“Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.”
(1 Peter 3:11 NLT)

The evil that we are all called to turn away from looks different in each of our lives. It’s easy when you you hear the word evil to conjure imagery of witches or Charles Manson or something, but evil also represents itself in all of our lives in many deceitful, sneaky ways.
Appearing comforting or soothing and attractive.
Pleasant even.
For me, one of the evils I admittedly engage in is the practice of binge eating. For the sake of being REAL, I have been very transparent about this. Obviously, eating and even enjoying food is an innocent and necessary act. However, anything that enslaves you and starts to chip away at your well being (physical, mental, spiritual) is evil. It binds me and harms me and keeps me from being the me I was created to be. There is normal eating ( in bounds) and binge eating ( out of bounds) and I have reached a place in my working through it now where I can tell the difference. I understand that this will probably be a lifelong struggle for me. I have no naive thoughts of somehow magically being healed behaviorally and be able to just go ahead and eat “normal”. I’ve learned it’s a consistent choice I have to make daily to stay in bounds. That is the only way to have peace. The only way to be truly sober. I have to choose daily to pray for the strength to do what is required. To turn from evil and WORK to maintain my momentum. Peace is not an arrival. It’s something that must be pursued and and sought after.
The hardest part of it all is, when in recovery from other substances people are instructed to abstain and avoid the “whatever” it is they are trying to be rid of. Well, I can’t abstain from eating. I sometimes
wish it were that easy. There have been times I have even used that as an excuse,
” We’ll I can’t NOT eat so what’s the point…?”
Boo. Like I said, there is “in bounds”
and “out of bounds” and I darn well know the difference.
The reason I share all this today is to invite you to please ( if you are the praying type) to join me the next 30 days in prayer. I know that I have reached the point in my journey where the rubber meets the road and its time to get busy. I have done MUCH of the heart and head work and as I continue to stretch and learn in those ways, I must also stretch and grow in the physical ways.
Since I can’t leave my family for a 30 day treatment retreat ( or as so many well intentioned people suggest, go on the “Biggest Loser”) I have decided to conduct my own boot camp/faux rehab for myself here at home. I have been researching the schedules and content of different programs and I will be adapting it to my real living life and sharing what I’m learning here on my blog.
The goal for me is obviously losing weight, feeling better, being a good example, ect. Create good healthy habits, form discipline for working out and eating in bounds.
Mostly though, it is the pursuit of PEACE in my heart and in my life. The freedom from slavery by exchanging lies for truth, and turning from evil to do GOOD.