Foodly Wisdom You Don't Want to Hear

Our modern diet is a mockery; the artificial flavours and preservatives trick our taste buds into thinking we're feeding our body what it needs.  For example, we crave sugar because it turns into alcohol in our stomachs. We crave the alcohol because it's reminiscent of fermented foods. Fermented food and drink is what the body actually hopes you are feeding it when you consume sugary food. It contains vitamins, minerals, and enzymes necessary for good digestion. Sugar on the other hand breaks down the immune system, leeches calcium and minerals from our bones, and over time wears down our endocrine system.  Food was meant to be truly flavourful so we would nourish our bodies. Modern artificial flavouring attracts us to foods that leave us malnurished. God created our bodies to  work intelligently you just have to listen and respond with wisdom.

All the Juicy Details

I read an article today that my friend Steve Straza posted http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/relationship/features/28337-the-secret-sexual-revolution . It states that 80% of christian singles from age 18-29 are having sex. I was one of those statistics. Normally I think you’d be shocked and I should stay quiet and ashamed, but 80% of you are right there with me. Darkness and ignorance are powerful. They keep us bound and silent and when they aren’t dealt with they imprison the next generation.

I was always a good girl. I loved and pursued God with all of my heart! I loved Him, but I wasn’t sure what he thought about me. That belief and life’s trials left me very insecure. I was desperately searching for someone to define me; to find me precious, and beautiful, and special. I wanted to be chosen and prized. I wanted all of those things to be fulfilled by...a boy. I had many crushes but none of them chose me as their princess. Maybe they would have if they knew that I would have given anything; even that one sacred thing that can never be taken back. I would have slept with them if that’s what it took to be “loved”.
I had grew up in the church, I had been told that sex before marriage was wrong, that my virginity was sacred and meant for my husband. I knew it was good teaching, but I felt it was worth the risk if I could be chosen. Not everyone was “doing it” then. It wasn’t even on TV as much. I suspected that other christian adults I knew and respected had sex before marriage and they were all happily married and serving God and that to me made the virginity teaching just another one of those things we taught but didn’t follow. I remember one time after a convicting message on purity the speaker had us sign a paper promising we wouldn’t have sex before marriage. I desperately wanted to be all God expected and so I signed it. I hoped by making a promise to God, it would be serious to me not to break it and maybe I could stop thinking about giving myself away.

I made it through high school without having sex. The guys who liked me never had the guts to ask me out, so I was spared that temptation. Then I met this christian boy. Friends warned me not to date him because he had had sex before. It was really heart breaking because as much as I was willing to have sex I hadn’t and I wanted to marry someone who had also run the high school gauntlet and made it through. Somehow grace rose up in me and I forgave him and decided to date him. I was tormentingly shy around him. I literally could not talk. I couldn’t even form a sentence in my mind. It was crazy that he kept dating me. I really started to like him and he liked me because unlike the other girls he dated I was a “good girl”. We started with the good-bye kiss and then from there he kept moving me along the bases as most boys try to do. I didn’t want to lose him. He had chosen me! He was making me feel special! This will seem like a contradiction: he had made up his mind that he wasn’t going to have sex with the next person he dated (I was that person), he wanted to do it right this time. I on the other hand was thinking if I don’t have sex I’m going to lose him because the other girl was willing. I thought, “What’s the big deal anyway?” I didn’t get the value of sex, until I did it. I think he shook his head no at first, which is pretty good for a guy being offered sex from a girl he likes, but he of course gave in. It sucked! It was nothing like the movies! My immediate thought when we were done was, “I’m going to marry him”, and I did. To be honest I wasn’t even totally sure that I loved him, I just thought that was the way to make things right. Talk about risky! We faced hard times in our marriage as a result of this decision. We opened the door for shame and regret and doubt. The thing that kept us together at first was that we both really loved God and he kept us choosing to love each other. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone. He is my perfect opposite! Statistically a marriage that began like that doesn’t always work out! It could’ve gone another way too. He could’ve broken up with me and left me feeling more empty and desperate for love than before.

