Second, I think I need to get my head wrapped around this weekend as I know there are going to be some "trials." These trials are not going to be bad things, but rather I just know I will be tempted to get off track with 0-5 eating... So, I need to take action on my "planning for trials" exercise. I'm going to PLAN ahead right now!
Friday Night - Dinner at Mom & Dad's
Friday night is dinner at my parent's place to celebrate my brother's birthday. I know it will be more challenging to stay on track and stop at #5 with all my mom's good cooking and then a birthday cake to follow. My plan will be first of all to be good and hungry for supper. Next, I will make sure I am eating SLOWLY, savouring each bite, put down my fork between bites and converse with my family, take lots of sips of water between bites and then try to just be satisfied with a small piece of cake (this will be the toughest part for me I'm sure).
Saturday - 12th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday is a bit up in the air. But the plan right now is to do something with my husband to celebrate our 12th anniversary. So, our original plan was to go biking (about 1-3 hour bike ride) and then have dinner out and then ice cream for dessert (since that is our favorite treat). However, the weather is not looking particularily conducive now (rain in the forecast), so it may just be going out for dinner. Soooo, in that case scenario, I once again will need to be really hungry for dinner. And then I will aim to eat only a small portion of my meal and take home the leftovers to enjoy later...and save some room for a small portion of ice cream as I did last night when I went out with my friend.
Sunday - Church Potluck
Sunday is a potluck lunch at church. I think it is just sandwiches so the temptation should be manageable. I will just keep what I eat to the minimum and try to avoid desserts (maybe just have one small treat) as I know that is where I begin to slide down the slippery slope. Maybe I'll bring some sliced watermelon to the potluck. (if anyone has been reading my food logs you will probably notice how much I LOVE watermelon lol:-) The toughest part of my day will likely be at suppertime which I may not be hungry for. I will aim to play those songs I picked out in dealing with temptation. Prayer, bible reading, getting busy with something else etc.
So, in a nutshell it looks like each day I will need to be on guard against giving into temptation. I will be in prayer this weekend. I know this is just real life and I am not stressed about any of this as each of these events are positive, family/friend focussed. I just know that I need to be thinking ahead to the kind of mindset I will enter into each of these circumstances with, equipped with the tools I need to stay on track, with my eyes on the "exit" that God provides. And I know I need the Lord to work in my heart to ensure I am enjoying the food but most of all loving HIM!
Dear Lord, I praise you and thank you for friends and family and all the blessings you have poured out in my life. I pray that I would live in surrender to you each moment of each day-each choice, each step, each chain, each word, each prayer. I pray this weekend that I would keep pressing on and keep offering you every area of my heart and life. I pray for your strength to withstand temptations this weekend. I pray that you would draw my attention to the way out of each temptation. I pray that I would be sensitive to your Holy Spirit's prompting. Thank you for hearing my call. Thank you for beginning to heal and restore me. In Jesus name, Amen
Thanks Melanie! Appreciate your prayers! How's your 40 day challenge going?
ReplyDeleteI can relate. I find it much easier to be on track when I have a consistent, fairly predictable schedule. Also, when it comes to dessert (particularily ice cream) my husband and I have generally not encouraged each other to practice self control! Similar experience when eating out together.
ReplyDeleteWhoops! I realize I didn't answer your question about how my 45 day challenge is going! The last few days have been a new level of awareness of eating to #5 and as a result I have begun to see some changes in my eating. I'm feeling very optimistic and hopeful right now. I'm definitely praising God for the work He is doing in my heart and praying for continued strength and surrender.
ReplyDeleteHi, Christina! I hope that you are experiencing HIS joy and victory in your trials and challenges this weekend. I want to share with you what my daughter said to me last summer when she was 12. We were on a trail ride--I know, what do HORSES have to do with this? LOL! My horse was a bit uppity and some scary things happened. I made it through and my daughter pointed out how it is interesting that challenging experiences actually serve to increase our confidence after we have made it through them. It is true! Those same challenges that we may fear going in to, once we get through them, we have seen God's hand at work in us...in our weakness, He has been made strong...and we are empowered for the next time. I love that this is a universal principle and hope that you experience this this weekend! Hugs, Heidi
ReplyDeleteWow, it's amazing what we can learn through our kids, isn't it Heidi! God sure uses them to teach the simple yet profound truths!
ReplyDeleteYou are very right about it being a confidence builder. I really feel God is building a new foundation right now, the old rotten falling apart foundation is being uprooted and cleared away and a new foundation being built.
Yes, I did experience HIS joy this weekend. I'm very thankful for all the ways He fills me up, and pours out His blessings in my life. It's almost like I've got a heightened awareness of them right now, which is kind of cool:-)
Thanks for your encouragement:-)