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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Habit #3: Quality Protein

p 78
"Protein is essential for tissue repair and maintenance and for the growth of muscles, blood, hormones, enzymes, and antibodies. You should always eat some protein with breakfast and lunch, because like fiber, it digests very slowly and stabilizes your blood sugar. A stable blood sugar promotes higher energy and diminishes hunger."


Another area where I've been faltering...no wonder I'm so run down.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Habit #2: Lots and Lots of Plant Foods

"Fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds, and nuts are packed with vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, and fiber that help fight cancer, provide antiaging protection and more."


So...my plan for today is to continue to get my water in (pure fresh water is best) and add in more fruits and veggies. I'm really bad about this too. So...more prayers!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Habit #1: Water

p77
"Many people live with chronic low-grade dehydration resulting in a variety of negative outcomes such as low energy, poor skin tone, and inadequate fat metabolism, to name a few."


This is my second post today because I really need to get started with this one ASAP. Getting enough fluids is always important but never as critical as when your body is fighting a bug (which mine has been for several weeks now). This is something that I'm not very good at though...so I'll pray over it.

Honoring God with our bodies

CHYH,CYL p75

"How do we honor God with our bodies? First, we take good care of them by eating the right foods in the right amounts and getting adequate exercise and sufficient rest. Second, we use them as God intended, staying pure sexually and using them to carry out good deeds that show love to others and honor God."


This one deserves to be printed out in church bulletins everywhere. What a powerful message that is so often neglected.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Find your strength in Christ

CYHCYL
p 70

"Too often in shame and guilt, we run from God rather than to Him. Perhaps we think he is finally disgusted with us. But he isn't. When you turn from your flesh and pursue Him, He is waiting with open arms to give you mercy and grace in your time of need. He doesn't condemn and reject you. He embraces you. That is one reason why this forty day journey is so important. You need to run to Christ every day to find your strength. Make it your new healthy habit. Approach Him in reverence and love...but also with confidence. He wants you to overcome. He is your 'overcomer.' As it says in James 4:10 "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.'

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Guard your hearts and minds

CYHCYL
P68
"The battle starts in our minds at the point of desire. If we don't kill the desire at its root, it is as if we are 'dragged away and enticed.' By that time, it is too late, and we complete the sinful act---whatever that is. It is an 'evil desire' when it is something that moves us away from God and toward fulfilling anything that does not glorify Him. Just as we must put on the full armor of God, we must also be careful to guard our hearts and minds from areas of temptation where we have often struggled. In 1 Corinthians 10:13-14 we are given great encouragement by Paul in the area of our temptations. He says"

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

our heart and attention

CYHCYL
p.64
What God asks of us is always possible. His methods of transformation always work. By renewing our minds and abiding in Christ moment to moment, we have the power to be all God intended. To realize this wonderful destiny requires our heart and attention. When we do this, we not only change our habits, we change our entire lives. It is amazing how foolish it is to live in our own power, following our own desires. God's path is the one with all the best rewards."


What kinds of things do we put our heart and attention into through out the day? Are we even aware of what it is? Where our attention goes so follows our actions. Is it glorifying to God? If not, then we are not 'doing His will'. For today, let us be attentive to our actions and live in the moment.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Real source of Power

CYHCYL
p58
"You probably own a power vacuum. Have you ever tried to vacuum your rug without plugging it in? I doubt it. You know that you need a power source to get the job done. You'd never consider vacuuming any other way. So, why do so many of us live under our own power rather than being plugged in to the supernatural power of God? His power is always available, but we must choose to access it."


This is why running out of our own steam is actually a good thing...we can finally let God be God in our lives.

Friday, December 18, 2009

be transformed....

Romans 12:2 (NIV) - Bible.Logos.com

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. "

CYHCYL
p53

When our minds are renewed and our entire being is transformed by truth, we are able to understand the will of God for our lives. His will is always good, pleasing, and perfect. But unless you have a renewed mind, you will not be able to understand what it is and actually desire to follow it more than your old unhealthy desires.


I've been totally focusing on the wrong thing...on lies...which constantly tell me what I 'lack' instead of how much I actually have...and how it's ok for me to 'grab some comfort' for myself...afterall 'I deserve it'. What I need to do is to focus on how MUCH I do have and be grateful for it and finally satisfied.

