Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Are you treating your body like a temple?

For about the past month or so God has really been prompting me to refocus my efforts to become healthy - to take care of His temple. I have been overweight for about 20 years now. Something happens to many of us when we get married and have children. To no surprise, I have tried many diets, pills and doctors. But the focus was just on weight loss, not health necessarily. I must say here - I don't think any of us are "meant" to be overweight. I don't believe God created us to be overweight and / or unhealthy. I was a Weight Watcher before Brandy popped into me. Being pregnant I could not be and "official" Weight Watcher, but I continued to follow the good health guidelines and tracked what I ate most of the time. Brandy is my third little girl. My pregnancy with her is the only one that actually resulted in weighing less after her birth than I did when she was conceived. The other two, I gained 60 with one and 30 with another. Brandy was born in July 2007 and I nursed. I became an official Weight Watcher again in September 2007. Weight Watchers works. Weight Watchers is something I can do for the rest of my life - it is simply a focus on a healthy lifestyle - eating, activity, emotions, and just life! Weight Watchers works -- but you have to do the work. I believe God has given me the tool of Weight Watchers.

More recently though - with the prompting to refocus my healthy efforts - God has been speaking to me about using Him more in this journey. I had been all about how "I" can lose weight, how the decision "I" make affect my health, how "I" can be successful at changing bad habits. Me Me Me. I honestly, in the back of my mind, thought this journey I was on my own, simply because it seems vain to lose weight, to want to look and feel better. There is a little twisted lie from the devil! God intended our bodies to be well oiled machines so that we are physically and emotionally able, more than able, to accomplish what He has planned for us. So if God intended health for us and we have strayed from health - why wouldn't he want to help us get back in line with what he intended for us? I have started tapping into God for this journey to health. I have experienced amazing things. Praying over difficult meals and feeling way full before I have even eaten anywhere close to what I would normally. Being able to truly push my plate away - when it isn't clean - because I know I am approaching the "full" feeling. God has given me scripture to speak when my negative thinking starts popping up. I am telling you amazing stuff.

Plus, just being aware that God resides in me. Wow! It's kinda like knowing company is coming for dinner and you want your house to look awesome, the food to be exceptional, the mood to be inviting and comforting, and the visit to be refreshing and enjoyable. It's even better when all of this occurs naturally. That's how I want my body to be. Does that make sense? I want my temple to be all of these things for God and as God intended.

Habits are HARD to change. This is certainly a process. It has been quite the journey so far. When I allowed God on board though, it sure got more pleasurable - not necessarily easier - just a little more doable.

Seems like an odd blog today, but it is what is on my heart.

Lots of love to all,

D. J.

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