Eating Healthy

Numerous Christians do not know how to glorify God in their eating and drinking. They do not eat and drink simply to keep their body fit for the Lord's use but indulge to satisfy their personal desires. We should understand that the body is for the Lord and not for ourselves.  Food ought not hinder our fellowship with God since it is to be taken purely to preserve the body in health.  Watchman Nee

Several weeks ago I told you how I was starting the New Year by watching what I eat and eating healthier and I am also reading the “Daniel Plan 40 Days to a Healthier Life” by Rick Warren, Daniel Amen M.D. and Mark Hyman M.D.  If God created us in His image we should really take care of it like the work of art we are to God.

 

I have been doing really well until I stopped by Walgreens earlier this week.  I don’t know what it is with chocolate but there are times when my brain tells my stomach that I need it and that overrides everything else.  So I went in there and bought a bag of Peanut M&M’s and not just the hand held size.  I bought the big bag.  I’ll admit I didn’t eat the whole bag all at once. I kind of spread it out over 3 days.

 

Do you ever try to weigh the cost of what you are eating?  Here is how it worked for me.  I ate carrots, celery, cheese and grapes for lunch so I need dessert.  So as if the grapes weren’t enough I ate Peanut M&M’s for dessert.  It kind of counteracted the whole health conscious thing I had going on.

 

The other thing I noticed is that the world doesn’t make it easy for a person to eat healthy.  As a case in point, I was driving down the tollroad this morning and these are the trucks that I drove by.  There was the Eckrich Sausage truck that had big pieces of grilled sausage covering the whole side of the truck, then there was the Quizno truck that had a loaded sandwich the size of a Volkswagan painted on the side and last but not least, the In-N-Out burger truck.  This one wasn’t just a small box truck, it was an eighteen wheeler with burgers on the side. 

 

So after passing all of these trucks I stopped at CVS and I walked right past all the valentine chocolates in the first 3 rows of the store and back to the rear of the store where they keep the things that are good for you.  You will be glad to know that the only two things I bought were two 6 packs of mandarin orange and peach fruit cups. I think I am back on track but there is probably a derailment in my future.

I decided when I bought this book that I would start taking better care of me.  The only way I can live out God’s purpose in my life is to first take care of my health so that I have the energy to do more for Him.  When I take care of my health it gives me more energy, when I get more energy I sleep better, when I exercise I have less stress. One of the interesting things that happen when you start taking care of yourself is that when you meditate on God’s Word things become clearer. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I know I will fail at this getting healthy process.  If it took me this many years to get into bad habits why do I think it should all go away overnight?  When I look at it realistically, the bad habits will need to be changed and that takes time.  Help me along this journey to become a healthier Christian who can be a good example to others.  You created me with a brain and common sense.  Help me to use them wisely.

       

Scripture:  But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.  Daniel 1:8-17