"Has food become more about frustration than fulfillment? Made to Crave is the missing link between a woman’s desire to be healthy and the spiritual empowerment necessary to make that happen. Author Lysa TerKeurst personally understands the battle that women face. In Made to Crave, she will help you:
- Break the cycle of “I’ll start again on Monday,” and feel good about yourself today.
- Stop agonizing over numbers on the scale and make peace with your body.
- Replace rationalization that leads to diet failure with wisdom that leads to victory.
- Reach your healthy goals and grou choose — a book and Bible study to help you find the “want to” in how to make healthy lifestyle changes. w closer to God through the process.
I'm sharing the high points that I found in each chapter and then I answer the questions at the end of each chapter with my honest feelings. I'm reading the book on my Kindle, so I don't have page numbers for any of the thoughts I have taken from the book. This has been a journey that has spanned at least a decade for me. I'm not where I want to be, but I'm farther along than I used to be. Walk with me and feel free to share your thoughts. Be kind. Be blessed.
Chapter 1 (Each of the following points were taken straight from the book. No plagiarizing intended)
·
We crave what we eat. So, the cycle continues
day after day.
·
The answer will never be found in only learning
to modify my choices.
·
However, simply telling me to eat healthier
foods that will help me feel full longer doesn’t address the heart of the
matter. I can feel full after a meal and still crave chocolate pie for dessert.
Just feeling full isn’t the answer to sticking with a healthy eating plan.
·
The object of our craving was never supposed to
be food or other things people find themselves consumed by, such as sex or
money or chasing after significance.
·
Dictionary.com defines craving as something you
long for, want greatly, desire eagerly, and beg for. Now consider tis
expression of craving: “How lovely is
your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the
courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Psalm
84:1-2.
·
Yes, we were made to crave – long for, want
greatly, desire eagerly, and beg for – God. Only God. But Satan wants to do
everything possible to replace our craving for God with something else.
·
Do not
love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful
man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not
from the Father but from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:15-16 The passage details 3 ways Satan tries to
lure us away from loving God: 1. The cravings of the sinful man, 2. The lust of
his eyes, 3. the boasting of what he has or does
·
Cravings = trying to get our physical desires
met outside the will of God
·
Lust of the eyes = trying to get our material
desires met outside the will of God
·
Boasting = trying to get our need for
significance met outside the will of God
·
Satan used all three tactics with Eve. “When the
woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food (cravings of the sinful
man) and pleasing to the eye (lust of the eyes), and also desirable for gaining
wisdom (boasting of what she has or does), she took some and ate it. Genesis
3:6
·
Matthew 4:1-11 Again the pattern of temptation
is the same: Cravings – Satan appealed to Jesus’ physical cravings for food.,
Lust of the eyes – The devil promised Jesus entire kingdoms if He would bow
down to the god of materialism, Boasting: The enemy enticed Jesus to prove His
significance by forcing God to command angels to save Him. But here’s the
significant difference between Eve and Jesus. Eve was saturated in the object
of her desire. Jesus was saturated in God’s truth.
·
The more veggies and fruit I eat, the more
veggies and fruit I crave.
·
We consume what we think about. And what we
think about can consume us if we’re not careful.
·
When we feel deprived and frustrated and
consumed with wanting unhealthy choices, we too can rely on God’s Word to help
us. With each temptation, Jesus, without hesitation, quoted Scripture that
refuted Satan’s temptation. Truth is powerful. The more saturated we are with
truth, the more powerful we’ll be in resisting our temptations.
·
What we’re craving will always depend on
whatever we’re consuming… the object of our desire or God and His truth
One weight loss company personifies craving as a little orange monster that chases us around, tempting us to eat unhealthy foods. Take a moment to reflect on your own experience of craving, recently and over time. Yesterday I struggled with the temptation to eat just because the kids were eating. I wasn’t even hungry but the thought of food was exciting and enticing.
1.
If you could
personify craving based on your experience of it, what form might it take?
Would it be like the little orange monster or would it take a different shape?
Describe what your craving looks like and how it behaves. The creature would have to be something beautiful to tempt
me into listening. Maybe a little fairy. It would sugar-coat the temptation and
always tell me what I wanted to hear that would make the temptation acceptable.
2.
If you could
sit down and have a conversation with this imaginary craving, what do you think
it might say to you? What questions would you want to ask it? How do you
imagine it might respond? You know you want it.
Why shouldn’t you get what you want? Your body is craving it for a reason. You
must need something that provides. You worked hard today. You deserve it. I
would hope I could ask it for a smaller piece or an alternative that would
satisfy my body’s need for whatever nutrient I may be craving. I don’t think
that little creature would waver. Why settle for something you aren’t craving?
3.
How do you
respond to the idea that God made us to crave? I
think its very true. He wants us to want more of Him above all else. Have you ever pursued a craving – a
longing, passion, or desire- that made a positive contribution to your life? Yes, right now as lead for the membership ministry. There
was something more I desired out of church so when I was given a chance to jump
in and make changes I did. What do
you think distinguishes that kind of craving from the craving that leads you to
eat in unhealthy ways? This craving has a positive
impact on my soul. I feel more connected and happier by having satisfied this
desire than if I was feeding my mouth.
4.
If it’s true
that we are made to crave, how might it change the way you understand your
cravings? I need to pay closer attention to WHY am
I craving that brownie? Am I hungry? Do I need the anti-oxidents? Or am I
trying to fill an emotional need for comfort/boredom? Do you believe there could be any benefits
to listening to your cravings rather than trying to silence them? Yes, by laying them out there you can determine what is
behind those cravings. Are they put their by God or by my selfish heart. If so, what might those benefits be? If no,
why not? If it’s put there by God, then I better
find a way to pursue it. And if it’s just my heart being selfish then I need to
take control of it.
5.
The Bible
describes three ways Satan tries to lure us away from loving God: cravings,
lust of the eyes, and boasting. Lysa explains how Satan used these tactics with
both Eve and Jesus. Using the list below, think back over the last 24 hours or
the last few days to see if you recognize how you may have been tempted in
similar ways.
§
Cravings:
Meeting physical desires outside the will of God. In what ways were you tempted
by desires for things such as food, alcohol, drugs, or sex? Alochol has been a big one on those days when life is going
crazy and I’m feeling overwhelmed. It will relax me and I won’t be drinking
enough to get drunk. What’s the problem?
§
Lust of
the eyes: meeting material desires outside the will of God. In what ways were
you tempted by desires for material things – clothing,, financial portfolio,
appliances, vacation plans, cosmetics, home décor, electronics, etc? This one isn’t as big of a struggle for me. I am not tempted
unless I put myself somewhere that I can be tempted. Like going to a store… I
can’t just window shop, I need to buy.
§
Boasting:
meeting needs for significance outside the will of God. In what ways were you
tempted by desires to prop up your significance – perhaps by name dropping,
exaggerating, feigning humility or other virtues, doing something just because
you knew it would have been observed by others, etc? I don’t feel that this one is usually a problem. Of the three kinds of temptations, which is
the most difficult for you to resist? I think the
hardest to resist is cravings
Which is the easiest to resist? Its easiest to
resist Boasting Why? I have a hard time not allowing myself something I feel I
want. Especially when it comes to food/alcohol. But I don’t boast often. I like
the way it feels when somebody recognizes something I have or have done but I
also don’t like having attention drawn to myself.
§
Jesus
quotes the truth of Scripture to defeat temptation. Have you ever used
Scripture in this way? What was the result? How do you feel about using this approach
to address your unhealthy eating patterns? I like
using scripture. I don’t always have them 100% but I know what the Bible says
and I use it to give me strength or courage.
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