What is Required?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

Blog, what blog? I obviously haven't blogged in quite some time. I do love to write, but discovered that sometimes when life gets challenging, it's not something you necessarily want to "blog" about!

BUT---my dry spell has ended, at least for now. God put this verse from Micah in my mind today as I contemplated my quest to get back to the basics. What is required of us? Maybe you have to be stripped of all of the complications around you, the chaos, the confusion....to walk humbly with God.

One way this has been manifesting in my life is through my health. Thanks to a friend who is a health nut (for lack of a better term), and a couple of thoughtful girlfriends who are themselves seeking to lose weight and get in shape, I have gained a keen awareness that I have increasingly neglected my health as the years go by.... I don't think this is unusual for working Moms (or ANY mom) in general--but then, add a few family crises into the mix and sometimes a Mom finds herself in a weakened state physically, emotionally and spiritually. (I am only referring to Moms because it is what I know, but obviously neglecting your health is universal!)

I can make excuses all day long about why it wasn't until my 47th year of life that I saw my physical well-being as a direct response to my faith. As a lifelong Baptist--all of our events revolve around food and fellowship! (I.E. "Potluck!") I don't want to be critical--but just cognisant--of many of our spiritual leaders who are not disciplined in keeping their bodies healthy. In my experience, a good Baptist would never turn down dessert! Part of a Preacher's job is to break bread with his church members and be gracious for their hospitality. But how much, and what kind of food do we really need? Does it honor the Lord for us to basically gorge ourselves with toxic, processed food in the name of fellowship with other believers(and make ourselves sick)? I am not pointing fingers--this has been my story. I used my self-deprecating sense of humor to poke fun of my "stress" eating. In my mind, the Mom was always considered last---make sure your family is getting plenty to eat--give them the "healthy" lecture--but never be so self-centered that you take time to think about your own health.

Add to this philosophy that SOUTHERN cooking is the best in the world--and you've got weight and health problems! I professed to follow Christ, but somehow didn't see how my lack of discipline in taking care of myself was direct disobedience to Christ.

So what have I done? Well, to start with, I lost 35 pounds. I still haven't made it to my goal, but I am so much happier to wear clothes I haven't been able to wear in years...(and actually wear sizes I haven't worn since high school :)
I've forced myself to get rid of all of my old clothes so I won't have them to "fall back" on. I started working out on a regular basis--something that is NOT fun for me--I'm still working on my attitude on this one!

But what has been especially eye-opening for me is the junk I've filled up with for years--if someone told me something was "bad" for you....I just saw it as "normal" and asked how bad can it be? It's what every family I know eats....Examples? Diet Coke-- I have been addicted to Diet Coke since I was in 10th grade. I don't drink them any more--or ANY soft drinks. It sounds drastic--but it's like drinking poison! I'm a bread lover--but have pretty much cut it out of my diet. In the past, I would have told you I'm "addicted" to chocolate--I could never resist! Funny--I have discovered if you don't eat chocolate everyday, you don't want it everyday. (Same with milk, cheese, processed cereal, salt, pastas, pastries, hamburgers, hotdogs, etc.) All of these types of foods are why my cholesterol is still high, even though I cut them out of my diet a year ago. But I have decades of damage to reverse! So, while I still have a long way to go--(yes...some days I totally blow it!) I am a lot more serious than the old Deana about taking control of my health with diet and exercise. Did you know Niacin can naturally reduce your bad cholesterol?

I now understand why it's essential to eat "real" food (like God made it!) instead of the attractive, convenient processed food that I somehow thought was good for us all these years! No wonder Americans have so much disease--I think it has to be all of the chemicals and artificial ingredients we put in our bodies. Now my challenge is to show my children the light---I have been trying to feed them fish and salad for years with no success. I can only hope my efforts will be noticed and one day, appreciated by my kids. I believe my newfound appreciation of nutrition is part of God's message to "get back to the basics." He has shown us what is good!