Chunking the Junk

Sometimes you just have to sit down and type! I've been wanting to organize my thoughts on what I am going to share with you today, but I realize that's probably not going to happen...so here goes it!

If you are my Facebook friend you've probably not escaped the fact I have been on a journey to healthier eating. As I read new information I have shared snippets with you through my status updates. Some of you are interested and others have laughed at me, it's okay, I'm laughing with you:)

Let's start by making this point clear, I AM NOT AN EXPERT AT ANYTHING. I'm not a doctor, nurse, nutritionist...shoot, I haven't even bought any books on the topic....yet. So, what I share with you here will be based on what I have tested personally or what has resonated with me from my research and reading online.

Of course, like any subject there are varying opinions on the topic of what to eat, what not to eat, etc. I'll leave those arguments to the "experts." If anything I am sharing this with you because if you only make one healthier choice from it I have been successful. Sharing, inspiring and encouraging...it's what I do and it's part of who God made me to be!

A couple of months ago I purchased a Vita-Mix high powered blender. I had been eyeing (okay, coveting) one for over 5 years when I first saw it demonstrated. Couldn't talk my hubby into the purchase (they're not cheap, think investment here.)

With hubby convinced and vita-mix in hand I went in search of some yummy smoothie recipes. I stumbled upon a whole new world of green smoothies. Drinking my greens was a new concept to me and I liked it. I like them so much I now have one every morning for breakfast!

As I learned more about fruits, veggies and seeds and their nutritional value I came to the revelation God has provided us everything we need to live healthy, disease free lives...but it's all in our choices. There is healing in food.

If you've been around My Soul Sings you know I am passionate about inner healing, aka healing of the heart. God is all about our health, from the inside out...healthy food choices are a great way of taking care of what He gave me, so I can not only have life to the full (see John 10:10) but live life to the fullest and have life to give to others in need of it.

No, I am not a vegetarian or a vegan...yet:) I don't believe it's wrong to eat meat. In fact, I believe the Bible gives us the freedom to eat it. You don't have to agree with me here...that's not the point of this post.

Google and I have become fast friends on this journey. I started looking up the health benefits of items I had hardly given a second glance in the produce department. Here are some of the tidbits I have put into practice and seen results from:

*Did you know that eating fruit after a meal will lead to bloating and gas? Fruit only takes about 20 minutes to process and reach the stomach. It's best to eat fruit early in the day, and especially not after a meal in which you've consumed meat. Most meat takes hours or longer to digest. Put fruit in behind that and it ferments before it ever reaches the stomach. Traffic jam! Not only is the result bloating and gas, but you've missed out on the nutrients in the fruit! Here I was eating fruit with my meal hoping to add fiber to my diet to prevent constipation and in actuality I was only making my condition worse! I have tested this. I am now a believer. Enough said!

*Artificial sweeteners are the same as drinking battery acid. They cause joint pain and aches. I haven't had a diet soda or artificially sweetened drink since last week. No joint pain whatsoever this week and no ibuprofen either...WIN!

*First thing in the morning, drink a tall glass of water with lemon juice in it. I usually use 1/2 lemon or more per 24 oz tumbler. Lemon is very cleansing and is an anti-oxidant which rids your body of free radicals which cause sickness and disease. Think of this morning ritual as a cleansing of the pipes so to speak!

*Greens, greens, greens! This is why I like green smoothies so much. I would probably never eat a big bowl full of kale in a salad, but put a few leaves of it in a smoothie with some mango and I can drink it up! Greens are also full of water; water that has already been purified naturally.

*Studies have linked a low fat diet with a tendency toward depression. Our bodies need good fat! Remember the fat in a doughnut is not equal to the fat in an avocado! I have to wonder if craving sweet junk food like chocolate ice cream or cake when we are feeling down is our body's way of saying, "I need fat!" The junky fat may satisfy and comfort for the moment, but a diet with a balance of healthy fat could make a difference for a lifetime!

I have an app on my iPhone called the green smoothie app. It has recipes for green smoothies, soups and raw puddings. What I love most about it is the nutritional information on a wide range of fruits, vegetables and greens. It tells you what they are good at preventing and/or treating. Great find for $1.99!

