The Yoke of Over-eating

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” Lev. 26:13

Most people today aren’t familiar with the term “yoke”. A yoke is a devise enclosing the heads of two draft animals together, usually oxen, so that an individual can drive them to perform tasks such as plowing or pulling a wagon. Oxen are large, powerful, animals and if you’ve ever seen a team of oxen performing a task of pulling a plow, it truly is amazing that one man can manage these animals in such a manner. In the above Scripture, I was caught by the word-picture of God breaking the bars of the yoke that enslaved the Israelites. As we can see from the picture, it would take a lot of power to break the bars of a yoke!

I have been enslaved in a yoke, a cycle of over-eating causing gain and loss that has accompanied me throughout my adult life. This last “gain” cycle started a few years ago with an event that was incredibly painful to me emotionally. I had absolutely no responsibility in what took place (meaning I was not involved with the event directly) but the consequences had a tremendous effect on me personally. I realized that I had felt powerless over the outcome of the event, an outcome that caused me pain! Looking back at my emotional pain and loss at the time, I am recognizing that my response to pain is to return to my yoke, the yoke of over-eating as a source of comfort, rather than turning to God.

My daughter Shannon shared something very powerful with me a while back that God has brought to my mind again and again. We were discussing why I turn to food and I said something to the effect that when I eat I feel better. And she looked at me and she said, “Mom, you don’t feel better, you feel different.” Wow! That statement hit me square between the eyes! She was right, I didn’t feel better; what I felt was numb, an absence of the pain. But then the numbness would wear off and the pain would return. So how was I going to be comforted in my pain and begin the process of removing the yoke of over-eating? I’ll share that next time! Meanwhile, I would love to read your comments and hear what gives you comfort when you feel pain.

And by the way, for accountability’s sake, I’ve been working out three days a week for the last month! Not easy, but satisfying!

A Fallow Season

“You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.” Ex. 23:10 - 11 (NASB)

As you may have read in the above Scripture, the Mosaic Law states that every seventh year, the Israelites were to leave the ground unplowed, to allow it to lie fallow, to rest the land. This resting allows the land to renew itself and to regain the nutrients that were used by the previously planted crops. I’ve been pondering and studying this idea of the year of resting, this “fallow time.”

Oddly enough, presently in my spiritual life I feel like I’m in a “fallow” season. While I personally have been “OK”, I’m emerging from a season of crisis in the church I attend and the lives of people closest to me. I’ve referred to this crisis season in past blogs, especially about the church I attend. Some of those particular issues have been somewhat resolved and a period of healing for the people of the church is taking place, including in my own spiritual life.

However, some of the collateral damage of this recent crisis season has been completely unhealthy for me physically. Several years ago I worked really hard and lost a significant amount of weight, but in the midst of the recent crisis, I found myself returning to some really bad eating habits and I have gained back quite a bit of the weight I had lost. So, now begins another season of hard work to attempt to lose this weight again. But I’m realizing that it may be more important to gain a deeper understanding of what emotions I experienced during the crisis time and why I respond with eating (and eating and eating)!

Therefore, while I focus a lot of energy on the physical exercise it will require to get back in shape and lose (quite) a few pounds, I’m also trying to take the time to sit quietly before Jesus and learn to recognize the emotions that send me to the fridge for comfort. I picture this season as a “fallow” time as God restores some much needed truth to my soul so that my “field” (i.e., physical body) is renewed. I would like to invite you to be a part of this journey. I will be recording my discoveries in this blog and will keep you updated as to my progress. I will NOT share the pounds with you, but I will share the progress of returning to a healthy exercise regime and the spiritual lessons that I know God will be pouring into my heart. I would appreciate your prayers as I “bare my soul” here in my blog. I pray that God will bless all of us with His truths, strength, and comfort.

So, I’m off to go exercise. Pray for me…I need it!

Possibilities

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Eph. 4: 22-24

I love the beginning of a new year! Like a blank canvas on which to paint a new picture, a new year is filled with endless possibilities for the future. There are new resolutions, new plans, and new dreams all of which seem achievable in my mind. I can make the choice to focus on my writing, speaking and teaching. I can resolve to get my house re-organized, the gardens edged and composted. This may be the year that I finally clean out those closets and re-structure my filing systems! But then reality sets in. I’m still the same person that I was on the last day of the old year…or am I?

I am not the same person today that I was yesterday…if I’m paying attention. Every day I have the opportunity to apply the truth of Ephesians 4: 22-24 to my life. I have the opportunity to put off the “old self”, to stop doing things the way I’ve always done them. I can do something different! By allowing the Holy Spirit to make me new in the “attitude” of my mind, I can make new choices. I can choose to put less food in my mouth, to move a little more today than I did yesterday, to put things away rather than dumping them on the table. I have been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And so have you!

