AN APPLE A DAY - DO YOU HAVE A STRONG INNER-CIRCLE?

DAY 114 OF 365 DAYS TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE

DO YOU HAVE A STRONG INNER-CIRCLE?

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We have covered a lot of ground in this blog post about the benefits of leading a healthy life.  For the last few articles we have discussed foods and the importance of good nutrition in our daily diet.  

This time I would like to take a small turn in another direction and discuss how important it is to be associated with a very close circle of loved ones that you consider to be as close as family.
 

A study of 1,500 people conducted on older people for ten years proved that those who had a large network of close friends outlived their peers by at least 20%.  It has been proven over and over that it is healthy to have good friends. 

Consider the fact that friends are there to encourage you to take better care of yourself.  Things that you might overlook become more obvious to them and a good friend will be honest with you and make recommendations to help you change to healthier practices.  

In a study of women who had breast cancer it was found that those that participated in a support group had a much higher survival rate than those who went through it all alone.  They also seemed to have more ability to cope with and control their level of pain than those who suffered alone. It was thought that the strong social support these women received helped to relieve the stress associated with fighting a devastating disease.    

In a study of women who suffered from ovarian cancer it was found that those with lots of social support had a much lower level of the protein that is linked to the more aggressive cancers.  Their chemotherapy treatments were more effective because of this. 

The trend in America these days is for older people to become more socially isolated.  This is not a healthy trend.  Ask any doctor or psychologist and they will suggest the average number of close friendships in a person’s life should be at least nine or above.  Is that surprising to you?

As strange as it sounds at first, It would seem from the research that social friendships are even more important in the survival rate than a spouse, children or other family members.  Though these direct family relationships ARE very important in our lives, they do not affect the rate of survival in old age as much as social friendships and support groups.  

That too may seem surprising to you; but consider the facts I mentioned earlier about support groups.  I’m definitely a VERY STRONG supporter of the natural God-ordained family unit, and I am constantly lobbying for it’s survival; but for our discussion today, I’m not necessarily talking about blood relatives.  

It may very well be the case that most people can be this close to their spouse, child or parent; and that is awesome if it is true for them; but there are other solutions out there for those who cannot (for whatever reason) cultivate this quality of relationship with their immediate blood relatives.
 

For that reason I am referring in this article simply to those that are the members of your deepest inner circle. These would be the people you choose to let come and go inside the dailyness of your life on a very regular basis; those with which you chose to celebrate holidays and special occasions, those with which you communicate and turn to when you are troubled, those you consult for needed advice on a regular basis; and those with which you can celebrate the joyful moments of life as well as your sorrows.  

Whether you are single, a single parent raising a child alone, a couple without children, a couple with a house full of children of assorted ages and sizes, or an older senior either living alone or married; you need this small inner circle of other human beings that you are close to and are comfortable being around for good health, happiness and total sanity.

 

Jesus had this arrangement going on in His life as a human being.  He considered Peter, James John and Andrew to be his closest of friends.  They were always involved in the most intimate and monumental moments of His life as a human being.  He loved ALL the disciples; but these were the ones he opened up to the most, the ones he leaned on for constant support, the ones He worshiped with, wined and dined with, went to weddings and funerals with.  

He stayed in their homes often.  They camped out with Him.  They invited Him to go fishing with them.  He returned the favor!   He knew and loved their families.  He entered their houses and ate meals with them without invitations or pretense.  He offered and prepared meals for them also.  He was always comfortable in their presence.  They felt free to express their deepest feelings and emotions around Him.  They knew they could always trust Him.

Two Mary’s; The Mother of Jesus, and a long time family friend whom he had helped through many difficult situations, were also very close to Jesus.  They were also within this little circle of people that He treated like close family.
 

Jesus had other brothers and sisters that He loved too; but the six people I named above were the ones he counted on constantly, day in and day out to always be there; to care for his needs, to laugh with and to cry with; to participate in sorrow with Him or to celebrate happy times with Him.  This inner circle of close friends also shared friendships with all the other disciples.  They looked forward to group events with the whole crowd.  Yet; these six were the ones He could just sit in silence with; without saying a word and not feel a bit strange about it.  These were the ones He held dear in his heart; though his heart was as wide as the ocean and full of love for everyone.
 

