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…to put your trust in the Lord.
It can get overwhelming when you dig into a subject, be it nutrition or anything else. Sometimes I feel a little helpless and want to throw up my hands. But then I’m reminded to trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). I think it hit me when I was reading about how many toxic chemicals are out there that we breathe and eat and even absorb through our skin. I felt powerless in the fight to stay healthy. I think that was a good place for me to get to because I had done so much research I was starting to feel in control of my health. This is a hindrance, when we no longer rely on God, but feel we’ve got it under control.
I heard someone say about a year ago that there is a problem with being too intellectual. I bristled at this thought! I LOVE to learn and am always reading and trying to educate myself. But I see, now, what this speaker meant. The problem with intellectualism is that you feel like you know it all and can solve all your problems and as a result you lose a trust in God. There is nothing wrong with learning, we should in fact be learning all the time. But the problem comes when we lose trust in God. This applies to all areas – healthy eating, finances, raising kids, etc.
God was reminding me that first and foremost I must always put my trust in Him. So I started to dig into that passage that we’ve all heard so many times in Proverbs. I noticed something. The verse that tells us to trust in the Lord is prefaced by promises. Verses 1 and 2 tell us that if we keep God’s laws we will have a long and peaceful life. Verses 3 and 4 tell us that if we are merciful and truthful we will have favor with God and man. This tells me that God does not expect a blind trust, but rather faith in the promises in His word. So we must find out what His promises are if we are going to put our trust in Him. This will take a little study.
So whether you want to change your eating habits or are believing for healing in your life, first put your trust in God and do not lean on your own understanding (intellect). Acknowledge the Lord and He will direct your path (verse 6). God wants to direct our path in all areas, not just the big life decisions, but our everyday life as well. And finally verse 7, do not be wise in your own eyes – never reach a place where you think you have it all figured out and you’ve got it under control and don’t need God’s help. As Barnes commentary puts it, “The great hindrance to all true wisdom is the thought that we have already attained it.”
As you do your research, know this, man does not have all the answers. The doctors and scientists have not figured it all out yet. Our bodies are intricately engineered machines and only our Creator knows everything about them. So trust in God’s wisdom as you learn more about nutrition. Test all things against the Word of God.
We are obligated to do what we know to do. I try to make the healthiest choices I can. Sometimes, I’m sure, I’m ingesting toxins and don’t even know it. God promises us protection from unknown toxins in Mark 16:18 – “If they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them”. So rather than be overwhelmed by the knowledge of countless toxic carcinogens out there, I will trust that God will protect me from them if I am unknowingly in contact with them. I will make healthy choices based on what knowledge I have and know that my life is in God’s hands and He cares for me (I Peter 5:7).
Find out what God promises you in His word and put your trust in Him.
This article was originally published on this blog on August 6, 2007.
…of my motto here at All Things Health.
If God created it, it is good for me; if man has changed it then it is bad for me.
If we start to think in those terms choices become clear and we can end all this confusion. The more you read about nutrition the more you will see contradicting opinions. One group says saturated fats will kill you, another group says they will heal you. Who do you trust?
I Timothy 4:1-5 says that in the last days a great apostasy will take place and people will preach that we should abstain from foods that God created. Well, the vegetarian/vegan movement has been preaching that for a while now, that we shouldn’t eat meat, some go as far as abstaining from anything remotely associated with animals such as honey (because it’s made by bees). That really narrows your choices. Doctors are telling us that saturated fats and cholesterol will clog our arteries and that we shouldn’t eat red meat very often. Many people won’t eat eggs because of the cholesterol. Nutritionists will tell you that you can increase your protein intake with protein powders and protein bars. If we have ailments we are given pills, be they drugs or mega-vitamins. How can we cut through all the nonsense? Verse 4 and 5 – EVERY creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
Now I think that a lot of people have taken these verses to mean that they must pray at every meal and ask God to bless the food they are about to eat and they think that this means it won’t harm them. There are natural laws of sowing and reaping, just like the natural law of gravity. We can’t throw a ball up into the air and pray that God will keep it up there. It’s going to come down because of the natural law of gravity. We can’t ask God to bless our processed non-food and expect that we won’t reap unhealthy lives from consuming it.
