Food: Day 3

Hi. My name is Heather. And I'm a coffeeholic.
(Hi, Heather...)
I've been java - sober for two and a half days. The headaches are starting to subside, but waking up isn't getting any easier.

I miss coffee.

I'm sorry for skipping the Day 2 post; but nothing interesting happened aside from a two hour bike ride. That, and a plea to Dawn to allow me to add honey to my list on bike riding days. My seven chosen foods don't suit cycling well.

We are not quite halfway through our food week and I've made a few realizations...

1) I eat way too much processed food on a daily basis.  Our culture has done a marvelous job of convincing us that easy, pre packaged food is worth the sacrificed nutrition because it saves us so much time and prevents us from practicing that annoying attribute called patience.
Welllllll... they're wrong. Plants,  meats, and dairy products are much better when they come from the original sources and aren't processed into something that barely resembles its predecessor (i.e. Cheetos are nothing close to actual cheese). I can see why Daniel refused to eat the king's food - he knew that God's original food plan was best and he stuck with it.  Somehow I now have a greater respect and understanding of that Bible story.

2) I am being forced to be creative. When you only have seven foods to work with, you have to branch out and away from your culinary comfort zone. For example, until today, I had never boiled eggs before. Ever. (I'm really not much of a cook!) But tonight I took advice from those who are much more comfortable in the kitchen than I am, and hard boiled some eggs to make hummus egg salad. Yum! I am learning new things!

3) Water. Just water. Why I let myself be enticed by Coke bottles with my name printed on them, full of unnaturally dark syrupy acid, I will never know.
"Do not gaze at wine (Cherry Coke) when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper." Proverbs 23:31-32
Water - it does a body good!

4) I have also noticed how purposeful I have had to be when deciding what to eat. Obviously my choices are limited anyway, but I must be careful to stick with those choices only. Resisting the temptation to finish off the blueberries and strawberries that my son doesn't eat has been difficult, especially since those kinds of foods are nutritious and healthy. As stated earlier, I have had to take more time to prepare my food, to think ahead to the next meal before my stomach starts to rumble. I can't just grab a bag of Doritos or some Oreos to satiate my boredom or laziness throughout the day. I must be intentional and aware through the day. I feel this is also what must change in my spiritual walk. I can't read a quick 3 minute devotional magazine so I can check "quiet time" off my list and move on through my day.  That's spiritual junk food.  That's not being intentional, purposeful, or attentive to maturing my spirit and my relationship with my Father. I am a work in progress, no doubt; but nevertheless, it is my responsibility to carve time out of my day, to look ahead,  to be intentional about spending time with my Lord and feasting on His Holy, Healthy Word.

-Heather