Food and Grace.

I know I've mentioned food and nutrition several times....and it currently consumes a good portion of my time and energy (which again, I have a LOT of).  Yet, I want to throw out a huge, bbiiiiiig disclaimer.  It's just food.  Sure, I am learning and believe that we can use certain foods/combinations of foods to heal our bodies and restore health, but it's just f.o.o.d.

What I mean is this:  what we eat and don't eat/how we eat is not a matter of salvation.  Let me say that loud and clear:  FOOD IS NOT A MATTER OF SALVATION.  Do I believe that our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual state and discipline are all connected and affect each other?  Yup - so how we eat can/does affect other areas of our life... but food in and of itself does not determine whether you dine on shrimp in hell or manna in heaven.  I hope I have made that perfectly clear.

See, it's easy to grasp at something when you see so much good in it....so much goodness to be obtained from it.  I am personally experiencing the positive effects of a different 'diet' and am so excited to share this with others...., but it is not my life theme or my mission to change people's eating habits.  And that is a tough balance to maintain.  But when we grasp at something other than God and His Goodness for us, we let it rule us.  We become slaves to it.  We begin to worship it.  Slowly.  Sometimes without even realizing it.  Whatever your 'it' may be.  It's easy to become legalistic about what I eat.  Afterall, I'm trying to fight cancer!  But I have found grace in cancer and wouldn't I be an utter fool to then fall slave to my food that I'm using to fight it?  That was a mouthful, but I hope that makes sense.  (I just reread that to see if it makes sense. :)).

And grace in cancer?  Yup.  It's sometimes hard to say, but I'm reminded of it daily.  Because the harsh reality is that we are all dying.... every day from our birth we get one day closer to our last day. And we have so many distractions to keep us from thinking about that fact that we truly have limited days here on earth and we don't know when that last day will be.  I've let my attitude, frustrations and quick temperedness reflect my belief that I take the day for granted.  But Cancer Grace (CG?), makes me constantly reevaluate how I treat others...especially those closest to me (because aren't the ones closest to us the ones who normally take the brunt of our yuckiness?).

So, yes, CG.  Cancer Grace.  I have been given this incredible opportunity of grace...and to then fall slave to food would be such a disgrace.  It would be like taking this gift from God and tossing it over my shoulder absentmindedly into a mud pit.

So, that was a long disclaimer, but I felt convicted to make that clear.  As clear as I can.

And with that out of the way, I am learning more and more about food and nutrition everyday...to heal and protect our bodies from the inside out...to minimize the need for intervention with conventional drugs/surgeries...or to work in conjunction with and enhance the efficacy of drugs/surgery.

But like I mentioned before:  my job is not to change anyone.  Whew.  Just saying that takes a load off!  It's what my fear in pursuing food/nutrition/medicine is linked to.  That I won't be effective.  But I heard someone quote Andy Stanley in saying that our job isn't to change others...we just merely need to pour out what we have into others.  That's all.  That's all I have to do.  Instead of grasping at 'good' things and letting fear be my strategy, I just need to pour out what I have.

I read these lyrics from a hymn:  Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul.  The elegant simplicity of that hit me.  Heave Came Down (to us).  and Glory Filled My Soul.  The next logical step is to pour out that Glory into others.  As Larry Crabb stated in a devotional, when we give up grasping for things (even good things), we begin to see how we can give and truly live.  

So sit back and relax....when I tout more cool 'food' stuff, know that I don't consider it a marker of how 'good' you are.  No pressure folks.  I have just been handed this gift into discovering some really cool things about the science behind food and nutrition and I'm just excited to share.  That's all.  To God and only God be all Glory.  Through my good and for His Glory.  Because He is crazy Good like that.

Happy Friday y'all!  

And here's a pic for a dose of humor.... because apparently my 'girls' will set off the scanners while we travel this weekend...too bad I don't have this shirt yet!  :)