Just a Short Note...

This will be pretty short, as I am leaving in about 20 minutes for a long overdue date night with my sweet hubby...
The reason this date deserves a mention on this blog is that we aren't going just "anywhere" for our rare night out.. We are going to probably the most renowned Italian eatery in the state of Oklahoma : Pete's Place!
However, I have had some victory in the fact that today I have not been dreaming of the LARGE complimentary meatballs, ravioli, spaghetti, salad, and bread that come BEFORE the meal. I have been looking forward to this night all week, but I have not been obsessing over it, wondering what I will have and anticipating eating the leftovers tomorrow. It has been a good week with God. He has been teaching me so much. A lot about pride issues sneaking in when I have success that cause me to fall right back into the old patterns. Staying close to God has no choice but to keep us humbly in our place and Him in His.
Well our ride is here, so I will sign off!

The Pearls

I want to share one of all-time favorite stories with you. The lesson in it speaks for itself....Think about it.

The Pearls The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box. "Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!" Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face. "A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma." As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace. Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green. Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?" "Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite." "That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss. About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?" "Daddy, you know I love you." "Then give me your pearls." "Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper." "That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss. A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek. "What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?" Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver,she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you." With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. He had them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure. What are you hanging on to?

What's in a Name?

Well, I am going to try this blogging thing again. I am the absolute worst at keeping a journal, so hopefully this will go better. I have titled my new blog adventure: Less of Me.

Why? Because I have decided to speak to and chronicle my experience on a subject that has controlled most of my life: WEIGHT!...Weight loss, weight gain, weight obsession, food obsession, food dependence, etc...

If you can relate, then come along with me as I jump into this process headfirst! ( A SCARY PROPOSITION FOR ME! )

Let me preface by saying that this is not going to be a blog about "weight loss" persay. It is going to chronicle much more than a hopeful physical transformation, but I plan to go much deeper, into the spiritual and emotional aspects of a dependence on food. And I want to do this to help keep myself accountable. 

LESS OF ME, as you may have figured out has a double meaning. First and foremost, I have learned and truly believe the only way to freedom from any kind of addiction is to put our focus on the One who created us and allow Him to lead us out of our wilderness and captivity. Life has to be about more of Him and less of ourselves. He takes the whole "NO other gods before me" thing seriously. 

I hope that by posting this blog it will help someone else as they follow my journey. Let me be clear about something: This blog is NOT about how to lose weight, but about living in obedience and how living a life of glorifying God and not Self will bring freedom from a slavery to food. ( or any other captivity ) Freedom from a food stronghold means not stuffing ourselves to fill a void or empty place in our hearts that was meant for God to fill. When we stop stuffing our faces and start stuffing our minds and hearts with His Word, the overeating stops and the weight will come off. I believe this! I have learned so much in the past few months of doing a free online course called "Setting Captives Free".

www.settingcaptivesfree.com

If you are living with a stronghold of food or any other addictive behavior there is a study for you on this website. The study for overeating ( and all food issues, including "UNDER-eating" ) is called "The Lord's Table".

I have been doing it for a while and have had success, but honestly, have recently had a few setbacks. Thus the reason for starting this blog. I want to have an outlet for accountability and hopefully support and prayer from friends. I can only have success on this journey with His help. The world offers so many "solutions" for weight loss, many of which I have tried in the past, but the world also  offers no SPIRITUAL answers. And any addiction is a spiritual matter. I will do my best to share what I have learned and am continuing to learn.... My thoughts and struggles and hopefully victories, including lost poundage! :)

Hopefully some of you will follow along with me and with His help we will find FREEDOM!!

Galatians 5:1..

It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us FREE. STAND FIRM then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.