"Made to Crave"

I recently finished the book, "Made to Crave" by Lysa Terkeurst. It sparked my interest because I have struggled with my weight for years; never being content with the way I looked. I always felt incapable of making wise decisions if I was having a craving for something, if I was offered a treat, if I was stressed out, and so on. I felt powerless to do anything about it, but to accept what life threw at me and get through it via eating.

For some people it's chips. Others it's candy. Me? I love the good, old-fashioned cookies, brownies, and cake. And most of the time, once I start in, I have a hard time stopping. And another MAJOR weakness -- graham crackers with frosting. That's one of those where if you could listen in on my thoughts, you'd hear, "Well, that was too much frosting, so now I need another piece of graham cracker, but I'll stop when I'm done drinking my milk. Then I eat another and decide, well I'll just get a little more milk. Now, that's too much milk, so I'll have just one more cracker with frosting." ... quite the vicious cycle!

Lysa talks about her struggle with weight over the years. Her weakness with junk food. And justifying her thoughts, "Well if this is the worst part about me, I'm really not doing that bad." I was able to connect with many of the difficulties she shared throughout the book and in doing so, I was also encouraged that I too could have victory!

One of the stories that has stuck with me is from Chapter 13, "Overindulgence." In it, she talks about her pastor's sermon one morning; he began talking about the overindulgence of alcohol, then shifted gears into our overindulgence of food - gluttony. It goes into much more detail, but it makes me examine my habits and realize, just because eating as much food as you want (all-you-can-eat buffets, anyone?) is widely accepted, does not make it right.

She approaches the topic of healthy eating practically, but she also throws in several doses of humor and real-life stories and struggles. She references many Bible verses which support our need of self-control and finding our satisfaction in God, not food. There are many aspects that she unpacks throughout the 19 chapters in this book. Some chapters had such an impact that I am already making changes in the way I approach food. It is hard to change habits, especially ones that are over 20 years in the making, but I have confidence that I can turn to God when I'm struggling in those tough moments and come out on the other side a victorious overcomer!

If you might be interested in the book too, you can click on the pictures below. The first one is for the book, the second is the workbook/devotional. This could be a great study for several friends who would like to hold each other accountable. The pictures will take you straight to their page on Amazon.


          

To life... full of changing habits and relying on God to do so.