Made to Crave: Chapter 1: Personal Reflection 1

From the book:

"One weight loss company personifies craving as a little orange monster that chases us around, tempting us to eat unhealthy foods. Take a moment to reflect on your own experience of craving, recently and over time."

Haha. I had to look this one up. We don't have network television and I was just plain curious what company the little orange monster represented. The verdict - Weight Watchers - my beloved choice of eating plans.

"If you could personify craving based on your experience of it, what form might it take? Would it be like the little orange monster or would it take a different shape? Describe what your craving looks like and how it behaves."

I'm not really into "little creatures" and I don't think about things in a personified way... I don't think. When I am craving something, I just think about THE food that I'm craving. In some ways I feel like the food is taunting me but not in a personified way, more in a way where it just keeps popping into my head over and over until I indulge.

"If you could sit down and have a conversation with this imaginary craving, what do you think it might say to you? What questions would you want to ask it? How do you imagine it might respond?"

Craving: Doesn't ____________ sound yummy?
Me: Yes, it does. That really isn't the best food choice for me or the baby.
Craving: Awww, you are in a stage where nothing sounds good, so "follow your heart" and have what you want.
Me: Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things..."
Craving: But it's just this one time. A little bit of ___________ won't hurt you.
Me: But I know my flesh and my flesh doesn't just want a little bit. My flesh wants a lot.
Craving: But you haven't had it in a long time. It will be okay if you indulge just a bit.
Me: Okay, I give up. Gobble Gobble.


If I were going to ask it questions I might say "In what way are you going to help my body." And I'm sure the craving would come up with a great answer. See, I think that my craving is just myself - so basically I'm arguing with myself. James 1:14 says "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed," so I know that it is not really an orange monster or even Satan tempting me - it's me tempting me. It's me being drawn away by my own desires.


I can't wait to dig in a little deeper and find out exactly how to deal with these temptations. 


What about you? What do you picture your craving as?

Made to Crave: Chapter 1

If she has covered this much in a chapter and an introduction, I can't imagine what the rest of the book will hold. Full of truths and application. I'm only going to highlight a few of the things that stuck out to me but I REALLY would love to hear from those of you who are reading this along with me.... Are you out there?

I have to concur with her when she says that her resolve feels strong until the next time she gets hungry. Unhealthy choices are convenient. I have been craving Sonic Onion Rings like nobody's business. I have yet to give in to that craving, but how many healthy choices are out there, really? Sonic's healthy option is a banana for $1 and the ones that we have purchased have not been ripe. But... if you are out and desperate, it is an option. Sure, there are lots of salads at all the fast food places now, but they put a lot of "stuff" on them to make them taste better. They are your better option, though, honestly.

We crave what we eat. And when we eat sugary-carb filled nonsense, that's exactly what we will crave day after day. How do we break the cycle??? Weight Watchers attempts to address this by making all fruit free of points plus values and most veggies as well. But will that really make us crave a handful of edamame??

And just feeling full isn't the answer either. I have heard of countless stories of lapband and gastric bypass surgeries not being successful because you can eat past them. If we are honest with ourselves, we have to see that for what it is. If we are carrying extra weight around, we have to be real with ourselves. It's not a diet choice, it's an over consumption matter. It's eating when we aren't hungry and making not so great choices when we do eat.

I liked how she talked about cravings, lust of the eye, and boasting as being the three biggies for temptation and sin. We see it in Eve's life and Jesus's life. Even though Jesus didn't give in, those were the tactics that Satan used to tempt Him.

"We consume what we think about. And what we think about can consume us if we're not careful." 'Tis true, 'tis true! I MUST stop thinking about those Sonic Onion Rings dipped in creamy ranch dressing! 13 pointsplus values not including the dressing! Man. Give me some edamame... I guess. :@\

When we are filled with Scripture, we can counter temptation with Scripture - just like Jesus did. Then we can direct our cravings to Jesus. It looks like in the next chapter she is going to go into detail about how to do this. I like practicality, so I'm excited about this!

Let me hear from you! What stuck out to you in this chapter?

Made to Crave: Introduction

I knew it was unrealistic to think that this would be done before now. My apologies... but here we go.

