Sugar Addiction: 5 Quick Steps Down the Road to Freedom

The struggle to liberate yourself from any addiction, seems to lie within the strength of your will power. What is most puzzling is that the Bible tells us how there is a way that a man knows, but that is not the way. The more I think on this and as I attempt to conquer this thing with my own strength, I am waking to the fact that this will take more than just me.  Sugar addiction is rooted deep in the physiology, and it is even harder to escape because so many food products are laced with it. It's hard to win a battle when the game is rigged against you.

There are some things that have helped me find small victories each day.

1. Write down or record what you eat.  I use my Fitbit app to record my eating habits and it helps because you are more cognizant of what is going into your body. Jenny Craig is also great for recording what you eat.

2. Talk about that which you're struggling.  I record small videos of myself as a reminder for how I feel during my most weakened times, where my will power is at a low.  This really helps to fortify myself for the next day or the rest of the remaining day.  It's also comforting to express the pains of the process.

3. Get an accountability partner.  My wife is pretty much my go to person with this whole sugar liberation thing. I let her know that I don't need any sugar and she makes sure that I don't have any or sneak anything.

4. Be forgiving.  Don't be down on yourself if you fail. Just get back into the driver's seat and continue towards your destination.  This isn't an easy process nor will you win every battle.  The goal is to win the war.

5. Stay prayerful.  Make sure to place these desires in your prayer time.  Making your goals known to God is important because he paves the way for your victory.  Have faith, and continue forward despite any fears.

These are just some of my weapons in this war on sugar. There is a link below for additional support from some real experts.  Good luck and God speed!

Sugar Addiction Support

Daily Devotional: You Lack Nothing

Philippians 4:19

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Even in my suffering, my own "first world problems", I reach out for the comfort of Christ.  I am, by no stretch of the imagination, perfect. I stumble.  I fall. But I also know how to get back to my feet.  If there is an experience of lack in my mind, it is only a temporary vapor, dissipating in an instant.  

There is truly nothing that we lack.  As the Bible says, even as God supplies the animals with all they need, how much more will he do for us, his most cherished and beloved on this planet?  In our problems, it is hard to see the forest for the trees therein, and we get caught up in the future of what could happen instead of being concerned about the very moment.  

The Bible instructs us to not be concerned about the issues of tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough issues of its own.  We should not be worried about what will happen, but more concerned about what is going within us and within the moment.  

Have you ever sat down to meditate on God, in complete solitude?  Did you notice how peaceful it is to feel the moment and live within it?  Reading the Word will do this if you allow it.  Everything that you need is there; all the answers you seek are at your fingertips.  He will give you all that you need, if you just come to him and ask.

Praise God for his love and mercy. 

Be blessed. 

Daily Devotional: God is All Around You

Psalm 139:7-10

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.

Doesn't matter where you go or which way you turn, no one can hide from the glory of God.  All around you are the signs: majestic trees that grow green and sturdy, a variety of beautiful animals, insects and sea life and of course what lies beyond this planet, in the void of space. Did you know that if the planet earth was moved in the slightest from its projected course around the sound, we could either freeze to death or burn up?

It's hard to fathom that there is a God that thinks of our well being and wants the best for us, but nothing in this world stands at mere chance.  As a matter of fact, scientists love to try and disprove the existence of God, but one thing can be said to quell most of this rambling: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Science is deeply rooted in cause and effect.  Without one, there could not be the other.  So, knowing that the universe had to have been created, the there must have been a creator.  Science indeed says that such is a FACT and not CONJECTURE.  Some want to call it the Big Bang, but there must have been something that did the banging, right?  

God is omniscient, forever present beyond our senses.  We cannot perceive him in our current state, except through prayer and meditation.  Even then, we can never "see" him as we see one another.  However, people, in their own arrogance, refuse to humble themselves before God an imply that we should. They say that God cannot exist, because why would he put us here?  It's such a terrible place! Unfortunately, the arrogant will always refuse to prostrate themselves before God, and true comprehension is lost.  God put us here to bring us closer to him   We inflict pain and trouble on one another at an alarming rate.  

I won't be a fool.  God is all around us.  In the clouds of the sky, in the plants of the fields and in the face of that person you hold so dear to your heart.

Be Blessed.  Amen.

Daily Devotional: Your Spiritual Appetite

John 6:27

27 “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

We are a nation of obese and lazy people. Even our military is overweight. It's a sad state of affairs when the people that should be able bodied are having a hard time with being disciplined.

We don't thirst and hunger for the food of the soul, that meat that nourishes our very being. God's word is there for us to study and meditate on, yet we find ourselves busy doing things of no consequence. I am guilty if this, for sure.

I pray that you all seek the manna of God, that he feed and water your very being. Be blessed with his word and find your appetite is renewed, your palate now ready for a more worthy meal. Look within and see that you could never be without.

May God grant you strength to endure this harsh world. Amen.

Daily Devotional: The Love of Money

Hebrews 13:5

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

An important scripture in this day and time, for this spirit (the love of money) is pervasive and moves its evil freely about the land, choking the life from the people. Truly, we love money. It is an idol, amongst many other idols, but it may be the most prevalent.

When you turn on your TV, it is difficult to avoid this idea of want, for they show us products and services that we can pay for or possess. We think we need these things to enhance our living. But I'm telling you, everything we want, we do not need.

Money, of course, is a necessity to live in this world. Don't be mistaken, however; this doesn't make it the "everything". God is our all and all. We must not forget that he supplies us with the ability to earn. Make sure that we have separation between the two, the thing created and the creator. We owe nothing to money, but we owe all to God.

"Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's... ". With or without money, remember that God is there for you. Therefore, don't misuse it, and make it just what it is: a means to procure goods and not a reason to live! The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, my friends. Use wisdom to discern how to use it to glorify God and live with love.

May God bless you today!

Amen.

Daily Devotional: Suffering to Persevere

Romans 5:3-5

3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Lord knows that I have been through my own suffering, as we all have, relative to our situations. I continue towards a better day, hoping that I can make the right choices.

As human beings, our plight is to endure and be remade in the process. There is not one success story that I have read that doesn't specifically discuss the trials that came with it. It is like we are going through a refining process, readying ourselves for the future.

So, I say that one shouldn't shy away from hardship. It will come, in one form our another. Your character will result from the way you handle those very problems. We have choices to make during those times, and God willing, they will be the right ones.

Even, if things turn out bad, do not despair. For this is but a time, and it will pass. When it passes, you will be all the better for it.

Blessings.

May Jesus be the light to your darkened path, and a shelter during the storm.

Daily Devotional: Pray for Rain Amidst the Drought

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
– 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (NIV)

We expect God to forgive us, but often we forget that we still must repent for our sins. We must seek God in earnest, asking not only for forgiveness, but for guidance.  We look toward him for deliverance, and we must find our way here, on the earthly plain while he works outside of time.

God does not condemn us to torment and pain. Often, we find ourselves on this path due to the problems we face and what we do to each other.  We are all connected.  Each and every one of us is linked, and what we do individually will eventually affect someone else; and so on, and so forth.  Surely, you did not think you were here on this planet, alone, eking out your existence in lonesome drudgery? No, my friends. We are here, together.  And until we understand this mere fact, that we share an eternal and fateful connection, we will consistently suffer each other's hurt over and over again.

Humility is not something one comes by easily.  It takes effort to admit you are wrong.  You, who have committed sin against another, will likely not admit it to their face.  We barely like to admit that we are wrong. Isn't that sad?  But God in Heaven shows us that forgiveness is not something that is just given, but earned and worked for, because you have to be able to forgive others, first.

May you be blessed today.  Amen.