Grace. The only reason I am experiencing any success my current "food revolution."

What do I mean by that? I believe my God is supernaturally enabling me to make right choices and eat what I should. It's almost been like a deliverance. Deliverance from food addiction. I have struggled with this for years but have not owned up to it, but now I am. I have used food to self medicate in the past.

Lord, thank you for giving me another opportunity for victory. I will depend on You alone for my sense of security and well-being, I will look to you alone as my comfort. I release control completely back to You, especially in this area. You alone are my Rock and my Strong Tower.

mid-week two

I feel better every day, and have dropped almost 8 pounds in 10 days. I suspect all or some of that could have been water weight, I don't know, and don't care right now; I am just so encouraged and confident in the choice to go whole-food/plant-based.

I continue to experiment with combinations of foods and flavors, especially in green smoothies, and I am so grateful that others have blogged and posted their recipes and experiences. I am learning so much! God is giving such grace...

beginnings: Thursday through Sunday

Went to the mountains with girlfriends; tbc (the big change) is going very well. I continue to experience increased energy and overall well-being. The biggest surprise to me is how much I am enjoying the freshness of the food I make and eat. My favorite right now is a whole wheat tortilla with guacamole, black beans, tomato, salsa, baby spinach and a bit of veggie cheese, warmed in a skillet (no oil). I have high hopes and now have a new battery in the scale, so I will be weighing myself periodically. No, you will not find that weight posted here.

Here's to fresh salad, fresh tomatoes, guacamole, roasted vegetables and Mary's Gone Crackers with hummus. It's been a great week!

beginnings, day 3

Wednesday

feeling better and better, trying to remember to drink plenty of water (I'm thirsty right now, which is why I thought of that!), facing food planning for the weekend; I am to the mountains, hubs and the son are here. This will be interesting.

Breakfast-grape-nuts with vanilla soy milk, ezekiel bread with tahini and a nectarine.
Lunch-green smoothie, hummus and Mary's crackers, grapes
Dinner-White Bean and Kale Soup and bread

day 2

day 2 went amazingly well. I am feeling better and better, and my GI tract is, well, correcting itself...(insert blush).

Tuesday's cuisine:

breakfast-green smoothie, coffee and Ezekiel bread with organic peanut butter

lunch-Chick-fil-a lettuce salad with fruit (removed the chicken--going vegetarian then meeting a friend at my favorite fast food joint is another blog altogether) and my own organic ranch dressing.

dinner-Sweet Potato Veggie Burger with avocado and artisan black bean chips.

beginnings

This begins my diary of diet turn-around. I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Tired of continual indigestion, fatigue, and over weight. My plan? Total food revolution. My husband and I are transitioning to a primarily plant-based diet. What was our final motivation? Revelation after watching a documentary entitled "Forks Over Knives." My family for generations has been riddled with cancer and heart disease, as well as diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In taking this action, I see, and am hoping for, an opportunity for Darrin and I to change our genealogical destinies.

Yesterday was day one. It included planning and shopping for this week's menu, and cleaning out the cupboards of all the processed stuff I could find.

Monday


breakfast-oatmeal
lunch-bean burrito, chips and guacamole
dinner-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms and Spring Mix salad with balsamic vinaigrette

behold the wiggle worm

I thought that might get your attention! We'll get to the fabled "wiggle worm" in a bit. Right now I would like to share where the Lord led me to meditate one recent morning, bringing me to Psalm 46:10, a very well known verse to believers and unbelievers alike.

"Be still and know that I am God..."

So, just as I have done so many times before, I pulled up ye old trusty concordance on line and began breaking down this verse. Tap-tap-tap went my fingers, click, click, click went my mouse as I made my way to the site, all the time thinking, "I wonder what the Hebrew roots of these words really mean?" I was sure there was some sweet surprise, some undiscovered marrow, some Tootsie-pop chewy center for me to reveal. Ha. What I found left me, um...well, see for yourself; read on...

It means what it says: "Be...still."  Everything in the concordance and in various trusted translations only underscored and enhanced that thought...my favorite, I think, was "Cease striving" from the NASB, and "Let be and be still" from the Amplified conjured a Beatles' anthem in my ear when I read it. (I refrained from grabbing the nearest lighter.)

Here's the thing: all God's chillren (yes, i said 'chillren') got troubles, and if we ain't got 'em presently, we can expect that one day trouble will come (please re: John 16:33), but through every circumstance and situation God says, "Be still" ...be...still.


stop.


relax.


exhale.


let "it" drop.


be quiet.


be silent.



be still.


be.



That is so difficult for us, isn't it?

"Hold still; you're such a wiggle worm!" How many times did we hear that when we were little, usually when a parent was trying to fix a ponytail, straighten a tie, or maybe in church during the sermon; that's just the way kids are, right?

These days it's not clothing that needs adjusting or hair to be smoothed; no, even as children of God, we wiggle, we strive to 'do', to 'fix;' as our finances are in trouble, or a son or daughter is far away from the Lord, or tragedy has struck in one way or another. And when it comes to us as children of God, the Father in heaven, we continue to be little wiggle worms, don't we?  We are a bunch of "doers" and we're missing or ignoring what He is saying to us: "Be."

Especially me. I'm a fixer. I love to, um, "help."  But you know what? God doesn't need my help to fix anything in my life. The only thing He wants me to do is be still in my spirit and walk in faith in Him. Trust; that is what He's requiring of me.