And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. John 8:32


Monday, November 21, 2011

Holiday Eating Tip #3: Renew your mind every time you eat outside your boundaries, even if it’s just one bite.

I had ice cream for breakfast this morning.

I wasn’t supposed to—my boundaries say no dessert before supper—but I did it anyway. And I’ve been paying the price ever since.

9 times out of 10 when I have a sweet before breakfast, I break my boundaries later in the day—usually several times.

I haven’t broken them yet, but only because I’ve taken the time to renew my mind every time I even feel like breaking them.

I suppose the bright side is that this is good preparation for the holidays. After all, just think how often we’ll be tempted to break our boundaries during the holidays.

Christmas cookies. Parties. Christmas cookies. Procrastination. Christmas cookies . . . well, you get the picture.

Chances are, we’ll probably break our boundaries at some point. That’s why it’s so important to have the right mindset upon entering the holiday season. Here it is:

God is the one who changes us, not the boundaries. So if we’re tempted to eat, we need to rely on God, not the boundaries.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should be careless with our boundaries.

In fact, the best policy would be to follow our boundaries perfectly—to not eat even one bite outside the boundaries.

But if we do break down and eat that bite, the second best policy is to renew our minds every time it happens.

And if we really want to be safe, we’ll renew our minds every time we even feel like breaking the boundaries—especially on days where we’ve already broken them.

Today I want to be safe.

I’ve renewed my mind four times already since breakfast, and it’s only 11:03 a.m.

Has it been time consuming?

Not as much as you’d think. Each time it only took me a couple of minutes.

Has it worked?

Yes. I haven’t eaten anything else since breakfast.

I'm glad I took the time to renew my mind.

It's tempting, especially when we're busy to let things slide.

I know I’ll be busy the next six weeks. So will you.

But if we really want to keep from gaining weight over the holidays, the more we renew our minds the better.

Two Days Later: Just wanted to let you know I never did feel like eating outside my boundaries again after I posted the other day. This was one of those 1 in 10 days when I had sweets for breakfast and didn't break my boundaries later. Only because of God and the truth, though. I don't know how many times He's taught me this lesson: if I take the time to renew my mind, He takes the time to change my desires and my actions. The truth really does set me free (John 8:32).

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