What does your 100% look like?





While walking last week with Julie and Joanna, Julie asked me to define what exactly it means 'to go 100%'; I did not have a good answer for her.  I have been praying about it and have not come up with a clear cut guideline.  It is complex because everyone is different, has different likes and dislikes, different ways to approach life (creative/analytical, serious/carefree, slow-paced/fast-paced, etc., etc.), and even different nutritional needs.  Different foods are available depending upon where you live and they change with each season and even year to year.  Think of the many different types of food cultures throughout the world:  Italian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Indian, etc.  Each one of these native, real food cuisines is healthy but vastly different.  Serious chronic health problems related to food were reserved for the indulgent 'royal' class in the past or to starvation due to things like droughts.  Only within the past hundred years or so, starting here in the United States, have we created the technology to develop the 'white man's diet' (the name coined by many) of processed foods, that is slowly destroying the health of our nation and those it touches around the world.

While contemplating how to answer, I received an email from Joanna.  She had also been contemplating Julie's question and shared some great insight into what this means to her, and how hers is different from mine.  I have and will continue to give you lots of information and I encourage you to read through it all because I do not think you can be successful in ignorance.  However, your approach to 'going 100%' may be the same as mine, but it may be quite different.  That is o.k.  In fact, that is great.  I love the diversity of people; the many talents and gifts that God has blessed us each with.  I encourage you to read Joanna's thoughts it if you are struggling with the weekly challenges and all the information (that you see as rules) that I have been giving you.

 

What is important to each person's success then?  I think the following three things are key, that:

1.  You enjoy what you are eating

2.  You view your food as a blessing, not a sacrifice

3.  You seek to glorify God in all you do, including eating, filled with thanksgiving and joy

Use the information I have provided and customize it to make it work for you.  Don't look at the information as rules but just as information to use to know what 'junk' food is. The one key rule is that you must eliminate processed or man-made foods but there are no other restrictions.  Enjoy the foods you like, prepare simple or elaborate meals, eat different foods every day or repeat your meals.  Do what works for you.  If you don't know what success looks like for you, ask God.  He wants to help you, He wants you to succeed, but He also wants you to acknowledge Him and ask for His help.  Don't walk alone on this journey, seek God and walk this path joyfully with Him. 

"The LORD looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. "  Psalm 14:2

Thank You Again



 

For years, my guys have been asking me to write out my recipes so they could follow them.  I have hundreds of recipes all marked up in books, in recipe binders I have started, on recipe cards, and in piles of papers.  Worse, there are little notes and marks all over each recipe, as I adjust and tweak the recipe. 

So I decided last fall that this year I would work on getting my recipes organized.  Not sure why I was putting off getting started - guess I needed a few months to think about starting!  Of course, knowing myself, when I did finally start, I would do a couple and then 'think' about working on more for years to come.  Doubtful that it would ever happen, I did something I usually don't do for a project like this;  I prayed to God that He would help me accomplish my goal. 

 

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."  Ephesians 3:20

Six months into this year, I realize I have definitely been blessed more infinitely than I had asked in this area.  Wow.  I humbly thank God and you for your interest in my recipes.

 

When Julie and Kris asked if I would teach classes again this year, I was not thinking about my recipe project.  Of course, I was also not thinking about doing a blog or that a blog might be the means to document my recipes. 

 

Jennifer has asked years ago if I would start a blog, so I emailed her to see if she was interested in setting up one for me and showing me how it worked.  I envisioned the blog as a means to tell you what was on sale at Whole Foods or what new organic produce that I had found at Costco.  I had no idea what I would put on the blog, but it sounded like a good idea.  Little did I know that Jenn would set it all up for me and do so much more, like setting up and managing a Facebook page to further support those of this journey. 

I still did not link teaching classes again and doing a blog with my prayer of getting my recipes organized.  (Sometimes I am very slow to realize what is happening!) 

 

Last December, I began my planning for the classes with Kris and Julie.  Wanting to change their diets, Kris and Julie began asking me for various recipes, so I started posting some.  They asked for more, so I posted more.  Then others started asking, so I posted still more.  With recipes posted, instead of rummaging through my recipes to find one, I started coming to the blog's recipe box, and following the recipe straight from the blog since I have a computer at a desk in my kitchen.  

