\u201cAnd just exactly what happened to those good intentions?\u201d I asked sternly.\u00a0 \u201cYou were doing well on your plan and even encouraging others along the way. What happened to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cW-e-e-l-l,\u201d my uncomfortable counselee whined.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been really hectic at home. I\u2019ve had company.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had worries.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had other things to think about….\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you had the right habits<\/em>,\u201d I admonished, \u201cyou wouldn\u2019t have to think about eating right. You would just do it — even though conditions around you change.\u201d<\/p>\n And, of course, the recipient of my reproaches had to agree with me.\u00a0 Because she is<\/em> me.\u00a0 It would be nice to have someone to keep me on track and make me toe the line.\u00a0 Since there is no one else to do it, I have to.\u00a0 And I\u2019m pretty hard on myself.<\/p>\n Sometimes too hard.\u00a0 I would never beat anyone else up like I wallop myself when I fail.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong — there is a place for taking a hard look at your life. There is a place for repentance.<\/p>\n And then it is time to move on.<\/p>\n Psalm 145:14\u00a0 tells us how God deals with His children. \u201cThe Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all them that are bowed down.\u201d<\/p>\n Should we be harder on ourselves than God is?<\/p>\n It\u2019s true that we need to quit making excuses.\u00a0 We need to quit babying ourselves and get down to the serious business of doing healthy things to save our lives.\u00a0 Otherwise we will be part of the 67% of Americans who are projected to be obese by 2030.\u00a0 As long as we keep falling into a pattern of yielding to every temptation, we will be fat and sick.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also true that berating ourselves for every slip-up is counter-productive.\u00a0 If you tell yourself you are a failure, you will begin to believe it.\u00a0 And if you can only fail, why should you keep trying?<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d I told my repentant self. \u201cYou have been in a downward spiral for a solid week.\u00a0 Things are going to be out of kilter for some time yet.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to quit making excuses. Back in the saddle — and this time, I\u2019m sticking.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done it before. I can keep doing it now.\u201d<\/p>\n And, my friends, you can, too!<\/p>\n Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAnd just exactly what happened to those good intentions?\u201d I asked sternly.\u00a0 \u201cYou were doing well on your plan and even encouraging others along the way. What happened to you?\u201d \u201cW-e-e-l-l,\u201d my uncomfortable counselee whined.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been really hectic at home. I\u2019ve had company.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had worries.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had other things to think about….\u201d \u201cIf…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,68],"tags":[576,540,577],"class_list":["post-1879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-eating-plan","category-encouragement","tag-fail","tag-habits","tag-slip-ups"],"yoast_head":"\n