Deuteronomy 6:16 says, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God”. Jesus quoted this verse when the devil tempted Him to throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple. We can not knowingly do things that we know will hurt us (or bring us bad health) and expect God to protect us. God will not be mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7).
When we choose foods, we must ask ourselves, “How far has this food (or supplement) come from God’s creation?” In your babysteps toward healthier eating, try to start thinking in those terms.
This article was originally published on this blog on August 20, 2007.
Here is what I’m reading this month:
First, a testimony of healing to encourage you – Robin Sampson’s Heart.
Next, a topic near and dear to my heart – Healthcare – this author makes some very good points.
This week I rendered tallow, following this recipe. I was amazed how easy it was. We made homemade fries in it and they were great!
Next, a warning about soy and birth control pills. This is great example of following your gut instinct despite what the doctors are telling you.
And finally, another recipe I tried, whole wheat crackers. These, too, were super easy to make. This is a soaked wheat recipe, so the phytates will be neutralized in the wheat. I really probably spent about 5 minutes in the evening mixing them, then they sit overnight, and another 5 minutes rolling them out the next morning. They bake in about 10-15 minutes.
My kids loved them with cheese slices. There are a couple things I will tweak, but I will be making them again and again.
I have good news to share! I am totally and completely healed from all the symptoms I was experiencing since June of ‘08 (the dizziness had been from August of ‘05). No more dizziness, no more hives, no more itching, no more dermatitis (see pictures), no more eczema, no more blues, no more exhaustion, no more headaches! God is good!
Just looking at this photo makes me, 1)praise God for healing! and 2)cringe in memory of the pain. This isn’t even at it’s height. This dermatitis had spread to my ring finger knuckle and most days was cracked and bleeding. (Sorry to gross you out.) You have no idea how great it feels to not feel bad!
- Before
- After
I can not give you a list or formula for your healing or success. You must seek God’s will for your life. It may be that you need to change your diet. It may be that you need to cut certain things out of your life. It may be that you need to add more physical activity. It may be that you need to do a study of His Word and find out what it says about healing. It may be that you need a revelation of the authority and power that has been given to us as believers (that’s what I needed). No one will know the answer but you. And whatever it is that you need to be doing, you will know, because it will bring you great peace. Being in the center of God’s will always brings you peace.
There is a time for change in your diet and a time for taking supplements, but that must be by the leading of God. Don’t seek out a formula. Don’t be motivated out of fear of sickness and disease. Put your trust in God and seek His will above all else.
What if you are doing everything right? What if you are eating an impeccable diet?
You see, I was doing everything “right.” And I only saw little results, not full healing. It wasn’t until I recognized that the fight is not always in this physical world, it goes deeper. I emphasize physical health a great deal on this blog, but we must not forget that we are spiritual beings, these bodies are just temporary.
II Corinthians 10:3-4
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.
Though we walk in the flesh–this natural, physical world, we do not war against the flesh–there is a spiritual world, that we cannot see and there is an enemy out there that wants to destroy us. He wants to keep us from our purpose. He will hit you at your weak points. My weak point was thinking that I could solve any issue with my diet and not putting full trust in God to keep me healthy. But our weapons are not carnal (not fleshly, not of this world, are not our food and vitamins), but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds! I don’t know about you, but that excites me! It means my health is not determined wholly by my environment (much of which I can’t control).
We live in a fallen world. There are so many things wrong with our environment and our food supply that it is practically impossible to keep in perfect health (on your own). But it is not God’s will for me to be sick. He has a purpose for me and I cannot accomplish it if I am constantly tending to myself and obsessing about myself and feeling terrible.
This is one of the reasons He sent His Son. Most importantly so that we can have salvation, but also to give us an abundant life on the earth. (John 10:10) If you are wondering what the Bible has to say on healing, I encourage you to start a study. There are many, many cases, in the gospels, where Jesus healed the sick. He says in Mark 11:23-24 that if we say to a mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and do not doubt in our hearts, but believe that we receive those things we ask, we will have them.
Do you have a mountain weighing you down right now? A stronghold in your life? Speak to that mountain and have faith that God will remove it. Step out of the physical realm and into the spiritual.
John 14:14
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. God wants to heal you.
