for His pleasure: Sugar Update & Faithfulness

I'm going through sugar withdrawal....BAD! I mean moody...grouchy...just. the. works. You know? Each day gets better, but I have to admit I've snuck some semi-sweet chocolate chips now and then since the chocolate milk ran out. And there's been an occasional muffin or two that I've grabbed out of the freezer when I've been on the run and in a pinch. Okay. It was 2 today. You caught me. There. You feel better? :-)

But each day gets a little easier with less and less cravings. And...

I know you all aren't going to believe me...but I've already lost a pound of the stubborn 12 pounds of baby weight leftover!!! I could not be more stoked! I've been teeter tottering for a while so I knew when the scale dropped for 2 days in a row that it was true pound I had lost and it got me all motivated again.

I've made a few other changes too. Mixed in with the sugar addiction, is a diet coke issue {caffeine free}. But please don't tell anyone who knows my dad because they'll say I'm just like him. What's worse is they'll probably tell him and his head will get all big and then I'll get a phone call about the glories of being in the diet coke club and the "like father like daughter" talk and then he'll inevitably talk me into drinking it again. Man. I'm talking myself into going a grabbing one from the fridge just from the thought of it.

{I said no to myself; in case you're wondering.}

So, I've started drinking lots and lots of water instead with an occasional diet coke and I already feel better!

I've also started going to bed earlier (before 10:30pm) so that I can say yes to the alarm clock in the morning. Usually it's 6am but some mornings Keller wakes me up earlier and then it's just easier to get up anyway. This morning was the first morning I went outside pretty early to spend some time in the Word. We ladies were talking at Bible Study about how gorgeous it is outside in the morning and how the presence of God is so near feeling. So I decided to do it. I'm an outdoor person anyway, but it's hard to get any privacy where I live right now. Not only is it pretty cramped in this apartment and any little noise will wake someone up who will then wake someone else up...etc., but if you walk outside you are faced with a gazillion windows and balconies that are all facing you. It just doesn't feel very near-to-God-feeling. More like peeping-Tomish. So I walked for a ways to get some privacy and do you know how God rewarded me? With this...

It was such a huge encouragement to me to see that beautiful reminder of His faithfulness. Have you ever stopped to think about what a big deal God's faithfulness is? I think you probably realize it more and more the older you get and the more you screw up. Geesh and I'm only 23. Maybe that's just me. But I do.

~His faithfulness~

Wow! I thank God for His faithfulness to me. Not giving up on me when I could care less about His will for my life, wanting my own will instead. The times I say, "God I'll do this for you. But this. It's too hard. I can't do it Lord. I just can't."

How hurtful to Him must I be. How much He must long for me to allow Him to work. To make changes in me. To convict me of sin. To forgive me. To comfort me. To love me.

But my Lord is ever faithful.
Amen?!!!

Even through the sugar cravings. ;-)