Maintenance Tip
NIV: Proverb 24:13-14 Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTS: We are quickened to the study of wisdom by considering both the pleasure and the profit of it. All men relish things that are sweet to the palate; but many have no relish for the things that are sweet to the purified soul.
MY OBSERVATIONS: I have discovered the reason why my dieting attempts are finally successful. I have armed myself with all the knowledge I could find on the subject of nutrition, exercise and dieting. The most successful factor as I began to apply this knowledge came from diligently studying the Scriptures to not only convict me that being substantially overweight is sin, but also seeking God's face as to how I can overcome this sin. Without the Scriptures to convince and guide me, I am sure that I would be equipped with knowledge, but not wisdom and success. We are body and we are spirit. To attempt to cure the body without applying the same principles to the spirit will result in merely placing a Band-Aid on the wound, without cleaning it first and applying an antiseptic. A chapter a day in the Book of Proverbs was a month-long healing seminar for both my body and my spirit. We can relearn to purify our taste buds, but we must also make wise our spirits, lest we fall back into the patterns that put our bodies in such disarray to begin with. Our new patterns can benefit the entire family. As we change, we function differently in our relationships with family members, and this in turn prompts them to behave differently toward us. Just as an eating disorder affects the entire family, so does recovery.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wisdom that comes from above through the study of Your Word. Cleanse and purify our spirit that we might walk before You in purity and wholeness. In Jesus' name. Amen
NIV: Proverb 24:10 If you falter in times of trouble, how small is your strength!
My Observations: This proverb really speaks to the plateau we might hit or to the week that we gain 2 pounds despite our efforts. One thing I have learned, and that is I can't place my joy or my discouragement on a scale's reading for the day. It is easy to be elated when the scale reads to our approval, but we can not let it affect our mood when it stubbornly refuses to reward our efforts with a favorable reading. How small is our strength and our total victory if we throw in the towel on our efforts when the scale doesn't accommodate us. If we say, Well I won't follow my meal plan today because it's not working, then we haven't truly made a life-changing decision to be whole in our weight again. Discouragement, and ups and downs may occur, but never enough to make us falter from our goals!
Father God, Thank You for the encouragement of Your Word and of Your companionship. Help us to keep our head's held high, with eyes ever looking up to Jesus. Amen
Today's Diet Tip: 24.- Each day you stay on your diet brings you closer to your weight goal.
Today's Positive Thought: Goals are the bridges that span our dreams.
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Obesity is the fine we pay for exceeding the feed limit.
That is why our focus must be on a clear conscience and not strictly what the scale tells us.
