Week 44, Saturday, Diet with Dianna

Ecclesiastes 5:16-18 16 This too is a grievous evil:   As everyone comes, so they depart,
and what do they gain,
since they toil for the wind?
All their days they eat in darkness,
with great frustration, affliction and anger.This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.

I am taking a week off from blogging. I have some spiritual self examining to do. I hope that when I come back, you will be still willing to read my blog.


Make good eating choices, exercise, and live for God...not man. Man will let you down, but 
Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you norforsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Week 44, Wednesday, Diet with Dianna

We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Hebrews 10:39 (NIV, 1984)

I have been so busy today. My husband installed a new dishwasher and I was the pleasant, perky, handy-helper and cheerleader. Now in a perfect world the old one appliance comes out and the beautiful, updated, new one slides right in, right? Nope!

10 a.m. - Wade pulled out the old dishwasher and found the first surprise; the dishwasher was hard wired and the connection had been taped with electrical tape. NOT SAFE! So he had to make a trip to the home improvement store for a female electrical socket. That way the installation would go smoothly when the new dishwasher was delivered at 12:30 pm.  




11:30 a.m.- Wade successfully rewired and installed the new outlet and then we waited four hours before the dishwasher was finally delivered. Apparently the professionals had some issues with installations too. 


3:45 p.m. - The new dishwasher was in the kitchen and Wade and I quickly unpacked and unwrapped the beautiful new pristine stainless steel dishwasher. Wade efficiently and professionally hooked up all the plumbing lines and electrical. We slid it back into the cabinet...What?! It didn't fit! Noooooo!

The so called "same size as the old one" was in fact NOT THE SAME SIZE. The new dishwasher was two inches deeper and irritatingly bumped against the old plumbing lines at the back of the wall. The new dishwasher stuck out two inches out from under the cabinet! This is not supposed to be this way! UGH!

4:30 p.m. - Wade sighed and pulled the dishwasher back out, disconnected all the hoses and electrical, figured out that he had to reroute the plumbing. He cut out the old plumbing.


5:00 p.m.- Wade and I made another trip to the home improvement store for new plumbing. We returned with all the necessary supplies, and again Wade professionally and efficiently installed the new plumbing under the sink, reconnected all the hoses and electrical. We said a little prayer and slowly pushed the dishwasher into the cabinet. It fit! Praise God! IT was now 6:30 p.m.


A supposedly simple installation of the entire dishwasher took 8.5 hours!
Please tell me; Is any home improvement really simple and easy? I haven't ever had it happen to me! 

So, all of this to say...I'm too tired to post a cheerful uplifting diet blog. I copied and pasted one below. Even though it isn't about dieting, it can be.Let me just say that you shouldn't no matter what you are striving to do, don't give up. Keep going! If you are struggling with your diet, don't let the devil cheat you out of a healthier lifestyle.You can do it!


Now...the encouragement for today.

**************************

It's Not Supposed to be This Way

Renee Swope

"I can't do this."
"Things will never change."
"My life isn't going to get better."
"I'll never have the confidence I need."

Those are some depressing thoughts, aren't they? But oh how quickly they slip into our minds and convince our hearts that they are true.
There have been times when I felt almost paralyzed by thoughts like these that were laced with uncertainty.
Times when I let self-doubt convince me that feelings of inadequacy and discouragement were normal.
Times when I've shrunk back from changes and challenges, as well as opportunities and open doors.
Other times I've pulled back in my relationships - with family and friends, and even God. Shrinking back into a place of unbelief ... settling for less than God's best.
All because I was tired of muddling through apprehension and indecision.
Are there days when doubt convinces you that feeling inadequate and discouraged is normal? Or that having confident assurance isn't possible for someone like you?
I think we sometimes forget we have an enemy who uses self-doubt against us - who shouts from the sidelines:

"It's too hard."
"You might as well quit."
"Go ahead and give up."
"You don't have what it takes."

It's time for us to take a stand and stop listening to these lies. God wants us to know and believe that with Christ all things are possible - even a confident heart.

Otherwise doubt, and the enemy, will win every time and our hearts will be eroded by attitudes and emotions of defeat.

But it's not supposed to be this way.

