The Blessing of Food

Right now, as I write this, I am hungry.  It's past time for lunch, and my breakfast was cereal and fruit (Oops! Plus coffee and a taste of the brownies I made yesterday, or maybe just a bit more than a taste). I'm thinking that I don't trust myself to go to the kitchen.

I just referred myself to Dr. Scott Conard's book again, the section on food.  He says, "Food is the strongest drug you put into your body.  With food that blesses your body, health and wellness ensue."  I need to send up a prayer before I go to the kitchen. There is no doubt but that I am blessed with God's provisions for me in the area of quantity and quality of food. I still have a choice of how much I want to be blessed, and making right choices will result in greater blessings.

I am re-learning quite a bit.  I've studied health-related subjects for many years, seeking to find my own answers to the health challenges I've faced.  As I've said before, learning is much easier than doing, especially doing enough to make a new habit.  Making a habit of something good, however, is simply done by repeating that action.  It seems that I need very frequent reminders--repeating the learning will hopefully lead to repeating the healthful actions.  It's a healthy habit in the making.

One thing I am sure of: no matter how much I learn and attempt, there is a high risk of failure if I depend only on my own strength. With God, however, there is great hope, because He "is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of--infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes."
(Ephesians 3:20 TLB)

Obedience

Today I was challenged to believe God for something that I thought was too big.  I have several of those issues, but the one that seems to be most bothersome is that my body doesn't want to go along with what my mind wants to do!  As I pondered on it during the day, I remembered the admonition from Dr. Conard's book to ask God what to eat.  I did this, and I believe God answered by telling me to ask myself what foods would contribute most to making my body healthier. Unfortunately, I had already yielded to the temptation to bake a pan of brownies.  I'd like to say that I resisted them, but can only say that I didn't eat as many as I wanted to!  I also ate some fresh blueberries, and had meat, a potato, and a salad for dinner.  As I end this day, I have to admit to partial obedience.  I know what to do, but I don't always do it.  I think I'm learning.  I really want to learn how to obey God, and develop healthy eating habits. Father, God, I need your help.  Thank you for wisdom, strength, and your care for me.

Do You Have the 7 Keys?

I have been reading and re-reading a book by Scott Conard, MD titled  Weight Loss the Jabez Way.  You may or may not be familiar with another book describing the Old Testament character of Jabez and his prayer, but it is not necessary to the understanding of Dr. Conard's book.  There are 2 major parts of his book that distinguish it from all other books I've read about diet, weight loss, and health (and there have been many). 

One is that he suggests asking God for wisdom about what you eat as well as other health habits.  This is enlightening for me, because as I said, I've read many books on those subjects rather than just going directly to the Source, God.

The second part of the book is "7 Keys to Adding Years to Your Life & Life to Your Years".  This relates to total health rather than just weight management. The 7 keys, or healers, are air, water, sleep, food, play, relationships, and purpose.  This is going to involve a big learning curve for me, since I have struggled in all of those areas, but I'm really looking forward to the challenge. 

Either for a few days, or from time to time, I plan to share some things I'm learning in this area, and hopefully, it will help me stay on track and inspire someone else to begin a healthier lifestyle.  Life is too short to be lived poorly!