*Winner* Made to Crave Giveaway winner:

The winner of the book

Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst is........

Kathy

who left a comment back on March 2.

Email me your information so I can get this book into your hands as quickly as possible!!

Thanks to all those who participated!

Have a great Monday everyone!

New "Made to Crave" giveaway rules

In my previous post here I mentioned how a certain book written by a certain amazing woman, had spoken volumes to me over the last few weeks.

I also had this really cool idea for a great interactive giveaway where we would answer questions and really grow as women who struggle with an obsession with food.

Well, then life got in the way.

So....

I decided to change the giveaway up a little.

Here are the new rules:

1. Leave a comment on this post sharing a personal craving that you can't seem to overcome and why you think it has such a hold over you.

1 comment = 1 entry.

then...

2.Share my blog with someone and have them mention your name in their comment

1 referral= 2 entries

So the potential for number of entries is extremely high.

And if you mention the book or the giveaway on your own blog I will definitely make sure to link you up on my blog as well.

I really want this to be a testimony of a journey that all of us women take: the choice to crave material things or crave Someone much higher than those things!

The giveaway will close at midnight on Sunday the 13th.

And if you already commented on one of my previous posts you are automatically entered into the contest.

Love you guys

Thanks for understanding

And thanks for participating.

Made to Crave Giveaway Question #2....and a Blubber Butt Story!

I swear,

this week is kicking my tail.

Both figuratively and literally.

Not only am I totally exhausted, but in my daily workouts I have to actually kick myself in the tail to complete one of the exercises.

Dang you Jillian Michaels.

However...something is working because I am down to a solid

132 lbs this week!

Last week I was at 134 so that is another 2 pounds gone!

14 pounds total!!

I am so close to that 120(ish) mark I can smell it...booya playas!

L is still right around 128 and she is looking FAB-U-LOUS!

She is going to look gorgeous in her wedding dress!

Tomorrow is reward day so we are going to get our nails done after we workout.

New things that we added this week:

We completed Level 1 of Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I am seeing sooo many results all over. The toning that I am getting from the workouts is amazing.

Definitely recommend it. We started Level 2 today.

And we added meal replacement shakes. We started replacing breakfast with these 110 calorie shakes from HMR this week but next week we are going to replace lunch instead and see which one shows better results.

We also did a summary of our inches lost so far.

So here we are this week:

And now on to our Made to Crave Question #2.

Remember to answer the question yourself in the comments section and you are automatically entered in the contest to win one of your very own copies of Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst. You can read all about how the book changed my life here.

Question #2

Lysa describes her morning ritual with the scale and her failed efforts to eat healthier as a vicious cycle she felt powerless to stop. When it comes to your relationship with food, what repeated behaviors or events describe the cycle you experience and feel powerless to stop.

Oh boy,

I had a LOT of vicious cycles and I still do. Before I went on this journey to strengthen myself both physically and spiritually I had to overcome a lot of mental stupidity. Example: My birth control made me gain the weight, not the 2 bags of Doritos I eat everyday. I have a bad knee, I can't run a lot. Crap like that.

I also had vicious cycles such as eating out all the time. Fast food, pizza, fatty fried foods, they were all in my daily crave cycle. And I had no problem making excuses to give in to them. "I'll do better tomorrow" was part of my everyday vocabulary. Problem was, when tomorrow came, I just pushed it off to the next day. I literally felt powerless against food. It scares me to death that something had that much power over me!

Family outings were another of these dreaded cycles. I LOVE that Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix. I mean, I could eat the whole dang bunch of it. And add in Lays potato chips...okay, I gotta stop now before I jump in the car and drive to Kroger.

But seriously, whenever we go to family gatherings there is ALWAYS that dang dip and those dang chips there. And I used to ALWAYS eat them. a lot of them. I could have picked the veggies to dip them in and only had a little bit. But no, I would stand right by the stupid dish and keep scooping it out and right onto my hips.

All of these cycles are things that I am still facing now. One of the students I work with announced to me today that she is going to be bringing me a chocolate cupcake for her birthday celebration tomorrow.

Dang. it.

How am I supposed to turn that down!

With God's help, that's how. And I WILL turn it down! I just have to keep telling myself that about 12,300,401,486,301,00 more times before tomorrow.

The best thing about cycles is that you can replace them with new, better, cycles. And that is where I am now. Replacing bad habits with new ones and making better choices.

And as for "cycles"...I have a brand new bicycle in the garage just waiting to be used. Woohoo!

Can't wait to read your responses!

