Prayed Up

Prayed Up

              

               As I reflected on/prayed about a topic for today’s Sharingglory post, this question came to mind:  What is the most difficult time of day for me to abstain from overeating?

            Those hours after the evening meal is finished challenge me most.  The kitchen is cleaned up. I’m finished with the day’s tasks (or I’ve run out of energy to do anything more).  I don’t know what to do with myself.  I don’t watch much TV or Netflix.  I don’t have a husband to harass or to harass me.  What should I do?  It’s too early to go to bed, and I think, ‘You have time to work on your memoirs,’ or ‘You need to balance your checkbook;  you could listen to that CD by Richard Rohr on St. Paul’s teaching,’ and I respond, ‘I’m too tired for that.’ Usually I respond, ‘I don’t feel like it.’  So I wander into the kitchen—dangerous territory.

            I’m not hungry.  I’ve just finished eating dinner.  I’m bored, or lonely, or sometimes I just plainly don’t want to stop eating for the day.  After breakfast and lunch, I have another meal to look forward to, but after dinner several hours loom before I can eat again.

            As I write this morning, I think of Paul’s words:   “What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise” (Rom. 7:15, MSG).  I relate to Paul.  I have decided I want to eat according to my God-given appestat—what my body needs, when my body needs it and how much my body needs.  However, too often I eat what my body doesn’t need, when it doesn’t need fueling, and more than it needs.

            And those evenings happen when I ignore my God-given appestat and those few seconds God gives me to listen to that still, small Voice within my spirit, and I overeat, often ending up with a bloated belly and miserable,.

            Jesus set an example for me and for you.  When he was challenged, he prayed.  He went away by himself.  “Rising very early before down, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35, New American Bible).  He went to the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion (Mark 14:36).

            Both Paul and Jesus give me the solution to the challenge I often face in the evening hours.  It’s not will power I need, but grace, the power of the Holy Spirit.  I need to pray and to trust.  This morning I also realize, I need to be “prayed up” for challenging times.  I need to ask for strength ahead of time, to surrender myself to the Holy Spirit in the morning, preparing myself for the day.

                                                                                                                                    Sharon Witty

Being My Summertime Best

Last time, Sharon talked about how we are wonderfully made by God. This is a glorious time of year for experiencing God’s Creation. Healthy eating is at its easiest in the summer. 

In addition to all of the beauty that spring provides, it also brings the bounty of springtime and summer fruits and vegetables. Anyone working at watching weight has an enormous variety of healthy choices at the supermarket.

Healthy eating is at its easiest in the summer. Nothing tastes as good as something freshly grilled outside. No fat or breading needed.

The biggest challenge for me is portion control. With so many great options it is easy to go overboard and load up my plate. Potluck picnics can be challenging. I try to focus on plain vegetables and fruits rather than mixtures like potato salad, cheesy potatoes, and creamy cucumbers…I see a theme…cheesy and creamy. Delicious but often loaded with extra calories.

To help me, I like to use a smaller plate. It might be fun to purchase a pretty melamine plate from the department store to use this summer. Maybe a pretty plastic glass to go with it, to fill with water as often as I can. Drinking water is essential in the warm summer to stay hydrated and feel full.

We can enjoy the fresh peas, spinach, asparagus and strawberries in season right now, and indulge in sweet watermelon, peaches, cantaloupe, and berries as they arrive in the stores at peek ripeness. Spring and summer can bring great success to our healthy endeavors. With the addition of exercise opportunities, such as walking outside, mowing the lawn, or weeding the garden (which also gives us Vitamin D), this time of year is a blessing.

“You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 MSG). 

I am God’s Creation. I want to be my best for Him.

Gloria D. Stewart

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made     

            I thought I had a draft written for this week’s post, but last night (Tuesday) as I readied for sleep, I realized, ‘Nope, that won’t do.’  Uh oh, now what? 

            ‘Tomorrow is Wednesday; the sun is to shine, and I want to plant flowers.’

            So before I closed my eyes, I prayed.

            God is faithful.  The Wise One woke me at 3:30 this morning (Wednesday), so I got up, started the coffee, got out pen and paper, sat at my desk, PRAYED and wrote.

            I wrote a fairly decent draft, but as I showered, my stomach growled, and I realized that draft was not the post for this week either, so here I am—at the drafting board again.

            My stomach’s growling made me realize how “fearfully and wonderfully” God has made us humans (Psalm 139:14 NIV).          

            Our cars have gas gauges, right?  When my car needs gas, the arrow nears Empty.  If I don’t put gas in my car, it’s not going to take me any place.

            God has given us fuel gauges also.  Just as I need to fill my car with fuel, I need to fill my body with fuel so that it can function the way God intends it to.  And God has given us signals as to when our bodies need food.   My stomach’s growling is one kind of sign God has given my body to tell me it’s hungry. 

