Lent Day 5: Good habits matter

We sped up to Canada to see our parents Saturday. Mom was shedding things from her craft room, her repository for sewing, knitting, and crocheting supplies for 40 years. The room has always been tidy, even packed stem to stern with supplies. Mom's "a neat packrat," according to her own description.

Over several weeks, my mother tackled the bulk of the room, organizing books, patterns, and fabrics into boxes and cabinets. She and I took everything off the pegboard hooks on the notions wall. We sorted zippers, needles, cording, and hobby tools into "keep" and giveaway piles.

With one or two packages of each thing, the wall looks much neater: Mom can see what she has. There's even a special area on the pegboard wall for Adelina, the granddaughter who loves crafting. What a treat she'll find on her next visit, with chenille stems, silk flowers, and ribbons ready for play!

Once we were done, my folks took us to their home gym in the basement. "Your father got a new treadmill. You should see this! Just what we need. One more piece of equipment," my mother shook her head.

[I've been thinking about our bodies as habitations of the Spirit. Keep this in mind as you continue: Dad's a spry 80 years old. Mom's a fit 77.]

"I work out on that 20 minutes a day," Dad said, pointing to a stair-stepper. He also uses the treadmill, eliptical, and a rowing machine. It's a true home gym, used daily! rather than gathering dust.

Meanwhile, Mom walks. A lot. (Her pedometer recorded 16,000+ steps Thursday and the same again by Friday evening.) Behind their house, a berm restrains a small slough that floods annually. The gravel path on the berm is the perfect river walking trail for the neighborhood. (My mom also lifts light weights. She does hundreds of reps when she gets going.)

My folks formed good exercise habits as young adults, reinforced by genetically-German discipline. I remember Dad calling us kids to do the RCAF workout in the living room. Awful pushups and situps. Jumping Jacks, jogging in place, and torturous leg raises. He snorkeled at the local lake after work every summer. (Is that where I got my love of swimming?) Dad kept working out after we left home: his habit of movement has kept him in good condition into his 80s.

Our parents don't eat out a lot. Mom's been the primary cook, serving her family real food (not packaged or pre-made for warmup). Saturday nights when we were youngsters, Dad's gave Mom a break by taking his chef rotation. He had two specialties: pork and onions or spaghetti and meatballs (not the healthiest, maybe?) We kids thought both options were delicious.

I'm amazed when I see my folks. They're fit, healthy, and going strong. Dad and Mom continue to learn new things, their minds sharp as they keep their bodies in shape.

My brothers and I are grateful, both for our parents' efforts and God's grace. Our folks have outlived many of their friends who neglected their health. We recognize that God provides daily sustenance. We pray for his intervention and help, regardless of our natural physical prowess (like the warriors in the scripture below).

However, taking care of yourself helps in the long run. Watch this startling video from the Heart & Stroke Foundation as you make your choices today. The quality of your last years may depend on your current habits!

Lent means giving up something dear to remember all Christ suffered. Perhaps it's a good time to think about how we treat our bodies. As whole persons (body, soul, and spirit), undivided in our service to God, surely He holds us accountable for caring for this treasure of physical presence on earth. Do you agree or disagree?

Read more:

*How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? Genesis 39:9

*There were 44,760 capable warriors in the armies of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They were all skilled in combat and armed with shields, swords, and bows. They waged war against the Hagrites, the Jeturites, the Naphishites, and the Nodabites. They cried out to God during the battle, and he answered their prayer because they trusted in him. So the Hagrites and all their allies were defeated. 1 Chronicles 5:18–20 NLT

*Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:35-40 NLT

*Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Moravian Prayer: Giver of strength, help us to remember that we can rely on you always. No trouble is too large or too small for your attention, if we would just ask. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

The season of desire

The season of Advent is also called "the season of desire." I've never picked up on that phrase before, but this year have noticed it in blogs, a few articles, and a devotional.
"What do you desire?" asks my mentor. (I'm reading Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton.)

Here's my desire list for Advent:

• Renewed intimacy with the Presence. Sit, love, be loved. In all the busyness of the dissertation and tasks, it was easier to focus on doing rather than being with.
• Be present with guests. I love hospitality tasks but find it hard to sit down with company for any length of time.
• Discipline for health: good eating and exercise. Lose 8 lbs.
• Declutter Christmas "stuff": give away ornaments, garlands, and other excess. End up with 4-5 storage bins (from 10).
• Read and watch uplifting things. I want to resist junk on TV and in books.

What's your bucket-of-desire list?

Read more:
*If you obey the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Deuteronomy 28:2-3

*May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NIV

*Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Luke 11:28

*I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints. Philemon 4-7 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Dear Jesus, you came to fulfill the law, to give the commandments a human body. You obeyed the law and infused it with love. May we know the freedom and joy of obedience. Amen.

