AN APPLE A DAY - DAY 105 - EATING AND DRINKING TO THE GLORY OF GOD

365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

I firmly believe how we relate to God as our provider is crucial to our health and well being.  I have been dwelling on this fact all week now while studying and  observing the lifestyle of the Athos Monks living on the Greek mountain called Athos.  These monks have put everything in life aside and have depended solely upon God for their substance. Their whole lives are simply lived to give glory to God.  They are among the healthiest people on earth.

Then I also consider the ancient cultures that lived such long and healthy lives without the aid of the medical professionals that we now enjoy.  Just this week I have been writing in my Thursday blog called COME AS A CHILD about The Children of Israel who were redeemed by God from the bondage of Egyptian slavery.  These people were known for being strong and healthy.  These two subjects have kept running as parallel examples through my mind as strong examples of health and endurance.  The connection, of course, is their faith in God and their trust in Him to provide for their every need.  The ancient descendants of Abraham went out to live in the wilderness.  They traveled through the dry parched desert in scorching heat and lived in tents there through the cold desert nights.  They thrived in this environment for 40 years.  Like the Monks in Athos they too were isolated from the rest of the world, set apart and depending solely upon God for their food, clothing and shelter.

 Both groups have such amazing and healthy characteristics!  These present day  Monks, like those ancient people also have very healthy bodies and minds.  Can you imagine never experiencing health problems as you grow older?  

The people of Israel used the same clothes and shoes for 40 years! They had healthy food rained down to them from heaven every day!   Can you imagine never purchasing anything, and simply trusting God to look after you day in and day out?  As a Christian I SHOULD be able to imagine that; but like most people, I have a long way to go to develop my faith to this point.  It is a desired goal.   The experiences of both of these people groups and their outlooks on life and daily living are well worth noting and many of their ways are worth observing and putting into practice in the days of our own lives. 

I am reminded of the scripture verse found in Psalm 145:15-16; The eyes of all look to you in hope, you give them their food as they need it.  When you open your hand, you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing. 

Both of these people groups have depended solely upon God during two very different times in history; and the hand of God has satisfied their hunger and thirst and brought them to a quality of life and health that has turned out to be both fascinating and amazing.  They would tell you that the foods that are natural, just as God created them, are the best foods to put into your body. 

So here I am in the beginning of the first week of my new diet plan that I hope follows the lifestyle of these Athos monks (for more details see my blog at http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2016/07/an-apple-day-day-104-learning-lesson.html )  I have been constantly reminded throughout this first week of the diet that God satisfies our hunger and thirst and provides all that we need daily.  

I was not accustomed to only two meals a day.  Limiting the food intake has made me more aware of how God provides just what we need just when and how we need it.  Going without food for longer intervals of time makes you very thankful for the basic natural foods that God provides to us.  Everything tastes better, and cravings change from the desire for what is unhealthy and fake to the desire for what is good, fresh and natural.   

I love studying these day-to-day miracles that God provides for us and the way He  teaches us through other members of the human family across various different times and cultures.  Most of them go unnoticed by most people almost every day.  They would quickly notice though should any of it disappear!  I don't want to miss a moment of God's awesome provision!  My desire is to learn more about healthy living from both of the above mentioned people groups. This new experiment has been a very interesting journey so far as I've started actually putting together a plan and carrying out the things I've learned in this first week. 

So far I have actually been able to follow my own imagination's version of the diet of the monks from Athos.   As a result I can honestly say I feel much better already! 

The first thing I noticed after a few days of more educated eating and exercising was the clarity I gained in my thinking.  The Monks say this is due to the fasting part of the diet.   For several weeks I’ve had what I call “brain fog.”  I attributed this to the fast pace of my life. I work full-time and look at the computer all day at work while sitting for hours at a time, then come home and pursue my writing career, which also has me looking at the computer for long hours into the night.  After awhile, so many facts and thoughts and reading and writing can give you brain fog as well as eye fatigue.  I simply can’t help this right now; it is all necessary to achieve success in the areas of my life that are very important to my personal growth and my future.  The constant sitting is very bad for you, as it slows down circulation, and I think that contributes to the cloudy feeling I was getting inside my head at the end of the day, or when I first awoke in the mornings, just a general sluggishness.  I hated this!  

After a week of eating two healthy nutritious meals a day combined with moderate exercise every 3 hours, and enough fasting time in between meals for my food to digest properly and allow me to actually become hungry again, I’ve noticed a remarkable change in the clarity in my thinking and functioning abilities.  I didn’t expect that to happen so fast!  I love it and I have to attribute it to following this new diet plan, especially in observing the "fast" days of the diet.

