Hot Now

Alrighty y’all…well, it’s been a little while.  Wonderful life has been happening and has forced my hand into taking a hiatus from blogging.  While I haven’t been writing every week, believe me you, there is something weekly I could write about…food, food, food, good recipes, sweet temptations, mind challenges, exercise wins and shlumps (for more about shlumps see my post “Feeling Shlumpy” from November 2, 2014), big events, rainy days, and more food, food, food!

Today I had a moment that inspired me to hop back into the blogger's seat.  We were on the way home from church and as we sat patiently at an intersection I saw the famous glowing bright red sign --- Hot Now.  Yes, you guessed it, Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  Well, I had been awake since before sun rise and it had been plenty of time since breakfast that I was just hungry enough to be tempted.

I wasn’t in the drivers seat, and didn’t mention anything to the hubby, so soon we were off and way beyond those sweets, that tempting red sign, and a moment that very clearly reminded me that self-control is such an important piece to avoiding the, maybe all too familiar to you, fall off of the wagon.

In that Hot Now moment, I felt like it would have been so easy to roll through the drive through and grab a couple classic glazed doughnuts without a second thought.  “I never have them anyways,” “it’s such a perfect lazy rainy weekend for doughnuts,” it’s been a while (a long while),” and the justifications could go on.  In reality today, I just had this feeling that I could have grabbed those treats without being phased…weird.  But then I could see that continue…if I ‘don’t care’ whether I give in today, what does it matter if I give in to every little food temptation that I have.  This thought process would not be good for a sweet tooth like me…that extra scoop of ice cream I want, the candy corn I, never fail, stop and consider buying from September 1 to October 31, and those lovely hot, too expensive, lattes from the coffee shop…I would quite quickly have way too much sugar and be replacing important protective nutrients in my diet with it.  Having moments when you practice self-control and say “no” are important to keep you confident that you can, confident that you remain the driver’s seat, not food.

I relate this to a mom and dad saying “no” to the frequent request of their kid’s ‘need’ for all the new cool toys and games.  We must hear “no” from time to time, even if it’s from ourselves, to be reminded that we do not ‘need’ everything that we want.

Self-control requires practice…practice in tempting food situations, practice in our tempers, practice in our words, practice in our faith, practice, practice, practice…practice makes permanent.

I encourage you to practice self-control and avoid making rash “I don’t care” food decisions.  Will treats be had?  Of course, but with control and without letting it be a first step into a path of  “yes” to every want. 

Feels good to be back this week.  Stay well and be joyful!

2 Peter 1:5-8 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”