Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Made To Crave devotional

I wanted to share this devotional from Made To Crave because everyone struggles with comparing themselves to others. Read below and spend some time thinking about that friend or those friends that you compare yourself to and then think about your unique body and what God want to use every part for.


Thought for the Day: Just because a woman is skinny doesn’t mean that she’s healthy. The struggles are similar, just in a different size package.
One problem with trying to eat healthy is when you sit down next to a skinny girl who wolfs down everything on her plate. It makes me want to say, “I’ll have what she’s having.” A similar frustration pops up when Ms. Petite picks up her kids in a cute tennis outfit that I could never wear.
The paradox of comparing ourselves to other people is that we become blind to what we already have in the face of what we don’t have. Our hearts are drawn into a place of assumption. We assume that everything is great for those who possess what we lack.
But here’s the kicker. Everyone has not-so-great aspects their lives, things that they will have to learn to surrender or sacrifice. Sure, my size-two friend could eat all the snacks she wanted, but she’s got other struggles for which she has to depend on God. For instance, consider that skinny girl in your life who eats whatever she wants and makes you think, “How unfair.” Yet listen to what she might say in return, as someone once shared with me: “I am one of the skinny girls, but don’t mistake skinny for healthy. I battle depression, self-esteem issues, and verbal abuse. The list seems endless. Being little doesn’t make a person any more happy or faithful or joyful. The struggles are similar, just in a different size package.”
Life as a Christ follower will always be a learning process of depending less on our own strength and more on God’s power. James 1:3-4 says,
The testing of your faith develops perseverance, and perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature, complete, not lacking anything.
Why not make this a daily prayer, first thing in the morning: “God, I recognize that I am made for more than the vicious cycle of being ruled by food, body image, and comparing myself to others. I am thankful that You made my body unique in ways that I can serve You and in ways that turn my reliance upon You. I need to eat to live, not live to eat. So I keep asking for Your wisdom to know what to eat and Your indwelling power to walk away from things and thoughts that are not beneficial for me.”
Oh sweet sisters, this truth should be the cry of our souls and drown out Satan’s lie that “she has it easier.” Our taste buds crave many things to satisfy, but only persevering with God will make us truly full.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Fun in the Kitchen

Having fun in the kitchen is what it's all about! I recently went to visit Stephanie and we just played in the kitchen all day! Some of our concoctions were:

  • Sprinkling vanilla extract on fresh fruit! We cut fruit (pears, mango, pineapple, grapes, and bananas) into bite size pieces, mixed them together in a bowl an added vanilla. The extract just made the fruit pop! It was a fun and easy way to change up the same ol' fruits we eat every day. And if you're watching your Weight Watchers points, the vanilla doesn't add any points to your day!
  • Doing the above with cinnamon is also a great trick. I actually love to sprinkle cinnamon on top of sliced apples. It really makes me feel like I'm eating apple pie! That may sound silly, but I think it works well :)
  • Kale chips are awesome! If you haven't tried these bad boys, you really should! We experimented with different flavors (since we're trying to make them as close to potato chips as possible...) so don't be afraid to try new flavors on these. Some examples are 1) cracked sea salt, 2) garlic pepper and salt, 3) steak spices (kinda BBQ flavor), 4) cinnamon sugar (just be careful how much you use if you're watching your Weight Watchers Points). This should get you started, but just play around with the flavors, and tell us what you think! See the Recipe page for the instructions on making these chips. 

We want to hear some of your favorite kitchen concoctions too!