Our Very Own Engineer and Seamstress

To take a break from everyday type of schoolwork, the 2 little ones indulged their creative side this week.  Offie painted and glued together a fire truck and an airplane, while Mia sewed a pillow for her dolls.  They were both very happy with the results.

Book Review ~ "Made to Crave"

Made To Crave Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food ~ by Lisa Terkeurst

Upon realizing that her struggle with weight was not just a result of a physical battle with food and diets, but rather a reflection of her spiritual and emotional needs that only Christ can fill, Lisa Terkeurst began her journey. 

She searched God’s word to see what He says about food and our natural bent to allow it (or other things) to fill a void in our lives.  The author shares the treasures she’s found in Scripture to encourage and remind us that to be truly filled, we need to turn to Christ.  She reiterates that the victory to eating healthy, exercising, and a lifestyle change is found only when we go to the cross and realize that God has given us the power to not only flee from temptations but choose Him to fill our desires.  She quotes, “Yet we must remember we hold a power greater than any craving we face.”  Ms. Terkeurst is very candid with her own struggles and shares openly ( so openly that you giggle and realize, “that’s so me!”) her thought process as she began this journey to crave God and not food.

At first, I didn’t know quite how take in this book.  I wasn’t sure if I struggled with reaching for food necessarily when having a really bad day.  Although, I have to admit, I do reach for more than I need to simply because that particular food was just too yummy to stop eating.  I asked God to use this book to show me blind spots, where I might think I’m ok but not really.  What He did do was show me that I do struggle with poor choices of food.  I don’t always reach for food that is best for me.  I turn to brownies (as my family/friends know) or anything sweet to munch on.  I also realize that at times, I simply refuse to exercise self-control, just because I want to eat more.  This book has been helpful in reminding to not take exercising self-control lightly.  I CAN make better choices for the body God has gifted me.

Over all, “Made To Crave”, was an enlightening read.  It was written in a conversational style that made it easy to follow.  Scripture was clearly studied and its truths applied in very practical ways as the author found victory in Christ to crave God and not food. 

To sum it up with a quote from the author; “..the ultimate goal of this journey isn’t about making me a smaller sized person but rather making me crave Jesus and His truths as the ultimate filler of my heart….Let His truths go to the depths of our hearts and produce good things in our lives.  Remain.  Approach this world full of fellow incomplete people with the joy of Jesus.  Remain.  And see our skinny jeans as a fun reward, nothing more.” Page 125

Extras: Some quotes from the book

“When the Apostle Paul says, “their god is their stomach,” he means that food can become so consuming that people find themselves ruled by it.  To make that practical for the here and now, if we find that certain foods are impossible to walk away from-we can’t or won’t deny ourselves an unhealthy choice in order to make a healthier choice-then it’s a clue we are being ruled by this food on some level.”  Pp 65-66

“The only true satisfaction we can seek is the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord.”  P83

“The more I made exercise about spiritual growth and discipline, the less I focused on the weight.  Each lost pound was not a quest to get skinny but evidence of my obedience to God.”  P90

“We are taught to remain in God’s love so that we won’t tie our happy to anything but God.” P 123  (in response to verse John 15:9-12)

Date w/ Dad

Since Tay was off for a few days after the new year, he was finally able to fulfill a request from his eldest daughter.  Jazzy has been wanting to go to the shooting range!  So, off they went to a local outdoor range.  Needless to say, our little girl had an awesome time with dad.