I really have no clue what I am doing here, but I think my plan is just to process this one chapter at a time, one personal reflection at a time. In the process I hope my "want to" will come around. I think I will include a couple of quotes from the chapter and my thoughts on them. I really want this to be more of a discussion than a monologue.

Right now I am finding veggies absolutely repulsive, unless someone else makes them. I need to somehow push through and get them into my system despite the nausea.

Made to Crave: Introduction

Did anyone else find this an incredibly full introduction? I mean it was full of Scriptural truths that could be applied right now and many that made my head hang in shame.

I'm reading on a Kindle, so I'm not certain of the pages, I'm only going by what this thing says.

Pg. 11 : Location 46

"While I stood there looking at the healthy eating book, a shopping cart full of things I felt I could not live without stared back at me. Indeed, that cart mocked me. Part of me hated the junk food in that cart; but another part of me - a bigger part, evidently - loved the junk food in that cart. So, I'd return the book to the shelf, toss my head back, and think, 'Another day, another time. I'm doing the best I can.'"

How many times I've had this exact same scenario is shameful. I've been on more diets than I can possibly count - some of the more successful ones a couple of times. And when the going gets tough, I quit. When the goal seems too far away, I fail for despair.


Pg. 12 : Location 57

"I'm a simple Jesus girl on a journey to finding deeper motivation than just a number on my scale for getting and staying healthy."

I am also on this same journey for deeper motivation than just my weight. My health has become increasingly important to me. I want my eating to bring glory to God - 1 Corinthians 10:31. It seems to me that as much as the Lord has blessed me with these children, I should do my very best to stay healthy so that I may live my days fully and to His glory.


Pg. 12 : Location 68

"... or perhaps it was because I had exhausted my search for the miraculous overnight solution. I finally realized the weight was going to continue to go up unless I made changes."

She is singing my song here. I think I have always wanted the miraculous overnight solution. Anything other than that is just plain difficult.  And I'm not sure why I have never realized this or cared enough to take the time to think about it, but it is my reality. I have to make some changes.


Pg. 13 : Location 75


"I need treats as a comfort in this season of life; I'll deal with my issues later."

and further down that page

"Oh, for heaven's sake, everyone has issues. So what if this is mine?"

Why do I lie to myself. Jesus needs to be my comfort - not treats. And what if later never comes? And why am I worried about anyone else's issues? This is my issue and I need to think about it and do something about it.


Pg. 13: Location 87

She goes on to talk about a cycle of "making excuses, giving in, feeling guilty, resolving to do better, mentally beating myself up for not sticking to my resolve, feeling like a failure, and then resigning myself to the fact that things can't change."

Has anyone else gone through this cycle? Surely so. I'm certain that Satan is having a field day in a cycle like that - a definite foothold in our lives.


Pg. 14 : Location 94

She refers to this book as a "companion you've needed with every healthy eating plan you tried and cried over."

This is a companion. Not another diet. Not another way of eating. There are plenty of those out there to choose from - some of them better than others. My personal preference is Weight Watchers because when you work it, it works. With their 2012 Point Plus program it is even more revved up and stocked full of nutrition and practical living.


She also goes on to talk about how we are overweight physically but underweight spiritually. I believe this to be very true no matter where we are in our walk with the Lord. We are obviously crying out for something besides Jesus - and we are reaching into the refrigerator to get it.

She relates our desire for abundance in food to the rich man who didn't want to give up all he had to follow Jesus.


We are who we are in Christ because He saved us by grace alone. We already belong to Him, but sometimes we just can't get our head around that. That's our position but we have a hard time stepping into it fully and understanding that He really is capable of meeting all of our needs. A lot of times I think that has more to do with the fact that we don't WANT to put off our old self. We kind of like our old ways, our sins, and keeping them around is okay with us.


Pg 16 : Location 126

"God made us capable of craving so we'd have an unquenchable desire for more of Him, and Him alone. Nothing changes until we make the choice to redirect our misguided cravings to the only one capable of satisfying them."

We should have no other gods besides Him and that includes us and our desires.


She goes on to talk about how getting healthy isn't just about the scale. It's about recalibrating our souls in three areas - spiritually, physically, and mentally. It's a battle.


She recommends going to the doctor to have a full check-up prior to starting a new healthy way of eating. Has anyone done this? I never have. Shame on me. Ha. 