Up all night and the coming cure

It's 4 a.m. and I've been up for an hour or two. Insomnia. Feeling out of sorts. But I knew that was coming. In fact, I chose to bring it on. Silly me.

Typical Western buffet

Yup, I ate meat and dairy yesterday, after returning to vegan (plant-based) foods when the grey skies and rain arrived in Seattle last week. The worthy occasion last night was a 70th birthday party, after all. Congratulations, BJ! The food was abundant, very Western (heaps of meat and cheese), and tasted GREAT! Worth a cheat? Seemed so at the time though I got a hot flash within 10 minutes of eating the meat slider. (The flush is my first sign of oh-oh!-here-we-go-again.)

I consider my system's rebellion as a food intolerance rather than allergies. Call it what I will, my body signals its unhappiness within a few minutes of eating eggs, dairy, honey, meat, etc. Anything animal-based is out when the weather turns foul in fall. In summer when the sun is out, my system seems more tolerant (though I gain 5-10 lbs within a week or two of returning to a meat-based diet.) In the winter, my choice of food becomes a spiritual discipline, allowing me to function at capacity.

Vegan buffet (not an oxymoron)

Friends seem shocked when they hear what I DON'T eat. Their first concerns are: "Do you get enough calcium? Protein? What can you eat if you don't eat meat or drink milk?" It's incomprehensible that plant-based foods contain nutrients in abundance.

What do I eat? "Everything else!" including grains, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits. I sub potato flour, bananas, or tofu for eggs in baking and cooking. And there's nothing as tasty as muesli in the morning! (keeps me full until noon.)

The longest-term and most comprehensive research on the relationship of food and diseases was done by top Cornell (USA), Oxford (UK), and Chinese scientists and published as "The China Study. It's worth a download for reading. Here's part of a review:

"The New York Times has recognized the study (China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project) as the "Grand Prix of epidemiology" and the "most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease."

The China Study's researchers examined and reexamined their findings because the results were unexpected and counter-intuitive: evidence clearly showed that plant-based diets warded off cardio, diabetic, and cancerous diseases. Dairy and meat-based diets fostered them. (BTW: The highest ratio of osteoporosis is in countries with the highest protein and dairy consumption.)

"Growing evidence is showing that calcium in milk does not protect against osteoporosis. For example in a 12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women, those who drank milk three times a day actually broke more bones than women who rarely drank milk. Similarly, a 1994 study in Sydney, Australia, showed that higher dairy product consumption was associated with increased fracture risk: those with the highest dairy consumption had double the risk of hip fracture compared to those with the lowest consumption," News-medical.net

Every culture has its own dearly-held myths. Many of ours are deeply rooted in tradition but some of ours are fostered by modern advertising and commerce. We now admit smoking is unhealthy but remember that in the 1950s and 60s, some family doctors promoted it in tobacco ads. Perhaps our desire for extreme fat and protein-rich diets will go the same way, as scientists ponder why eating traditional Western foods makes us sicker rather than healthier as we age.

Warm and deeeelicious! a typical
vegan lunch for me. Recipe: click here.

That said, it's back to bed this morning for me. And back to vegan foods when I get up, occasionally blogged at the Impulsive Foodie (my food blog).

Let's eat with care - our bodies depend on the wise stewardship of this most precious personal resource. "You can have all the money in the world but without good health, you'll be miserable," says my mom.

Whether or not plant-based foods become your choice or you decide to limit rich food intakes, please choose your food wisely. Note what gives you abundant, positive, and sustainable energy. What drains you or makes you feel sluggish and bloated?

God lavished us with his abundance here in North America. Whether we garden, farm, or buy our foods at the grocer's, we have lots of options. Enjoy feasting on his goodness while taking good care of yourself and those you love.

And keep in mind that food is a tool to empower our service of the King, not our focus. It is fuel for our mission, not the mission itself. Peace to you and yours!

Read more:

*The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust" Psalm 103:13–14 NLT

*Do you like honey? Don't eat too much, or it will make you sick!" Proverbs 25:16 NLT

*Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. John 3:6

*Jesus replied, 'Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.'" John 4:13–14 NLT

*For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:7 NLT

Lent Day 29: Thankful for relatives

Jesus had parents, siblings, aunts - and lots of friends and acquaintances. We don't know exactly how big Nazareth was, but it's a fair guess that most people in town knew each other. They would have known family histories, silly games of childhood, and all the strengths and weaknesses of their neighbors.

With many people choosing not to endure the hard work of marriage or fleeing dangerous situations, we have a self-spawning culture of combinations and re-combinations called blended families.

I just heard that two of our acquaintances are splitting up as a couple. Nah, we don't know the whole story, but from what we've observed, a big part of it is a lack of maturity, forgiveness, and grace. They've had a rocky road off and on and one of them is fed up. Calling it quits. Unwilling to work any more at what has been a steep climb. Supposedly, they still "love each other." Whatever.

