The Price is Right

Value: The regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Each human life has value, would you agree? We are all individuals uniquely created with different personalities, quirks, struggles, strengths, and gifts. Is one life more valuable than another? I do not believe so, yet I often find myself feeling that my life and who I am is not equal to the next person. I feel inferior or less valuable than a family member, friend or acquaintance. So what is it that makes us feel valuable? Is it something constant? Or something that can change with the times? Is it our money, weight, clothes, friends, status, abilities or talents? Or is there some unchangeable, steady measure that we can hold our life up against to truly see our value? Why is it that we allow something as inconsistent as a number on a scale to determine something as important as our value? I get so frustrated with our society and our culture that says that if we eat healthy and organic and “clean” and we exercise every day, THEN we somehow become more valuable. Yes, we need to take care of our God-given physical bodies. But what is the gold standard? If I only go to the gym twice each week, is the person next to me who is there every day somehow magically better than me? If I don’t go at all, am I less important than everyone else? It is heartbreaking to think of the number of people who fail to see their value, or usefulness or importance in this life because they don’t live up to the unrealistic ideal portrayed in every magazine, Victoria’s Secret fashion show, or Pinterest board. And yet, this “ideal” woman (or man), based on image, style and role in society is ever changing! How can we set a standard of value on something that vacillates with every generation? I ask again, is there some unchangeable, steady measure that we can hold our life up against to truly see our value? I believe the answer is yes. And it has nothing to do with the number of followers we have on Instagram, the brand name or size number on a tag inside of our clothing, the grocery store we shop at, or our home décor. It has everything to do with our Creator. We did not create ourselves. We did not choose to which family we would be born, our genetic makeup, our physical bodies, our innate strengths and weaknesses, or our personality traits. Our God chose to make you the way He made you. THAT gives you value. Yet we choose to walk away from Him and live for ourselves rather than for Him. Mankind had a choice to either listen to God’s instructions and live life the way He intended or to listen to our own selfish desires. We did not choose God and He allowed us to do so. But He still wants us to be His. He made a way to bring us back to Himself. He BOUGHT us with an expensive price- His son. THAT gives you value. The power of His sacrifice is so great that we will never on this earth understand the full extent of the crucifixion of Jesus. But if I give my life for something, whatever that thing is now has great value. Our nation has value because of price that has been paid for our freedom. If I have a coupon for a free box of chocolate and I redeem that coupon, that chocolate now has the value the coupon placed on it. When Jesus traded in His life for our own, the value of His sacrifice (which again, we cannot even fathom) was placed on our lives. THAT gives you value. How insulting it must be to our Savior when we devalue His sacrifice, and instead seek our value from our relationships, our appearance, and even our food! If we want to live a valuable life, an important and useful life that is held in high regard, we need to receive that value from something that won’t change from day to day, based on current trends, fads, and whims. We need to receive our value from the unchanging, unfailing love of Christ, which redeems us from a valueless life apart from Him. And there is no greater treasure in all the earth than this great love that He has lavished upon us!

Back to the Present

“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” Abraham Maslow

I’m back! It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to sit down and write. Life gets busy, what can I say? Recently, my husband and I moved to Charlotte for his job. We love it here, we really do! He is happy with his new job and I’m beyond thrilled that this move is proving to be the right choice for us. With all of the changes that have been taking place though, it’s been hard not to look forward to “what’s next”. I still haven’t found a job here in our new city and it’s been difficult not to wish away this time. I guarantee the minute I start working I’ll be thinking, “Why didn’t I take more advantage of all the time I had at home?!” It’s been nice. I’ve had time to keep our house clean, try out different Pinterest crafts and recipes, play with our adorable 6 month old and ever-growing Golden Retriever puppy, read, explore a new city… so why am I in such a rush to move on? Why is it so difficult to live in the here and now? I’ve been learning a lot about patience and trusting God during the last couple of months, but I’ve still a long way to go.

Do you believe that living in the moment contributes to our overall sense of wellness? To answer that, we have to determine what the negatives are to either living in the past or desiring to move forward into the future. Take a minute to think of any past mistakes or failures. What is your stomach doing as you think of these things? Mine is knotting up! My mind is trying to force itself to think of something else, but it can’t. It can’t stop thinking of the things I’m trying to forget. All this can do is hold me back. It will prevent me from trying again, or from forgiving myself or accepting forgiveness. Consistently thinking on the past, whether positive or negative, will only serve to prevent you from reaching the capacity of fullness your here-and-now has in store.  How about dwelling on the future? Where will you be in five years? What will your income be? How many kids will you have? Will you be married? Will you be living in the same city? Who will your friends be? What will you be doing with your life? The questions are endless! My mind is racing just thinking about these questions. The more time I spend thinking about what hasn’t even happened, the less time I have to think on what I can be doing in the present tense. We cannot change the past and we cannot foresee the future. All we can do is take what we have learned from the past, use it to make the most of the present, in order to do our part in creating the best future we possibly can for ourselves and our families.