And then it happened. 

 

I went to get a recipe and it wasn't on the blog!  So I started searching for it, trying to remember if it was in a book or on a paper or on a recipe card or in one of my binders.  Fifteen minutes later, I found it.  So, so very frustrating.  Then it hit me - I was being blessed by this blog.  God had answered my prayer!  I am documenting my recipes for my guys, I am accomplishing my goal that I prayed about, but I am being blessed beyond measure by it too.  Meals are prepared much more quickly when I don't spend time searching for a recipe - what great motivation and inspiration.  I am amazed.  This is infinitely more useful for my family than I had asked or thought.

I hope you are also using the recipes and that cooking from scratch using all natural ingredients is becoming easier and more routine for you.  May you be blessed and inspired by access to simple, easy, delicious recipes too.  Thank you.

 

"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 2 Corinthians 9:8

Thank You



I am reading a book called, One Thousand Gifts, and last night while making dinner, I realized how blessed I am by this blog.  So I wanted to say 'Thank you' today.

 

Thank you for your encouragement and support.  Thank you for all the money we have saved this year not eating out. Thank you for helping me to see that the quality of the foods available and the taste is so inferior that I have lost the desire to eat out.  Thank you for all the new recipe ideas, like the refreshing strawberry lemonade and chocolate pudding (both which we will be sampling at class Tuesday night).  Thank you for my improved diet this year as I do the weekly challenges too.  Thank you for my motivation to go out almost daily to snip some fresh herbs for a meal.  Thank you for sharing your stories of success, for letting me know how you are seeing improvements in chronic health issues and how you feel.  One thousand gifts... as I see them all I am having fun and I am filled with joy!

 

I hope you are having fun too!!!  My prayer for you today is that you will not see changing your diet from man-made foods to God-made foods as a negative endeavor is which you have to give up everything you love but as a positive experience in which you get to enjoy so many excellent, delicious foods.  I hope you can give thanks and gain the joy too.  And I hope with the joy that you will have more strength and conviction to avoid the man-made foods that are so prevalent, especially the sugar, cheap fats, and cheap salt.

 

"And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold." Nehemiah 8:10

 

In the book, One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp talks about finding joy and see God's glory because we have all received one grace after another.  Recognize the grace upon grace, the gift heaped upon gift that you are receiving, and grab the joy.  Thank you for the gifts you have given me, and the joy I have received from them.

 

"For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift."  John 1:16 AMP

 

My prayer is that you may see the grace upon grace, gift upon gift God is offering to you.

 

Many blessings,

 

Mary

Stop the Cycle Today

Processed food is bad for our health and the food industry knows this.  I hope you realize this after the last two posts, Black and White, and Jenn's Update.  Though you may now agree that what you eat does affect your health, you may not understand the level of marketing ploys and politics, with full knowledge that the foods are not healthy, that are behind the processed foods you are buying.

In God's perfect timing, an article just came out about a new book done by an investigative reporter about processed foods.  Please read it; it is an excellent article.  While all that he says in the article about processed foods is very true and perhaps alarming for some of you, unfortunately I think his solution to the problem is wrong. 

He stated that scientists need to create healthy processed foods.  I do not think this is possible and why would this even be suggested.  Why not go back to a diet of foods that God created for us to eat?  Of course, the 'why not', is that lots of money is at stake in the processed food industry.  Creating new 'healthy' processed foods will bring them more money; going back to ways to bring real food to the market would be devastating to this huge industry.

Going back to eating the foods created by God, going 100%, is the solution to the problem.  Michael Moss states in the article, "Very few of us can avoid processed foods all together. Our lives will not allow it. I'm certainly in that category."  How very sad for him and his family that after all his research that he did not find the answer to the problem.  I thank God that He has shown me and now Jennifer that answer.  I pray that God shows you and helps you implement His perfect food plan, eating His foods rather than man-made processed foods.  It is doable for everyone.

Read the article, become informed, join the weekly challenges, and make a commitment today to stop the cycle of poor health and obesity for you and your family.

