#Empowered by 1 Corinthians 10:23

This is week 1 of the Made to Crave Bible study through Proverbs 31 ministries online bible study by Lysa Terkuerst. This study is already speaking to my heart and is a perfect tool in my life right now! I love how God takes care of that for me - He always knows just what I need. I am hoping to get so much out of this study. Primarily a focus on how to become healthier and make healthier choices for myself regarding food and exercise, but more than that I want to crave God above all else because that is how we were intended to be.

As I am going through the "Made to Crave" study I am in love with the 1st week's word of the week --- #Empowered! I have always loved this word because it truly empowers me just to think about the meaning of the word. Here is the definition from Mr. Webster himself....

Empower: to give power or authority to; authorize, especially by legal or official means;

to enable or permit

It means that if I am empowered someone is giving/or has given me the ability and is enabling me to do something! I used to become empowered by the strangest things and probably still am. For example: A few years ago when I was a full time special education teacher I was also the Response to Intervention internal coach (RtI coach)! I had the responsibility of tracking all the student's reading and math data, as well as figuring out ways and means to intervene when they weren't succeeding in either area. We had a little over 400 students in our building and this was no small task. I loved the idea of RtI and was very excited to take on the role which no one else wanted. After several meetings with my committee I soon realized no one else was excited and passionate about this and it was very disheartening to me. I didn't know why I couldn't become a light for them in this process. I felt like a failure and wanted to give up. Then I went one evening to see Legally Blonde the musical with my parents (this is where the strange place to get empowered comes into play). It was empowering to me to watch the story of Elle Woods a girl who was destined to fail at Harvard according to the world because she was a beautiful blonde from LA. But she decided to empower herself to become not only a good lawyer but a leader in the midst of it all.  I walked into my meeting the next day ready to go and the meeting was a huge success. Somehow someone else's story (in this case a fictional blonde in a musical) was my means to become empowered. I still get motivated and empowered by that movie because I know I can do anything I put my mind to with a little willpower and a lot of work!

After I had read Chapter 1, I decided to post the sign EMPOWERED on the fridge along with the following verse: 1 Corinthians 10:23
²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.

 No sooner had I printed off the empowered sign, as I was walking through the kitchen to post it on the fridge there on the counter was a fluffy white frosted cupcake from my son's 2nd birthday party. It was calling my name.... literally I could hear it even when I wasn't looking at it.  However, I posted my sign and said out loud "I could eat that cupcake and that's not a sin, but what will the benefits of it be? Do I really need it for fuel or just to satisfy my craving?" I couldn't answer myself with anything other than momentary satisfaction for my sweet tooth - and I could almost feel the impending regret 5 minutes later as I had experienced so many other times if I chose to eat it.
It was at that moment I could feel God's empowering spirit around me and I grabbed a Greek yogurt from the fridge instead. Much better choice and I was happier with myself for the choice I had made. I also had more energy when my toddlers woke up from their nap!  *By the way - that cupcake continued to look at me every time I went into the kitchen for the rest of the evening... So I ended up throwing it away to avoid the temptation! {Temptation:0 God:1}

 

 

In Chapter 1 Lysa talks about eating as permissible, but then asks the question just because it's permissible does that make it beneficial?? Eating is something we need to do - food is an essential to keep us alive. However we as a society take food for granted because we have it at our fingertips all of the time. Food itself is not the enemy... it's the choices we make when choosing the food and how much of it we eat at a time. While carrots and celery sticks are not my go-to food, they probably should be because they will fulfill a momentary need of a snack and are loaded with vitamins and minerals that are not provided in my chocolate chip cookies that I am always craving! My goal for the week has been to become empowered by 1 Corinthians 10:23 and to use it as my tool against cravings for this week. Another verse will come into play I am sure on this journey but for now that is my focus! It's been a rough week but I have found myself snacking less on sugary/salty things and choosing beneficial fruits and veggies instead! I am also proud to say I am down 1.6 lbs in 5 days! WHOO HOO!

I hope you continue to join me on my weight loss journey as well as my journey to a more empowered Emily!