By the way; the food, when I was not fasting, has been very good!  At first I was hungry each day at noon time because allowing 12 hours between meals was a bit of a challenge.  I toughed it out though, and have found this change is now leaving me feeling invigorated at the end a full week.  I’m not getting as hungry in between meals anymore. 

The most challenging part of following this diet that I have mapped for myself from my limited knowledge of how these modern day monks are living, is having enough variety from the available food choices each day to keep the diet interesting.  I’ve had to use my imagination and stretch my creative menu forming talents to come up with some good new menus filled with foods that I actually liked to eat; especially on the fast days when you only eat fruit and vegetables and nothing else.   In this first week I have managed to come up with some tasty new recipes that have helped me to get off to a good start.  Changing the recipes every day keeps the diet from becoming boring and monotonous.  In a moment  I will share two of these new recipes with you, but first I want to talk about some workable breakfast and lunch routines. 

For breakfast I have alternated between fruit plates on fast days and flat bread and cream cheese with fruit and honey on top for moderate days.  On feast days I will probably have a normal breakfast with eggs, whole wheat toast and jelly, or maybe even some pancakes or waffles topped with blueberries or strawberries and a flavored syrup.

Of course there is no lunch!  The diet contains just two meals a day at regular intervals, so to curb my hunger I have a cup of hot herbal tea in the middle of the day.   I take an extra walk during lunch break to occupy my mind and keep my thoughts off of food.  The hunger is gradually adjusting to the point of just making my evening meals taste so much better when I finally do eat!  

I have to be very careful to not get carried away with the portions I allow myself in the evenings simply because there has been a long period of fasting in between meals each day.  That would be easy to do, and I have to watch it.  I can actually feel my stomach adjusting to this routine.  It feels good!  The apples I usually incorporate into my breakfast aid in digestion and the bananas help to keep me happy!  They seem to be working just the way I thought they would.  I feel pretty great all day now.  Before I was experiencing a lot of indigestion and periods of less joy than normal.  

The two recipes that follow are some I put to good to use on the “moderate" days of the diet because they do contain cheese, and salad dressing and olive oil which are not allowed on the "fast" days.  I suppose you could simplify these same recipes on fast days and just leave out the cheese and olive oil. 



ZUCCHINI BOATS

Ingredients:

1 Red Pepper chopped into small pieces

1/2 Purple Onion chopped into small pieces

½ cup of Yellow Corn Kernels

4 large Zucchini cut in half and divided again with the middles scooped out

1 small can drained Black Beans (or fresh if you have time)

1 cup medium flavored Salsa (use mild if you aren’t into spicy)

2 teaspoons Cumin

2 teaspoons Garlic powder

½ cup fresh Cilantro, finely chopped

Sea Salt to taste

1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare a 9x13 inch greased casserole dish for baking.  I used Pam spray that is made from coconut oil.  Half the zucchini length wise and cut each one into small boat-shaped lengths, then hollow out the middles.  (If you do not want to waste the middles, chop them into small pieces and preserve in an airtight container to use in a salad later on during the week.)  Place a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on the stove and add onions and peppers.  Saute these vegetables for three minutes, then add corn, beans, salsa, garlic and cumin.  Heat all for about five minutes, stirring as needed.  Stir in sea salt and cilantro.  Place zucchini boats into casserole dish.  Spoon the vegetable mixture from the skillet into the little zucchini boats.  Grate 1 cup of cheddar cheese and sprinkle cheese on top of each boat.  Cover casserole dish with foil and cook in the oven for one hour.  Remove foil and heat for a few minutes more until the cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.  Serve hot. . 

You will get a wide variety of nutrients from this recipe.  It is full of delicious vegetables (zucchini, onion, corn and black beans) and they combine in a very tasty way that fills you up and satisfies your hunger.  There is the added benefit of the herbs and spices (cumin, garlic, cilantro and sea salt) which are all very good for you too.  Eventually we will get around to discussing the nutritional value of all of these vegetables and herbs and spices in this blog.  Knowing what you are putting into your body is important!  This recipe will easily feed 4 – 6 people, so in order not to be wasteful I froze half of mine to use again next week.  This little trick really cuts down on prep-time for preparing healthy meals after work.  Most vegetable dishes freeze very well.   Just don’t add the cheese on top until you are ready to cook and this one will freeze just fine. Added bonus:  My husband loved it!  He is a very picky eater!

