Reflections on Week 4: Eating Discontentment for Dinner

So, it's been 4 weeks since I started.  I can't believe it.  It has gone really quickly.  Which is good.  That means I'm not hating every minute of it.  Quite the opposite.  I like it.

I made the banana pudding this afternoon and then put it in the freezer for a few hours.  YUM!  It was like a little banana Italian ice.  It's fun to find new things to do with the Medifast foods.

So, the biggest thing about this past week--other than I made it through the holidays without cheating at all!!!--is that I have been faced with my own discontentment.

I was mad again today.  Mad that this is the last day of Dan's vacation and that it didn't feel much at all like a vacation to me.  I still had to cook and take care of little people and hubby was on a "we're clearing out the basement and getting rid of all of our stuff" kick.  The laundry still piled up.  The toilet still needed scrubbed.  The dishwasher needed to be emptied and refilled more than usual.  The coffee pot was always empty.  Someone was always being too loud or crying about "who took what and wasn't sharing" or because "I left the paper airplane in the house and I wanted to take it with me in the car!!!!" 

I'd like to say, "Calgon, take me away!" but have you seen my bathtub?  Gross.  We live in an older house and the drain doesn't drain properly--so even after I just spent a half hour scrubbing on my hands and knees, the second someone uses it...there's the same filth I thought I had just washed away.  Blech!

When I was cooking today, all of the baking sheets fell out of the cupboard because we don't have ample space in our kitchen to store all of my very essential cooking apparatus!  (I might have cursed when this happened--but, for sure the cat scurried away like a black streak.)

I don't count my blessings.  I just don't.

Three years ago we were looking for a house and were repeatedly heart-broken when our offers were rejected or the finances didn't work out.  Then, miraculously, God provided us with this beautiful little home.  And I complain about it every single day.

I was single for 33 years.  When I was 26, I met this amazing man named Dan that I fell in love with almost instantly.  For seven years I wanted nothing more than to be married to this kind and gentle man.  Then, he finally asked me to be his wife and on Saturday we will celebrate our 7th anniversary.  Still, I get mad at him and frustrated about things he does or says (or doesn't say).  I never wish I would be married to anyone else, but I can be ungrateful for the wonderful man God gave me.

And then the children...Well, I was 34 years old when I held my son in my arms for the first time.  It was the most profound and miraculous moment of my life.  I never thought God would bless me with children.  And then, there was Kate.  Oh, how I wanted her.  I couldn't wait to get pregnant again after having Jude.  But now--I am so easily tempted to anger with them or boredom with their play or impatient with their childish ways.

In all of these things, my default comfort has been food.  But it's time to eat discontentment for dinner and be done with it.

What are some fun and inexpensive things you like to do with your family? (Remember, our children are currently 3 & 5)


What do you like to do for fun?


How do you remind yourself of the truth when you're faced with your own discontentment?


I want to count my blessings instead of complaining.  I want a more thankful heart.  I think this is a big part of the journey for me in my goal toward optimal health and glorifying God with my body.