Do not let anyone tell you what you should or should not eat or drink.
Colossians 2, 16a
Dear Family in Jesus!
Today's Spa is (for now) going to be my last entry as I feel like now it is time for us to continue to live it, and time for me to start writing about spiritual abuse. I will do so at www.overcoming-spiritual-abuse.blogspot.com.
So guess what?! This (for now) last entry is about both!
I am surprised that no one ever came up to me prepared with this quote from Paul! What could I possibly say to this verse but hope that the context will clarify things? And, as 99% of the time with difficult Bible verses, the context reveals the meaning clearly. But to a prone to fear or an uneducated believer this verse could be the free-for-all to wallow in the puddle of bliss of ignorance. Oh, how I have been there. Both in the prone to fear/ uneducated believer AND wallow in ignorance to food spot.
Paul is addressing newly converts to the Christian way in the city of Colossae. New believers, just like today, were under a lot of spiritual attack, and sometimes physical as well. In many of his letters to new believers in cities that have received Jesus Christ he had to address the same issue: Religiosity or legalism. The Good News of the fulfillment of the mosaic law by Jesus Christ were almost too good to be true, so religious Jews or other religions and cults would have an easy in to sway people back into having to follow some kind of a law.
As we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit we are vulnerable to fall into the hands of bad leaders or a religious crowd. One way of recognizing spiritually abusive people is by paying close attention to how they really are. Not how they preach they are. How they really act. When all the display of love and welcome is done, do they spread fear and condemnation, or is it truly their desire to lovingly edify you into the person that God is forming you? Especially, when confronted with their own shortcomings, are they responding out of humility? Only if someone has something to hide will they get defensive, angry, or turn the table on the one who brought up the problem.
The mosaic law was full of eat nots, drink nots, do nots or touch nots. To get out of that mindset or resist the temptation of falling back into it, as it was the pre-Jesus way of attempting to gain God's favor, was for some a struggle. Others basked in the freedom of being molded from the inside out into the image of Jesus (into a son/daughter of God that is) more and more every day by having been filled with the Holy Spirit of God.
Once we catch the spirit of something there is no more law for us! The spirit will eventually become a "default setting" within us. This can work for or against us- obviously depending on the spirit.
If we receive the Holy Spirit of God, God himself will eventually dictate us. Someone moved by God doesn't consider his life under a law, just like someone under fear doesn't consider himself under the law of fear. They do "what they must". But in either case to "receive a spirit" means that there was an open door to allow it into one's life. Selah (wrap your mind around this one!).
Since I don't want to make your life miserable by putting laws on you that you can never keep, I keep on inviting you to "catch the spirit" of health and nutrition. I believe it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, but I say that AFTER having received this as a divine move within me. Now, I must. Now, I get to!
6 Years ago I would have not recognized myself today. I told you, I was Cookie Monster's older sister, addicted to sugar, a slave to my taste buds, tossed to and fro by health issues. But I had an open door to "receiving the spirit". Being around a trusted friend who consistently by her example made me aware of learning to read labels, cooking from scratch, or moderating my sugar intake, changed me.
That dear and trusted friend is Ashley Darkenwald. She has recently published a book "Living Wellness"- Wellness achieved by nutrition and exercise. I had the privilege to serve as an editor and write a Spiritual Spa for every of the 12 powerful chapters, as we believe there is no real Wellness if our soul isn't reconciled with God in Jesus Christ. You can take a look at this book here: www.AshleyDarkenwald.com.
So, dear Family in Jesus, keeping in mind that I am not proposing a law, but that I speak from a place of conviction about health and nutrition, let me leave you with reminders and shopping tips:
- Think before you eat: Am I eating for flavor or for nourishment? Can I make a choice that will give me fuel AND nourishment?
- Buy your dairy (including butter!), meat, and eggs organic, grass fed, and free range. Today we are paying extra for nutrients that should be in our food in the first place but aren't due to treating our animals as if they were factories. This is not only of "weak brain usage" aka: idiotic, because it harms us as it saves us money, but also an abuse of our authority over animals. They suffer from never seeing the living daylight, not feeding on what they were created to eat (guess what- it's not cheap GMO corn!), being locked up with terrible hygiene in tiny cells they potentially have to share with a number of other traumatized life-stock, and (this is not an exhaustive list of reasons to buy organic) the slaughtering process is meant to be cost-effective, not graceful and from a thankful heart.
- Get the Hain's Safflower Mayo. It's the best mayo you will ever taste and high in natural Vitamin E. You should be able to find it at Coborn's in the Natural isles or Whole Foods.
- Get organic ketchup. No high fructose corn syrup, but made from organic tomatoes with real nutrients.
- Steer clear of Vegetable oils or fake fats like margarine. Alternatives to frying in medium heat: Cold pressed olive oil or butter. For high heats: Coconut oil or lard. A lifestyle of consuming vegetable oils puts you at high risk for heart disease and/or cancer. Why? FREE RADICALS due to rancidity in the heating process are known artery cloggers and carcinogenic in your body!
- Invest into quality food, freeze it if necessary, and only prepare as much as you know you and your family will eat before it goes bad. Simple wisdom, but hard to follow in a world of plenty.
- Snack on raw fruits and veggies (such as organic baby carrots and snap peas) and pair with a good source of fat (nuts, cheese, tzatziki, hummus, etc.). Remember your fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K?
- Stay physically active, daily! Don't listen to a bad conscience. Just go for a brisk walk.
- Keep on educating yourself! There is so much great information at hand through the Internet. Infinite recipes to be tried out. Keep on asking, keep on researching, keep on stretching your comfortable lifestyle by making/baking more from scratch, and finding ways to exclude grains/chips and include veggies into your diet.
Dear Family in Jesus, thank you for reading this Blog! I will keep it online, so you are welcome to read through older posts, refer others or comment. If I have a pressing new thought on health and nutrition, I will post it here!
Be blessed abundantly!
