Because Gluttony is a sin I struggle with more often than anything else I want to share a part of this article I found on DesiringGod.org (to read the whole article click on link below)

To read more of my journey and struggle with this sin go Here, Here and Here.

America’s Most Tolerated Sin

Johnathon Bowers is Instructor of Theology and Christian Worldview at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, MN.

Gluttony is perhaps the most tolerated sin in American Christianity. I say this, not as someone who is immune from the attractions of the buffet line, but as someone who needs all the help he can get. And I think if we’re honest with ourselves, most — if not all — of us have a dysfunctional relationship with food. We love it, and we hate it. We often find ourselves careening between stuffed stomachs and crash diets. Or perhaps we’ve given up altogether, watching with resignation as our waistlines expand into the distant horizon.

And then there’s that pesky issue of guilt. Restaurants use it like forbidden fruit to get us to save room for dessert. Fitness programs use it like a cat o’ nine tails to whip us into a lifestyle overhaul. Our own conscience, even, can rebuke us with how often we fall short of glorifying God with our stomachs. Guilt is powerful. Like the lawyers of Jesus’s day, it loads people with burdens hard to bear, and yet it will not lift a finger to help (Luke 11:46).

So as we consider the issue of gluttony, my aim is not to shame you into injecting more kale chips and chia seeds into your diet. My aim, to use the language of Hebrews, is to strengthen your hearts with grace (Hebrews 13:9). Gluttony, after all, is food worship. It’s table idolatry. It’s more about the direction of our loves than it is about the contents of our cupboards. How, then, do we discipline our appetites? One answer — and the one I want to explore here — is to quite literally turn the tables on gluttony by coming to the Lord’s Table with fresh resolve and fresh hope. In other words, I want to encourage you to see the Lord’s Table, not simply as a weekly or monthly or quarterly ritual, but instead as a training ground for self-control.

Gluttony is more about the direction of our loves than the contents of our cupboards.Tweet

Here are eight ways the Lord’s Table helps us in the fight against gluttony..........

.....................Read The Rest of The Article 

Jesus And Food: The Will and Work of The Father

I am finally at a place in life where the Lord has given me a more healthy and biblical view of food and physical weight. I daily try to not make food an idol as I have done before.  So as I started reading through the gospel of John I was pretty surprised how much Jesus mentions the issue of food and compares Himself to Bread and Water.

In John 4:13-14 (ESV) We find Jesus at the well with the Samaritan women:

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Then shortly later the disciples come around wondering why Jesus was talking to the woman and why Jesus was not hungry:

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”  So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.John 4:31-34

This got me thinking.  What if every time  I  am about to eat physical food to nourish my body, that I would remind myself to find true nourishment in doing the fathers will and accomplishing His work as Christ had done.

What if we all did that?

Our minds would consistently be on accomplishing the  Lords work.

Every time we eat we should also remind ourselves that we " shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

Like I said I am so amazed how much Jesus is compared to food and how much it is mentioned in the bible. 

John goes on to write about the food we should be seeking:

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.  Do not work 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.” John 6:25-27

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6:32-33

And finally Jesus reminds us that when we eat food it will give us temporary life,  but when we partake of Him we will find true everlasting life:

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”John 6: 53-58

so lets just say next time I go to eat something I will be reminded that only in Christ, true nourishment is found.

Matthew 6:31-33 ESV

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

for more on this topic check out

Jesus The Bread of Life by Ligoner Ministries

Flour-less 2 Ingredient Pancakes

Our friend Kelsey sent us a pic of this recipe and we decided to try it.

I'm always looking for foods that are easy to make,and easy for my daughter to eat and feed herself. This recipe worked wonderful for us. I'll be making more to keep on hand as a snack for her

Requires one banana and two eggs

(We have some store brought purred bananas so we used one jar)

Beat eggs and banana until smooth

Put skillet on medium heat and spray with butter spray or coconut oil

And that's it!