Click here for a great article on healing scriptures that will build up your faith.
I’m embarrassed to admit, but here goes–I caught myself slipping away from the very thing I preach, the very thing I deem most important, trusting in God for my health. Read my two articles on that, here and here.
Don’t misunderstand me here, I have not fallen away from the faith. I believe in healing, I believe it is God’s will that we live in health, I believe His Word. But I realized in these last few weeks that I had become like Peter, when he stepped out of the boat to walk on the water and then looked around at the storm, and started to sink. I found myself looking all around at my vitamins, at each thing I was eating, trying to figure things out on my own–and I felt myself sinking. (Read the story of Peter walking on the water here.)
I actually caught myself EXPECTING to feel bad every day! This is SO not like me. I am a very upbeat, positive person, but anyone can slip in this area. That is why I wanted to write this word of warning, so that others will be aware and watch out for this pitfall. And the more you learn about health, the more likely you are to get caught in this pitfall!
I have explained some of the physical issues I’ve dealt with these last 11 months, here and here. Lately, headaches and exhaustion were added to the mix, along with the dizzy spells trying to creep back. I am taking many, many supplements daily and keeping close tabs on what I eat. I was keeping a food diary to try to track how I felt after eating each type of food. I cut sugar out for 2 months. I did an experiment with dairy and was even starting to think I should cut out gluten (NOT a pleasant thought!). Was I eating too many carbs? Was I drinking enough water? Should I switch from raw Holstein milk, to raw Jersey milk? Questions filled my mind constantly! Each time I would open a pill bottle (I do this three times a day), I would have thoughts of anxiousness that I might run out of pills before I could order more. I found myself obsessing about MYSELF, every minute of the day! That is exactly what the devil wants!
You heard me right, there is a devil and he is your enemy! One day I woke up (literally and figuratively) and remembered the verse, II Corinthians 10:3-4, “For though I walk in the flesh, I do not war against the flesh, for the weapons of my warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” Even though we have physical bodies and live in a physical world, there is a spiritual world that we cannot see and spiritual forces at work. But we, as Christians, have a weapon that is not physical (prayer and God’s Word), it is mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Headaches and exhaustion are strongholds. Depression and anxiety are strongholds. Obsession is a stronghold. Jesus said that He came to bring us an abundant life. An abundant life is a life FREE from strongholds!
Do you want to be FREE from strongholds? Then you have got to place your trust in God and His Word. Find out what His Word has to say about your health and about healing. Stand on those promises. I posted the above verse on my bathroom mirror, so that I would have a constant reminder of it.
We can eat right and take our supplements, but we are human and no human is perfect. I believe we actually must get to a point where we admit that we could NEVER get it 100% right–admit that THE only way we will live in health is by the grace of God and the power of Jesus Christ! We must never take our eyes off of the Lord (like Peter did), He is our source of health. Don’t look at your vitamins as your source of health. Don’t look at your organics as your source of health. Don’t look at your grass-fed meat as your source of health. Learn about making healthy choices, take your babysteps, but don’t try to figure everything out. Give your burdens to God, He cares for you. I Peter 5:7 If you want to learn more about this, check out my other blog, here.
If you have slipped, like I did, recognize the slip and move on, don’t beat yourself over the head. Get your health priorities right again–spiritual first, mental second, and physical third. I am excited to tell you that at the moment I got my priorities right, at the moment the truth of II Corinthians 10:3-4 really sunk down into my heart, I was free from the headaches, exhaustion, and dizziness! I am still taking my vitamins and still taking babysteps in my eating, but I am no longer worrying about things, no longer obsessing like I was, I am feeling great again!
You may enjoy reading these past articles of mine:
I have said it before and I will say it again–most of our health issues are rooted in our diets (and the diets of our mothers and grandmothers, certain things we were born with, were because of their diets, but most can be reversed).
I thought I had found the root of the dermatitis I was experiencing–stress, and I detailed that here. But I removed sources of stress in my life and slowed things down and saw a little recovery, but not full. Anytime something came up, EVEN just having to leave the house(!), I would experience a flare-up. On top of a patch of dermatitis on my hand, I was also experiencing eczema and hives on most of the rest of my body. Not fun!!!
