Diet & Wisdom Appetizers

I’m pleased to report I survived the golf tournament and all the free food, beer, wine and soda I could partake of without making a total pig of myself. It IS possible to attend and all-you-can-eat affair without in fact, eating ALL you can. I can’t say the same for the rest of my group.

The two men in our party more than made up for what I didn’t eat. I think it’s safe to report they ate their weight in chocolate chip cookies and triple layer brownies including my portions as well. For once, I wasn’t even remotely tempted by the cookies (thank you, Lord). There was a brief moment when I thought I might hurdle a bystander to get to the last brownie on a tray. But I stood my ground in spite of the overwhelming chocolate craving that consumed me so physically, I nearly blacked out.

Armed with a strategic game plan, the day turned out to be more about walking (5 miles worth) than eating, for which I’m profoundly grateful. This experience all served as a great reminder that with a little careful preparation (eating a healthy breakfast before leaving the house) and filling up on water and vegetables, it is possible not to go overboard on the junk food.

I attribute much of the day’s success to a great deal of prayer. I must confess however, the fear of being forced to use a Port-o-let for my basic needs went a long way towards influencing my eating and drinking decisions today. Even if one has no weight issues, being restricted to such a small space for nature’s call has a way of making you reevaluate your portion sizes. Port-o-potties, the great equalizer – perhaps I should install one in my backyard as a reminder each and every time I’m tempted to overeat!

Opportunity may knock only once, but temptation leans on the doorbell. ~ Author Unknown

Brownies and cookies and chips, oh my!
Meatloaf, potatoes and pasta , oh why
Did I ever consider a diet to try,
When EVERYTHING’S free and there’s nothing to buy!

“17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.” Psalm 7:17 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I thank you for a wonderful day and for the success I experienced in resisting temptation. Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for his mercy endures forever! I ask that you will continue to walk beside me and lift me up when I fall. Help me to keep my focus on you and not just concentrate on losing weight, but drawing closer to you. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

You’ve done EVERYTHING right. You’ve cut out the sugar and the sweets and haven’t cheated even a bit. You’ve kept to your menu – weighed and measured your food portions. Cut out all between meal snacks. Your positive attitude has inspired throngs of onlookers; you’re spending time in prayer, meditating on the Word of God AND exercised the last 13 out of 14 days – yet the scale remains unchanged. Total weight loss for the last seven days – ZIP … NADA … NOTHING!

Oh wait, is that only me? Yes, sadly this is an accurate description of my last week. I was picture perfect in every area of my weight loss journey, to the letter, but someone forget to send the memo to my body and remind it that its assigned task was TO LOSE WEIGHT this week.

After eight weeks and boasting little or no weight loss, if ever there was a perfect scenario for throwing in the towel – this would be it. But, I’m not a quitter and I am clinging to hope and I have faith in something bigger than me and my body.

The message my body is sending me is clear – I’ve done irreparable damage to my metabolism over the years because of yo-yo dieting and yo-yo weight loss and/or gain. If I can impart any sage words of wisdom to anyone, it would be “Do not try this at home!”

Over the last four decades my weight loss attempts have included so many foolish things, I shudder at my own stupidity. In the end, the only thing I’ve lost is time, energy and a considerable amount of money. Whatever has driven me to this obsessive need to be thin has cost me plenty.

The stigma we women live under forced upon us by a society fixated on outer beauty is stealing our precious resources … the spirit of the modern woman. Regardless of the fact we know we’re never likely to be a size 4 or 6 we labor under these unrealistic expectations, because billions of dollars in advertising campaigns tell us we must. IT’S TIME TO STOP and accept ourselves as the beautiful creatures we are. We are real women, not botoxed, air-brushed, surgically enhanced Hollywood wives who have no concept of the weight loss struggles real women face.

Rather than throwing away your hard earned money on a new miracle diet pill or piece of exercise equipment that will blast your belly flab away in as little as 10 minutes three times a week - DON’T! Keep doing the work we’ve started by making healthier food choices, keeping sweets and sugar to a minimum, Play 60 four or five days a week and get your heart pumping. Let go and let God have your sadness and depression regarding your immovable metabolism and get up every day thanking God that you CAN get out of bed.

Look in the mirror and thank God you’re a real woman and believe you are created in His image and he thinks you’re spectacular! Stop wishing to be something you’re not, love yourself for who you are and let God worry about the rest. Don’t waste any more precious time, but learn to love yourself right where you’re at. If you can’t be happy with yourself at the weight you are today – losing 30 or 40 pounds will not change that. True beauty starts on the inside and as long as YOU think you’re beautiful, it matters not what the world thinks.

*For further encouragement, I recommend picking up a copy of my latest book release, Her Father’s Eyes, by Kathleen Kurlin (Xulon Publishing) an inspirational fiction story that closely follows one woman’s crazy weight loss journey and her path to overcoming her low self-esteem issues. Available at online bookstores today!

“10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I’m thankful that you’ve given me this desire to press forward and not give up. I trust in you and believe that my efforts will eventually pay off, if not in great weight loss, I pray that my heart and lungs are getting healthier and my body will reap the rewards of healthier lifestyle. I pray for determination to stay strong. I ask all these things in your holy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

We’ve all faced the challenge of the all-you-can-eat buffet. For me, I’ve faced (and failed) the challenge in spite of my good intentions (on MANY occasions). For a lot of us, all-you-can-eat is an open invitation for a no-holds-barred pig-out.

I’m facing the challenge of an all-you-can-eat DAY on Sunday at a golf tournament. My husband and I have been blessed with high-end deluxe tickets that will allow us access at four separate eating venues that include all-you-can-eat AND drink, including alcoholic beverages. The alcohol is not the temptation that the snack goods, French fries, burgers and hot dogs are.

What’s a weight watching soul supposed to do with that temptation? The reason I’m even mentioning this two days in advance is so I can be all prayed up and enlist the help of anyone willing to cover me in prayer as well.

Many would say, “What’s the big deal? Eat up and enjoy yourself.” And while that would be perfectly lovely, I’m on this journey with God to get healthy, lose weight and draw closer to God than I’ve ever been before. And so far, it’s working. I’d hate to regress after I’ve come so far.

Let’s face it an all-you-can-eat buffet conjures up images of falling face first in a giant vat of potato salad and wading through hip-dip platters of baked goods. I have been guilty on many occasion of “getting my money’s worth” at a food fest such as the one I’m planning, and even now I break out in a cold sweat simply thinking of the temptations I will face. When you’re addicted to food, this scenario is similar to inviting an alcoholic to wine tasting party. It’s a terrible combination.

My husband has already warned me not to get in his way, lest I face the danger of pulling back a bloody stump. His motto is, “if it’s free, it’s for me!” He’s planning on eating from arrival to departure. But for me, “free” comes at a very high price, which translates to not only weight gain – but failure.

Whenever we face challenges such as the one facing me, it’s best to have a definite game plan. I’m planning on eating a healthy breakfast at home so I can skip the continental all-you-can-eat breakfast, which no doubt will be top heavy in the pastry department. My plan for drinking lots of water throughout the day rather than the free soda is twofold: fill me up AND keep me from frequent trips to the J-John (eewww) because soda goes right through me.

The chips and fries may be hard to resist and I may succumb to a very limited sampling, but I am bound and determine to find something remotely healthy for lunch in the way of grilled chicken or a turkey sandwich. The desserts will prove most challenging under the best of circumstances, but especially during my sacrifice of sugar during lent. Strength is the prayer for the day!

All-you-can-eat is doable with careful planning and lots of prayer. All-you-can-eat doesn’t have to mean ALL-you-can-eat. It’s just a suggestion not a commandment!

“1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. 2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.” Proverbs 3:1-2 (NLT)

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. ~ Oswald Chambers

PRAYER FOR TODAY: I trust you, Lord with all areas of my life and I ask you to intercede on my behalf and stop me from giving into gluttony on Sunday. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, I pray to enjoy the day, the golf, the company of my husband and friends and don’t let the day be about the food, but the fun. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

There are things most of us should know when it comes to losing weight and eating healthy. But yet, even though we know what we can and cannot eat, sometimes our flesh simply takes over. It leads us astray, seemingly of its own accord and we indulge in foods we know we shouldn’t. Oh wait – is that only me?

For instance; I was talking with a group of people last week and we got on the subject of food. One of them confessed he was a diabetic and even though he knew he shouldn’t eat sweets, he was going to treat himself that night when we he got home to a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup.

