Psalm 121:8 “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.” NLT
We were going to Disney World. Ahhh!!!! I was definitely excited, but I was also definitely nervous. I’d been to Disney World before, and the highlight of that trip had been the food. If you’ve never been, the food there is not your typical theme park food. There are professional chefs at all of the restaurants, and we were on the dining plan! That meant that we could eat to our heart’s content. There were no limits. And what’s more, I am frugal. Having paid so much money, I only felt it reasonable to eat what we had paid for. What would I do? This was my first vacation trip and I was very apprehensive about how I would balance my frugality with my healthy eating habits.
Preparation was key. Once again, I went online to find out as much information as possible on the restaurants we would be visiting. I planned my meals, my snacks, and lucky for me, there are plenty of healthy options at Disney World. I also wore a pedometer, so that I could accurately log my activity and ensure that I was on track with my nutrition. The only setback was that we were flying, and extended travel always makes me retain water. That wasn’t a big deal as I would lose that added weight once we got home.
We did go on our trip, and magically (just like Disney), I managed to lose 3 pounds while we were on vacation! I couldn’t believe it myself. It was possible, and it definitely is doable.
While there are definite challenges to eating healthy while on vacation and traveling in general, it is absolutely possible. With a little preparation and a lot of careful choosing, you can stick to a healthy diet. What’s more, when you eat healthy food, you feel better and have more energy to do all of the fun things that you’ve planned.
The Psalmist here uses word pictures to assure the pilgrims spoken of here of the Lord’s presence with them. Their help comes from the Lord, the one who created the heavens and the earth, as well as us, His people. He watches over them and every move they make, especially in times of trouble. The Creator stands beside them, guarding them forever.
It’s a beautiful Psalm, full of compassion, love, and care for Israel. It’s the same compassion, love, and care that God feels for all of us too. He cares about every move we make, our protection, our health, and even our choices we make. If we let Him, He will stand beside us, guarding us even from temptation and trouble.
Do you trust Him to take care of you and to keep you healthy even when everyone else would tell you it’s okay to make bad choices? How serious are you about changing your life? Will you allow Him to guard you?
Read through the entire Psalm today. You’ll be glad you did.
Psalm 91:11 “For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.” NLT
Psalm 139:9-10 “If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.” NLT
I don't think it would have mattered what I ate at Disney - we walked our tushies off when we were there. We were so exhausted at the end of every day that we were almost too tired to eat! LOL! But we are planning a beach vacation this year, and I'm sure walking in sand and swimming in the waves should burn quite a bit of calories. One of my work friends says they were just too worn out at the end of the day to eat a big meal or anything heavy. We will be staying somewhere with a kitchen and making most of our meals, so that will help cut down on restaurant calories (and costs!). So I'll have more control over that this year, thankfully! But one day k will definitely need these tips! Do you have a fitbit? I'm thinking of getting one soon. It might not work well with my phone, but we still have the iPad if I need to use it to link to.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought a fitbit about a year ago and didn't like it so I returned it. For me, it was just a high-tech pedometer, and it didn't do anything different than what my app already did. I had a heart rate monitor thing that I paid about $35 for from Academy, and it worked just as well. However, I see that fitbit has actually come a long way since then, and it looks interesting now.
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