Remember January 17?

January-17Are you still on track with your weight loss and health goals for this new year?

It’s January 17 today!

This is important because most New Years resolutions made on January 1 are forgotten by January 17. In a previous article, I wrote about how to prevent that from happening to you.

Let’s discuss how to succeed beyond January 17. The Biblical mindset is from Hebrews 4:13:

 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

As Believers in Christ, our lives will shine far beyond this world – all the way into eternity. Ultimately, we are accountable to God for how we live.

Think about this: Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday when you were 17 years-old? And yet, here you are today on January 17, in our current year.

What happened in all of the intervening years?

Your life passed in the small, ordinary days of your life – most of which escaped your notice.

A situation happened to me when I was 17 years old that illustrates this principle. It shows the secret of consistency.

At that age, I took a special literature class. It was quite a large class, maybe 30 students in all. Our teacher decided to give us an assignment for extra credit. We had three choices as to which assignment to do:

  • Memorize and recite a 16-line poem to receive an ‘A’ grade
  • Memorize and recite a 12-line poem to receive a ‘B’ grade
  • Memorize and recite a 4-line poem to receive a ‘D’ grade

She gave us a week to fulfill the assignment. On the appointed date, she asked each student to stand up and recite his or her chosen poem.

Out of the 30 students, can you guess how many chose to do the ‘A’ poem?

1 student.

Can you guess how many students chose to do the ‘B’ poem?

1 student.

The other 28 students chose to do the ‘D’ poem assignment!

That experience has stayed with me as the 1 student who memorized the ‘A’ poem.

After I finished reciting it, the other students applauded me. However, that just made me sad.

The reward was obvious; why had the other students chosen to only strive for a ‘D’?

While I didn’t understand it at the time, now I think the other students looked at the 16 lines and decided that the task was too big and too hard to do.

So they didn’t do it.

But I believe the Lord had me look at the task differently. I did not focus on learning all 16 lines at once.

Instead for that week,  I memorized just 3-4 lines every day. I put the power of consistency to work for me.

When the assignment was due a week later, I had memorized all 16 lines!

The other students probably waited until the night before the test, then crammed to memorize the 4 lines of the ‘D’ poem.

Do you see the difference? It was the same task; I just repeated that task multiple times during the week.

The late motivational speaker Jim Rohn gave my favorite definition between success and failure:

  • Failure = a few errors in judgment practiced every day
  • Success = a few simple disciplines practiced every day

The key to both of these conditions is the phrase ‘practiced every day.’ It is those small, extra efforts that you practice every day that will decide whether this year will be different than last year.

Grand gestures, such as New Years’ resolutions, do not bring permanent change.

What does bring permanent change is redeeming your days, making small wise choices and letting them compound over time.

So embrace the challenge of each day, knowing that your success is going to come one day, and one wise choice at a time.

Be blessed with health, healing and wholeness,

Kimberly Taylor

Creator of the Take Back Your Temple program

P.S. When it comes to weight loss, do you often know what you should do but have a hard time doing it?

You are not alone!

I struggled with this issue on my own weight loss journey, but I discovered that “Nothing is different until you think differently.” – Pastor James MacDonald

The value of the Take Back Your Temple program is that you will learn how to think differently through using Biblical keys to overcome obstacles. You’ll discover how to win the Spiritual and mental battle that often causes us to become inconsistent and get off-track on our weight loss journey.

This is “can’t-miss” information if you are ready to succeed permanently and join a community of others doing the same.

Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program

About the author 

Kimberly Taylor

Kimberly Taylor is a certified Christian life coach and has a heart to help others struggling with emotional eating and weight loss. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, she can testify of God’s goodness and healing power to overcome. She lost 85 pounds as a result of implementing techniques to overcome emotional eating and binge eating disorder.

Kim is the author of "The Take Back Your Temple Program," which teaches Christians how to take control of their weight God's way and the books "The Weight Loss Scriptures" and "The Weight Loss Prayers."

