Sunday, April 26, 2009
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
ANSWER: While searching the World Wide Web for the answer to my wondering out loud question, I found this:
"Think for a moment of your life as a tightly woven piece of fabric. Each thread represents your life events and experiences. And running alongside all of the many "life" threads are threads of a finer gauge. They are so fine in fact, they're impossible to see with the naked eye. Those threads are your smoking habit, and they've become so thoroughly interwoven in the fabric of your life, you find you can't do anything without thinking about how smoking will fit into it. Every smoke-free day you complete is teaching you how to live your life without cigarettes. Bit by bit, you're reprogramming your responses to the daily events that trigger the urge to smoke. The more practice you get, the less cravings will plague you. Over the course of your first smoke-free year, you'll encounter and have a chance to clear most of the events and situations in your daily life that you associate with smoking".
That really explains it doesn't it? Practice does and will make me a perfect non-smoker. I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever - I will never smoke again. How can I be so sure? I've changed what cigarettes mean to me. Tobacco is now synonymous with death and slavery in my mind. Smoking has lost its luster completely. Thank you Lord...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
FREEDOM
A week ago today, I remember whining, “I don’t know if I can do this! Cigarettes calm me down! How will I cope?" Thus saith the Lord: I am here...
What a revelation! Duh! I sometimes feel like such a idiot. I was such a SLAVE to nicotine addiction. I was oblivious to the obvious. Not only would He help me quit, He would see me through ALL of it. The withdrawals, the urges, the weak moments, etc. We are told this in Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message):
" 6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
Since this is one of my memory verses, I felt especially stupid for asking God "How will I cope?". If you are part of the few special chosen ones on earth that have never battled addiction, you may be little lost right now. For the rest of us that have spent most of our lives depending on other things in this world, other than Christ, to cope with life's struggle, this is the definition of FREEDOM!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
...So it shall be done... T-MINUS 4 hours
Monday, April 6, 2009
RESURRECTION DAY=QUIT DAY
Today started with me sipping coffee while savoring a mint flavored Commit Lozenges. ~FYI-NOT THE SAME AS SMOKING~ It was pleasant enough and effective for a few hours. I am a pack a day smoker (20 cigarettes) and my goal today was to only smoke 10. Tomorrow, I'll shoot for 7. I have ordered the book, "The Easy way to Stop Smoking", by Allen Carr and "The South Beach Diet Supercharged". My husband, Mike, has always been a non-smoker so he is super pleased with my decision and very grateful to God for badgering me into it. Especially since cigarettes jumped to over $5.00 a pack and he is the only one working in this family!
Mike does, though, have some issues of his own. The cardiologist visit this afternoon, was an eye-opener for him. So, I am happy to announce, he is on the South Beach Diet too. Our trip to the grocery store was quite comical considering he was clueless on what a carbohydrate is. A lot of pulling "not allowed" foods out of the cart. He is a trooper though and is committed.
Lord, thank you for your patience and grace. I know I am a handful...