Through all this, I have tried my best to put my trust in the Lord and NOT lean on my own understanding. Sometimes this is difficult for me, since I have studied up on health so much! I just had to get to the point where I turned it TOTALLY over to the Lord and didn’t worry or think about it anymore, including no more research.
I was constantly reminded of the verse that says, “God is not the author of confusion,” so anytime a solution came to my mind that brought anxiety, I knew it wasn’t from God. I only followed leadings that brought peace. (For instance, I had thoughts of trying the GAPS diet, where you eliminate all grains, all dairy, and all starchy vegetables and fruit, but that brought me great anxiety. I think GAPS is wonderful, but it wasn’t the answer for me at this time.)
One day, I felt the need to research hives and adrenals glands and low and behold (!), I found information that matched what I had been experiencing, PLUS other issues, like the dizzy spells I detailed here, and low blood sugar issues, mentioned here, hay fever, and quite possible the irregular cycles I’ve always experienced.
So, it seems I WAS correct in saying that our diet is the root of our problems. I was experiencing stress, but that was because my adrenal glands were fatigued and couldn’t handle the stress properly. (When your adrenal glands are tired, everything stresses you out.) I am now focusing on healing the adrenals and am seeing bigger recovery. My hand is almost 100% clear and the rest of the skin issues are greatly diminished as well.
Here are the articles that helped me so much:
Adrenal Fatigue & Your Diet by Dr. Marcelle Pick
This is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival hosted by Cheeseslave and Kelly the Kitchen Kop. This week’s topic is Real Food Testimonials, check out the link to read many more inspiring stories of how diet has changed people’s lives!
At this point in my food journey and health education process I realize that I am at peace. I have perfect peace now with my eating and my food choices. Do I eat perfectly? No! But I am at peace and I think that is what this journey is all about. (Meanwhile still taking my babysteps!) It’s not about keeping ourselves in perfect health, we can never do that of our own accord.
I don’t say this to boast, but rather to encourage you.
That is why a lot of you come here to this site–you are seeking peace in your life by doing all you can to be healthy.
Some of you come here to learn a bit about health, but need peace in other areas. Perhaps it’s finances, marriage, child rearing, government, economy, or even spiritual questions about life after death, destiny, etc. Whatever it is, you are unsettled, seeking something that will give you a sense of peace.
While some others of you come here for some good recipes. You don’t really care much about changing your eating, and that’s okay, too. I would much rather see you put emphasis on your spiritual well-being and then your mental well-being before you tackle the physical, anyway. I named this site All Things Health (as I have said before) to be a constant reminder to keep your “health” priorities in order and to address all things that apply to your health, whether spiritual, mental, or physical.
Whatever the reason you come here, I want to communicate to you that you can have real peace in your life. But I can only pass on so much, you must go through the experiences yourself. I like this quote-
The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences. -Carl Frederick
You CAN experience the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10. I am not talking about finding religion. And this is much more than just a belief in God. I am talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is not about fitting God into a little box, a little portion of your life–Sunday mornings, for example. This is about seeking wholeheartedly to find out what the gospel is about, what God’s character is all about, what His Word has to say about all areas of life, and submitting to serve Him and follow after His will. Seek first His kingdom and everything else falls into place (Matthew 6:33). This is bigger than nutrition.
Who would have thought that I could find answers to my nutrition questions in the Bible? I spent a good deal of my time reading different books about nutrition, but the pieces of the puzzle didn’t come together for me until I went to God’s Word. I didn’t have all the pieces when I started this blog a year and a half ago, but in the last couple months I feel like the last pieces of the puzzle have come together (and I will be writing about that soon, to fill you all in). I’m sure there will be more insight to gain, but this place of peace is wonderful! The peace of God is truly a peace that surpasses understanding! (Philippian 4:7)
I have no more desire to study nutrition (this isn’t to say it’s no longer a passion, it is and, of course, I am still learning in many other areas). That’s how much peace I have. I no longer have that pulling inside me to “find” the answers. I have studied for approximately the last 5 years. All that knowledge doesn’t do me a bit of good without the wisdom to know how to use it and God’s wisdom is the best wisdom of all. God wants to give us all wisdom, we just need only to ask (James 1:5). The Bible will offer you all the answers you are looking for. ONLY God and His Word can bring you true, lasting peace–in ALL areas of your life!