May God bless your efforts richly,

Mary

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.  I will bring health and healing to it:  I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security."  Jeremiah 33: 3, 6

Black and White, or Shades of Gray

 

 

 

Sorry if you received this yesterday - I accidentally hit publish instead of save.  This is a very important topic and so misunderstood.  A healing diet of God-made foods does not include processed foods, be sure to look carefully over the list of foods/ingredients to eliminate from your diet. 

This is what I wrote yesterday:

 

"How much can you cheat?  Do you have to eat all God-made foods or perhaps you can eat half God-made foods and half man-made foods?  Or maybe 80% good quality with 20% junk food would be o.k.?  I know this is something that I have struggled with and that many of you are struggling with.

 

You may think that getting to 80% good quality foods would be a tremendous success, and it would be!  But I also know, that those whom I’ve helped that have achieved their food/health goals are those who take it very seriously and go all the way.  I hope you know by now that eating 100% God-made foods is not a restrictive diet plan of bland and boring foods.  You can eat just about anything, and almost all favorite recipes can be converted.  Enjoy cookies and brownies and banana bread (right, Jennifer?).  As your taste buds are reawakened, you can truly enjoy and savor delicious meals.  It can be fun fixing the food and fun eating home cooked meals with your family and friends.

 

People like shades of gray, but I think our diet choices need to be black and white.  I hope that you do not think this is my diet plan, but instead see this as God’s diet plan, which He has set up for man to be healthy.  It has worked for me and for so many others that I know.

 

Some feel this approach and the weekly challenges are legalistic.  So many rules to follow and learn.  Education is not legalistic though.  If our food supply had not been so contaminated and made toxic by man, we could buy anything at the grocery store and be fine.  I think deep within each of us, we know that real food, grown in a natural, healthy setting is what our bodies need (as opposed to factory farming of today).

 

The purpose of the weekly challenges is to reteach you how to eat and feed your family.  It is an easy way to guide you through this year to eating 100% real God-made foods and ingredients.  Whether you have chronic or serious disease, you are overweight, or you have no energy and your brain is in a fog (ADD), eliminating man-made toxins from your diet is the only answer.  Man-made drugs and surgeries only further pollute your body and weaken your immunity, creating more problems and requiring more medication and treatments.

 

This may be a new concept that you cannot fully embrace and thus you find overwhelming (one that is difficult to embrace because of the addictive properties of man-made ingredients that are added to foods to make you think you must have them!).  That is why it is so important to do the weekly challenges, not just think about them or think you mostly do them, but to actually do them.

 

I have been doing a Beth Moore study of the book of James.  Its main point is that you can’t just read God’s book, the Bible, but that you must live it.  And many of Jame's instructions are very black and white, no shades of gray.  James 1:27 says to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  There are numerous ways we can be polluted by the depravity of the world.  Many things of the world we would all agree are immoral and unacceptable and thus are very obvious as sins and avoided or done in secret.  But what about our foods?

 

Satan is very tricky, the master of lies and deception.  People eat junk food daily (or processed man-made addictive ‘fake’ foods), junk food is openly sold all around us, soda is easier to obtain than good quality water, cheap pizza and cheap burgers are right down the street for almost everyone, and no one thinks anything of indulging and over-indulging in these."

 

To finish my post from yesterday, please read on.

We live in the post postmodernism era, in which it is taught that there is no universal truth - that each person can choose their own truth, can choose what is right for them.  Though you may realize this is bogus, this deception may be influencing you more than you realize.  These deceptive shades of gray have infiltrated our diets. 

The problem is that there are consequences to eating cheap quality foods.  A person may choose not to believe this, as Americans have done, but just look at the health of the general population.  People, subconsciously, are buying what is available and listening to the 'experts' of the world without questioning what it is doing to their health.  I hope through my posts that God is beginning to open your eyes to the truth.  The quality of the foods you eat is CRITICAL to your health.  PARAMOUNT. 

 

When you stay in the shades of gray, eating some good, some junk, your body must continue to work on cleansing out the junk that you continually eat.  It thus never builds up enough energy to heal and rejuvenate, to cleanse and burn off that unwanted weight.  When you eat all natural real foods, your body will get to a point that it can start to function the way God made it to work and you will heal from your chronic 'issues', reach your correct weight, and gain the energy and vitality and good health that is possible for all of us.

