June 21, 2006
All or Nothing
I have a friend who loves to say, “Anything worth doing
is worth doing badly.” Over the years, I have found much
truth in that somewhat twisted statement.
I was reminded of it last week when our church held our annual
Vacation Bible School.
This year we took the event to local neighborhoods, including
my own back yard. It was a crazy week and since it was our first
attempt at this kind of outreach, we were far from experts –
especially me. We made lots of mistakes, but I can honestly
say that not a one of them seemed to matter.
The children loved being there. They were having fun and hearing
about Jesus. So it didn’t make a bit of difference when
the actors in the drama got their lines wrong, the crafts didn’t
turn out as we had hoped or we forgot to do some activity that
was on the program.
At the end of the week the kids were complaining that the event
was over and asking when they could do it again. It didn’t
matter that we didn’t do it perfectly, it just mattered
that we did it.
I wish I had that same attitude about my weight loss program.
When it comes to this area of my life, my philosophy has always
been “all or nothing.” As soon as I make a mistake,
I throw the baby out with the bath water and give up -- at least
for that day.
Because it was impossible to do the Backyard Vacation Bible
School and stay on track with my eating and exercise, this time
I ended up giving up for an entire week!
I wish I could have modified my program instead of just throwing
up my hands in defeat. Maybe I could have set new goals, like….I
can’t work out every day, but I will try to get to the
YMCA at least once. Or…eating like I normally do is difficult,
so I’ll just try to make the best choices possible each
day. Instead it became a week of “anything goes.”
Thankfully, the scales didn’t register a gain. Running
after 10-15 youngsters seemed to have kept the week from being
a disaster in that way. But I do wish I could learn that I can
blow one meal without blowing the whole day.
For now, I’m just thanking the Lord for a new week and
a new beginning for my weight loss program.
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Previous blogs: How
I got Roped into This, Dodging
the Donuts, Why
Losing Weight Takes Faith, When
the Scales Won't Budge, Ask
the Experts, Sweet
Scale Success, Are
You Having Fun Yet?