Taste of Home

The smell, taste, feel, and texture of a peach remind me of home. I ate one this morning, and the fuzzy skin on my lips brought tears to my eyes. In fact, I tell everyone that even the peaches and cream shake from Chick-Fil-A is Rosebloom in a cup. Everytime I cut open a watermelon too, the smell taste me back to childhood, and I can instantly feel a box fan blowing warm air on my legs. Something about those 2 smells makes me homesick for Mississippi in the summer. Summertime is the hardest. Sometimes I get so homesick, I feel physically ill.

But when I start to think about it, I don't really miss home so much. Things have changed, and I know it. What I really miss...are those days gone by. It's easy to start to get homesick when I think of how easy and innocent life used to be. Before illnesses...before I knew about conflict...before I realized that we are in a world at war. Those days are gone, and I'll never get them back. The memories are forever though, and I pray they never fade.

It's a big pill for me to swallow...knowing that things will never be the same again. But I have to be able to walk the walk that I've been preaching for months to my people. Isaiah 43 speaks of the "new thing." The children of Israel had been redeemed from slavery in Egypt, but now they were in exile. God allows them to remember all that He has done for them and the wonderful ways that He had provided for them. And now in 43:18-19 he says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  In other words, "this is nothing compared to what I am going to do."

My childhood was wonderful, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I enjoyed growing up, and now that I'm an adult, I appreciate all of the life lessons learned the hard way. I love that I was taught to work hard for everything that we have and to be independent and productive and to contribute to the Kingdom of God. But too many times, people look at their past a little too longingly. It's like walking forward while looking behind you.  You miss what's ahead!

I can appreciate the past, but I can also look forward to the future with confidence because God is doing a "new thing." I don't know what it is, yet, but I'm excited to see.

Dining Out

Proverbs 23:1-3 “While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat.; don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you.” NLT

After a few weeks of healthy living, the point came where my family was going to have to go out to eat. I had avoided this at all costs so far, because the thought of not being able to totally control my food selection was scary to me. And what was more, I wasn’t even able to control where we were going. My good friend’s birthday was today, and she had invited our family to her party at a local steakhouse. I thought to myself, well, they have salads...I can just order a salad. So to the steakhouse we went. The only problem..they didn’t have any meal salads...only small side ones. I ended up eating a bowl of lettuce and tomatoes with no dressing because there was no fat-free ranch! I felt like everyone was staring at me, thinking I had taken this whole weight loss thing to the extreme. I was certain they were planning my intervention right then and there. After we got home, I was able to eat a little more, meeting my nutritional needs of the day. But I was frustrated and wondered if my family would ever be able to eat out ever again. If I had just spent time doing a little research, I could’ve avoided the problem and had a much better time.

Our wise proverb today speaks of dining in unfamiliar territory. While this Scripture probably is referring to a young man’s manners and test of self-control, this truth still applies when trying to live a healthy life. We must pay attention to what is served to us. We are not always going to be able to control the things that we eat, especially in today’s society. Just because something “looks” healthy, doesn’t mean it is. Condiments, sauces, and oils hide tons of calories/fat that we would otherwise not even notice. Birthday parties, family celebrations, holidays, church potlucks, and work luncheons serve to put a dent in our well-planned food choices. But we can still be faithful to eating healthy, even in all of those situations. 

The main thing that helps me stay on track is paying attention to restaurants’ nutritional information. More and more restaurants are posting their calories/fat/protein calculations on their menus/menu boards. Also, more restaurants realize that more people have dietary restrictions, therefore, they are attempting to meet the demand by adding more healthy options. My best advice, to be totally prepared is to try to view the entire nutritional information online before you even go to the restaurant. Have your order in mind before you go, so as to better fight temptation once you arrive and the aroma hits.  

Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask for substitutions. I am a people-pleaser, and I hate to inconvenience people. I hate to ask servers to specialize my meal, and I hate even worse, sending an order back. But I’ve learned to do it. Substituting that baked potato for grilled vegetables, or simply taking the processed cheese off of my chicken tacos has saved a TON of calories, simply by asking. Restaurants customize meals all the time...why not do it for you too?

Thirdly, my family avoids fast-food altogether...unless it’s Taco Bueno or Chick-fil-A. Fast food typically is calorie/fat laden, and the sodium content is out of the roof! Taco Bueno and Chick-Fil-A have healthy options that our whole family enjoys, and they don’t break the bank!

The best advice I can give someone is to simply eat at home. It’s cheaper, it’s honestly faster, and you know exactly what you are putting in your body. When you find yourself in a situation where you have to dine out, put some time in first doing a little research. It will pay off!

Encouragement for Today 

Proverbs 17:1 “Better a dry crust eaten in peace than a house filled with feasting--and conflict.” NLT

1 Corinthians 8:8 “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do.” NLT