This week we are hitting “Night-Time Eating” head on by creating truth cards that will help us fight the lies we believe that cause us to give in to temptation after dinner with TRUTH.
Today, I want to share with you page two in my truth card deck!
This “habit” (of eating at night) is the single BIGGEST hindrance to my confidence that I am currently at my God-given size.
After I obsessed and went nuts and dropped all the weight I did, it was clear that I had gone too far. So I am not at that LOOOOOW a weight right now. I am good with that. But what I *don’t* know is if I am where I should be. I don’t think the number matters at all. But night-time eating is sort of a bug-a-boo for me. I haven’t conquered it at all. I know that many evenings, I do “desire” eating. If I were to be obedient during this trouble time, I know that I would have confidence that no matter what my size or number or whatever, I am right where God intends for me to be.
I need to CHOOSE to surrender my “desire eating” in the evening to God. Will I?
It really boils down to WILL I OBEY GOD? Or my desires?
Will I call “foul” to God when he asks me to give evening eating over to him?
Is this one of those areas where I retain *my* (supposed) rights? Or am I truly surrendered…”Not my will, but thine be done?” No food tastes as good as obedience feels!
Is giving up food after dinner (when I am not hungry) worth what I get in return?
There truly is no sweeter sensation–no tantalizing taste-bud thrill–than loving God with my choices. The peace that I experience when I submit to his authority is just SO wonderful!
HOW ABOUT YOU?
Are these truths that you can add to your truth card deck? How is it going for you using your truth cards? What truths can you add to these that I have posted?
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalms 27:14
We read time after time in the Bible to “wait” on the Lord. If you google “wait on the Lord scripture,” you will find dozens of related verses. Waiting on Him is associated with good, hope, strength, courage, mounting up with wings like eagles, compassion, mercy, and rest, among other things. I was thinking the other day about King David and how he wanted to build the temple so that God would have a glorious dwelling place.
Then King David rose to his feet and said: “Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building.
I imagine David was so excited about his plan, like I am when I plan a home renovation, garden plantings, or a vacation. He may have lain awake at night making sketches in his head. He may have thought about all of the details, the gold overlay and the fabulous carvings, where the ark would rest, and how he would acquire building materials. But then God makes him wait. He says ‘You may not build a house for my name.” (1 Chronicles 28:3). Imagine David’s disappointment as his plan is foiled. But, David listens and obeys and his plan comes to a screeching halt. In the end, he is given permission to make a plan of the temple (through God’s guidance) and to prepare materials for his son Solomon to build the temple, but he does not build it himself. He doesn’t see the finished product in his lifetime. He chooses to wait on the Lord and follow His plan, and he is blessed for his obedience.
I think David can be an incredible lesson for those of us on this Thin Within journey. In our culture of immediate gratification, we want to not wait in so many ways. We may have a plan for what we want to wear to that reunion, wedding or beach trip. We may want to be a certain size by a particular date. We may ask for complete freedom from our food and body issues – today, not tomorrow. We may want that food, the ice cream, chips or burger, right now, although we are not hungry.
I want to challenge us to think about waiting on the Lord. Wait for Him to show us when to eat and when to stop. Wait for Him to show us what to eat. Wait for Him to show us what a surrendered life looks like. And let’s scrap our plans for “perfect” bodies or for fitting into that dress or for achieving a certain size. He put the hunger and satiety signals in our bodies and created each one of our bodies. Wait on Him to show you how to treat your body. David wrote over and over again in the Psalms to “wait on the Lord.” Let’s follow his godly example! Check out Psalms 33:20, 37:7, 38:15, 39:7, and Isaiah 40:31.
~ Carrie
How About You?
What do you get out of the passages Carrie shared with us above? What is God calling you to wait on? What is God calling you to let go of?
I hope you have been developing a batch of Truth Cards. If so and if you don’t have these truths added to them yet, maybe you would want to include these truths:
What About You?
What truths are you adding to your truth cards today?
Yesterday was Day 2 of the vacation, day 1 being a travel day. The kids coined the name “DC Death March.” Hmm…I wonder why? LOL!
This trip is probably not what the kids expected. You see, they have never been on a “Conquering Vacation” before. They have only been on “Restful Vacations.” There is a HUGE difference!