Enjoy :)

Mercy loved these 

Home-made Hummus Recipe

This recipe I got from my friend Crystal. I Couldn't wait to try it out so tonight I made it along with the 1905 salad (link below)

I think in the future I'll try different seasonings to experiment with the hummus flavor.  But I think It came out pretty good for the first time.

If you try this recipe let me know what you think or if you have another hummus recipe for me to try comment below.

Drain about 2/3 liquid from Chick peas can then dump into food processor

Add about 1 clove of minced garlic (or more if you like more garlic)

Add about 1teaspoon lemon

Add 2-3 spoons olive oil

(I used about 1.5 cans of peas for this batch)

Process until smooth or your preferred consistency (you can add water if too thick and if too liquidy add more peas)


We paired the hummus with homemade 1905 Salad (from the Colombia restaurant).  Took Cuban bread dipped it into the 1905 salad dressing (recipe HERE) and then added the hummus on top. It was quite wonderful.

Happy cooking
-mari

Banana-peanut butter ice cream

I heard about homemade healthy  ice cream on a nutrition video I came across the other day and since I had some bananas at home I decided to try it out. (I hear you can also try this recipe out with mango and other fruits but I've yet to try it).

First cut bananas into smaller pieces and freeze for a few hours. Since I really love this recipe I will always keep a supply of frozen bananas on hand.

I took about 2 bananas and put them into my food processor, you can also use a blender if you have one. 

Keep processing until it has a smooth and creamy texture 

If your a peanut butter lover like me,now you can add about a tablespoon into the processor (if you don't like peanut butter then scoop out banana ice cream an enjoy)

Process for a few seconds until blended 

And that's it

Super easy and quick way to make healthy banana-peanut butter ice cream

 Enjoy :)

Healthy Living:weight loss update

This year has been one were I've been convicted of overeating and lacking self control when it comes to food. I've shared a little bit of my story in the past  (here and  here) , and just wanted to give a little update. 

Here are some before pics of me,the first was my heaviest back in 2007,the second pic is my heaviest at pregnancy in 2013,{keep reading for current pics}

Losing and gaining weight has been a struggle of mine my entire life. I knew there had to be more to why I kept falling over the same sin. Then I came across the book "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat"by Elyse Fitzpatrick (see links above)

This book helped me realize that I have to   Glorify God in all I do, even eating and drinking,and I have to die to my flesh daily and it's desires. (1corth 10:31,Gal 5:24)

One scripture that I have continually come back to the last few months is:

Proverbs 25:28 ESV
"A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls."

What happens to a city that's broken into and left without walls??

(Let's think ancient times when walls were necessary to keep the enemy out)That city would be destroyed, it's people captured and enslaved or worse it would be burned to the ground and everyone there would face cruel and evil deaths.

Crazy to think about right? That if I lack self control I leave myself wide open to attack,wide open to letting my flesh rule my body.

Practicing self control is a fight I go through daily. I have to continually rely on Christ and His perfect record of being the only one who has ever walked this earth and controlled his flesh and it's desires. Through him and his example I can die to myself daily and follow him. 

So wana see what I look like now...

Drum roll please...........

Currently weighing 165lbs and still losing.

So I'm sure you want some practical ways of how I got this far.

1. Prayer 

Praying before every time you put something in your mouth keeps your focus on Christ and makes you realize if how much your eating and what your eating is glorifying to him or not. It also helps you to realize if your eating out of emotion instead of turning to Christ.

2.prepare and plan your meals as much as you can.

I usually boil a dozen eggs and keep them peeled, ready to go for a quick snack or meal. I also try to have some frozen veggies cooked in a Tupperware so all I have to do is heat them up. Also spinach egg quiches are great to make ahead of time and keep in fridge (recipe) I Also drink tons and tons of water and juice when I can. (This is my favorite recipe)

3. Exercise 

Right now I am a stay at home mom without a car or gym membership. I am fortunate that my community has a small gym with a bike,treadmill, and elliptical,which I sometimes use if someone's home to watch baby. But most of the time I am running outside with my daughter in her jogging stroller, and doing home workouts via YouTube and my 8lb dumbbells (HASFIT and Fitness Blender have free workout routines and are my favorite)

4. portion control is the number one key. I try to eat more veggies and fruits as I can but hey I have a sweet tooth and really like chips. So when I eat something not exactly healthy I try to portion control and limit intake. 

