Dear Health Nut... Yours Sincerely, Sugar Addict

I'm curious...

truly, not because I want to argue.

From you non-health-foodies, what goes through your mind when you listen to a health nut?

Is it just because we're a minority? After all, it has been a long time since everyone used to eat naturally organic, from-scratch, home-grown fare. They didn't think about it back then. They didn't even have a choice. Now people do have to make a conscious choice.

Or is it the extent to which some people go in order to eat healthy - I mean, just how much oat bran and tofurkey casserole can a guy take?

I tease folks (or used to) who are vegetarian, raw-food-only, avoid certain random foods, and I still tease people about eating pizza and soda pop. It's fun to joke around if the person is not easily offended.

Here's the thing; anything can become an idol. Whether it is a junk food addiction... or an addiction to eating healthy foods. There's a term for health-foodies who psychologically go overboard - Orthorexia. If I begin to spasm at the thought of going without raw milk for a day (the jury is still out on avocados...), that may be something to look into. If I complain about the white bread available for lunch, that's gluttony (C.S. Lewis' 'Screwtape Letters' paints a clear picture of this).

If I am invited to a friends house and they offer sugar as a tea sweetener, I'm not going to say, "oh... could I have some organic raw blue low glycemic agave, perchance?" I actually witnessed this and it saddened me.

Now here's the deal, "let each be convinced in his own mind". Yet how our words and actions spill over into Christian fellowship takes a lot more effort. If you're like me, you KNOW that you are RIGHT to eat ORGANIC SPINACH, and why can't the entire world see that that is DOCTRINE TRUTH??? :P Kidding aside, there must be a law of physics: we can't convince someone who does not want to be convinced. There's not enough scientific studies and books on any subject to win over a person who does not want to be won over.

What can we do? I think it comes down to the motive and attitude of our hearts. "From the heart, the mouth speaks". Do we honor our Christian brother or sister enough that no 'grey area' like the food that we eat can make us look down our noses at them...

"Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him." ~ Romans 14:2

"But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ... so then each of us shall give account of himself to God... I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died." ~ Romans 14: 10-15.

Now, I know that whole passage is dealing specifically with meat offered to idols... and I can guarantee you that was meat not treated with antibiotics and hormones... but yes I get the picture... okay. Humph. :P

So what do you think? Should our food preferences be ruled by these three things, or just one or two of them? After the important issues like proclaiming the gospel and Thou Shalt Nots, does God care about our food? A lot? A little? None at all?

* Idolatry (what consumes most of your time, money, effort... God or something else?)
* Heart (attitude, humility rather than pride, loving others more than ourselves)
* Science (the laws God wove into nature that our bodies live by)

Storms

Thank You, God, for the storms... through them I learn humility.



Thank You, God, for each sunrise... I am given hope for better things to come.



Thank You for my Rose and my Joy... can I ever show them how much I love them?



Thank You, God, for my steady cow girls... from them I learn the lessons of a lifetime.



Thank You, God, for Your Son's sacrifice.



Forgive my doubting.

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
~ John 20:29b ~

""My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives."
~ Hebrews 12:5b-6 ~

Two Worlds

Sarah: "He used to talk about the land as if it owned him..."
Jacob: "It did."
~ from Sarah, Plain and Tall ~

What a fantastic week. Dance class, phone call, walk near a pond, day at Sauve Island, watching 'Father Goose' and eating homemade ice cream, laughter at a restaurant following a memorable ball, powerful scripture lessons during church, teasing afterwards, and photo scavenger hunt at the mall.

This kind of a world is so easy to get caught up in. Who doesn't enjoy such wonderful times for developing friendships and simply enjoying life? I certainly don't know what I would do without such godly, great friends that God has blessed me with.

