I hesitate to post this - only because this is the new year, and it seems so cliche.  For me it is not a resolution but a desire to make a permanent life change.  I read a bulletin board in our tiny town of about 50 churches a couple of weeks ago that read, "God desires repentance more than resolutions."  A resolution means that I am going to make a change - but repentance means I have admitted to God that my behavior is wrong, and I am asking Him to help me turn away from what I know to be sinful.  No more resolutions for this girl.  But I do know that I have a struggle with gluttony.  I have a love affair with food.  I recognized this about 9 years ago when I attended my first Weigh Down workshop.  The truth found in the precepts used in that Bible study are profound for someone with my particular sin struggle.  I have recently had a breakthrough in dealing with temptation the way Jesus did in the desert when Satan tried to tempt Him - by quoting scripture.  It is amazing how effective this is.  I have been able to leave a lot of food on my plate, and resist temptation - even Hot Fudge Brownie ice cream with the Lord's help.  The weird thing is that He didn't just help me resist it, but the Lord helped me not be overwhelmed by a preoccupation with what I had given up.  I didn't have ice cream - and I walked away and hadn't thought about it again until it came up to share here.  Amazing.  Only God could give such victory to a food-o-holic like me.
If you are unfamiliar with the concepts of Weigh Down, here is a breakdown in my words:

• no diet foods - God made all foods for us to enjoy, and declared all foods clean - after all our grandparents ate fried foods and real ice cream and maintained their healthy body weight for their entire lives
  
• diets don't work, because we make the food "behave" instead of our hearts - stuffing in artificial sweeteners, fat replacements, etc. but it doesn't do anything to restrain our sinful appetites
• you retrain yourself to respond to your body's "empty" and "full" gauge - eating only when your stomach is truly empty (with a growling sensation, or slight burning) and stopping after your stomach is full  (the stopping part is more difficult for me)
• acknowledge that food has become a god in your life - and work to transfer the love of food over to a love of God

Love and blessings! ~ ? Julie ? ~

[Comments - 1] [Post A Comment!] [Permanent Link]