Reminisece of childhood and thoughts about Temptation and Deliverance

Tuesday's are a big day for me. I have BSF class in the morning and then I usually run errands all afternoon. I live out in a rural area and my class is in town so I like to take care of business while I'm there.
I always pack my to-go bag with smoothies, juice and fruit and veggies.
Remember to always be prepared when you go out...it avoids eating something you shouldn't and it saves time and $$$!

Today was a special day. Two of my most favorite people had their birthday so we went to Olive Garden to celebrate. There was a lot of happy chatter and eating. It was reminiscent of my childhood days of being at my grandparents for Sunday dinners. Those were some of my most happy childhood memories. The meal itself was nothing like what my grandma prepared but the mood overpowered what was on our plates. We had a very happy time together.
I think I ate a whole bowl of their salad and when I got out to my car I had a banana. I chose not to eat anything else but salad today. I really prefer not having intestinal pains. Pain can be a great motivator.
Sometimes Pain is what it takes for us to be inclined to take care of ourselves.
I get a lot of opposition from the people I love in regards to the way I choose to eat. My loved ones will tell me that I need to eat REAL food, food that will stick to my ribs....pork fritters, bread, meat, heavy cooked meals...you know what most people are eating. Well, I used to do this and it caused me distress and Pain, with a capital P-A-I-N!! I have found that most people do not understand. They are so used to taking pills to alleviate their discomfort that they just don't understand that pain and discomfort is not normal and it is not necessary when eating. I think that many people are conditioned to eat to gratify this craving for pleasure. I am not saying that pleasure is bad, just that we should eat to live and not live to eat. :) So if you have opposition from your loved ones, stay strong in your resolve knowing that others just do not understand and we are not all in the same place. Just be an example, a light and not a hammer.

Do you remember the first temptation in the Bible to disobey God was not only a desire to become wise but also one of eating, she saw that the fruit was good for food. When you come to think upon this, many of our sins are from our mouths. Many verses in the Bible are about the sins of the tongue. We misuse this instrument very much, I think. Also, when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry because he ate nothing during those days, so Satan tempted him to turn the stone to bread.
Curious, I think...the first sin of man in disobeying God was by eating the forbidden fruit and Jesus first temptation was to make himself something to eat...Praise be to God that Jesus overcame this and was victorious. He was victorious in all things, even Death...and he offers us this victory too. We can have victory in every area of our lives if we believe and trust in Him..we can have victory even over death...Wow...when we repent (which means to change our minds and turn in the other direction)..when we realize who we are in relationship to a Holy God...we are sinners...and we cannot save ourselves...knowing that this violation against this one and only Holy God, our creator...will end in eternal damnation, separation from Him forever...in other words..HELL...and THEN we turn to Him, trusting that He is who He says HE is and that He will do what He says HE will do and if we hold onto this...continue believing He will save us and deliver us from eternal damnation and INTO His marvelous light of eternal hope and victory over sin and death, He will save us and give us power to overcome death and give us victory in this life too!
I invite you to think upon this, to consider HIM today and allow HIS life to change yours today.


Here is what I ate today~
rawpuchinno
16 oz. of Green Juice blend
Superfood smoothie
water
kale and spinach
banana
blackberries, dark sweet cherries, strawberries, goji berries, cranberries
Amazon Bliss (coconut butter with superfoods, available from RawFood World~link on sidebar or below post)

banana

Peanut Butter Smoothie

kale chips and celery

carrot cake cookies and macadamia icing

Idols & Addictions

Yesterday I attended a women's retreat and the topic was Idols of the Heart.

What do you think about most? What are your passions? Do you get frustrated or depressed when you don't get those things? Does your spiritual life suffer because of these things?

Many things can become an idol in our lives. As I was sitting and listening to the other women talk...the word addiction came to mind. Are idols and addictions the same monster? mmmmmm.......

With that in mind, what are you addicted to? Is your life out of balance because of something that consumes more than what is healthy for your well being...your relationship with God?

Also, as I sat there I wondered how the conversation would have went if I brought up food.

Food is necessary for life isn't it? I cannot do without it and neither can you. Life would eventually stop. Food can be an idol and/or addiction. When I was a teenager I decided to be anorexic...yes, I did decide to do it...I did not say, hey I am going to be anorexic. It was a process.

