Eat the cookie-- buy the shoes : giving yourself permission to lighten up

Engrained in our culture is the belief that unbending discipline is the only sure way to success. You must go to the gym five times a week, never order the dessert, and don't even think about buying that dress you keep staring at in the store window. Breaking from such a regimented lifestyle is a sign of weakness, right? Wrong!-and Joyce wants to tell us why. . . Though setting rules in our lives are important, it's just as important that we break them from time-to-time. Structure is a powerful tool, but when diverging from your own goals is seen as catastrophic, it can have a hugely negative effect on us. Balance is a core value in life and every once in awhile we deserve to indulge in a guilty pleasure or two. So don't feel bad about straying from your goals every once-in-awhile and in fact, embrace it: eat the cookie and buy the shoes!

It all started when Joyce Meyer's husband chided her for eating a chocolate chip cookie. They were both on a fitness regimen, and the minute he spoke, Joyce felt guilty.

A colleague who overheard the exchange said, "Joyce, you deserve that cookie. In fact, I think you should buy a pair of shoes, too." Culture teaches that the only sure way to achieve goals, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, is to practice discipline constantly.

Breaking from this regimented lifestyle is a sign of weakness, right? Wrong! Joyce Meyer tells us why we need to break our routines now and then, and even indulge. Throughout the Bible, God ordained and commanded celebration. In this book, Joyce Meyer reminds us that God wants us to enjoy the lives He has given us-and celebrate!

The cookie Happy birthday You are worth waste God likes a party Celebrate your progress Celebrate through giving A time to remember Celebrate what you have Celebrate you Learn when to stop Give your soul a vacation Priorities My all in all Give God your all Celebrate discipline Discipline yourself to celebrate. The author argues that breaking from a regimented lifestyle is not a sign of weakness, but rather a sign that balance is a core value in life Joyce Meyer reminds us how to maintain a balanced lifestyle - when to show restraint and when to celebrate and indulge ourselves.