Change

Fried chicken and mashed potatoes or a cheeseburger and French fries and Diet Cokes are my food and drink of choice. Ask any of my lunch or dinner buddies and that is what they would say. Among my friends I am the worst eater (triple bogey for sure), but I have decided to “CHANGE!” Amazing how long it takes for God to get your attention in certain areas of your life. It took turning 50 and, yes, feeling it at times. In the past I have had terrible eating habits but taken a ton of Advocare products (nutritional supplements) to offset the bad eating. As I have been reading the book of Daniel, God has so convicted my heart. Allow me to share:

For you Bible readers, this will be a very familiar story. But just maybe you are like me and need to hear it for the millionth time and, for some of you, it is the first time you are hearing it. In Daniel chapter 1, we find there was a king, Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon who conquered another king, Jehoiakim King of Judah, and his people. Nebuchadnezzar decided to take into his palace some of the men from Judah to train and serve in the kingdom. There was a 3 year training process. Four men in particular who were chosen to train were Daniel and his 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were put in training with many others and were asked to eat the royal food which was filled with rich food and wine. Daniel went to the chief in charge and asked if they could deviate from the “menu” and eat fruits, vegetables and drink water. The chief’s response was, “I am afraid of my lord the King, who has assigned your food and drink, why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you!”

To speed things up, the chief took a huge risk and allowed Daniel’s request for 10 days. After 10 days a comparison was made of all the men, “the fruit, vegetable and water men” looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the rich food. So the chief decided to do away with the rich food and go with Daniel’s diet. At the end of the 3 years, Nebuchadnezzar found NONE EQUAL to Daniel, and his 3 friends. In fact, they were 10 TIMES better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

I cannot tell you, except for just plain stubbornness, why I haven’t adopted this diet!! Lesson, in the Back 9, I am cleaning up my eating. I have set a terrible example for our kids in this area. As they have gotten older, they have figured it out without their mother’s help. God covers our mistakes but there are always consequences to our choices. Thankfully, Thomas has done well. I have realized I should have kept offering vegetables and fruits, even if they rejected them, when they were young and I certainly needed to be a better example.

With all this being said, there is definitely more to learn from Daniel and his 3 friends in future journals. God used them in mighty ways and some of my favorite stories and life examples are from Daniel in the Bible.

In summary, the Bible has thousands of lessons even on how we should treat our bodies, which God calls our “earthly temple.” Pay attention to what you eat. There is no truer statement than, “YOUR LIFE ENDS UP BEING A SUM TOTAL OF YOUR CHOICES!” including what you eat.

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