Still, there are two worlds:

Some people write their name in the land later in their life... others are born to it. The country is in how they think, what they dream about, who they are as a person. They don't even have to try to BE country. Nature is not something they worship, but the essence of what it means to live and breath the manifested glory of God. They are at home among their family, God's creatures, and digging their toes in the garden dirt while pulling weeds. More at home sitting on a fallen log, watching the stillness of a summer sunset than among the glitz of technology, music and social networking.

Other people are born to live and thrive in the city, and that's great :) There's a lot to be said for making an impact in a community where you don't have to go far to reach a lot of people, and finding your God-given purpose near the center of society. Frequent good times with friends, shopping, and all the fun uses of today's technology have a definite pull. Driving to and from different activities and engagements becomes a daily part of life.

I can't live wholly in both worlds.

Back when I belonged to the FB community, I soon learned two things: that I don't get nearly enough work done (I'm easily distracted :P), and that the appearance of being 'connected' was not real. I can't live in that world.

Now, with a circle of friends who live in cities 15 or more miles away, I find myself trying to lean on my family to fill in for me while I'm away from home having fun. My dad especially gets frustrated at me. I can't dump my job in their lap, it's not their dream. I'm pulled in two directions: can I continue to juggle both a highly active social life and farming enterprise? I know it is simpler to be one or the other. Indeed, if experience is the best indicator, I must be one or the other, or I will fail at both.

Does this make sense? I can dress stylishly, learn the modern way to make conversation, become knowledgeable about movies and music so I can relate to seemingly everyone else on the planet, and it won't make me into a non-country girl. It can't even be totally described in all those popular country songs. It's a simple life I've been born to love. Where else do I have the chance to thrill at the sight of my Jerseys grazing a field of clover, or a plum tree humming with honey bees? Where else do my friends and I learn to laugh as we work, milking cows and butchering chickens? Where else can I wear overalls without feeling like a dork, and pause for a few minutes to pray, arms resting on the hay loft window?

Praying to find the balance between this social world and farm world. There's no reason to say goodbye to my friends who have invested so much into my life. How can I be with them, enjoying these city activities while still filling my role here?

Two worlds.

Jerseys ;)

Proverbs 31

For years this one chapter of the Bible has drawn me like no other... this post is from memory, so forgive me if a couple words aren't version-correct.

What does it mean to be a woman of God?

I go down the checklist... "industrious, check; skillful, check; strong arms, check;"

...and then I come to "her mouth speaks wisdom, and her tongue knows the law of kindness".

I know many women who are hard workers, skillful with their hands, but sadly I cannot name one who is always wise and kind... least of all myself.

"The heart of her husband safely trusts her."

Can you imagine that feeling? My desire to get married is followed by the hope that someday that could be said of me.

Especially recently, I've been wondering if my actions and relationships with guys now is an indicator of how I will act when I'm married. Much of the 'emotional purity' doctrine is unhealthy and not based in scripture, but it is true that if you act flirtatiously with your guy friends now, there is no reason it will be any different when you're married.

Perhaps that verse is also talking about responsible money-handling. I despise arguing over a 10 cent coupon for coffee. There has to be a balance between careless spending and penny-pinching, neither is beneficial. Worry over money is the same as worry over safety, etc. Lord, please grant me the heart of a cheerful giver. You have always proved Yourself faithful in providing for my needs in the past when I choose to freely give what You have given to me.

Here's a thought maybe you can mull over and discuss with me: around 14 verses talk about the virtuous woman's (we'll just call her the VW :P) business skills, making and selling clothing, buying property, providing food for her household, etc. All the practical real-life application of virtue. There are about 7 verses specifically about her character, such as "charm is deceitful and beauty passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" and her "noble character". Why the high number of practical applications?

Isn't it easy to see all the works of her hands and say, "Wow, what a godly woman!" without realizing that you can have all the works without the godly character, and it is all a sham? That's my problem. I get the order messed up.

Before I go off and plant a vineyard, I should think on what makes the VW so special, "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

Tennessee Memories

I'm cryin' right now... a million memories to treasure.