And so I pray today, that you will find the peace of God in your life. I encourage you to read John 10:1-10, especially focusing on verse 9. If you need specific prayer, I would love to hear from you and pray with you. If you want to know HOW to start a relationship with Jesus Christ, please let me know.
I decided to tackle a project this summer. My son’s room hadn’t been painted in almost 9 years. It was in bad need of a new look. He needed a boy room, rather than a baby room. He went away to camp for the first time this year (he loved it), so I thought that would be the perfect time to redecorate.
As I was planning my painting project, I learned that latex paint contains mercury. This freaked me out and for a split second I had hesitation about the painting job. But then I remembered something I read in a fabulous book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. This book is a must-read for anyone dealing with Candida infection, skin disorders (eczema, psoriasis), autism, dyslexia, depression, ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia (extreme clumsiness), allergies of any kind, asthma, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, OCD, IBS, constipation, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, acne, migraines, PMS, yeast infections, chronic ear or sinus infections, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, fibromialgia, multiple sclerosis, and much more, but these particular items were mentioned in the book. This book is worth tracking down from a library if you don’t want to buy it outright. Check out www.worldcat.org to see if it is available at a library near you and if its not, ask your local librarians if they can borrow books from other libraries.
Dr. Campbell-McBride points out in her book (pg. 201-202) that our bodies are equipped with a detoxification system. She says this is, “a system which until recently we did not know much about. It has got its headquarters in the liver and departments in every cell of the body. The sophistication and complexity of this system is staggering to even the most knowledgeable biochemists and there is a lot we still don’t know about how it works so efficiently.” (Emphasis mine. I personally am not surprised at the complexity and sophistication that God designed!) She goes on to describe in the chapter how this detoxification system works properly when our bodies get the proper nutrients, telling me that it really comes down to how we EAT!
So the lightbulb went on in my head and I began to realize that ALL these things the doctors, media, environmentalists, and even nutritionists are focusing on are PERIPHERALS. They are not at the core; they are not the cause, but rather symptoms. Rather than solve issues from the outside in, we need to first start inside and the outside will take care of itself. The CORE issue here is DIET. You may have heard me say it before, but I will say it again, MOST health issues can be resolved with proper diet. This may sound extreme, but I believe it with all my heart.
As the lightbulb was going on in my head, this scripture came to my mind, II Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” These peripheral things that we hear we should stay away from, just bring fear into our lives. Fear does NOT come from God; we are NOT to be motivated by fear. It is the devil that brings fear and if we give in to this and focus all our time, energy and money on ridding our lives of these PERIPHERAL things, we won’t have time, energy and money left over to do the work of God.
Our PRIMARY purpose in life, as Christians, is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we are isolating ourselves from the toxic, busy world, or trying to build ourselves a little Shangri-La/Utopia within the toxic world, how much time, energy, and money are we putting into furthering the gospel? Probably not much! You may not identify with these types, but I have read of people that pour thousands of dollars into a new home or office to make it so environmentally friendly and therefore much less toxic to the human body, or others that pull away from society and go live a pioneer life in remote places like the mountains of Colorado or Alaska, in the name of purity. When I first read about a certain doctor that is building a new such office, my thought was one of helplessness; I don’t have the money to build a new home! Then thoughts fill my mind of all the toxins that are in my home! Or when I hear of people living in the pure mountain air, drinking pure mountain spring water, far away from the busy city life filled with toxins, I have to say I have a twinge of envy. Then I ask myself, “What is my purpose here?” Those things are not God’s will for me at this time. People that are living the remote pioneer life are at a disadvantage of spreading the gospel. I’m not saying it’s impossible for them, but they are limited. Most of them are not thinking about how they can help others, but rather how they can help themselves or our earth.