Someone else confessed even though they were allergic to wheat and white flour, they still managed to become significantly overweight because they simply overcompensated for what they could not eat by eating larger portions of the foods they could eat.

How many times have you heard someone say (or maybe you have said it yourself), “I know I shouldn’t eat this, but …” I know I can’t eat cucumbers, green peppers or anything deep fat fried in oil, but yet that didn’t stop me from sharing a plate of onion rings this past weekend. Somehow I know enough about my body that I won’t trade the green peppers or cucumbers for the intestinal problems I get from eating them – but yet I thought the onion rings were worth the stomach ache.

I KNOW that if I eat candy, chocolate, cake or pretty much any sugar, I’m going to gain weight, but yet I eat it anyway. I’ve learned now that the price I pay in the way of intestinal problems is NOT worth eating the greasy foods, the peppers and the cucumbers. But yet I still struggle with the sugar.

If we KNOW we shouldn’t eat something but yet we eat it anyway, clearly we’ve got some work to do. The good news is, we are all a work in progress (WIP) and God sees our hearts and he knows when we’re serious about losing weight and sticking to a program and he knows when we are NOT serious about it.

If you fall, don’t beat yourself up; none of us are perfect. When you fall, it’s important to pick yourself up and get right back on track rather than letting your fall lead you down a slide into a pit of despair. Each time you fall, you get a little stronger so you’re never going back to square one where you began on January 1st. We’ve come a long way in almost eight weeks, but we’re not there yet; we’ve much to learn, much knowledge to gain and still weight to lose. We are all WIPs - so do your best to be a good WIP!

From the bitterness of disease man learns the sweetness of health. ~ Catalan Proverb

“I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.” Romans 7:14-16 (The Message Bible)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord you know in my heart I want to serve you and not obey the desires of my flesh. I pray for strength to resist those urges that move me to eat the things I know I shouldn’t. I want to obey and serve only you. Give me this day my daily bread and help me to focus on this day only and not worry about tomorrow. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Driving around the city on any given day you’re likely to spot a police cruiser which bears its vehicle number in gigantic letters on the car roof. These numbers are there for easy identification for police helicopters flying overhead or news media helicopters. With a few keystrokes, the helicopter can enter those identifying numbers into a computer and be able to tell you everything about the officers driving that vehicle.

Sometimes I wonder if that’s the way our Father in heaven identifies his children. Does he somehow label or number us according to our gifts, our past failures or our sins? Are we branded with invisible scarlet letters that only the Savior can see that instantly identify us as a food addict, a compulsive gambler or habitual liar?

There are after all six billion people on the planet and how many billions of people have come and gone over the past many centuries. Surely God must have a system for identifying his children so he can keep us all straight, right? Wrong!

It’s important for us to know that we are not our sins or our addictions. God does not distinguish one believer from another by any particular trait or shortcoming we may have.

If you’re struggling to lose weight and battling with a major food addiction, God does not look upon you with anything less than love and adoration. When we admit that we’re in bondage to something that is taking the place of God in our hearts, merely by confessing that bondage to God and asking him to help us overcome it, our release of that burden gives God permission to come in and work on our behalf.

In the same way if we saw one of our children struggling to complete a difficult homework assignment, we wouldn’t automatically step in and do the work for them. But when they cry out to us that “it’s too hard,” most of us would sit down with them and help them to work through that problem until a solution was reached – together.

We cannot conquer our addiction to food on our own, hidden away in secret. We need to ask God for help and then let him come in and help. Be open to the idea that help may arrive from God in many different forms. He may be urging us to join a weight loss group or enlist the help of a friend. He may use someone to call you at exactly the moment you’re having a meltdown and reaching for the cookie jar.

He will not do the work for us by making our excess weight and addiction to food magically disappear – but HE WILL stand beside us and help us through every step of the journey. He knows your name and what you have need of before you ask. He knows you intimately, not by your sins but by your heart. You’re not just a number to the Father, but his beloved.

When we put our cares in His hands, He puts His peace in our hearts. ~ Author Unknown

“13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” Psalm 139:13-18 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: I thank you Lord that you know me intimately and what I have need of before I even ask it. You know that I’m struggling and I need you to help me through this journey. Thank you that you never leave me or forsake me. I am asking for help, guidance and direction to overcome my food addiction, to lose weight and get healthy. I’ll take your help in whatever form you choose to send it! I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

A few years ago I was working for a major international weight loss organization when a lady came in to join the program. As she filled out her paperwork, she blushed all the way to the roots of her hair as she explained she’d been golfing that morning and as she bent over to tee up her ball, she split her pants. She said, “I knew in that moment that I NEEDED to do something about my weight gain. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back!”

Most of us have had those straw moments. In fact, many of us have had several of those moments, since so many of us have gained and lost the same weight many times over. And if we’re honest we haven’t gained and lost weight repeatedly because we’re stupid, but more likely because we’re lazy. Okay, maybe that’s just me.

If I were to chart my weight loss successes and failures, I can clearly see where I made good choices and where I messed up and made excuses that ultimately justified my weight gain. Things like my father’s death and then a few years later, my mother’s death were my justification for slacking off and letting my guard down. As the pounds piled on, so did my defenses. “I’m in the beginning stages of menopause. My youngest is graduating from high school. I’m suffering from empty nest syndrome. I’m turning 50; I’m depressed, etc. etc. etc.

These were all valid excuses that I used to release me from my obligation to maintain a healthy weight. When we start justifying our reasons for gaining weight it allows us to use our circumstances as a crutch and takes the responsiblity and the blame off of us. Rather than seeking our comfort from God, we turn to food which most of us know is a heartless mistress that cares not a whit for us.

Life is hard and I’m not trying to downplay adversity and its effects it has on us. If you’re going through a tough situation like anything I’ve mentioned or something else: a painful divorce, the death of loved one, bankruptcy, a failed business venture – whatever your circumstances, I pray you will seek help from a friend or loved one, medical professional or counselor and not turn to food. Food is not your friend, especially in times of crisis.

The one source of strength you can ALWAYS count on in life, be they good times or bad, is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is your shield, your rock, your refuge, your ever present help in times of trouble. When life gets you down, when the last straw that breaks the camel’s back feels as though it’s going to crush you, don’t reach for your fork, reach out for the Savior.

Life’s problems wouldn’t be called “hurdles” if there wasn’t a way to get over them. ~ Author Unknown

“2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” Isaiah 33:2 (NIV)

“11 The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.” Psalm 29:11 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: I thank you Lord for opening my eyes to past failures and helping me to see where I’ve fallen. Help me not to make excuses any longer for my weight issues. Help me to look to you for my strength and comfort to deal with life’s adversities. I pray I’ll make no more excuses for my failures and I’ll stop looking to food for comfort when dealing with difficult situations. I thank you Lord for all you’ve blessed me with. I ask all these things in your holy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Occasionally God will go to great lengths to drill the principles of life into our brains – whether we want to receive them or not. Over the last two days, I’ve been an unwilling recipient of the Godly principle of sowing and reaping.

I already shared with you my weakness of yesterday’s onion rings and how easily I succumbed to my addiction to junk food. The basic principle of sowing and reaping has come home to roost as even today, I’m continuing to reap the dire consequences of my bad choices yesterday.

As I was snarfing down the deep fat fried rings of doom, I was arguing with myself that I should offer some to my dinner companions. But when you’re an addict feeding the lusts of your flesh, there’s little opportunity to bend your knee to common decency or good manners.

Today as I’m forced to eat toast and crackers washed down with mega doses of Pepto Bismol to quiet my sensitive stomach, I’m not only reaping the consequences of my addiction with a horribly upset digestive system, but I’m swimming in guilt and shame. And while I’m no stranger to either, this time is doubly hard to take as I thought I was well on my way to conquering these weaknesses.

The upset stomach and other uncomfortable symptoms too graphic to share are my “hangover” and the price I must bear for giving in to my addiction. Both the intestinal problems and the accompanying guilt and shame are reminders that I can’t afford to ever let my guard down.

My goal in sharing my discomfort and shame is to let others know if you struggle with a food addiction, you are not alone. The enemy seeks to make us feel isolated as if we’re the only one who struggles and fails. No matter how put together and confident people may seem, everyone struggles with problems, inadequacies, addictions or pain.