Please share with friends!!! It makes me feel good to see that others care about what I am writing about too!

Now, I have some digital scrapbooking calling my name. It's a new addiction and I have lots of goodies to add to my Project Life album that I will be showing on Tuesday.

Have a great one!

*GIVE-AWAY!* Made to Crave...

I can NOT believe that it is already March! It's like I told Landen this morning, the year is a third of the way over!

(then i back-tracked...realized my huge mathematical error....and re-phrased)

A fourth of the way over!

dur

Yesterday was Blubber Butt Monday and I will be blogging about that tomorrow but first things first.

A GIVEAWAY!

I am really excited about this giveaway, not only because I get to share something with my wonderful blogging friends, but mostly because I get to share something with my wonderful blogging friends that means a huge deal to me!

Remember that verse that I told you about in the not so distant past?

Do not destroy the work of the Lord for the sake of food?

*yeah, that one*

Well, the day that I first heard that verse I was driving down the road, listening to Klove and this wonderful woman who calls herself Lysa Terkeurst was sharing her amazing testimony of how God led her to adopt two boys while sitting at a music concert the boys were participating in. Phenomenal!

That verse changed my life.

But it gets sooo much better!

I didn't know that she also had a book! (squeal!) a couple of books actually! (hysteria!) and that her latest one "Made to Crave" was not only the top book on the NY Times Bestseller list, but ALSO about her own personal weight loss journey (doing the happy dance people!).

I got the book, devoured it, and re-read it.

It's. that. good!

I have never been so awe inspired by anyone in my life. The tips she shared, the constant battles in her mind that she faced on a daily basis between her heart and food, it was all so...familiar!

And the way she words things. She calls me friend. She calls me her sister! HALLELUJAH!

So, I got to thinking...and praying...

God, how can I use this book to help others the way that it has helped me?

And then it hit me! Give it away!!!

And that's just what I'm going to do, give it away.

Now don't be confused, you are going to have to work at this one. Every part of me just wants to stick it on my shelf and hoard it, but I'm willing to pass it on in hopes that it will give others confidence and strength in the same way that it did me.

So what do you have to do?

Every Tuesday and Thursday I am going to post a question straight from Lysa's book.

I am going to answer that question myself.

And then I am going to eagerly check my blog every 15 seconds to read the wonderful answers that you have left in the comments section.

(okay, maybe not every 15 seconds, but I will be checking!)

I hope that you will be checking back and commenting and also encouraging friends to participate as well. At the end of the month, March 31st to be exact, I will pick a lucky winner and send out the book.

So to get things started: Question #1

"How do you respond to the idea that God made us to crave? Have you ever pursued a craving-- a longing, passion, or desire-- that made a positive contribution to your life? What do you think distinguishes that kind of craving from the craving that leads you to eat in unhealthy ways?"

The fact that God created us to crave absolutely blows my mind! And even more so that He created us to crave Him! In other words: it is OKAY to crave, as long as we are craving the right things! One of the cravings that I have pursued in my life that made a positive contribution was my craving for love. As a girl we all want that Prince Charming to come and sweep us off our feet. And more often than not we begin craving those feelings, those emotions, and we begin pursuing them in all kinds of ways. These can be both healthy and none healthy. However, when I decided to give God the relationship portion of my life and started craving and desiring Him, Landen coming into my life was no surprise. I knew God had sent him for me.

I think the biggest way to distinguish good, positive cravings from unhealthy ones is the feelings of guilt afterwards. How to I feel after craving a God-like love or eating a nice salad for lunch instead of pizza (cause they are totally the same ya know!)? I feel great, I feel like I made a good choice! Now how would I feel if I had did the exact opposite? HORRIBLE! FAT! NO CONTROL! STICK MY HEAD IN THE DANG TOILET! Okay, maybe not that bad, but the feelings are totally different. When we crave good things, we feel good. When we crave bad things, we feel crappy. That's how we are wired, and that's how God created us. We are made to crave Him.

Lysa has a WONDERFUL blog that I am loving and can be found here. She also has an incredible website dedicated just to her book here that offers printables like fridge signs, free mailings, and lots of encouragement! And today is Tell A Friend Tuesday on the website where a live webcast will be available until tomorrow! She's also giving away a free conference call to one lucky winner! Make sure to check it out and let me know what you think...

I also love, Love, LOVE, sweet comments and new friends. If you or someone you know likes me blog, please follow it. I'm loving the people I am getting to know through this crazy thing called the internet and I can't wait to "meet" you too!

so, without further ado...let the eagerly anticipated-15 second comment section checking, begin!