Hi everyone! I hope you're all having a fabulous week! It's been a great one for me, as I'm trying out new foods as I challenge myself to go a month without breads, sweets, or pasta! It may sound like a long time but it really won't be that bad. For the months leading up to my wedding I would do "no carbs" during the week, and have a cheat day or two on the weekends. Now I'm taking it a step further and going a whole month without cheat days for a variety of reasons. The main one stems from one of the verses that I recently read in the book of Matthew. In chapter 4, verse 4 it is written, "Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." I thought about what that verse meant for a little while and took some notes, then the following week, I heard Pastor Van mention something in his bible study sermon to the effect of, "There's nothing in your life that should be greater than your love for God. Whether it's food, money, or relationships, you should be able to abstain from all knowing that God will always fill the void that those things sometimes fill." After hearing that and reading the verse from Matthew 4:4 I was led to really think about my own food choices. If you know me, I will give ANYTHING, and I mean ANYTHING for a good slice of cake, some strawberry sour belts, or some lemon heads! However I'm challenging myself to really take a step back from those food addictions and to learn that they should instead be things that I can truly live without. So with giving away sweets, I decided to look at other foods that I sometimes feel like I have to have that aren't always that good for me, and with that I've decided to also abstain from breads, and pasta for the month. We owe it to God to look at what we input into our bodies. We are reminded of this, in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." Pretty clear huh? And something to think about! To tell you the truth, in all actuality abstaining from my "foodies" haven't been that bad! There are so many great vegetables, and meats to try that are very filling, and don't come with all the carbs. So I challenge you think about what food you can abstain from, if even for a week. My former co-worker D'Arcy said it best, "We should Eat to Live, Not Leave to Eat."
One other thing I'd like to share...I saw the below excerpt on my line sister's Brianna Johnson's FB wall, and thought WOW, what a great way to look at the foods that we eat!
I'm
truly amazed how much God's love is overwhelmingly evident in the fresh
fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds he has provided for us to eat. Sweet
cold watermelon on a sweltering Summer day, the juicy ripe peaches sun
ripen to perfection, natures perfect seasoning like: onions, ginger,
garlic, basil, rosemary, and thyme. Not only is this food amazingly tasty
but, when eaten in its purest natural form it's medicine to our bodies.
Often times it's underestimated the true effects highly processed foods
has on our bodies. If you truly believe what you sow you will reap,
consider the foods you sow into your body. Living foods(fresh fruits,
veggies, nuts, and seeds) give the body life and dead/processed food(
food from a package, jar, can, box, bag) brings the body death. How much
MORE could we do for God if we ate the foods that gave us optimum
strength, endurance, mental clarity, and nutrients? How happy do we make
the devil when we are fat, filled with diseases, tired, and depressed?
Our food sometimes make us business partners with the devil in his
efforts to kill, steal, and destroy our lives. Let's make the choice to
honor and love our bodies as temples by feeding it the right things.