So there it is, I am still continuing on this journey so keep me in your prayers. 

Have any healthy recipes, exercises or comments post them below :)

Grace and Peace 

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.” ― D.A. Carson

Dehydrated Banana Chips

A few weeks ago while visiting my parents we were shopping at Costco and they were giving free samples of prepackaged dehydrated banana pieces. They were so yummy I've been wanting to make some myself. Here's how I did it:

Peel bananas and slice about 1/8 inch thick

Place on dehydrator trays

Set to 135 for about 5 hours and viola

A perfect little healthy snack 

Strawberry Lemonade Juice

This is one of my favorite juicing recipes especially if I'm craving something sweet.  The strawberries add the perfect touch to this one. 

Grab your juicer and get juicing 

5 carrots

8 strawberries 

1/2 lemon 

Done and enjoy :)

Kale Chips Recipe

I absolutely love these kale chips. They are such a great alternative to potato chips. 

Here is how I usually make them:

Preheat oven to 350

Wash Kale and break into small pieces

Put kale into a plastic zip block bag

Sprinkle a pinch of:

     sea salt

     Garlic

     And olive oil 

Shake the bag to mix ingredients together 

Lay kale pieces flat on a cookie sheet

Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until crispy

Enjoy!

First time I made them I added too much salt so be sure to add very little at first you can always add more after they bake if it's too plain for you :)

Spinach Egg Cups

Hello and welcome to a new part of my blog which will be completely centered on having a healthy lifestyle. I lived most of my life a glutton who was lazy and lacking self control (for more of my story check HERE and HERE). God has shown me the importance of 1cothinthians 10:31 "so, whether you eat or you drink in whatever you do,do all for the glory of God."

Every time I sit to a meal I pray that I glorify God with it, with what I am about to eat and how much I am about to eat.

And that is why I am starting this new part of the blog. I will be posting anything I come across that helps me to honor Christ with my body including recipes,exercises,healthy living tips,etc

The first recipe I want to share is my dinner tonight:

Spinach Egg Cups

4 egg whites 

2 whole eggs 

Frozen pack of spinach 10oz

Shredded cheese

Cook spinach 

Mix cooked spinach with all the eggs in a bowl

Season (I used some garlic,sea salt,and Italian seasoning)

Pour into cupcake pan 

Bake around 375-400 degrees for about 10min or until cooked

Sprinkle a little cheese on top and done :)

Love to Eat, Hate to Eat: ROUND 2

So if you have been following my blog (or talking to me in person) you know how much I love Elyse Fitzpatrick and that I'm reading her book "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat." I am just pass the half waypoint and I have been learning that what I focus on whether eating (or anything else of this world) can become an idol if not centered on Christ.I use to think about food all the time. While eating breakfast I'm thinking about whats for lunch, then dinner. If baby fell asleep after a crying spell I would think what can I eat to make me feel better. My life has always been lose weight, gain weight, lose weight, gain weight.  I was tired of just going through the motions of dieting to reach a certain size, to then hit the goal and go right back to the old eating habits. I needed a heart change, I needed Christ. Thats when I came across this book. God has used Elyse to show me my idolatry with food. The only way to replace my old thoughts were to replace them with new thoughts. As Thomas Chalmers says in the Explusive Power of a New Affection, "Misplaced Affections Need to be Replaced by the Far Greater Power of the Affection of the Gospel." I need to fill my mind daily with Gods word all day long, through the bible, sermons, worship songs, and Christian books. This is the only way I can stay focused on Christ and not let my mind wander aimlessly. While reading Love to Eat, Hate to Eat,  I realized that I have not been glorifying God in what I was eating and mainly how much I was eating. My lack of portion control shown that I lacked self discipline and indulged my flesh . My desire is to honor God in all that I do, not becoming dominated by anything in the flesh (1 cor 6:12 esv) slowly I can see Gods word changing me. Yesterday we celebrated my hubbies birthday and I knew we were going to have pizza and cake (my favs). I asked God to help me fight the temptation to over eat. It was the first time in my life I ate only one slice of pizza and a small piece of cake afterwards. And you know what I did not feel hungry later and I was able to praise God because of Christ's strength,my flesh did not dominate me during the celebration. A great resource that has helped me to make war with gluttony is this acrostic that Elyse outlines in the book (I will share below). She encourages anyone who wants to become disciplined in eating to memorize it and the verses that go along with each word. My goal is to have all of it memorized in the near future. As I go over the scriptures daily I find that not only do they speak to the sin of gluttony but all sin. So even if you don't struggle with food issues (over-eating, anorexia,buleima,etc) I strongly urge you to memorize the acronym and see how it relates to the sin you struggle with the most. Only a real heart change can conquer sin, a heart completely taken over by Jesus Christ and the power of the gospel. So if you see me in person ask me how I'm doing,keep me accountable on this journey of memorization and beating my body into submission. Check out the acronym below and I will leave a link to a downloadable/printable version you can save on your phone or put up in your house to remind you daily what Gods word says. 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV)

