Red Lobster......

So.....tonight, Keith and I decided to use this gift card to Red Lobster!  The only problem is when you park your car and start walking toward the building, all you can smell is the garlic biscuits with cheese and fried shrimp and fried fish...and whatever else they fry up in there!!  I thought about getting a salad for the 1000th time but I just wasn't seeing that...not this time.  I was like an alcoholic in a bar.....I was on a mission and my rebellious mind decided that I was going to enjoy some popcorn shrimp.  That would have been fine if they weren't FRIED!!!  The the waiter brought out that sinfully delightful garlic bread...things were going downhill and fast!  I didn't even ask God to help me control myself.....the waiter came back and took our order and before I knew it, I had ordered popcorn shrimp and rice on the side.  It was a small order but still, it wasn't what I was supposed to have.

We got done eating and had to go to Walmart on Jonestown Rd where I stop on my way to work and walk each morning to get a few items.   By the time we parked the car and started walking toward the door, I felt bigger than I ever have and bloated as bad as a beached whale!!  I was miserable and I still am hours later.  In fact, as I type this post, I am laying in bed on my heating pad just thinking about how bad I was and just feel awful!!  Such a good week and now I feel like it has all been for nothing!  BUT WAIT!!  I remember what I said to myself and others the other day about how we sometimes mess up and have to ask for forgiveness and and to forgive ourselves....I got out my notebook and was reading the lesson for today AGAIN.  It was talking about bad habits we have and how many years we have had these bad habits...all the justifications we have for behaving the way we do.  The justification I used tonight was a familiar one....I thought that since I had been so good and following the rules on this program, that it was fine to jump in and "celebrate" by eating some "good" food.  I think that this food was really bad and it made me miserable after I ate it.  But now, it is done and I can't undo it and will have to make a conscience decision to not do that again.

This verse was in the lesson today:

I love the way this version reads from The Message:

Romans 8:12-13 (The Message)

 ^12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

I cannot focus on what I just did.  I have to focus on having the right attitude and that tomorrow is a new day and asking for forgiveness means that God will wipe the slate clean and I can start fresh in the morning....thank goodness that I can ask for forgiveness and it is done, just like that!!  Wow....how awesome is that!!