WARM CABBAGE

 Ingredients:

1 cup honey Dijon dressing.  (I bought the kind you find in the deli aisle that is refrigerated in a jar, but probably better if you prepare from scratch)

½ head of cabbage finely shredded (about six cups)

8 ounces fresh white mushrooms

4 ounces crumbled blue cheese

Sea salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Preparation:

Finely shred the cabbage, leaving out the core.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish or a large round salad bowl and sprinkle the blue cheese crumbles on top of the cold cabbage, leaving a few of the crumbles to use for garnish when you are done.  Place two tablespoons of olive oil inside a skillet on the stove and saute the mushrooms on medium heat.  Add two cups of honey Dijon dressing to the mushrooms when they are sauteed.  Heat the mix for three minutes.  Pour the warm mushroom mix over the top of the cabbage and crumbled blue cheese.  Serve immediately while the topping is still hot. 

The combination of the hot dressing and the cold cabbage makes this a very interesting dish with unusual flavors that you will love.  Season it all with sea salt and pepper to your desired taste and garnish with the leftover blue cheese crumbles.  This dish will feed about 4 – 6 people.  You can refrigerate it and serve cold with another meal later, or you can do what I did with my leftovers the next day.  I placed my leftover cabbage along with the mushroom and dressing topping in a casserole dish and put foil over it and reheated it all, including heating the cabbage (this time) and served it all hot.  It is delicious either served as noted in the recipe above, or completely cold, or completely hot.  The cabbage just takes on a different consistency according to however you prepare it.  The warm/cold combination works the best for my taste, but all three versions are good.

So there are two new recipes to use for starters if you are joining in with me on this little eating plan I hope they are helpful to you.

The good news, besides the fact that this is doable, healthy, easy and nutritious; is the fact that I actually lost five pounds on the first week!  Icing on the cake!  (Sorry – probably a bad phrase for this article) but it was a great surprise!  This tells me I seem to be  headed in the right direction.

Keep in mind I am not following anyone’s version of this diet; but simply making up my own version based on what I have read and some additional health facts that I had already factored into my days.  The recipes are picked by me and not copied from any Athos diet books that have been published. I am not specifically following anyone’s guidelines or rules here.  As I mentioned before, I have not even read the diet books (yet.)  I’ve only read several articles about the lifestyles of these monks and this is what I devised on my own as an experiment.  Read the blog I mentioned earlier for my specific details.  So far, I am liking the results! 

The other thing that the monks do is to drink herbal teas as well as a little red wine.  I have promised to write about this more, and I will eventually. 

I have not yet had the time to do all of the research needed, but I will eventually give you a few good tea recipes.  

Until I get there; I have been making myself three cups of a hot drink mix each day, one in the morning with breakfast, one in the middle of the day and one in the evening before bedtime.  During the day I have heated up water and poured it into a cup then added a teaspoon of apple cider, a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger.  At night I have a cup of hot water steeped with chamomile tea flavored with a spoonful of honey.  It is very soothing and cozy to drink just before bedtime, and it helps me to get a great night of sleep.

Stay tuned to the AN APPLE A DAY section of the IN SEASON blog if you are interested in hearing more details and the actual results of this diet experiment.  I TRY to post these articles on Fridays.  I hope every week is as good and as interesting as this week has been.  Of course, don’t forget to add the most important part – time alone with God.

 

I’ll leave you with this final verse from Romans 12:2; Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 126 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

The study of The Exodus is a lot like going on an archaeological dig!  It is always better if you leave no ground un-turned.  You cannot leave one part of the exodus story without looking further under the surface; where you will begin to see multi-layers of huge important discoveries.  If you move on too fast, you will miss something!  All of the things lying underneath the surface of the actual story help us to grasp the whole picture that God wants us to see. 

We cannot move on from the last plague until we consider more of its deep spiritual significance. This was so much more than just God freeing the slaves of Egypt!  

In the last plague (the plague that finally persuaded Pharaoh to really let the people go) the firstborn children of all of Egypt died.  This is a hard plague for many to grasp and understand because of the fact that the innocent suffered.  Many have asked why God would allow such a thing.  It is true that whenever evil is allowed to prevail over and over again for long periods of time; the innocent usually suffer.  It often takes this to bring about a change.  That still does not make it right!  

Look around you today and notice the innocents suffering from evil decisions and greedy plots in our own society. We are living just the same scene in so many ways.    Let's dig a little further and see what we can discover about how God let certain situations transpire.  Perhaps He had more of a reason than we can see at first glimpse.  We have already pointed out that God could have just wiped Egypt off the map completely and been done with it.  Was this last plague really the decision of God?  Didn't Pharaoh decide what would happen?   He was warned and he was given a choice over and over again.  It is terrible that innocents suffered, but let's be careful about blaming God for the decisions of Pharaoh.  God was simply, like always; planning a way to make something good come out of something very bad.  Let's also keep in mind that at any point Pharaoh could have changed the whole situation by obeying and recognizing the One True God.  

