You are What you Eat...or Are you?

Recently I’ve been considering the topic of food. I don’t know about you but I often find myself wishing that I were rich so I could just buy “healthy” food  -you know: raw milk, organic produce, grass-fed beef, more nuts and less grains, etc.  We do make an effort to purchase food that is good for us.  Over the past several years we’ve cut down on lots of boxed foods and increased our consumption of fresh ingredients.  Honestly I can’t remember the last time we had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in our house.

The facts are, however, that we can’t seem to figure out how to afford a food snob completely healthy diet.  We get dairy, some extra produce and then I get to the meat section and think, “Well, I can have the store brand or sell a kid.”

 While the latter would be cost effective in the long term, it’s not really what I would consider an option. 

So, we still have things in our house like dry cereal (the cheapest ones), candy, mostly un-organic produce, and even get some of that pink slime they call ground beef occasionally.  Many days it’s easy to see what other people are choosing to eat and think that I’m pretty much just making my family sick. We are destined to have health problems forever because I can’t afford the best.

It wasn’t long ago while I was feeling defeated in this area that Brandon reminded me that we ask Jesus to bless our food, which, in turn, reminded me of a verse in the Bible:

1 Timothy 4:4-5 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

Yay! A magic potion! Ok, maybe not really, but sort of.  While I don’t think this is license to just eat junk food all day,

I do think that there is something real and effective about taking the time to thank Jesus for our food and ask for his blessing over it. 

 I believe that change does take place. 

He takes our efforts to make healthy choices and then makes them what it needs to be for us.  I mean, if the food is already completely good for us anyway, why bother asking for God’s help? We need him- even if we eat the absolute finest ingredients in the world!

So I know most of you are in a similar boat. 

You have a set budget for food that doesn’t seem to quite stretch to get what you would like.  Here’s good news!  God knows!  We can thank him for what he supplies us with and believe that He makes it everything we need it to be.

Trust you have some blessed, yummy food that God provides today and don’t forget to thank him for it.

Telling Stories

Today I had a chance to talk with someone about one of my newer discoveries- story telling.  Not the kind that involves picture books and young ears, but rather the ones I tell myself.

In my pursuit of happiness and grateful living I am becoming aware (with the help from some friends) that my success in this matter greatly depends on what I'm telling myself. 



Life is hard and then you die.

That's a story.

Life is great and then there's Heaven.

That's a different story. 

Both statements are about the same situation and yet one quickly sends me towards discouragement and the other gets me a little excited.  I'll let you decide which is which.

The point is, I do this story telling every day.

1. My kids are driving me crazy.
2. There's nothing to eat in the house.
3. My husband doesn't communicate.

The trouble with saying things like this is that then we (subconsciously) look for evidence to back it up.  When I see the kids pulling out art supplies I think, "See!  They are getting into stuff and going to make messes and that's going to make my life harder!"  Evidence for driving me crazy.  Fact.

This plays the victim card: I am a victim of my circumstances. But I can tell a different story. I can take responsibility to make a change. It's a choice.

1. My kids are being creative.  or Hmm...I need to take a break because I'm not responding well to others.
2. I have three items in the cupboard. What can I make with those?
3. It's my job to let him know we need to talk, then he's happy to connect with me.

Do you see how one leads to a positive mind set and the other leads to discouragement?

It reminds me of the verse from Proverbs 23:7 that says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

Another way of looking at it comes from a quote that a friend of mine mentioned to me recently:

”Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become habits. Watch your habits for they become your character. And watch your character for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become.” -Margaret Thatcher

Eventually, if I tell myself a story long enough, true or not, I will not only begin to believe it, but I will act on it.

So, I want the stories I tell myself to propel in me in a positive direction.  One that builds up the ones I'm around. One that motivates me and encourages me when my energy is low.  One that opens up relationships and encourages authenticity from others.

 

What about you? Any stories you tell yourself that you'd like to be different?  What could it be instead?