            Another way my body tells me it’s hungry, especially if several hours have passed since I last ate, is a headache.   Or I might just plainly feel empty.

            If I wait to eat until I’m hungry, the gas gauge God has built into my body works perfectly, for it also lets me know when I am full—just like the gas gauge in my car lets me know when the tank is full. 

            The key, I’ve learned, to knowing when I’ve eaten enough is to eat slowly, for if I eat too fast, I’ve found I don’t give my belly enough time to know when it is full.  I need to follow my body’s signal and stop eating—even if food remains on my plate.  That’s hard, for I grew up in a household where we were to eat all the food we took.

            Not only does my bodily gas gauge tell me when I am hungry and when I am full, it also tells me what to eat by letting me know for what I am hungry.  For example, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet, and I’ve already told you my body has told me it’s hungry.  I’m hungry for my homemade granola this morning.  On other mornings, I’m hungry for almond butter on toast.  Sometimes scrambled eggs with French style green beans (It’s a family thing, but try it; you might like it) appeals to my palate.

            “God’s works are wonderful (Psalm 139:14 NIV).”  When I take time to consider the Holy One’s Creation, I am awed by how everything works together.

                                                                                                                                    Sharon Witty

Think it Through

Think it Through

Last time Sharon talked about invading thoughts that sometimes sidetrack our good intentions. I have those often, especially when ice cream is involved and it is getting to be that season again. But, if I take time to think it through I can talk myself out of eating my way into trouble.

The best way to avoid falling into the eating-what-I-shouldn’t trap, is to plan ahead. If I know I’m going to a certain restaurant I can research the menu ahead of time and choose something healthy. If I have a plan I can stay on track. It is when I’m flying by the seat of my pants that I end up making choices that I may regret.

If I’m headed to a potluck where I’m sure there will be temptations of some kind, it works to bring a healthy dish to share. Fresh veggies and a light dip go a long way toward filling up an empty plate. Or grill up a platter of chicken breasts, or take along a dessert tray of fresh fruit. Just think it through – there are healthy options.

Sometimes the biggest temptations are in my own kitchen. I try to keep a good supply of appropriate snacks handy at eye level so they can diffuse the hunger pangs. And as I’ve mentioned before, I try to avoid having those unhealthy temptations in the house whenever possible.

Remember, scripture offers the best advice:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV).

Let’s look for the way out and think it through.

Gloria D. Stewart

Invading Thoughts

Invading Thoughts     

               Okay, so this is time to ‘fess up:  How many times a day do you think about food?  After you’ve finished breakfast, do you think about what you’re going to have for lunch?  And after you’ve finished lunch, do you think about what you’re going to have for dinner?

            These are my answers:  I think about food, what seems to me, all the time.  It’s embarrassing.  Of course, no one else knows what’s going on inside my head, but it’s embarrassing to me to think about my next meal after I’ve just finished one meal.

            It’s embarrassing to be having a conversation with someone and be thinking at the same time, “I’m going to stop at the DQ on my way home.”

            Often I use this excuse (notice the use of the word “excuse” not “reason”), “Well, of course, I’m going to think about food.  I live in a single person household.  I’m the one responsible for meal planning, grocery shopping and food prep.  I HAVE to think about food.”

            Hm, yeah, well that might explain one-tenth of my thinking about food, but let’s face it:  it doesn’t explain my thinking about the DQ in the middle of a conversation.

            So what do I do about the voice that haunts my thoughts with food?  I think I found the answer taped to my refrigerator (must have needed these words at some other time in my life):

Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right.  Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8, Life Application Study Bible).

            I’m going to try to do this.  God’s way is always the best way.

                                                                                                                                    Sharon Witty

P.S.  Gloria and I pray you, our readers, a Blessed Easter.

The Habit of Eating

One reason losing weight or even controlling what we eat is so challenging is because we have to eat to live. That’s nothing new. Eating is what nourishes our body, keeps us healthy, and can be overdone. Eating is a conundrum.

I was raised by a generation that knew the Great Depression. They knew life without…without anything extra, without money, without gas, without sugar, without food. My mother was a wonderful cook and made do with little. Her greatest joy was feeding company or making sweet treats to give to those she cared about. 

Mary Pipher in her book, “Another Country” explains, “The women encouraged one another to eat, a habit that came from a time when food was scarce.” I have made eating a habit of pleasure, rather than of need. I eat for enjoyment and celebration. It makes me happy to eat. I eat to cheer myself up.

Instead, I should eat out of hunger, for nourishment and good health. I need to ask myself, “Am I hungry?” before I eat. Is my stomach growling? Or do I just eat because the clock says it is time? And do I quit when I am full?

Scriptures offer a reasonable way to eat. “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God!” (Deuteronomy 8:10a NIV).

Gloria D. Stewart