Weigh-In Wednesday

Well, ladies (and whatever gentlemen might be out there reading this!), I really am finally shrinking.

I'm down a whopping 4.8 lbs from last week!

The good news is, I've lost a total of 7.6 lbs since starting this Bible study a week an a half ago.

The BAD news, however, is that since I ate WAY too much over Easter weekend, I've only just this week been able to get rid of that excess and move beyond it. So for the purposes of this current Sisterhood challenge, I'm only down 3.4 lbs.

Wow, how annoying is THAT?!!

This is exactly the kind of see-saw pattern that gets so many of us discouraged, frustrated, and ultimately, usually gets us to quit trying. Which is exactly why something like this Bible study is needed ~ for us to see that the root of our problems lies in our nonchalance about sin.

This week's memory verse is Genesis 4:7:

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.

(And yes, I typed that for memory, folks!)

This is SO true for me. If I give in once ~ no matter how I might rationalize or justify it ~ it weakens my resolve and I'm that much more likely to allow it to happen again. Failure is just waiting to pounce, to tear me apart, to tell me I shouldn't have bothered trying because I'll never succeed anyway.

BUT... conversely, the more tiny little victories I have ~ the more times I succeed in walking away from the snack cupboard, or turning down second helpings at mealtimes, or reaching for an orange instead of a bag of chips ~ the better the chances I am to have more. Because I'm slowly but surely stomping out failure. I'm stomping out the devil's flickering flames of lies and deception and relying more on God's power and promises.

And the victories are growing. Success really does breed success!