Archives for 2010

From Grace Gems: 

The Deceitfulness of Sin!
by Jeremy Taylor

“Lest any of you be hardened through the
 deceitfulness of sin!” Hebrews 3:13 (read ESV here)

First sin startles him,
then it becomes pleasing,
then easy,
then delightful,
then frequent,
then habitual,
then confirmed!

I think this progression is particularly helpful in dissecting how sin takes root in our lives. I immediately turn to food.

As you know, I’ve been blogging about my New Year’s resolutions and my plan to eat intentionally. I confess that I have sinful issues surrounding food (overeating, emotional eating, idolizing food, and so on).

Sin is especially effective when it deals with our senses (first sin, anyone?). I’m startled all the time by the enticement of food. Oh! That looks good. Oh! That smells good. Oh! I have a craving for …

That “startling” often triggers a sense of urgency upon which I must act. I’m immediately rewarded because it tastes so good. Science has pointed out that eating releases endorphins (I think; it releases some chemical in the brain, anyway, that registers “pleasure”), so I’m pretty much hooked at this point. The “pleasing,” “easy,” and “delightful” aspects just affirm my engaging in this behavior. The “frequent” and “habitual” just serve to establish the habit and “confirm” it in the fabric of my character.

Think of Eve. Talk about being startled! A talking serpent with a “pleasing” proposition? It must have been quite startling to hear the challenge to God’s authority, character, and trustworthiness come from that snake’s mouth. The Scripture makes a point of saying that Eve found the fruit pleasing to her eye.

When were you last startled? Did that lead to a pleasing experience? Could it be the planting of sin? Guard yourself so that you see the deceptive progression of sin, which can prey on your sensibilities.

I continue with my theme of “Living Intentionally,” as I turn my attention to my diet.

Ugh. The diet. The eating plan. The “lifestyle program.”

I think there’s just something to the saying that “life catches up” to you. I’ll be 40 this year, and I know I’m much less healthy than I was a decade ago. Fast food, processed food, sugar—it just makes me fat. It DOES.

A few months ago, I started the Transitions program. Transitions is a low-glycemic eating plan. It begins with a one-week fruit and veggie detox followed by twelve weeks of making new habits of healthier eating.

I did OK at first, then the stress of the holidays arrived and my motivation, focus, and resolve to stick to any eating plan that didn’t involve butter on top of butter and chocolate dipped in chocolate vanished.

Today I begin Day 3 of my fruit and veggie detox week. I am doing well so far.

Here’s where the “intentional” part came in: I know part of my failure in the fall was due to inconvenience. When do I eat breakfast? Often running out the door. What is breakfast? Something I can grab.

So, I decided to set myself up for success.

That’s intention, people.

Preparation is key:
I mapped out my menus for the week. It took a long time, but I persevered and tried to be as realistic as possible. From the menus, I made a grocery list and went shopping.

Sunday afternoon, I spent about one hour cleaning and bagging fresh veggies. I washed the apples and grapes. I sliced cucumber. I washed lettuce and chopped it. I washed grape tomatoes and blueberries. All of the salad ingredients are ready to go. A healthy snack just needs to be pulled from the fridge.

I also boiled several eggs. A hard-boiled egg is a great breakfast food or snack. Totally portable!

It’s been so easy and convenient to eat right out of the fridge. Love it!

Sub the ordinary starches with steamed veggies:
I made spaghetti sauce and pasta for my family. I can have the sauce but not the pasta. Instead, I sliced some zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, and carrot and lightly steamed them. I poured the sauce over the veggies. Surprisingly, it was quite good.

I use these Glad Steaming Bags, which are excellent. You just throw in cut veggies and microwave for about 3 minutes. There’s a handy tear edge. The veggies are perfect. No mess. No clean-up.

Seasoning Is Vital! 
Garlic, onion, salt, pepper, cumin, vinegars. Liberally season the veggies and salads to enhance the flavors. Bolder flavors are more satiating. I pour balsamic vinegar on everything, and I love it!

A Neat Water Alternative
I’ve just discovered flavored sparkling water. Canada Dry makes one, which I like. But this week, I discovered La Croix sparkling water in berry flavor. It has a hint of cherry Icee flavor to me. No calories, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners. Very good. Quite refreshing. And a little more exciting than plain water. I got this idea from a water-hating friend.

I feel good about this second try. I feel intentional. Intentionality for good health involves a CONSTANT reminder and affirmation that every decision is important. Nothing is slight. Every GOOD decision is an affirmation that I’m heading in the right direction. Every NOT-SO-GOOD decision is an opportunity to be more intentional.

This is hard. Oh, so hard. But by God’s grace, I will persevere.

A few days ago, I posted my personal New Year’s Resolutions for 2010. I wrote that I had a lot of “little” goals but that my overarching goal was to create an “umbrella” of living with INTENTION this year.

The Savvy Blogging gals have issued a challenge for bloggers to create our blogging goals for 2010. So, I’m taking their challenge and posting my goals at Savvy Blogging.

I believe the act of giving my blogging a list of goals is INTENTIONAL, which is exactly where I want to be in this area of my life.

I am a writer and I have dreamed of being a paid writer for as long as I can remember. I see my blog as a natural extension of my profession. I would love for my blog to become a “syndicated column” of sorts: a place where a dedicated “several” check in. I want my blog to be a place of inspiration, encouragement, and thought-provoking entertainment.

My Blogging Goals for 2010

Audience: I want to increase and broaden my readership. It’s not just getting MORE readers, but it’s also finding those readers who need what I have.

Posting: I want to increase my posting frequency to at least 5 days/week.