We do NOT live in an ideal world, BUT we do NOT have to live in fear of this world because God made provision in our bodies to filter out the harmful toxins. Our Creator is all knowing. He knows the end from the beginning because He is outside our dimension of time. He actually sees time as one thing, where we see things in a sequence of events. I love this analogy I heard once. Think of yourself watching a parade go by, you see things one at a time, in a linear manner, a float, a marching band, etc. Now imagine you are in a helicopter above the city, looking down on the parade. You see the beginning and the end all as one. This is how it is with God; He sees it all at once. He KNEW, when He created the universe, that we would be living in a world one day that was overloaded with toxins! And so He created our bodies with a detoxification system to handle whatever is thrown at it. Dr. Campbell-McBride spoke recently at a Weston A. Price Foundation Conference and said that if our gut health is in order (this comes from eating right), our detoxification system will even remove heavy metals from our bodies. (Want to know more about how God is outside our dimension of time? I encourage you to check out Cosmic Codes by Dr. Chuck Missler.)
Now you may be saying to yourself, “But I am VERY allergic to mold (or other various things)”. By all means, if you are suffering, you will need to remove certain things from your diet or environment, BUT focus on the inside, healing your body so that your body can do its job. Allergies to things like pollen, dust, toxic mold, wheat and dairy are all symptoms that something is not right inside. I urge you to read Dr. Campbell-McBride’s book and deal with the CORE issue.
For those that don’t suffer from these issues, take your babysteps to remove toxins from your life, BUT don’t live in fear of these toxins and DON’T spend large amounts of money and energy trying to be rid of them. That money and energy would be better spent helping out less fortunate people in our world. Examples of things our society wants us to fear are germs, mold, gases from carpet and padding, mercury in paint, cell phones, computers, anything electromagnetic, pollen, dust, plastics, and personal care products to name just a few. In the coming months I will detail some easy ways to get rid of some of these things from your life, but PLEASE know that they are peripherals.
I promise NEVER to use fear as a motivator in any of my articles! I have seen that from other writers in the health community and it bothers me. I am NOT going to live in fear and worry. I am not going to hide myself away. I am not going to dream of the pioneer days. God has me in this particular time for a specific purpose. I AM going to do what I can do, remove what toxins I can. I WILL focus more energy on eating right. And I DID paint my son’s room (will post pictures soon).
I hope this helps someone. Remember what your purpose is here and don’t let ANYTHING get in the way of fulfilling that purpose!
On my shopping trip last week, I was happy to see that chicken had dropped ten cents per pound, but then I reached for a one-pound package of ground turkey and it jumped twenty cents! While the rising cost of food may be frustrating, there are measures you can take to ease your budget, but why is the cost of food on the rise?
Crops The production of biofuels is a big reason. Farmers see more profit in corn, so they aren’t planting wheat as much. For the first time in our nation’s history we are importing wheat! This corn that the farmers are planting isn’t for your corn-on-the-cob, it’s for making ethanol, corn syrup, cornstarch, and livestock feed, to name a few. Since ethanol has gained popularity the price of corn has increased. We are feeling this increase at the grocery store. If you are buying commercially raised beef and poultry, it has been feed corn. If the cost of the feed is up, then the cost of the end product will go up, the beef, poultry, and pork. This goes for the by-products of chicken and cows also, like milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and eggs. To top it off, if the farmers aren’t planting as much wheat and we have to import it, then our bread products go up and bread is the staple of the American diet. All of a sudden, alternative fuel doesn’t sound like the answer, does it?
(On a side note, I watched King Corn this week and it was wonderful! I highly recommend this to everyone! Educate yourself about the modern farm, what the government’s role in farming is, and how this is affecting the nutrition of our nation. It is available at our local library.)
Fuel America is such a prosperous nation it can afford to import many exotic produce items from other countries and ship items from one end of the country to the other. When you go grocery shopping you may be buying apples from Washington, strawberries from Texas, mangoes from South America, etc. As a result, our bodies and our wallets are not feeling so prosperous. The farther away your grocery items come from, the more fuel it takes to get it to you. With fuel prices increasing, produce prices go up, too. Plus, for fresh produce, the farther it came from, the less nutritional value it has. Often items are picked unripe and ripened in the truck on the way to the grocery store. When produce is picked unripe, it will have very little vitamin and mineral content. In days gone by, all your groceries were grown or raised in your local area.
What do we do? Well, first, have no fear and put your trust in God to provide (Phil. 4:19), secondly, use your grocery money wisely by buying less packaged food, and third, buy as much locally as you can.
