Sunday's sermon...

it was a good one and one that the hubby and i always wish the church would talk about...the Pastor used 1Corinthians6:12-20 to make his point, point being that you can desecrate the body by not taking care of it as God intended - either by sexual promiscuity and/or by food. death by sex, death by food, both are a death that God has not intended for any of us. the church often talks about sexual immorality (and i find, for good reason...wish i had listened sooner before i had nothing special left to give to the man i truly love...really something to think about and something i will have to pray about instilling in our children when the time comes...sex isn't just sex, no matter what anyone says and it will ALWAYS damage your heart in one way or another if its not with your soul mate. i truly believe this and i would take back every single immoral sexual decision i've ever made if i could...but alas, my past is my past and is what got me to the place i'm at now and that i would not change...unless it would have gotten me here sooner, but who knows? God knows and i'm right where he's meant for me to be. i am content with that. i am a new creation in Christ by His Mercy and all has been forgiven...took me awhile to grasp that concept and i have to admit i still struggle a bit with it, but it's real. His Love is real and for that i am forever grateful), but the Pastor's rarely touch on gluttony. the hubby thinks its because usually half of the patrons are overweight by any standard and they are too afraid to ruffle any feathers...i mean if you get people pissed off enough, they stop giving their money and since the church runs on the generosity of its members, pissing people off is sort of frowned upon i'm sure, BUT this sermon was special. the Pastor went about it in a way that fired people up, and when you fire people up, motivation and courage take hold and things get accomplished - in this case, weight will be lost and treating our bodies like the gift God has given us will occur. we are, after all, only managers of these bodies and this money on earth...it all belongs to God and we were given it by the blood of Christ. i still struggle with this one as well. having an eating disorder for the better part of 10 years, bulimia, is just as gluttonous as the obese woman sitting next to me in the auditorium, i was just more vain in the light of day, or the darkness of the bathroom toilet, whichever synonym you prefer...i tried for years and years and years to break the hold food had on me, but you know what? i could never pry myself from the icy cold fingers of addiction...until i found Christ, until i accepted His Grace, recognized the freedom following His Word gave me in every aspect of my life and believing that He will never leave me nor forsake me in anything i do, wherever i go, whomever i am with, he is always there, always encouraging me, always guiding me and ALWAYS loving me, i just had to choose to hear him and once i did...i. was. free.

now i still struggle with the urge to run to the toilet every so often if i've eaten more than i should or i've eaten something i know i shouldn't have in quantities that were much too much for any individual leading a life in control, but that's when i pray. i pray hard. i pray often, and i pray with love (breathing also helps in this moment too, not allowing the panic to take over, slowing down to realize that its not the end of the world). in return, i continue to have strength and when i'm faced with the situation again, i remember how it felt the last time, the struggle i had, and how i may have let myself down just a little by overindulging too much...and this time its easier to eat less. prayer is the most powerful tool i've come across on this journey of health and well being that i am constantly on and i am so grateful to have found it. that and giving up gluten/processed foods laced with chemicals AKA the devil disguised in a food suit...

anyway, the point of the post was that i appreciated our church taking a stand for the health and well being of our congregation. its about time and i applaud the balls it took to stand before the sad faces looking for acceptance, encouragment, understanding and help. i also applaud those who recognize there needs to be a change within themselves and they begin to take the steps mandatory to enact those changes. its never easy to hear "you need to lose weight" but its even harder to pick up a ringing phone to hear "so and so has died of a heart attack/diabetes/cancer/what-have-you, his/her heart couldn't support his/her weight/lifestyle/what-have-you..." its time to wake up. life is too damn short to do what you want all the time because it feels good or because it tastes good. its time to man (or woman) up. make the changes and live a long, fit and healthy life. YOU ARE WORTH IT. i believe in you and God believes in you, so much so that He came to earth and died on the cross for you so you would have the opportunity to live it. daily.

XOXO