I am in the midst of my second whole 30. I am on day 15. I really love it and hate it at the same time. Mostly love it, until I get hungry and then the list of all the things I cannot eat comes to mind. But luckily  my go to snack is an apple and handful of pecans.

When I started this, I was like Ok I feel like I should do this, I was letting myself get out of control again, I was back to where I started before I did whole 30 the first time. My main idea was to have a healthy weight.

God put something on my heart. I have been praying and doing a Bible study called Experiencing God (amazing by the way), but I have been praying to hear God through my life. So when I started this, I felt the challenge or command to cut some more things out of my life. Facebook, Fitbit, and amazon shopping and video. To be transparent I still do have Hulu. So with all of these I am on day 15.

 

But what I am learning is that these things I am trying to avoid and cut out, are the reason I cannot hear God. These are my daily distractions.

These last 15 days I have been doing my Bible study, a lot more reading and enjoying it more, not so distracted. I have drawn and colored pictures which I enjoy. I have written more even if it is only 2 blog posts. But I feel better. I am actually feeling like God is creating me into a new person inside and out.

What I am learning also is that self control goes much further than what you eat and getting up to exercise and even more than making time to study the Bible. I am learning the hard way self control also has to do with other people and loved ones and boundaries. Also reading a great book called Boundaries.

Self control is not only how you act towards others it is also how you let other’s treat you, I did not know until recently that I could control that. But I am learning…, this like all things in my life, I had to learn the hard way.  I have this inner guilt voice, that is not God’s voice but that until recently had rang louder and more persistent in my head, it said that I could not say no, it said that my feelings to enjoy things, family, and time with myself were selfish…. Yes to enjoy.. was selfish… that is twisted. Learning to say no is hard for me. I think the next book I will read will be The Best Yes. I have it, but never had the time to read it before.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” Galatians 5:22-23

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 1:5-11