Buying packaged food is paying a middleman to prepare it for you, paying with your wallet AND your health. Plus you are paying for more packaging materials – plastic, cardboard, and foil, and more fuel as it has more stops between the farm and the table.
It is healthiest for our economy (and ultimately, for us) to buy as much locally as we can. There are many cooperatives and farmers’ markets around. Check and see what is available in your local area. Here is what is available in the Tulsa area:
Oklahoma Food Cooperative – Many items, like beef and poultry, to fruit and veggies, plus handmade soaps and handicrafts, all direct from the farmers.
Conrad Farms – Bixby area produce farm, plus local honey, cheeses, salsa, jellies, and more.
Carmichael Produce – Bixby area produce farm.
Jenks Farmers’ Market – May through September.
Pearl Farmers’ Market – Tulsa’s only evening market.
Cherry Street Farmers’ Market – two locations, Cherry Street and Brookside
Swan Brothers’ Dairy – Organic, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, raw milk, cream and a selection of cheeses.
I am thinking back now to the last eight months of blogging. Wow! I really had intended on posting my favorite passages from all the various books I have read, just a way of passing on information to my friends, but this has turned into more than that. I didn’t think I would actually be thinking of my own articles and researching information and following an outline. This process of writing has really helped me form some philosophies and gel some things together in my mind. Lately I’ve been asking myself what exactly is my purpose with this blog. Why do I take my time with this? Is it because I think everyone should eat the way I do? Do I think I am the enlightened one and must tell everyone to change his or her ways?
As I have been thinking of this, a scripture came to my mind. III John 2 says, “I pray that you will prosper in ALL things and be in HEALTH, just as your soul prospers.” This answers my questions; this is where my purpose lies. First, I want to educate you on how to have a prosperous soul/spirit, and second, I want to educate you on how to have physical prosperity and health. Your eternal destiny is far more important than your bodily health, but you also can’t fully do the work of the Lord unless you walk in physical health. Do you know where you are spending eternity? Do you know what God is calling you to do? I want to help you realize the answers to these questions. For me, this is the big picture and I’m really glad I took some time to think about it. I truly believe that I am held accountable to God for the influence I have on others, so I want to make sure I am using that influence properly.
Above all, I want this blog to bring you freedom! Freedom from being a slave to sickness, disease, disorders, aches, and pains. I want to meet you where you’re at and help you along the way to make changes in the right direction. I look around me and try to learn from other’s mistakes. I see people in the health community taking sides against one another on health issues and bringing condemnation, or telling people that they have to change X, Y, and Z in order to be healthy. I am not here to bring division and condemnation and it is certainly NOT my place to tell you what you need to change. It is your job to pray and seek God. Ask Him what He wants you to apply to your life. To obey is better than sacrifice (I Sam. 15:22). You can sacrifice everything in your life, but unless you are obeying what God specifically has for you, you won’t have peace. None of us need to get caught in the comparison trap, myself included (II Cor. 10:12). All of us are at different places in our growth, have different motives, different goals, and will reach a different place. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” If you are listening to the Spirit of God and letting Him lead you in your decisions, rather than listening to the flesh, then there is no condemnation. If God is leading me to implement something in my diet, but He is not leading you to it, I cannot condemn you. If you never switched to a complete diet of whole foods, 100% of the time, you would not disappoint me; I only want you to do what God is calling you to do!
Now don’t use this as a cop-out. “Shannon said I didn’t have to change!” That is not what I am saying here. I am saying that you should seek God and His will for you in ALL areas of your life, diet included. I can think of some examples where it would be practically impossible to eat well. The most important thing is, are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life? He will provide the way for you to have physical health. I hope you get the point. Please don’t slip into making excuses, if you feel that God is leading you to make changes, ask Him which changes you need to make and ask Him to provide! He will! Trust in Him and do NOT lean on your own understanding. (Prov. 3:5). If I present information on here that overwhelms you, put it on the back shelf of your mind, maybe it’s not God’s timing yet or maybe it’s just not something that He wants you to change.
So thank you for continuing to read my humble blog, I pray that you will all prosper and live in HEALTH (III John 2), that you experience the peace that surpasses understanding (Phil. 4:7), and that your life will be filled with the joy of the Lord (Neh. 8:10)!
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