Letting Go....

Good Afternoon sports fans.....Is everyone ready for the Superbowl on Sunday? We were invited to a friends house for a Superbowl Party, but we decided just to spend the day, after church, at home. Just the three of us.....There are a couple of reasons for this....One, with the holidays behind us, we need a break from all the parties and celebrations....Two, with all of my nutritional issues, it's a lot easier for me, to skip the parties and the volumes of inappropriate temptations and just stay home. In the past, we've had great fun, with our friends, but I am so limited in what I can eat and drink right now, it's just better for me to let this one pass. I am grateful to our friends for inviting us, but I'm doing so well on my plan, I don't want to derail all of my progress for one afternoon of careless eating.

Letting go of the things we love is difficult. But sometimes, it becomes necessary for health or monetary reasons. I am not used to letting things go....I resist it, vehemently. I want what I want and I want it now!! When I was diagnosed for the second time, with diabetes, in 2003, I was told to give up sugars and carbohydrates. Did I listen? What do you think? You're right, I didn't listen at all. Things went down, slowly, from there. Food is my addiction....my course of study, my pastime and my hobby....Food helps me connect with people, is a source of pride and something I excel at. It defines me and separates me from my piers, because food is something I'm good at. It's also my sin and my wicked indulgence and right now, food is my enemy! I have overindulged my wickedness, all my life with food. I've defiled my temple....sullied the house of my God and ruined what He bought, with the blood of His precious Son. All is not lost though, I am happy to serve a God of second chances ( and thirds and fourths and fifths....) And as I think, sometimes, how I've failed Him, He whispers sweetly to me...Lisa, this is all for My glory, so that others may see how you'll turn your failure, into My victory!!

1 Corinthians 6:20
For you were bought at a price; so therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 11:29
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgement on himself.

God has a funny way of getting His message across to me.....Most of the time, He has to hit me on the back of the head, with a two-by-four to get me to listen and to heed! I'm just that stubborn!! I started to see that two-by-four a couple of years ago, when I was thoroughly addicted to coffee tea and diet Coke. My heart would race and beat irregularly.....I thought, originally, that it was all due to panic attacks. It wasn't! I'd become caffeine sensitive. So I switched to decaf and caffeine free diet soda. The two-by-four swung again, when I developed edema in my feet and ankles and my blood pressure became elevated, caused by the amount of sodium in my diet. I have always loved salt and as an avid sprinkler, I was eating three or four times the amount of sodium needed, each day.....and let's not even talk about the fat two-by four....When I found, this past December that my cholesterol was too high, I felt the crack of that board on the back of my head, once again. All of these things were tantamount to the destruction of God's temple, inside of me.....

Like I said, letting go is never easy, but the victory I feel is so wonderfully sweet. I am now tearing down that stronghold, brick by brick and learning to live in joy, rather than shame and regret....I have let go of my addiction to caffeine and now, I drink only water and decaf coffee, every now and again. Recently, I've discovered that my body cannot handle decaf green or black teas either....so I've resolved myself to only herbals. I've let go of all canned sodas and flavored drink mixes as well, because it looks like I'm sensitive to aspartame as well. In some people, aspartame can actually hinder or even stop weight loss. I've let go of the high sodium levels in my diet....I'm still a sprinkler, but I've traded my salt for Mrs. Dash or Potassium Chloride. Things don't taste the same, but I am feeling better and the victory I feel when I don't reach for the salt is amazing. I'm letting go of high fat foods, in favor of lower fat alternatives and that's different, but I'll trade in the fat for a smaller body, any day!! I've given up eating past seven o'clock in the evening, as well.....I've found that I get acid reflux that lasts close to twenty four hours the next day, when I eat past seven......Letting things go does not mean saying goodbye! It means making informed decisions and thinking, instead of just giving in to the temptation to sin.....It means following God, as opposed to letting the enemy take your hand and lead you down the pathway to destruction.....

All of these things are and have been a big component of my weight loss....and if letting go means more years with my precious Mark and Mariah, my sisters Darcie and Tara and all of my numerous friends and loved ones, I'll chose it. If letting go means I can finally be proud of who I am and stop feeling like the failure I was made to think I was, growing up, I'll chose it. If letting go means I can face God, on that day, with my head held high, as He says 'Well done, My good and faithful servant' I'll chose it....I am stronger now, letting go, than I ever was, holding on.

Today has been quiet for me....and I am glad it's Friday. Mark goes back to nights on Monday and we'll live that schedule for two weeks....I get to spend more quality time with Mark, when he's on nights and I thank God for that, daily! Mariah's sixteenth birthday is next Friday (the 10th) and we're taking her out for pizza at Johns Incredible Pizza, in Modesto to celebrate and then going to Target in Riverbank for a midnight release party, to pick up our Blu-Ray copy of Breaking Dawn Part 1. Anyone who's interested in meeting us there, is more than welcome to come. I'm making a huge Red Velvet Birthday cake for her....We haven't decided on an official time, that will come in the next few days!!

Well, I'm off like a dirty shirt.....I have things I need to do and I need to put my feet up for a bit. So have a great weekend friends and I'll talk to ya soon.....Love each other as He loves....
Blessings in Him,
Lisa