Greetings my fat-burning friends! I have been wandering and floundering since I returned from my three week adventure in Ireland. I’m going to confess to you all that I have been experiencing a level of anxiety that I am not familiar with – and so I am writing this post in a direct response to the verses from my bible study today. Right now I am studying Philippians and am being reminded daily “What Matters Most”. I’m following along with the First 5 app, which is a daily study that I highly recommend! Here is today’s scripture:
Philippians 4: 4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And the prayer from my heart:
Heavenly Father, as Paul reminds me, I come before you with thanksgiving in my heart and truly humbled by all the blessings in my life. I thank you for restoring my joy in living. I thank you for my renewed energy that you have given me. I thank you for all the ways that you are going to use this energy to share your Good News! I thank you for all you have been teaching me on this journey and for the passion you have ignited in me to share this message of how you provide for all our needs – spiritual, physical, and emotional. Thank you for this message of hope.
Thank you that I can rejoice in every circumstance of life that is thrown my way. I confess that I have been riddled with anxiety and my “to-do” list for the past three weeks, and I am thankful that I am able to see through this with a spirit of joy. I will continue to seek your will and direction for this crazy new adventure of my life. I pray for clarity of mind and ears to hear. I ask that you remove the anxiety and fear and give me words to share that come only from you. I also ask that you prompt me to pray any time that spirit of fear sneaks up.
Right now, I also pray for everyone that will read these words. I know that their health struggles are real and present in their mind, Lord. I ask that you be with them and calm their anxiety and fear, as well. I pray especially for the ones right now that are feeling chained to their poor health – especially those that are finding difficulties with kicking the sugar addiction, or binge eating, or round the clock eating, or any stronghold that prevents them from finding victory in improving their health. I pray for their chains to be broken and for them to find complete freedom in your provisions of healthy food to nourish their mind, body, and soul. I also pray for a blessing over their daily routine so that they may easily discover the way of eating that works for them (whether that be Keto, or low-carb healthy fats, with or without intermittent fasting)! We know that you can free us from the bondage of poor nutrition and health and set us free to serve you with an abundance of energy every day. Thank you, again
Finally, thank you for the peace that truly transcends all my understanding – for without this peace, I feel like I’d be in a fetal position crying in the corner today. Instead I focus on these words written by Paul:
Philippians 3: 12 – 14 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Blessings, Peace, and JOY! Amen.
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AMEN!!!
YESSSS!
I often listen to Tim Keller’s free podcast, Overcoming Anxiety, via the Apple Store. It is based on the same Scripture passage. I hope that it gives you the same. One comment that has lodged in my brain is that the opposite of anxiety is single mindedness. I hope you can experience this.
Hi Julian! Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and your comments. I will definitely take a listen to that podcast today. I’m working from home today – so I can have that streaming.
Single mindedness reminds me of a song I knew as a kid. The lyrics are “give me single minded love, that will make my life complete” by Kenny Marks. He came to a youth retreat weekend one year when I was in high school. I feel in love with his music and still hum it today.
I’m going to listen and pray! Thank you! Christine
This is so refreshing! Bless you for speaking words of truth. Jesus constantly reminds me of striving for His goal for me and not to get caught up in unhealthy focuses. I now focus on people I talk to in gatherings and not the food around me. I struggle with learning how to be patient as I have 15 pounds still to lose, but it will come I guess . .
Thank you for your comment, Sandy! I truly appreciate you taking the time to write.
It is so liberating this freedom we can experience from the chains of ill health and bondage of food addictions. Focusing on people and your relationships is so, so fulfilling!
Yes, getting the last pounds off can be a frustrating part of the journey, so I reminded myself all the time that it is a JOURNEY and all accomplished in HIS timing!
God Bless You and Choose JOY!
Christine
Thank you so much for this prayer, Christine. My faith is in tatters, but I gather inspiration from the witness of others. And those who pray for others are always an inspiration to me. I needed this prayer: for “those that are finding difficulties with kicking the sugar addiction, or binge eating, or round the clock eating.” My own trip to Ireland was a whirlwind in which I lost my footing with eating, pretty much completely. I failed to use so many of the tools that keep me in an “upward spiral” against the pull of depression, things like daily journaling, exercise, mindfulness. I fell back into old patterns of eating to turn off emotions that I couldn’t cope with. And I, without little fight, gave in to the temptations of the carby foods that are my Irish comfort foods. And while everyone around me was saying, “Ach, it’s only your holidays! Enjoy!” I knew that what I was doing was not (much) enjoyment. It was self-sabotage and self-destruction. And in 25 days, I carried home 21 extra pounds. TWENTY ONE. I didn’t even know that was mathematically possible.
So now I’m home for 3 days, back at work, and working at building back my confidence and commitment to this WOE. Amazingly, I was back in ketosis in a day, and I’m now at 23 hours into a fast. I know it will take a few weeks to get fat adapted again but I’m okay with that. What is hardest right now is fighting that urge to just eat CONSTANTLY, even if it is eating within my keto WOE. Yesterday I allowed myself a transition day of being keto before fasting, and I found myself snacking all day, just because I had allowed the habit back into my life and it is SO FAMILIAR. Why is something that is horrible for me so difficult to resist just because of its familiarity? It’s so humbling (humiliating) and awful to have gained back so much weight. And I didn’t even do this for weight loss originally. But I seem to have lost focus on why I started in the first place (avoiding diabetes, living longer for my son) becuase I got caught up in the weight loss.
Anyway, my brain is in a whirl right now, but I just want to thank you for your prayer for me and others still caught in this trap. It means so much that you care. And while I don’t share your faith in your God, I appreciate and treasure the goodness and generosity that your God inspires in you. Your work and sharing your journey means a lot to me.
Ahhh, Maura – I am so sorry you are struggling so right now! Vacations can surely through us off track. I crave routine and feel like I am still messed up since my Ireland adventure. Not to mention the savory food in Ireland that you enjoy – I bet that was a huge battle for you!
Okay – it sounds like you have committed to regrouping! Let’s kick those 21 lbs to the curb, get past that and keto on to reach your goals.
I think my best strategy when I battle an urge to eat when I’m not truly hungry is to find a project. Even if you have to clean out a junk drawer – get up and do it! Distraction was my best friend when I started this journey! Journaling or taking a walk is a good idea, too!
Thank you for your kind comments. I am so happy to help you! I truly believe that’s why God nudged me and then had a complete stranger contact me and tell me to start this blog. I always pray that if I can help one person find some joy in their life each day – then all this is worth it. I will be praying for you specifically by name as you get back on track – so keep me posted.
Besides all that, how was the trip?!? LOVELY, I’m sure! Cheers & JOY!
Christine