Rest in the knowledge that your Heavenly Father is with you and if we do our part and ask him to help us with our struggles, we will have victory. Admitting we can’t conquer these issues on our own is a huge step in overcoming our addictions. There is no shame in admitting we need help. I made that mistake yesterday by forgetting to ask for help and today I’m paying a high price - one I hope never to pay again.

It’s time to Let Go and Let God have control of this addiction. I need to trust God to lead me on this journey. I know that I will get there, but the road to freedom is littered with speed bumps and this setback was just me tripping once again. I believe God will set my feet on the right path and I will succeed!

The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter. ~ Author Unknown

“105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. 106 I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. 107 I have suffered much, O LORD; restore my life again as you promised. 108 LORD, accept my offering of praise, and teach me your regulations. 109 My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions.” Psalm 119:105-109 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord I feel so bad today, I want to give up but I know that’s what the enemy would have me to do and I won’t give in to that feeling. I pray that when temptation comes my way again (as I know it will) help me to remember this experience and learn from it so I won’t repeat this mistake. I know you are there and I pray you will help me hear your voice and make better choices in the future. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Don’t you know that as soon as you publicly proclaim any sort of success the enemy is just waiting to swoop in and steal your victory? My seven pound weight loss will most likely be very short lived and I haven’t yet decided if this is God’s way of bringing me down a peg and showing me his sense of humor – or if this is indeed the work of the enemy.

I spent an entire evening last night with a huge group of family and all day today and I must confess my eating choices were less than stellar. Last night’s dinner selection included lasagna, garlic bread, salad, chips, dip and dessert – and lots of it.

I woke up this morning feeling like that seven pounds was all a dream and felt like my body was filled with sludge. While I did great in saying no to dessert, I’m afraid I fell victim to the bread – and lots of it! Today was no better with a marathon day of golf and eight hours between meals. When dinnertime finally arrived, I fell face first into a plate of onion rings and didn’t come up for air until I struck Formica. Not a pretty picture. Clearly I have a long way to go to overcome my food addictions as I was most definitely an out of control addict needing an immediate fix.

In my defense, I’ve set aside one day a week for rest from the rigors of weight loss and exercise and I refuse to beat myself up. On the bright side, I probably walked about five or six miles today over hill and dale on a very long golf course, so my activity level balanced out the excess food. Plus, I spent quality time with family, and there should never be regrets when it comes to family.

The good news is tomorrow is Monday and the start of a new week and a chance to wipe the slate clean. The bad news is I’ve had to resort to Tums for my tummy followed by Pepto shooters to calm the adverse effects of the onion rings. Note to self: When your body goes for a considerable length of time without deep fried foods, there will be unpleasant consequences.

Live and learn. Tomorrow is a new day!

Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic. ~ Author Unknown

“4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4 -7 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you Lord for a great family-filled weekend; for golf, exercise, good food, fun and fellowship. I pray that with the start of a new week, I can get back on track, learn from my mistakes and press towards the goal. No regrets, Lord. Thank you for my family. I do rejoice in you Lord Jesus! I ask all these things in your holy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Some mornings you wake up and look down to discover your stomach is so bloated you can’t see your feet. Occasionally though you’ll wake up and after a good long stretch, you casually look down and notice you’ve chipped polish on your right toe. Rejoice … for that can only mean your tummy wasn’t blocking the view to your feet! Something’s finally working with this weight loss thing!

I was blessed with a lovely view of my feet this morning and after an exhausting workout, I took a step of faith to weigh myself today. I’ve had to limit my scale time, as I have a tendency to lapse into deep depression when I’ve gained weight or maintained my weight without losing.

After seven weeks, I’ve lost seven pounds. When I was in my teens and 20s, I could gain or lose seven pounds overnight. Seven pounds in seven weeks may actually seem insignificant to some. But to anyone who has struggled with food addictions and is smack dab in the middle of menopause and has only seen the scale go UP in the last four years, this is the first real success I’ve enjoyed in quite some time.

Ideally to continue at this pace, a person could boast just over a 50-pound weight loss after one year. While seven pounds may seem insignificant today, 50+ pounds by the end of the year, is not. That’s why when engaged in any weight loss program, it’s so important to keep your focus on the big picture and not nit-pick about the day-to-day.

When we’re in bondage to the bathroom scale, the daily numbers can steal our focus and end up doing more damage than good. A slight weight gain can be the catalyst that sends us over the edge to a major binge. Our brains tell us, “What’s the point, I’m never going to lose this weight. I might as well give up and eat what I want and get as a big as a house!”

That’s exactly the time you must quiet those thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13). With man this impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27)

To experience any kind of success, we must not open the door for the enemy and let him dictate our thoughts. We must not give the enemy even the tiniest of footholds. Don’t let your thought life and your mind become the devil’s playground. Rejoice in even the smallest of victories; replace negative thoughts with positive ones; keep your eyes on the prize and your eyes on one who saves!

Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day. ~ Author Unknown

“These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fired tests and purifies gold - and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on th day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” 1 Peter 1:7(NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you Lord for a victorious week and for the weight loss I’m seeing. Help me to stand strong against the lies of the enemy and look towards the end goal, never taking my eyes off of you. I love you and I thank you for every step that leads me to success. I ask all these things in your holy precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

When was the last time you heard anyone say “Thank God, it’s Monday?” I’m guessing, probably never. Yet the mere mention of Friday typically results in a faraway look or the slightest hint of a smile. Numerous song writers have capitalized on the “Thank God it’s Friday” theme elevating the status of Friday’s to a smooth segue to the weekend and a time to party hardy.

However, TGIF is more than just a popular saying or a nationwide restaurant chain. The Friday mentality that consumes people oftentimes seeps into our brains giving us a built in excuse to relax. Many offices and corporations observe “Casual Friday’s” but dressing down one day a week at work can affect more than just our wardrobe.

If we’re serious about losing weight and getting healthy, we can’t afford to let the TGIF state of mind affect our eating choices. We may be approaching a weekend, but that’s no excuse to relax our menus and get sloppy with our food choices.

When losing weight, Friday should be treated the same as every other day for us and not be an automatic excuse to skip our regular exercise or treat ourselves to dessert, because “Hey, it’s Friday!” If anything, we should be digging in our heels and standing fast to resist that relaxed attitude.

Many of us know weekends often bring with them extra challenges in the way of barbecues, get-togethers or dining out challenges. We must resist the urge to relax – it’s Friday because we know weekends are challenging in and of themselves.

Several years ago a popular weight loss organization introduced a “Weekends Off” program. For obvious reasons the program failed miserably. Once you give yourself permission to slack off, getting back on any program is significantly harder than ever.

So – when someone asks you to ditch your diet and head to the all-you-can-eat pizza buffet because it’s Friday, put on your armor to resist the temptation and kindly tell them, “TGIF? No thanks, it may be Friday but TGIC … thank God, I’m committed!”

The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse. ~ Author Unknown

“24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” Galatians 5:24-25 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I do thank you for Friday’s and the start of a weekend and a chance to relax and enjoy my family. Help me however to stand strong against the temptation to relax my attitude and my commitment to get healthy and lose weight. Strengthen my resolve to serve you completely and help me to include you in every aspect of my life. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

I was so consumed with my mini-pity party on crying over old pictures yesterday, I neglected to check my calendar. It was pointed out to me that yesterday the 17th was in fact, Ash Wednesday – the start of the Lenten season.

Lent is typically observed in some fashion by a majority of denominations around the world. This 40-day season that precedes Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection is a time to contemplate the life and sacrifice Jesus made for mankind. Many think it is a time to practice self-sacrifice and compassion towards our fellow man.

Many congregations advocate the practice of self-sacrifice by “giving up” something of importance during this period. Comparatively speaking, giving up smoking or chocolate for 40 days hardly compares to what Jesus suffered and sacrificed for us.

Because I desire a deeper walk with Christ, each year I make it a habit to sacrifice something particularly difficult for me to live without. Over the years, it has been favorite foods like sweets, bread or diet soda. More recently I’ve found fasting from certain behaviors to be more beneficial. Forty days and nights of no TV was a particularly difficult challenge for me. One year I gave up obsessive weighing and dieting practices and forbade myself to even talk about my weight. That was harder than one would image, especially if you’re one who is prone to everything in life revolving around your weight issues.