All throughout scripture, God tells us things can change; life can be better. He declares with confidence: "See, I am doing a new thing!" "I am working all things together for good for those who love me and are called according to my purpose." "All things are possible to [her] who believes." (Isa. 43:19; Rom. 8:28; Mark 9:23)

So how do we stop listening to our doubts and start living in the power of God's promises?
By choosing to believe God's truths more than our feelings and fears. By moving beyond believing in God to really believing God as we rely on the power of His Words and live like they are true - no matter what our feelings tell us.
It is a moment-by-moment, day-by-day, doubt-by-doubt decision where we process our thoughts and emotions with God, positioning our hearts and minds to let His perspective redefine ours with each uncertainty we face.

Some days I do better than others, and you will too. But I have found that it's possible to have lasting Christ-confidence by choosing to remember to believe.
Let's choose to remember today, and every day, the words of Hebrews 10:39, that we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed - but of those who believe and are saved!

Lord, give me a confident heart in Christ. I want You to lead me beyond believing in You to truly believing You. Help me rely on the power of Your promises and live like they are true. When self-doubt tells me I can't overcome my insecurities, I will believe Your promise that all things are possible to whoever believes. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Today's devotion is based on truths Renee also shares in her powerful book: A Confident Heart: How to Stop Doubting Yourself & Live in the Security of God's Promises.

Are you ready to live in the power of God's promises? To take hold of the security of His love? Join Renee's online study of her best-selling book, A Confident Heart, beginning April 23rd. Here's what others are saying about her study:

Through this online study of A Confident Heart I have learned to seek and find the strength God desires me to have. I can also be confident that when I do fall short God still loves me anyway. What a blessing and a gift! ~ Cindy

This book and online study has made such a difference in my life. I now see myself as God sees me, and that gives me confidence to be more of the person He has always desired me to be. I am beautiful in His eyes, and now believe He is really the one who matters! ~Sherri

Click here for more details about Renee's online study or sign up here today!

Week 43, Monday, Diet with Dianna

“My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.” Psalm 62:7 NLT

Wow, this scripture says that I am a winner, not a loser. God is the source of my victory. I have to keep the Bible in the forefront of my everyday life. I call on God to protect me from Satan's lies about food. Satan wants me to feel deprived, hungry, a failure, and defeated so I won't be a healthy representative to others.


That verse says that no enemy can reach me...now it doesn't say that I won't see the enemy or that the enemy won't try to get me. It most definitely says that the enemy is held a bay and cannot reach me, therefore in order to be defeated it takes the action on my part to cause the defeat. Satan only tempts me. He is only a shadow or whisper of evil but he cannot harm me, unless I allow him to.


I have the victory! The scriptures reveal that when Jesus defeated Satan, on the day he rose from the grave, and he took back the authority that Adam and Eve gave away. The entire 91st Psalm talks about God's supreme and supernatural protection, if I will make Him my refuge. In Psalm 23, verse 4 the scriptures say, Yea, 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. Death is only a mere shadow for believers. God's word is my rod and staff, his words tell us how to speak authority over evil and to be victorious in all our battles [trials, temptations, sickness, disease, poverty, lack...and more].


To be victorious, I have to read & meditate on the scriptures, and pray . 

• Joshua 1:8 - meditate on the word, day and night.
• Psalm 1:2 - meditate on the law, day and night.
• Psalm 119:5 - meditate on your teachings
• ...And there are seventeen more instances in the entire King James Version of the Holy Bible regarding meditating on the Word of God.

********

Exercise:

I mowed the front and back yard, leaf-blowed nearly all of the front yard before the blower died...then I swept the remaining front and all of the back area with the broom.

I did all the laundry, cooked lunch and dinner [and right now the dishwasher is out of service and waiting on an ordered part, so hand washed, dried and put away all the dishes].

No other physical exercise...back is very achy so I used some moist heat the rest of the evening...bother!!! I am healed, in Jesus' Name!

Food Menu for today:

Egg, turkey sausage, whole wheat soda bread [homemade], fresh strawberries, coffee.

Drank 20 ounces of water after mowing!!! Whew, I was thirsty!

Fresh Spinach leaves with carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, raisins, sunflower seeds, Feta cheese, almonds and Low-fat- low calorie Newman's Own Family Italian dressing. Life Water Zero lemonade [sweetened with Stevia].

