Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food
/
Food issues aren't uncommon for any group of women, including those in the church. (Maybe especially for those in the church?) Lysa tackles those by making God the primary focus and food a secondary one in Made to Crave. This isn't a book about not craving things we shouldn't; it's about craving the One in whom our desires should rest.
She does it with humor, such as
Her writing shines best when she respectfully takes Bible verses most of us know and applies them (properly, I might add) to struggles with food. For example, she quotes Matthew 19:21, the verse in which Jesus tells the young rich man to sell all he has and give it to the poor. She rightly points out that this wasn't meant to be a blanket command for everyone but rather Christ's way of saying, in Lysa's paraphrase, "I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me." And if food is the thing we crave more than God, or if we're more inclined to strive for a number of the scale or a size hanging in the closet than we are for a relationship with Him...well, then something is not as it should be.
The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the section in the back in which she's listed Bible verses by chapter. Now that I've read the book, I'll most likely return to those lists to meditate on God's word (instead of falling into the trap of elevating Lysa's words to the place where the word of God should shine most).
My only criticism (and it's a small one) is that she mentions in the beginning that her food change needs to be cutting out sugars and starches for a time and then eating them in moderation after that. She then states that her book isn't meant to encourage everyone to make the same change as she did and that the aim is for each of us to make whatever change is needed to crave God more than anything else. However, throughout the rest of the book, she keeps coming back to her own changes in a way that almost seems to say, I said that this might not be the change for everyone, but I think it probably is the right change for you. I don't think she meant to imply that, but it stood out to me as an odd juxtaposition of messages. (I must admit, though, that - for me - the food things I'm apt to crave more than God are sugars and starches, so maybe my hyperattention to any mention of those was God highlighting that for me.) Oh, and I didn't care for some of the cheesy reflection questions at the end of each chapter, so I just skipped those.
I had a sweet friend ask me this past Sunday if I had read this yet. She now has my copy, because I'm always willing to lend out books (so feel free to ask if I write a review on something you'd like to read!). That said, I think this is a book worth owning if the subject is one that strikes a chord for you.
I know I'll read it again, especially the verses in the back, and I'll probably choose one of those as one of my February memory verses (maybe Psalm 73:26 or 2 Corinthians 7:1 or Deuteronomy 8:3 or Ecclesiastes 3:11 or Psalm 106:14 or 2 Corinthians 4:16 or 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 or...well, maybe I have memory verse ideas for the next few months, hmm?)
And, for a little more info, here's the trailer for book:
(and, as a side note, I'd like to confess that I'm completely comfortable with the idea of video trailers for books...)
This post is part of a Litfuse blog tour. To find more links of reviews from bloggers like me, go here! And while I was provided with a review copy of the book, I was only asked to provide my honest opinions of it and not required to give a positive review.
She does it with humor, such asI am not bouncy perky about giving up two of the greatest delights of my taste buds - Cheez-Its and box-mix brownies. In fact, I've even asked God if it would be such a terribly difficult thing to swap the molecular structure of Cheez-Its for carrot sticks. They're both already orange. And, really, how hard could that be for someone who's turned water into wine?I love that. But I'm not a huge fan of Cheez-Its so if I prayed that, I might change it to Fruit Loops or Skittles (which would add another element of difficulty because they aren't all orange, but I'm sure God could handle it).
Her writing shines best when she respectfully takes Bible verses most of us know and applies them (properly, I might add) to struggles with food. For example, she quotes Matthew 19:21, the verse in which Jesus tells the young rich man to sell all he has and give it to the poor. She rightly points out that this wasn't meant to be a blanket command for everyone but rather Christ's way of saying, in Lysa's paraphrase, "I want you to give up the one thing you crave more than me. Then come, follow me." And if food is the thing we crave more than God, or if we're more inclined to strive for a number of the scale or a size hanging in the closet than we are for a relationship with Him...well, then something is not as it should be.
The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the section in the back in which she's listed Bible verses by chapter. Now that I've read the book, I'll most likely return to those lists to meditate on God's word (instead of falling into the trap of elevating Lysa's words to the place where the word of God should shine most).
My only criticism (and it's a small one) is that she mentions in the beginning that her food change needs to be cutting out sugars and starches for a time and then eating them in moderation after that. She then states that her book isn't meant to encourage everyone to make the same change as she did and that the aim is for each of us to make whatever change is needed to crave God more than anything else. However, throughout the rest of the book, she keeps coming back to her own changes in a way that almost seems to say, I said that this might not be the change for everyone, but I think it probably is the right change for you. I don't think she meant to imply that, but it stood out to me as an odd juxtaposition of messages. (I must admit, though, that - for me - the food things I'm apt to crave more than God are sugars and starches, so maybe my hyperattention to any mention of those was God highlighting that for me.) Oh, and I didn't care for some of the cheesy reflection questions at the end of each chapter, so I just skipped those.I had a sweet friend ask me this past Sunday if I had read this yet. She now has my copy, because I'm always willing to lend out books (so feel free to ask if I write a review on something you'd like to read!). That said, I think this is a book worth owning if the subject is one that strikes a chord for you.
I know I'll read it again, especially the verses in the back, and I'll probably choose one of those as one of my February memory verses (maybe Psalm 73:26 or 2 Corinthians 7:1 or Deuteronomy 8:3 or Ecclesiastes 3:11 or Psalm 106:14 or 2 Corinthians 4:16 or 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 or...well, maybe I have memory verse ideas for the next few months, hmm?)
And, for a little more info, here's the trailer for book:
(and, as a side note, I'd like to confess that I'm completely comfortable with the idea of video trailers for books...)
This post is part of a Litfuse blog tour. To find more links of reviews from bloggers like me, go here! And while I was provided with a review copy of the book, I was only asked to provide my honest opinions of it and not required to give a positive review.