I challenge you to search your heart and come up with something you could “fast” for the next 40 days. By all rights, it should be something that will truly cause pain or suffering to do without … video games, gossiping, Starbucks Latte’s, your weekly poker game … fill in the blank with something you love.

If like me, you’re on a quest to get healthy, I’ve got my sights set on something that I’m horribly addicted to and something that has a tendency to make me do stupid things on a regular basis: sugar in all of its various forms.

Forty days isn’t a particularly long time, although it’s more than enough time to break a bad habit. Perhaps that’s where God is challenging you. Do you bite your nails, snap your fingers, chew ice or pop your knuckles, curse or talk ugly about your boss? Fasting an annoying habit is equally as tough as fasting a particular favorite food.

Whatever you decide, I hope you’ll use this holy Lenten season to reflect on the sacrifice our Lord Jesus made for us and take advantage of the next 40 days to truly dig deeper and draw closer to the Savior.

And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here. ~ St Augustine

“1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:1-4 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord what could I sacrifice for you that would equal what you sacrificed for me? I pray that as I lay my addiction to sugar on the altar you would help me to draw closer to you and learn the true meaning of the word sacrifice. I love you Lord and thank you for your sacrifice for me. I feel so unworthy, but I know that you don’t see my faults, but only my heart. May I grow in strength and character over this next 40 days. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever come across an old picture of yourself taken many years ago and been saddened by what you saw? My kids were looking at old pictures of me taken some 20 years ago and couldn’t believe “what a bone rack” I was back then. It saddened me to see that I had indeed been a skinny girl at one time, but I never realized it, nor enjoyed it while I was in that skinny body.

Of course, in my defense that was nearly 60 pounds ago, pre menopause and two children ago, so I guess it’s reasonable to expect that there will be changes in our bodies under those circumstances. What disturbed me so, was the realization that when that picture was taken over 20 years ago I was decidedly unhappy with myself thinking I needed to lose about five more pounds.
Now of course, I’d do practically anything to have that body back and wished I wouldn’t have complained so at the time and enjoyed the weight I was at all those years ago. For me this has been a recurring pattern my whole life. It seems as though I’ve never been satisfied with the status quo while it was indeed the status quo.

Clearly my issues run deep and comprise a huge part of my history and facing my insecurities is a bitter pill to swallow. “If only” keeps running through my brain taunting me that I’ve wasted a good portion of my life wishing for things to be different rather than enjoying the moment.
Since I haven’t discovered time travel yet and can’t turn the clock back to bygone days, the lesson to be learned is: enjoy the here and now. No, I’m not at my desired weight – not even close at this point. But rather than wasting any more precious time wishing I was thinner, I have committed to getting healthy this year and whether I lose another pound or not, I will commit to being a happier, more positive me.

Life is to be lived and enjoyed – today – not 20 or 30 pounds from now. Tomorrow is not a guarantee, so in order to make the most of today, I won’t cry over the past, but live in the present and treat it like the precious gift that it is.

What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now. ~ Author Unknown

“10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I feel like I’m always asking you for forgiveness for being so stupid – but yet here I am again, asking for the same thing. I don’t want to live in the past and live with regrets and I can’t change what was, I can only go forward. Help me to have a positive attitude and be happy and enjoy my life to the fullest each and every day. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Just because you believe something to be true, doesn’t necessarily make it a fact – it’s just what YOU believe, so it becomes truth to YOU.

A great example of this is the things we tell ourselves to justify our bad habits:
• There is no caloric value in the crumbs you eat in the bottom of the Fritos bag.
• If you eat a piece of cake standing up the calories don’t count.
• There aren’t enough calories in the ice cream you scoop off the lid of the container to matter.
• A finger full of peanut butter is less than a tablespoon. I don’t have to count those calories.
• Broken cookies have very few calories in them.
• If I wear black and 3” heels, I can camouflage the weight I’ve gained.

I could go on and on, but I believe you get the idea. Most of us have little white lies we’ve been living with for a long time. But if you’re squeezing into clothes that used to fit you or if you’re buying larger sizes than you used to wear, you know you’re not fooling anyone – most of all yourself.

The whole purpose of making a commitment to lose weight and get healthy is because we know that these little white lies are catching up to us and we now have to be held accountable for a lifetime of little white lies.

Even if we’ve been experiencing a modicum of success in the last six weeks, if we’re continuing to tell ourselves these little half-truths, it means we’re not fully committed to getting healthy. It’s time to set a guard over our mouths (Psalm 141:3) and stop allowing these lies to come out of our mouth. We’ve got to stop these lies at the source – our mind. We’ve got to stop believing these lies to be truth.

It’s important to renew our minds DAILY (Romans 12:2) and replace these lies with the truth of God’s word. The experts say it takes 30 days to create a new habit. I challenge you to replace a little white lie with a positive word from Scripture every day for the next 30 days and see if you can’t change an attitude you’ve been living with. You’ve got nothing to lose – except a little extra weight and hopefully you can be set free from telling those little white lies and experience what a life of freedom feels like.

We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter. ~ Denis Diderot

“7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I’m guilty of telling myself these little white lies and I confess them to you. I ask that you would help me to renew my mind and replace these lies with the truth of your word. Please help your word come alive to me so that I might walk out YOUR truths daily. You are my strength and my shield. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

The road to successful weight loss may be paved with good intentions, but unless we back up our good intentions with hard work, our good intentions will only lead us to a dead end. Or worse yet, our good intentions will have us circling around only to discover we’re going nowhere and we’ll find ourselves right back where we started six weeks ago.

We can WANT to lose weight. We can PRAY about losing weight and we can TALK about losing weight until we’re blue in the face, but unless we actually start saying “NO” to bigger food portions and wrong food choices and skipping those in between meal snacks and stop hiding our secret snacking addictions, it will amount to nothing.

We need to say “YES” to burning more calories than we consume. We need to work as hard at losing weight as we do complaining about being overweight. We’re six weeks into this thing now and we should be seeing some real results. Maybe our overall numbers aren’t changing radically but we should be seeing a difference in other areas. Can we walk a little further than we could six weeks ago? Is our blood pressure or cholesterol reduced at all? Can we button or zip our jeans and actually breathe now? Can we do a sit-up (or 10 or 20 or 50)?

Success isn’t necessarily measured by losing “X” amount of weight. Look for the small victories and congratulate yourself. However small that victory may seem, if you’re seeing changes it means that what we’re doing is working.

If you’re not seeing fast enough results, rather than “intending” to increase your walking distance at some point, CHOOSE today to push yourself farther. If you’re intending to cut out all sugar at some point, CHOOSE this week, or better yet CHOOSE today to make that change. Whatever you intend to do at some point to speed up your weight loss (as long as it’s a healthy and safe option) CHOOSE today to start making some changes.

Change can only be beneficial if you put it into motion and back it up with hard work. If you’re unhappy with where you’re at today, CHOOSE today to make changes that propel you forward rather than continuing where you are. If you’re bored with your exercise program and don’t feel like you’re seeing results, change your workout to something that’s more fun that will help get you to that next level.

Celebrate your victories; change what you don’t like and turn your good intentions into concrete plans that will lead you down the road of success. We’re still doing this and that’s something to get excited about!

Some people dream of success… while others wake up and work hard at it. ~ Author Unknown

“2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, thank you for victories no matter how small they may seem to others. Thank you for perseverance to continue this journey. I pray for strength to work hard and ask that you would help me to make changes that will further my success. Help me not to complain and help me to be willing to work harder each day than I did the day before. I pray against a spirit of complacency and boredom. May I be excited for each new day and each new challenge. I ask all these things in your holy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Valentine’s Day is here already. My goodness but the year is flying by! If you’re like me and still committed to your New Year’s resolution, you may be surprised to know that you’re in the minority of people who are STILL committed to those resolutions. The average person has already ditched their resolutions and traded in their good intentions for old familiar bad habits.

While it may be tempting to invite a few of those comfortable bad habits back into our lives, we must be stronger than ever. Each day we manage to press forward, we become a whole new success statistic. If we’ve made it this far, we can go farther.

I’m actually starting to see real results after six weeks. I’ve got three pairs of pants that have become noticeably looser. This is a huge victory for which I thank God. We may go along from day-to-day thinking nothing is changing, but all of a sudden one day – poof – change is in the way your clothes fit. Or changes are occurring on the scale. Success feels wonderful!

