1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us
So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
the glory of God.
A little bit of how I grew up, I was born in Ukraine and
moved to the States when I was three. I am the second last child in my family.
I have three sisters and two brothers. My childhood was very adventures. We traveled
every few years, back and forth to Ukraine and the States. I attended school here in the United States & also in the Ukraine. It felt like two diffrent worlds. Life was busy for us here, my parents worked a lot and us kids loved life in an American fashion, lots of TV watching was a big part of our growing up, we lived in an apartment so we didn't have much space to run and play. We did love the neighborhood park, and if my younger sister and I could talk my older sister or brother into taking us there, we would enjoy the swings or the big sand box. We loved meeting new people and learning about their culture. My mom was a great cook and we often had people over for a good homemade lunch or dinner. Her cooking was very traditional to our Ukrainian culture. With homemade ( beet soup) Borsch. Pirogis stuffed with farmers cheese and potato. We had a diffrent soup every few days, and we had to eat soup on a daily basis at least ones a day. My mom would say, your stomach will hurt if you don't eat your soup today. So it was a must! When we would go to the grocery store, my parents would love to buy fresh fruit and lots of veggies, some processed things were allowed only because they didn't know about preservatives and GMO's. Well, not in depth. If they didn't allow us to get something, they would say it's full of chemicals or it has to much unnatural dyes. We still ended up eating lots of fast food, it was a treat!
My mothered was and is a great homemaker and loved to create and work with her hands. She always cooked everything from scratch and was very
creative in the kitchen. She was a great model of hard work and dedication to
her family. Life in Ukraine was little more laid-back in a sense where there was not so much business and you went with the flow, of the day. We lived with the seasons. We would eat what we planted and preserved everything, to keep for winter. He kept chickens and a hog a year. We kept rabbits for meat. We made our own pasta and shopped at the local market, at the time there was not that many groceries. Now it's way diffrent. We loved buying ice cream from old grandmas who would stand at the market with a box filled to the top, and it would sell quickly because they had no cooler. The best ice cream of my childhood. We made our own wine,and would drink raw cows milk. Simple right?!
In 2002 I met my
wonderful Husband and we got married a year later! In 2004 we had our first
child and from then on we had three almost four children at this point in our life!
When we had our first son my Husband weighed 300lb. and wore
a size 44 pants. He was on a few different prescription drugs and was told he
had to take them all his life. He was sick very often. There was a time that he
was hospitalized for 12 days, to be released home with a stomach virus. My
daughter struggled with constant ear infections from when she was one to 1 ½.
This was extremely frustrating to me. We practically lived at our doctor’s
office. Always being sent home with some sort of prescription. I had to get on
my knees and cry out to God and ask for wisdom. Teach me Lord another way of living.
Show me a different way. Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he
who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
Gradually the Lord
started sending people in our path, with more knowledge and experience with their
own health. They shared with us their own struggles and accomplishments. We
dove into researching everything that went into our mouth. To some it seemed
like we were being a little nuts and saying things like. We will all die eventually, or once in a
while McDonalds is a treat… Honestly every time my kids had McDonalds My
daughter would have horrible diarrhea, and my son cannot processes, processed food well at all. To me McDonalds was not a treat I would want to feed my children.
We soon started to learn about healthy living from eating
organic and local foods. To cutting out processed foods, foods that my grandma
didn’t eat or ever would! We learned about Chiropractic’s and the benefits
that, that could have on your health. We started learning about essential oils
and the benefits of different herbs. And Honestly, I never even realized of how
our amazing creator created our body to be able to heal itself. We were never
intended to eat the kinds of foods that are out in our grocery store shelves. I
started to think back when I was little and how I watched my grandfather
process a chicken for our dinner that night and how he made his own egg
noodles. How he spent hours in the garden pulling weeds and collecting the
bounty that the Lord provided. I loved how in the fall time when the air was so crisp and cool we started our grape harvest, big fat purple grapes would be transformed to amazing juices and homemade wine! I can smell it as I imagine it! Or the time I was 9 years old and mom asked me to help her plant some tomato plans in our garden. All of the sudden a summer rain shower drenching us, and I remember my feet sinking into the mud between my toes. There is no better feeling then being connected to the earth like that. I am so blessed to be able to have these type of
memories. It also makes me sad to see where we are now as a people. Everything
has to be fast and processed and microwaved. Everyone is always so busy. Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.
