Ahh… food. It’s one of those things you can’t just quit cold turkey or even gradually. It is necessary and it tastes good. Unfortunately, what some of it does to your body isn’t always good. Food was created by God to sustain us. It keeps us satisfied and nourished. Meanwhile, man has taken what God gave us, clean meats of all kinds, wonderful vegetables and fruits, and turned it into all sorts of things that no longer satisfy and no longer nourish.
One of the first and most important things you can do, is stop thinking DIET. Start thinking lifestyle. A lifestyle that will energize you and turn around SO many health problems! And you don’t have to suffer doing it! You need a genuine desire to change. You can’t do it because someone said you should or because everyone else is. You need to WANT to see a change in your life. Maybe you want to get on the floor and play with your kids or grandkids. Maybe you want to be there at there wedding. Or maybe you just want to be able to live whatever time God has given you on this earth well. Whatever the motivation is, you have to want it bad enough to change your habits for the better.
Before you can change your body, you have to change your mind. If you think you can’t do that, then focus on the One who can help you. I know I can’t do it alone.
I have found that there are very few places that I can’t go and stay pretty much on track. You don’t have to be 100% perfect all the time. With The Daniel Plan, we shoot for 90/10. And if you mess up, just make a U-turn and start again.
Pray Unceasingly!
In His light,
Lois
U-Turns Allowed
On The Daniel Plan you cannot fail—because you start it as a 40-day journey and then get to see changes gradually unfold over your lifetime. You get better … your momentum builds momentum. You may have a slipup, but you continue moving forward.
Setbacks and comebacks are part of the journey, and graciousness is woven through both.
There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. That means God will never condemn you. He wants you to succeed! He’s walking with you every step of the way and is your ultimate source of inspiration and encouragement. When you make a mistake, just make a U-turn.
Do you have a GPS device on your phone or in your car? When you make a wrong turn, the GPS doesn’t call you an idiot. It just tells you where to make the next legal U-turn. If you pay attention to your mistakes, such as that you went too long between meals, didn’t sleep, or failed to plan, these mistakes can be your best teachers. Very soon you find yourself in a new place, where you have dramatically improved both your brain and your body.
God uses failure to educate us. Mistakes are simply learning experiences, and some things we learn only through failure. (So some of us are highly educated!)
Your setbacks can even reaffirm your faith. It may surprise you to know that admitting your hopelessness to God can be a statement of faith. King David said, “I believed in you, so I said, ‘I am deeply troubled, Lord.’ In my anxiety, I cried out to you” (Psalm 116:10-11 nlt).
David’s frankness actually reveals a deep faith: First, he believed in God. Second, he believed God would listen to his prayer. Third, he believed God would let him say how he felt and would still love him.
Failure can also be motivational. A lot of times we change, not when we see the light, but when we feel the heat. When you fail, it’s often an opportunity to take a different direction.
Regardless of your circumstances and how you feel, focus on who God is—his unchanging nature. Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is for me. He knows my struggles and my circumstances, and I know he has a good plan for my life.
Today’s Steps:
– Ask a buddy how he or she makes U-turns and what helps them get back on track.
– Journal about one setback, what you learned, and how you can make a U-turn and continue to make progress.