Pause

My Craving God book is sitting unopened on desk. By that doesn't mean I'm not still craving God ... I will pick it up soon -- if you want to see what Gos is doing in my life, check out my other 2 blogs -- www.lifeinlaurasmind.blogspot.com and www.sparkpeople.com/mypage.asp?id=lauraloupriebe .

Chapter 2 - Replacing my Cravings

1. The author describes her powerlessness when she's faced with the vicious cycle of failed attempts to eat healthlier. My experience?



There is a powerlessness I feel when I'm stuck in the sugar/sleep cycle... I am sleepy, so my resistance is low, and I crave sugar, that makes me sleepy.





2. Reason for wanting to eat differently -- losing weight, fitting into favortie pair of jeans, an important event. What are your reasons? Are they enough? Lysa writes, "I had to see the purpose of my struggle as something more than wearing smaller sizes and getting compliments from others...It had to be about something more than just me."





My main reason for wanting to eat healthier is so that I can have more enrgy, feel rested without having to use my CPAP, and stop sleeping and eating my way through life. When my family commens that I'm sleeping all the time, I know I'm missing out on so much of life, and I hate that. I want to have victory over this struggle, and to share my experience with the world - that is my gift.





3. Lysa writes,"I had to get honest enough to admit it: I relied on food more than I relied on God. I craved food more than I craved God." When have you turned to food for the following reasons -





Comfort - when the MC commented about the next song being for the older among us -- I headed for the chocolate! If I had been relying on God, I couldn've laughed it off.





Reward - Mother's Day lunch -- Relying on God would've helped me choose a walk with my family instead.





Joy - I don't think I've really turned to food for joy -- during the Easter breakfast I enjoyed conversation rather than food -- I want that perspective back!!





Stress - The stress of a busy schedule sometimes leads me to eat lots of things throughout the day rather than actual meals, and this has caused me to overeat. Relying on God to carry me through even when I'm busy would help me to wait and evaluate whether I really need more food or not.





Sadness - I have often hidden my feelings of sadness about the relationship with my parents... food is a poor substitute for real healing. I am seeking counsel and praying about what to do -- accept the sadness and greive, confront and hope that the relationship is restored/revivied, or other possibilities.





Happiness -- the celbration meals have been situations in the past, but rarely is it just because of happiness that I eat.





4. Cravings can be a prompt to pray. How has prayer helped or failed to help in your previous food battles?





The key to using prayer to help fight this battle is mindfulness. We must be award of the attacks as we face them, or before we know it, we are falling again. In the past the bondage has been broken, but I've fallen again -- I know it will help in the future -- I just have to turn to prayer soon enough, rather than after!





5. Brick by brick, or craving by craving, Lysa dismantled the tower of impossibility and used the same bricks to build a walkway of prayer, paving the path to victory...it takes time and careful work...





Yes, consitency can be so HARD! But with God, all things are possible. I would like to start a streak of staying within my calorie goals -- and once a streak is started, it can be hard to break, especially when you reach that tipping point and start to see results! I look forward to it -- today could be the first -- God help me!

Spark

"It only takes a spark..." Raise your hand if you remember singing that song at church camps and youth group meetings in the 80's! It takes you back, doesn't it? But remember the refrain -- "that's how it is with God's love, once you've experienced it. You want to sing, it's fresh like spring, you want to pass it on..." That's what I'm tying to remember -- We were made for more than this. I want to remember that buring in my belly that's like fire -- not like the acidy one I feel when I've over eaten, but like the stirring I feel when I'm passionate about something!

I've discovered that Sparkpeople.com is a great place for me to find the motivation and encouragement I need for this battle...it's free and it even has a group reading this book! Check it out - copy and paste the following link (I couldn't get it to insert the link) www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/groups_individual.asp?gid=50398

Chapter 1, Questions 4 & 5

4. The Bible describes three ways Satan tried to lure us away from loving God: cravings, lust of the eyes, and boasting (1 John 2:15 - 16). Lysa explains how Satan used these tactics with both Eve and Jesus (p. 22-23). Using the list below, think back over the last twenty-four hours or the last few days to see if you recognize how you may have been tempted in similar ways.

• Cravings: meeting physical desires outside the will of God. In waht ways were you tempted by desires for things such as food, alcohol, drugs or sex?


• Lust of the eyes: meeting material desires outside the will of God. In what ways were you tempted by desires for material things-clothing, financial portfolio, appliances, vacation plans, cosmetics, home decor, electronics, etc.?


• Boasting: meeting needs for significance outside the will of God. In what ways were you tempted by desires to prop up your significance-perhaps by name dropping, exaggerating, feigning humilty or other virtues, doing something just because you knew it would be observed by others, etc.?

I have been tempted so much by food... something inside tells me that God 's will doesn't cover food, but I know that's a lie. Just this morning I gave in to the temptation to eat a buttered waffle after I had already had cereal. Right now I can't stop thinking about the muffins in the display case at the cafe in the back. There are times when I would really like the taste of a cold beer -- even just last night.

