Growing up, my mama never paid a lot for my shoes.
I had a really bad habit of dragging my feet when I walked, so the bottoms of my shoes and the tips of my shoes were often scuffed. I also spent a tremendous amount of time in mud puddles because: WHY NOT. 😆😛 So when I would be gifted a pair of shoes that I actually WANTED (think: the Converse 👟 with the stars you could swap out the colors and NOT the Dollar General skippies) I would be extra careful to take care of them. Once the new 👟 shoes were on my feet, I was suddenly more aware of how I was walking. I made a special effort not to drag my feet so that the shoes would last longer. Oh, but don’t get it twisted, I would also receive REGULAR reminders 🗣🗣🗣🗣 from my mama to pick my feet up when I walked, which certainly helped me to remember. 😆 In today’s reading we are reminded that we are God’s creation and because of this, we are called to care for our bodies and our soul in the same way. He made us! Why would we then destroy something he took such good care to create? 🤔 A very simple example of this is if you went out and bought a brand new pair of red bottom shoes and you just wore them wherever you wanted to wear them. 👠On gravel 👠In mud 👠In the pool, etc. You would never do that, right? Why not? Because of their VALUE 💰 . You worked for the money you used (unless you have a rich aunt or a sugar daddy 🤪) to purchase the shoes, correct? So they are VALUABLE to you! I am certainly not comparing myself (or you 👀) to a pair of shoes, but this is a great example of how much God cares for us and VALUES us. Honey, on a daily basis I imagine God walking around behind me saying “girl pick up your feet!” when I make mistakes (which I do on a daily basis). Do you have a daily routine to care for your body? Has that routine changed during the pandemic? Scripture: You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV) My parents divorced when I was very young so I spent a lot of time with my paternal grandmother Frances as a child while my mother worked or attended college. My Hamblen and Green county people know, my grandmother made the best cakes on earth. I would often spend my day eating whatever was around at Nannie’s so when it came time to eat our actual meal I was not hungry. My grandmother never made me eat if I was not hungry and would always allow me to have whatever I wanted later in the evening. 🤣🤣 It was the opposite in my mother’s home. She cooked a meal every morning before she went to work so that we would have a balanced meal when we got home from school. Our snacks in the home were fresh and never came from a package. We did not have sweet drinks unless it was a special occasion. We did not even have meals like tacos unless it was my birthday! So how do you manage two different worlds when it comes to eating? The short answer is: You don’t. You don’t really learn what is the proper way to eat. You just know what people prefer individually, and follow suit when you are with THEM. But that is the kicker! If I was always doing something to please other people, how would I learn what worked for me? For me, it is starting with what am I eating INSTEAD of meals? Yesterday we talked about Chex Mix and while we were joking about it, it is a serious issue for me because it is a snack I turn to on a daily basis. So my question for the day is: am I craving snacks Or am I craving something deeper? We all know how it feels to be sad, forgotten, left out, etc. What do we do when we have those feelings? Some of us eat too much, others drink, others engage in activities that are inappropriate, we all have some thing we do to cope. But when that coping mechanism becomes a daily occurrence, it is time to rethink how we are living. Question: What were you taught about eating as a child? Were there clear boundaries around what you could and could not eat or was it a free-for-all? I have always been a junk food junkie.
Seriously. Since as long as I can remember, I have loved snacks. Little Debbie. Cheese Doodles. You name it. And if the package makes an annoyingly loud sound (which we know is the WORST)? Gimme! And every year, I choose a new snack to covet: the year we filmed The Rhythm in Blue, it was those little caramels with the cream filling. Then it was Baked Lays. Then it was Raisenettes. Then it was fruit snacks. Then Popcorners. Now, it’s Chex Mix. Cheddar. It has to be Cheddar. It is very rare that you see me eating a full meal but I will snack all day long! Ask about me! Appetizers are my jam. Cheese and crackers? Yes, please. Don’t get me wrong, snacks are not bad if you are eating a balanced diet (unlike me). But if you are ONLY eating snacks, or if snacks make up most of your day’s food like me, it’s a problem. Day 1 of Made to Crave reminds us that cravings are created by God. He WANTS us to crave. But God wants our cravings satisfied by HIM. Not the world. And certainly not by Cheddar Chex Mix. How can we start to look at the little things we turn to for comfort throughout the day? When we are stressed, what do we do? If you are me, I reach for the Chex mix! Now that I know this, I can think of healthier alternatives. Do you have a daily “coping” habit you need to re-evaluate? |
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