my body is a temple

This summer, I have spent most of my time moving into our new house and making it feel like home.  I have also made it a priority to get outside and get some exercise each day.  To be honest it hasn't been very easy to pry myself away from all the things that I feel need to get done in the house, and go outside to basically do, well, nothing.  But no matter how hard it is, it is always such an invigorating and uplifting experience once I'm actually out the door, enjoying the beauty of the earth around me.

that is SO me lol

Forcing myself to exercise hasn't been that easy either, there's always some excuse that I can come up with.  But for the most part I've been diligent about just doing it.  And it feels not just good, but great!  There is nothing like that sweaty, tired, elated feeling you get after a good workout, whether it be from biking, running, walking or whatever...it just feels good.

I've been trying to take time to read more and use my computer less for entertainment, which is actually one of the reasons I haven't been blogging as much.  I've actually read two novels in the last two weeks, which is like a new record for me since Riggs joined us.  I have also been reading some non-fiction, family-health type books that have been very eye-opening.  With Riggs nearing the six month mark, I am really trying to reevaluate my personal eating habits in anticipation for introducing him to the world of food.

I have a problem with food, well really it's just with a type of food - processed sugars and carbohydrates.  I know (and have known for a very long time) that I eat way too much sugary, carb-y food, and I can feel it slowing me down physically.  But what I didn't really realize until the last year or two is that it is also slowing me down mentally.  It's just not good for me, period.  But it's an addiction that is very, very hard for me to break (you might think "addiction" is a strong word to use for this, and it might seem like it at first.  It's not like I'm eating an entire batch of cookies each day, it's just that for me, I have very little control over emotional and bored eating, and therefore I choose to call it an addiction - it helps me to recognize it as the serious problem that it is).

I eat very healthy in all other ways, and even the sugary, carb-y foods I eat are technically organic or "natural". Regardless, it doesn't make it any more right to eat processed foods every day in the form of cookies, muffins, brownies and ice-cream, especially since I feel like I have no control over it.  If I have a bad day, sometimes all I can think about is getting home and eating something chewy and chocolate-y.

To be honest, I feel like I don't even know how to structure or plan a meal without some sort of starchy carbohydrate being the main ingredient.  Even as I'm mixing up the dough for the cookies I'm supposedly making for Steve, I know I'll be the one eating most of them.  And as I'm eating just one more cookie, I know it's not good for me, and that it doesn't feel good.  It's a very bad relationship, and it's something I do not want to model to my son.  I want him to have a much healthier relationship with food than I do.

So that leads me to this post, and the thoughts I've been dwelling on lately in what steps I need to take in order to make a big change in my relationship with foods and my wellbeing.  I heard of a book in that blog world that looks very interesting to me, which I thought I'd share here.

It sounds like a very interesting read, and I'm anxious to find it and begin reading.  Almost every single review on Amazon was very positive, and I think it is important to think about what we eat from a biblical perspective.  A large part of my mental anguish in regards to my food addiction, has been strong conviction that I am harming my body and not treating it as a temple, as God tells us to do in the New Testament.

What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price:  therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20


I think those two verses will be my theme verse for the next couple of months, or how ever long it takes for me to get my relationship with food sorted out.  And whether or not you struggle with food, or low self-esteem, or whatever it may be, maybe this needs to be your theme verse too.  I think we could all use a little reminding that God created us the way we are and expects us to treat our bodies as temples to glorify him (not ourselves).