365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 105

The idea of self-control has been on my mind lately. It has been my typical pattern to go on a diet and lose some weight and keep it off for a while but than something triggers my lack of self-control and I go back to my old habits of eating like I did when I was 20. I can’t do that anymore! My mind and my body are not on the same page. So, yesterday after having an evening of feeling too full, which is so uncomfortable, I opened my bible and started reading some scriptures about self-control. I get the impression from the bible that people didn’t have a problem with self-control when it came to food back in those days. The bible talks more about controlling our speech and our in-take of alcohol. There are probably lots of various things that we can let control us like the television, email, computer games, Facebook, etc. How much of those things am I giving control of my life over to? Think on these things in the week ahead and start making a list of those things that seem to control you and your life. Put the control back into the hands of the Holy Spirit.

1Peter 15-16 But just as he who is called you is holy, so be holy in all  you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 153

It hurts and is humiliating even to write this but I am a sinner just like everyone. While in San Antonio, my mom and sister and I went out to a pub for drinks and dinner. I intended to stick with just the one beer I order especially after getting a headache the day before after having the margarita at Rita's on the Riverwalk. But a table of folks next to us had ordered this drink sampler thingy the pub had. It was probably less than a minute and we were ordering one for our table. I call this the downfall. This is where it went downhill. Having 6 different mixed drinks that were all pretty darn good was just the frosting on the cake. The cherry and whipped cream were added when the table next to us order a round of tequila for us. Oh no! We all went along with it except my sister who has had a very bad experience with tequila enough to make her never want to have it again. I ordered some food thankfully at this point but my mom ordered more tequila for us so we were pretty toasted. At this point a singing drunk man came over to our table and was on his knees singing very loud and obnoxiously. I had eaten most of my pasta dish that I wanted at this point and without really thinking took a bite of pasta and put it in the singing drunks mouth. Once wasn't enough, I did it again and at this point my mom whispered to me that the man was a pan-handler. I stopped and the guys at the table next to us escorted the singing drunk out of the restaurant. It hit me later on at about 4am in the morning when I woke up in bed what I had done. I cried to Jesus for forgiveness for being a drunk fool. I opened up an avenue for sin to come out in myself with drinking too much. I am not a drinker anymore so it doesn't take much. In any case, I spoke to my mom and sister about it and vowed never to drink like that again. My mom told me he wasn't a pan-handler but just some drunk guy in the bar but that still didn't excuse my own sin. Drunkeness leads to foolishness, period. Ephesians 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.