"Suffering" for a Cause

Hi All, I hope that your day has found you well. The verse for today is 2 Timothy 2:12 - If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us. A lot of times we tend to view dieting as if we are suffering for nothing. Then, when you lose that 1/2 a pound, (or whatever it might be), it all seems worth it. I want you, however, to consider this, When you think that you are suffering in the remodeling of God's Temple, think about what Christ suffered on the cross. Much in life requires pain and suffering before we can attain it. Much like Christ. He left His home in Heaven, submitted Himself to be a baby and a human in general. Allowed Himself to go through human things (temptations, hunger, anger, etc) and then ultimately gave everything. Most people will tell you that there is very little that is pleasant about dieting...and most people would be right. I don't know anyone who "wants" to be on a diet. I wish I could just think thinner and therefore I am :) But most people will also tell you that the end result is more than worth it, and I would have to agree on certain terms. If you look better, but your attitude has not changed, then the end result was not worth it. If you look better, and that's exactly what you wanted (for those reasons only), then I would say the end result was not worth it. BUT, if you look better, and you are thankful to God because of it, and you focus on the things you can do for Christ because of your weight loss (encourage those around you, start a Christian weight loss team, etc), then I would say that the end result was Well Worth It!!! Just because dieting is hard at times, doesn't mean that God doesn't care about our end result. I can talk easy today because I lost weight this week, but what will next week be like? It's all about what you eat and how you exercise from week to week. Just remember though, Jesus Christ knows what it means to sacrifice far better than we could ever imagine. As I already said, He gave the utimate sacrifice...His life. A big reason for my dieting was because I was not ready to give my lifeto obesity. I wanted to kick obesity in the pants before it made me kick the bucket. (Not to be crass, but its true). So many health problems are due to being over weight and I didn't want to be 30 years old and needing to have a triple or quadruple heart bypass because of clogged arteries or what not. So the next time you wonder why you're dieting/"suffering" think of your end result. Will it be worth it or not?

Okay, I'll get off my soap box for today. I just wanted to remind all of you that we have our first meeting on Sunday night, April 9. Mrs. Joyce Hampton will be helping us understand the WW methods a little better (for those of us who are doing it on the internet and don't quite understand all the ins and outs). I am expecting around 15 people...possibly 20 to be there, so whoever signs up to bring food, please make sure you bring enough. If you will also bring the recipe, we will make copies of it at the church. I know I keep saying this, but there will be a sign up sheet on Wednesday night...(I'm working on it as we speak). I have decided we'll have 3 people bring main dishes and 2 people bring dessert (I couldn't remember if we decided that the families would be eating with us or not, so this might change). Thank you for reading this blog. I hope it blesses someone each day. Keep Looking UP for your inspiration and God Bless!!