Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Spiritual Spa #2

Spiritual Spa #2

Give us this day our daily bread.

Dear family in the Lord!

In the last Spiritual Spa we have been thinking about the goodness of the Lord which can be experienced through eating food, for goodness sake!  When we eat what is good for us, the consequences will be good for us and we can tune in with the Psalmist singing “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” I have received a lot of feedback from you about the need to hear more about nutrition. I'd love to hear from you on this Spa aswell, share testimonies with me!

In this Spa we want to address the part in the Lords Prayer where our Savior Jesus Christ teaches us to pray to our Father in Heaven to give us every day our daily bread. Lets take a look at the context of this statement back then and today. We know that there is a spiritual meaning to it, Jesus being the bread of life which we need every day for our selves and our neighbor to share with. But back then it spoke to an audience that did not know about the blessing and the curse of the endless food isles of Super Target. But they knew everything about the blessing and the curse of producing and preparing food with their own sweaty hands. They knew what it was to plant a field of grain. They knew what it was to shepherd animals. They knew their daily bread was depending on influences beyond their power, such as weather, wars and government. Jesus, who in my opinion always acted “wholly” (body, soul, spirit), comforts his disciples by saying that the provision they need comes from the Father in Heaven. It is probably valid to mention too that he is telling them to stay away from any pagan idolatry that would include make-it-rain rituals, but to only address the Father in Heaven.

Do we know anything about hunger? Most of the generation that has never experienced a war in it’s own country has no idea of hunger, fear of starving or lack of food supply. My father knows this very well, he has been raised by people that went through two excruciating wars that were surrounded by poverty and therefore hunger of the people. Poor people today in America don’t face hunger. Why is that? Let me side-track by saying that the church, instead of taking responsibility, has allowed the world to feed the hungry. Food can be very cheap today, we, the church, even hand it out during food distributions and call it an event of charity- granted, many of us don’t know better. What food am I talking about? Processed food. Fake food. Some call it Frankenfood. Foods that are cheap to produce and buy, yet cost the consumers their health. Enriched (chemically altered) food, meat produced with growth hormone, sodas and diet soda beverages that not only lack nutrition but actually make people seriously sick on top of that! And that’s why we are meeting to talk about this and listen to the Holy Spirit to get back on track today!

I propose that Jesus must have seen the church 2000 years later, knowing that a big part of it will not know the meaning of hunger, nor the fear of lack of food. What could he possibly be teaching us then, if this is an outdated prayer for bread for our physical bodies? Maybe we could compare it with praying to have our every day ride to our work place- we don’t need to pray for this provision, we know it is there.
I believe Jesus is pointing out that we need the Father to teach us to receive what we need to and not more. Give us THIS DAY our DAILY bread. Discipline. This is a spiritual fruit. Lets continue to ask the spirit to give us more of it in every area of our lives.

Who has ever been sharing a meal with me will testify that I might be very concerned about what I’m shoveling down, but I am here and there lax when it is about how much of it I’m consuming. I like to eat. And I like to eat seconds if the taste is very pleasant, especially if it's german chocolate. The Spirit is not talking to me about constant counting of calories or forcing myself to starve. I feel the Holy Spirit addressing something different and that is: Why am I eating more than I need? What is needy in me that craves the expanded stomach feeling? Why can’t I control the taste buds that our dear Apostle James, exhorting us to seek control over the tongue, might have not even known about? Here a link for a prayer that helps you to pray about Food Addiction. Utilize it as the spirit leads you. http://romelscafe.com/2008/07/09/prayer-for-food-addiction

I want to go forth and feed our brains with some facts on why it is so important (and where the vicious circle in this is located) to eat in moderation and to eat what is healthy for you.
Most of us are somewhat overweight or have an unhealthy body composition (= too much fat and too little muscle, but not necessarily “obvious”). No condemnation here, lets acknowledge if this is true and seek the Lord on how to move towards a healthier life, since the Lord doesn’t seem to answer prayers like “Would you rid me of unnecessary fat in my body overnight, please and thank you?” :)

It appears to be common knowledge that a woman is to consume 2000 and a man around 2500 calories a day. That might have been true when they were milking cows and carrying buckets of water for miles and miles every day. If your life looks like this: Getting up in the morning, walking to the garage, sitting in the car to sit at your job, then walking to the parking lot, then driving somewhere else and sitting there, eventually going to bed and laying there until you get up the next morning- you don’t qualify for a daily 2000 calorie diet. Let’s think of food as FUEL to our bodies. Food is our friend (especially fish ;), not meant to be our enemy. I have no problem with eating good organic ice cream with great gratitude.

