christineyountjones.com

Tag: Weight Loss

  • The Promised Land of Wait Gain

    The Promised Land of Wait Gain

    I have lived for over 40 years in the desert. The dry land of diets and weight-loss programs and tips and tactics and shame and binges and self-hate and deprivation. I have been obsessed with the latest diet fad. I have disdained my image in the mirror. I have lived with constant thoughts about me…my weight…my body…my size….what I ate….what I would eat….why I ate it…

    I have been in bondage to these issues that have robbed me of the abundant life that Jesus promises me in John 10:10: The thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy. I have come that they might have life abundantly!

    I have lived in the realm of the thief. My potential and purpose and freedom murdered. My joy stolen. My peace destroyed.

    And yet I’ve heard God’s voice anew in the desert, calling from a quiet and gentle place. I’ve discovered God’s overwhelming love and kindness toward me. Something that the thief had obscured with lies.

    And I’ve journeyed toward freedom–toward the Promised Land.

    Surprisingly, this Promised Land isn’t weight loss. It’s wait gain. And it’s so much more than what I have sought for 40 years.

     

  • Embrace the Wait Gain of the Journey

    Embrace the Wait Gain of the Journey

    Waiting for hunger is a tutor to teach us to wait for God. What a gift to learn this important discipline through the thing we’ve struggled with for a lifetime. God doesn’t waste any part of our suffering. He redeems it for good–always.

    I almost called my blog Wait Gain–meaning that we gain so much by learning to wait…to wait for real hunger…to wait for God to free us…to wait for God.

    “My soul waits for the Lord more than the watchmen for the morning; 

    indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.” 

    Psalm 130:6

    Imagine the watchmen’s longing for their night shift to be over…for the sun to rise so they can see clearly.

    I imagine them straining their eyes to search for the light. Every muscle has been tensed on high alert on their watch. At the sound of any noise, they’ve been ready to jump into action.

    The promise of the rising sun means rest and peace. The dawn signals that they can entrust their shift to the next watchman…and the sleep.

    The watchmen can do nothing to hasten the dawn…they must simply wait.

    What does patient waiting look like?

    When I am waiting patiently, I am content in my circumstances. I have no frustration or anger. I am not looking at the time constantly, pacing back and forth.

    Psalm 40 speaks to this.

    Psalm 40:1–Wait patiently for the Lord. This is to be bound up with God and the promise is that He will lean down and listen to me. So I must wait and talk with Him. Am I content and at peace?

    Psalm 40:2–He is giving me a solid foundation to stand on. I can trust. Am I trusting God?

    Psalm 40:3–The result is praise in my heart and others are impacted so they see, fear, and trust in the Lord. This is the result of God’s work. Is my heart filled with praise?

    Psalm 40:4–Continue to trust in God’s ways and I will be blessed. Don’t turn to others for answers–the proud and liars. Am I seeking answers from others instead of God?

    Psalm 40:5–God does wonders and He thinks about me!

    Psalm 40:6–“My ears you have opened.” I love this! Ozen–ear in the Old Testament represents hearing and obedience. So God has opened my ears to hear (understand) and obey. Am I obeying God?

    Psalm 40:7-8–Delight to do God’s will and put His law in my heart. Is this true of me?

    This is how we wait patiently for the Lord!

    Yes, we wait for hunger…but our wait gain is that we’re learning to wait for God.

  • Just Say YES

    Just Say YES

    This journey is a spiritual journey–filled with wisdom from God and learning to walk closer to Him.

    But there are times that I need practical physical steps. It’s one thing to pray about mindful eating, but it’s another to live it out.

    I’ve asked God How do I maintain focus?

    And I sensed God asking me, “How do you focus on anything?”

    At first, I thought I focused on nothing, but then thought of when I’m focusing on food. What do I do?

    I pay attention to the urge.
    I think about it.
    I plan for it.
    I act on it.

    These are the four steps of focus! And I need to apply them to my hunger.

    In God’s goodness, here’s an acrostic (that when I stop to remember it, helps me say NOPE to eating.)

    Notice the urge.
    Observe.
    Plan.
    Engage.

    If we use this when we crave but aren’t hungry, we’ll be more mindful.

    Here’s how it works. I’m watching a TV show and I think “Nutella.” (the urge) Then I think, “We have Nutella.” (0bserve) I think, “I could go get some and eat it with a spoon.” (plan) I get up and go get the Nutella and eat it–even though I’m not really hungry. (engage)

    Instead, I could’ve said NOPE! and focused on something else.

    Here’s what to do instead–just say YES!

    Yield to hunger–only.
    Extol God.
    Savor.

    When I say YES, I wait until I’m genuinely experiencing hunger (and truthfully, food tastes better then). I stop to extol or praise God who gives us all good things. And then I eat slowly and savor each bite.

    In fact, the eating, tasting, savoring can become an act of worship as we continue to extol and praise God for the wonderful things He has made, for the freedom He has given us, for His Spirit who bears the fruit of self-control in us.

    Say YES to God today!

    “God gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free.” Psalm 146:7

    Praise God!