Day 15~ I feel like this pup a lot. I get into stuff and make a mess. I mean well, lol.Proverbs 12:1 ~ Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.Reproof ~ To criticize a fault.Brutish ~ Lacking sensibilityIt has taken time but I am learning not to take criticism from others to heart. People that criticize you only have a few different motives for doing so.....1) They love you and are willing to wound you to better and help you.2) They are trying to cover their own faults by pointing out your faults.3) They are uncaring, narcissistic, and judgemental.1) If you are wounding me truthfully because you spot a fault in me then that's a good thing unless I take myself so seriously that I cannot do self-analysis. After careful self-analysis, I can either change the behavior or not change the behavior. Either way, the …

Day 14 ~James 4:17 ~ So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.Sin ~ When self is estranged from God.A lot of people like to point at the perceived sin of someone else. Perhaps it makes the accuser feel better about their own sin?I can accuse you and you can accuse me of sin. It doesn't really help either of us. In fact, the harsher we judge others, the harsher the judgment levied upon our own selves.I sin daily. So, let's get that out of the way now. Don't be surprised if I let a wordy durd fly. Don't be surprised if you see me get angry and my lid flip. Don't be surprised if I have one serving too many of Pinot Grigio while watching the sunset or if a song I shouldn't be listening to pops up on …

Day 13 ~Ecclesiastes 12:7 ~ And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.The mortality tables say that, statistically, I will live to be about 78 years old. We know that we are not a statistic but are known of God. My number could be up today. I could also live to be 120 years old.If I live until August 31, I will be 50 years old. That means that I will have lived in this body 18,250 days. Statistically, I may have 28 more years or 10,220 days remaining. That all depends on God's grace.I spent a lot of time not living my best life, worrying, living in fear, being slothful, quitting, and the like. I have also had a good life. It could have been an even better life if I had have walked in faith and courage …

Day 12~ Galatians 6:9 ~ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. There is a nuanced difference between consistency and persistence. Consistency is conforming to the specific application of something. WHILE Persistence is firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. Weight loss requires persistent consistency. Many people decide to try and lose weight but give up at the first sign of difficulty. They often rationalize and justify quitting because of some difficulty life has thrown their way. I have news for US ALL. You are either headed towards difficulty, living through some difficulty or just getting beyond some difficulty and headed towards the next difficulty. That is life. So, if every time life throws you a curveball you give up and decide to give in until a …

Day 11 ~Romans 8:13 ~ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.Is it time for you to soar higher? Consider the following:Food is pleasurable, sustaining, and life-giving. It is a gift from God. (Let us remember those who don't have enough food and are starving.)Food is not evil. It is good. Obesity is running rampant in the United States of America affecting 2/3 of our population. Food is good but we are using food as a solution for problems that food can't fix.Boredom, anxiety, depression, stress, and anger are problems but not problems that food fixes but rather exacerbates.The unintended consequences of overeating are depression, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, sleep apnea, and low self-esteem. There are many other frightening consequences related to being obese too.It is not a disease. …

Day 10 ~Is it time to re-invent your self with discipline and self-control?Is it time for you to harvest your inner power and greatness and show it to the world?1 Corinthians 9:27 ~ But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.Some may not think so or judge my motives but I really, really love people. I have a co-dependent personality meaning, much of my happiness comes from making others happy. I have improved much over the years. I have learned to balance my need to please others by also pleasing myself and finding happiness within myself. I have learned that you have to make yourself happy first because eventually, your attempts to make others happy will backfire and potentially leave you bitter and broke. I like to live my life owing no one anything but love. That in …

Day 9 ~Hebrews 12:11 ~ For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.Discipline shouldn't be a dirty word.If you are free to eat what you want to eat when you want to eat it and as much of it as you want to eat then you will soon lose freedoms once enjoyed.You will be captive to low self-esteem, be held hostage by a CPAP machine, jailed by hypertension, and imprisoned by high blood pressure. You will be free to have continued mouth pleasure but lose much joy and dignity.To live a self-disciplined life as it relates to diet, exercise, and supplementation does mean that you won't get to eat what you want when you want it and as much of it as you want but it does mean you will live …

Day 8 ~ Proverbs 29:25 ~ The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. During times like these, fear will lay a snare for you. Anxiety, stress, and uncertainty are a trap. Don't get caught in that trap. This too shall pass..... I'm going to try to do a better job of staying on topic and pursuing my mission of personal development, spiritual development, and physical development. The many issues and constant fearmongering brought on by-election year have caused me to get caught in a snare and my progress has come to a halt. I love learning and growing and then sharing nutritional knowledge, wellness knowledge, and behavior modification techniques with others. I love seeing people become healthier and happier people. I get my happiness by pursuing things that make me, my family, and other like-minded people happy. It's silly for me to …

Day 7 Isaiah 43:1 ~ But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. There are a few people who know me well enough that they call me by my name when they see me out and about but relatively speaking, very few. The so-called powerful and elite people that people seek to know do not know me and cannot call me by name. I know many of them by name because I see them in my inbox asking for money and on my tv pandering to me and making false promises. Powerful politicians and powerful movements explain how they will make life better for me. They say that I should fear those that oppose them and only they can fight for me but they …

Day 6Psalm 23:4 ~ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.A rod ~ a club-like device that shepherds carry to keep/beat the wolves away from their sheep and flock.A staff ~ similar to a rod but longer and with a hook on the end of it.I am likened to a sheep in the Bible. I require a shepherd. I may think I'm a mighty lion but my change hasn't come yet. I am still a sheep.If I were to walk alone in this world without a good shepherd I'd be attacked and eaten by wolves or I would stray from the flock and be eaten by wolves.There are many wolves these days.I don't have to fear these wolves/evil because I know the Good Shepherd and He knows …