Go Thank yourself! Its funny that we save one day out of the year to celebrate thankfulness. We do this by taking a day off work, cooking massive amounts of food, we gather around in large groups of family and friends and gorge on food we might not eat but once a year. We then laze around the rest of the day complaining that we ate too much, then we start again on left overs.

Some of us eat so much that in all reality we should be thankful that its over because we ate ourselves sick! We have forgotten that though the original celebration with the pilgrims and the Indians eating the entire harvest they had worked so hard for, and had nothing left to survive on that first winter. They literally ate themselves out of house and home. They then started arguing and pointing fingers. Many of these arguments have survived subconsciously hundreds of years. Always around the holidays and always stealing our joy of thankfulness. We then develop a dread for family holiday gatherings and eat more than we should because its a family tradition. A tradition masked in "thankfulness" seaping with strife, which causes us to use "comfort foods" to self medicate. This is not eating thankfully, its eating abusively.

Thankfulness is an underused emotion. We say we are thankful for this and that, once a year, but we should carry this feeling all through our lives.

As we enter this week of "Thankfulness" let us take a minute to look in the mirror. Some of us may be in the midst of family turmoil and feel we have nothing to be thankful for. Some of us may be in the midst of this Grace and Strength Lifestyle and are dreading "the meal".

Look at yourself in the mirror. Now thank yourself for not being the cause of the family drama, but for being the peacekeeper/peacemaker. Thank yourself that you have given yourself permission to love everyone equally and unconditionally. Thank yourself that you speak love, life, hope and blessing into every one and every situation.

Now, Thank yourself that you have the will power and discipline to over come the temptation to stray from your program. That you have no desire to go back to the old eating habits you have had in the past. Thank yourself that you are not on a diet but on a path to victory.

Lastly Thank yourself that you are submitting yourself to God and that you have released yourself into his love, care and strength to be more than a conqueror to emotional eating, compulsive eating, bulimia, anorexia, and other eating disorders. Thank yourself that you are no longer bound by your past but you walk a path of peace and health.

After you have done this, fall on your knees and thank God for all the above. You see it is by submitting these things to Him that we can truly be thankful. So embrace your sweaty uncle, your mothball infused aunt, funny smelling grandparents, and creepy cousins. When it seems overwhelming, excuse yourself to the bathroom And Go Thank yourself, over and over and over!

That's the Grace and Strength Lifestyle!

Pray Seek Believe Receive

David Michael Rose

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* Individual results may vary.