Lysa TerKeurst | 2010 December

Thursday, December 30

Made to Crave Webcast

If you are visiting from my P31 devotion today, welcome! The information about the contest is below. And if you haven’t gotten your copy of “Made to Crave,” you can click here for more information.

I also have an article running over at the CNN Belief Blog. I’d love for them to see Jesus girls responding big time with a flood of comments. This will encourage them to run more articles written by us Jesus girls! To read my article and post a comment, click here.

If you’ve been hanging out here on the blog at all, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about a little FREE webcast thingy coming up. I want to walk with you through the 6 week study for my new book and Bible Study, “Made to Crave.” The kick off is Monday, January 10th from 8pm – 8:45 EST. We’ll be together for six weeks, same time, same place, but with new and exciting information… every Monday night through Feb.14th.

All you have to do to join us is snuggle up in your warm bed, grab your laptop (or if your desktop computer fits in your bed that’s fine too!), and log on to www.MadetoCrave.org where we’ll be streaming LIVE!

If you want to make sure you are getting the latest and greatest update emails on this FREE webcast- click here and sign up.

I’ve been spending some time with some of the guests we’ll be featuring on the first night. Y’all are going to love these guests.

First, we have Kathrine Lee who is flying all the way here (to North Carolina) from Southern California just to be with us! She will be talking about her experiences of losing a bunch of weight, being celebrated on the Oprah show, and then gaining much of it back. Her segment is called, “A setback is the perfect set up for a come back.”

She’s read Made to Crave, is enjoying an incredible comeback herself, and has some amazing encouragement for us.

We’ll also be hearing from Dr. Ski Chilton- he has a PhD in Biochemisty, is a professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and is a world renowned expert in nutrition. The research-based information he’ll be sharing is so fascinating, I’m going to go ahead and tell you to have a notebook handy when you watch his segment.

He will be joining us for all 6 webcasts and has some of the most helpful information on diet and nutrition I’ve ever heard. Do you know the one thing you must eat when trying to lose weight so you won’t be hungry?

I didn’t either. But you will find out! And you will thank the good Lord above for making some people in this world able to take complicated truths and present them in a way that us everyday girls can understand and apply.

It’s going to be great.

Oh, and one other little factoid about that first night. You won’t be able to watch TV that night anyhow. There’s this little National Championship football game scheduled on January 10th. So, you know the man cubs will be totally hogging the tube that night. But, alas, you only need your computer for our big event- so all is well!

And if you are a big Auburn or Ducks fan… I have three words for you so you won’t be tempted to miss this webcast- TIVO the TV. Is that how you spell TIVO? I have no idea.

Oh, and if you live in France or China or Australia and 8pm EST is in the wee dark hours of the middle of the night- never fear. We are working something out so you can see the webcast on Tuesday. Again, sign up for the email updates here so we can send you all the information you will need.

If you have more questions about the FREE Made to Crave webcast, you can read a little Q&A I have posted by clicking here.

So, are you going to join us? Oh I hope so! In celebration of this fun event and because I totally love to give stuff away, click on the word ‘comments’ below and tell me what friends you are inviting to join us for the webcast. For each friend you list, I’ll enter your name to win a copy of “Made to Crave.”

I’m giving away 2 copies of the book to 10 winners! So, if you win, you’ll have one to keep and one to share. Fun! Fun!

Happy New Year. Happy New You.

More than feelings

A few months ago I was speaking at a banquet where I met a precious girl in her early twenties. She sheepishly made her way over to me with tears welling up in her eyes. She looked around before she whispered, “I don’t feel saved. I have asked Jesus to be my Savior more times than I can count but I just don’t feel anything. What am I doing wrong?”

She wasn’t doing anything wrong.

She was just looking in the wrong direction. She was looking for some magical feeling to swoop across the broken places of her life and instantly make everything feel different. That’s not the way it works.

We can’t look to our feelings to determine truth. We must look to truth to reign in our feelings.

Feelings are fickle. Feelings change on a whim. Feelings are paper thin and incapable of remaining untainted, unbiased, and unchanging. Faith can’t be built on what we do or do not feel.

Truth, on the other hand, is stable, solid, and certain.