I like to day dream about a redone kitchen, and a finished basement. Is this outside the will of God? The plans for the basement are included in our budget, but the kitchen is really a dream. I also was very envious of the home in which we stayed in Florida - the size, the decorations, and the fact that it was CLEAN.

I don't think I am as tempted by the desire for significance outside God's will. Sometimes I feel like I'm hiding the fact of my brokenness, and everyone thinks I'm so spiritual, when really I am so carnal.

I guess then the easiest to resist is the boasting, and then the hardest is the physical.

5. Jesus quotes the truth of scripture to defeat temptation (p. 22). Have you ever used Scripture in this way? What was the result? How do you feel about the idea of using this approach to address your unhealthy eating patterns?

On first read, I know that quoting scripture is the best way to defeat these cravings, but I doubt that I will be successful. I haven't been able to stick with this strategy for any length of time, why will this be different?

Ch. 1 What's Really Going On Here Discussion questions 3

3. If it's true that we are made to crave, how might it change the way you understand your cravings? Do you believe there could be any benefits to listening to your cravings rather than trying to silence them? If so, what might those benefits be? If not, why not? My cravings do need to be examined. I want something, and my mind seems to have been trained to go right to chocolate, or to bread, or coffee, or some wonderful combination of those things...regardless of what I really crave. Do I want comfort? Do I want pleasure? Do I just want to chew something crunchy? Sometimes I really am hungry, and that's all it is, but most of the time I want to be distracted from whatever it is I really need. Maybe because those needs can't be filled in a tangible or timely way. Then I just have to sit with thme and pray for God to fill those needs himself. This would be beneficial because it would lead to a greater dependence on God. But it sucks, the easier way is to numb that need. That's why it's so hard. 4.

Chapter 1 "What's Really Going On Here" Discussion questions 1&2

Questions 1& 2 from Chapter 1

1. The little Orange Monster tempts us to eat unhealthy foods.

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


• 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 would respond?

My craving is a grey smoky tendril of temptation -- it floats around my head, by turns crooking it's finger for me to follow, and whispering in my ear and clouding my vision. It might even grab my chin and turn me to look it's way. It has a soft sultry voice that sounds so tempting. It not only preys on my food cravings, but also my craving for physical pleasure, rest, and distraction. When it speaks to me, it promises that one bite won't hurt, and that I deserve it, and I might as well, since I already messed up my plan, and lots of women look fine when they're my size -- embrace it! When I talk back to this character, I look crazy, because as soon as I notice it, it disappears, only to come back when I'm not thinking about it, with even more force.

2. How do your respond to the idea that God made us to crave? (p. 20) Have you ever pursued a craving - a passion, a longing or desire - that made a positive contribution to your life? What do you think distinguishes that kind of craving from the craving that leads you to eat in unhealthy ways?

It sometimes seems that God set us up to fail... I know that's not logical -- he made us to want some things, and choosing the right things is the trick...our obedience is the way we show our love... I do love worship, so I can relate to the passage about longing to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, but yet we do have to leave, and Monday always comes...I did have an intense desire to become a mother, and sometimes a Pampers commercial will bring on that desire for a baby again, but they do grow up...I can remember in college sitting in the bathroom of our dorm room writing late into the night, so I do have a desire to be understood in the written word that is a good desire. Taken too far, and desire can be destructive. I think any gift that distracts us from the giver and leads us to worship the gift itself rather than God is dangerous. It's not a matter of the object of desire, but the degree to which we desire it above other things that makes it unhealthy.

Introduction

This blog is a way to interact on-line with anyone interested in going through Lysa Terkeurst's book Craving God with an on-line community. I will read the chapter and respond to the questions at the end of the chapter in this blog. When you comment, you can leave your own reflections or just comment on mine. you can be as anonymous as you want. I will make a good faith effort to post before 10 am on Monday morning, beginning this Monday, April 18. I have enjoyed reading this book, but I need to do more than "enjoy" it. For it to really hit home and make a difference in my life, I need to injest it, discuss it and journey with it with others who are on the same path. My journey -- I am currently 45-50 pounds over weight, and I have been for at least 3 years. I can have success for a week or two, but I fall off and gain it back. I vacillate between decideing to embrace my current size and give away everything that doesn't fit, and being disgusted at my size and being determined to change. I always end up powerless. I have tried a personal trainer, weight watchers, and Overeaters Anonymous. I have discovered that the missing link to all of these is accountability. I'm hoping to find that here. Here is the link to the book. http://lysaterkeurst.com/category/made-to-crave/ Comment if you're in. I will post both the questions and my response, so if you can't get the book right away, you can still get something out reading what's here and responding to it. By the way, to comment you need to have either a yahoo acount or a google account. Both are free, and you don't have to use the e-mail to comment.