You see, my dear husband planned this to be the once-in-a-lifetime, you-won’t-have-us-pay-your-way-ever-again “Conquering Vacation.” So, he wants us to accomplish as much as possible. We homeschool and have been studying US History so this is the deal–time to see in REAL life much of what we have seen pictures of or heard about!
To drive home the point of what a “Conquering Vacation” is, here is our itinerary:
Thursday – travel
Friday and Saturday – Washington, D.C.
Sunday and Monday – Williamsburg and surrounding locations
Tuesday – Chincoteque and Ocean City, Maryland
Wednesday – Independence Hall, Philadephia and Dover Speedway in Delaware
Thursday – Lancaster County and Straasburg, Philadephia
Friday – travel back to California
As you can see, this is DEFINITELY, a “Conquering Vacation!”
Yesterday, the first of two days in DC, we hopped hopped hopped from place to place—at times, literally! We definitely got a LOT of exercise!
We took in:
The Library of Congress
The Capitol
Union Station
The National Archives
The White House
The Washington Monument
The Lincoln Memorial
…then we topped it all off by the ulimate…a march across the Potomac on Memorial Bridge!!!
I think our first objection came from the kids just about the time we were at the Capitol! It was a lot of walking and I realized just how much I have allowed my kids to be sedentary. We will have to fix that when we get home! Hubby and I “paid” for that, quite a bit.
However, God provided joy for me in the entire thing…and I hope that helped my family make it through the rather intensive day. For those of you wondering, Daniel has done FABULOUSLY! Thank you for praying! Michaela seems to be getting sick now, though. We definitely need rest!
The eating situation yesterday was intriguing. I managed to eat 0 to 5 the entire day. Hubby got off providing food for us at a restaurant twice… and we foraged on snacks we had packed the rest of the time. I am grateful to God for HoneyMade Graham Crackers and Skippy Peanut Butter! Oh, how I LOVE my peanut butter!
Today, day 3…we were hung up in horrible traffic jams getting to the Metro so it was late by the time we got to DC. For some reason I was feeling REALLY sick. It was almost 90 degrees and I got very light headed! Go figure! I wondered if I was hungry and wanted something that might get sugar into my blood stream quickly, just in case it was low blood sugar. Funny thing…I had two Oreos (the real kind, not the cracker kind! LOL!) and within minutes I was feeling a lot better, thankfully. I have not had an experience like that in a long time, but I have to assume that I missed a hunger signal.
Today, we hoped to tour the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian and maybe Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon. It was so late by the time we got to DC, though, and with Michaela and I both feeling ill…well, we packed up and headed back soon after we got there. I am disappointed on the one hand, but on the other, I know it is best to let it go.
We drove over 2 hours to get to this wonderful condo. Haven’t seen it by daylight yet, but was able to get internet access. It is getting late, but hubby is out at WalMart getting some “provisions” to last us the three nights and days we will be here. (Gotta go cheap, if at all possible!)
I am blessed that so far, my flesh machinery has NOT been operational! I have been filled with the Joy of the Lord for the most part. I know it is HIS joy, as it is FULL. I have had my moments of being cranky, but God has given me an awareness of it and prayer has stopped that behavior in its tracks.
We went to Chili’s restaurant tonight and I was famished. I guess I should be thankful that when the fajitas arrived they were way too salty for me to eat much. So I didn’t eat outside of 0 and 5 today either. Tonight I felt miserable in my stomach and wondered if it was hunger. Again, my signals DO seem to be a bit messed up. I ate a small snack and the discomfort went away. I have to just trust that the Lord will lay it on my heart if it is something I need to give food to and if it is something that can be “cured” with prayer. So far, so good!
I am keeping a food log, observation and correction chart, *and* a hunger graph! It is in a pad in my travel wallet which hangs kind of like a mini-purse from my neck. It is SO convenient and helps me to stay focused. I want to show it to my co-leader of my live TW group when I return so that I can “stay honest” during this trip and not “go on vacation” from 0 to 5 eating or from obeying the Lord. Vacations will NOT be an excuse for disobeying his sweet voice!
P.S. It is 11:30pm here in Virginia and my young man just came out of his room…not yet able to sleep. He is horribly home sick. After making it through the past couple of days perfectly, I guess he is just letting down. If you don’t mind praying some more for him, I know we can get through. Disrupting his routine is very hard for him…and he misses all our animals at home. Thanks so much!
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