 

Don't let the master of deception tell you this is impossible, don't be overwhelmed, don't let your perspective be led by lies and discouragement.  God's way is to choose joy, and thanksgiving, and to think about whatever is pure and good and right.  ENJOY eating fresh fruits and vegetables and nuts and seeds.  APPRECIATE the wonderful smells of cooking with spices and herbs and garlic and ginger.  SAVOR the flavor of healthy meats, homemade stews and soups.  LAUGH with your family while eating together.

 

Have fun changing your eating patterns.  Look forward to the excitement and thrill of this new journey.  Try new things and love the process.  I still love the quest - yesterday morning we had fresh organic papaya (on sale and demo'ed last week at Whole Foods)  and fresh organic blueberries (at Costco).  This is the first time in my life that I have bought a papaya.  It cuts up a lot like a cantaloupe (though I am no expert).  Be adventuresome and smile with joy, because God loves you and wants to bless you above and beyond for your obedience.

 

 



 



 "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

 

Speak Victory - No Shame or Guilt

Talking with people and reading some things last week has made me aware of a huge issue that I would like to address. 

First, when people think about eating 'Foods Created by God', they think this means they are going to have to 'eat healthy' which carries a negative connotation is our society.  Eating 'Foods Created by God' will give you energy, vitality, and good health, so it is true that this is a healthy eating plan.  However, I think many also equate eating healthy with having to sacrifice 'good' food, having to give up the foods they love, and having to eat boring foods that don't taste very good.  This is not true.  This is a lie that Satan has created and it is so untrue.

Second, I think many people who are eating a typical American diet are in a constant battle.  Those who are overweight feel they lack willpower and are constantly struggling with food issues because they aren't capable of controlling themselves.  People who are always sick feel they are unlucky and not as good as others.  People who lack energy feel they are lazy.  People addicted to foods  feel they have no self-discipline.  I could go on and on. 

If any of these thoughts represent how you think, know that you are not alone.  Also know that you will probably not succeed because you are begrudgingly participating rather than rejoicing about your new knowledge and freedom.   If you are attempting to change from the typical American diet to a diet of foods by God, it is very important how you view what you are doing.

Concerning the first point above, celebrate the fact that you can eliminate the tasteless, addictive man-made foods from your diet and that you can enjoy the delicious choice foods God has given us!  I love food.  I eat lots of food. I enjoy three home-cooked meals a day.  I love having tasty foods that satisfy me, that fill me up while maintaining my correct weight, and that provide the nutrients I need to maintain good health.  I praise God for His perfect plans and His perfect foods.  I hope you can embrace this viewpoint too and become free in your eating. 

Concerning the second point,  God loves you just the way you are and He is saddened when we give in to Satan's lies.  If you are overweight or have health issues and feel you have no self-control or willpower, please know that man-made foods are designed to make you want them, to make you crave them.  Do not feel ashamed or guilty!  The typical American foods that fill our grocery store shelves and are available on every street corner are not designed with your health in mind.  The old Lay's commercial, "you can't eat just one", is very true.  Cheap fats and salts, processed sugar in all its forms, and food additives are so addictive.  It is not about your failure to control your eating, but about the very subtle, deceptive power of the foods created by man that do not satisfy your hunger, that have little nutritional value, that make you crave more, and that load your body with empty calories and toxins.  It is a vicious cycle.

Please break these negative, condemning thought patterns right now!  Our words and thoughts have the power to bless or curse.  They speak life or death into a situation.  "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21  Choose the fruit of life.

The power of life comes from joy in the Lord.  This is our strength.  "Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10.  Savor the excellent, tasty foods from God that you will be eating with joy!

Overcoming the addictive power of man-made foods will not be easy, but you can win this battle with the right attitude.  Pray for God's help and then speak victory into your situation.  Praise God for the wonderful, delicious foods that He has given us and ask Him to help you learn how to enjoy these foods.

To succeed you do have to make changes.  Take baby steps with me each week following the weekly challenges, making simple, small daily changes.  Don't just think about doing the challenges, but start now and do them.  Faithfully do them each day.  They are simple things.  Soon these changes will become routine for you and you will reap the benefits.  It doesn't matter where you are starting, everyone can be victorious.  Speak victory today and thank God for the wonderful foods He provides.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31