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Eating for Energy

Christian Living, Exercise No Responses »

Jan 152012

Society funnels you to fattness. Do you hear that large sucking noise? It’s sucking you into buying cheap garbage that they spend millions to get you to buy. But in the end most of the crap is just that. Crap. And makes you feel the same.

Fast food places don’t want you healthy. Grociery stores don’t want you healthy. Giant food conglomerate corporations especially don’t care if you are healthy. It’s about turning a profit. Period.

So how do you break free of the carefully erected framework that funnels you to unhealthy food? Glad you asked.

First and foremost, you need to educate yourself on what bucket your foods fit into. There are three.

1. Health energy foods

2. Unhealthy energy foods

3. Stimulant foods

Now I’m not going to go all Food Inc. on you but for sure food in its natural form is mostly healthy and good energy foods. Whole foods, unprocessed, no preservatives, etc. Again a little education goes a long, long way. Why is it that so many foods at the grocery store are processed and contain preservatives and little energy value? They last longer during shipping and storing and of course it’s much cheaper. Knowing just this little information will help you tremendously when you go to buy healthy energy food. No I’m not against all things packaged and processed. Just take the minimalist approach!

To take a step back, why “energy food”? Well all food gives you energy but only healthy energy foods actually help you long term be healthy and give you lasting energy. Sure that snickers might give you some quick pick-up but in the end its not that helpful. Yes that bowl of white pasta is going to fill your belly but just cutting back on the portion is not the best option if you are trying to stay in shape and have energy. You need true energy food.

What is true energy food? Whole grains, protein, vegetables and fruits. If it’s white, the chances are that it is energy sucking not energy giving. The saying eat what is planted not what is made in a plant is true. The less processed the better. Organic is great but don’t break your budget. Higher protein, higher fiber. Higher whole grains. Less sugar, less fat. More greens and fruits.Yes this means you’ll have to read the ingredient labels.

Now I don’t advocate the crazy “clean” eating as some might. I’m not against it but I don’t want to spend my valuable energy (and limited budget) to get that extra 10% or so of value. There are plenty of healthy options in the store, you just have to choose them. Grow as much as you can, use organic and natural ingredients. But don’t tire yourself out and cause yourself stress over it. It’s just not the most important thing in life. Like exercise, do things that are sustainable.

Remember these rules:

protein+fiber+whole grains+Less sugar+less fat+More greens and fruits= High Energy

white breads+white pasta+processed snack foods+high sugar drinks=Low Energy

The whole point of eating is for energy. If you eat for any other reason you could be eating for the wrong reason. The point of eating is so that I have energy to do the things that I love and want to do. I don’t live to eat. Sure some foods I really do find pleasure in eating and there is nothing wrong with that. I don’t leave out ice cream and fries completely and for sure include some white breads though all in small quantities. In the end, I don’t want to be known for eating. I want to be known for what I’ve done with the energy that the food has given me.

And I think, that’s just the way God intended it.

You’ve decided for Jesus but do you treasure him?

Christian Living, Faith No Responses »

Dec 312011

There is no easy believism.

There is no say some magic words and you get God. You don’t walk down and aisle. You don’t raise your hand or stand up. These are all fire insurance solutions at best. False assurance at worst.

Yes we need to decide to love Jesus. And maybe you have decided. But it doesn’t stop there. If all you have done is decide you are for Jesus you might be missing the entire point.

Deciding and not treasuring has led many people to attempt to get their “get out of hell card” and then live a life that is pleasing only to themselves. They might have decided for Jesus at some point but they have never treasured Jesus. And deciding but not treasuring is like deciding to get married but then taking a European vacation for the next 5 years. The wedding never happens although you really did decide to get married. Only deciding for marriage and not treasuring marriage means you didn’t show up at the wedding or later are refusing to work at the marriage. Deciding is merely the first step in the marriage direction. Conversely treasuring marriage is life changing. Treasuring marriage means you live life very differently.

Treasuring Jesus is life changing too. And it most definitely means you live life differently.

So on the last night of 2011, do you treasure Jesus or have you only decided for him?

If they repent with all their mind and with all their heart

Bible Reading, Christian Living No Responses »

Dec 042011

Heart and mind. For some reason I normally think of heart and mind as New Testament terminology. I guess it seems to me that the two are connected in the New but not as much in the Old? Not sure I guess. The weird connections in my brain may not be in anyone else’s for sure. So given my New but not Old thinking, I was surprised to find this passage in I Kings chapter 8. It made me stop and take a second reading. Several in fact.

