Verse of the Day - Proverbs 25:16

If you find honey, eat just enough -- too much of it, and you will vomit.
~ Proverbs 25:16 (NIV)

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I just went to the budget theatre this weekend with some friends and saw "Bee Movie"! (Very funny and cute...I recommend it when it comes out on DVD.) Afterward, at dinner, I recounted the story of when my nephew was little and came home after school and dove into a whole jar of honey and made himself sick. I think to this day he's sworn off honey. :-)

I, too, have recently sworn off refined sugar because I realize how abusive I've been to my body with that yummy good stuff! Valentine's Day and the day after were really the icing on the cake that took me over the edge -- literally! At work on Valentine's Day, staff brought in not one, but TWO big cakes AND cupcakes! And, boy, did I pig out! I can still see the vision of that plate of cake in my mind. It just almost makes me sick! So that Saturday I decided enough was enough. I had one last candy bar left in my house and ate it before bed, and said to myself, this is your last hoorah. And I've been sugar-free (refined, that is) since then. (9 days and counting...)

Sugar is just one of those things that God provides that just tastes yummy and makes us feel good, but can have rebound affects if we overindulge. Moderation really is the key. But we, especially in America, are overconsumers, aren't we? We don't moderate ourselves very well; hence, the sad statistics about obesity in old and young in our country (and, increasing, around the world). Our worship team did a little fat percentage check with a little machine the other day, and with very few exceptions, all of us were in the "high" ranges in body fat percentages.

Face it -- we like to eat. Food tastes good! And God made it to taste good. But we think that if one bite tastes good and makes us feel good, then 20 bites will make us feel that much better! Wrong. If overindulging doesn't make us sick and swear off it, like my nephew and the honey, then later on down the road, when we're struggling with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and trying to lose those difficult pounds, we might then finally wonder if we should've been more careful how we ate. Moderation really is the key.

God wants us to take care of our bodies. We are stewards of this tent, and only we can manage it. Don't count on someone else to make you put down that donut. Adults are "big people" now -- no training wheels, no pull-up training pants--"big people" now. God's words are wise and helpful, and we really need to heed His counsel about moderation regarding our food intake. Junk food/fast food consumption is so rampant, and I, for one, have been one of the biggest offenders. I was eating fast food almost every day -- and it was out of control. Not so much because I just had to have it...but my schedule is so busy that I chose the easy way out. My budget didn't like it, and the bathroom scale didn't like it. I had to put the brakes on that, too.

And that's not even bringing up the fact that we don't exercise nearly enough (oops -- I brought it up!)...We certainly moderate ourselves in that regard, don't we?...to the point of non-existence. Little Mr. and Mrs. Couch Potato, can I get an amen to that?....[psst...I'm Cousin Couch Potato, so I speak to myself, here...]

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat something."
But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you know nothing about."
Then his disciples said to each other, "Could someone have brought him food?"
"My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
~ Jesus, in John 4:31-34

Jesus knew what was important. Food was a means to an end...not the end. He had work to do for God...that was the food He lived off of. Are we as consumed with God's business, as we are with food?

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
~ 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

Oh, Lord, forgive us for treating the temple of your Holy Spirit with such disregard, abuse and neglect. As we are stewards of our children, our finances, our jobs and homes, help us to understand our responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies. Help us overcome our addictions to food and other substances. Give us an appreciation for the life You've given us, that we may use our bodies to serve You more fully and faithfully. Amen.

Love,
Joelene