More of Me to Love: A Dieting Devotional for People Who Stink at Dieting

More of Me to Love: A Dieting Devotional for People Who Stink at Dieting

This book is going to be like nothing you have ever read before. There has probably never been a 5’2”, 235-pound, 40+year-old woman to write a book on weight loss and dieting. I started on a journey and I’m inviting you along for the ride, so you better buckle up! First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Jill Crowder, wife to Cale, mother to Hannah, Emily, and Will, former foster-mom to 9 children that will most likely be mentioned in this book under cute nicknames such as “Mr. Big Stuff” and “Princess Sassy Pants”. I’m also “Miss Jill” to 80+ former students of my in-home daycare throughout the years. I am an older sister to Abby and Sara therefore making me “Jill-Jill” or “Aunt Jill” to 7 nieces and nephews. I am the daughter to Ric and Barb. I am the co-teacher of the college and career Sunday School class at our church. I am a former softball player. I am a quilter and crocheter. I am many, many, things to many, many, different people. One thing I didn’t list in the paragraph above is the most obvious. I AM FAT. There, I said it. It’s out in the open. It’s not a big secret. It’s no longer the white elephant in the room. I, Jill Crowder, am a big girl and it is the thing I dislike most about myself. It is my Kryptonite, and it has taken so much away from me throughout my life. . The day I started writing this book changed that. Now I see myself differently. Now I'm learning to see the person God created me to be and I am striving to be her. I’m doing the healthy things: the dieting, exercising, and drinking all the water. I’m journal everything: my meals, workouts, daily devotions, thoughts about myself and opinions about it all. I’m writing things that everyone who has ever dieted is thinking but doesn't what to admit. I’m changing my outward appearance but mostly I’m learning to see the me on the inside in a different way. I’m learning to laugh at myself, love myself and appreciate the opportunities God has given me whether I have taken them or not. I may never be the size I want to be or the person I am in my dreams but I’m going to learn to love myself anyway even if it's just accepting that there may always just be more of me to love. Every devotion is going to start off with a quirky little title and a passage of scripture. Some of these passages will be short and possibly familiar and some of them will be several verses and not exactly verses you would expect to read in a dieting devotional, but bear with me. After the scripture there will usually be a summary, or maybe some background information on the passage but hopefully something helpful or at least what helped me to understand it. The third section is going to be a-day-in-the-life of me. I’m nothing special. I’m your average female who loves her family and her life but sometimes I get my panties in a wad and my kids drive me crazy and then I react…well, human. I love to find God in those everyday moments. I love sharing God’s love through the crazy that is normal life. If I can see God in the simple things in my life, I want to help everyone see Him in the simple things in their own lives. So, it’s all in here. I want you to laugh with me, cry with me, learn with me, walk with me as we go on this journey together. I want to be an encouragement to you on your weight loss journey because I know I need encouragement on mine. Each devotion will end with a prayer for the day. Then, at the end of each devotion, there is chart of the activities in my day and a blank one for you. Go ahead fill it out, check those boxes. We are going to learn to celebrate checkmarks as much as we celebrate pounds and inches and I’m going to try to encourage us to keep going.