians 5:16-26.  Let me dive into Your Word today Lord, hungry and burning with passion for something lasting, let me seek you!

My journal companion while working through the Made to Crave 21 day challenge and the book Made to Crave.