Pg. 18 : Location 158

"I am made to rise up, do battle with my issues and, using the Lord's strength in me, defeat them - spiritually, physically, and mentally - to the glory of God.

Amen and amen. Not much to add to this. It's true and inspiring.


So are you ready to have your truest cravings satisfied and break free from the other stuff? Let's go!

Made to Crave: Blog Book "Club"

So while I am starting this pregnancy out in the obese category, I still desire to make this my most healthy pregnancy yet!

During my first pregnancy, I was my skinniest - like almost underweight kind of skinny. And yet that was not my healthiest pregnancy. It was my easiest to get the extra weight off, but I wasn't making healthy choices. The only "hard thing" I did during that pregnancy was to give up caffeine.

I started my healthful journey (this time around :@/ ) just a few weeks ago. I plan to continue eating in the same healthy manner that has brought me much energy over the last few weeks - throughout my pregnancy. I'm getting plenty of calories and nutrients because what I am eating is just plain good for you food - mostly God made food. You only go wrong there if you eat too much of it.

Since I'm still in the obese category, I only need to gain 11-15 pounds. I'll tell you - that is only possible if you are choosing wisely what you eat and allowing your body to feed the baby off the current excess for a time. I only get hungry when it is time to eat and I don't stay hungry, because I eat.

Basically this is me saying that "I'm smart enough to know how to feed my baby healthfully throughout pregnancy, so please do not worry about me or post any finger wagging comments, etc". *cheeky grin*

Originally I was going to start an email book club of sorts using the book Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. This was before I found out I was pregnant. Later in the day, after making that announcement, I had a brain poof and thought "what I am thinking adding something like that to my plate" so I emailed everyone back and told them of the following plan.

Instead I'm going to do the same type of thing here, on my blog.

Here's the plan:

19 chapters - one per week
5 study questions - one per day

I would love to post on Mondays, but I make no guarantees and the study questions will follow one per day based on when I actually post about the chapter. Again, no promises.

I would love for you to read along with me and make comments about your thoughts on the chapter and study questions.

Here are links of where you can find the book: Amazon, Kindle, Abe books, B&N (& Nook) (you want the plain 'ole book). I have the devotional, and I will probably use it, but it's not a necessary part of this blog book club.

First up is the introduction, then chapter 1. There are no study questions in the introduction, but I don't want to drag this out for 20 weeks - that's half my pregnancy, but again, no promises.

Ideally I would post for the Introduction and Chapter 1 today, but Mondays are always busy, so let's just see what happens. That would require me to read both chapters and make 2 posts on a busy day (after already posting twice). Not looking likely. So we will move into this slowly, realistically.

What about you: Who's with me?

We are expecting!!

If you are a friend on Facebook, this won't be news to you. If not, however, here is our announcement!! We are expecting our 7th child on earth in mid October!!

My sister is expecting their first baby at the beginning of October!! Yes, sisters pregnant at the same time. Who would have ever thought? Yet the Lord knew all along. :)

We are beyond elated. There are no words to describe the gift of life in your womb. Yet, I also know that the Lord's ways are higher than my ways. I have so many friends that have lost babies, early, middle, and end of their pregnancies. It is tragic. I'm trying to be like David and hold onto this baby with an open hand. I would already give my life for this little one, yet I know that sometimes we don't get that choice.

I'm not being pessimistic, but I have miscarried before. Instead of dwelling on October, I'm choosing to cherish every single day that the Lord gives me with this child in my womb no matter how many days that is.

See, we weren't even going to tell anyone for a long while. I know so many people that choose to wait until they are 3-4 months pregnant before making the announcement, in case something tragic happens. That is fine and I don't take any issue with that, at all. But a friend said something one time and I've never forgotten it. This was after the loss of her baby and she was later pregnant again. She said that they thought about waiting, but if something did happen again, she would need the support of her friends and family to get through it. She wanted to glorify God and share His blessings with everyone who would listen, while she could share them - while that opportunity was there.

So, when I started thinking about this, it occurred to me that we would never hide away the blessing of a million dollars - how much more precious a child. We only have today. We do not know what tomorrow holds, so we want to share what God has done in our lives and give Him all the glory EVERYDAY.

Rejoice with us!