That whole story takes place while we are both attending church and pursuing God. We both experienced alot of guilt. I just kept telling myself that we were going to get married and make things right. I was just your average good church girl, from a good God-fearing family. My friends and I were very likely all going through the same struggles, but trying to keep our sins secret. I buried all my insecurities and hid them from my family, they wouldn’t have known I was in danger of making those choices. I think as mature adults it's so important to talk about the temptations and insecurities we’ve gone through instead of being ashamed of our sins and somehow hoping the next generation will do better than we did. I think if we bring things to light it would give us the opportunity to talk about this subject or at the very least allow for the grace of God. I think christians are the only people left on the planet who think that sex is private! No, I don’t want to know all the gross details of your personal life, but for goodness sake! us married adults have been there and obviously the teens we know want to have sex or are doing it already and the only way to make it all right is to shine light on it and drag this ugly shameful thing up out of the basement!

Big Dreamer, Big Planner...Failure

I’m a planner, a big dreamer, man I’ve got visions!! But that’s really all I’ve got. I’m thrilled by the planning, mapping, scheduling, but the follow through is where it ends. I rarely ever follow through with anything. Cleaning plans for my house, school plans for my future, business plans, hobbies, household budgets, plans for daily prayer and devotions, fasting, exercise...I’ve never followed through on any of those things. I’ve come to realize that I love the high of planning and the low of failure. When I have succeeded in accomplishing anything I either never meet my expectations or someone is still disappointed with me. If I can’t succeed then I may as well fail, because success takes work and no one wants to invest only to be disappointed. I’m sure you can see that my thinking is askew and like the faithful Daddy he is, God wasn’t going to leave me this way forever.

I’ve prayed about my lack of desire to clean my house and etc.. desperately, I thought! But it came down to timing for one, and a real honest look at myself and my motives. Then confessing them, and repenting for them. That opened the door for truth and revelation.
God said, “Don’t make a list, don’t make a plan. Everyday choose to do what’s right. AND not for the praise of anyone, do it for Jesus alone!”

This timely revelation came two nights before I was going to attempt a Daniel fast. (By talking about it I hope this doesn’t break the rules for fasting. I just think it’s applicable to this topic.) Normally it’s scary for me to attempt any sort of committed discipline. Yes, I have to have “21 days” in mind, but God is teaching my big dreamer, plan down to the last detail brain, to take things one choice at a time. Each choice has a right or wrong, and right in the moment I choose. If I was thinking about a fast before, I would’ve taken every detail to the extreme, I would’ve overwhelmed myself and quit before I started or failed on the first day and been miserable with guilt an failure.

Usually when I wake up in the morning my first thought is of coffee. The first morning of my fast, my first thought was a line from a song, “God I look to you. I won’t be overwhelmed. Give me vision to see things like you do”. God is gracious! He knows how addicted to coffee I am and how intimidating it is for me to commit a length of time to not drinking it. Every time I walk by the Keurig I choose, “no”. Every overwhelming craving, I choose, “no”, every Tim Horton’s drive thru I choose, “no”. One right choice at a time. I won’t be overwhelmed!

If you’ve been struggling to give something up or to begin something. Start by examining your motives, confess and repent and begin by making one right choice at a time. If you fail you’ve only failed at one choice, when the next choice comes choose again.

I just felt the need to TESTIFY!

The Facade

At a first glance you’d think I had it all together; nicely dressed, hair and make-up meticulous, kids well behaved, husband and I sit holding hands. You think you want my life. You ask how I am. I smile, “oh good!” I say. But I’m not good today and I desperately wish someone would see past the facade.
I wish you would...
and yet I hope you don’t.
Then you’d know
I’m weak
I struggle
I lose hope sometimes

We say, “Let’s do life together”, let’s be the Acts church with everything in common; a family, a community. I agree as long as it’s me helping you. I have grace for your struggles. But me?
I’d rather be digging in this pit...
until I reach despair.
Despair...
It’s not the only thing lurking in the darkness. There’s self-pity, resentment that friends and family can’t use their magic to discern my needs. The pride here is a suffocating mask called Humility.
It’s cold
dark
silent
Then I meet others.

There are real people down here. I didn’t see them at first. Their eyes are dark and empty, my eyes still glow with the light of God even in this pit I’ve dug. I’ve unearthed these real people in my digging. They’ve become part of the mud, with no hope of resurfacing until now.

And I think,

In this pit of vacant eyes
how could I, this child of light
be here amongst you?
The living among the dead.

No matter my pain and despair I have hope, they don’t. I have living water, they are eternally thirsty and let me tell, you there’s no water down here. No matter what hard times I face on earth I have eternal heaven ahead, they have eternal hell...starting now!

