Weight Loss and Peter

About a month ago I had my annual checkup with Dr. Doogie.  The most exciting thing that occurred was traveling to a different part of Houston to go to his office.  My GPS’ll Dee-vise that led me down there had me doing so many twists and turns, that I could not tell which direction was north.  (Too many buildings and too much concrete)  But, it did get me down there and back home.  So I can’t complain too much about the insidious GPS’ll dee-vice.

While there we (Doogie and I) covered most of the basics…blood work, blood pressure and such.  We talked about how my family was doing and how his family was doing.  All this time I was thinking about some visits in previous years and how I had not received the dreaded finger test in a few of years.  I was thinking surely he wanted to go down that road.  Thankfully, no…he was pretty much done!

The only thing he asked me to do was watch my diet and lose some weight.  He said he would like me to lose 15 pounds in the next year.  I said, “no problem, I oughta be able to do that in a few months”

I’ll be honest in the last 4 or 5 years the weight has not come off that easy.  Not that I’ve tried real hard, but in the past all I had to do was quit the candy and cokes…boom, the weight fell off.  That is no longer the case.  Besides the fact that I am addicted to caffeine and chocolate, age has crept up and I’m just not the man I used to be!  Up until yesterday, I have done pretty well.  Bringing my own lunch, staying out of the devil machines (candy machines for the uninitiated), ok so far…right?

Yesterday at I came to work and had some oatmeal, that’s not bad.  Then one of my co-workers showed up with a box of donuts, I didn’t want to be rude…so I ate one around 8am.  About 9:30 I walked by his desk and there was still some donuts left…so I had another.  About 11, I walked by and there was only one left, it looked so very lonely sitting there…so I ate it.  At noon I ate my lunch, which consisted of a ham and peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Not all together, there were two sandwiches.  I also brought some grapes (that’s healthy, right?).  I ate all of those too.

As I sat in my truck listening to the radio, I was contemplating all I had eaten already.  And thought “I’m still hungry” So I gnawed on the steering wheel for a little while (in case your wondering, they taste terrible).

Then on the way home my bride wanted to get her mother a cupcake for her birthday, so we stopped off at a cupcake place and picked up four…three for her mother and a cheesecake one for me.  What?  It was for after supper, I was celebrating my mother-in-laws birthday!  Of course, we wanted to taste it right there so Felicia had a couple of little bites and I ate the rest (yeah, I licked the wrapper like a dope fiend!  Don’t judge!).

You would think after all of this eating during the day that I would have been full!  But nooooo, I was on a roll (mmmm, rolls.  With butter).  I seemed to want to continue the development of the rolls that hang out over the top of my jeans.  So for supper I had kolaches, ever the health nut ain’t I?

Once we got to bed, I thought about all I had eaten during the day.  This ain’t gonna be easy, this weight loss thing.  Luckily, I have the support of my bride and we can go down this road together. 

A Godly man should be able to tell himself no, I wasn’t very good at that yesterday.  But today’s another day and another chance, for all the things I should be telling myself no to.  That’s one of the good things about God; if you already know Him as Savior…He gives you another chance.  Don’t get me wrong, knowing a merciful God does not give us the excuse the act like the devil.  But, Peter was given another chance when he denied Christ, look what God used him for!

Luke 22:54-62

Then seizing Him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest.  Peter followed at a distance.  And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.  A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight.  She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”

But he denied it.  “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

A little later, someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”  Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed.  The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:  “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”  And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter went on to do great things for God, despite the fact the he stumbled and fell. He denied Christ; he did not tell his heart no, when his heart was weak and wanted to fade away into the background.  But God still used him…

Just something to think about…

 

Hey, are those donuts somebody brought in this morning?  Do I want one?  Yes, I want the whole stinkin’ box!  But no, I am not eating one this morning.  A small victory on my weight loss at this moment, celebrate that!  Just like an addict that falls off the wagon…start again tomorrow.