[Leenie]

Its a great way to think, I hope you will read this, especially the end....




From "Faithfully Fit," by Claire Cloninger & Laura Barr

My friend Richard has lost seventy-two pounds! It's incredible; he doesn't even look like the same person. A group of us went to lunch the other day, and no fewer than three people came up to him and marveled at the transformation.

"How did you do it, Richard?" they all wanted to know. He made lots of jokes like, "I starved myself for ten months" and things like that. Later I had a chance to ask him in earnest.

"No, really," I said. "How DID you do it?"

"It was so simple," he answered. "Not easy, mind you, but simple."

"Well?" I persisted. "Don't keep me in suspense. I'm writing a book about these things, and my readers await your answer."

"A better choice," he said mysteriously. "I used the principle of 'a better choice.'"

"You'll have to expand on that, Richard," I said. And he did.

"My day is always full of little decisions and mini-crossroads," he explained. "When I come to one, I just ask myself a simple question: what is the better choice? Then I choose it. That's it."

"That's it?" I said, disappointed.

"That's it," he repeated.

"Well, give me some examples," I urged.

"Okay," he continued, "I'm in a restaurant. I open the menu. Am I going to order the grilled chicken or the barbecued ribs? Obviously, the grilled chicken is the better choice. I choose it. Or it's Saturday morning. I have two hours before I'm supposed to pick up my daughters to take them shopping. Am I going to have a lazy soak in the tub, two cups of coffee, and a long session with the daily paper? Or am I going to have a brisk two-mile walk, a hot but hurried shower, and a glance at the headlines? Because I know I need to exercise, I opt to fit the walk in. Or I'm in the grocery store, loading up my cart for the week ahead. I linger for a moment over the picnic ham, but I notice right next to it a frozen turkey breast. I reach for the turkey. It's no big mystery. It's just a way of looking at things that has become a habit. I've even begun to think of it as a game. It works."

Since that conversation, I've used Richard's principle of "the better choice" in my own life and found it to be amazingly helpful. In fact, the more I've thought about it, the more it seems to me that much of "The Game of Life" could be played according to this simple principle. With Jesus Christ as our guide, helping us choose wisely at every small crossroad, how simple our daily journey becomes!

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you that you walked through this world before us, and that we can trust you to be our guide at every crossroads. Help us, Lord, to see each choice in the light of your wisdom. Empower us to choose as you would choose. Be so present and real in every part of our lives that your choices become second nature to us. We pray in your precious name. Amen.

Scripture: "I call heaven and earth to witness against you that today I have set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Oh, that you would choose life; that you and your children might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and to cling to him, for he is your life and the length of your days," Deuteronomy 30:19-20, LB.

Affirmation: Jesus Christ dwells within me. He helps me make life-giving choices at each small crossroad.

Suggestion: You are affected positively or negatively not only by what you choose to eat, but by whom you choose to spend time with. Consider the people who make you feel positive and hopeful as opposed to those who make you feel inferior and discouraged. By choosing to spend a good part of your time with those who believe in and encourage you, you are being kind to yourself and enhancing your program of reform and recovery. Whenever there is a choice to be made, surround yourself with faith-filled, positive friends.