On August 1st, I felt Holy Spirit drop an idea into my mind. “Have a weight loss challenge at work”, He whispered. I had been praying for the Lord’s help in once-and-for-all losing weight. For good! I’m one of these people who needs accountability. If I don’t have someone or something keeping me accountable, I don’t finish what I start. What can I say? I’m a work in progress. Thankfully, God isn’t one of those people. He never quits. He’s One Who means what He says and says what He means, and He won’t stop until the work He started in me is done. Praise God for His faithfulness. 

Philippians 1:6 (Amplified) “I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will [continue to] perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus [the time of His return].” 

As I said, Holy Spirit gave me the idea, so I made a flyer and put out a sign-up sheet for anyone who wanted to join me in a weight loss challenge from August 1st to December 1st. Nine of us have signed up, and I’m so thankful for these precious coworkers of mine who agreed to the challenge. We each put in $5 for the one who loses the most weight/inches. I want so much to win this, but for me, it’s not about the money or beating anyone else. For me, winning means that I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, and that is prize enough for me. I’m competitive (remember, work in progress), but in this case, it’s not about competition. It’s about God giving me a way to be held accountable to create and keep good eating/lifestyle habits, and nothing says accountability like organizing a weight loss challenge! Let me be clear: this is NOT a diet. I said a long time ago, I never want to be involved in anything with the word “die” in it. This, for me, is a complete lifestyle change; one that I will continue until I go home, or He comes back to get me.

What I have felt the Lord leading me to do is, cut out sugar, soda, coffee, etc., up my intake of water, and basically eat clean. Oh, and making it a priority to do that whole exercise thing, which has been the bane of my existence for a very long time. I used to say, “I like to exercise, I just don’t want to do it by myself.” Yeah, SO not true. It’s amazing what you find out about yourself when you’re put in situations that cause you to take an honest look inward. In a perfect world, I would love to exercise, and I would do it every day with vigor and enthusiasm. How many of you know, we are not in a perfect world? BUT, God is working on that, too, Praise His name!

In a previous post, I spoke about being addicted (OK, ADDICTED) to sugar. The Lord knows for me to succeed, I will have to have some alternatives to said sugar, so He has sent numerous healthy, good for me, desserts across my computer screen. There are several websites I follow that give me just that. Pinterest is a big one, as well as Facebook. I have tried numerous ones, and there are many that I haven’t liked. However, I have found a few that are fab-tasteic (I totally just made that up. True story).

So, since August 1st, I have only had sugar maybe once or twice, and it was a minimal amount. God is teaching me how to eat His way, because it’s the right way. He’s giving me the grace I need to pick healthy options in over 90% of places Jason and I have gone to eat. My flesh totally wants to get whatever (and I do mean whatever), looks good on the menu. I used to go for whatever made me drool the most, but since starting this journey (again for the 211,516,565,865th and LAST time), He has patiently guided me to things that are better selections and will allow me to stay on track. For example, Jason and I, along with my in-laws, went for a 6 mile walk yesterday (Sunday). When we were done, J and I were famished, so we went to Labowski’s in Robins to grab a bite. From the name, I’m sure you can deduce this was not a health food restaurant, but because God is so faithful, I immediately started looking for the salad section of the menu. I settled on a very healthy grilled chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Things continued in my favor, because I drank a lot of water before the meal got to the table, causing me to eat a lot less (this was a big salad). I ate less than half, and I was full. These are the types of things God is doing for me, because He loves me beyond human comprehension. I also keep the following scriptures in the forefront of my mind a lot:

I Corinthians 6:12, 19-20 (Amplified): ^{12 “}Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything [and brought under its power, allowing it to control me]. ¹³ Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will do away with both of them.”

^{19 “}Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from God, and that you are not your own [property]? ²⁰ You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.”

Time is so short, and if I’m going to do what He’s called me to do, I need first answer His call to be the healthy, energetic woman He’s created me to be. I need to honor Him in all things, and food/eating habits are one way I am doing that. He’s been so faithful to me, and I’m honored, so honored, to be called His daughter. Remember, obedience is better than sacrifice, and He’s made it clear how He feels about the way we treat our bodies. My obedience is far better than giving in to any sugar cravings, because I know when I’m healthy, it means I’ve done what He said to do.

I Samuel 15:22 (New Living Translation): ^{2 “}But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”

He knows when we are obedient to His voice and what He tells us to do, it will be for our benefit, and we will reap the rewards. He can see the bigger picture, and His ways are always better than our ways.

Thank You, Lord, for your Love and Faithfulness. Thank You, that I am precious in Your sight, no matter what choices I make. Thank You for loving me so incredibly much.