These facts go much deeper than just another one of the plagues.  This was the plague that actually accomplished God’s purpose.  This was the plague that God Himself implemented.  He did not delegate it to Moses and Aaron, but tended to it personally.  The death of the firstborn is a perfectly painted portrait that shows us the depiction of God’s sovereign power over all.  If we look closer we will begin to see that this plague displays a perfect pattern of how God brings and gives salvation to mankind.

Long before the Israelites lived in Egypt God made a promise to Abraham.  The ancestors of Abraham living in Egypt might have forgotten; but God never forgets.  He never forgets, and He never fails to keep His promises.  The death of the firstborn of Egypt was a very firm reminder to the children of Israel that God can be trusted to keep His promises.  As God kept his promise to Abraham, He was at the same time showing the children of Israel who He is.  He wanted them to wake up and remember the power and might of the God they served who was definitely NOT a god of Egypt.  He wanted them to know for sure that He alone is God.   We too can know that God is sovereign.  We too must realize that He always keeps His promises.  The more we travel into the allotted time for mankind to walk the earth, the more we need to remember these facts of the Exodus from Egypt.   They will be a helpful guide for anyone living in end times. 

Have you ever thought about the significance placed on firstborn children?  It is often through

the firstborn that God exerts His rightful claim as the Creator of the Universe. If you are a parent you might be able to identify with this.  When you first looked on your firstborn child, did it not cross your mind that only a great and mighty God could have made this child possible?  Are you not totally amazed? Can you not feel the presence of God that envelops and surrounds a newly born child?  God is always there. He attends every new birth.  He is everywhere all the time!  He is the creator of all life; the founder of all new beginnings; simply enjoying the fruit of His awesome creation.   He might be invisible, but He is there at every birth! This is especially true of any firstborn.

Even as the people were coming out of Egypt, God was instructing Moses about the significance of the firstborn.  The fact that the first of everything belongs to God is very important.  We can read it in Exodus 13:1-2 when right after the people began to leave Egypt the Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male.  The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.

So Moses was quick to instruct the people about this.  His words are found in Exodus 13:11-14; (he was instructing them early to prepare for what was to be later) “After the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he promised on oath to you and your ancestors, you are to give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb.  All the firstborn males of your livestock belong to the LORD.  Redeem with a lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.  Redeem every firstborn among your sons.  In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt.  This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’  And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.’”

There are many things to consider in this passage.  Moses was explaining to everyone that every firstborn belonged to God.  If you had a son and it was your firstborn child, you were expected to redeem that son back from God through a sacrifice (perhaps a lamb) in order to keep your son alive and with you.  If you had cattle and they had their first calf and it was a male calf, it was to be sacrificed to God.   You were able to keep and use or eat every other calf that was born, but the firstborn was always given to God.  If you did not give it; a redemption sacrifice had to be made in the place of the firstborn.  Moses knew that for some reason this was very important to God.  Personally, I think Moses knew and understood a Messiah was coming.  I think he got more of  the whole picture of what God was doing than we give him credit for.  He instructed the people that this was important and that it should be done.

This dedication of the firstborn should always be remembered.  God said it would be like a sign on your hand and symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought the people out of Egypt with his mighty hand.  This was a vital fact that was to be remembered, not forgotten.  It was to be commemorated annually.  It was to be remembered like a sign on your hand.   Your hand could be placed over your heart as a gesture of honor, and so this basically meant you would remember it inside your heart.  It was to be remembered like a symbol on your forehead; which meant that you would remember to always think about who God is and what He did with Egypt and the offspring of Abraham.  This is something to reason out with your head as you remember that God has been good to you, and that He is sovereign forever. 

All of these things were how God helped the people to form habits that helped them to remember who He is.  I am speaking of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the redeeming of the firstborn sons.  (This is why much later phylacteries came to be popular.  The scriptures inside the little leather boxes wrapped around the hand and on the foreheads of the ancestors of those who lived in the wilderness after Egypt held the scriptures that told them what to remember about God and how God performed the Exodus.) 

Otherwise; without these memories clearly engraved on their hearts, they would become like those who had spent so many years in slavery again.  They would soon forget about God and gravitate toward the ways of the men around them instead of God’s ways and they would turn to false and foreign gods.  There would be no salvation, no freedom, no promised land.  This was not God's will for them; so God devised many ways for them to remember the exodus and how and why He brought it all about.  

This last plague was also God’s way of beginning to explain the wonder of the plan of salvation.  He was informing all of the soon to be ‘firstborn” that they must be redeemed!  They were headed somewhere as a people, this meant they were not just “redeemed” but they were being “redeemed to a purpose.”  The story widens and grows into many stories, and much later Jesus is called by the same name;“the firstborn son.”  Luke 2:7 speaks of this; “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.”

