Many of you know I'm attending a Bible study on Tuesday nights (Bible Study Fellowship - it's awesome! You all should check it out!) and tonight's lecture was just so great. Over the week we studied Genesis 34-36, and tonight our teacher (Tony) spoke and he had many great points, but the ones that really stuck out were the points he made regarding Genesis 35:1-15.
To understand just how far Jacob has fallen away from the Lord, read Genesis chapter 34 and pay close attention to Jacob's complete lack of response to the rape of his daughter, and his selfish concern when he learns his sons have murdered all the men of Shechem (he's more worried about his own hide than about the character of his sons)....this is one of the fathers of Christianity! So, in the very next chapter, God comes to Jacob and says "Get up, get out of here and go to Bethel. Make an altar in the place where you and I met before." So Jacob gets up and goes to Bethel (side note: Bethel is where Jacob was when he had the famous "Jacob's Ladder" dream/encounter with God). When he gets to Bethel, Jacob makes an altar and recommits his life, and his family's lives to God. And God doesn't just sit back and say, "Oh, well thank you, Jacob" instead he says, "Jacob, you have recommitted your life to me and I want you to know I've got you covered. In fact, I've got you so covered that you're not even the same person anymore. Now, instead of Jacob, you are called Israel. You are a completely new man." (Sound familiar? If not, look back to my first post!)
When Tony spoke about this passage he quoted someone who said, "The only cure for worldliness is to separate from it." (see this quote in context here: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/0135.htm) which is why God wanted Jacob to move from Shechem to Bethel. He wanted to physically take Jacob from a godless land to the place where Jacob had been closest to God. Tony talked about the struggle to live righteously and asked us, "Do you live defeated in the battle with sin, or do you believe you have been delivered?" He went on to challenge us to ask ourselves, "What sins am I living as a slave to?"
This really hit home for me! I looked at myself and thought of my three summer goals. I've done well with the Reliv goal and the fried food goal (I'm not craving it! That is a HUGE success!!!) but I've really been struggling with that exercising goal. Getting up in the morning and working out is the LAST thing I want to do and I tend to think about it in a defeated way. Instead of remembering that because of Jesus, I already have victory over those sins and struggles I think, "Oh man, this is so hard for me. I'll never be a morning person, and I just don't like exercising. Trying to train myself to exercise in the morning is like trying to train a fish to climb a tree - it's unnatural and I'll never be able to do it." But tonight Tony asked us, "Are you saved? If so, nod your head or raise your hand or something." A lot of us nodded our heads and/or raised our hands to say yes, we are saved, and then Tony said, "Then quit living like you're in Shechem because you're not! You're in Bethel."
You guys, this is huge! This applies to all areas of life, but for me it's especially applicable to my struggle with my weight. I so live like I'm in Shechem and like I'm trapped there never to escape. But the beauty is, I don't even need to escape! Because I am covered by the blood of the Almighty God - the God who commands angel armies (how cool is that!?!) I am ALREADY rescued! So tomorrow morning when my alarm goes off and I have to get up to exercise at 7am I won't think: "I am so tired...maybe I'll skip this morning and exercise tonight instead...but if I don't do it now I won't do it later...oh well, it's a lost battle anyhow. I'll just skip this one." Instead I'll get up and tell myself, "Jesus suffered and died to give you victory in your battles. Are you going to think like a slave when you are already free? Are you going live like you're in Shechem or in Bethel? Girl, you better damn that devil back to hell because you are rockin' it in Bethel!"
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Smaller Coat, here I come!
Hey all! I'm just popping in to make a grand announcement:
Today, my coat was noticeably easier to button (not to mention easier to breathe in!)
Can I get a "Woot woot!" Crowd shouts an enthusiastic "WOOT WOOT!"
Ok, that really is all I had to say - it made my day so I thought I'd share it with you too! :)
Blessings to you all!
Today, my coat was noticeably easier to button (not to mention easier to breathe in!)
Can I get a "Woot woot!" Crowd shouts an enthusiastic "WOOT WOOT!"
Ok, that really is all I had to say - it made my day so I thought I'd share it with you too! :)
Blessings to you all!
Monday, March 18, 2013
"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."
I'm sure most of us have heard that famous quote by Kate Moss: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." ....Can I just say, "What a bunch of crap!" Seriously, that to me basically sounds like, "Hey girls, deprive yourselves of food so you can be skinny because that's what's important!" I closely follow that with the thought: "Homegirl obviously never tried Bostwick Lake Inn's truffle fries."
