Victory

Tonight was my work party. I called and spoke with Claudia today for encouragement and for prayer to help me with my choices tonight. I am so thankful for Claudia. She is always there ready to listen and help me no matter what she is feeling. My prayer is that I help her as she does me.

This morning, I did not read the Word, but made a quick promise to God that I would not eat or indulge in any dessert. I knew that I could make that promise. As for the rest, I was not specific. As the day went on, I realized that I must make a mental plan in my head of what I would eat tonight and how much. I knew that I must have an offensive plan of attack. Like I was going into battle, which is exactly what I was doing. The battle against my flesh. I wanted to choose Jesus. I wanted to love Him more than food. It is a choice that I wanted to make. I said another quick prayer and asked Him to show me what to eat. I am learning to be dependent on Him for all these decisions, even to the detail of how much I can eat.

I helped prepare for the party and had many opportunities to eat a little here, a little there. I decided to not eat anything until everyone got there. I ate a small amount of appetizers, and the main course was italian. I had a medium size piece of lasagna and cheese ravoli with one breadstick. NO DESSERT. Of course, my old habit was to take some home with me. I thought I will put it in the freezer for a treat later. Now, guess who is going to get these yummy treats tomorrow.. You guessed right. Claudia. She can throw it away or whatever she wants to do with it. Now, I could just throw it away, but for some reason it means something to me to physically hand it to Claudia. She is so fortunate to have a friend like me, isn't she?

So, we will see what the scale says tomorrow. No matter what it says..I know God is working in me and I am the most blessed person right now. No words can describe the feeling that I have knowing the Creator of the world is working in me. Me..

Praise you Jesus!

Natasha

Natasha Weigh in

God is great! I must remember that whenever I feel frustrated or upset. I did really well this week with my choices, eating, but did not exercise. I stayed the same this week. I did not gain or lose any weight..the same number appeared. My conclusion...exercise is so important. As Claudia lost three pounds (YEAH!!!), she faithfully did her exercise.

Exercise is so important for many reasons. It relieves stress for me. Raises your metabolism. Gain more muscle,which burns 50 % more calories, than fat pound for pound. Helps release endorphins which make me feel better. I feel that I make better choices when eating. I love to exercise, yet I do not make it a priority in my life.

This week, after a Christmas party, I went home slightly hungry. I then decided that I felt deprived a little and would eat more. But, then I was reminded that I wanted to treasure Christ more than eating. I wanted to feast on Him instead of empty calories. Instead of turning on the t.v., I opened His Word. As I did that, I felt His power and love. I felt comfort. I felt a victory over Satan and my flesh. I slept wonderfully that night. I woke up refreshed and ready to start the day. God has given me power. God gave me peace. He filled me with joy. Praise you Jesus!

Treasuring Christ in our Eating

You may ask, if this is a blog about losing weight, keeping fit and eating healthy, then why is it called, "Treauring Christ in our Eating"? That's a strange title.

Yes, it may be slightly odd, but we chose this title to show our true intentions.

We are two women, Natasha and Claudia, who have been radically transformed by the grace of God in our lives. We have trusted in Jesus Christ as our Savior and have a desire to worship, love and serve Him in all we do. And this isn't just in 'church' activities. This is something we seek in every aspect of life.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he says, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." So, his point is, even in the everyday, mundane things of life, such as eating and drinking, and by extension, sleeping and working and resting....we are to do it all for the glory of God. Natasha and I realized that we had to change our thinking with our food choices/diet. God is very serious about sin and we are not. And guess what? Gluttony is a sin! It is not tolerated by God, but it is tolerated by His people. God has convicted us that when we overindulge, we are sinning against Him, against His Holiness. God commands us to be holy, for He is Holy.

Leviticus 11:45 'For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

See, the main 2 problems we have with food are:
1. We love food too much and we eat too much of it.
2. We use food in the wrong way, such as for comfort when we are depressed.

So, when Natasha and I look at 1 Corinthians 10:31, it has a very specific application for us. It is telling us, "The way you eat and drink should be done in such a way that you are glorifying God." And thus far in our lives, Natasha and I have not been eating and drinking to the glory of God. We have been eating and drinking to satisfy the cravings of our body without any restrictions, seeking to derive pleasure, satisfaction and comfort from food. And we have thereby become overweight and unhealthy.

This does not glorify God! And we want to change that. Really badly. Our souls are aching to make a complete, 180 degree turn-around so that we will not be giving in to the cravings of our bodies anymore.

Our desire is, that when we eat, we will eat in such a way that shows that CHRIST is what we treasure more than ANYTHING.

I guess you could call this our purpose statement. Let me repeat it:

We desire to eat and drink and treat our bodies in such a way that shows that Christ is what we treasure more than anything else in this world.

Knowing this and putting this into practice are two different things. This blog, for us, is our journey of putting this into action. I know that we will fail at times, but God will not. We pray that He will give us an undivided heart that we may fear His Name. In turn, we will praise His name forever (Ps. 86:11-12).

What a great testimony to Christ. To Him be the glory and honor forever.