So how do we do this? I recently read a book in a Bible study group called “Loving God with All Your Mind” by Elizabeth George. (Probably one of the most practical books I’ve read in a while!). In it, she talks about thinking on what is true. The past is truth, but it is the past. It has already happened and we can’t change it. And, the way we interpret it may not be true (for instance, how we view someone’s opinion of us, our reputation, our worth, etc). The future sure isn’t truth at this point, because it hasn’t happened yet! We need to focus on what is true. I know not everyone has the same views or beliefs, but I believe there are a few common truths we need to hold on to. 1.) God loves us despite the opinions of those around us. 2.) God created us with a purpose, and He desires to fulfil that purpose in us. 3.) God knows our future and is with us each step of the way. 4.) God is faithful to forgive our past and use us in spite of our failures and mistakes. And lastly, 5.) Every day is a gift from God that we need to be thankful for and enjoy!

We are only given one life. Don’t rush through it or waste it dwelling upon what’s already happened. Savor each moment, the way I do with each bite of my favorite dessert, my mom’s Texas Sheet Cake (yum!). Learning this, I’m sure of it, will help promote a more positive life experience and much more enjoyable interactions with all! J

The Easy Way Out is a Dead End

“We have many reasons to hope for great happiness, but . . . we have to earn it. And that's something you can't achieve by taking the easy way out. Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.” Anne Frank, July 6, 1944

As we all know and can attest to, not many things in life are handed to us on a silver platter. All of the wonderful things in life come to be and continue to exist because we have worked hard for them. Relationships take effort. Becoming successful in ones career takes effort. Learning new skills, developing talents, and pursuing passions takes effort. Committing ourselves to a faith, whatever it may be, takes effort. A lack of effort typically results in an extinction of these things. In order to obtain and maintain anything we desire in life, we must make sacrifices. We must prioritize the thing we desire, dedicate time to pursue it, and give up whatever prevents us from achieving our goals. We must willing compromise for the sake of what’s to come. 

I wonder why, despite our knowledge of this, the temptation to find the easy way out is so present in our lives. We all seem to want a magic solution to eliminate effort. I believe there are many contributing factors to this in our present society. For one, the advancement of technology has planted in our minds the need for immediate gratification. We need to have what we want right now. We are able to communicate across the world with a single mouse click. We have the internet- a world of information- at our fingertips. The idea of waiting in our society is such a burden. I’m not complaining... I love technology and I think the benefits are numerous. But I do hate that we seem to no longer appreciate what we are able to achieve when we devote our time to the things we desire. We seem to think that the immediate nature of the availability of information, entertainment, and resources should permeate into every aspect of our lives- including our health. Unfortunately, this can only serve as a hinderance to reaching our full health potential. I also believe that a sense of entitlement has creeped its way into our nation. We seem to believe that we should all be given what we want. Not only should it be given to us immediately, but it better be what we ordered. We should never have to do anything we don’t want to do and when it is what we want to do, we shouldn’t have to lift a finger. Find someone else to do it for you. Why put forth effort  when there is something or someone else available to do the work instead? When there is an easy way out available (whether it works or not) why not take it? It’s there. It’s easy. I’m going to relate this to our physical health, but if you think about it, the temptation is there to apply this to all areas of our life. I’ve come to realize, although the easy way out may make certain legs of your journey easier for the time being, it robs you of the joy and satisfaction of success and removes the desire and motivation for future endeavors. 

You can probably guess where I’m going with all of this, given the nature of my blog. It’s plastered all over magazines, billboards, TV commercials... “take this pill and burn more calories to lose weight”, “eat our food to lose weight without doing a thing!”, “have this surgery to look skinnier, younger, and more beautiful”. Why are we willing to work so hard to advance our career, but not to feed and properly care for our bodies in a healthy way? Isn’t it interesting that despite the growing number of diets, weight loss pills, and elective surgeries out there, the rate of obesity, disordered eating patterns, and other related medical complications are on the rise? Clearly, the easy way out isn’t working. Until it does, I will continue to advocate for healthy living- eating in moderation (not in deficiency or excess), ensuring adequate intake of the nutrients we need, physical activity in the correct proportion of duration and intensity, relationships that build us up and spur us on to good deeds, and devoting our lives to a cause that gives us something worth living for. And the truth of it is- this takes work. It’s not a pill that cures all of our ills. Living a healthy and purposeful life requires effort on our part, but this effort leads to satisfaction, enjoyment, a sense of achievement, and the peace of knowing that you have taken full advantage of the life you’ve been given. There’s no pill that can provide you with all of that.

Mindful Preparation for Mindless Eating

An Interesting Read on Mindless Eating

We all do it. There’s a bowl of M&M’s sitting on the counter. You walk by and eat a few. Then walk by again, and think “a few more won’t hurt me”. Then think the same thing the next several times. The next thing you know, you aren’t thinking about it anymore. It’s an automatic reflex to reach up and grab the candy. By the end of the day, you’ve consumed the equivalent of a king-sized bag of M&M’s without even meaning to! 

