I knew someone else thought like me; I didn't know Chuck Swindoll would be the one. Every morning I receive via the internet, three different devotionals; Swindoll, Stanley and Sproul. Below is Swindoll's thoughts for the day.Personally I don't like the "D" word; Diet which means depriving yourself of tasty things to eat. I do like the word diet which means, "the great foods that I get to eat". One says, "you can't eat this or that food... and while you are at it.... keep track of every calorie you consume"- the other says, "you can eat all these super foods and eat as much as you want- you can have a 'full' feeling all the time." It is easier to stay on track when you don't feel deprived!
That Dreaded "D" Word
by Charles R. Swindoll
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Okay, folks . . . it's that time again. I'm down to two suits, one sports coat, and only a couple of pants that I can squeeze into. No more excuses. I'm tired of good intentions, secret promises to myself, groans and grunts as I roll out of bed in the morning, and especially those well-meaning comments from first-time visitors at our church: "You look . . . uh . . . different than I expected." I suppose that's better than "You look . . . uh . . . fat."
Funny thing about being overweight . . . it's impossible to hide it. So the alternatives are (a) ignore it and lie to yourself by saying nobody notices, (b) make jokes about it, (c) try to solve the problem overnight—which is tempting but dumb, or (d) face the music and get underway with a long-range plan that works.
For me, it's an intelligent diet (ugh!) mixed with a program of regular exercise and a do-or-die mind-set that is determined to see it through, followed by a from-now-on game plan that is realistic, workable, and consistent.
Personally, I don't need a shrink to shrink. But what I do need is discipline with a big D. (It might also help me a lot to think of rewards other than a strawberry sundae.) You know what I'm getting at, don't you? If I intend to avoid great widths, I need to go to great lengths to make that happen. And if you are put together somewhat like I am, you do too.
So why am I telling you all this? It would be much easier and certainly less embarrassing for me to say nothing, eat little, exercise in obscurity, and start to shrink. I did that once before and it worked. Problem was, when I got down to my desired weight, a rumor spread that I had cancer. Cynthia even got a sympathy card or two. So . . . none of that.
I'm mentioning it because I need to be accountable and we need to be reminded of the importance of our physical appearance. While there is an overemphasis on this in the secular world, for some strange reason, we Christians tend to underestimate its importance. Yet our bodies are indeed the "temple of the Holy Spirit" and we are to "glorify God" in those bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
So, let's get serious about something we've ignored or excused or joked about long enough. As for me, I've got about forty pounds to go. How about you?
Have you looked in the mirror lately? Could the Spirit's temple stand a little attention to get it back where it ought to be?
Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
That Dreaded "D" Word
by Charles R. Swindoll
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
Okay, folks . . . it's that time again. I'm down to two suits, one sports coat, and only a couple of pants that I can squeeze into. No more excuses. I'm tired of good intentions, secret promises to myself, groans and grunts as I roll out of bed in the morning, and especially those well-meaning comments from first-time visitors at our church: "You look . . . uh . . . different than I expected." I suppose that's better than "You look . . . uh . . . fat."
Funny thing about being overweight . . . it's impossible to hide it. So the alternatives are (a) ignore it and lie to yourself by saying nobody notices, (b) make jokes about it, (c) try to solve the problem overnight—which is tempting but dumb, or (d) face the music and get underway with a long-range plan that works.
For me, it's an intelligent diet (ugh!) mixed with a program of regular exercise and a do-or-die mind-set that is determined to see it through, followed by a from-now-on game plan that is realistic, workable, and consistent.
Personally, I don't need a shrink to shrink. But what I do need is discipline with a big D. (It might also help me a lot to think of rewards other than a strawberry sundae.) You know what I'm getting at, don't you? If I intend to avoid great widths, I need to go to great lengths to make that happen. And if you are put together somewhat like I am, you do too.
So why am I telling you all this? It would be much easier and certainly less embarrassing for me to say nothing, eat little, exercise in obscurity, and start to shrink. I did that once before and it worked. Problem was, when I got down to my desired weight, a rumor spread that I had cancer. Cynthia even got a sympathy card or two. So . . . none of that.
I'm mentioning it because I need to be accountable and we need to be reminded of the importance of our physical appearance. While there is an overemphasis on this in the secular world, for some strange reason, we Christians tend to underestimate its importance. Yet our bodies are indeed the "temple of the Holy Spirit" and we are to "glorify God" in those bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
So, let's get serious about something we've ignored or excused or joked about long enough. As for me, I've got about forty pounds to go. How about you?
Have you looked in the mirror lately? Could the Spirit's temple stand a little attention to get it back where it ought to be?
Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.
Since January, 2010, I have changed the way I look at food; instead of filler, I see food as fuel. Thanks to my good friend, Josh Denhart, his advice about eating power foods has changed my life. At the end of 2009, I was a dead man walking around in a 250 pound body that had little zip left in it. I was under motivated, lacked much brain power, and I felt like I looked- fat and lethargic!
Spinach: Can't eat enough of this power food!!
When I changed my mind about food, I began to lose weight. I didn't exercise one single minute over the past 7 months- exercise... meaning walking, riding stationary bike, etc... activities that took you to no place. Throughout these last seven months, I have become more active- but it was productive work-lifting lumber, climbing ladders, walking to the shop to pick up a tool; losing 50 pounds from the stomach generates energy and drive that allows a once fat man to get out and start moving again.
I hope over the next few months to blog a bit about my "changing of my mind" diet. I have become a "food evangelists" who wants others to enjoy their lives again. Good eatin' my friends!
Written by:
Earl Taylor
Director of Design and Vision at Hidden Acres Christian Center, near Dayton, Iowa. Hidden Acres is owned by the Central District of the Evangelical Free Church, and is a summer camp and retreat facility with 660 acres of land and 850 beds to welcome guests.