Enjoy your Valentine’s Day without making it about what goes in your mouth today. Take a day to relax and celebrate with someone you love. If you don’t have a special someone, find someone you can do something nice for today. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a “couple” thing and it doesn’t have to be celebrated with romantic dinners and chocolate. It’s a great day to love your neighbor as yourself!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A baby is born with a need to be loved - and never outgrows it. ~ Frank A. Clark

16″For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you my Lord that you loved me so much you sent your only son to die for me. If I spend the rest of my lifetime trying to give back to you as much as you have given me, it would still not be enough time. Thank you for the love you give so that I might give to others. In your name I ask all these things, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Yesterday was a day I learned the importance of not skipping meals. I followed my menu plan and ate a planned healthy breakfast. I ordered a fairly healthy meal for lunch and immediately had a take-out box brought so I could safely remove half of my lunch.

My problem evolved over the course of the eight hours following lunch. Poor planning on my part led to a long stretch with no pre-prepared or readily available healthy snacks, which resulted in binge eating with very unhealthy-baked goods.

On the brighter side of my binge, I was fully engaged in volunteer work at church and was so busy there was little time to dwell on my grumbling tummy. By the time I finally did break for a meal, I was perfectly legal with dinner. My downward spiral began first with salad dressing that was full of fat.

The spiral of doom quickly escalated to a full-fledged cyclone when the dessert tray was passed heavily laden with cheesecake (which I successfully resisted); cream puffs (which I didn’t resist; I had four) and heart-shaped brownies of various sizes which I inhaled so quickly, for a moment I felt like a drug addict in desperate need of a quick fix.

I completed my volunteer clean-up work and headed home dejected, feeling like a total and utter failure. Where was MY faith? Where was MY determination to succeed? My complete lack of discipline reminded me I have a long way to go with my self-control boundaries.

Yesterday obviously was a day to file in the book as a really bad “off day.” There will be more I’m sure (but hopefully they’ll be farther and fewer as the year progresses). Because I’ve purposed in my heart to get healthy this year and stick to my New Year’s resolution, it’s important to keep these “off days” in perspective. It was only one day. Today is a new day and as always, an opportunity to start fresh.

As usual, I must ask forgiveness for the spirit of gluttony that overtook me and then I must receive that forgiveness and truly forgive myself. Like that old song goes I’ll pick myself off, dust myself off and … start all over again.

I’m trying to get a mental picture in my head of how I hope to look at the end of the year. I’ve got 321 more days to figure this out and gain wisdom from my mistakes and strengthen my resolve to overcome these off days. A year is a long time and praise God I’ve not thrown the towel in yet. Statistically, more than 50% of people who make New Year’s resolutions have done just that and thrown the towel in by Valentine’s Day. One off day, does not a failure make!

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

“34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” John 4:34 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I messed up again and forgot to rely on you for strength when I was weak. Please forgive me and I pray each day will be better than the previous day. Thank you that I haven’t given up on myself yet. I ask all these things in your name Lord Jesus. Amen.

Wouldn’t it be nice if God had designed us like computers so that when we ate something we wished we wouldn’t have, we couldn’t simply hit delete? To be able to magically backspace over our food indiscretions would be a luxury, to be sure. After a great day with our menu and exercise program we could simply Copy and Paste so we wouldn’t have to go to all the effort of doing the work again tomorrow.

And don’t tell me that Photo Shop thing wouldn’t come in handy, when it comes to our bodies! How great would it be to photo shop in new body parts to replace those parts of our bodies we’re unhappy with, like our love handles, pudgy knees or saddlebags? To be designed with a Control-Escape button would certainly prove advantageous when we’re embroiled in a difficult life situation or in the middle of a grueling task that we think will be the end of us.

Obviously God didn’t design us like computers for a reason. He created us in His image and because of our uniqueness and individuality we can’t simply backspace to correct our mistakes. If life were that easy, we’d never learn anything for one thing. And not surprisingly, if we were designed like computers, we would have no need of God.

God however, did not design us to live in guilt and condemnation. When we do overeat the enemy would like nothing more than for us to wallow in our guilt and feel shame because we have no self-control.

In lieu of a backspace or delete key, God created us as beings who should be laying our guilt at the foot of the cross. None of us are perfect and weight loss programs remind us just how imperfect most of us are.

When you eat more than the serving size calls for – don’t let the enemy place a mantle of guilt upon your shoulders. When you veer from your menu plan do not let the enemy weigh you down with negative thoughts about what a pig you are. It’s unlikely you’re going to be perfect every day. There will be slip ups, there will be extra servings and there will be “off” days.

Exchange any guilt you may be carrying about these “slip-ups” for freedom that can only come from Jesus Christ. Ask God to give you strength to not repeat these “slip-ups.” Ask God to strengthen you from the inside out so you can stand strong against the temptations that come. Realize that there WILL be temptations and pray that when they do come you may build up your resistance against them.

Prayer and faith are your “Anti-Virus” protection or your Security Firewall against those “dangerous viruses” (like guilt and condemnation) that seek to infiltrate your spirit.

We are not machines programmed to be perfect. We are sons and daughters of the King of Kings and he delights in the fact that we need to rely on him for everything. Copy and Paste this thought for today: I’m not perfect, but that’s okay because my Heavenly Father loves me anyway!

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, help me not to suffer with guilt when I don’t follow my eating or exercise program perfectly. I know you don’t expect me to be perfect but to simply do my best. Give me what I need for today and help me to stand strong against temptation. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

There are times when you need to listen to your body and times when you need to tell it to shut up. Because most of us know the flesh wants what the flesh wants – but it doesn’t always want what’s best for us.

It’s okay to listen to your body as long as you don’t let IT tell you what to do. I’ve been fighting a nasty cough for the last two days. My body was screaming for a nap today and for once, I listened to it and took a short power nap. It turns out, my flesh knew what I needed today.

There are times your body will crave certain types of food and it’s not always bad to listen to it. When you crave fresh fruit or salad you should listen to those cravings. Your body needs five servings of fruits and veggies every day. Listen to the flesh in that instance.

More often than not, MY body wants peanut M&Ms or Double Stuff Oreos. Clearly those are the demands I do my best to quash and refuse to let them dictate my flesh. My flesh does not need Oreos, Double Stuff or otherwise.

When we’re thirsty we need to replenish our body with water, not tea, coffee or soda. Your body may crave caffeine and that’s not strictly forbidden, but as with anything – set boundaries. You can’t survive on mass quantities of caffeine, regardless of what form you ingest it. Remember moderation in everything.

We control our flesh – our flesh does not control us. Our flesh will rarely agree with us when it comes to exercise. My flesh never wants to go hiking or lift weights … again I’ve got to force it to comply. My flesh has to do what I tell it to do.

When you find yourself mindlessly feeling the need to graze in the fridge or pantry and you don’t know what your flesh really wants; you don’t even necessarily feel hungry– oftentimes that’s simple boredom. Find something to take your mind off your grazing. Listen to your body. If it’s truly hungry and you can’t quiet those stomach rumblings it may actually be time to feed it – especially if it’s been several hours since you last ate.

Occasionally your flesh hungers for fulfillment that can’t be satisfied with food or drink. Your flesh could be crying out for fulfillment of a different kind – something deeper. It’s been said that God created each of us with a God-size void that only his spirit can fill. By all means, listen to your flesh when it hungers for that something deeper and let God fill you with all the good things he has planned for you. That’s one situation that you absolutely must give the flesh what the flesh wants!

I bid you conquer in your warfare against your four great enemies, the world, the devil, the flesh, and above all, that obstinate and perverse self-will, unaided by which the other three would be comparatively powerless. ~ Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” Matthew 26:41 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, help me to listen to what my body really needs and not just what it thinks it wants. I want to put only good things in my body that will be for my nourishment. Help me to resist the temptation to give in to my flesh. Strengthen me in all areas Lord. Fill me with your Spirit so my soul may be continually fed, Lord. I ask all these things in your name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

The serving size specifically states 14 pretzels equals one serving. Yet somehow you feel compelled to have two extra pretzels. It’s just two small pretzels what could it hurt?

When you’re pouring out cereal in your bowl, the serving size is one cup, but you conveniently don’t count the many pieces that spilled over the cup and fell in the bowl during the measuring stage. It’s just a few pieces, what could it hurt?

When your spreading your bread with low fat-peanut butter and sugar free jelly, you lick the overflow and “extra” hanging from the bottom of the spoon and dripping over the edges. Somehow that leads to an extra dip in the peanut butter jar once you’ve made your sandwich. It’s just an extra spoonful, how much can that hurt?