These types of close relationships are what true family is really all about.  Everyone needs family around them.  It is crucial to our health and well being.  Human beings need other human beings in order to be happy. No man is an island!

Unfortunately, for one reason or another; such family situations that normally come about often change.  People die.  People change.  People move away.  People move on to other lives; and many, many people on this earth are left without this support I’ve come to call true family.  Many live alone; with no one to talk to or no one to share their life’s ups and downs. 

Even those who are married and/or have children at home, or those who live with parents or other relatives or friends, can sometimes find themselves feeling isolated.  There are people around constantly; but they are not making any connections.  Either you or them are not interested enough to understand each other or communicate with one another.    You have polite conversations.  You exchange courteous gestures when appropriate.  You seem to get along well on the surface; but something isn’t quite enough to make you feel loved and cherished in their sight and in your relationship.  These relationships are nothing like those relationships where you have met someone special and instantly related to them and their world, or have had no fear of being your plain old boring self in their presence.  You try to keep up appearances with such people; but you long in your heart of hearts to be around someone who does not care what your appearance is like; they just love you for what and who you are, and they appreciate your own unique personality.  In other words; they are looking at you through God’s eyes instead of the eyes of the world.  Such people as this are gifts from God.  They are not to be taken for granted and when they come along; you should never neglect them or take them for granted.  These are who you need inside your inner circle of friends.

If your marriage is like the friendship I just mentioned above; you are truly blessed.  If your children can laugh and have fun with you as well as come to you for advice or just enjoy listening to music or walking through the park with you, no strings attached; you are blessed.  If your parents love you unconditionally, and never ever worry about the impression you are going to make on their important friends from work or the people from their Senior Center, and they do not constantly remind you of how many times you’ve messed up your life with stupid, thoughtless mistakes; you might have been blessed for a lifetime with perfect family love.  If you have a close friend that would drop their most important event of the year in order to come over and cheer you up; just because……you are deeply blessed and loved!   

None of the scenes I’ve just mentioned are the usual patterns of most lives.  They are all exceptions to the normal run of the mill lives we all tend to lead.  These are just the pictures of a  perfect world that needs to play out in our lives as well as our imaginations from time to time.  Often, many never really know of these things at all.  They cannot even claim one of the examples given, much less all of them; and that is just totally unhealthy.   If they are not very careful they will be sitting behind a wall all alone because of a locked-up heart.

So what can be done about this uncontrollable epidemic of loneliness and abandonment and rejection that half the world experiences every day?  

How do we all begin to get healthy with our relationships?

For starters, I am glad to be able to report that Jesus has lived in the place of lonliness too.  He suffered in that dark place of aloneness without one friend at his side many, many times as He walked the dusty roads of earth.  In the Garden when he was so distraught that he sweated great drops of blood; the disciples fell asleep.   They were not at His side; and they were not praying the prayers that He desperately needed at that time.
 

At the cross, The One who came into this world with angel songs and shepherd’s smiles and the hugs and caresses of a dedicated Mother and Father, had no one come to his side through the whole ordeal.  Even His Heavenly Father, that He had always communicated with and had a perfect relationship with, had to turn His head away and leave Him there alone for a brief period of time. Jesus felt all alone often.

At the foot of the cross no one shouted out his innocence or came to his defense.  The two Mary’s were there in the crowd for most of his suffering (to their credit); but the inner circle of close friends as well as the outer circle of close friends and relatives ran and hid and were only afraid and concerned for their own lives.  Peter, the one who was so very close to Christ, the one who openly vowed to be there till the end, through thick and thin, even denied that he knew Jesus! 

Jesus basically went through the time on the cross all alone, except for two outcast strangers.  Two criminals who deserved death actually were forced to be there at his side as he breathed his last breath as a human being.  

