So, as it turns out, blogging is not a strength for me! Who knew I could successfully ignore my commitment to this for so long??
I have been thinking about why living the Word of Wisdom is a challenge. I look at the foods specifically mentioned—wholesome herbs (vegetables), fruits, meats, wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley—and I realize that all these things take time. I can pop something in the microwave, and have a meal in a couple of minutes. There aren’t a lot of convenience foods that adhere to the Word of Wisdom guidelines.
So, what do I do when my sink is piled high with dishes I don’t want to wash? How do I make appropriate dinner choices when I am limited to PB&J or a Hot Pocket? I find that I am limited by previous choices I have made. I am the one who chose to not wash my breakfast dishes, and then the bowl I used to mix up some brownies, and the pan from dinner two nights ago. I have determined that it would be much easier to live the Word of Wisdom if I had a dishwasher.
My mind dwells on this scripture:
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:119)
So, I need to get myself together—otherwise I will always be one step behind. If I want to be successful, I have to make an effort to clear off my table, empty out my sink, and make room in my fridge. I can’t justify my habits and expect to be blessed.
In an effort to get organized, here are a few things I’m going to try this week:
Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Roasted Onion, Potato & Cabbage Soup
Preparing a menu plan for the week!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The weak and the weakest of all saints....
This is the line in the Word of Wisdom that I think best describes me.
Weak.
The weakest.
The weakest of all saints.
I have food issues. I've had them all my life. We could travel back into my psyche and talk about dinners around the table fighting for seconds, thirds, or.... well you understand. I could tell you about my father and his gross, overarching lack of self-control. His meannes stands legendary in my mind. He liked to make up for it with bulging bags of fast food. Mom would slyly hide the best of the "treats" to help when she needed to appease him. It was always a tragedy of major proportions when we kids found them first. My mind equates food with many things: comfort, support, pleasure, friendliness. It doesn't usually think of nutrition, sustenance, growth (well, I take that one back). I'm weak when it comes to food. I'm weak like a dog. My canine never says no. He's always on the prowl. In fact, it's ridiculously annoying if you have food issues and a dog. He knows on which side his bread is buttered, pun intended.
So I appreciate that the Lord directed the Word of Wisdom to saints like me. I just have to "remember...and do." Hence the bowl of apples I cut up for myself. I added a bit of yogurt for flavor. My weakness manifests itself in my reticence to even cut it up, but I did. I appreciate that the Lord had me in mind when he revealed the Word of Wisdom to Joseph Smith. We talk about how forward thinking the Word of Wisdom is. Joseph didn't even know of the addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, caffeine, and more that would pervade our world. He also didn't know of our world of plenty, with obese people everywhere and fad diets abounding. So it means so much more to me that the Lord shared a Word of Wisdom for a future like me, a girl with some food issues, who is just a bit on the weak side.
Weak.
The weakest.
The weakest of all saints.
I have food issues. I've had them all my life. We could travel back into my psyche and talk about dinners around the table fighting for seconds, thirds, or.... well you understand. I could tell you about my father and his gross, overarching lack of self-control. His meannes stands legendary in my mind. He liked to make up for it with bulging bags of fast food. Mom would slyly hide the best of the "treats" to help when she needed to appease him. It was always a tragedy of major proportions when we kids found them first. My mind equates food with many things: comfort, support, pleasure, friendliness. It doesn't usually think of nutrition, sustenance, growth (well, I take that one back). I'm weak when it comes to food. I'm weak like a dog. My canine never says no. He's always on the prowl. In fact, it's ridiculously annoying if you have food issues and a dog. He knows on which side his bread is buttered, pun intended.
So I appreciate that the Lord directed the Word of Wisdom to saints like me. I just have to "remember...and do." Hence the bowl of apples I cut up for myself. I added a bit of yogurt for flavor. My weakness manifests itself in my reticence to even cut it up, but I did. I appreciate that the Lord had me in mind when he revealed the Word of Wisdom to Joseph Smith. We talk about how forward thinking the Word of Wisdom is. Joseph didn't even know of the addictions to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, caffeine, and more that would pervade our world. He also didn't know of our world of plenty, with obese people everywhere and fad diets abounding. So it means so much more to me that the Lord shared a Word of Wisdom for a future like me, a girl with some food issues, who is just a bit on the weak side.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Don't all new beginnings happen on February 1st?
For a long time I have wanted to live the Word of Wisdom more fully. I haven’t ever had a problem with all the don’ts in the WoW, but the dos have been a little trickier for me. I have read all the statistics about how members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints typically enjoy healthier lives, lower incidences of cancer, heart disease, and a multitude of other ailments. As American waistlines grow ever larger, members of the Church are no exception—our belts are straining just as much to keep up with our massive girths. Will the better health we’ve been blessed with continue, even though we are entrenched in a western diet full of all the self-indulgence we can handle? I seriously doubt it.
President Ezra Taft Benson said the following, “One principle of the gospel that all young people of the Church should understand is this: God, our Heavenly Father, governs His children by law. He has instituted laws for our perfection. If we obey His laws, we receive the blessings pertaining to those laws. If we do not obey, we receive the consequences.
The Word of Wisdom is a law—a principle with promise. If we obey the provisions of the law, we receive the promises. If we do not, there will be both temporal and spiritual consequences.” (Ezra Taft Benson, "A Principle with a Promise", Ensign, May 1983, 53)
How can I hope to continue to be blessed with good health if I am not fully obeying the Word of Wisdom? I think it’s time for me to work to regain health by obeying the Lord’s commandments. I know that this principle is adapted to the weakest person who can be called a saint—I am confident that I can live the Word of Wisdom more fully, and I plan to use this blog to chronicle my efforts and interpretations of this doctrine.
President Ezra Taft Benson said the following, “One principle of the gospel that all young people of the Church should understand is this: God, our Heavenly Father, governs His children by law. He has instituted laws for our perfection. If we obey His laws, we receive the blessings pertaining to those laws. If we do not obey, we receive the consequences.
The Word of Wisdom is a law—a principle with promise. If we obey the provisions of the law, we receive the promises. If we do not, there will be both temporal and spiritual consequences.” (Ezra Taft Benson, "A Principle with a Promise", Ensign, May 1983, 53)
How can I hope to continue to be blessed with good health if I am not fully obeying the Word of Wisdom? I think it’s time for me to work to regain health by obeying the Lord’s commandments. I know that this principle is adapted to the weakest person who can be called a saint—I am confident that I can live the Word of Wisdom more fully, and I plan to use this blog to chronicle my efforts and interpretations of this doctrine.
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