Category — The Journey

all the wonderful scriptures I’d been given during my time of intimate study! To go back now and restudy and remember them. . . It’s like a breath of fresh air in this wilderness I’ve been wandering in. How did I get so far off the path?? Oh Lord, thank you for bringing me back onto the narrow path today.

When my old computer was nearing the end of it’s life, I must have been a little obsessed with printing out e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g on the hard drive that I possibly could. (It didn’t have a writeable CD-Rom drive.) I spent several hours last night going through and organizing a huge stack of paper that’s been sitting around for over 18 months waiting for just such a moment. I was looking for copies of my old word studies so that I could pick up where I left off, but all I found was a complete and unedited copy of my first word study. So I guess I’ll begin there, back at the beginning, with the word “satisfied.” I hope to share with you how I do a word study and a little about the tools I use on the computer to do them.

Several years ago I started on a weight loss journey. After a time, people began to ask what “diet” I was on because of my weight loss. But I wasn’t on a “diet.” I knew enough about dieting from personal experience to know that they didn’t work in the long term. Basically what I was doing was focusing more on the Lord and less on food and was being blessed with weight loss. So I told everyone that was what I was doing.

Some of the women I talked to were interested in knowing more. During the summer I put together a little information packet of study helps and started meeting with about a dozen women from my church. Unfortunately for most of the women who attended, it didn’t seem possible that simple prayer and daily studying the Word would result in weight loss. Most gave up before the summer study was over. I was disappointed that what I knew to be true didn’t seem to sink in with these women and shortly after that I lost my focus. Thankfully I stayed pretty steady with my weight and didn’t regain what I’d lost.

During the years since I began this journey, even if I haven’t been faithful to eat in a way that is glorifying to God, I have continued to change my eating habits by eating less and less processed foods. Last spring my oldest dd and I decided to do The Maker’s Diet 40 Day Health Challenge. After the 40 days, I’d dropped a size but I was most amazed at how good I felt. I wasn’t plagued with any headaches during that time. The brain fog had lifted and I felt more energetic. I also gave up my daily consumption of soda. I continued to make healthier food choices and was hoping to resume my word studies to help me regain my focus. During the summer and fall, however, my dad’s health declined rapidly and he passed away in October. Those (very) old habits of eating for comfort came rushing back to greet me; and unhealthy food choices were in steady supply as my mom continually provided all sorts of homemade goodies to eat for comfort.

Finally a few weeks back, I decided I’d had enough. My size 16 jeans were cutting off the circulation to my legs if I sat for any length of time at the computer and getting them buttoned and zipped was getting to be an ordeal. I told myself there is just no way I’m going backwards on this journey so going back to a size 18 is out of the question! So now here I am again digging out my old word studies, continuing on the journey and journaling the process for my Audience of One.