I fixed my mind on a thinner self and started to eat less and less, exercise more and more until I weighed 104#.....I have no pictures, but my dad threatened to take me to the hospital...at fourteen I stopped menustrating for approx. nine months...no I was not pregnant..I was a virgin, but that did not stop the doctors from giving me a pregancy test...I didn't even have a boyfriend and had never been kissed!
Back then you didn't even hear the word anorexia...but that was me. I focused on myself, my body and how much FOOD I would not eat!!! I was extemely food focused..I counted every calorie... I was habitual about it...so until the last 5 years or so I was still doing it.....you can probably still find notes with numbers written down in columns and added together in some of my notebooks and drawers. I was obsessed.
During that time I was afraid of food. It was a continual focus.
Then...
after my dad scared me about being admitted to the hospital...I went the other way...I had actually been starving myself..and my body needed nourishment...I wasn't aware of this fact though...but I started eating....and eating...and eating...somewhere, somehow I became bulemic..
some years later I figured out I did it because I did not want to be responsible for what I ate....FOOD...it was still my focus, my idol. I would secretly binge and purge. Shameful, yes.
Foolish, yes. This went on to some degree for too many years. By the grace of God I am free from that old behavior.
What I am trying to say here is that food idolatry can take many forms.
While I sat there...looking at the table overflowing with food...some good choices, but mostly unhealthy ones...I wondered....then it was time for Birthday cake....I had been sitting at the table where it was waiting...inhaling the sugar....it was intoxicating.
Over the years since I was fourteen and ignorant of how to take care of this body we call the dwelling place of God...(if we are trusting Christ for salvation)...I have abused my body with food...I am sure many people do not really understand the ramifications of food and how it plays into health ...until it has done its damage. You can read in my previous post of some of my health issues which I have had to deal with and I believe what I ate & how I ate had much to do with it.
Over the last several years as I have endeavored to become healthier and discover the cause and remedy for my ailments and those of my loved ones....FOOD....plays a major part.
Sometimes I am tired of thinking and talking about it...for awhile it was consuming me as I did much study and research...I had to put down my study....it was consuming my conversation.
I have ask the Lord, how do doctors & full time students keep it all balanced so we don't lose sight of HIM...of course the answer is to put Him first and to keep Him in all I am doing and to use the knowledge that He as allowed me to acquire to help others.

FOOD is something we just cannot rid ourself of...like alcohol, drugs, gambling, smoking etc....we do not need the latter, but we do need food. We need it to build healthy cells, for energy and for our survival. I think when we have food as an idol/addiction it is one of the toughest because we have to eat. Most people do it at least three times a day and many of us do it almost continually, especially if we stay at home. This thing is something we need to manage....can we manage an idol/addiction? mmmmmmmm..............
I am reminded of a verse...I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13.....but first we must admit that this has mastery over us, confess this to God, seek him, He is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us and He will empower us to victory. But first we must know Him...have you trusted Christ? Do you realize you have a need? The Bible tells us that we can never do enough good to earn forgiveness or eternal life. We always come up short. But He tells us there is hope!! He has sent a deliverer someone to rescue us from eternal damnation. God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. The Bible tells us the price for sinning against God is death..but He came to give us life, life eternal, to make all things new...
Jesus Christ paid the penalty for my sin and yours when He suffered and died on the cross and He displayed His victory over death by rising from the grave and if you see your need, believe what He has done by taking your place and trust Him you can receive eternal life and be given power from on High. My hope and prayer for you is that you come to Him who is our Life.

Sooo....what role does food play in your life.....maybe your food addiction is a liquid...maybe you think that coffee is not harming you....please rethink that one. I will try to post some links about this poisonous liquid...yes, it is a drug....
no I am not perfect and don't pretend to be...I love the taste of coffee and have wrestled with it over and over....but it does harm you....do you have to have it??? just in the morning....
at the retreat...she told us anything you think you cannot do without needs some examination...how do you behave or feel if you don't get it?
I have many thoughts and proof from my own body the damage that coffee can do. How's your energy levels...do they bounce up and down during the day? How's your digestive system?
Have you ever heard of adrenal exhaustion? If you are drinking anything with caffeine and have been for a continuous period of time you are wearing on your adrenal system...eventually they can wear out. Add stress, lack of proper rest and you've got problems.
I am convinced that coffee must go...and I was only drinking the equivalent of one cup. I used to add a teaspoon of instant in my chai tea in the morning...java chai...I am down to just the chai in the morning and with the Lord's strength that will go to...I had several boxes of concentrate and thought it is best for me to wean off and let go when it is gone..BTW~ God has been convicting me of the coffee thing for a couple years....sad to say it has taken me so long to release it to him. Food/liquids can become a stronghold...oh, I pray that we can release these things to Him who has the power to tear them down in our lives, before the consequences of these idol/addictions bear fruit that damages or destroys our bodies, which are the temple of God...
1Corithians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.