Speaking of truffle fries, I have an update on the "Kick the fried food cravings" goal: A number of you have contacted me to offer encouragement, accountability, and advice (THANK YOU! I SOOO APPRECIATE THAT!) and one thing that a few people suggested was giving myself a "cheat day" on which I can eat french fries and/or other fried foods if I choose. I think that is really great advice, but I know myself well enough to know that I will most definitely abuse a cheat day and then struggle with getting back on the band wagon. So I came up with a (brilliant) alternative to a cheat day. I came up with a "cheat restaurant!" The one thing I was really truly bumming about was giving up those gosh dern BLI Truffle Fries. (Seriously, if you haven't had them; do! They're heavenly!) So I decided that since I rarely go to the BLI, and since I love those fries more than any other fried food, I will allow myself to order those when I go there - but any other place, and any other day I'm going to choose something other than fried food. I really want to train myself to view this as an act of sacrificial worship vs. self-deprication and a "get skinny quick" technique. So, with that being said: I invite every last one of you to randomly ask me how I'm doing on that (or on any of the other goals). And I ask that you please pray that I will remember to view my choices as worshipful moments.
Tonight I had coffee with a really wise and awesome lady: Heather B. She told me a bit about her journey to healthiness and she had a lot of the same struggles as me! (so encouraging, helpful, and motivating!) She told me she realized that losing weight had become an obsession to the point of sin, and I was really humbled because I realized that that wasn't far off from my position. For so many years I kept thinking, "I've got to lose weight in order to become: beautiful, desirable, confident, etc." but this year I felt the Lord whispering to me, "My dear Aleece, this is not about the number on the scale or on the tag of your pants. This is about whether or not you love Me more than you love the satisfaction you gain from eating. This is about you realizing that doing everything for My glory means even having lunch is a spiritual act of worship. This is about you learning to fully commit to My plan for you."
2 Kings 17:7-23 describes the amount that Israel had become enmeshed in idolatry. As I read that I realized that I have let food and comfort become idols in my life. I have placed my personal satisfaction above my love of God. Even though I know full well that I am his temple, I have continually filled it with garbage and refused to clean it out or keep it up. This sobering realization brings to mind Psalm 32, especially verses 3-5:
How incredible and gracious of Him to keep His hand "heavy on me" until I acknowledged my sin to him - and I think that's especially applicable as I was keeping my silence with people as well. What a blessing you all have been! Once I started speaking to you, you let me know that you are praying for me and rooting for me! Thank you all so much for your belief in me, and thank you Father for your forgiveness and grace!
Speaking of truffle fries, I have an update on the "Kick the fried food cravings" goal: A number of you have contacted me to offer encouragement, accountability, and advice (THANK YOU! I SOOO APPRECIATE THAT!) and one thing that a few people suggested was giving myself a "cheat day" on which I can eat french fries and/or other fried foods if I choose. I think that is really great advice, but I know myself well enough to know that I will most definitely abuse a cheat day and then struggle with getting back on the band wagon. So I came up with a (brilliant) alternative to a cheat day. I came up with a "cheat restaurant!" The one thing I was really truly bumming about was giving up those gosh dern BLI Truffle Fries. (Seriously, if you haven't had them; do! They're heavenly!) So I decided that since I rarely go to the BLI, and since I love those fries more than any other fried food, I will allow myself to order those when I go there - but any other place, and any other day I'm going to choose something other than fried food. I really want to train myself to view this as an act of sacrificial worship vs. self-deprication and a "get skinny quick" technique. So, with that being said: I invite every last one of you to randomly ask me how I'm doing on that (or on any of the other goals). And I ask that you please pray that I will remember to view my choices as worshipful moments.
Tonight I had coffee with a really wise and awesome lady: Heather B. She told me a bit about her journey to healthiness and she had a lot of the same struggles as me! (so encouraging, helpful, and motivating!) She told me she realized that losing weight had become an obsession to the point of sin, and I was really humbled because I realized that that wasn't far off from my position. For so many years I kept thinking, "I've got to lose weight in order to become: beautiful, desirable, confident, etc." but this year I felt the Lord whispering to me, "My dear Aleece, this is not about the number on the scale or on the tag of your pants. This is about whether or not you love Me more than you love the satisfaction you gain from eating. This is about you realizing that doing everything for My glory means even having lunch is a spiritual act of worship. This is about you learning to fully commit to My plan for you."
2 Kings 17:7-23 describes the amount that Israel had become enmeshed in idolatry. As I read that I realized that I have let food and comfort become idols in my life. I have placed my personal satisfaction above my love of God. Even though I know full well that I am his temple, I have continually filled it with garbage and refused to clean it out or keep it up. This sobering realization brings to mind Psalm 32, especially verses 3-5:
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
How incredible and gracious of Him to keep His hand "heavy on me" until I acknowledged my sin to him - and I think that's especially applicable as I was keeping my silence with people as well. What a blessing you all have been! Once I started speaking to you, you let me know that you are praying for me and rooting for me! Thank you all so much for your belief in me, and thank you Father for your forgiveness and grace!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Confessions
It's been a few days since I last posted, and I've got to be honest - that's not by accident. I've been avoiding this entry because I know the Lord wants me to be 100% real here, and frankly that's a level of vulnerability that I'm just not comfortable with.
