Chubs club

"Dear Mr. Scale, can I be honest with you for a moment? Our together times really don't do much for me. I actually dread our appointments. And when you bring your friend Miss tape measure, well she really does a number on me."

I.hate.this. Have you ever had a conversation with your bathroom scale?

Maybe I am a tad insane, as a gold-star member of the Chubby club, but mine actually talks back. There have been so many weeks when I walked away with so many weighty disappointments. I foolishly thought the scale would give me some good news, as if my tight pants weren't enough of an indicator that I had taken in more calories than I expended for the week.

So why did I weigh faithfully? Why did I submit to it's mental abuse, when at the end of our encounters, I walked away ashamed?

My love hate relationship is probably something you won't understand. 

It's my chubby mentality. 

I have looked at these measuring tools as if they were the enemy, when as they sneer and judge me.  They torment and remind me of my failures. At one point in our long-term relationship, I actually gave one the boot in hopes to break it's lurking judgmental jeers. It's hate-laced accuracy didn't weigh me with grace or mercy. 

What I truly hate is that stole my self-worth. 

Perhaps I am tad insane.

In this journey of losing weight, I confess that I have let my measurements, both around and down, plus the tipping-the-scale-poundage define who I am. I fell into the trap of letting the scale write my attitude and darken my opinion of myself. My self-esteem rose and fell with the numbers. 

This chubs was defeated daily from an inanimate object. 

One day God asked me a question..."Why do you look at the scales view of you over My view of you?" 

That knocked me to my knees. I swallowed hard as I swallowed His hard truth. 

With tears of confession, God's healing forgiveness released the demanding dictatorship of that dumb-black-idol that only cared about my numbers. It was on that day I stopped being a hater of the tools that only marked God's beauty program through me. 

I still have regret about so much time wasted hanging on to the up-and-down numbers on the display, but this second time around I am putting less emphasis on man-made measurements..

...hanging my heart on God's measure of me.

Ps. 139:14 "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." 

When I put myself down, while standing on the scale, measuring my middle or looking at my reflection, I am discounting God's wonderful works. God has made all things beautiful, including me and you who might be reading this. Read the above verse again.

God's works are wonderful, there's no chopped liver mentioned here.

Do you have a love or hate relationship with the scale?

Attitude = Gratitude

Happy Wednesday. Remember you have made it half-way through the week. In our continuing to be all we can be for God, our "to be" list continues with this week's charge to be grateful.

Grateful: 1. appreciative of benefits; thankful. 2. Expressing gratitude.

Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful. (Colossians 2:7, CEV)

We talk a lot about being grateful and counting our blessings round about Thanksgiving time. But as Christians, it’s something we should practice every day.

Gratitude is one of the easier Christian disciplines and attitudes to work towards; many of us have been practicing it since our childhood “God is great, God is good …” prayers. But it’s also an easy one to neglect in our striving for more “important” things like forgiveness, patience, service, or self-control.

And though when times get tough....when life hits home....gratitude is the often the farthest from our mind, but it’s also one of the things that offers the most help. Praising God lifts us above our circumstances and invites God into our situation in a real, deep way.

So whether life is wonderful or just stinks these days, we all can find things to be grateful for.

Steps to a more grateful heart:

1. Post the phrase “be grateful” in a prominent spot—especially one where you’re more likely to be a grump … on your checkbook, by the washing machine, by your bathroom scale( yeah I hear that one) and on your computer monitor.


2. Keep a gratitude journal. Every evening write down five things you’re grateful for that day—whether it’s something as small as the taste of whatever or as big as a new job. Don’t forget to read back over these entries in the future for a reminder of how God has blessed you.

3. Write three thank-you notes this week to people you appreciate—your husband, your parent(s), a friend, a mentor, a pastor, or someone else who enriches your life. And express verbal thanks to other people who make your life easier—the person who makes your coffee or latte every morning at Starbucks or the waitress who just served you.



4. Help someone else be more grateful by practicing a random act of kindness this week.

5. Pray for opportunities to be thankful and to see how you can be thankful in every circumstance.

Let's review our "To Be" list:
1. Be hopeful
2. Be happy
3. Be playful
4. Be grateful

How are you doing on your list so far?