I am very sure Your Savior can identify with your feelings of being alone and abandoned or uncared for.  The answer is to turn to Him and let Him lead you to a better place.  He is the one person you can ALWAYS count on to be there, and as He Himself often said:  He is THE WAY, THE LIFE AND THE TRUTH.  Please do not ever take that for granted.  

Talk to him.  Tell him how you feel.  

Feel comfortable in the silence knowing that He is there ever ready to listen if you decide to break that comfortable silence.

Sing to Him.  

Pray with Him.  

Worship Him.  

He should always be your very best friend; the One that is closer than a brother.  

This one thing is the cure to all lonely hearts.  Rest in it.  Jesus is the bridge from miserable, sad and alone to hopeful, joyful and well-loved.  Cross the bridge.  Bridge the cross. There is something very special on the other side!  If you do not "cross" it; you will fail to find it.

Will your situation or your circumstances change because of it?  Not instantly; but if you talk to Him, He will tell you how to find new community and family in your life.   If you listen to what He has to say;  He can coach you right back into good healthy relationships with other caring and sharing human beings.  

Pick up The Word and begin to read.  These are His instructions.  Almost every passage will be a clue to what you need to do next to cure the lonely times of your life. 

Follow Jesus.  Imitate Him in all that you do in forming your next relationships.  

When Jesus began His ministry he found twelve to go with Him on the journey.  They did not pick Him, he picked them.  People do not just volunteer their friendships.  You must go out and seek their acceptance.  Do you know twelve worthy individuals that you would like to call close friends?  Start there. 

If you like, write their names on a list and begin to approach them one at a time.  Call them into your life by inviting them into your world, and if they seem comfortable, ask them to support you in all that you are doing. 

Don’t be surprised at those who disappoint you.  Many turned away from Jesus too (remember the story of the rich young ruler); but Jesus did not want the uncommitted to be His closest companions; He needed those who were willing to give 100 percent to the relationship.  Keep crossing people off the list until you find twelve that are truly committed and loyal.
 

Be willing to consider those who seem to be “the least likely.”  That is what Jesus did too.  Who would have thought that fishermen and tax collectors would make good disciples and close friends?  Is that not the strangest mix ever?   Jesus didn’t look at their positions in life or their knowledge, wisdom or education.  He looked at how good their hearts were.

Were they faithful, honest, loyal, caring and dedicated to the cause?  This was what made these twelve men shine.  Consider these qualities in your acquaintances and notice how the “least likely” have been good to you, or how they might have been those who stood by you in times of trouble and need when others did not.  

Have you overlooked the best candidates?

If Jesus had been friends and shared with certain people and they chose not to respond, His next response was not to persuade or try to impress, but to shake their dust from His feet.  Some will never come around.  Some will only be true until the wind blows them into another direction.  Don’t waste energy trying to make it happen.  You are losing time in seeking the faces of those who WILL respond.  Approach a potential friendship with hope and welcome.  If they do not respond and reciprocate; simply move on.  It will be their loss.

Now don’t get so arrogant with this exercise that you think I’m suggesting you form a following to worship you!  We all need constant reminders, just as Satan did, that we are not little gods to be worshiped!.  The worst type of  idolatry committed constantly by humans is self-worship.    If you truly want companionship with others; you must learn the attributes of being a true friend yourself.  

What are those attributes?  

Again; I must point to Jesus. Take up your cross and follow Him!

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  That pretty much sums up the best tip on being a friend that is as close as family.  Follow the golden rule and don’t sway from it.  

How good of a friend was Jesus?  He was willing to lay down His life for His friends.  Now that is a friendship that you do not walk away from!  

Close friendship takes work on both sides; and this is probably the main reason that many are so lonely.  Be willing to do the work yourself before you expect it to be returned by others.

May I suggest you do the work and make the time, no matter how hard it seems?  Your good health and happiness will be the result in the end.  You will be amazed at the difference it makes in your life.

   

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 135 HOW TO DEFEAT THOSE UNWELCOMING AMALEKITES

HOW TO DEFEAT THOSE UNWELCOMING AMALEKITES 

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We left the Israelites at Rephidim  living with the miracles of the water from The Rock to satisfy their thirst, and The Manna from Heaven to fill their bellies.  What more could they want?  

