Ali's Lessons Learned

“And you who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3 The convicting part of this passage for me comes in verse 3: “among whom also we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our own hearts...” Ouch. For me, I follow too much my own heart, my own feelings, my own desires. I turn to food as comfort, and entertainment for distraction. I focus on what I want, not what I am called to do. With that attitude, I find myself identifying with the old man, who was dead in sin. This passage paints a rather bleak picture overall. Dead in sin, conducting ourselves among the sons of disobedience, ...

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” Galatians 6:7-8 One of the most difficult aspects of this food journey for me is simply being conscious of my actions. I have the hardest time connecting what I am doing now with future consequences. I want to be able to eat my Pringles and not worry about the fact that it makes my insulin spike, makes my body produce extra testosterone, and pretty much goes directly to my belly fat deposit. But life doesn't work that way. Every action causes something. Every food I eat is either helping or hindering me in some way. Pringles obviously don't help my body. They don't help me remove old habits. Veggies and proteins and good fats get along with my body much better. They are much more difficult and much less pleasurable to binge on, so they also ...

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Galatians 5:16-18 I am trying to read a chapter of the Bible with my daughter every day, and spend some time in the Word myself while she is napping. The distractions are manifold. I don't do a perfect job. I have noticed that it does make a difference, though. The weeks when I am consistently reading the Bible myself, I find I struggle less with food choices. It is still difficult some days. Studying my Bible is not a magic bullet to make all of the temptation go away. But consistency seems to be the key. Being consistently in the Scripture means I am more motivated and focused to battle my temptation or ignore it completely. I am grateful for the aid of the Spirit in b...