Day 10

 No sugar or dairy

Today I want to share about our special friends with whom we had lunch, and then were blessed by a time of prayer as we sat in their KIA SUV outside of the restaurant.

We met Ann and Glen in 2012. Glen was teaching Sunday School at the Church we were attending. He had been enduring  twenty-plus years of Parkinson’s without complaint. For Ann, caring for him was a service she rendered, respectfully. It didn’t take me long to see the inspiring, beautiful life she modeled. I wanted to gather all I could, so I asked her to be my prayer partner. Obviously, the “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12) were not interested in our teaming up to pray. It became difficult to come up with a time that would work for us both. When we finally could agree…

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.”

2 Corinthians 4:7, NASB

If I just try to muster up the strength I will fail every time, but thankfully, the power of God comes flooding in as I open my Bible and cry out for help. You might not FEEL the power at first. Be persistent. Do not give up. God wants to do a work in your life so others can see HIS greatness!

I know that my body and health is a gift from God. And His desire is that I steward it well.

He gives each of us choices to make concerning our health and daily habits. Many struggle with health issues but no matter where we find ourselves in the line-up of fit or unfit, healthy or not so healthy, we…

Really? What is all the fuss about? Why worry about the relationship I have with Starbucks coffees, yummy cookies, pies, cakes, fast food delicacies like Chick-fil-A’s chocolate milkshake, or too many chicken nuggets in my box with a large sized waffle fry? What’s the harm? It’s not like my waistline has expanded so far that I need to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe!

Here’s the crux of the matter: Am I honoring God with my relationship to sweets?

In his book Every Body Matters, Gary Thomas espouses: “God alone knows whether we are honoring him with our daily choices.”

That’s something I must consider and act upon and thus, the big reason for my “no dairy, no sugar fast.” Am I honoring God with the choices I make when it comes to food, especially sweets? Thomas asserts, “We need a new relationship with food altogether, seeing it…

The sign flashing “HOT” meant only one thing, a delightful treat just waiting for me to indulge! My love affair with glazed Krispy Kreme Doughnuts was serious. There was a time I could devour half a dozen without a thought to self-control or health issues ever being a problem. Now, as I work toward a disciplined life, prayer has become my arsenal of deliverance.

How can prayer deliver me from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts though, or any other “sugary indulgence” for that matter?

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, NKJV).

I hear these words, spoken by Jesus, and I know they are put there just for me!

However, we find Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane speaking to Peter, James & John on the night of His betrayal. This is a gut-wrenching time especially for Jesus as…

Preparing for another “no dairy, no sugar” fast has me typing out goals for victory!

1. PRAY
2. Ask someone to commit to doing this fast with you!
3. Before getting out of bed in the morning, Rehearse in your mind what you will eat/drink
4. Keep a “12 hour fast” from 6:30 AM-6:30 PM, I have a rule of never eating past 7:00 PM
5. Get a notebook, make a list of what you can eat; journal: write out a pledge, and record your progress each day
6. Pull out “the readers” and READ labels while grocery shopping
7. DRINK WATER throughout the day!

Preparing also has me reviewing Gary Thomas’s book, Every BODY Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul.

Let me share some wise quotes from the book that really helped me in the way I view my addictions:

“. . . I go to war against gluttony and indulgence, not because I…

I cannot believe it is here again, but it is August 24, and that means time to honor my dear hubby as we celebrate his BIRTHDAY! No better way to celebrate him than to share the character of the man that existed in our early years of marriage (1982-’87).

Who chooses a wife to feed when you are about to embark on your poorest years yet?! What a challenge! But a challenge he met with dog-determination!

My husband’s motto could have been, “He who does not work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:8-10, LB). It certainly rings true, “The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, . . . (Ecclesiastes 5:12, LB). His Seminary training began fifteen months after we said, “I do”! During that time, he worked two jobs, sometimes three, mowing the lawn for our apartment complex where we…

The sought after adventure of marrying Rodney Phillips became a roller-coaster ride for a small town girl more than she could have ever imagined. Leaving home and family in the south and moving to the gray skies of the north brought a great deal of isolation and loneliness. Then just two months after turning 20 years old, an overwhelming awareness became stronger and stronger.

I was pregnant!

Over a thousand miles from home, and having a baby, I found myself very excited and very fearful all at the same time. But just two months before my 21^st birthday, I gave birth to a beautiful baby. Rodney had been by my side through the entire process. I cannot find the words to explain how excited I was to hear the doctor announce, “it’s a boy!”

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created…

Hopeless and confused, describes how I was feeling in 2015 after hearing from several doctors that I would need surgery.  So, waiting to see the neurosurgeon for my herniated discs, I didn’t have any hope for recovery apart from surgery. As I reclined on the sofa, also recovering from a bout of vertigo, our youngest daughter and her husband came by to give me a belated Mother’s Day gift. I will never forget how beautiful she looked that day. As she walked around the sofa and handed me a small piece of paper, I understood why she was beaming, and even seemed to be glowing. My gift was a sonogram printout of my “in utero” grandchild! Unfortunately, shock overshadowed any elation I might have felt.

My mind raced: “how would I be any help? How involved could I be as a grandmother? I could hardly walk to the bathroom on…