Happy New Year and all that....

....try not to pay attention to how long it's been since I blogged. I've wanted to, TRULY, I think of really good things and then I forget them. Sort of like when you have a really vivid dream and go to tell someone about it and it just evaporates....? Hopefully it will get better. I've started text messaging myself with keywords and ideas....so maybe I can piece the tho'ts back together when I finally have a chance to sit down at the computer.

This one came on quite suddenly a little while ago, so I'm gonna post it real quick like.

You may have heard me say this before (I DO repeat myself and often, hence the need to blog about it and be done with it!) -- following my Weight Loss Surgery I learned that a lot of obesity issues aren't so much about your taste buds and appetite, but swim around in the gray matter gravy between your ears.

Last night I happened to say to my pastor -- who's encountered his own weight loss in relation to correcting other physical problems through eliminating allergens in his diet -- that "a lot of what we THINK we love to eat, we really only LOVE because we can slam it down quickly and in large quantities." And this is true.

I need to get back to following the rules of WLS. I've slacked off some, especially regarding the slow consumption of minute portions --

• "Cut your bites into pencil eraser size!"
• "Chew, chew, chew -- then chew some more."
• "Don't drink a half hour before meals and for a full hour after."
• "Chew well."
• "Protein first, then veggies -- then if you can squeeze in another bite, a carb or two."
• "Oh and don't forget to CHEW!"

--there are more, but you get the point. Anyhow, very quickly post-op, in fact, almost as soon as I was able to eat solid food, I had one SHOCKING discovery after another. A whole lot of food I THO'T I loved, just wasn't any good when cut up microscopically and chewed to smithereens.

It's made me very judicious in choosing what I will and will not eat. It's difficult. If it's TOO delicious, then I want MORE and it's hard to stop with what I can handle. But if it's not good, well then I just don't want to bother with it.

Today marks the start of a new year. 2009. Wow! As always, I embark on Bible reading. I confess, most years I derail and don't complete it at all and when I do, often not on schedule. This year, I've decided to read The Message translation...I love using it for Bible Study and at our Small Groups meetings. Now I'm going to savor it for my personal consumption.

And that's what made me think about the food and eating. It's sort of a metaphor for our walk with God.

A lot of what we THINK is good, is only good because it's quick and easy. Just like attending a lively church service can make us feel good quickly. The bigger the move of God or the more potent the message, the better we feel. But, upon closer examination, we haven't really gotten to the GOOD stuff -- a deep, personal walk with God. We're sort of just going along grabbing onto whatever is handy. Like a spiritual drive-thru. It may make us feel full -- depending on how much we partake. But it lacks some of what is necessary to sustain us 24/7.

A true personal relationship with Jesus -- just like a superbly cooked meal -- is so rich you want to savor every second. BUT, it is going to require some effort. You have to dig a little deeper ...

• actually READ The Word.
• Pray.
• Fast.
• Witness.
• Serve.
• Listen. (ouch)
• Wait.

I won't make the literal comparisons to cooking a meal. I'm sure you get my drift. Just wanted to give you some "food" for tho't.

LOL

Pam<----off to bed LQTM at my own lame pun.