What will it matter?

For many years I have struggle with this stronghold with food. I have been on so many "diets" that I have lost count. A few months ago I was doing so good at watching what I ate and exercising. But then it was Kristen's graduation, and then Mother's day and then Memorial day and then.....you get the picture. My thinking was "one bite" won't hurt. Right? "One bite" will satisfy my cravings and then I'll get right back on the "wagon".

Let me remind you (and me) what one little bite cost this woman in Genesis 3.....
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.


So I must ask myself...what is the "one bite" costing me? Is this "one bite" worth it? I know what the "one bite" is costing me here on this earth but what is it costing me in the heavenly realms?

I know that this is not only a physical battle but it is just as much a spiritual one. I don't want to be held hostage by food any more and the guilt that comes with that. I want to be totally satisfied with the healthy foods that God has provided for me and not with the world's processed foods that are so high in sugar content. Father, may my cravings for these high sugar processed foods turn to cravings for you and your ways. Help me to remember that just "one bite" can cost me everything!

Running the Race
Marilyn

Guarantee

This was part of my morning Bible Study....

"We who call Christ Savior have the right to assemble in His mighty name. (Hebrews 10:24-25) We are the blood-brought, Spirit-caught church of God and the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. The hordes of darkness have no greater agenda than the widespread destruction of Christ's bride and 'so much the more' as His return draws near. Satan is furious because he knows his time is short(Rev. 12:12).

Some of us with little previous battle experience have no idea why God is allowing us to go through such difficult times in a place we thought was His will. He's trying to make warriors out of us, Girlfriend! Rise to the occasion! But we aren't meant to fight unseen forces alone. You and I have the God-given right to lock arms with our sisters and brothers in Christ and defend ourselves with the sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. Here's the best part: When we do, we are guaranteed the victory. I said guaranteed.

If you fully obey the Lord your God....the Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at your from one direction but flee from you in seven (Deut. 28: 1 & 7)."


If you have never studied Esther you should!!!!!

As Christians we shouldn't be trying to fight our battles by ourselves. I ask you (and myself) if you are trying to fight them by yourself "how is that working for you?" I can assure you probably not very well. But when we allow others to lock arms with us only then can we defend ourselves and have the victory God has guaranteed.

So I ask you (and myself) what battles are you trying to fight by yourself? Is it like me, my food issue? Or maybe it's with your children or spouse. Or maybe it's with gossip. Or maybe it's with ______________. I'll let you fill in the blank. It is time for all Christians to give up on their own agenda's and to step up and to lock arms with your Sisters and Brothers-in-Christ and to fight the good fight together!!!

Today I am challenging myself to become the warrior for Christ that I am called ot become and to keep walking to claim the victory. Will you walk with me?.....

Warrior Princess

It’s been awhile and I’ll try to explain. A few months ago I slipped, or was pushed or maybe I just jumped into this dark hole. I’m not really sure how I ended up there which is the scary part.

Try as I may, I just couldn’t pull myself out. Emotionally I was a wreak. I must admit at times I didn’t feel any hope. People would ask “are you alright” or “what’s wrong” and I just wanted to scream but the scream would get stuck in my throat. Thank God! I mean what would they have thought if I had started screaming?

If you have never been in that place, I hope you never are. If you have been then you know what I am talking about.

This past weekend Marc was at the Walk to Emmaus for 3 days. I do not like being home by myself so I spent lots of time in a Bible study I had started a few weeks ago. I shouldn’t be but I am so amazed at God’s timing. The words spoke to me BIG TIME. I didn’t sleep for 2 days because I just couldn’t put it down.

So what did I learn…I learned that even though I had given up on myself, God hadn’t given up on me. I was just one brave decision away from an important turn in the path I was on. God showed me I had to take responsibility and just taking responsibility was not enough but I had to take hold of the reins and get prepared physically too.

I must admit, I am fearful that I will fail again for the 100th time and of the hard work that becoming healthy takes. Sometimes I think that it will kill me but then again, it occurs to me that to stand by and do nothing is to be dead already…..”as painful as the process may be, that which shatters our superficiality also shatters the fetters of our fragility and frees us to walk with dignity and might to our destinies. We are not the fragile flowers we’ve considered ourselves to be. We, like Esther, are the Warrior Princess’s of God.”

I love that I am a Warrior Princess of God…..love it, love it, love it

Keep Walking with Jesus