Author: teachwhatisgood

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them they are more than the sand.

Psalm 139:17-18a

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;    
for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,
delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,
Proverbs 2:1-12

On May 13th, my oldest daughter graduated from community college and the next day, my oldest son graduated from homeschool high school.  What a very, very blessed weekend.

Now that our summer break is in full swing, I’ve been giving lots of thought to my own “time management” – as well as my children’s time management.

Simultaneously, I’ve been spending time preparing to lead a small group of ladies in a weekly summer “Bible study 101” group.  Interestingly, I came across this note scribbled in a margin: “Time Management = Me Management.”

On top of that, this week we will begin memorizing 1 Timothy 4:7b-8, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

And it came to me – Father, let me not get so consumed with eating nutritiously, exercising my physical body, and abstaining from sinful desires, that I miss out on seeking first the Kingdom of God.  He is my greatest treasure and I am His workmanship.

May we all keep our eyes focused on Him, exercising self-discipline, that we would live in daily devotion to His will.  And this summer, instead of using my extra free time to stay up late, sleep in late and relax by the pool (though there will be some of that!), I pray that I would use it to spend time growing in my own walk with the Lord, and loving well those God gives me.

By His Grace,

TWIG

In case, I’ve piqued your interest for joining this journey, I’ll share with you a few of my favorite things and some of my shopping list.  I made this to share with some local friends who will be joining me on a journey to eat food that is nutritious, as well as yummy.  I confess that some of my purchases are NOT “Whole30” approved.  I have chosen to deviate a little in order to afford a healthier lifestyle which sometimes means it’s not grass fed, or organic, or that it does have some kind of preservative.

At Costco I buy

• PRODUCE  apples, fresh clementine or mandarin oranges, avocados, bananas, kale, carrots, Brussel sprouts, mushrooms, zucchini (if they have it),
• MEAT  ground beef, beef roast, pork tenderloin, chicken, sausages – any kind – in the meat area not the frozen area,
• IN THE FREEZER-FRIDGE AREA  bacon, frozen broccoli, frozen berries, eggs
• IN THE CANS AREA  olive oil, coconut oil, unsweetened applesauce in big bottles, almonds, garlic stuffed olives, canned tomatoes, canned green beans

At Kroger or Walmart I buy

• PRODUCE Organic Lettuce, celery, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, cauliflower (try grating it and cooking it in a skillet – look up cauliflower RICE)
• REFRIGERATED AREA   Califia farms toasted coconut almond milk,
• IN THE REST OF THE STORE coconut almond milk in a box (it’s cheaper but doesn’t taste quite as good as Califia farms), Barney Bare almond butter, Herdez jarred salsa (mild and medium), sauerkraut

At Aldi I buy nuts, carrots, bananas, dried fruit (Warning – probably has sugar in it)

Try rotating what you buy so it doesn’t spoil or you don’t spend too much. So like, one week I stock up on beef and apples, next week I stock up on chicken and oranges, and the next week I buy pork tenderloin and Brussel sprouts & carrots. Then, each week, I freeze what I don’t use that week for the future meals.

I make my own meatballs and individual meat loaves in bulk and pop them in the freezer

La Choy soy sauce is gluten free always, but Kikkoman has gluten in it, so we buy LaChoy. I’m not sure if you can have it at all during Whole30, but we did.

I buy Ghee (clarified butter) at a local Indian grocery

I love Mural of Flavor seasoning from Penzeys spices and White Cranberry Peach vinegar from a local oil shop.

For a sweet treat try a Smoothie made from a frozen banana + frozen blueberries + almond milk.

I couldn’t bear to drink black coffee, so I found that I really liked unsweetened peach or chamomile tea.  Plus, I drank Teeccino with coconut almond milk, and little cans of Izze Sparkling Juice.  And lots of water, with or without lemon.

For an afternoon snack try an apple or celery with almond butter + dried cranberries

Try zucchini noodles.

Try cauliflower rice.

Try making bone broth from leftover chicken carcasses.

I noticed when I started that I was really not feeling good after I ate. I needed more carbs with a meal so I started including fruit with my lunch and dinner. It really helped! I don’t get a sugar rush if I eat fruit with a meal and it gave me some sustaining energy.

Hard boil eggs to take with you for protein.

Try making a layered salad in a quart size mason jar. (Look online about this)

When you eat out, try grilled chicken with a salad with vinegar and oil. Or consider a meaty no-bean chili,  or a steak with grilled veggies. Subway has a yummy chopped salad that I get with grilled chicken and tons of veggies that’s pretty cheap and quick. At McAlister’s I can order a salad and chili combo.

I have discovered that this journey has largely been about breaking the hold that food has over me.  May “My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” (Psalm 63:5)

This has ministered to me on so many levels in the last week. I pray it will bless you.

On April 22, I wrote a blog post here titled “Under the Shadow of Your Wings.”  This post was spurred by these darling new chicks that we’d recently purchased, and it turned into a post giving thanks to God for caring for us as our daughter has some scary medical conditions going on.

