Day 7

 No sugar or dairy

“How Do You Get By? A ‘morning by morning’ person! It’s a choice.  You need to remember what you’ve forgotten!  Refocus and renew your mind.” “By My grace,” [The Lord] replied.  “My grace is sufficient for you.  You’ll get by.”  [The Lord] added encouragingly, “Just as long as you focus your mind on Me!” Jeremiah says, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me” (Lamentations 3:19-20).

Then he changes his mind about what he wants to think about.  You can, you know!  “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed!”

Ah! – I was reminded about minding my mind!  Then the Lord looked at me very seriously.  “You mind your mind, [Scarlett], and I’ll mind your heart!  Great is my faithfulness!”

And it was so!  (Taken from Jill Briscoe, Executive Editor, Just Between Us Magazine)

One week under my belt! Can I let you in for a close-up? It’s not pretty! My focus has been on myself, and my mind has dwelt on what I’m giving up instead of my great God. I haven’t been minding my mind. It has been extremely difficult. My fixation on the things I love has made this week depressing. I’m thankful for some encouraging friends along the way. And I know several are praying for me. Some are providing pep talks, which I really appreciate. A sympathetic friend sent me a Matcha Green Tea Latte recipe. It sounds terribly yummy! When I gather all the ingredients, (hopefully I can find them) I will try it and let you know how it turns out.

Something interesting, as I was flipping through the pages of a journal from 2015, I found where I was doing a 7-day no sweeteners. This is what I wrote: A total struggle – as if I must beat my body to follow through and Oh, the mind, how it runs to the yummy foods I’m giving up! Paul said he buffets (disciplines) his body as opposed to an all-you-can-eat buffet for the body (1 Cor. 9:27).

Obviously, we can never let down our guard when it comes to minding the mind. I pray that my thoughts will be so absorbed with God and His Word that I don’t have time to crave anything else. Great IS His Faithfulness, and His Grace IS Sufficient no matter the task you might be facing. Keep the Focus! Onward and Upward! How’s that for a pep talk?