Let’s encourage each other to do one thing differently! Just one thing! One thing is do-able. And as we make one small change, we will be able to see and recognize the manifestation of the Holy Spirit helping us to do just one thing; which just might encourage us that we are new, different and the possibilities are endless! It may not be easy, we may not succeed perfectly, but it is do-able! Happy New Year!

Beneath the Shadow of the Cross

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2: 19

For the first time in several years I’m actually putting up a Christmas tree! Now before you call me a Grinch, let me tell you that as an empty-nester, while married to a great guy, he is not a fan of decorating a tree. I honestly was just overwhelmed by the thought of doing it all myself and opted to not make myself any more frantic by not putting up a tree! But this year my son and his wife will be here for the holiday and I will have help with this great, but time-consuming, chore. I must be honest though and tell you that I really have not missed the extra work in the decorating for these last few years. For me, Christmas is truly about spending time with people I love.

For my spiritual nourishment however, I spend a lot of time pondering what life must have been like for Mary, Jesus’ mother. First, there is a visit from an angel telling her that she will have a baby…and not just any baby, But the Son of the most High God! Then she has to tell Joseph, her fiancé, that she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. In His mercy, the Lord confirms Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph and Joseph marries her as planned.

Then they are ordered to report to their town of origin to be counted for a census. Joseph and Mary must travel to the town of Bethlehem to be counted. In that late stage of pregnancy, I can’t imagine having to travel any great distance by foot or on a donkey. I mean really, have you ever ridden a donkey? It’s not the most comfortable form of transportation.

Then there is the delivery of a baby in a barn with no one but Joseph with her. Mary’s probably only around fifteen years old, so that had to be frightening. Next there is this brilliant star hanging over the barn and angels are singing and then the shepherds show up to worship this child! How overwhelming for this “child” (in my mind) who has just delivered a child herself!

Yet we are told that she is pondering all that is taking place. She’s thinking about it, meditating on all that has happened. How many times has she thought about the visit by the angel Gabriel? How about the fear she must have felt in telling Joseph that she was carrying a child by the Holy Spirit? How about the mocking of the people in her village? How did that land on her? And finally, did she have any idea of how the life of this child would be sacrificed for us? Was she aware of the shadow that would be ever present, a shadow of a cross? What follows are my thoughts about that “shadow”.

Beneath the Shadow of the Cross

By

Gayle E. Dunphy

Precious babe, of virgin born; unique child, both God and man;

Newborn crying, early morn; epic pinnacle of God’s plan;

Placed within the manger dross in the shadow of the cross.

Angels singing, star so bright; cattle lowing, donkeys bray

Shepherds awestruck at the sight; Messiah’s coming, prophets prayed

Ours the gain, His Father’s loss, from the shadow of the cross.

Freedom for the captive gained; No more death, eternal life;

Lord the victory obtained; no more sorrow, no more strife!

Our hearts redeemed for such a cost, beneath the shadow of the cross.

Words and Actions

“Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.” 2 Cor. 1:12

I have long been impacted by the word “integrity”. It is defined as: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. As a little child I can remember my father saying the words, “Don’t do as I do; do as I say!” And even as a child, I recognized the hypocrisy of those words and I reacted with anger and frustration. And I was sure that I would never do that to my children because those words were a beacon in my brain of how NOT to parent my children. However, parenting is a plethora of humbling experiences and I failed miserably in this particular aspect. My children were a primary motivation to conquer a terrible temper, an unruly tongue, and many other sins because I desired them to be adults of integrity. I tried to ask my children’s forgiveness for each offense and made my best attempt to live my testimony consistently. I was convicted that the greatest gift I could give them, next to sharing Christ, was to model integrity in such a way that my words and actions matched. The sobering truth is our children will model themselves after us. While we can talk about integrity until we are blue in the face, they will DO what we DO!

Regardless of whether we are parents or not, I believe that our Creator has commanded the same behavior from all of us. Paul is very clear in this passage that our testimony is proven in how we live out our ordinary lives. If we are calling ourselves Christians, people are watching us to see if our words and actions are matching. If the words and actions match then people will believe we are trustworthy and may give us opportunity to share Christ with them. However, when our words and actions are not matching, people will rightly proclaim us as hypocrites and our trustworthiness is questionable. I’ve heard it said that integrity is what one does when no one is watching. Personally, I believe that living daily with integrity is probably the most profound testimony of a life transformed by Jesus Christ.