Admit it. No matter how hard we try to “eat healthy”, “cut back”, or “watch what we eat”, old habits are hard to break. Often, we are putting more in our bodies than we intend to, simply because our minds play tricks on us! If you have a chance, I would really encourage you to read the article I’ve attached to this blog post. It’s a little lengthy, but just read what you have time to read. 

In case you don’t want to read the article, I’ll touch on a few key points. First off, why do we overeat? I think we can all say there has been at least one point in our lives where we knew we were full, yet we continued to put food into our bodies. I did this just last night! A study conducted by the author of this article found that 12% over-eat because of emotions- they had a terrible day, were feeling down, or were bored. Another 51% over-ate because they were really hungry. The percentage of people who over-ate because the food was spectacular was 37%. Another study conducted by this author found that in a group of individuals who had dinner within 20 minutes of arriving at a movie theatre, the subjects given a larger popcorn bucket ate 34% more popcorn then those given a smaller bucket... and the popcorn was stale! If the popcorn wasn’t stale, the subjects ate 45% more. So these individuals, when given stale popcorn after eating a dinner meal, STILL ate more simply because they were given more. If the food is there, we will eat it! Even if the food isn’t great, and even if we aren’t hungry. The mere presence of food compels us to eat. Just like at the dinner table. Another study found that if serving dishes are left on the table where everyone is eating, women will eat 10% more and men will eat 29% more than if the food isn't left on the table. 

Another interesting focus of this article is on the “health halo” effect. The author interviewed individuals leaving a McDonald’s and a Subway in the mall to see what they ate (and how may calories they consumed) and how many calories they believed they consumed. Those who ate at McDonald’s underestimated their caloric intake by 19%, and those who ate at Subway underestimated by 27%. We tend to underestimate how many calories we are consuming simply because of marketing techniques. We believe we are eating something “healthy”, so we allow ourselves to eat more of it. This leads us to consuming just as many calories, if not more, than if we ate the “unhealthy” food choice. 

So what can we do? The tips the article suggests to help us counteract our mindless eating include: using smaller plates/bowls at home, leaving serving dishes on the counter- away from the dinner table, packaging things in smaller containers, and if you buy in bulk- moving the foods into smaller, individual portioned baggies or Tupperware. If you eat the first thing you see, make sure the visible food in your pantry is food that will benefit your body. We may believe we have sufficient will power to choose foods that are healthy for our body rather than the junk we love to indulge in, but we don’t. Find a balance. If you try to completely restrict the foods you love from your diet, you will most likely fail and then overindulge to compensate for your restriction. Change your mindset. You’re not restricting these foods. You’re just tricking your mind to eat more of the foods that are good for you, or to eat less of the foods that have no nutritional benefit. Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. Don’t leave food or snacks out in plain sight. Put them behind closed doors so that you will have to make a conscious effort to go eat them. And when you do make this effort, if healthier foods are visible to you, you may choose these foods over the “junk” foods. We need to mindfully prepare for our mindless eating habits. It’s not dieting, it’s strategic preparation. 

Change Yourself, Change the World

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” 

-Leo Tolstoy

When you think of making a difference in the world, what do you see yourself doing? What type of person do you need to be to accomplish this? If you attempted to change the world right now, what would hold you back? It’s important to think about the things that hold us back in order for us to push them aside. I realize I may sound like I am contradicting myself from my previous posts. I know I say all the time that we need to avoid comparing ourselves to those around us. God made us the way we are for a reason. BUT. Are we perfect? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ll speak for myself and say that I am far from perfect. In order for me to be the best version of myself, there are many aspects of my life that need to change. Our potential to change the world is limited by our willingness to change ourselves. Our flaws, our imperfections, our fears, our failures, our insecurities, our weaknesses... these all serve a purpose in making us who we are. Our journey to overcome our weaknesses is what truly defines us. If we never address our fears, failures, and imperfections, how will we ever refine the person we have the potential to be? 

We are all unique and we need to embrace our individuality, but our differences may not necessarily be our inadequacies. It’s important to note that if we perceive the traits that make us unique as imperfection, we will never utilize our God-given gifts. So how do we tell the difference between what makes us who we are, and what is holding us back from becoming who God wants us to be? I believe one way to understand the difference is to look at what dictates our decisions. When we give our personal interest precedence over God’s desire for our lives, we fail to take full advantage of His provision for us. Have you ever felt that there was something you needed to do? You know that tugging on your heart that we so often ignore? I know I’ve had this happen before and I’ve justified ignoring it by saying “well that’s completely against my personality and God gave me this personality so I don’t think I need to do it...” My personal interest in this situation was my fear of stepping outside of my comfort zone, and this held me back from possibly impacting the world around me. When we are unwilling to change ourselves, we will fail to make the impact on the world that God has planned for us. So look at the different aspects of your life. Do these aspects of who you are serve to better the world around you? Or do they serve to better YOUR world? Do your actions, which reflect who you are, positively impact the lives of those around you? Or do they simply make you feel better about yourself? Change yourself- the inherent traits, present in all of us, which compel you to neglect the greater good- and I guarantee you will see changes in the world around you.