All those BLTs (bites, licks and tastes) that amount to nothing on their own, eventually all join together to become a whole lot of something extra.

Before you know it, your weight has reached an immoveable plateau, yet your stymied because “I’ve been sticking to my eating program – to the letter. I don’t understand why I’m not losing more weight!”

Are you seeing any patterns? What seems like harmless little nothing snacks, are not simply extra calories, but perhaps the sign of some hidden rebellion. Who of us really like weighing and measuring our food? No one, that’s who! But the combination of not weighing our food and giving into the urge to extra BLTs has landed us exactly where we are today: overweight, out of breath, wearing bigger clothes than we ought to and quite simply … out of options.

Ask yourself what’s at the core of this rebelliousness that causes us to push our limits and have extra BLTs? Here’s where that faith thing really needs to kick in and keep us truthful with ourselves. Identify your problem and then take it to God and ask him for help in this area.

Some people think that because God is so omnipotent and he’s dealing with so many major issues around the world: war, famine, earthquakes, pestilence, winter blizzards, etc., why would this big God care anything about me and my quest to lose weight?

Because God is such a big God, he can do abundantly more than we could ever dare to hope or imagine (Phil. 4:19). Yes, this big God cares about the big things in life, but he also cares about every teeny, tiny, minute detail of your life right down to the hairs on your head (Luke 12:6-8). So quite naturally, why wouldn’t this big God care about your food program and your subsequent urge to push the envelope?

We all need to get it through our heads that we’re not fooling anybody – especially not God and least of all ourselves. Take this “secret” snacking to God and ask him for help; ask him for deliverance, and ask him for strength to resist these repeated temptations. God does care and God is listening!

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~ St. Augustine

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, please give me the strength to stay true to my eating program. PLEASE help me to stay accountable and honest and help me to stop being rebellious and having larger servings that what I’m supposed to. I know you’re there and you love me and want me to succeed. Thank you for strength to succeed, Lord. I can do this with your help! In your name I ask all these things Lord Jesus. Amen.

God understands our prayers even when we can’t find the words to say them. ~ Author Unknown

There will be days that pass by as barely a blip on your radar screen in this whole losing weight thing. Just ordinary ho-hum days. You manage your menu. You complete your exercise. Your attitude is fairly positive and you’re moving along with your plan to get healthy. No major crisis with anything. Life is good.

But, occasionally there will be those days that require you to dig down deep and pull strength, faith and attitude all the way up from your toes. Maybe you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, or you simply didn’t get the proper amount of sleep. Perhaps your flesh wants chocolate and will get it at any cost! Maybe it’s PMS (yes, men have it too!) or maybe it’s a rainy day and you want to cuddle up in a blanket, watch old movies and eat all the wrong things and say there’s no way I’m exercising today!

Whatever is causing you to dig deep, you’ve got to know where to dig and exactly what kind of shovel you’re going to need. The 12-step program refers to this as relying on your Higher Power. I’m not ashamed to admit that my higher power is the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes I have to fall on my face (sometimes figuratively, sometimes literally) and cry out to my Lord and Savior to give me the strength to stay strong and not give up and throw in the towel. Heck, some days when I feel as though I might starve, I have to pray for strength not to eat the towel!

Yesterday I talked about how hard this whole business of losing weight is. If it were easy it wouldn’t be a billion dollar business and our country wouldn’t have such a huge population of obese people. When the going gets tough, the tough don’t have lunch at an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. No – the tough tap into that internal strength and call on something bigger than themselves (what’s bigger than God?) and they believe that God cares enough about their struggle to step in and help them.

If you’re not sure you believe in God, it’s very simple to get to know him personally. Simply admit that you’re a sinner in need of a Savior. Ask God to come into your life and be in control of every apsect of it. Trust him from here on out to help you in your weight loss efforts and with everything in your life. Bing-bang-boom, these simple words have just changed your entire future and guaranteed you a place in Heaven. Now, wasn’t that simple?

21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Acts 22:21 (NIV)

I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them: “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden.” ~ St Augustine

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” 27Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:24-27 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I thank you that you call me your own and I can call on you in times of trouble. I know that you hear my prayers and I pray you will give me strength for each day. Multiply my faith and help me to believe that with you, nothing is impossible and I can be successful in losing this weight. I ask all these things in your name Lord Jesus. Amen.

Have you ever known anyone who seemed plagued with an unusual amount of bad luck? Not even major streaks of bad luck such as a terminal illness or utter financial ruin. But just repeated bouts of flat tires, losing their keys, being dumped by their significant other, stepping in gum only to throw their back out? A bad luck follows them everywhere kind of person.

These are the kind of people that even though we feel moved to compassion by their unlucky circumstances, we might promise to pray for them, but if we’re honest, we have a tendency to avoid their company. And only for the simple reason that even though bad luck isn’t a contagious malady, we still avoid them because we don’t want that negative mo jo to rub off on us. Okay, so maybe I’m the only one honest enough to admit that!

In the same way I avoid those negative vibes and bad luck magnets, I purposely seek after the company of people who are positive and upbeat. Most of us are attracted to charismatic people. People who always have a smile on their face are more appealing to hang around than a sourpuss.

Is it any wonder when we encounter someone who’s been hugely successful at losing weight, we flock to them like bargain shoppers at a clearance sale? Aren’t we all secretly hoping their success will rub off on us? We follow after them, interrogating them, “how’d you lose the weight?” Or “what’s your secret?” We want them to breathe on us in the hopes we’ll catch their thinness like a contagious disease.

Guess what? Reality check time? We can’t catch weight loss – not by osmosis or even doing everything that person may have done to get thin. Even if we duplicated someone else’s weight loss regime to the letter, there are no guarantees our success will mimic theirs. Which is why on all the weight loss TV commercials the ads contain a disclaimer specifically stating, “Weight loss not typical. Results may vary.”

Our weight loss journey must be walked out by us, one step at a time. We can enlist the aid of an accountability partner to keep us on target with our food plan. We can find an exercise buddy to work out with, but ultimately our bodies – our DNA belong only to us and we’ve got to put the work in ourselves. Contrary to what weight loss pill manufacturers want us to believe - there is no magic pill that will melt the weight off. Losing weight is hard work and a day-to-day (or for me, hour-by-hour) struggle.

The good news is, if we put the work and effort into seriously losing weight, time passes and we eventually become that person who’s a walking success story giving off that positive vibe. Before you know it, we’ll become that person that everyone flocks to and starts badgering, “Hey, what’s the secret to your successful weight loss?” That’s when you tell them the truth, “Hard work and lots of it! And prayer and lots and lots of it!”

Faith can move mountains, but don’t be surprised if God hands you a shovel. ~ Author Unknown

“10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:10-12 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, help me to diligently seek after you and your kingdom. Help me to walk this weight loss journey one step at a time. Help me to acquire more knowledge and determination every day and resist temptations along the way. May each step bring me one day closer to reaching my goal. In your name I ask all these things, Lord Jesus. Amen.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and it brings with it super challenges when it comes to food. I’m more committed than ever to my New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get healthy this year,so I’m determined to make it through Super Bowl Sunday without becoming a super pig.

Since the party’s at my house this year, menu planning fell to me. We’ve opted to keep it simple and moderately healthy with grilled chicken, baked potatoes, salad and bread. Sounds like a good plan and a fairly easy menu to stick to without over indulging.

The real problem lies in the before and after Super Bowl snacks. My counters are littered with baked goods, chips, dips, salsas, brownies and cake. And don’t get me started on the four containers of ice cream stacked and waiting in the Frigidaire.

Super Bowl is an EGR function. Extra Grace Required. There are ways to get around some of the chips and dips to create low-fat options. Substituting light sour cream for regular; baked chips instead of the greasy regular chips; or veggies for dipping rather than chips at all. If you’re grilling meat, ground turkey is a healthy alternative to ground beef or turkey hot dogs rather than Polish dogs or beef hot dogs. Try using a whole wheat bun in place of a sesame seed bun or regular high calorie/high carb bun. When it comes to the baked goods and ice cream, there are some low-fat options, but let’s be realistic, many of them aren’t worth the effort it takes to chew them. You can give yourself permission to indulge in something small, but set limits, stick to them and remember that tomorrow is the start of a new week and it’s important to get right back on track.

