Thoughts

Thoughts

            Old Mother Sharon, she went to the shelves of her brain this morning for blog posting ideas, and the shelves?   They were bare.  So I took the best action I could:  I prayed, and Spirit filled my mind with the following thoughts.

            Do you ever become embarrassed or ashamed of your food thoughts or actions?  I do.  I’m embarrassed that I seem to think about food all the time, except when I am sleeping, and sometimes I wonder about those hours.  After breakfast I think about how many hours to lunch and what I am going to have for lunch.  After lunch I think about supper and what I am going to have for supper. After supper I think about what I’ll have for breakfast the next day.

            If I eat out or am at a writing workshop, after I have finished the food on my plate, I often think, “I’d really like more of that mac and cheese.”  Ninety nine percent of the time, it’s not that I am still hungry.  No, it’s either that I don’t want to stop having the sensual pleasure of eating or that I really like the mac and cheese or both.

            I’m embarrassed and ashamed of/by these thoughts.  I don’t want anyone to be able to read my mind.

            So the question is what do I do about it?  One thing I know is this:  I do not need to be embarrassed or ashamed of myself—ever, for I am God’s child, and I am loved.

            Because God loves me, the Holy One gave me a verse, showing me what to do about  constantly thinking about food:  “. . .the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace”  (Romans 8:6, NIV).

            Peace—that’s what I want.  I want my mind to be at peace, resting in and thinking of the Lord.

            I pray you also, Reader, may have peace of mind.

                                                                                                                                   Sharon Witty

A Positive Perspective

We are a month into the New Year already. So how is your New Year’s resolution going? Don’t feel badly if you didn’t make one, nor if you are failing to live up to your expectations. It is okay to be human, especially an imperfect human.

My goal was to lose the five pounds that doesn’t want to go away.  Five pounds isn’t much to lose in a month but it is when you can’t seem to lose it. I have consistently exercised five days a week but my problem is eating. Eating brownies I made this weekend. Eating broccoli cheese soup. Eating tater tot casserole. Eating, eating, eating.

Instead of feeling down on myself for all the wrongs I’ve committed, I’m trying to take a healthier perspective. If I start looking forward instead of backward, I can begin to change my habits. I can think about how fortunate I am to be able to afford fresh fruits and vegetables and to have them available to me in the store. What a blessing it is to be able to eat apples when our trees don’t even have leaves!

There isn’t much that tastes better than a crisp, crunchy fresh salad as long as I am looking forward to the salad, not dreaming of a big steak. It is a matter of perspective. And I’m in control of my viewpoint. If I frame my thoughts in a positive manner, my meals will be more satisfying and delicious.

“He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy,” (Acts 14:17b NIV).

May we progress toward our healthy goal, one step or bite at a time.

Gloria D. Stewart