Content focus: This is still a work in progress. I’m trying to become more focused with my content. My posts vary among funny mom stories, theological and political observations, recipes and homemaking tips. Sharpening my focus is terribly difficult for me because I have so many interests.

Design: I’m in the process of getting a customized blog design. I’m hoping the aesthetic will help crystallize some of these other ideas for me.

Income: I would like to continue to grow the income from my blog. I am paid to write, and I don’t see why my blog would be any different. But increasing the income means that I will need to more deliberately treat my blog as a business. I have decided I will do one “business building” activity each day, whether it’s finding new PR relationships or learning more about SEO. I will press myself to leave my comfort zone so that I can grow.

(In February, I’m attending my first blogging conference, Blissdom. I am so excited I can’t stand it! I anticipate having a revised list of goals after this conference.)

I like the tradition and practice of making New Year’s Resolutions. I know a lot of people don’t bother, saying they never keep them anyway.

And OK, I know I’ve started the “read through the Bible in a year” routine more times than I can count only to abandon it around mid-February.

But this year, I’m going to approach this whole resolution thing in a different way. I have one resolution, which I hope will serve as an umbrella to everything else in my life. That one resolution can be summed up in one word:

I resolve to live with intention.

This week, I managed to finally—FINALLY!—get my “office” set up. This involved moving and rearranging furniture and cleaning out old papers. It was way overdue. But in the process of thumbing through old receipts and grocery lists and recipes and wrapping paper scraps (really??? I kept all of that stuff???), I realized something important.

I had failed to live with intention.

The pile of paper was a tangible result of living in reaction and in the tyranny of the urgent.

So, maybe some of it was inevitable. I am, after all, in a season of life that sucks every drip of energy out of me.

But getting rid of all of that paper was so liberating. It geared me up to live with intention.

My goals for this year involve pursuing a closer walk with God, improving my health/losing weight, and growing my blogging and writing endeavors.

But those things must be attacked from a posture of intention.

Intentionality also assumes a sense of priority. I say that my faith, my health, and my writing are important to me. But I have not always prioritized them and made an intentional effort to work at them.

Above all, the older I get, the more I realize how big God is and how small I am. I am confronted by his strength made perfect in my weakness. I am more convinced that my primary purpose—whether I’m on an elliptical machine, posting to my blog, or cleaning out my desk—is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

I want to be INTENTIONAL about living out God’s purpose for me in 2010 and beyond.

I added this post at The Happy Housewife and at Steph in the City. Visit and read some more 2010 resolutions. 

Goodbye, 2009. Hello, 2010.

First, a few reflections on the last decade:

Ten years ago, I was less than a year into an editorial position at a Nashville publishing house. Little did I realize that job would directly and indirectly lead to my success at becoming a paid writer (something I’ve dreamed of since elementary school). Truly, that position was from God and all the steps since then have been orchestrated by him.

Chris and I were still living in our small apartment in Green Hills and loving. every. minute. of. it. We have such sweet memories of our home there. We had a new dog and were thinking of buying our first home. Having kids was still distant on our desire list but a consideration, nonetheless.
I’ve been in my thirties for this decade. They have far surpassed my twenties. This decade:

• We’ve moved twice and owned two homes. 
• We’ve had three children.
• I’ve been published in a national magazine and been paid for my writing. 
• I’ve gained and lost hundreds of pounds total with pregnancies and Weight Watchers.
• Interestingly, we’ve been at the same church for the entire decade. The membership of believers in that congregation has more than sustained us through the ups and downs of stressful jobs and parenting. Weekly, our faith is nurtured. I’m so glad to see the benefits of the consistency of our relationship with Christ. 

And now, for my year in review through the words of my blog:

This is my 114th post for 2009. I exceeded my posts for 2008 but didn’t quite double my post numbers.

In January, I’d had enough of the school car hook-up line and vented about it. We got a new member of the family, while Susanna’s theological prowess increased.

My kitchen appliances and I did not get along well in February, and my twins began the fine art of manipulation.

March, April, and May were hectic and busy, and I didn’t blog much at all. We had birthdays to celebrate and yard sales to organize and ear infections to diagnose.

In June, I wrote about my struggles with beautiful and perfect-looking moms in the preschool parking lot. I still have people mention that post to me. I was reprimanded at the library, further proving my point that our branch library is the armpit of Bellevue. 

The first mention of my awareness that I’ll be 40 soon came in July. I got a lot of comments on Facebook when I wrote about why we tell our kids the anatomical names of their private parts.

During the last few months of the year, my blogging picked up. I became interested in writing more, building an audience, and using my blog for an expressive, creative outlet (not just as a family scrapbook of sorts). In August, I wrote about Miley Cyrus and her disappointing display at the Teen Choice Awards.

I evaluated my summer and brought justice to a decades-old unfair situation in September. But, the most important event of that month was by far my being de-friended, blocked, and kicked out of a cyber community. That type of response can only mean one thing, I reasoned: that I had finally arrived as a writer.

In October, I began my TULIP Tuesday postings on Calvinism and delivered a confession that surprised some of you. 

It was November before I posted my ideas about Christians and Halloween (because that’s the way I roll; I still haven’t mailed my Christmas cards). I had a real celebrity sighting, shared some sweet time with my daughter, and participated in NaBloPoMo (I posted every day of the month and still have a hard time believing I actually pulled it off).

In December, I had my first guest post and I realized my boys have finally reached a new level of maturity. December started with bad news but also with abiding hope. It ended with my shopping with Mavis and Daryl at Wal-Mart.

Thanks for reading The Writer’s Block in 2009. Your reading, commenting, and participation are appreciated and make the blogging experience that much more dynamic for me.