That evening, we once again read from our Dinner Table Devotions book.  That night’s devotion’s first scripture passage was from Psalm 63 – the very Psalm I had just quoted in my blog post!  I love the Lord so much!

As though, that was not incredible enough, Psalm 63:5 reads

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.

which has become a precious verse to me as I continue to pursue being satisfied in Jesus, rather than in junk food.

May I encourage us all to flee from idolatry, from anything that tries to take Jesus’ place in our life.  There is nothing that can quench our thirst, or satisfy our hunger, like the Lord and His Word.  I fear that sometimes we’re so busy chasing after the fleeting pleasures of this life, that we have no time or energy left for Jesus.

Where to begin???  I am a story teller at heart, and I can’t tell the end of the story without telling you some of the beginning.

My husband, Bill, has had difficulties swallowing as far back as he can remember.  In fact, on our very first date, he got a piece of rice stuck in his throat!  So, when he was diagnosed with a condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE) last fall, I was not surprised.  EE is caused by an allergic response in your throat that can cause difficult swallowing amongst other things.  In researching EE, I came across many suggestions to eliminate the six most common allergens: gluten, eggs, dairy, nuts, seafood and soy.  At this point, Bill is choosing to manage his EE with allergy shots and a stomach acid reducer, but has not changed his diet.

In the midst of that, my daughter was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune condition that causes low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroid).  In researching Hashimoto’s, I saw consistent encouragement to eliminate gluten from her diet.  We quickly cut gluten from her diet, but didn’t make any other dietary changes for several months when she got the results back from an allergy sensitivity test.  That test revealed that she has sensitivities to peanuts, gluten, dairy, mushrooms and eggs (sound familiar?) and to a lesser degree a variety of other things like bananas, chia seeds, black pepper, and bay leaves.

In the background, I have always struggled with my own eating habits.  I am a foodie.  I live to eat, not eat to live.  I vacation largely as an excuse to consume large quantities of delicacies, preferably sweet and fattening.

So, this spring, when I kept seeing people posting on Facebook and Instagram about Whole30, my interest was piqued.  I went ahead and checked out a book at the library about the program called “It Starts with Food.”  One evening, I was laying on the couch, reading through the book, and feeling how IMPOSSIBLE this diet would be, when Bill said it was time to read our family devotional book, “Dinner Table Devotions.” (which we love, by the way!)  That very day, the first of March, the devotional was titled “Heart Hunger for God.”  The devotional quoted two passages of scripture, Matthew 4:2-4 and Matthew 6:17-18.

And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”  Matthew 4:2-4

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Matthew 6:17-18

Incredibly, that day’s devotional included these words,

“…while God gives food for us to enjoy and to keep us healthy, he also expects that we will sometimes choose not to eat or choose not to eat certain foods.  It’s called fasting.  Fasting is when we go without food or certain foods for a period of time, not for the purpose of losing weight but for spiritual reasons – because we want to develop our hunger for God.  We want to connect with God in an intense way by denying ourselves the comfort or distraction of food.”

I could sense in my soul that the Lord was calling me to fast and that He would use this time in a very real, spiritual way in my life to break the stronghold that food held in my life.

And thus began my Whole30 journey.

Psalm 63

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

Six months ago, my sweet daughter Noelle was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and we began seeking how to best care and treat that condition.

In the meantime, we have also been moving forward with a scheduled Nuss procedure for a congenital chest condition called Pectus Excavatum which is expected to take place sometime this summer.

Without my faith in Christ, and my firm knowledge that God is truly our good Father and loving Shepherd, I would be lost.

Jesus, by Your love and grace and watchful care, I am sustained. You carry us and care for us. We find mercy under Your loving wings and we sing for joy.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7

There is only one God. He is the Lord.

We are to love Him most. Love Him best. We are to cherish Him above all else. He is our everything.

We are to love Him with our WHOLE heart and soul and strength.

And because we love Him so dearly, with all our heart and soul and strength,  we are to keep His words on our heart, and we teach our children to love Him, too.

We will teach His Words to our children moment by moment, day by day, night by night, and year by year. Precept upon precept, we will teach them. We will teach them diligently, when we’re sitting at home, and when we’re out and about; whether we’re all alone or whether people are watching us at the grocery store.

We will teach our children to love Him, like we love Him, because He is so worthy of our love.

This is my prayer for me, and my family, and for you and yours.

At the start of 2016, I began thinking about what I’d like this new year to hold.  My mind immediately turned to all the things that I needed to do, the self-improvement projects I needed to start.

Then, the Spirit grabbed hold of my heart.

Too often, friends, I am captivated by the things I need to do MORE, rather than the things I need to do LESS.

So, this year I’d like to see:

• More praying, Less fretting
• More time used, Less time wasted
• More face time, Less Facebook
• More Jesus, Less me

“And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness–look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”” (John 3:26-30 ESV)