If you want to be entertained, as well as have a wealth of green smoothies recipes at your fingertips, check out www.blenditandmendit.com. My younger daughter likes to sit with me and watch her video tutorials. We like her enthusiasm, it's contagious:)

I also have learned quite a bit from www.greensmoothiegirl.com. In fact, I am planning on purchasing one of her books soon.

If you are interested in making some healthier choices, and have questions, feel free to ask me. I might not have the answer, but I may can help you find one! So many health issues can be cured and/or reversed by making changes in our diets. I want that, don't you?

Today in my breakfast smoothie alone I had 9 servings of fruits and vegetables. The FDA recommends 5. This afternoon as I have written this post I enjoyed a snack size smoothie containing one peach, about 2 cups of frozen honeydew, spearmint leaves and one whole romaine heart. It was very refreshing on this hot day and tasted great! Much healthier than what I use to choose as a snack:)

Well, that's about all I have to say on the subject for now. If you found your way to this blog through a search engine please know you are welcome here, but the topic of this blog is not usually health, nutrition or green smoothies. My Soul Sings is a place where I share my journey and relationship with the Creator of the Universe and Lover of my soul...Jesus. But what better way to honor Him then by honoring my temple (body) and what goes into it. I want my outside to reflect what's on the inside! I have been saved, healed and delivered...from the inside out and that makes my soul sing!!!!!

Are You Content to be Fat?

I had hoped my next blog post would be to share things stirred in my heart from my recent experience at Jesus Culture Awakening. Hopefully I will make time to do so in the future, but for today I feel I have a word from the Lord. I believe it's a personal word for me, but one He is also wanting me to share with His body.

Perhaps it is the result of what I saw and heard shared at the conference...after all, there were many ministries represented and showcased throughout the conference all with the same mission..."Send," "Go," "Love," are words I continually heard. These were people not just content to sit in a conference and listen to great men and women of faith share their stories of miracles and moves of God. No, they were people whose lives had been laid down in total surrender. They were in the trenches doing the "stuff," loving the unlovable, rescuing the dying, releasing the captives. One lady shared of a ministry starting with 5 children rescued from the sex trade, now they are up to several hundred children. They not only feed and house them, they are providing the children an education so they can grow up and be productive citizens! These people are not just preaching the gospel, they are living and doing it!

Which has led me to question are we, the body of Christ, more content to be fat? By fat I mean fat on knowledge...continuing to partake, but never assimilating. Maybe we don't "act" on what we know because we are afraid of what the sacrifice might be. Perhaps we are afraid of failing or of the unknown.

I am reminded of the scripture in I Corinthians that says, "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." Allow me to take this verse out of context and pose the question, is it love that makes it possible for us to put knowledge into action? I believe the answer is yes. It is love that compels us to take knowledge and put action with it...to assimilate what we know.

What I love about spiritual principles is they are always first seen in the natural. If all we did is eat and eat and eat some more, but we never leave the table to exercise what happens? We get fat! Same applies spiritually...if all we do is study, go to church once a week and attend conferences, but never take what we learn and "go out unto all the world" we get fat...fat with knowledge.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48b)

I don't know about you, but I'm not content to just eat and get fat. I want to share my "food," share my experiences with God, share His love, bring healing to the brokenhearted and set the captives free. This is what I was destined to do, my purpose...the piece of the Father's heart I carry. What part do you carry? If you don't know, I encourage you to ask Him. He has been waiting for you to ask!

Pray with me...Dear Papa, I'm no longer content to sit at Your table and feast without sharing the bounty with those around me. I'm tired of making it all about me, my needs and my wants. I recognize I am blessed to be a blessing. I want to see what you see in this world. I want my heart to break for what breaks Yours. I want to use what I "know" of You and represent You well to others. Papa teach me to put love into action, truth into action...I want to be a living, breathing, walking around example of the gospel of Christ. I want my words and actions to bring You glory and draw others into the abundant and free life You have generously bestowed upon me. Thank You for making the way. Thank You for trusting me, Papa. Thank You for life. Amen!"

It's time for the body of Christ to start assimilating what they know in a spirit of love. There is a world out there dying, literally and figuratively, to know and experience the love of Christ...what if you are the means to bring that freedom to someone? Why not you and why not now? This is the gospel and it makes MY SOUL SING!

If you enjoy My Soul Sings I invite you to become a follower of this blog. If this post has ministered to you, please feel free to share it with friends! Blessings on you!