Ok, so I'm sure you're wondering about the title of this post..."Confessions"...I can't have messed up already, right? WRONG. I did! On Friday I was on my own for dinner, so where did I go? Wendy's. Yep - that's right...a fast food joint. Honestly, that was about as smart as an alcoholic stopping by a bar with the intent of getting a soda. I really have no excuse other than laziness. I didn't want to make anything when I got home, and like I said before, I'm a sucker for fries...so I caved. As much as I want to, I'm refusing to beat myself up over this. I'm going to look at it and say, "Bad choice, Aleece!" and then I'm going to move on and do better next time. And, on the bright side, I did exercise that night, which is incredible because I almost never exercise in the evening!
So now that I've told you, do you think less of me? Do you think I'm fickle and just a bunch of talk? I understand if you do. It would be easy to think that I don't care because I messed up so quickly, and while I'm super embarrassed by my weakness, I'm also quite glad that I shared. This is a real struggle for me, and I want to openly and honestly share it. By revealing the full brunt of it I'm hoping for as much accountability and encouragement as y'all are willing to give! I've heard it said that sins kept in the dark give birth to more sin, but sins forced into the light will eventually die out. If I keep my struggle a secret I maintain my pride, but continue to struggle and almost certainly get worse. But, if I throw this out for everyone to see, then I have the freedom to ask for help, and to receive the encouragement of others. I think one of Satan's greatest accomplishments in my life was to convince me to feel ashamed of this struggle. Well, NO MORE!! I am done living in shame and guilt!
On Sunday, Pastor Jeff Manion (at Ada Bible Church) preached on Colossians 3:1-17. You guys - this little passage is sooo good and stuffed full of encouragement! For the sake of space I'm not writing the whole thing in here, but PLEASE do yourself a favor and read those few verses right now!......All done? Ok, good. It's awesome, right? What an awesome reminder that when I chose Christ I chose to become a new me - not a cleaned up version of the old me, but an entirely new me! Because of Christ, I no longer am a slave to my sin nature! Sure, I have sinful habits that I struggle with, but those are not the defining factors of my life. I am defined by Christ, and as such I am his child - someone the demon world should be worried about!
You hear that, Self-Indulgence? Did you catch that, Laziness? Are you listening, Gluttony? You all should be worried because I just remembered that I carry within me the power of the same God who raised Jesus from the dead. I just remembered that because of Him I am a force to be reckoned with and I am coming for you! Are you scared? Well, you should be...
Ok, so I'm sure you're wondering about the title of this post..."Confessions"...I can't have messed up already, right? WRONG. I did! On Friday I was on my own for dinner, so where did I go? Wendy's. Yep - that's right...a fast food joint. Honestly, that was about as smart as an alcoholic stopping by a bar with the intent of getting a soda. I really have no excuse other than laziness. I didn't want to make anything when I got home, and like I said before, I'm a sucker for fries...so I caved. As much as I want to, I'm refusing to beat myself up over this. I'm going to look at it and say, "Bad choice, Aleece!" and then I'm going to move on and do better next time. And, on the bright side, I did exercise that night, which is incredible because I almost never exercise in the evening!
So now that I've told you, do you think less of me? Do you think I'm fickle and just a bunch of talk? I understand if you do. It would be easy to think that I don't care because I messed up so quickly, and while I'm super embarrassed by my weakness, I'm also quite glad that I shared. This is a real struggle for me, and I want to openly and honestly share it. By revealing the full brunt of it I'm hoping for as much accountability and encouragement as y'all are willing to give! I've heard it said that sins kept in the dark give birth to more sin, but sins forced into the light will eventually die out. If I keep my struggle a secret I maintain my pride, but continue to struggle and almost certainly get worse. But, if I throw this out for everyone to see, then I have the freedom to ask for help, and to receive the encouragement of others. I think one of Satan's greatest accomplishments in my life was to convince me to feel ashamed of this struggle. Well, NO MORE!! I am done living in shame and guilt!