God was showing a pattern to Israel.  Israel was to take that pattern to the whole world.  Then God was bringing about his purpose of showing the pattern; salvation through Jesus Christ.  First look at Israel; then open your eyes and see Jesus!  Israel was a type of “firstborn son.”  The firstborn Son of God is seen following the path of Israel.  Hosea 11:11 says; “Out of Egypt I have called my Son.”  This prophesy of Hosea described the flight of Jesus and his family to Egypt after his birth.  It was the path of the Son of God following the pattern that God had already laid out through Israel. 

Paul too, much later than the days of our present story, spoke of Christ.  He stated in Colossians 1:15-17; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Can you see, like Paul looking at the lives of the people of Israel and the life of Jesus Christ, that redemption from the slavery of sin is accomplished by the death of the firstborn?

Jesus bears our penalty and satisfies the divine demand for justice.  God could not be God without justice.  What God is not just?  Yet; through Christ, God combined both mercy and justice.  God accomplished through the life of Jesus what I have come to call the “glorious impossible.” 

Jesus was perfect and sinless and that is how He was qualified to redeem us.  This is something no other human can ever imitate, no matter how hard they try.  There IS something about Jesus though that we CAN imitate and achieve.  We too can become a part of the “firstborn.”  We can come into The Body of Christ!   

When you allow Christ to live within you, this makes you a part of the firstborn!  This is yet another of those things I like to call the “glorious impossibles!”  From the point of your trust in Christ as you move ever forward your salvation comes and makes you a part of The Lamb of God.  He is in you and you are in Him and you and He are in God.  You become a part of the Body of Christ who becomes The Lamb of God.  He was the lamb who was slain; but He is also the risen lamb, the only ONE who has the power to take the scroll in the end of times and open the seals.  (Revelation 5:9-10).  If you are with Him, you are safe; no matter what happens.  You are redeemed by God’s mighty hand!  That is why when we sing of Exodus we sing “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”  It is an exodus song of a people delivered; redeemed by the death of another; free and walking into total freedom to a land flowing with milk and honey.  All made possible because of the blood of the Lamb of God.

 

So we see with the death of the firstborn, first with the people of Israel, and later with Christ, then again when we reach the final days of this life on earth; that God was both warning us of His sovereignty and the fact that He owns everything, yet at the same time also proclaiming His everlasting love and our salvation through our Messiah, Jesus Christ.  Through this redemption process of His firstborn people and His firstborn Son, God is telling us that we are safe in His mighty protection.  He will led us home!  He will help us find our way.  He will take us to a promised land; a land like no one has ever known before. It may be a tough, rough journey, full of fearful things; but He will be with us and all will be well in the end.  

He silently proclaimed all of these wonders when he sent the plague of the firstborn, in order to create the pattern to teach us His ways so that we could be redeemed and live with Him forever. There is a way to freedom, but it involves the death of an innocent life.  It requires innocent blood.  The innocent has paid the redemption of the guilty.  It is hard, but it is just. Never, ever take that for granted.   Also remember that God has never required anything of mankind that He has not been willing to give of Himself.

God has kept His promises.  He has told us how to have salvation through the story of a people walking out of slavery in the middle of of the darkest night into a long hard wilderness journey. 

Will we trust Him to lead us too? 

Will we do our part and honor His request to keep His ways? 

Will we always remember that He is God and what He says is all that matters? 

It is very, very important.

PEN ART - SUMMERTIME PEACE IN NATURE'S SPLENDOR

(Writing and photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

  He leads me beside still waters

He restores my soul.

 He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls"

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge

May the beauty of the summer that God has created make His word come alive for you today.
May we rest in the comfort of His love and care
As we enjoy His awesome creation.

FUN UNDER THE SUN - MANY WAYS TO CELEBRATE ON JULY 4TH

SO WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON JULY 4TH? 

I've put a few You-Tube video clips together of things I've done and enjoyed in the past, as well as a few suggestions I've heard from others.  If you are at a loss for something to do to celebrate our nation's freedom and independence, this should help you out a bit.  Just know that these are not my original creations at all.  Thanks for those creative people who put them out for the public to enjoy:

Some people spend the day at their favorite park...

Some people enjoy a concert.....

Some people go to the Mall.....

Some people go to the beach.....

Some people go to a ball game......

Some people just want to dance....

Some people just want to sing.....

Some people jump out of planes.....

Some people go to the movies.......

Some people just relax on the front porch......

Some people rest and take it easy in the Hammock.....

Go ahead and do your own thing....climb a mountain, write a poem, speak your mind, shoot some fireworks!

Whatever you chose to do..........

CELEBRATE AND ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM!!!!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!

