do you wear your seat belt?

for most of us i would think it's a no brainer that we should wear our seat belts and require those in our vehicle to wear them, especially our children!  and if we choose to not wear our seat belts most people know the great risk they have put themselves at. we have seen the statistics proving the importance of taking such a simple step of protection. we have heard how seat belts have saved lives time and time again, and we have groaned in agony when a life was lost and could have been prevented only if a seat belt had been worn.

over the last ten years, (and especially in the last 8 months) i have learned that healthy food is like a seat belt.  the statistics are pouring in all over the place that healthy eating can not only prevent terminal illnesses but REVERSE terminal illnesses. for so long i thought that the diagnosis of cancer, alzheimer's, MS, diabetes, and others, were totally random. however, the more i research the more i realize that these diseases require certain environments to grow in, and we either extend an invitation to these diseases or we fight these diseases by the food we put into our bodies. i understand that we live in a fallen world, therefore someone who eats ideally can still contract a terminal disease. but why not at least attempt to educate ourselves and use the brains God has given us to determine helpful and harmful paths along the way? ignorance plays a HUGE role in automobile fatalities. ignorance also plays a HUGE role in medically related fatalities.

while, good food choices are helping us fight off terminal illnesses, they are also helping us as a family eliminate every day illnesses; head aches, allergies, fatigue, colds, body aches, dehydration, stomach aches, flu, and all sorts of other aliments. we have not been to see a doctor in a year for illness. katie only contracted ONE cold during her first year in school. please do not misinterpret my enthusiasm as bragging, but man oh man, when something beneficial and life changing enters your world... you just want to share. more than ever, i believe the combination of life giving food and abundant rest has offered our family the strongest immune systems we've ever had.

i strongly believe that God has all of our days numbered and that He is so WONDERFULLY sovereign.  i do not, nor will not, obsess about food or exercise. mark and i speak very openly about not letting these two things become gods to us. HOWEVER, i also strongly believe that it is required of me to actively participate in taking care of holy temple in which God dwells.... MY BODY!

some might ask, since we are uncertain of our time here on earth why not eat and drink whatever we want? what ever tastes the best, fills me up the most, is the cheapest on my budget. my response? you do that and tell me how it feels.... really feels! how much life gets lived when we only put dying things in our bodies? for me, i am going to consume things that in return allow me to REALLY live well and wide, and deep, and for how ever long it pleases my God, i will live...strong!!!

some of you are certain i have become a food Nazi, and that's just not true. we are trying so hard to be diligent, but with balance. for heavens sake we just spent two weeks in the deep south. we had our fair share fried and sweetened things... trust me. but on the whole we are striving to provide ourselves and our children with a healthier relationship to food... consequently a healthier and fuller life.

for real, wear your seat belt! don't be an idiot.
and maybe today, make a small food change that will help seat belt in your health for a change.

click it or ticket!
~s