D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E-D E-ating

Doubt- Do I doubt for any reason that I can eat this food without sinning?He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23)

Idolatry- Will eating this food demonstrate a heart of idolatry (pleasure/power)?You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3)

Stumble- If I eat this food, will it cause some weaker Christian to stumble?It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles (Romans 14:21)

Covet- Am I eating this food because I saw someone else with it and I’m coveting?You shall not covet… anything that belongs to your neighbor (Exodus 20:17)

Inroad- If I eat this food, will it create an inroad for sin in my life? (For example, can I take just one portion or will I binge on this food?)Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts (Romans 13:14)

Praise- Can I eat this food with thanks and gratitude?Everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude (1 Timothy 4:4)

Life- Would eating this food harm my life or health in any way?You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13)Illustrate- Am I modeling good eating habits for others?Show yourself an example of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:12)

No- Am I able to say no to this food, even if I know that I can eat it without sin?I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Emotions- Does the desire to eat this food flow out of any sinful emotion?If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:7)

Distract- Will preparing or eating this food distract me from something more profitable?Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few are really necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:41-42)

Enslaved- Will eating this food bring me under any kind of bondage?All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12)In my eating and drinking, am I glorifying God?

Here's the link to the download

http://chasingafterdear.com/2013/10/04/d-i-s-c-i-p-l-i-n-e-d-e-ating-printable-adapted-from-elyse-fitzpatricks-love-to-eat-hate-to-eat/

Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick

A few days ago I brought a book by Elyse Fitzpatrick called "Love to Eat, Hate to Eat" The books main goal is not to provide a diet and exercise program but to help women break free from the bondage of food/weight issues through Jesus Christ. Like most women I have gained weight and loss weight. A cycle many of us have been on time after time. I knew I was not honoring God with the way I was eating. My portion size was too big and I was eating unhealthy foods. Especially since I have a daughter now I want to be an example to her on how to honor God with your life from what you wear to what you eat. I'm only a few chapters into Elyse's book and I love it already. I knew I would love it when I first purchased it a few days ago. Sometimes women can make food and exercise an idol. Whether it's not eating enough food(vomiting it up) and exercising way to much or the opposite: overeating and not doing any exercise at all. What your next meal is gonna be and checking your weight all the time can overwhelm your thoughts. This is not how God wants us to live. Our mind should be completely focused and stayed on Him. Isaiah 26:3 says "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." If we are focused on Christ He will bring us peace and we will begin to stop idolizing our physical bodies as women (whether it's gluttony or sexual attractiveness). "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8)

If you are a woman and you struggle with food, I urge you to get a copy of this book. Again it is not a diet/exercise book. It is a book that lays out our purpose and goal in life which is to find absolute pleasure in God and glorify Him in all we do. It is important to eat healthy and exercise    And to maintain balance in that. Elyse Fitzpatrick helps us learn how to do that. 

1 Corinthians 10:31 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of Go."