Following a weight loss program doesn’t have to mean isolating yourself from friends and family. Enjoy your day. The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event of the year. You don’t have to skip it and be a party pooper because you’re losing weight. Above all, resist the urge to tell everyone you see, “I’m on a diet.” You don’t have to draw attention to the fact that in all likelihood you’re in the minority of people still deeply committed to their New Year’s resolution.

With a positive attitude and some careful preparation and planning you can enjoy Super Bowl Sunday without doing irreparable damage to the progress you’ve made since January 1st. Maybe if you’re extremely lucky, you can attend your Super Bowl party wearing a pair of jeans that are slightly smaller than the ones you wore five weeks ago!

I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. ~ Nancie J. Carmody

“15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you Lord for opportunities to be with friends and family and to relax and enjoy football, food and laughter. Please help me to set a guard over my mouth and be mindful of what I’m eating and of my portion sizes. Help the day to be about spending time with people I like and not about dieting or obsessing about what I weigh or want to weigh. I pray for the gift of relaxation today. I ask all these things in your blessed name Lord Jesus. Amen.

This posting will be short and sweet as I’ve been frightfully busy today and only just now sat down at my computer. I’ve spent the most wonderful two days listening to the loveliest and funniest woman from England. She’s here visiting her sister church - my church, and I do believe she could have entertained me endlessly just by talking. I loved her accent and wished I could have brought her home in my pocket to sit at my table and read to me all day. I believe she could have read the back of a bag of Kitty Litter and made it sound so delightful. However, I must confess, I’m terribly concerned that all my thoughts and words are sounding very British in my head!

Sorry .. I’ll just be me, now! A few days ago I talked about life throwing us curve balls and true to form, no sooner had I spoken the words than life delivered a knee-knocker right in the strike zone yesterday. After attending an all day “Get Motivated” Seminar through work on Thursday, I went back to work on Friday pumped up and determined to give my employer my very best. Of course I wasn’t only motivated regarding my job, but my head was filled to bursting with strategies and ideas for marketing my current book and a gazillion ideas for three other books I’m working on. I got my money’s worth and left thoroughly motivated.

Lo and behold - half way through the morning my employer lobbed a curve ball in my direction by laying me off. Bad economic down turn, deplorable housing market … sinking ship … blah, blah, blah. It all amounted to one singular feeling – me going home feeling a horrible failure and utterly rejected. I should go on record as saying that I’m in my 50s and have never been fired or laid off from any job, and even though the handwriting has been on the wall for some months at my job, the final death knell came as a startling blow.

Normally the urge to drown my sorrows in a vat of ice cream smothered in Oreos would have taken precedence, but yesterday proved to be an entirely different sort of reaction. I got a massive stomach ache and couldn’t eat all day. I can’t remember the last time I skipped an entire day of meals!

Long story short – this is one of those circumstances where I can crawl under the covers and stay there for a few weeks or months. And when I get up I could eat my way through the pantry in alphabetical order and only come up for air to brush the crumbs from my face to crawl back into bed. OR … I can take the lemons life has handed me and make sugar-free lemonade.

Trying my best to look at this glass of lemonade half-full, I realize God has given me the wonderful gift of time. Time to go back to working out on a more frequent basis. Time to spend with my Lord in the Word of God. Time to finish my new book(s). Time to promote and market my current book and time to stop and smell the barbecue! In the words of the very wise and lovely Eleanor Mumford from the U.K., What else is there?

Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards. ~ William Arthur Ward

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you Lord for this new opportunity. I will not be sad or negative but I will look upon this new chapter as a wonderful stepping stone to the next level. May I enjoy the journey to the fullest and refuse to pick up the mantle of worry or fear. I will rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say REJOICE! In your wonderful and precious name I ask all these things, Lord Jesus. AMEN!

A friend emailed me some pictures she snapped of me and my family last week when we all got together for a going away party for her son. (He’s off to Marine Corp. Infantry training in San Diego. Praying God’s blessings over W.D.!)

As soon as I got these pictures, my immediate reaction was to hit “delete” because I despise looking at pictures of myself. My eyes are immediately drawn to all the things I hate about my body. My butt looks huge, my arms are enormous. When did I get a double-chin? Do I really look that old? You get the “picture.” I see only flaws.

When my husband looked at the pictures he said I looked beautiful. To which I replied, “Seriously, Dude? Don’t you see what I see?”

Today when I hiked with my accountability buddy she was confessing that she was feeling the pull of PAMMI (the bathroom scale) and felt like she needed to weigh herself to see if she was on track. Let me go on record as saying kudos to her because she’s lost over 70 pounds in the last six months and looks amazing! Yet she’s still insecure and won’t believe what people tell her. She doesn’t believe what her clothes are telling her – the ones that are baggy on her and the ones that are smaller sizes than she’s previously worn. “Seriously, girl! Don’t you see what I see?”

One of the most effective (and damaging) tools the enemy uses are mirrors. Somehow he distorts our images so we are incapable of seeing our reflections clearly. Any anorexic can attest to that. I’m convinced my bathroom mirrors have been replaced by funhouse mirrors. Can I really be that ugly?

But … don’t you know that every time I ask myself this question and others like it, my Heavenly Father is weeping for me. It hurts Him to hear me speak so negatively about myself. He came that I might have life and wants me to enjoy it to the fullest! (John 10:10) God didn’t die for me and save me so I could verbally beat myself up everyday over my perceived physical imperfections.

Satan is a liar! And it’s high time we all get that message and receive the fullness of joy that our Lord has for us. When these negative thoughts come to us, we need to IMMEDIATELY discard them and replace those negative thoughts with something positive. We are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) and I can promise you that God is not fat and ugly so that means WE ARE NOT FAT AND UGLY!

God thinks you’re beautiful! It’s high time you see what He sees!

Beauty… when you look into a woman’s eyes and see what is in her heart. ~ Nate Dircks

You can take no credit for beauty at sixteen. But if you are beautiful at sixty, it will be your soul’s own doing. ~ Marie Stopes

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Thank you Lord for helping me to cast down all those negative thoughts and images. Thank you for helping me to replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts. I thank you for seeing the real me – the one on the inside. Thank you for creating me in your image and seeing me as your beautiful child. In your name I ask all these things, Lord Jesus. Amen.

When you’re in the beginning stages of any weight loss program and you’ve yet to show any substantial weight loss, it’s probably not in your best interest to shop for clothes in these early stages. Unfortunately I had a business function to attend this week that forced for me to shop for something suitable to wear.

I should go on record as saying that when you’re over your goal weight, shopping for clothes is about as much fun as root canal surgery. Dressing rooms are always supplied with three-way mirrors that highlight all your body’s flaws – in triplicate. And for some unknown reason, the lighting is so glaringly bright it’s impossible to ignore said flaws. The combination of the lights and the mirrors force you to view your body from every conceivable and painful angle, making you privy to places on your body you haven’t dared look at in ages – times three.

Taking the maximum limit in clothing selections (because the goal is to avoid repeated trips to the dressing room), I finally found a suitable outfit but not without a few servings of humble pie. My size didn’t somehow magically reduce over the last month and even the size that “should have” fit, was snug – reminding me yet again, that I’ve got a long way to go.

The urge to beat myself up about how little progress I’ve made with my weight loss was strong, but fleeting – thank goodness. Dressing for your size or dressing for success all amount to the same thing: you’ve got to do what that old song says. Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

Remind yourself that you won’t always be this size and that you’re making positive steps to lose weight and get healthy. Don’t focus on all the things you hate about your body, but do your best to choose clothes that make you feel good.

Accentuate what you do like about your body. Seek the help of someone who has an eye for color and fabrics and someone who will tell you honestly “don’t buy that dress, it makes your butt look huge!” I have two daughters who are painfully honest with me and while they occasionally hurt my feelings, I know they would never let me walk out of the house wearing something that makes me look ridiculous.

Visualize how you want to look in that dress or outfit you’ve got your eye. Tape a picture of it on your fridge or bathroom mirror if you need a constant visual aid to remind you of your goal. For me, my visual aid is closing my eyes and imagining being interviewed on the Oprah Show by the queen of daytime TV herself. I can just picture Oprah talking about my new book and chatting it up with her like we’re old friends. Because I know TV adds 10 pounds, I keep reminding myself that if I eat that cookie today, I’ll look even heavier when I’m on the Oprah show. Okay, it’s far-fetched, but it’s what I’m drawing on to keep myself on the right track.

