Saying No to Sugar

One of my favorite places in Crosby is the Lighten Up Wellness Center.  It gives me a place to start the day, whether it is doing strength training or yoga, and also is a great place to share fellowship with other women.

Our fearless leader, Tanya Knudson Gillen, makes staying fit fun and interesting.  No more doing the exact same exercises every day.  She changes things up so we don't get bored, and it is also keeps our bodies from falling into a rut.

October has been especially interesting after Tanya created the Facebook event called, "31 days to a healthier you!"  The daily and weekly challenges give us new focus, plus encouragement from others helps push through the temptation to cheat.

One of our challenges for this week was to eliminate processed sugar from our diet.  Thankfully, we could still choose items with natural sugars, but what I'm finding is there is hidden sugar in just about everything prepackaged.

Last week I had purchased a bag of craisins (dried cranberries) thinking they would make a good snack for this month.  Alas, when I checked the label today, the ingredient list was cranberries and sugar.  Tonight, as I passed up the cookies which had been provided for the break time of our chorus practice, I reached instead for the dry roasted peanuts.  Checking the label, I was surprised to find even they had sugar listed as an ingredient.

Sometimes our sins can be like the hidden sugar, hardly detectable on the surface, but hidden away deep inside where only God can truly see them.  In my years of reading through the Bible, I often made notations in the margins, and one such place is Psalm 19:12, which reads as follows:

Who can discern his errors?

Forgive my hidden faults.

 

My notation reads, "Hidden is first, then willful", since verse 13 gives reference to another kid of sin, the "willful" kind.  To me, these would be the more blatant sins committed outwardly, and often involving others.  These, too, must be dealt with.

 

Keep your servant also from willful sins;

may they not rule over me.

Then will I be blameless,

innocent of great transgression.

 

How interesting to find the hidden sins mentioned first.  Perhaps, because they are harder to detect, it is even more important to clear them up.

 

Whether dealing with sugar or sin, God can help us move on to a healthier lifestyle.  Right now, however, my hidden sin just might be wanting to cheat on the sugar and end the day with an ice cream treat!  [But I won't!!]