ENCOURAGED IN HEART

Deadliest Catch…

Have you heard of this show? Last year, Dave and I were hooked. It’s about ship crews that race to catch the most crab in the most horrid of weather and conditions, all in the name of earning an honest (and rather lucrative) living.  After Jake, Cal and my non-sea worthy performance on vacation this past summer, I give those guys props!

But as I saw our one son eat out of boredom last month, I realized what the deadliest catch truly is (outside of not knowing Jesus) – contagious addiction.

I know where he “caught” that idea from.  And, it wasn’t Dave…it was me.

I don’t want to disrespect my parents but rather honor them.  Part of this eating addiction recovery has been looking at my life and patterns with honest eyes.  Looking through honest lenses I see that I was taught emotional eating.  I was rewarded for being a member of the “clean plate club” and that taught me to overeat and not listen to my body.  I still continue to struggle with portion control. I’m not blaming them but I did learn it as a child and perfected it as a young woman.

As my mentor, Joyce Meyer, said many times that, “she’s drawing a line in the sand and letting it (addictive/destructive patterns) end” with her. (She had sexual, physical and emotional abuse in her family.)

Then I think about some of my family members, one is a recovering alcoholic and the other (who is in heaven with Jesus today) who battled drug addiction since his teen years.  When his son got arrested for marijuana possession, I thought a similar thought as when my precious son ate out of boredom…deadliest catch.

On the surface, food seems like the “lesser” offense (when compared to alcohol or drugs) because last time I checked, eating is not illegal!  But truly any substance (food, worry and shopping included) that takes the place of God, is a false idol and needs to be remedied ASAP.  Letting anything substitute for Christ is like that “authentic” Gucci watch I bought years ago from an Manhattan street “entrepreneur” – fake and eventually didn’t work.

Do you have a “deadliest catch” that needs God?  Will you allow God to work in you to end the cycle?  It’s not just your life that depends on it…your kids and circle of influence depend on you too.

I don’t know what the deal is with my regular pothole references, but once again here I go…

This won’t be long cause I need to rest up for “The Challenge” which I’ll write more about a little later!

Why do I bring this up?

Cause last week I fell into a pothole named Halloween candy. I tripped into the pothole by storing candy in my home.  This remains a no-can-do, for yet another year. The Bible even covers the suburbanite woman who is a recovering eating addict that tries to store Halloween candy…

He who digs a hole and scoops it out falls into the pit he has made. Psalm 7:15 (NIV)

Okay, that lesson was learned…the hard way!

Thanks to the grocery game (I DO need to write more about this another day!), I found Halloween candy that was on sale and coupon-able too – so I stocked up.  Everything was all fine and dandy for the better part of three weeks, then one afternoon…they started calling my name.  Needless to say, I fell into the snack-sized chocolate Hershey bar pothole, waddled my way back up and out and paved that sucker up by passing the treats over to Dave to stash away somewhere until Halloween.

But I’m not just falling into potholes these days!  I even paved one before I tripped in it.  That pothole’s name was, “I’m 35 and not up for a physical challenge”.   And even though the paving occurred more by accident, I’m taking some credit because, well…I’m just that pathetic!

PAVED = “The Challenge”.

I’ve written to you before about my new exercise gig, Boot Camp.  Well, my friend/running partner/neighbor/fellow Boot Camper, Jess and I decided to run in a 5K race which is this Saturday.  I figured I’d blow off my Boot Camp class in lieu of the 5K.  That is until Kelly, our rocking trainer suggested we do the early Boot Camp class and head to the 5K immediately after.  I was all like, “Huh? Watchu talkin’ bout Willis?”

So Jess and I talked, logisticated, calculated and deliberated…we’re in and UP FOR “THE CHALLENGE”!   I do believe I will keep using the caps and quotes when I speak of, “The Challenge” because it does seem a tad more serious, no?

Well, that and it’s absolutely driving Dave NUTS-O!  It appears near Pavlovian that when I reference, “The Challenge” as “The Challenge” that Dave’s eyes begin to uncontrollably roll complete with a disgruntled exhale…DON’T JUDGE ME – a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do to keep herself entertained!

Then he reminds me that the weather is predicted to be 38 degrees and rainy this Saturday.  Will we meet “The Challenge” face to face?

I’ll be sure to fill you in next week!