I love words.  I love to read them, write them and speak them.  I just love words.

Lately two words have been in the forefront of my reading and my thoughts – CRAVE and CARVE.

Just one letter moved and CRAVE becomes CARVE.  The more I’ve thought about this …. and yes, I have thought about this alot and what does that say about me.  Anyway, the more I’ve thought about these two words I’ve realized that they are VERY closely related – at least in my life.

I crave certain foods – mostly the ones that aren’t good for me.  I crave bread!  Big, fat, yeast rolls are a favorite of mine.  And guess what., big, fat yeast rolls aren’t good for me.  But crave them I do.

I’m CARVING big, fat, yeast rolls out of my diet and it hurts.  This unfulfilled craving makes me feel like a pumpkin in the midst of a Halloween carving.  I feel as if this craving is causing a carving to happen to me – a change.

It feels like a knife cutting through me – yuck, I know, but it’s the truth.  I could stop this all with a BIG FAT YEAST ROLL – but I’m not.  I’m learning to walk in this place of craving and carving.

I’m looking to God to give me strength to overcome the craving and submit to the carving.  Yes, you read that right – submit.   God is changing me as I struggle with these cravings.  He is changing me as I examine these cravings.  He is carving out the bad and opening me up to the NEW He is doing.  I’m not going to lie to you, it’s not easy, but I KNOW it is good for me.  I know this because I know that He loves me more than I can begin to comprehend.

—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

(Ephesians 3:17-19 ESV)

I want to CRAVE more Jesus!  I want to overcome the craving for food and replace it with a CRAVING for Christ.  This will only happen through the carving out of the old!

I'm taking Lysa TerKeurst up on her Made to Crave challenge and crave God more than I crave food!

My heart’s desire is to be  filled with the fullness of God…. but that’s a post for another day.

Are you craving something other than Jesus?  What is it?