Dream your dreams; envision your success but in the interim – accentuate the positive and above all – eliminate the negative!

“I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.” ~ Stephen Grellet, French/American religious leader (1773-1855)

“1 Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. 3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:1-3 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord thank you for accepting me just as I am. I thank you for not basing your love for me on my outward appearance but by what’s in my heart. Search me and see if there be any wicked ways in me. I know you are with me on this difficult journey and I pray that you will give me strength for each new day and each challenge. May I put my faith in you and not give up when it gets too hard. I ask all these things in your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

You know you’re in trouble when you wake up late and breakfast is a banana in the car on the way to work and the day seems to go downhill from there. You race to work, get through piles of paperwork and inhale your lunch without tasting it. After work it feels as though you’ve a million errands to run: the grocery store, the dry cleaners, the post office and oh yeah – don’t forget to pick up the kids (or grandkids) and take them to soccer.

There’s dinner to make and company’s coming so you’ve got to do the fastest cleaning job in the west to make the house presentable; the kids need help with their homework; you hurry to type and post your blog even though you know it’s far from perfect because you’re so rushed;the dog throws up on the floor right before the doorbell rings. … blah, blah, blah … you get the idea.

Life is busy and yet somehow, we’re still trying to keep a food diary, weigh and measure our food portions, squeeze in a good cardio workout, lift weights AND journal our moods, fears and phobias when we turn to food in times of stress. HEL-LO! Am I the only one whose life is crazy like this and is having a hard time juggling all these things while sticking to my healthy eating plan?

While this may sound like I’m complaining – I’m not, so much as venting. (Well maybe there’s about 16% complaining and 84% reality check.) Where do my priorities lie? I’m committed to my family, my job and my life, but I’m also serious about my goal of losing weight and getting healthy this year. In order for ALL of these things to work in some semblance of harmony, there must be cooperation from your household. I ask for help when I need it. Maybe someone else could get to the store or the post office if I can’t. I enlist some help with the housework and cooking and yes especially … the dog vomit.

In order to achieve success with my weight loss resolution, I need to carve out a certain amount of time each weekend when I can sit down and write out my meal planner for the upcoming week. I try to get as many of my errands or grocery shopping done on the weekends so when life throws me a curve ball, I can simply lob it back and not miss a beat.

This IS going to be tough, which is why so many people fail early on with their resolutions. I hate to keep harping on this positive attitude thing, but all these things won’t go away because we complain about them, so we might as well figure out how to restructure our priorities and decide how bad we want this.

For me – I want this really bad. Summer’s just a few months away and I don’t want to go through another summer hiding behind layers of denim and blousy shirts. I live in the desert and it’s very uncomfortable, to say the least. How bad do I want to keep my resolution? Bad enough that I’ll figure out how to be a Superwoman with clear priorites, realistic goals and a super attitude.

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best. ~ Henry van Dyke

“28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[m] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:23 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, help me not to be overwhelmed by the day-to-day business of life. I pray I won’t look to food to console me when I’m stressed out or overtaxed with worry or pressed for time. Slow me down and help me to maintain a positive attitude and help me keep my priorities in order. Thank you Lord for your patience with me and for loving me even, when I get crazy about the details of life. I ask all these things in your holy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

I was just reading on the Internet Sandra Bullock’s reaction to her Oscar nomination for her role in the movie The Blind Side. She commented that some serious liposuction and strict dieting was in order before she’d be ready for the awards show next month. To which I wanted to laugh! That girl needs to get a clue and keep that microscopic bit of fat because she’s too thin as it is!

Seriously, Ms. Bullock is a beautiful Hollywood star who’s about as big as a minute but yet she’s thinking she needs liposuction and a strict diet. All I can say for us “real women” is if Sandra needs liposuction and a strict diet, the rest of us have no hope.

And isn’t that exactly what society, the media and the enemy work so hard to convince us “real women” life is all about? If you’re not a size 0 or a size 2, you’re not worthy. Real women have curves, real women are round, real women go through menopause and get midriffs. And yes, real women have body fat!

It’s so hard to live in a world where our “role models” are all anorexic stars who have personal trainers, chefs and nutritionists, home gyms and plenty of money to surgically correct the body parts they’re unhappy with. But if having perfect bodies made all those stars truly happy, the tabloid news shows and magazines wouldn’t be filled with so many sad stories of their tragic lives. Looking perfect on the outside is merely a band-aid for broken people living with deep emotional scars and secrets. That’s true for “real people” as well and not just Hollywood stars.

Earlier this week someone posted a comment on my blog that made me so sad. The comment read: “The hardest part about doing all of these things is the motivation factor. It’s my attitude. I think that is the main reason people stop working out. If people had someone to motivate them it would only be temporary. It would just stop the inevitable.”

Pain and disappointment are inevitable if you look for it and expect it. If you expect to be a failure – you will. If you expect to fall back into bad habits and patterns – you will. If you expect your New Year’s resolution to get healthy or lose weight will be too hard and you won’t be able to stick with it … guess what? You’re likely to get exactly what you’re expecting.

Why not expect to succeed this year? Why not expect that this New Year will be completely different. Why not expect to be happy regardless of what you weigh. Why not expect that your attitude will be SO positive, everyone you meet will want what you have – an expectant unshakeable attitude? Why not give it a shot? I expect it’s up to you.

Cure yourself of the affliction of caring how you appear to others. Concern yourself only with how you appear before God, concern yourself only with the idea that God may have of you. ~ Miguel De Unamuno

“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the LORD.” Jeremiah 29:11-14 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord I pray that you will help me to EXPECT great success this year with ALL my resolutions. I pray that when I am down, you will remind me that YOU have a great plan for my future. I pray you will bless me with a positive attitude that cannot be shaken, regardless of what’s happening around me. Thank you Lord for so many blessings. I ask all these things in your wonderful name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Do you eat to live or live to eat? I confess, I have a natural cave woman propensity for the latter and I’m certain that’s been part of my problem for many years. I hate to keep playing that dysfunctional childhood card, but that really applies when it comes to my eating habits.

I grew up in a household with a single working mom and meal times were lean and recipes repeated with a singular focus: 101 Ways to Disguise Hot Dogs, Ground Beef and Mac & Cheese. Baked goods were a rare treat and enjoying them became a contest of survival of the fittest. My siblings and I learned at a young age not come between sweet treats and the direct pathway to chomping incisors and molars, lest you pull back a bloody stump.

Okay, so perhaps I’m embellishing ever so slightly. But I did learn survival eating at a very young age. I was lucky for the most part and we had three square meals a day, but they weren’t lavish. There were many a night I’d go to bed hungry because our sparse meals had to stretch four ways. The treats that did find their way to the fridge or pantry became fair game for bingeing bandits, as my siblings and I became really talented when it came to sneaking extra servings.

Proclaiming innocence when Mom interrogated us became a celebrated art. “Who ate the cream filled donuts while I was at work?” She would ask.

“Not me!” Was the standard, universal answer by one and all.

Is it any wonder I have a hard time owning up to my food indiscretions these days? I’m a seasoned professional at lying about what I eat and I’ve been doing it for decades. That’s got to be some kind of record!

Today is a new month and the old month is behind us. With last month’s minimal weight loss, it’s time to “kick it up a notch,” as Chef Emeril would say. The next level for me would be journaling what I’m eating, but more in depth. Before I dive into a bag of Doritos, what’s going through my head? Why do I want to smother things in cheese and eat until I’m sick? Surely my circumstances and my moods are directly related to my eating binges.

In order to peel back the onion of my emotional eating, it’s time to start digging a little deeper to see what’s at the hidden core of my problems. The first month was a gentle easing into the resolution lifestyle changes. This new month may prove more difficult emotionally, but a necessary evil if I’m to conquer the inner beast. The prospect of discovering what’s hiding underneath my layer of scars is quite frightening, but I feel strong enough at this point to tackle it. It’s long past time I found out what’s been eating me.

I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much. ~ Mother Teresa

12” I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,[a] but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)

PRAYER FOR TODAY: Lord, I’m not sure if I’m ready to start digging into my emotional psyche and see what’s at the root cause of all my eating problems. I pray that you’ll be with me each step of the way and only reveal as much to me as I can handle. Go easy on me, Father, I’m a mess. In your name I ask these things, Lord. Amen.