AN APPLE A DAY - DAY 104 - LEARNING A LESSON FROM SOME MONKS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE:

So in my quest to maintain my body as a healthy temple for God’s Holy Spirit to live within me; I set out to discover what seems to be working for others who are in similar pursuit.  

One day I stumbled across some articles about the Orthodox monks living at Mount Athos.  In this small section of Greece, prayers have been offered up continually for more than one thousand years!  Can you imagine?  Perhaps that fact alone is the reason that these Monks have exceptional health and live long disease-free lives.  If that is what has caused their good fortune and developed their apparent extremely good health, I’m sure the rest of us may find immitating that avenue to be a bit impossible!  Prayers might have been offered up on the plot of ground where I live for over a thousand years too (for all I know, though doubtful) but it is that “continuously” part that wipes out the hope of my little plot of ground ever being so holy that it aids God in healing people.  I’m sure that isn’t true where I live. There have been long lapses of time between the many prayers we have humbly offered!

Hopefully, we can find some other reason (due to God’s mercy) that these people seem to live such long lives and maintain such healthy bodies!   What is there in their daily lifestyle; besides their constant devotion to Christ that makes them fare so well?

Some people think it is the tea they consume.  That is a local custom.  I'll discuss this part of the story in another article.

Some people think it is the wine the consume.  That is produced and grown locally and it is also a custom familiar to their community and the surrounding areas.  I'll take that up in another article also.  We will simply take a look at the whole picture of the devoted lives of these men first.

To begin with; we cannot pass that constant devotion to Christ off so easily.  That may actually be the whole sum of the equation.  The first and most important part of maintaining a healthy body is to maintain a healthy soul.  If we constantly practice the presence of God in our days and direct our minds toward Him, we will begin to find the first key toward maintaining life from within.

Life is how our body survives.  Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life."  God is The Creator and the true source of all life.  If our minds stay focused on returning to God just as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north; God will stay the pole star of our inward being and we will achieve the first step in maintaining whole health.  These monks have the first step and the first priority of life in order.  That is the main thing.  Nothing else that affects their health and well being could come to fruition without that first step.  

We know from reading the holy scriptures that David observed this practice of the presence of God almost every day of his life.  These monks and David knew the secret of using this vital first step, and we can read evidence of this in the holy scriptures from Psalm 16:8-9;  “I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely.”  

These monks who keep the LORD set constantly before them in their daily routines have flesh that dwells securely.  Knowing and believing that God is right beside you always will solve a lot of temptations that bring on bad health.  Consulting Him with every decision of your day as He walks with you would make this even stronger.  Hence it is easy to see that the first step to good health is practicing the presence of God all the time.  These monks are very serious about carrying this practice out, and I have no doubt that without it; nothing else they do that is healthy would be the same. 

Now that we have considered the most important thing they do; what else do we know these monks do that creates such good health in their physical bodies?  

Let’s look at their diet first.  

What we put into our bodies is important.  Long ago I learned a lot about computer programming.  One of the first phrases we had to commit to memory was "garbage in equals garbage out."  It is the same with our bodies.  How we eat determines how we live.  These men alternate their diets between moderate eating, days of partial fasts and feasting.  Every other day they alternate between using olive oil for cooking and eating and not using olive oil for cooking and eating.  They leave off the olive oil when they are on a fast day.  They consistently eat lots of plant proteins.

  

In observing the meals at Athos scientists have noticed they eat simple meals at regular intervals.  They eat two meals a day.  The first meal lasts ten minutes and the second meal lasts ten minutes.  This would certainly keep you from overeating!  If you only eat at the table and you must leave in ten minutes, you do not have time to overeat!  These two meals apparently occur consistently at the same time every day, every time; once in the morning and once in the evening.  There is no meat, except that fish is sometimes served on feast days; and there is no dinner table conversation either.  The only sound during their meals is a monk reading a meditative passage from the holy scriptures while they eat.  I suppose if you only have ten minutes to enjoy your food twice a day; you probably do not want that time to be interrupted by conversation.  I know I would not want it, and I normally LOVE to chat with others. 

By following this pattern of eating, these monks have maintained exceptional health and longevity.  It is suspected that this diet plays a big part of that accomplishment.  Very few men have developed cancer or heart disease or diabetes.  Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson's disease do not even exist here.  You do not hear any of the usual chronic complaints normally experienced by most people who do physical labor day-in and day-out.  No aches and pains or headaches!  No digestive problems!

Many observers have compared the meal preparations for the Monks to the Mediterranean Diet where you eat mostly fruit and vegetables, use herbs instead of salt for seasoning; avoid red meats and use fish and lean poultry, use olive oil instead of butter, and drink moderately using only red wines.  Much of the Mount Athos food is the same.  

