Stinkin Thinkin!

Yesterday, I walked 4 miles with a very dear friend. It felt AWESOME!!! I was invigorated physically, spiritually and also mentally. My mind was clear and I was enjoying the fresh, clean air.

During our walk we talked about fitness and eating healthy. Both of which are great subjects to discuss. We agreed that it wouldn't do us any good to exercise like this and go home and ruin it all by eating something unhealthy. So I left that walk feeling totally motivated and really great!

In fact, I felt so good, that after I soaked my aching body and blistered feet in a tub of hot, steamy water filled with bubbles, I had to celebrate my huge milestone by eating... are you ready for this??? Pizza!!! Mmmmmmmmmm!

Groan... What went wrong??? I was so focused. I was doing so good. Was it the thought of the Pepperoni pizza with hot melted cheese that did me in? Was it the idea of eating forbidden fruit? Or maybe it was knowing I had just burned a whole lot of calories, that I could afford the extra thousand calories that the pizza had in it. Even now, just thinking about it, my mouth is watering. I can almost taste it as I sit here and meditate on how good it was.

Why, oh why does pizza have to be so good? If it tasted awful, I wouldn't crave it! And further more, why does it have to be so fattening? Can't they create an all you can eat buffet of low calorie pizza that is no more than 25 calories per slice? I could eat an entire pizza and only consume 200 calories!!! When is someone going to create that? Well... until they do, I'm just going to have to live with and justify my pizza cravings and try not to give in TOO much.

It's amazing how we can justify things. We all do it. When we want something, we go for it... and justify it in our mind of why it's ok to give in to whatever that "forbidden fruit" is for us in our lives. Yesterday, mine was pizza... but everyday it's something different. There is always that "something" that makes me want to justify in my mind why it's ok to go for it. (On Sunday mornings, it's shortbread cookies that are to die for!!! I have an evil friend that tempts me with them every Sunday just because I beg her to make them... Thank you God for my friend! :)

You know, if I had spent more time thinking about God and meditating on Scripture than I had dreaming of that first bite of pizza, I might be one pound less today.

Discipline is tough. Staying on the course is even tougher... especially through temptation. One thing I have learned, this saying really is true, "a moment on the lips is a life time on the hips". Gaining weight is so much easier than losing it. I'm sure there is an extra dimple somewhere on me that was created by that pizza. After all, I didn't stop at one slice.

But the saying is also true, "a moment in the mind, is a lifetime in a bind"! (That's a debism... just made that up. :) What we think on and continuously dwell on, is what we'll end up creating in our own lives. We'll eat the fruit of what consumes us.

If I dwell on pizza, and the need for it eventually consumes me, I'll end up giving in and dimples in all the wrong places will follow. (And no, I'm NOT posting dimple pictures.) If I dwell on mouth watering scrumptious shortbread cookies, the numbers on my weight scales will get higher and higher.

What about in other areas? What consumes you? What do you dwell on the most? Is it things? Money? Possessions? If we always dwell on all the things we don't have, we'll always feel empty and unfulfilled. We'll always be wanting more... and we'll never learn contentment in where we are at any given time.

BUT, if we dwell on God's love, we'll begin to experience it more and more in our lives. If we dwell on God's truths, we'll begin to believe and see great things happening. And, this is my favorite part, if we dwell on God and trust Him with who we are, we won't have to worry about the scales... temptations... and other things designed to pull us off track. Because our thoughts will begin to align themselves with His thoughts. Our desires, with His desires... Our will with His will. He's so much better at providing direction to our lives than we will ever be. And it only takes a small amount of faith... "pinky finger faith."

So the next time I'm dwelling on pizza and you hear about it, feel free to remind me that life is so much bigger than that pizza craving or that favorite cookie. (Unless it's a Sunday morning and I'm REALLY craving them big time!) OK, OK, those times as well. It really is all about the God that loves us so much! It's time to not dwell on food, things, money, our own wants and desires... but instead on the Big G! God Himself!

I suppose it's time to remove those two boxes of Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie mixes from my pantry. Help! I may need some intervention! :)

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." Phil 4:8

"...And the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:9b