I look into another life window, where a friend's spouse is at death's door, the victim of cancer. They won't have the lifelong connections in common as one leaves the other behind. They had no choice and when they are parted, it will take time for the grieving partner to find a new normal.

One of the gifts of a long marriage, no matter how much work or stressful some years have been, is the mutual memory bank. W and I love each other more now than in the beginning (and than we did in parts of the middle!) We have many friends in common; he tells me about colleagues at work or church. I update him on FB friends and people who grew up with us in the church's youth group. You don't get those kind of memories or proven marriage benefits by running away to "find yourself" elsewhere.

I'm grateful for my folks. They've stayed married for nearly 60 years, through thick and thin: poverty and wealth; challenges with their parents and children; exciting adventures and boring chores. We've been married 34 years. Our kids have begun their marriages with a strong commitment to their spouses, too.

It's not easy to stay married without the social and religious pressure to keep a covenant in good and bad times. Among my first cousins, 6 of 24 have experienced divorce or abandonment. W and I also might not have made it through some very tough seasons without both of us honoring our covenant before God and buckling down to family expectations.

Today I'm thankful for all the aunts and uncles, the cousins, nieces and nephews, and other family members who have stuck it out. The extended web of friendships and trust remind us of God's faithfulness and the importance of self-discipline and perseverance. Life is not always easy, but it is worth doing with all our hearts and strength.

Loving others is second only to loving God, according to Jesus. And you do that by changing yourself (since you can't change others.)

The fact that my husband turned out to be my Prince Charming is an unexpected bonus.

Read more:

*Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars! For he commanded, and they were created. Psalm 148:3,5

*Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV

*You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11

Moravian Prayer: We offer thanks to you, Creator God, for all good gifts - the seasons of the year and of the spirit, and the experiences of joy, pleasure and gladness. We offer thanks also for the sorrow and grief and solitudes of life and for the strength through which we are able to meet them. We pray for those who work hard to preserve relationships and we commit ourselves to work with them this day. Amen. 

Father's Day to a loving meanie

 

What do you think of when someone says, "Dad"? Is your dad someone who makes you think of God as a loving advocate or an overbearing authoritarian? Is there no middle ground?

We always hear how "good dads" go to sports games, play with their kids, and spend time with their families. My dad participated in our lives, but he did more. He established boundaries of authority and respect that have served us abundantly into adulthood. I'd like to say a big thank you today to a dad who took his fathering seriously. While he enjoyed us, nurtured us, and provided well, he also instilled in us high morals and godly principles.

My father was strict. We all knew he said what he meant and meant what he said. He proved it to us with spankings, groundings, and restrictions.

Yet we never doubted his love. When we had disobeyed and received due punishment, we quit doing wrong, knowing he cared about us enough to set us straight. Being the second child, I landed in the first wave of "this is how good children behave." I guess my older brother and I caught the brunt of "good training." It didn't help that I had a flash temper and minimal self-control as a youngster! Our two younger brothers fared better at the end of the rod. Probably L and I wore Dad and Mom down: surprisingly, our other two siblings turned out fine.

The youngest remarked to me a few years ago, "You know, I never saw Dad discipline us in anger. Dad's attitude was, 'You deserve this punishment, so here it is.' Then we'd be done. He never held over hostility to us kids afterwards or showed his frustration."

Today most Americans would call strict parents like mine "mean" or "cruel." Spanking is out of fashion and illegal as the government overreaches into normal families to try to prevent abuse by evil parents. I deplore abuse and cruelty, let's be clear about that.



However, Dad truly demonstrated how a good parent behaves. Never malicious, he allowed a good appeal. We had open discussions about anything we wanted to talk about around the kitchen table. We weren't afraid of him... unless we knew we were deliberately disobeying. Then we looked over our shoulders, knowing we'd earned what was coming.  

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts, Dad. We love and trust God today because we learned to love and trust you completely.

As a mom of grown kids and an appreciative daughter, here's a word to young dads on their special day of honor. A great parent will not let their child rule the roost and abdicate their responsibility by letting a child run wild. Watching some kids sass and hit their parents, I shudder to think of these crazy adolescents on the loose in a few years. Employers, coworkers, and even prison guards may be cursing these children's irresponsible parents in the future.

Dads, please do your duty. Scripture not only encourages, but demands that you establish and enforce worthy rules and boundaries! Pray and read the Bible with your kids. Go to those games. Hug your kids. Hold down a steady job - even if it's not your dream work - to provide for the family. But don't neglect the core character training God has entrusted to you. No one else can - or will - do it for you. Your kids and their future depend on it! 

Read more:
*Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. Deut. 8:5 NIV

*Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge? Psa. 94:10   NIV

*The LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Prov. 3:12 NIV

*The Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” Heb. 12:6 NIV

*Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. Heb. 12:10 NIV