LION CHASERS MANIFESTO

LION CHASERS MANIFESTO BY MARK BATTERSON:

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Grab life by the mane. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.

THERE'S NO TURNING BACK

"There is no turning back now. That's right, you have extinguished that last cigarette and you can't go back to it. It's over and out. You cannot return. That door is closed for good. Locked and the key is MIA. Period!"

I am on my third week and I find myself saying the above to myself a lot. I must say though, I am beginning to feel a growing sense of pride and increased self-esteem. It's a great feeling, a terrific sense of power to realize that you no longer have to search out a smoking section or a hiding place to carry on a bad habit. It's a nice feeling to know that you don't have to light up after a meal or when enjoying a cup of coffee--I have the power to say NO! Amazing what a few days of "doing without" can do.

It has been a pretty rough journey so far. Besides all the withdrawal symptoms of over the top irritability and dizziness, I have experienced waves of irrationality. That's when, as the cigarette urge strikes you particularly hard, you convince yourself smoking isn't all that harmful. Those types of thoughts can distort and dissolve your willpower for sure. That's when God reminded me that my Daddy died of Lung Cancer and how I held his hand, when he struggled to take his last breath.

It's as if there are really two of me, at war within. One side does the rationalizing. The other half still believes, although ever more faintly, that this is the time to quit and for the most compelling reason: TO LIVE. Who wins? The non-smoking child of God... that would be me.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

QUESTION: I quit smoking 2 weeks ago. I think I do feel better, and I'm not struggling all of the time now, but I still have moments when I find myself missing my cigarettes. I sometimes wish I could have just one now and then. At times, the urge to smoke is so intense. I wonder if I'll ever be free of this habit? Will I miss smoking forever?

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...

FREEDOM

I knew that some day God would take smoking from me. I longed to be free from smoking, but I dreaded it none the less. I knew it would be so hard and I loathe disappointing my God.

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!

...So it shall be done... T-MINUS 4 hours

I am having mixed emotions about tomorrow. I am glad it's Easter of course, but saying goodbye to smoking almost seems like the end of a forbidden love affair. Crazy... I know! I am having trouble finding the right "quit" aids. The patch won't stay on (don't buy Equate), the gum makes my TMJ act up, and the lozenges give me a sore throat. Ugh... I am so irritated. Did I mention that my book I ordered to help me quit has been delayed and will not be here till Friday! I am so thirsty for some reason and my stomach is queasy, and I can barely keep my eyes open and it's only 8 o'clock. What is happening to me? I think I'll go cry myself to sleep... Lord, I am begging you, give me strength, courage, and faith to do this...

RESURRECTION DAY=QUIT DAY

Somehow I agreed to quit smoking, eat right, and workout (again), all in the same week. Passion Week. Coincidence? Doubt it. I think Jesus had this planned from the beginning. Really, can anyone turn him down this week? Maybe there are the select few or even many, but not me. So, I have chosen my quit date of April 12, 2009, Easter Sunday. This is an incredibly special day for me. I was given the gift of eternal life that day 6 years ago.

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...

QUIT

He keeps hounding me to quit. Why now? Seriously, can I not have one bad habit from my past. I truly love it. I love to smell them when I first open the pack. That menthol/fresh tobacco aroma is intoxicating. I like holding it in my hand. The whole ritual appeals to me. Inhaling from exhaling, drag, repeat. Yet its supposed to be killing me. Not fair. I have come through some heavy stuff. Major trials. Yet, this "quitting smoking" thing scares me to death. It will be the hardest thing I have ever done. That last statement is pitiful. How embarrassing that the hardest thing I have done or will ever do, in my mind, is quit smoking. Pretty lame. God I know in my heart why you want me to quit. You have been chastising me about it for a while. Maybe this is what you wanted for me from the beginning. 100% delivered from all my demons. Sorry I have been ignoring you on this particular matter. Why do I want to hold on to something from my past that I really hate anyway? Yeah, I said "hate". Truth be told, I hate being addicted to cigarettes. Who wants to be held hostage to something that is killing you? But, I did give up a lot of bad stuff. Remember the prescription drugs! Why do you have to have it all? I am sorry again that my mood is all over the place. I truly do believe you are doing this to me because you love me. I am getting agitated because I know, this time, I am going to succeed...