Temples, Bodies, and Food


A morning at Knauss Berry Farms picking fresh organic strawberries and tasting along the way. Delicious is an understatement. 
Hello friends! I am so thrilled to be blogging again. I really missed y'all, for real. I'm psyched to introduce you to this new blog hop! I'm teaming up with Kimberly from Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl as we journey towards a healthier, more abundant life. Every Thursday we will have a Blog Hop where you all can link up with us and share what is motivating you to be healthier, what you are doing to stay healthy, share a plant-based or raw recipe or smoothie, or simply share fun or interesting facts you are learning about food and living a healthy lifestyle. For our first Abundant Life Blog Hop, I'm going to share with you some thoughts on our bodies as temples of God and why the food we put in them matters.

I'd like to start off with a quote from a book that has greatly impacted my faith and diet. Ellen White, in Counsels on Diet and Foods writes the following: 
 Only one lease of life is granted us; and the inquiry with every one should be, “How can I invest my powers so that they may yield the greatest profit? How can I do most for the glory of God and the benefit of my fellow men?” For life is valuable only as it is used for the attainment of these ends. Our first duty toward God and our fellow beings is that of self-development. Every faculty with which the Creator has endowed us should be cultivated to the highest degree of perfection, that we may be able to do the greatest amount of good of which we are capable. Hence that time is spent to good account which is used in the establishment and preservation of physical and mental health. We cannot afford to dwarf or cripple any function of body or mind.
Our bodies are the dwelling place of God. We know from Scripture that our bodies are considered temples where the Most Holy dwells and makes His place among us. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says,  
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 
God desires to use us for His purposes--advance the Kingdom of God and bring Him glory. Can we agree on that? To do our very best for our God, we need to have sound minds and physical vitality. Optimal health will equip us with the energy to continually progress in our spiritual walk with the Lord and serve mankind. In addition, Jesus says in John 10:10, 
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

What does abundant life look like? Does it mean a two story family home, the latest Mercedes Benz, or two weeks tanning on the clear sand of Sunny Isles Beach? I happen to believe God is a giver, for sure. He loves to lavish His children with good gifts, but one of the greatest gifts He has endowed us with is our health. Creator God has given us perfect foods for abundant health. In Eden, when He made man and woman in His image, He gave them a very specific diet--a recipe for life and life abundant. 
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.And it was so.
When we deviate from God's original intent for mankind's diet, we reep the consequences of poor nutrition--disease. I told a friend once that there won't be any meat in heaven. I think she almost passed out with concern for how in the world she would survive in heaven if she could not have her dear prime steak. Friends, God did not create us to eat the flesh of animals. Animal products--meat and dairy--are the ONLY food products that contain cholesterol, the single cause of atherosclerosis (heart disease) according to a recent study from Baylor University. Chronic diseases like type II diabetes and coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are ALL preventable and reversible with a plant-based diet. There is ample evidence to indicate that a diet based on the consumption of PLANT foods is live-giving and body-healing. Hippocrates once said, "let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." I firmly believe that to be true. 

On a personal note, I have been a vegetarian from birth. Yes, I've never tried any form of meat, poultry, or fish. People usually open their mouth real big when I tell them that. "HOW DO YOU LIVE?" Just fine, thanks for asking. I've never been deficient of any nutrient, never had anemia, never experienced any of the big WARNINGS you get from health professionals when you tell them you want to cut out animal products. Quite the opposite, the healthier I eat, the more alive I feel. When I eat living foods, raw fruits and vegetables, I feel ALIVE and energetic. Though I have been a vegetarian my whole life, I am still working towards adopting a fully plant-based diet. Let's be real, cheese is pretty darn addicting! But one choice at a time, I'm letting it go as I walk towards a more abundant life. Ever-growing, ever-changing, every-improving for the glory of my King. Let's do this together, will you join us? 

Below you will find some helpful resources that will introduce you to the plant-based diet movement! I hope you will explore them this week and come back next week with some inspiring posts to link-up!

Documentaries (All on Netflix)
Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue

Books & Recipe Books
Give Them Something Better by Sarah Frain & Stephanie Howard
The China Study by Dr. Colin Campbell
The Starch Solution by Dr. John McDougall
The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. 
The Happy Herbivore by Lindsey Nixon

Websites

The resources are truly endless, feel free to email me at lilyamongthornsblog@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments! I would love to hear your stories as we journey TOGETHER towards a healthier, more abundant life! I don't have all the answers (not even close) but I would be happy to offer you what I know and resources to help you. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most people think that the mail client is lacking in
comparison to same applications on other platforms.
In addition, there is no fleshlight IT shortage
in the US. Pharmacies make money when you have to clear your
mind of them while still making it through the day. 48 inches,
but it is tough to create a regular routine,
especially if it was the all new tablet PC in the market.
A designated server is not fleshlight unrestricted usability with additional users, and in the gallery!

Anonymous said...

Valuable info. Fortunate me I discovered your web site unintentionally,
and I'm surprised why this twist of fate did not came about in advance! I bookmarked it.

Also visit my web page ... somanabolic muscle maximizer review yahoo

Anonymous said...

Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite
justification appeared to be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people think
about worries that they just don't know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

Feel free to visit my web site; see page

Anonymous said...

I'm gone to convey my little brother, that he should also visit this web site on regular basis to obtain updated from hottest news update.

Also visit my homepage: Sources tell Me