Day 19

So I was in a meeting today with several other women who make up the Women's Leadership Team.  We meet each week to pray and plan for the upcoming Women's retreat especially designed for women who lead women.  The table was full of ladies I deeply respect and as we were going around giving prayer requests from our various areas of ministry, I felt God tugging at my heart to share about this journey with them.  Didn't want to do it.  Nope I didn't.  I could feel my emotions rising to the top and sure enough, once I opened my mouth the tears began to flow and I told them (a Reader's Digest version) a little of this journey and asked for prayer to finish well.  They prayed for me and one of the ladies told me God had been dealing with her as well and it was an encouragement to hear me share.  That, my friends, is a total God thing 'cause if I'd had my druthers, these lips woulda stayed shut up tight like the walls of Jericho before Joshua marched around that thing.

New taste sensations today: Dinner was grilled steak, a baked potato with clarified butter and bacon wrapped asparagus. Can we all just rest on that deliciousness for a moment? Here's the kicker: That's what I fed my family -- not just me.  The only difference for them was some green beans for the youngest (because vegetables=green beans to that kid; the rest he has no use for), and some mac and cheese (because they're not ready to go cold turkey healthy just yet).  Everyone left the table satisfied and I only cooked one meal. I can live with that;0)  I also made my own ketchup today.  Healthy and yummy.

Reading Galatians 1:6-9 today had Paul telling the church of Galatia that he could not believe how some of them had started following a "different" gospel other than the gospel of Christ.  He reminded them that there really is no other gospel.  As I let that soak in for a bit, I realized how easy it is to deviate from the one true gospel even in this journey.  It's super easy to be all about how much weight I'm losing or "oh my gosh I can't believe I used to eat all that at one time or hey these jeans didn't fit last week!"  I am having to be very vigilant to keep the right perspective here.  The gospel I am following isn't about my weight, it's about being obedient to the one who gave up everything for me.  I don't want this thing to be about me although I am having to share things about myself all the time now.  I want however, the last thing people hear to be, "Jesus is worth every moment of this thing.  He is why it's working.  He is my strength.  He is my confident hope. He can do it for you too."