KEEPING FIT! 6/10/12

KEEPING FIT was not in most vocabularies when I was a child because our play ground was the outdoors. The foods in the stores did not include chips and dips or even french fries. Nacho’s hadn’t been invented by a man called Nacho! We did have hamburgers and hotdogs but the weight didn’t really become a problem until I was in high school. Perhaps that was because my mother emptied the Helm’s Bakery truck every Saturday night. Our freezer was then full of all kinds of pastries and bread. LOOKING through some papers that I have saved through the years I came across a couple of tidbits that you might find interesting. “Looking to work more vegetables in to your kids’ diet?” Jen Sigmund says; “I cut up fruits and veggies and set them on the table about thirty minutes before dinner. I don’t draw attention to them, I just start fixing dinner. Nine times out of ten, when I go to set the table, they are gone!” We usually do that before we serve a big dinner, and call them veggies! HOW ABOUT this one? Roasted Pumpkin Seeds are the healthiest Halloween snack around! Scoop the seeds out of your pumpkin and rinse them well. Blot the seeds dry with a paper towel, then toss them with a tablespoon of vegetable oil for each cup of seeds, and salt to taste. Spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 until golden brown; about 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool before serving! JUST DON”T tell your kids that these are loaded with minerals, such as zinc, iron, and magnesium, as well as protein, fiber and heart-heathy fatty acids. Most have a reluctance to eat something that is suppose to be “healthy” for you. Most have a reluctance to eat anything that appears to be a “new” diet for them. Most do not even realize that “diet” means a daily fare of food and drink. GOD has set forth many daily dietary plans for us. These are not necessarily for our stomachs but for our health and well being. “A glad heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly. All the days of the afflicted are evil, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:13-15 God says that when we belong to him and are walking in the path of His son, our lives will be full of joy! IN PHILIPPIANS 2, Paul tells us to do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than ourselves. In chapter 4, he tells us to not worry about anything, but to pray daily with supplications and thanksgiving. In Colossians 3 Paul continues with whatever you do in word or deed, to do all in the name of Jesus Christ. In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon says; “whatever our hands find to do, do it with all your might.” 1 Corinthians 10, Paul continues with; “whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says; “You know the old saying? First you eat to live, and then you live to eat? Well, it may be true that the body is only a temporary thing, but that’s no excuse for stuffing your body with food, or indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him with your body!” (The Message) “I CAN DO anything I want to if Christ has not said no, but some of these things aren’t good for me. Even if I am allowed to do them; I’ll refuse to, if I think they might get such a grip on me that I can’t easily stop when I want to. For instance, take the matter of eating. God has given us an appetite for food and stomachs to digest it. But that doesn’t mean we should eat more than we need. Don’t think of eating as important, because some day God will do away with both stomachs and food.” 1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (The Living Bible) Allowing things to control us, leads us away from God! I JUST LOVE the way God’s Word clarifies how we should live to have joy! “He gives food to all flesh, for His steadfast love endures for ever. O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures for ever.” Psalms 136:15-26 I can’t help but say with David in Psalms 138 “I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 6/8/12