This little phrase is nestled in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the newly built temple. He prays quite eloquently and again to my surprise, gets many things right in his prayer like this phrase in verse 46: “for there is no one who does not sin” I read that and said why yes that is right! Preach it Solomon! But then I came to the part where he says “if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart“. Whoa. That phrase almost startled me. Seriously. I read it over and over and then re-read the context. The phrase is not new nor all that remarkable in and of itself. But having recently read through most of the Bible, it struck me as significant for the Old Testament. Someone more learned than me can correct me but it seemed to me the first time the mind and heart and repenting were connected.

The OT is filled with repenting and praying. From Noah to Nehemiah, praying and repenting is all over. Oh, and killing things. Pray, repent, kill things. That’s the OT formula. Or at least the one in my mind. So again that’s why Solomon’s words of repenting with all their mind and with all their heart struck me so much out of the ordinary.

So this all got me thinking more about hearts and minds and specifically thinking about David and his son Solomon. I Kings actually gives some weight to this thinking:

3:9 – Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
11:4 – For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
11:9 – And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
15:3-5 – And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
(These verses are not talking about Solomon)

So back to repenting with your mind and heart. Solomon knew about his father David finishing well. He even knew to petition God that if his people sinned but then repented that God would take them back. Solomon knew all of this. He asked God for understanding and was so wise that people far and wide knew of him. But it wasn’t Solomon’s lack of knowledge that brought him down. It was his wicked heart. He knew to repent with his mind and heart yet did not. I’m guessing he knew with his mind all along that was he was doing was wicked. But he didn’t repent.

There are about a dozen lessons in all of this. From the deceiving nature of my heart and mind, to my lack of repentance, my responsibilities as a father, the awesomeness of God’s restoration to what kind of legacy am I leaving, all weigh heavily on…you guessed it, my mind and heart.

Vain repetitions are good?

Christian Living, Kids No Responses »

Nov 142011

Vain repetitions. Yes I know the traditional thought is that we are not supposed to. And there is that scripture verse. But I’m wondering if there is a place for repetition, just not in the traditional sense.

You see, I repeat things all the time when I pray. A lot of things actually. Repetition seems to be pretty helpful for my brain and heart for me and my kids.

I repeat certain scriptures all the time to drill it in our heads. I repeat phrases to help them memorize things of God. I repeat things about Jesus so that we love saying his name worship him properly.

Is it vain repetitions? I don’t thinks so.

I think a lot about how to teach our kids well. They are always learning. Always. So I can always teach and instruct them the characteristics and love of God or I can just coast along hoping for the best.

My job 24/7 is to teach and instruct them. With prayer specifically I want to teach how to pray authentically as well as hammer home theology along with living godly lives.

And wouldn’t you know, I learn things right along side of them.

Healthy living for the rest of us

Exercise No Responses »

Nov 132011

The fitness market is huge in America yet all the stats I read indicate we are getting fatter and more unhealthy every year.

To many people, all of it is just confusing. If you listen to TV marketing, you will find all sorts of conflicting information. 5 minutes a day or 1 hour? And all the people advertising exercise products are supermodels and professional fitness gurus. Sorry, I’m not going to ever be that fit. And going to a gym is almost no better. All the “stuff” is overwhelming so where do you even start? Do I need cardio or weights? Circuit training or just “lift heavy”? Should I run miles or ride a bike? Most people are not going to be elite athletes. What should the average person do?

The reality is that the majority of people are on not going to run miles and miles (it actually might be making you fatter). Most people are not going pay for a gym membership nor are they going to have a big setup at home. Or if they do, it won’t get used much. Ever been in someone’s house and the treadmill was being used for everything but running? I have.

To top it off, most people are not going to give up all sugar, fast food, and all unhealthy foods. They’re just not going to do it. Most people are not health nuts yet would probably say they would like to be healthier

The real problem with all the infomercials on TV is that it boxes people in and pushes people to do a particular thing. And that one thing only. But nobody will do that one thing for the rest of their lives because it’s just not sustainable. Nobody is going to do a low-carb/no-carb thing forever, its not sustainable. You can’t do P90x, Jillian, Insanity, Tae Bo, Sweatin’ to the Oldies or whatever for the rest of your life. You will will bore yourself to death.

So my question is this, what exactly is sustainable that gives positive results and keeps people healthy yet doesn’t require someone to spend 10 hrs a week at it?

The good news is that you really can (need to) be healthy and not give everything up. Oh, and you don’t need to buy expensive equipment or go anywhere. The bad news (to some) is that there is no replacing sweating (a lot) and using food for the correct reasons.

Stay tuned for more posts on the subject but for now here is my three legged stool of healthy living:

eating and drinking for energy<->short intense workouts<->life motivation

No I’m not a fitness expert, fitness guru, paid sports professional or elite athlete. Read at your own health (risk).