All of their food is fresh and unprocessed.  Most everything is grown right on their own soil by their very own hands.  They do not count calories; they simply eat normal portions at set times.  These healthy men also have the regular practice of fasting where they drastically lower their calorie intake in order to clear their minds.  It would seem logical that even though they are "clearing their minds" by fasting; they are also allowing their food longer periods of time to digest between meals.  Perhaps this plays into the achievement of better health.  There may be something to this specific pattern of eating once in the morning and once in the evening.  I've decided to find out for myself.

The minds of these humble monks may also remain clear for other reasons.  They have no wives or children; hence they also experience very low complications from relationships.  This, coupled with the same uncomplicated and structured schedule every day, would probably eliminate a lot of stress.  Stress factors heavily into how our cells renew and maintain health. This fact of leading a life mostly filled with solitude (even being quiet around others) might also, on the other hand, eliminate a lot of joy too.  We who maintain normal relationships in normal family settings should take note and try to maintain healthy relationship skills instead of bad relational practices that bring on stress.  There ARE relationships to deal with here; don't get the wrong picture.  These monks have learned to live in community with harmony.  They have mastered the traits of humility and of putting others before themselves.  They honor the summary Jesus gave us of keeping the commandmentss by loving God and loving others.  We should be doing the same within our families as well as within our surrounding communities.  People living in peace and harmony eliminates stress.  Yet another secret step to good health.

So the scientists of the world were fascinated as they studied the exercise routines of these men.  They do no formal exercise routines, but they are very active all day long with lots of physical labor such as picking fruit from the gardens, clearing brush and hauling building materials through the mountains via mules.  They walk everywhere they go.  They do not use cars.  Often they are walking up steep mountains.  Those studying them had trouble keeping up with their pace.  They work as long as there is daylight and do not have TVs or radios or newspapers to entertain themselves in the evenings.  Except for meal times, sleeping and praying, they are on their feet and moving all day long.  That would certainly keep you in shape and help burn off any extra calories lingering around the waist.  It is always healthier not to be sedentary.  Those of us confined to a desk for our professions must work hard at keeping a balance in this area.      

The "no diseases" factor is very strong with this fortunate group of men, and the length of their life span is on average said to be at least ten years more than others living in Greece.  They are all slim and trim and healthy looking and this has caused many to take notice and try to imitate whatever it is they are doing right.  

Some well-known authors of nutrition, who have been partial to writing about the Mediterranean Diet, took note of these amazing monks and devised and published a whole new diet plan based on their diets.  They call their diet book The Mount Athos Diet.  I am speaking of Lottie Storey, Richard Storey and Sue Todd.  They have incorporated the same form of fasting that the monks use into the diet plan they devised.   Basically they follow a pattern where you eat moderately for three days, fast for 3 days and feast for one day each week.  You can arrange your days in any way you wish to fit your own lifestyle.  These are not the first to write about the eating habits of the monks, and they are also not the only people to come up with new healthy eating plans based on the eating patterns of these men. 
   

In the previously mentioned diet plan, they lay out the way you eat as being as important as the food you ingest.  It makes sense to me.  On the fast days you stick to what is essentially a low-fat vegan diet.  On these three days you eat no dairy, no meat, no fish, no eggs, no chips, fried foods or pastries, no prepared snack foods, no sweets, chocolate or confectionery foods, no sugar or sugary drinks, no alcohol, no oils, fats, mayonnaise or fatty salad dressings. 

You can have a good portion of vegetables, fruits, herbal teas, spices, herbs and peppers.  You may have very moderate amounts of pasta, bread, seeds, nuts and honey,  I haven't read the book yet, and I am wondering if they encourage soups on these days too.  I suspect they do.

On the 3 moderate days you must maintain moderate portions but you may add bread (wholemeal), potatoes, avocados, fruit juice, olives and olive oil, honey, Greek yogurt, skimmed milk, cheese, small amounts of butter, eggs, seafood, chicken, alcohol (preferably just limited amounts of red wine), dried fruits and salt.

On a feast day you may indulge in whatever you want as long as you don’t go overboard and consume too much of everything.   You basically have 3 moderate days, 3 fast days and one feast day each week.  

Hmmmmm…..so how can I incorporate some of these things into my life to make it healthier?

I’ll start by breaking down and simplifying this diet just a bit.  I’ll just say for three days a week I will eat only fruits and vegetables and for three days a week I will add fish or chicken and dairy products to those fruits and vegetables.  I will use olive oil for cooking and flavoring in place of butter or any other oils, and I will keep my portions within reason.  One day a week I will feast on whatever I want; within reason. 

