Twelve Days of Thanksgiving — H

H is for Healthy Lifestyle

Everyone has heard of the 12 Days of Christmas.  I thought I would do my version of the 12 days of Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving:  the act of giving thanks; a prayer of gratitude to God.

I am far from what you would call the poster child for “healthy”.  I’ve never been a size 6 (it just seems like everyone wants to be a size 6) — maybe in the sixth grade I was but quite frankly I think that if I was a size 6 I would look sickly.  I don’t consider myself fat, but I’m sure the powers that be in Hollywood or the rest of the world would call me just that.  Personally I like to refer to my curves as voluptuous.  When I dug out my winter wardrobe my voluptuous butt cheeks had a hard time squeezing into my voluminous jeans.  It has been a challenge to make a lifestyle change at our eating habits as well as adding exercise into our daily routine.

I can honestly say putting the extra pounds on was a lot easier and enjoyable than it has been trying to take them off.  God’s word tells us that we reap what we sow in due season.  I was a Big Mac, large fry, diet coke, super-size, please, once a week kind of girl.  I remember hitting the salad bar thinking this was a good healthy choice as I loaded up my plate with cheese and ham and macaroni salad and all those other good treats you find on salad bars that are not actually salad items.  While I was hogging it into me I had no idea that the little butt cheeks were growing into bigger butt cheeks, or I should say I refused to acknowledge that they would.

We know when we have that extra helping of mashed potatoes that we need to do a little extra work to burn the calories.  Look at the average kid today.  They are HUGE!  Yeah, you have some parents that will argue and say it’s a thyroid problem.  Most generally it has everything to do with laziness.  We live in a fast food and super sized kind of nation.  If your kid works on a farm and takes care of the animals a Happy Meal once in awhile isn’t going to make him fat — it might clog up his arteries in the long run, but how many kids are working the farm and taking care of animals?  Most kids have their butts plunked on a couch somewhere with a bag of Doritos playing a video game. 

Thanksgiving is definitely not a healthy holiday for me.  Too many temptations to deal with: egg nog, turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, squash soufflé, candied sweet potatoes, oyster casserole, stuffed mushrooms, bacon wrapped scallops, apple pie, pumpkin roll, pecan pie, oh YUM!  Even one bite of each of those goodies is way over a normal 2000 calorie plan.  It will be a struggle for sure and thank God for it only coming once a year.

Our health is important to all of us.  Some people take their health for granted.  I know I did for a long time and I still struggle with certain unhealthy temptations.  Some people do not have their health… they have diseases that cannot be controlled by man.  But then there are the ones that we do have control over and we should do everything in our power to prevent them (overeating, over drinking, sex out of wedlock, smoking, drugs).  When we take advantage of our health and give in to temptation of the bad choices that can harm our health, we are giving in to sin.  Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us.  When we over-indulge in anything (eating, drinking, even exercise) we sin against the ONE who created us.

We reap what we sow later than when we sow and more than what we have sown.  Eating at fast food restaurants might not seem like a bad idea right now, but eventually all of that grease (yes, all of it) is going to catch up with your butt cheeks.  Smoking will eventually kill you, drugs not taken under the supervision of a doctor is illegal so not only are you sinning against God, but you are also breaking the law.  Fornication is the perfect opportunity for you to come in contact with AIDS and not only that, even though AIDS is treatable in the end, fornication is a one way ticket to hell. 

I don’t write these things because I think I am better than anyone.  I am making a conscience effort to live a healthier lifestyle.  I write these things because I have experienced them all and I am full aware how difficult it is to make changes.  By the grace of God for now I still have my health and my sanity.  Hopefully I have struck a chord within some of my readers and you too, can make a healthy lifestyle change.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods.

© Crackerberries 2011