Tozer and My Daily [grain-free] Bread, #1

I recently finished reading Faith Beyond Reason by A.W. Tozer. For some reason, I had never read any of his works before, but this book really hit the spot. I think I marked just about every page in the book. I would like to share some of my favorite tidbits with you.

Before I jump into that, a little Whole30 update: I went back to work at my old job (which is, incidentally, a restaurant). My life is now smelling and seeing good food all the time. Especially lots of fresh-baked breads. I have worked the past 3 days and I have managed not to eat anything but what I packed for my own lunch. I even turned down free pizza and ....mint oreos. I feel like a food-martyr. Haha.

Alright. Enough food woes. The body is more than food and clothing, right?

"That is why the meaning of the word received is so important here. "As many as received him" - actively and aggressively took Him. This means a determined exercise of the will. It means to not deny any condition that the Lord lays down. That is something quite different from what we are hearing. They did not come to the Lord and try to make terms, but they came to the Lord and actively took Him on His terms."

(^^This quote is referring to the passage of John 1:11-13) 

"I believe that this Bible is a living book, that God as given it to us and that we dare not add to it or take away from it. It is revelation. But revelation is not enough! There must be illumination before revelation can get to a person's soul. It is not enough that I hold an inspired book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart. There is the difference, in spite of the evangelical rationalist who insists that revelation is enough."

Now this is the part that I find interesting. He talks about the "body" and the "soul" of truth. That merely reading the truth (seeing its "body") is not enough for us to consider ourselves to be true.

"You can memorize all of the texts of the Bible - and I believe in memorizing. But when you are through, you have got nothing but the body. There is the soul of truth as well as the body. There is a divine inward illumination the Holy Spirit must give us or we do not know what the truth means. Right there is the difference. We must insist that conversion is a miraculous act of God by the Holy Spirit. It must be wrought in our spirits. The body of truth, the inspired text, is not enough; there must be an inward illumination!"

All credits for the quotes go to A.W. Tozer; these are his words, not mine.

Day 5

You'd think that with eating healthier (more healthy than I want to eat) and working out every day, I would feel fantastic. But in thinking that, you'd be wrong. Because I feel like crap. 

Wednesday night I went out with friends and ended up being up till 2am. I didn't cave while I was with them, though -- I had almonds, pumpkin spice tea (instead of a latte at Starbucks), and a salad at Mcdonald's. Great compromises.

In spite of these great successes, I woke up on Thursday morning feeling like I'd been hit by a Mack truck. My muscles were sore - probably from my working out - and my bones felt heavy. I was on the verge of a headache. Breakfast attempts did not go well. It was like being sick...without any real symptoms. It was a bad day.

Today I woke up and expected to be returned to normal after my "relapse." Again, I was very, very wrong. I woke up with a sniffly nose that wouldn't stop running. I think it's an allergy attack but I'm not sure. I just don't know why I feel so awful.

Lucky for me, other people have blogged about the whole30 and the general consensus seems to be that the first week is the worst because your body isn't sure what to do, and your cravings are still around and whatnot. So you basically want to either gorge yourself or sleep all the time (ME).

Tonight my mom and I are both having a "cheat night." Which is completely anti-whole30. But she's going somewhere with a friend and she's had it planned for forever, and my friends are coming over tonight and our usual thing is to make chocolate chip cookie dough together.

I won't have cheese or anything dairy. But I am going to have something that's not on the healthy list.

Signed,
Sniffles the sad little healthy girl.
{Sorry, but food cravings bring on the melodramatic side in me ;)}

Day 2 + Shredder Girl Episode 0

Day 2 of the Whole30. Still going strong! Just kidding guys, I know it's going to be more work than that. It also helps that my mom jumped on the bandwagon and is doing this with me (thanks wonderful Mother!). So far I've discovered that...

• Eggs are salvageable, even if I don't like them generally 
• Curbing the snacking means drinking a ton of water
• Working out feels really good
• Cinnamon + sweet potatoes is the sweetest thing ever and I love it

Now, on to the "Shredder Girl" part. I'm not making a reference to shredding paper, or vegetables, or physically shredding anything. If you don't understand snowboarder vocabulary (there's pretty much an entire language only known to those who ride the slopes), then hang with me. A "shredder" is basically anyone who rides a snowboard and is good at it. Usually it's referred to those who are quite good. It's a cool word, so I use it. 

Normally, I would use that term rather lightly, even though I've been riding for several years now (5 years? 6? I'm not sure). Even though I do it every winter and I love it, it's not my highest passion. And I don't like to take on terms that aren't really true of me when I know people who actually fit that. But...yesterday, things changed.

I got offered a job in Colorado. 

I got offered a job in freaking mountainous Colorado!!!

Colorado, land of sparkling lakes, fantastic views, and towering mountains. I honestly can't imagine what it'll be like. I look up pictures on google and I just stare because, really, there's no way that I'm actually going there...

But I am. What the crap. This is happening. And it means that I'm going to be moving again. 

I'm going to be a snowboard instructor on the powder-filled slopes of one of the many mountains out there. Which is why I feel okay labeling myself a shredder. Because even if I'm not good enough right now to deserve the name, then I will be. Because without a doubt I am going to get better.

Just a bit of ending encouragement as I was running on the treadmill today. It sort of stuck with me all day: 

"So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified."  

1 Corinthians 9:26-27

That's right. Take that, body! Paul is definitely talking about subduing his body in terms of his sinful flesh, with all of its lusts and feelings and whatnot. But I think that it can further be applied to our physical bodies in terms of exercise and food.

Not that everyone has to be a health freak. Just that we are not to be run by our desires for food, or our tendencies to be lazy, or how tired we feel. God enables us to rise above all of that and listen to His voice - instead of our own.