The eyes and mind are definitely a gateway to the heart. Super easy to leave the gates unattended or ignore the warning signs, press on, then have no discipline to be self controlled in a moment of temptation. God help us to never let our guard down!

Thanks for this reminder and encouragement. I just ran across a clip from a podcast about how research is showing that our brains actually grow when we face hard things and choose to move through them instead of retreating. The anterior mid-cingulate cortex actually gets bigger when we do hard stuff that we don't really want to do. We tell our kids all the time, "you can do hard things" when they are whining or complaining about doing something. (chores/homework/working out etc.) They found that the brains of fit folks are bigger in this area than in the obese if you factor chosen lifestyles and habits over someone that might have a true medical condition keeping them from being able to workout/stay fit. Retreat for me feels easiest when it comes to working out and spending time in the word of God...so many other things seem to be pressing in on me so I am forced to get up earlier than I would really like to. Without fail though, every time I choose to ignore the snooze button or not even get up and go, my day is so much better...I've worked out and spent time with my Maker and these things make all the difference in the world...not only is my brain growing, my resilience and faith are developing as well. God bless you men.