Kelly's DAY FOUR

This morning was amazing! I had so much energy! I woke up before my alarm went off and didn't even feel the need to hit "snooze!" I skipped downstairs and poured myself a "Kelly's not-yet-famous"cup of tea, added three minutes to the timer (like I always do when I pour ACTUAL tea...the perfect cup of tea is a SCIENCE, folks), grabbed Kristin's Kindle, and jumped on my reading couch. Three minutes later...

...DING!

My ensuing mental conversation with myself:
Me: "What on Earth was THAT?"
Me: "Oh! Haha! I automatically set the timer!"
Me: "Pretty amazing that my 'tea timer' now prompts me into quality time with Jesus!"
Me: "I'm callin' this a VICTORY!"

So, no headaches this morning. In fact, I vacuumed and mopped the main level of my house (including couches. We have a black lab, people!), I vacuumed the upstairs, did two loads of laundry and cleaned the kids' bathroom, made breakfast, lunch and dinner, ran 3.5 miles, and played a marathon UNO game today sans headache or overall "madness."

Breakfast: An apple, some peanuts, and OJ.
Lunch: Leftover Ratatouille, carrots and hummus.
Snack: Peanuts, 2 cups of OJ
Dinner: Potatoes, carrots and onions, and a handful of peanuts.
(Mental note: Don't make peanuts a regular habit. They're not exactly low cal, Kell!)

During my run, I got to thinkin'...it happens on most runs for me. WHY is it that this has been SO HARD for me?! I have plenty of friends who get their daily fruit and vegetable rations with no side effects! I even have friends who carry around GALLONS of water to make sure they stay hydrated enough (shout out to my gal, Ashlyn)!

So, here it is, my friends and fellow humans who happened to stumble upon this blog,

FOOD...is my IDOL.

There. Simply put, but there it is. I can't believe I didn't SEE this until NOW! I mean, for all my "old" Young Lifers who I have questioned "WHO or WHAT is your IDOL?" (HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD THAT OUTTA MY TRAP?!) I could tell you what my idol was NOT, but I couldn't tell you what it WAS. Probably because I was too busy shoving my FACE with it! Funny how I only realized what my idol actually was AFTER I removed it from my life! Anyhow, I realized several things on my run:

1~When I am hurt, burdened, sad, in mourning etc...I run to my pantry and make homemade mocha chocolate brownies with the best frosting you ever did taste. I do NOT run to the God that can heal all wounds.
2~When I am angry or frustrated, I make my homemade Texas sheetcake (or homemade chocolate chip cookies, for which I am locally famous now), I do NOT seek His face or repent.
3~When I am stressed out, I eat whatever snack is available...
4~When I am bored, I pour myself my 4th, 5th, 6th cup of tea for the day and check Facebook...again...

All of these scenarios are times in which I run to my KITCHEN PANTRY instead of my Creator! And, instead of coming to Him with my issues, I go to my idol (the sweetest thing I can find). You know, I always hear this verse from 1 Cor 3: 16: "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" But, I NEVER hear the next verse (vs. 17): "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." Did you get that? His temple? SACRED! ...and YOU...YOU!!!...are that temple!

I.
AM.
THAT.
TEMPLE!

So, I confess. I have blasphemed God's temple. NO WONDER I cannot seem to hear "that still small voice!" It cannot resonate within the amphitheater of my temple because my temple is too jam packed full of JUNK! You've heard of "junk in the trunk," well this is WAY WORSE, people! I have JUNK in the TEMPLE! No wonder I wasn't getting any answers to any of my big questions! God wanted me to come to Him, to trust Him, to seek Him, and (gulp) to love Him with my heart, my soul, my mind (Matt 22: 37)! If I was doing those things, I wouldn't have to turn to food! Now that I'm beginning to remove "the junk," the Spirit has room in my life to do His thing, and He's starting to again! This is amazing me, and I can't explain why...I should have expected this!

My word for the day: VICTORY!