My no sugar month has come to an end.
And praise Jesus for that!
But, as with every experiment, here’s what I learned this month:
1. Sugar is the nectar of the gods. Seriously.
2. I don’t actually eat THAT much sugar
– I don’t drink pop, I rarely drink juice, I don’t eat candy or sweets except for dessert
3. I have a serious dessert problem
– it’s bad.
– no dessert (ice cream, chocolate, cookies, etc) for a month lost me five pounds. Yeah, you read that right. FIVE POUNDS. This is indicative of a serious issue.
4. Everything in moderation
– Despite the intense dessert issue I discovered, I missed those moments of indulgence … ice cream with the family on a warm day, or a bit of cookie after a nice dinner, or even a mocha when I needed a boost. They shouldn’t be daily, but never being able to treat myself was difficult for my morale.
5. Some things are easy to give up for good
– I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to sweet yogurt, or sugar in my coffee, or even juice. It seems RIDICULOUSLY, almost sickeningly sweet now. Even daily dessert can go the way of the dodo. I learned to end meals with fruit, and even liked it.
6. Some things are coming back… TODAY!!
– Occasional ice cream, mochas, and dessert. Not daily, but denial of things that obviously bring me such pleasure seems kind of silly.
So there it is. No sugar is done.
Phew!
Now it’s April, and it’s my prayer month.
If you’re a follower of the blog, I’m going to challenge you to join me in this one…
Twenty minutes a day of prayer. Consecutive.
Consecutive because I find myself praying most often in quick one or two minute intervals. And that’s not bad. In fact, Martin Luther said that sometimes just lifting your thoughts towards someone is an act of prayer. So yes, I pray all the time, but I don’t take intentional time and set it aside to pray. And I want to. Not because I “should” but because I want to.
I’m going to take those twenty minutes and split them into the following five minute segments:
1. Prayer for myself and my personal situations
2. Prayer for people I love
3. Prayer for people I don’t love
4. Listening to what God has to say
Will this be easy?
No. In fact, I’m 100% positive that praying for people I don’t like and sitting quietly for five minutes to listen for God might be harder than giving up sugar. But it’s important.
Anyone with me?