Wrap your mind around this though: If your body receives 3500 calories (no matter what time frame) too much, it will add 1 pound of fat to your body. 1 Pound of fat more equals one more pound added to the weight on your scale! You can turn this equations around as well, save desert and sweets for a week and you probably lose a pound. This is very important to keep in mind when you eat. We are overweight and have too much fat and too little muscle, because we eat more than our bodies need, for we don’t live in a way that would make us need that amount of daily fuel. If we don't burn what we put on the stove it will just sit there and go nowhere. That is one reason why doctors always say "Daily exercise is important!" (and if it only starts with 30 minutes of faster pace walking!!).

Now it is one thing to overeat on organic tomatoes and another thing to consume any amount of bad food. I am not a biochemist, but I can tell you in plain words that a lot of the foods that are out there and in your pantry and fridge mess with your body in ways you don’t want to hear about. I will say it anyway! In a nutshell our bodies are incapable of dealing with processed food. Remember, we were created from the mud in the earth. That's where our food needs to come from aswell and not from a chem-lab. It is like putting the wrong kind of fuel into a car, only that the body will fight the bad symptoms as long as it can and then cease to be able to at some point sooner or later.

How do you know what foods are processed foods? Start reading labels thoroughly! I can’t even begin to point out the fact that: we cannot trust the food that is presented to us everyday. Keep this in mind when you go out to eat! Please, ask the Lord to make you aware of poison in your pantry!

Let’s start with a very common factor of vicious food: Synthetic ingredients. When you buy food, stay 100% away from anything “enriched”. This is BAD for you in every way and will harm you and the people you serve it to. Why is that? I heard the theory that America got so busy with working and lifestyle that food companies went down the path of trying to make foods last forever. So they came up with a chemical procedure of ridding the natural ingredients, lets say pasta, of it’s perishable nutrients. What’s left after the process is done is a white paste with no nutritional value. They thought they could trick nature and “enrich” the clumps of empty calories with synthetic nutrients. Too bad, the body cannot decipher synthetic nutrients. The opposite is happening, the reaction of the body’s attempt to digest that kind of stuff leads to major imbalances in your blood sugar and can result in diabetes to name only one consequence. Besides that those foods or beverages have a regular amount of calories, but your body isn’t nourished, so don’t be surprised: you will soon be hungry again. And guess what you are going to crave? The same bad stuff, for we crave what we eat until we receive the grace to listen to our body’s real needs again.  

Find yourself craving and drinking sodas? Remember that out of our stomachs will flow streams of living water! We are made from water, in the spiritual and in the natural and we need to consume daily half our weight in water ounces to have our metabolism function at it’s best. Well, it is easy for me to say to stay away from Sodas and Diet-Sodas all together, since I don’t see anything in them. My parents just never had those in our home, I never got used to sweet daily (or for some of us hourly) drinks. I like to drink water and tea. Why should you stay away from Sodas or Diet-Soda all togehter and even most fruit juices? For one, high-fructose corn syrup. This “sugar” is a cheap and hard for the body to digest chemical result. The alternative “artificial sweeteners” is straight from hell as well, not only lying to you with pretending to come with no calorie consequences, it actually puts necessary hormones in your brain to sleep that you need in order to know that you are full. Deja vu? Again, you will eat much more than you need. Other reasons to stay away from those are:

1. The ingredients mess with the density of your bones, making them crack faster

2. Your teeth get more prone to cavities

3. "Fruit" (read the labels!) juices make you think you just drank something healthy and train your tastebuds to crave something sweet and disliking non-sweetend fruits and vegetables

4. They keep your blood sugar constantly high, leading to diabetes again.

5. Your children see you drinking soda and think that’s what’s going on. Childhood obesity and diabetes have never been a HUGER issues than in these times. Guess where kids learned this from?
There is a ton more to mention, but I feel we need to start somewhere realistic.You can easily check labels and stay away from enriched food. Choose 100% Whole wheat products when it’s about buying bread, pasta, rice, cereal, flour, and everything else you might find. Eat an organic apple a day. Don’t be robbed by ignorance. Guess, who wants you lacking energy, sick and busy teaching others to live in the same way?? You find the answer in John 10, 10.

If your’re addicted to consuming sweet beverages, go to the Lord! Remember, we crave what we consume. When you buy fruit juices check the labels. Flee artificial sweeteners (in the form of Aspertame or "Splenda") and high-fructose corn syrup! Look for organic juices and ice cream and try to not have more than max. 1 cups a day. I would recommend to get Silk Almond milk. They have wonderful tasting treats, coming in Vanilla or Chocolate taste.

