Those are some pretty powerful promises and yet I have ignored them for most of my life. I think because of the emphasis placed on abstaining from coffee, tobacco, and alcohol, I've lost sight of what the Lord has told me I should eat. Any time the word of wisdom is discussed in church, I find that most comments revolve around what we have to avoid in order to be worthy for a temple recommend. And that's great! Because we need to avoid those. But sometimes I wish we could talk more about what the Lord says we should eat so we can further reap the blessings he has promised to those who do.These pictures have nothing to do with anything. They're just cute.
And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass them by, as the children of Israel, and slay them not. Amen. D&C 89
I don't want to get into a discussion about whether or not the saints should be vegetarians. The first part of scripture says it's not "by commandment or constraint" so that doesn't interest me. What I keep thinking about is how little I pay attention to that last verse. I pray for health and strength, but I expect the Lord to do it all when I eat processed junk. Do we need to be commanded in all things? Sometimes I wish we were, but that's not how the Lord works. He has given us scripture and like all other scripture and words of the prophets it is for us to choose to follow them.All grain is good for the food of man; also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground—
I want, no, I need those blessing right now. My current medications aren't doing enough. The new options freak me out. Honestly. Truth be told I'd like to be off them all together! I know that my diet is part of the problem and my sugar addiction isn't helping. Yeah, I may still need medication because of the diseases that run in my family. But why not try changing my eating habits first? If I am what I eat, then there's a lot of processed sugar in there (I overdid Christmas and it's gone downhill since) and that means cloudy thinking and unpredictable energy levels and moods.
So I'm thinking of getting a juicer and doing once of those juice fasts (within reason-I'm still nursing). Maybe for 2 weeks I try to stick with only produce and whole grains. And fresh eggs from my neighbors chickens (one day I'll finish the coop and get my own....)
And because there's always something that will interfere with this, I have to start next week. We're going to Tucanos for my husband's brithday this week and then out again for our anniversary. That said, I can still be more aware of what I'm eating. I don't have to try every cut of meat they bring by, right?
I really have thought about this a LOT lately. Especially today, as I am at the time of month where anything chocolate in my path is devoured in record time.
ReplyDeleteAnd our families do need the blessings that come with obedience in this arena! How our society got to be in a place where we accept food substitutes that rob our body of nutrients instead of nourishing and nurturing is beyond my comprehension.
I've loved our CSA for this summer, as it's forced us to eat lots of veggies (and we learned we ADORE kohlrabi, and will eat squash every day without tiring).
I've changed my diet with the livethelifefitness.com program. It helps you change your eating habits by giving you set meal plans. By the time you get to week 8 or 9 it seems like you all the sudden get an "aha!" moment and fixing your own meals makes sense. It's a 12 week program. They help/encourage you the whole way. It can be adjusted for allergies/gluten free, etc. and you can even eat out with it. I'm not following the menu exactly anymore, but take meals and make them my own staying within suggested portions. It's crazy how much freedom you feel you have when you know you are eating the right things.
ReplyDeleteyes, yes yes! I agree! And I had an aha moment when I realized that people who "can cook" have just been going at it longer. And once I made enough "good" food from recipes, I get more comfortable altering to my fancy. We shop on the outside of the store now, spend about the same on food because so much of it is fresh, but we ate some canned stew while camping and realized how long it's been since eating that kind of processed "already made for you" food and it tasted nasty to us. But that's happenend a couple of times lately when I have bought something for old-time's sake and then regretted it because we've just been changing the way we eat SO much since the beginning of last year when my ONLY goal was to try to eat 7 servings of whole grain a day. That goal alone changed EVERYthing. It's not easy, but it becomes much easIER with practice, and finding super quick meals that a person can still make with fresh stuff!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to write this here and be excited about good foods and not get eye rolls or jeers.