I too will take my meals at the same time every day (I don’t know why, but that is what the monks do, and they are being successful!  I suspect it has a lot to do with aiding good digestion.)  I’ll limit the time to linger at the table to no longer than 30 minutes. (I'm used to an hour now.)   I’ll leave out the sugar every day, and unlike the monks I am going to chose to leave off bread with leaven and starches every day too.  I have found this works better for me. They do eat bread, potatoes, rice and pasta, but I am not going to do that, even on moderate days.  

I think there is a lot to be said for limiting the meals on 3 days a week and keeping the meals down to two a day.   It allows you more time to actually digest less food.  I think the plan to eat only twice a day is wise, but it will take some getting used to!   This flies in the face of the current trends to eat small healthy meals continuously spaced out all day long.  Though that would keep your metabolism working all the time; it also would not allow enough time for digested food to clear your system before consuming again.  I think we've missed the boat here; and I'm opting to go with the monks.  I've tried the little healthy meals all day long with absolutely no results.  I will have to start cooking breakfast again on the week days, because that early morning meal seems to be important since there will be no meal in the middle of the day.  No pain - no gain!

My breakfast time will be 6 a.m. and my dinner time will be 6:30 p.m.  That just works with my lifestyle.  I'm not sure when the monks eat, I only know it is once in the morning and once in the evening.  This will be close enough.  I will take a hot tea to drink during lunch break at work.  I'll use some of the Altos recipes.  I'll sip on water all day at my desk.  That will help me to make it through skipping that meal in the middle of the day.  I'll also use that time to take a quick walk around the building, adding it into my two walks I already am taking in the mornings and in the afternoons.  That will fill my time with more physical activity and keep me distracted from the fact that my stomach is trained to eat in the middle of the day.  It will be nowhere near the physical activity that these monks get; but at least it will be MORE than I am used to doing now.   The skipping lunch part will be hard until my body becomes accustomed to it.  I’m sure  that reducing my calorie intake this way will help a lot.   The added exercise will make that go even further.

I’ll alternate the 3 days without meat with the three days of meat.   I'll only eat lean chicken and fish with no red meats.   I’ll make Saturdays my feast day.  I’ll eat anything I want on that day, even red meat and sugar, but only two meals with reasonable portions.  I MIGHT allow a snack on Saturdays too, if I skip desserts on each of the meals. 

So here goes folks; the start of my new diet plan that has been inspired by some very godly men from Greece!  I hope it works for me as well as it worked for them.  Please pray for my success.  If you want to join me, I will be praying for you too.  This diet and lifestyle change is as much for health reasons as for simply losing weight.  I’ve lost a little weight already by not eating fast foods or pre-packaged foods, and leaving off the starches and the sugars.  I’m hoping this takes me further toward more success.  

If you decide to do this with me – I would love to hear of your results.  My main goal is simply to have a healthy body.  I'm not trying to be a supermodel.  I don't worry about growing old, I simply want to wear my age like a crown.  I want my physical abilities to line up with whatever spiritual tasks God sends my way; and this means not having to worry about chronic health problems, and having enough energy and vitality to endure whatever God puts before me to do for the day.  

Not a bad idea, huh?  Well, this new diet plan is simply a trial I'm trying.  I'll give it six months and see it if affects me the way it has affected those healthy monks.  If it does, I'll keep the plan going on.    I have no idea how the outcome will be and I’m basing everything I’m doing on the facts I’ve learned from reading about the Monks at Athos.   This is MY VERSION of the diet.  Nothing scientific about it, not a medical recommendation, just sharing with you what I’m trying to do to get healthy in my own life.   I have no clue what the real outcome will be; God's will be done.

In pondering all of these facts about food and eating patterns, it occurs to me that I want to learn much more of the nutritional value of each of the fruits and vegetables I’m going to be using on this diet.  I've already discussed the value of eating apples in another article of this blog; and I know there are other foods that are great for good, nutritional eating.  I think variety will make a huge difference in sticking to this eating plan.  Stay tuned next Friday to learn more about my findings on some of the nutritional food choices I want to prepare with this diet.  I'll try to divide them up between moderate days, fast days and feast days.  I'll also be sharing some recipes to go along with these new choices of food.  If you have recipes that would relate to this diet plan – I would love to hear from you. 

The whole main focus of all of this is to stay tuned in to the presence of God and His will for me as I go through my days and as I go through my life.  Keeping my body physically fit, such as Esther and Daniel and his friends did when they were living in a culture that did otherwise, is just one part of this lifestyle.  There are a lot more pieces to this puzzle, but this is a good start.  I only wish I had known thirty years ago what I am lerning today.  Life is a process though.  

Each week I want to share a  scripture that I have found inspiring on this journey of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  I’ll leave you now with this one from 3 John 1:2:  “Dear friend, I pray you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”