|
Home
Devotional
for A New Year!
by Janice LaQuiere
New Years Day! The time to look
back at life and create resolutions based upon what you see in the
mirror, and don’t see in your pocket. Across the country people
are determining to eat less, save more, and once again re-create
their body into the person they want to be.
In America the top seven New Year's resolutions are:
1. Lose weight
2.
Stop smoking
3. Stick to a budget
4. Save or earn more money
5. Find a better job
6. Become more organized
7. Exercise
But what is important? Is it all
about me, as illustrated in the above resolutions or is it
about God? In Ecc. 12:13 Solomon informs us, “Fear God and keep
His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” 365 days a
year, for the lifespan of man, our duty is to fear God.
In 1976, long before
homeschooling became a way of life for many Christian families, my
parents decided to keep my brother and me at home. Thirty percent of
the public school class came from divorced homes, prayer in school
was outlawed, and students were being taught to devalue the life of
a human by the acceptance of evolution, abortion, and pre-marital
sex. It would get worse. Where did the fear of the Lord fit in this
mix? It was as passé as Santa Claus, an archaic concern that
imprisoned our grandparents.
My parents didn’t decide to
keep us home because they were interested in giving us a better
education, but rather because they desired to instill and
preserve the fear of the Lord in our hearts. Ps 111:10 says: “The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His
precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”
By teaching us to fear the Lord they were trusting that He would
take care of our earthly needs as well.
The new year is a great time to
look at life, to look forward to our goals, and make our plans, but
let's remember that our primary resolution is to fear the Lord. It
is only through Him that we will find true peace, and happiness, and
satisfaction.
May God bless you, and may the
Peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, now and throughout the
year.
Ps 19:6-11, Ps 25:12, Micah 6:8
Dieting
Tips for 2005:
- If
you eat more, you gain weight.
- If
you eat less, you lose weight.
- If
you exercise you can eat more.
- Exercise
by itself will not help you lose weight.
- In
every
diet there are those times where you stop eating and still can't
lose weight. Exercise and start eating.
- I've
never seen a fat person die of starvation.
- You
can over eat on the Atkins diet.
- On
a 5'3" woman, her clothes weigh approx. 1lb., her shoes
weigh 1 lb. and she'll lose 1 lb as she sleeps.
- You
can lose more weight by sleeping and not eating than you can by
eating and exercising. Think about it.
- A
Creamsicle®
weighs .25lb.
- There
are calories in juice and milk.
- If
you lose weight on a diet, and then revert back to your previous
eating habits you will also revert back to your previous weight.
- Eating
junk food is more satisfactory (though less healthy) then eating
good food. Sometimes you should skip the chicken and eat the
cookie.
- You
can't eat both the chicken AND the cookie.
- Starting
a diet each evening doesn't work.
- It's
easier to start a diet after a good meal. It's hardest to stick
to it when you're hungry.
- It's
all a matter of self-discipline.
- Dieting
is a continual process of telling one’s self "no".
- I'm
convinced that the small process of saying "no" and
showing self-discipline in eating will strengthen your
self-discipline and ability to control yourself in more
important situations.
- It
takes one day to gain 3 pounds and three weeks to lose it.
- Healthy
foods are more expensive than regular foods, but still cheaper
and less painful than heart surgery, gall bladder attacks,
kidney malfunction, or other physical disorders.
- Loosing
weight is a mindset, not a program.
- You
have to take responsibility for the food you eat.
|
|