On Sunday, Pastor Jeff Manion (at Ada Bible Church) preached on Colossians 3:1-17. You guys - this little passage is sooo good and stuffed full of encouragement! For the sake of space I'm not writing the whole thing in here, but PLEASE do yourself a favor and read those few verses right now!......All done? Ok, good. It's awesome, right? What an awesome reminder that when I chose Christ I chose to become a new me - not a cleaned up version of the old me, but an entirely new me! Because of Christ, I no longer am a slave to my sin nature! Sure, I have sinful habits that I struggle with, but those are not the defining factors of my life. I am defined by Christ, and as such I am his child - someone the demon world should be worried about!
You hear that, Self-Indulgence? Did you catch that, Laziness? Are you listening, Gluttony? You all should be worried because I just remembered that I carry within me the power of the same God who raised Jesus from the dead. I just remembered that because of Him I am a force to be reckoned with and I am coming for you! Are you scared? Well, you should be...
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Going Strong
Hello hello! This'll be a shorty; I'm just poppin' in to say:
Goal #1 is off to a good start! I got up and worked out this morning - 45 whole minutes of quite a lot of sweat! (That's kind of gross, I know...Sorry!)
Goal #2 is lookin' pretty good as well! I took my Reliv with my smoothie this morning (thanks Mom!) and tonight the second half of it will go down smoothly I'm sure.
Goal #3 I can't tell how I'm doing on - I haven't had any fried food though, so that's a part-way success in my book! And seeing as this is in fact my "book" I get to make the call:
Goal #1 is off to a good start! I got up and worked out this morning - 45 whole minutes of quite a lot of sweat! (That's kind of gross, I know...Sorry!)
Goal #2 is lookin' pretty good as well! I took my Reliv with my smoothie this morning (thanks Mom!) and tonight the second half of it will go down smoothly I'm sure.
Goal #3 I can't tell how I'm doing on - I haven't had any fried food though, so that's a part-way success in my book! And seeing as this is in fact my "book" I get to make the call:
DAY 1 = MAJOR SUCCESS! GO ALEECE!
*cheering and a rad occurrence of The Wave spreads through the crowd as Aleece takes a bow*
Thanks to everyone who is praying for me and is wishing me success!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
In the Beginning
So, as a new blogger I'm not sure how to go about starting this whole thing. A lot of thoughts are swirling around in my mind, "How do I know people will read this?", "Do I want people to read this?", "Do you address the 'audience' or keep it more journal-ish?" I think the whole point of a blog is having a space where you're free to just be you, but as I'm ignorant here, I may be breaking some unknown blog rule. I love rules, and unless I deem them silly (and then I break them with surprising and embarrassing ease), I hate breaking rules - you'll learn that about me as we go, I'm sure. Getting more to the point of things, I think it's important to have a clear beginning to this journey on which I am embarking, and I think stating who I am is just as important for you to know as it is for me. So here goes...
I'm Aleece. I'm 24, and I am short short short! I come in at 4'11", but the adorableness of that stature is pretty much wasted because I'm almost the same dimensions going around! Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I am rather rotund. Here is the painful truth: I weigh something between 165 lbs. and 170 lbs. I don't know the actual number because in the recent past I haven't been brave enough to check. Don't get me wrong: I'm not obsessed with being skinny. In fact, I don't want to be skinny at all - I want to be healthy! I want to stand on a scale or look in a mirror and say, "Dang girl, you fiiine!" because I know that I am taking good care of myself. The part that's depressing is this: I remember looking at the scale when it said 155 and saying to myself, "I'm almost to 160! That is so depressing...I am making a stand right now that I will never EVER get to 170. If I ever get that heavy I will have to do something drastic!" And now here I am - 170 lbs and doing something drastic.
Ok, yes. Starting a blog about my weight-loss journey is hardly drastic, but I am a really committed introvert, so this is a pretty big step for me! Those of you who know me know that I've tried just about everything to lose some weight: Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins (I actually gained weight on that one!), South Beach Diet, Digest Diet, Flat Belly Diet, counting calories, etc. It seems like nothing works! I realize that as a pre-diabetic it will be more difficult to shed those pounds, but it's hard to stay motivated when a good month means I lost one or two pounds. Most recently I have started taking Reliv - a dietary supplement packed full of good vitamins and nutrients which are supposed to increase energy, speed up metabolism, boost the immune system, and a whole slew of other good things. I've only been taking it for a couple days so I'm not seeing any changes yet, but I'm hopeful!
I have a few goals I'd like to reach by this summer, which means I've got just over 3 months to achieve them (Holy mackerel! Only 3 months!?! YIKES!) I'm pretty certain that maintaining a positive attitude is key to being successful, so I'm really trying to suppress my "Debbie Downer" side which is extra vocal in regards to weight loss. My goals are these:
- Become a regular morning exerciser
- Be a faithful Reliv taker
- Kill my fried food cravings (I may have to delete my "I Love Fries" pinterest board...)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)