Paleo, Whole 30, Raw, Vegan. These are just a sampling of the current diet trends. There’s even one called “French women don’t get fat”! This diet starts off with eating only leek soup and drinking lots of water. Pretty sure I’d fail at that one. We all want results, but more often than not, we don’t want to put in the work it takes to get those results.
About 8 months ago, I was tired of suffering from chronic migraines. I had learned to keep them at bay with regular doses of excedrin and ibuprofen. However, I was starting to worry about the damage those medications were doing to my body, not to mention I was constantly exhausted and drank coffee throughout the day to avoid the inevitable crash. My mom told me about how she had changed the way she eats which helped her to not only lose weight, but stop taking some medications for ailments she had been suffering from. She literally encouraged me with tears to try it because she wanted to help me get rid of these massive headaches.
Quite reluctantly, I embarked on a life change, eating anti-inflammatory foods. That meant no dairy, no sugar, no caffeine, no grains. All I could see was this mountain of delicious food that was now off limits. Creativity (and Pinterest) became my new friends as I set out to make yummy food that I was able to eat and still work towards wellness. I honestly didn’t start out with the greatest attitude, but more to appease my mom. I’m happy to report that not only have my migraines left me (praise Jesus!) but I feel healthier, and have even lost some unnecessary weight I’d been carrying around. It’s amazing what a little willpower and pre-planning can do for you, oh and a WHOLE lot of almond butter and prayer!
We’ve all heard the term “garbage in, garbage out”. If we constantly feed ourselves junk, we are going to feel pretty junky. If our kids are allowed to watch inappropriate movies with inappropriate language, they’ll start acting and speaking inappropriately too. What we allow in, will show up in what we put out. This applies not just to the food we eat, but more importantly our walk with Jesus. All too often we put off reading our Bible and spending time with Jesus, and instead watch our favorite show, or just get busy with work or our chores around the house.
Luke 6:45 says A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. (NLT)
Picture this: I was having an intense conversation recently, ok let’s be real it was an argument. As I worked my way through this tough talk I realized that the words that were coming out of my mouth didn’t flow from the words of the Spirit, but from the words of Shannon (undoubtedly much less wise). I was relying on my own reasoning to try to fumble my way through this conversation because I didn’t have any good things in the “treasury of my heart”. Do you see what I’m getting at? Garbage in, garbage out. I was expecting my words to be filled with grace and kindness, but I hadn’t stored up any grace or kindness. However, I had an abundance of pride, anger and resentment that I was readily dishing out every time I opened my mouth. And my attitude was such that it seemed that I gave a big, hearty “You’re welcome” at the end of the conversation. Sarcasm is my specialty.
Put simply if we eat healthy foods, we will be healthy. And in our walk with Jesus, if we read and take in His wisdom, we will be wise. Then our words will be gentle and understanding. We will be people who choose our words carefully based on what the Holy Spirit tells us to say, not based on our measly, human wisdom. What will you choose today? Will you choose to feed on the words God has written down for you in the Bible, or will you choose to dumpster dive in the abundance of worldly wisdom that is offered to you? The choice is up to you, but just remember that you will put out what you take in. Choose wisely.
