It is Finished!

We've done it!  Finished 40 days on "The Maker's Diet"! 

A brief recap:

Phase 1:  Terrible, awful, dreadful, so very hard! Yet, at the same time... worth it!

Phase 2:  AMAZING! Life-saver, tasty, delightful.  Still difficult, but SO worth it!

Phase 3:  A blur... seriously, this phase went by incredibly fast.  Partly because my last semester at college started up, and partly because we were out of town quite a bit.  Regardless, this phase was also tasty, wonderful, and again, SO WORTH IT!

I believe Phase 1 is so challenging because it is a detox and your body is naturally going to resist the changes. Your cravings are also at an all-time high, you will probably have headaches, and generally feel hungry at all times.  But, DON'T GIVE UP!!!

Phase 2 gets easier because you can finally incorporate foods that leave you feeling full.  You are also adding more foods which gives you the opportunity to have a better-balanced variety of meals.

Phase 3 is the fun part.  By this phase, you are a way better cook (from all the experience you gain cooking nearly every single meal the first two phases) and again, you have a greater variety of options. (YAY!) 

Garrett and I decided to do "The Maker's Diet" so we'd have an increase in energy, improve our overall health and eating habits, and I secretly wanted to become a better cook. ; )  AND... we are currently enjoying all those benefits AND more!  It has all been incredibly worth it!

What's really crazy is now that we've finished and have the freedom to eat out at a restaurant, or eat something with sugar in it... we end up feeling sick, and don't even desire those things anymore.  I think the same principle can apply to sin/temptation.  The more we starve our bodies from sin and its instant gratification, the less we will desire those things, and the less power they will have over us.  

Genesis 4:7 "...watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.  But you must subdue it and be its master."

Romans 6:12-14 "Do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to sinful desires.  Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.  Instead, give yourself completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.  So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.  Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law.  Instead, you live under freedom of God's grace."

Amen for that!  So thankful for grace and what was accomplished on the Cross... amazed at how God can use the silliest of things to communicate His truth (ie: resisting "bad-for-you-foods" leads to less of a desire for them; similarly, resisting sin, results in less of a desire to sin).  God is good! : )