I keep thinking this is not the way the Lord intended us to
eat.
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
I make our meals
from scratch. 95% of the time. And trust me when I say. All the things I make almost is always
30 minutes or less!! Our children
eat pretty much everything we serve in our house. Sure we have some who would rather never eat a tomato, but they love broccoli and some do have certain foods
they strongly despise , ( liver, or goose liver pate.) but they usually
will try things at lest once. We keep healthy foods in the fridge and
cupboards. As parents modeling healthy
habits is important. What you do, say, eat they will do too!
We have a nice size garden where we grow our own veggies. We
also grow black currents. We have been growing a garden for 4 years.voting with our dollars is important. Supporting local organic, non GMO farmers. I really enjoy going to a local plant sale every May. Lets just say, I am in my happy
place! Having a garden is such a great learning tool for our children as well.
Our kids love to plant seeds, watch them grow, and most of all they love to
pick what’s growing. When my son learned to walk he loved walking into the garden
and eating our cherry tomatoes, exploring all the things around him. It also is
so satisfying to have fresh herbs and veggies at your fingertips. This day and age children are not sure where
food comes from, or the difference between a tomato or a potato. It’s our job as parents to teach and model that life style. To provide your children with
the most healthy freshest foods. When we started to think healthy, it didn’t
happen overnight. It was a gradual
process, we are continually learning something new each day! If you are
struggling with your health and want to get started, Give up one bad thing for
a good thing. Gradually before you know it you will be making progress in the
right direction. Trust the Lord to guide you and provide for your needs.
As for my husband and daughter, they are much better. Praise
God! My husband now weighs 175lb. size 36 pants that are a little loos!! He is
off all prescription medications and is feeling healthier then he’s ever been.
My daughter never struggles with ear infections. My Son who is three never had
an antibiotic ever. All to the Glory of God.
Deuteronomy 8:7-10
says
For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a
land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and
hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and figs trees and pomegranates, a
land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without
scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out
of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you
shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. I love
this passage for its simplicity, this is a simple way of life. A good friend of mine said this...
I had a good friend share her thoughts about health physically and spiritually!
Eating wholesome foods is important to the health of our physical bodies, but there is a matter infinitely more important than this. For, because this is a broken world, because of sin, we will all die, no matter how well we take care of our physical bodies. The corruption of our food supply is only a symptom of a much greater problem. God's ways are perfect and holy--he made everything good. But man is sinful and he ruined it all. From the beginning of time, man has chosen to serve himself instead of the Lord. We want to run our own lives and not submit to God's authority. For this reason, our relationship with our Creator is broken. Our rightful punishment is death and hell forever. However, God in His grace and mercy would not let us go. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to the cross to bear the punishment that our sins deserved. Only by putting our faith in Christ and by following Him wholeheartedly can we escape God's judgment and go to heaven. So, yes, nurture your physical bodies in this life, enjoy God's good gifts, be good stewards of what He gives you. But remember, most importantly, to feast on the Lord Jesus Christ. To abide in Him and draw your nourishment from His love on the cross. The Bible says that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" Mt 4:4.
Something to think about:
The rates of chronic illness is increasing rapidly, why? What has happened over the years that we see our children struggling with all sorts of ailments . Allergies, diabetes, asthma, ear infections, cavities , etc. We are the voice for our little ones, let us educate ourselves, let us not sit with a blind eye to the issues that happen within our own walls. If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all. ~ Pearl S. Buck
Wishing all of you a healthy and joyous filled life.
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