So, in the kindest way, I bossed her feelings with some truth. “You said you believe Jesus is the Savior and you’ve confessed that with your mouth. You’ve asked Him to be the Lord of your life and for forgiveness of your sins. Right?’

She nodded, her eyes glistening with sincerity.

“Then park your mind, your heart, and your feelings on that truth and by the power of Jesus reject any lie that comes against that truth. You are saved. You are a child of God. You are eternally secure. Now, walk in that truth.”

A wave of relief swept over her face. She threw her arms around me and buried her face in my jacket. I knew she was getting a little snot on my shoulder and I could have cared less.

I was too busy letting my own little sermonette make its way to my heart. I hadn’t been doubting my salvation but I had been doubting something else. I had been feeling afraid about releasing the message of Made to Crave.

After all, you can mess with a lot in a woman’s life but if you start messing with her food- that’s grounds for serious irritation.

What if people didn’t feel like embracing the message? What if people didn’t feel like changing? What if it was just my issue and no one else really needed this message? What if people read it and remained unaffected and unchanged? What if I started backsliding in this area and made God look bad?

We can’t look to our feelings to determine truth. We must look to truth to reign in our feelings.

I whispered these words over and over and over until they reached those raw places of insecurity deep in my soul.

Even if every single one of those feelings came to pass- people rejected the message and I gained my weight back- it wouldn’t change or negate the absolute truths in the message. And it certainly wouldn’t make God look bad. God doesn’t build the stability of His identity on the fragile choices of His children. He just keeps placing the truth in front of us and offers to lead us to His best- over and over and over.

“Search me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and LEAD ME in the way everlasting,” (Psalm 139: 23-24.)

So, like that sweet girl, I let the snot run down into my pillow that night and mentally let the truth go toe to toe with my every doubt. And it was good. So, so good.

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free,” (John 8:31-32).

Two quick little end notes…

1. It was stinkin hard to pick a Haiku Honey y’all. Seriously, you all made me laugh, ponder, and wonder how I’m so lucky to have attracted people crazy like me over here at the blog. I love you girls. So, I couldn’t pick a winner. I made someone else do it. ‘Cause I wanted everyone to win! Anyhow, the winner is: Deloris! Congrats! Email Holly@Proverbs31.org to claim your prize.

2. Tomorrow, I’m going to send you a link to a post I’ve been asked to write for CNN. Yes, that CNN. What they want with little ol’ me is quite the mystery. I mean they usually have world leaders and big shots writing for them.

So, I want to show them that little Christian women need to have a voice and you can help me do that. When I post the link to my article tomorrow, will you hop over there and blow them away with comments. That would be totally swell. I will love you forever and try not to wipe snot on your shoulder when we get to meet in person.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you

When you have 5 kids and 2 dogs there is only one thing more you must absolutely throw into the mix- a puppy. Yes, for the insanity to be complete a puppy is a must.

However, when the insanity comes wrapped in a package as cute as this one, who could possibly resist?

World… meet Willow TerKeurst.

I mean seriously, look at that face!

So, in honor of the newest member of our family, I want to hold a little poetry contest.

Have you ever heard of a Haiku? It’s a simple little poem with 17 syllables written in three lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7 syllables, and the third 5 syllables. (This is the simplified Lysa version in case you are a Japanese expert and know the deeper truths of the moras which are too complicated for me.)

Here’s an example-

Outside it did snow-
My mom wanted a picture-
With smiles we did go.

And there you have it. I never said the poem had to be truthful. As a little side note, my people weren’t nearly as excited about the photo situation as you all were. But, alas, with a few heartfelt and loving threats, I got my picture.

So, back to the Haiku. You can write one about puppies, something funny that happened during your Christmas, Made to Crave, or whatever other little blog conversations we’ve been having lately. Get your creative on and just have fun with it.

I will have a very official panel of Haiku judges running today’s contest and announce the winner tomorrow. If you are deemed the Haiku Honey of 2010, you’ll win a “Made to Crave” book, workbook, and DVD set!

So leave a comment-
And get ready to cheer big-
This prize you will dig.

Somebody stop me please. See? It’s that insanity I was referring to earlier.