Monday, December 14, 2009

You must do your part

CYHCYL
p 38
Too often Christians have the misconception that once Christ is their Savior, he will do all the hard work of 'putting off your old self.' In reality, he gives us the means and the power to do so...and expects us to do it. One of my favorite saying on this subject is by Oswald Chambers from his popular devotional. My Utmost for His Highest" "We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do."


In other wods this journey WILL take some work...we didn't get here overnight and won't be walking free and easy overnight either. Yes...God is capable...but usually that's not how He works. We seem to learn our lessons better the hard way for some reason. However He will be walking with us every step of the day.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Delight yourself in the Lord

CYHCYL
P.33

"When the core principles that guide our lives come from the Word of God and our goals flow out of a desire to glorify God, we will realize great victory and joy. It is with that perspective that we come to understand what the psalmist means when he wrote:

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Do you see in this Scripture that our delight comes before we receive the desires of our heart? When our heart is connected to the heart of God, so are our desires."


How do we 'delight' ourselves in the Lord? We focus on His love for us...it shouldn't be very hard to find proof after proof of this. So...let's start counting our blessings!

The Bible tells us that we love Him because He first loved us! That's powerful stuff. Let's start accepting that love now and our hearts will be filled to the brim with love for Him.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Change your Habits Change you Life (continued)

p. 32

"Many things seem good at first glance, but if they do not draw us nearer to God and help us seek him first, they actually will lead to the death of our soul. We need to be very careful about what we let enter our mind every day. Everything matters, including books, music, television, friends, and even persistent thoughts."


Our spiritual journey is in in constant motion...when we are not moving up, we are sliding down. We need to be aware of those things that help us to 'move up' and those that don't.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Change your Habits Change you Life (continued)

p 25

"In the times that I've been the most broken, I have also been the humblest and most deperate for God. It is in this state that we are willing to surrender our will to God's and receive His instructions. In this lovely place, we cry out to our Abba Father and seek truth from His Word, and He shows us the way."


"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, o God, you will not despise." Psalm 51:17


We often try so hard to conceal our "imperfections" but yet it is exactly these 'flaws' that the Lord wants us to bring forward to Him so that He may heal them Himself. First it requires acknowledgment of our imperfection and then humility enough to know that we cannot resolve it in our own power.

We know that 'original' sin was our first parents disobedience of the Lord...but what if they had come forth at that point instead of 'hiding' from Him...would things have turned out differently? Well...we may not be able to turn back time, but the option to choose differently is available to us today. Sin is part of human nature, the legacy inherited from these same first parents...Confession and reconciliation however is part of God's plan to combat it...He died on the Cross in order to give us this priviledge.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: A Proven Plan for Healthy Living (9780800733315): Danna Demetre: Books

Amazon.com: Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: A Proven Plan for Healthy Living (9780800733315): Danna Demetre: Books

I have this book and will be posting on it for the next few weeks as I work my way through it. I've found in the past that this is what works best for me. I also LOVE company on the journey, so please feel free to tag along whether you have read the book or not and post your own thoughts.


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P21

"Yet, those of us who have struggled with a bad habit know it's not that easy. It often feels like we are literally programmed to carry out the same unhealthy behaviors over and over like robots. And that's because...we are programmed. After months, years, sometimes decades of practicing unhealthy habits, we have developed an autopilot response that is buried deep in the neuron pathways of our brain. So, it's time to learn (or relearn) how to biblically and healthfully reprogram yourself toward healthy thinking and living."

It was actually quite a relief to read this. After so much struggle with my weight issues, I KNEW that my eating was done on 'auto pilot'...and it just didn't fit the over eaters model in so many other books. I don't lust after food and think about it my whole waking day, it's not my number one priority and so forth...it just isn't in my conscious mind much at all...and here lays the problem for me.

My friend Heidi posted today about her experience of sliding in a snow covered street and how that compares to that out of control feeling with over eating. Maybe that's it...maybe the 'struggle' takes place uphill and that's where choices need to be made...before the sliding begins...because it's autopilot from there on