Good Morning Girls!  I need to start out by saying how proud of you I am.  I received a few e-mails, and phone calls regarding the changes you are making in your lives.  I am praying for you and cheering you on every day!  For those of you who are just tuning in (or trying to tune me out), we are moving into week two of our new goals.  Go back to Sept 2nd and join in....you won't regret it! (well, you might at first, but eventually you will thank me).  Usually the first week can be a little bit of a roller coaster ride.  You are all excited about the changes you want to make, and feel as though you can conquer the world.  A few minutes later you feel discouraged and wonder how you will ever do it.  It's normal to have some emotional reactions to physical changes.  Guaranteed your body hates that alarm waking you up for devotion time.  After 2 days of your new workout you hurt in places you didn't know existed.  Maybe you try grocery shopping and buying only the items on your list for the first time ever, which ends up meaning no chips and no cookies (not good for you anyway).  All of these new things have the ability to throw you off mentally as well as physically.  Many people quit by the end of week one.  The rest manage to keep going mostly due to the excitement they still have at the thought of achieving their goals.  If you are one of the ones who quit, don't be discouraged, pick yourself up and move forward with the rest of us.  I said excitement carries many people through week one.  After that, you need something more solid.  You need to know deep in your heart what you are doing, and more importantly, why you are doing it.  You need to think about how your life will be better.  You need to meditate on what your life will look like, how you will feel, how those around you will be affected.  You can't just wake up one day and say "I am going to do this" without giving it any thought.  why?  Because somewhere along your journey you are going to face temptations.  Temptations are inevitable.  It says so in Matthew 18:7.  There is not one person who when trying to improve themselves will not be faced with resistance in the form of temptation.  If you have not done your "prep work", (the steps covered last week), you will not be on solid ground and will give in to temptation.  Spend some time today reviewing your goal(s).  Think about all the reasons you want to change.  Think of all the reasons you do not want to stay the same.  Renew your commitment to the Lord.  Check in with your accountability coach.  Pray that I do not eat a lint covered fruit snack I see on the floor while vacuuming.  Hold on to your goals and get ready for week two.......Temptation Week.......How can you not get excited about that?

Luke 8:13  the seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy.  but since they don't have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

Love you all-
Jen