Kim has been featured in Prevention Magazine, Charisma Magazine and on CBN’s 'The 700 Club' television program.

  • Not only am I still going strong with my fitness/nutrition decisions, I am even more determined to go all the way!!! I have two words for the year: MODERATION and MANIFEST!!! I thank God for His revelation to me and I continue this WALK OF FAITH!

    Peace and Blessings to you!

  • Kimberly I love this article! I thank God for you. Consistency is what I lack. Please pray for me in this area. With the Lord’s help this journey has become a lot smoother. I am more conscious throughout the day because I CHOOSE to honor God in His temple. I’m excited for the new discoveries. STEP BY STEP – WALKING BY FAITH WITH THE LORD
    Blessings

    • I am praying with you, Kimberly and indeed for all connected with TBYT in this area because it is so easy to get distracted. This is indeed a day-by-day, step-by-step journey, but the Lord is with us through it ALL!

  • Lorraine,
    THANKS for your post. I feel your genuineness and thanks for sharing “forgetting” I see now a hindrance to my own journey. Failure to “remember and forgetting that that I need in the midst of my difficult times. What an eye opener. Thanks again
    KW

  • Hi Kimberly –

    Your first post really spoke to me. I was answering another journal question around that same time that asked what seems to be the biggest obstacle in keeping commitments, and after prayerful thought I answered “remembering!” And so your article really hit the nail on the head.

    I’ve also been reading through the bible (starting in Genesis) and was in Judges and could see the biggest downfall of God’s people was forgetting (and not remembering) over and over again! And I saw myself so clearly. Here I’ve been a christian for about 40 years and still was in this same cycle of forgetting my resolve and was wondering what was wrong with me but at the same time realizing that it’s time to start remembering! (with God’s help of course)

    So, my daughter and I are in a healthy lifestyle program since my daughter started having some serious health issues due to her weight (she just turned 26). She lost 50 lbs during the program and then the weight slowly started coming back as she turned back to some old eating patterns.

    Thankfully, they asked if I wanted to get involved and of course I didn’t WANT to, but realized it was an answer to my prayers and it’s finally hitting me that this is truly a lifestyle change. Our first task was to read a statement daily, so I decided to try and memorize it, and now me and my daughter both can recite it at will. Then I wondered how long will I have to say this, then realized that is how I can keep from forgetting. Then I came across some scriptures that tell us to bind God’s words on our hands and keep in front of our eyes . . . and talk about them to our children when they wake up and lie down, and through out the day . . . (I’m sure, lest we forget),

    Here’s our new saying (and I weave my own prayers into it each day) . . .

    “I realize that food is not to live for . . . I live a higher existence that that and have too many other things in life that bring me happiness and pleasure. It is more important to me to be healthy, choose healthy foods and eat in moderation than to merely live for the momentary pleasures of overeating and indulging in unhealthy food choices, that only lead to discouragement, guilt, obesity and a multitude of diseases. I am committed to making a lifestyle changes and to put into practice these life changing thoughts.”

    God was intent on me getting it this time. Thanks for your continued posts and encouragement. It has been a real blessing and a key in helping me to find victory in this battle!! In it, to WIN it!

    Blessings
    🙂 Lorraine

  • i am so thankful for your words of wisdom, Ms. Kimberly! I can’t afford to join take back your temple right now, but am intending in the near future to do so. You have inspired me and helped me see how the Lord can and will use his word to help me with my weight loss endeavors.
    thanks so much!

  • I think today,s challenge has spoken to me more than any of the before. I have made a commitment to lose 1 pound per week. It seems so small but when I broke it down it equaled 4 pounds per month, 12 time 4 equaled 48 pounds in a year. At this time I will weigh 200 pounds. Which I have not weighed in several years. I thought God let this challenge reinforce what He had already laid on my heart. Have a blessed day girlfriends.

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