Oops, I've Slipped... NIV: Proverb 19:11 A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

MATTHEW HENRY'S COMMENTS: A wise man will observe these two rules about his anger: 1. Not to be over-hasty in his resentments. Wisdom teaches us to defer our anger till we have thoroughly considered all the merits of the provocation. 2. Not to be over-critical in his resentments.

MY OBSERVATIONS: The dieter's biggest foe is not food, but self-defacement when we slip and fall from the dieter's wagon. We beat and bruise ourselves up so greatly that it becomes more and more difficult to return to dieting. A profile might show that this might well be perfectionist tendencies. The struggling person calls upon Christ's wisdom to receive the same type of patience God displays toward all sinners. When we fail, we must seek to understand it, to overcome it, to forgive it, and to pick ourselves up and return to the race that is before us. God, in Your wisdom, teach us how to forgive, even ourselves. Remind us that we may have lost a particular battle, but we will win the war. We ask You for the patience that comes from above. In Jesus' name. Amen

My Observations: This proverb smacks of yo-yo dieting. How many of us went for a quick fix: the Mayo Clinic diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, or the Grapefruit Diet, just to see quick results, but only to end up regaining the weight plus more? We need to be taught and believe that this is not a diet, but a change in lifestyle and choices. If it is a diet that we are on, the weight will eventually creep back on. If it is genuinely seeking God’s face to turn our love affair with food loose, then that it is the result we will obtain. I hold no false hopes that food will quit beckoning me to overeat, but I do have confidence in Christ that I will make wiser lifetime choices now that I have sought His counsel.

Dear Lord, I pray that You will continue to guide me along the way in my desire to overcome my eating problems. May I discern that haste to get this weight off will not work as well as realizing and refusing to participate in the areas of temptation that put this weight upon my body. As always, I thank You for the wisdom that Your Word provides. Amen

Today's Diet Tip: 19.- Concentrate on your goals, not your limitations.

Today's Positive Thought: Persistence, not perfection, is what's important.