If you think you don't have the funds to dig a little deeper in your wallet to change to 100% Whole wheat or organic versions of fruits & vegetable, deserts etc. think and pray about the management of your money! Keep in mind that when you start eating real nourishing foods you will need less of it! Working in a gym I a can tell you that american people are paying more every day for the well-being of their cars than they are willing to pay for the health of their own bodies.

Dear family, this was a long Spiritual Spa and I hope you sense the need to turn our attention to portion sizes and what we receive daily. If you do believe in the existence of counterfeits, who do you think is behind providing this abundance of fake food to the american people? (Let me give you a hint: El Diabolo) Let's pray together to our Father in Heaven: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD AND TEACH US HOW YOUR PROVISION LOOKS LIKE!

Be blessed abundantly!

Spiritual Spa #1

Hello dear friends!

This is the first Spiritual Spa going out to my family in the Lord that I would like to share my passion with! Some call me a Watchman. Well, the Watchman stands on the wall and watches for enemies about to strike. This Spa is as much about letting the Lord love on you as it is a warning or a wake-up call.
This Spa is about me sharing what I feel the Holy Spirit leading into making our lives more peaceful... (some of us would truly appreciate that after a meal ;D)

Laurie F. inspired me to start this, so thanks to you, dear Laurie!

The spirit of the Father wants us to start loving our and others' temples of the holy spirit! What we eat, how we treat the subject food and our bodies is a vital part of our lives AND spirituality. Why?

Do you remember what it tastes like to be satisfied and saturated in your soul and spirit with the faith and knowledge that God is good, present and loves us?

Oh taste and see that the Lord is GOOD. EAT good food and EXPERIENCE by the consequences that GOD IS GOOD!

The Lord is good and besides the good foods he created we are VERY good. Praise the Lord! A very good car needs only the best fuel there is!

Let me pose some critical questions, just to get you into an "awareness food mood":

-Would you tell someone something sweet just because it sounds great, maybe even makes them feel great for a little, but eventually it might make them sick, because it wasn't that good after all?

-Are you aware of what you are consuming every day? We're not watching certain programs because we don't want to harm our soul and spirit, what's with intake for the body...? Should this matter at all?
 
-Would you knowingly hand out poison to people or consume it yourself and then later blame the devil for making people suffer the consequences?

If the creation is good and we are very good I think it's time we get back to the attitude of the children of God which is to be at peace and spread that peace. ("Blessed are the peacemakers, they will be called children of God" Matthew 5)

Why are so many of us (us= the human kind AND the body of Christ) sick, obese or suffer all sorts of allergies or digestive issues (and so forth)? Is it because the devil hates us? Well, yes he hates us. Does he force us to be ignorant to wisdom? No, he does not, but he will definetely try!!

Lets accept the fact that we lack wisdom in how to treat our bodies in the God-intended way. That opens the door to the fallen world to enter (e.g.) with it's fallen food friends. It is my passion (combusted by my dear friend Ashley, owner of Anytime Fitness and inFIT of Albertville) to share some wisdom that I recieved, tested and found worthy to pass on!

Since the "weigh down" project goes around amongst some of us let me point out that what I'm proposing does not mean to not be guided by the spirit in what choices to make about our foods we consume. But perhaps dome of us know that if we are "kinda hanging out there" without guidance we tend to not hear the spirit very clearly, but go with what we think we know to be true. So please, if you feel the spirit wants you to start become more aware to how you treat your temple, test my words with what you hear! This Spa is about making you aware about the vehicle of the holy spirit (you!) and what it needs to run at it's best!

I attached a link for a little article that I recommend to glance over and be inspired by!
http://thinkingskinny.com/2009/10/25/going-commando-in-the-kitchen/

It is basically telling you try to do without some items we think are necessary (like marshmallows in a salad, not pointing my finger at anyone ;). The food God created is good in itself (and sometimes with a little real cheese addad), lets find that to be true in our soul, body and spirit! Did God create mayonaise? I'm not sure, but I know he did not create us to crave junk food. Why not? Because we are to be strengthed and nourished by food and water to live a peaceful and spreading peace kinda life!

So, if you want, lets pray: Lord forgive us for receiving something other than the daily bread you provided! Forgive us for forgetting and not teaching our children how to treat the bodies you have given us! TEACH US!!! We lack wisdom and are in need for your guidance! Help us to open our hearts and minds to what the spirit is saying in this hour where we cannot trust the food we are served in abundance anymore. Let us taste and see again that you are good! Thank you Lord, in Jesus name! To be continued...

Be blessed abundantly!