Soup with turkey kielbasa [skinless] , carrots, peas, sweet yellow corn in vegetable broth and diced tomatoes! DEE-LISH!  Water

strawberry yogurt [Fiber One, low sugar, 50 calorie size] & coffee

Week 41, Friday, Diet with Dianna

THINK THIN

2 Peter 2:19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.

Think of the person God created you to be. 2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

Have the correct motive for eating healthy and losing weight. 2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

Identify the real reason you overeat. Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Nail down a personal commitment to obey God. Deuteronomy 30:17-20 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Know and listen to the Lord. Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;


Turn your focus on things you should eat. Romans 14:20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

Have an exercise plan that will increase your metabolism and vary the plan. Proverbs 15:32 If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

Initiate a daily journal. Isaiah 30:8-9. Now go and write down these words. Write them in a book. They will stand until the end of time as a witness 9 that these people are stubborn rebels who refuse to pay attention to the LORD’s instructions.

Nurture your relationship with God. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

Excerpt taken from "Overeating" by June Hunt, Hope for the Heart
Scriptures from: New King James Version & New Living Translation

Week 23, FRIDAY! Diet with Dianna

Friday already! Wow, where did my week go? I hardly even remember the week passing. I need to slow down and smell the flowers. 


Today was an excellent day. I got in some book edits and got groceries for the week. I like to plan my meals in advance...less chance of not having good choices to eat. Even though I am dieting, my family still eats cookies and chips...those are always lying around for temptation. Yuck!  It's sort of like having a stocked bar in the house of an alcoholic. DANGEROUS!


Revelation Knowledge: Temptation:  Wikipedia's definition of temptation:

 A temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological (including feeling guilt), health, economic, etc. Temptation also describes the coaxing or inducing a person into committing such an act, by manipulation or otherwise of curiosity, desire or fear of loss.

Temptation is all around, at every corner, every table, every where we go. Just visit any store and there is sugary foods lining the checkout lines. Yesterday I was walking through Sears, with my beautiful daughter, and there were MEGA chocolate candy sitting in the middle of the main walking aisles, at the bottom and top of both escalators and at each entrance/exit. SEARS!!!!

2 POUNDS OF PEANUT BUTTER CUPS! YIKES!

TEMPTATION IS IN A SEARS DEPARTMENT STORE!!!!!

OVER 2 POUNDS OF SUGARY CHOCOLATE! IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY???? REALLY????

  Is this really necessary? When is this too much? Have you seen the people of America? The majority of Americans are overweight. Dibetes and Heart Disease are at an all time high! The pharmaceutical companies are making billions of dollars from overweight diseased Americans. This is horrible and part of the issue is the availability of such temptation at every checkout, on half of the television and radio commercials, and more. Is it any wonder that the diet industry is making as much, if not more, than the pharmaceutical companies?


  GOOD NEWS! I have something that most people don't. I have the support of my family, friends and most of all, GOD! I would fail if it weren't for the strength that I receive and take from the Holy Scriptures; God's Word.

 I Corinthians 10: 13, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Desperation breeds temptation and if grabbed, failure. The times that I am at my weakest, or when I've waited too long to eat, that is when I am vulnerable to temptation. I have learned to prepare for such occurrences and carry small snacks in my purse and car...acceptable snacks that provide me an escape from the temptations. I also call upon the Word of God that is written in my heart. And only that can happen IF I have prepared with study and memorization and prepared for such temptations. Only the Lord has the power had provided the strength to get me through these dangerous temptations. Even the Lord Jesus was tempted after fasting for 40 days in the dessert. Jesus didn't even have water during his fasting in the desert and the Devil used Jesus' weakness to tempt him into failure and regret. Jesus called upon the Words of the Father. It is our example on how to handle any sort of temptation...any kind! I use it here for the cravings and weak times -- times when I am hungry and vulnerable to diet dangerous temptations!


Thank you Lord for your word and for your examples. Thank you for providing an escape from ALL temptations. I give you all the praise and Glory! AMEN!


EXERCISE:
No kettlebells
Yes, I walked about 2.5 miles


Food:
Usual breakfast...see past posts
Lunch - Salad with turkey, cheese, and hard boiled egg w/little dressing on the side and a coffee with one pump squirt of sugar free vanilla and half & half.
Dinner - Whopper JUNIOR with all the veggies! A few fries.....and a diet coke. YUM!!!!
Snack: A few corn chex cereal baked with worcestershire sauce, seasonings and butter.  OH! DELICIOUS!!! and some homemade sugar free HOT COCOA!


The Lord is good to me!