Toxicity

Seven days ago, Rachel and I started a 30-day detox program. The first two days were horrible. We were grumpy, tired, frustrated, and at each other's throats. The next couple of days were much better, and we've now settled into a routine and life is back to normal. Well, not quite.

Generally speaking, I feel much better than I did before we started the detox. There have been a few definite changes that I've noticed:

1) I've lost weight and inches. I have dropped six pounds over the past week, and my clothes aren't quite so tight. For instance, I put on a shirt this morning and looked in the mirror. The last time I wore this shirt, I could see my belly pressing through, but this morning it hung flat and loose.

2) I'm falling asleep faster, sleeping better, and waking up faster. I'll be the first to admit I am NOT a morning person. I usually wake up with just enough time to shower, pack a lunch, then drive to work (and usually arrive a couple of minutes late). But almost every day this week I have been up before dawn, either going to the gym or helping Rachel start the day. My boss is quite pleased to see me arriving at least fifteen minutes early each day.

3) The 2 o'clock lethargy hour has disappeared. I used to hate the 2-3pm hour because I could hardly focus on anything and I would often roam the office looking for a pick-me-up, whether it be coffee or cake or whatever. But the afternoon isn't really a problem for me any more.


I know I'm only a week into the program, and there are four more weeks to go, but I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body continues to improve. But it's also very eye-opening to see what the effects of toxicity are. I never would have thought my 'normal' life could be so much better by simply eating differently.

If you want to read a day-by-day log of our detox, check out Rachel's blog.

Words

I know it's not the smartest thing to do, but I sometimes read books on my drive to and from work. It's a very slow process since I can usually only read a paragraph or two at a time while the lights are red....then there are days when I don't get to read at all because every light is green. Am I the only one who hopes for a red light?

I'm currently reading the book Princeps' Fury by Jim Butcher. It's book 5 of 6 in a series, and every book  is very well written. As I sat in my car at a red light this morning, the few paragraphs I read left my heart pounding in my chest and adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was hanging onto every word, not able to read fast enough.....then the light turned green.

The rest of my drive (which was unfortunately red-light free), I pondered what had happened.  How could a few letters strung together make my body react that way? That adrenaline woke me up far faster and more thoroughly than a cup of coffee, and it was generated by a very small portion of text! Words carry with them an incredible power. At their basest form, they convey thoughts and concepts, but they can also paint pictures, convey emotions, and even create entire worlds.

Maybe that's why James made a point of saying, "....be quick to listen and slow to speak...." If we truly considered what we are about to say before we say it, would we still use those same words? I get myself into a lot of trouble at times because I open my mouth and speak before I think. I'm definitely going to make an attempt at fixing that.



And in case you're wondering, here's what I read in those few moments:


".....In order to kill Kalarus Brencis Minoris and survive the exchange herself, Amara would have to open up his throat wide with the stone-bladed dagger she held in her hand. Or else sink it to the hilt in one of his eyes or ears. There was absolutely no room for error.
     Brencis, on the other hand, could snap her neck with a thrust of his arm, burn her to bones with a flick of his fingers, or sweep her head clean of her neck with a single motion of his excellent-quality sword.
It seemed a trifle unfair.
     But then, she’d never really expected a series of equitable situations when she’d joined the Cursors.
     Crows take you, Gaius. Even when I walked away from your service, you managed to draw me back into it.
     Moving silent and unseen had become second nature to her over the past days. She drifted past the guards standing about the courtyard, walking slowly, calmly, and carefully. She paused several times, to let one of the collared Alerans pass nearby, before she continued. Stealth had a great deal more to do with patience and the ability to remain calm when there was very little reason to do so than with any amount of personal agility.
     It took her perhaps ten minutes to move from the shelter of the alley to the side of the platform opposite Brencis’s table. It took another five to slide around the platform and stop beside the stairs leading from the floor of the courtyard up to the auction stage. When Brencis finished eating, he would go back up the stairs to collar the next victim, and Amara would drive her dagger into his brain. He would fall. She would take to the skies immediately, and be gone from the meager light of the furylamps before anyone could react. It couldn’t be simpler.
     In matters such as that, simplicity was a deadly weapon in its own right.
     It took Brencis several more moments to finish dinner, before he pushed his plate away and rose.
Amara settled her grip on the handle of the stone knife and relaxed her muscles, preparing for the single, blindingly swift strike that was her only chance at success."


.....and I have to wait until lunch to find out what happens.

A New Resolution

Our small group at church has been reading through the New Testament in an 8-week period. The 'book' we have been using has removed all chapter/verse references so it's easier to read it as it was written….mostly as letters from one person to another. When reading it in big chunks like that, it's easier to pick out certain themes. For instance, one of the themes that stood out to me was that Paul kept needing to address was about how the believers were treating their bodies: the issue of circumcision (or not), eating food sacrificed to idols (or not), engaging in sexual immorality, and a variety of other body-related issues that kept arising. 

I don't think we struggle with those same exact same issues today, but the message that Paul gave repeatedly is still pertinent:

1. There is little required of you physically after you are saved

2. Salvation brings freedom, but don't abuse it

3. Remember that you are no longer your own - God owns you; you are now a slave to Christ

In other words, you don't have to treat your body well, but you ought to out of reverence for Jesus.

So that's been rolling around in my head lately, then last weekend I went skiing at Monarch Mountain, and if you've read my latest blog post, you know what happened there. Someone stopped us at the top and entertained two of my nephews by telling them that if they pee on one side of the Continental Divide, it will end up in the Atlantic,and if they pee on the other side, it will end up in the Pacific. That got me to thinking about the long-term consequences of decisions and actions. I ended that post by asking,  "will we continue making the choices we want to despite knowing the outcome? If you know the information is accurate and the person is trustworthy, why would you ignore it?"

Then…..I saw this video on YouTube.

Rachel watched a few minutes of that video with me, then had to look away. She didn't want to hear it since she loves her Coke. After it was over, I asked her what she thought, and she said, "I guess we're switching to Pepsi!"

But listen to some of the statements that are made:

1. Coke has been known to accelerate aging and cause high cholesterol.

3. The calories in Coca-cola products have no nutritional value.

4. If you choose to live a healthy lifestyle, then you should not be drinking any Coke products.

5. If you drink Coke, you'll get fatter and fatter. The solution is simple….don't drink Coke. It's killing you and your family.

I don't know about you, but the culmination of what I've been reading in the Bible, what God's been showing me through my daily interactions, and finally this commercial have really convicted me that I'm not taking very good care of what's been entrusted to me, nor have I been leading my family to do so, especially in the area of drinking soda (we have been going through almost a 12-pack of coke a week).

So going back to the questions on my last post, "will I continue making the choices I want to despite knowing the outcome? If I know the information is accurate and the source is trustworthy, why would I ignore it?"

So in light of all that, I'm saying goodbye to soda. I love it, it tastes great, but it's slowly killing me. It's not going to be easy, but I think it'll be worth it.