The Power of "I Can"

I am reading my Made To Crave daily devotional and love this thought: The Power of "I Can"
The verse for the day is "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial" 1 Corinthians 6:12

This is so true! God gives us choices but our way is not always beneficial. After reading the devotional, I walked into the kitchen and saw this.

I looked at my kitchen counter and thought to myself, "It is all permissable and it is my choice." Do I choose brownies, my absolutely favorite cookies, doughnuts or the apple? OK so you are probably saying why is all that stuff in your house? I have three very active boys that need calories. They drink their milk. They ate their dinner. Now here are their treats and "fun" stuff. These have been sitting in my kitchen in my sight. I have not touch one brownie, doughnut nor cookie. And by the strength of God, that I have prayed over and over for, I am not craving these. About a week ago, I would have probably caved into the cookies. But I made a decision to get my mind focused on a spiritual journey with my eating healthy and exercising. Absolutely amazing! I have not craved these this week. Tomorrow may be different but I am going to focus on my scriptures, read my devotional and keep my mind on the fruit of the spirit - "self control".

Today's devotional tells me to concentrate on "I can" instead of  "I can't". I have an example of this from the other day. We went to Applebee's for lunch after church. The boys got chips and salsa. I knew that I would not be able to sit peacefully and watch them dip and eat while we waited on our food. So I asked the waitress to bring me some cucumbers. I took my cucumbers and dipped them in the salsa :) They were crunchy and my mind heard "I can" instead of "I can't". I gave myself permission to dip and eat like everyone else. I just made a different choice of what "I could" dip! I am a dipper :) I love to dip food into something. It is so relaxing to dip food!

So the lesson I have learned is to tell myself  "I can" instead of "I can't". It is so much more fun to tell yourself something positive instead of negative.

I can have a bottle of water with sugar free Kool Aid.

I can have vegetables and dip and be able to be a "dipper" with my food.

I can go out to eat while I am doing the Jenny Craig program. I can eat a salad with chicken and croutons (my starch) and enjoy eating out with my family.

I can make healthy choices and workout to make my back feel better.

I can have my mind in scripture to gain strength for my weight loss journey! Thank you Lord for giving me choices and the ability to CRAVE You and not the doughnuts, brownies and cookies. You made me to CRAVE your love and strength not to crave food.

I can one day have my sweets in moderation when I reach my weight loss goal :)

I can have my servings of fruit and be a mom of 3 on the go! It is so hard to eat fresh fruit when you are in and out like I am. I found a NEW drink that is 100% fruit juice and carbonated like a soda! It is so good that I have to hide them from my children so they don't drink them all. They are called The Switch.

 

So when I am tempted with food or daily life choices, I will remind myself that everything is permissable but then ask myself is it beneficial? This journey of eating healthy and exercising is just like life! You have choices! Are you going to follow God's path and make the choice that is beneficial for you? Or are you going to do what is pleasurable at the time and not so beneficial? I am going to pray and stay in my scriptures and devotions so "I can" make the beneficial choices.  "I can Do All Things With Your Strength!" Phillippians 4:13

Just a little side note of good news - Christopher won 1st place in the Science Fair! He is also the only 6th grader from his school moving on to Regionals!!! That is very In The Zone! Last year when he was being interviewed at Regionals, they asked him how he could expand on his project for next year. He wasn't real sure at the time. He told them he could compare a wood and metal bat to see if their sweet spots were the same. But during baseball season, Christopher's bat cracked and he had to get a new one. When he got his new bat he wanted to know the sweet spot of his new bat so he could hit the ball farther. Finding the sweet spot of his old bat was last year's project. This year he compared the data from his old bat to his new bat. That's where this year's project developed. He thought about the sweet spot of a bat from a batter's perspective and a pitcher's perspective since he is a pitcher too. He interviewed Scott Baker, Minnesota Twins Pitcher, and got a better understanding of why a pitcher needs to understand the physics of the bat. Scott Baker goes to our church and has a son Kevin's age. This was a fun and informative project for Christopher.  Here is this year's project - "The Sting In The Swing - Comparing The Bats"