Holiday Eating Caution

Hello Conquerors!

Last week we celebrated the resurrection of our risen Savior! I pray that your Holy Week and Resurrection Sunday were all that you wanted and needed. We know as faithful believers that we could not have the power and glory of the Resurrection without the sorrow and pain of the Crucifixion. Jesus came to die. We thank God for this sacrifice and we are grateful that death was not the final answer. He got up with all power, might, dominion, and sovereignty in His hands. He holds the keys to hell, death, and the grave. He is alive and He lives in us! Glory to God!

As we continue on our journey to caring for our temples we must be mindful of the snares and pitfalls of holiday eating. For me staying on track with my diet becomes more difficult on holidays because food can be the center of many of our celebrations. Once I get off track after a day or two of partaking in the holiday fare, I find myself on a slippery slope of undisciplined and unplanned eating. Does this happen to you?

First we have to be aware of the issue. (OK, I just told you, were you listening?). Holiday eating can be a danger to staying on track with your new healthier lifestyle. The danger lies in the amount of food, sometimes the preparation of the food, and in the fact that we often choose to forgo exercise during the holiday.

Secondly, we have to come up with a plan to enjoy our favorite foods in moderation. Listen, I eat the foods that I like, I just don't eat as much and I try to prepare my favs in a healthier way. If I am not the chef I just keep the portions small. Try not to make a big deal out of what you can and cannot eat, being picky can take all the joy of sharing a meal together. Make the fellowship the most important part of your gathering, not food.

Thirdly, be prepared to start your healthy eating routine immediately after the holiday is over. Stock the fridge with the food you routinely eat. Prepare a healthy meal and have it ready. Skip the take home plates or as my family calls them "to go CARTS". What?! You need a cart to take the leftover food home? These yummy treats keep us off track well after the holiday is but a distant memory.

Lastly, enjoy yourself! Enjoy your time with friends and family as you celebrate, fully committing to enjoying the food you are eating without feelings of guilt, shame, or defeat. We are not defeated because we get off track. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who loves us. God wants us to live in health and abundance, not in guilt and shame.

I speak God's blessings over you, your family, your journey in Him to a healthier temple. Whatever you need, God will supply it according to His great love and abundant riches. 

Your body is the temple of the Living God! Live Well in His Name! 

From the PALACE to the PIT

A friend/colleague and I had been discussing her leaving one job for another job. I had some inside information about the job she was seeking and shared that information with her. I told her that there would certainly be some challenges associated with her moving into this new position. She said, “I am up for the challenge, I just don’t want to move from the palace to the pit”. From that statement, you can probably deduce that she has a good job. (You might be asking why she is considering leaving) The issue is she cannot move to her next career aspiration by staying in her present job. The “pit” may be the stepping stone to her future.

I started thinking about Joseph. Many of us are accustomed to hearing the story about Joseph moving from the pit to the palace (Genesis Chapters 37-39). However, what many of us may not remember from Joseph’s story was that Joseph’s life prior to being in the pit was NOT glamorous. Though he dreamed of greatness, he came from meager beginnings. He was a shepherd. He was placed in a pit, sold into slavery, lived in the palace as servant, then wrongfully imprisoned before he realized his dreams of greatness BACK to palace living as a ruler…living out his God breathed destiny. This journey for his life was not by happenstance. (Nothing ever is with God).

Many of us have never experienced this type of hardship prior to reaching our place of abundant living. Certainly some of us had (have) some difficulties in our lives. Largely though, we are richer than we have ever been. We drive nice cars, we live in fine houses, we have maids, yardmen, nannies, private schools for our children, and the like. We are college educated and have extraordinary earning potential and our children are college educated. Nonetheless, when things are going well (our palace) and God changes our position we cannot fathom how to get up and go on from that place. We find ourselves in the pit.

If we find ourselves in the pit after “palace living”, we must use this time wisely. God is preparing and equipping us for our future. He could not get us to our future best and blessed place (Kingdom living) from where we were. God wanted to do something in us and with us that could not be accomplished in our palace. The pit is a stepping stone to your greatness. We can use it to our advantage or we can just wallow around in the pit. What a waste! I have heard it said like this “time in the pit is JUST time in the pit” if we do not get everything out of it… learning all the lessons, passing all the tests, growing, and progressing. We should not spend our time wondering why God moved us. This revelation may never come or may be revealed months to years later. We do not have time to spend and waste wondering what if, what did I do wrong, what was God thinking (you get the point). The time in the pit is useful to strengthen our character, increase our faith, and deepen our love for and dependence on God.

In my conversation with my friend, I reminded her that it was in Joseph’s toughest times that he was truly blessed, experiencing the power and favor of the Lord. God used this time in the pit, in the palace, and the prison to prepare and equip him for kingdom living and ultimately for his reign as governor. Joseph remained faithful squeezing all of the lessons out of these difficult times and passing all the tests. God can and He will bless us in our struggles (in the pit). If we are going to realize our dreams of greatness, we have to reconsider how we spend and the value of those times in the pit.

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