The voice of God breaks through.
“I died for this!”
I let Christ’s death and resurrection rise up in me. My flesh cries out painfully. Self-pity, resentment, pride...
“Pride? I don’t want to give up pride, then they’ll all see”, I whine.
“See what? That I am the joy and strength of your life? That you can’t live without me?”, Truth speaks.
Yes, I even let go of pride.

And what about the others in the pit? I’m bringing them to the surface with me, many as possible!

And you? I’m sorry I lied. I’m sorry I didn’t let you help me.

How am I doing?
Not good. Not today.

Peanutbutter and Jam Communion

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:3

My grandma is an artist. She has the ability to take very little and out of it flows abundant hospitality. Even back to the days when my grandma would walk down the stairs in the morning asking God if she could just have a roll of toilet paper, maybe a little jam, maybe some beans so she could make a soup. (He always miraculously filled her grocery lists) Back to the days when she served her family head cheese and possum; my grandparents door was always open. My grandpa would frequently invite guests over to fellowship. My grandma would toast up some bread and open a can of sardines to make sandwiches, then she'd take a little flour, a little oil, a little jam and make up some squares. Together all would partake, there would be prayer and singing, and the unifying of heart and mind. It didn't take a lot of money, it just took generosity.

"And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 2 Corinth. 8:1-5

Even in our varying degrees of perceived poverty, we need to break through with generosity. These people pleaded to be able to give. They gave generously and with overflowing joy. These people knew what it was like not to pay the bills, they knew what hunger and nakedness felt like. They found it in themselves to be joyful. That is kingdom thinking. When you should be crushed under the stress of money and possessing, the Spirit of God rises up in you to be generous.

Don't hide behind closed doors worrying about keeping up with the Jone's, they've got their own issues to deal with. I've got the peanutbutter, you bring the jam, let's get together!

Freedom Come Running

I have these thoughts of freedom running through my brain
Up and down the corridors rattling the chains
Things I thought I knew filled with mystery again
Wonderment and awe loosening these bands

I've longed for my childhood days You seemed so big, I was secure
Before my adult thoughts came rushing in to taint the pure
My passionate youth was filled with intense love that was so sure
For the One who loved me first...they said I didn't know who You were

The lies that planted seed grew up like vines, became my chains
Here I am mature, my passion almost tamed
Yet Freedom has come running with fire in it's hands
I lift my arms to heaven and am consumed once again

Love the Way You Lie...That's what she said (The Remix)

I’m the type of person who listens to a song and can’t hear anything but the lyrics. If I agree with the lyrics I’ll enjoy the music.
I’ve heard Brian Beattie say something to the effect of , “We are a generation who knows what their words are worth”. The bible says that words bring life or death. We’ve all felt the heartache of harsh words and the pleasure of kind words.
I just saw the movie “Inception”in the theatre. The idea is that a company was hired to plant an idea into someone’s dream and have the idea become their own to live out in reality. You don’t have to enter someone’s dreams to plant an idea in their head. From the time my children were young I’ve told them that God is the creator of all things, that he loved us so much and even though we didn’t deserve it he sent Jesus to die for us, that he lives in their hearts, He hears their prayers and will answer them and that his words are the ultimate truth. I’ve told them that I love them, that God has a plan for them, that they are valuable and they should guard themselves. After all that is said I try to be a good example and expect them to live according to the words they’ve been taught. They have not yet learned that the secular world preaches a message contrary to everything I’ve just told them...and that people behave accordingly.
If you asked my girls a question about their value as a person or about their God, they would answer you with the ideas I have planted and their own growing relationship with God. The Word says, “Above all guard you heart for it is the wellsping of life.” And “Out of the overflow of our heart our mouth speaks”. It is so important to guard what we know to be true and teach our children to do the same. Either words have worth or they don’t. Either they bring life or death or they don’t. I believe that words are weighty. They become ideas that shape our lives and our actions! We can’t plant bad seed and hope for a crop failure. You can’t listen to crap and hope a daisy pops out. Crap is crap and daisies are daisies.
Think of the songs you've been listening to lately. What if I started singing those songs to my girls. What kind of things, would they start to believe about God , themselves and others?
I’m not rising up “against” secular music, what I’m trying to say is that I am “for” truth and I am “for” guarding ourselves from the ideas of the music that goes against the truth; these ideas that go on to shape our thoughts and then our actions, our belief system. We are a generation who knows what words are worth. The media gets it, they know what their words are worth. You need to know what your words are worth and speak the truth, but don’t just speak it, live and breath it.