I guess the answer to that question would be: protection.

The Amalekites were active in the area where the Israelites had camped.  These descendants of Esau were nomadic wanders in the land.  They would attack and maraud innocent people passing through, robbing them and raping and killing their women and children.  They would take all of their possessions to add to their treasures and consume their livestock for their own use.  The Egyptians had given their gold and silver to the Israelites to bribe them to leave quickly and end the plagues.  They were traveling with much wealth and livestock.  The Amalekites were sure to have noticed this as they watched them pass by from their hidden mountain passes.  

When Moses spotted the Amalekite spies he knew they were planning to attack.  He told Joshua to choose some of the Israelite men and go out to fight the Amalekites.   As they were preparing for battle Moses, Aaron and Hur climbed up onto the top a large mountainous hill and Moses held up the Staff of God.

Joshua and his men bravely took on the Amalekites.  As long as Moses held up his hand that contained the staff of God, the Israelites were winning; but if Moses lowered his hand the Amalekites were winning.  Moses’ hands grew tired so Aaron and Hur took a stone and put underneath Moses for support.  Then Aaron and Hur, one on each side held up the arms of Moses.  This way Moses’ hands became steady and Joshua won the battle with the Amalekites.

My first thought upon reading the above information was that the stone used to prop up Moses must have been The Rock that had provided the water for them.  This was a very powerful Rock!  Could it have been the one they used? If so it would symbolize the power of Christ working through Moses.

My next thought was that they won the battle because a team of three were overlooking Joshua and his men from a higher distance.  It was a symbolic picture of The Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit doing a work in the people of God.  As long as the power of God is induced into the situation, there is victory.  If the power of God is neglected, and the people get too tired and weary to care, and the battles are lost. 

After the remarkable victory of this battle, God says a rather odd thing to Moses: “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

Why would God say such a thing?  Even though the Amalekites were known to be greedy, unfair and destructive, often taking innocent lives and consistently robbing and plundering those who traveled through the land; why would God proclaim such a harsh and severe judgment against them, showing absolutely no mercy; even thinking the women and children from these people should be destroyed, as if they were hopeless of ever changing?  That doesn’t sound like our gracious and merciful, loving and kind God, does it?

 There appears to be many reasons for this decision, although we may only know half of the reasons, since God can see into the future and we cannot.  God’s ways are so much higher and wiser than ours could ever be.  Part of the weight of this decision handed down from heaven is just the fact that we must blindly trust that God knows what is best for us.  He doesn’t have to explain anything – after all; He is God! 

I’ll ask you to remember my remark at the beginning of this lesson too.  It may be part of the reason.  God had provided almost everything that the people needed to survive; they had water and they had food.  It was miraculous out in the desert land where they were dwelling for this provision to be given.  The one thing that they were lacking was protection.  Now; because of this battle; God had also publicly put his hand of protection on them.  

The Amalekites were well trained in their low-down way of making a living.  They had a reputation for being ruthless, heartless and mean.  They took pride in their murderous ways.  The Israelites were really no match for them in battle.  They were not equipped for war.  Before this battle they had been slaves, unable and forbidden to handle weapons.  They had no plans for attack; yet, God had given them a battle plan through their leaders, and God had protected them and given them another miracle in the victory of this battle. 

We must notice that the name “Amelek” was the name of the fierce leader that the Amalekites took their nation’s name from.  Amelek was a descendant of Esau who had inherited that wandering, nomadic spirit of rebellion that started with Cain in the Garden of Eden.  In order to protect the innocent and clean the evil from the world God had once sent a flood to destroy all men with such a spirit.  Now, for some reason, that same such spirit was back on the earth; and it came through Amelek.  Through Amelek and his descendants, evil was once again growing and populating the earth.  These were the very first enemies that the People of God had to face in the wilderness.  The ancient plot of good versus evil took shape at the very beginning of the journey of the people of  Israel on their way to the Promise Land.  

  If Israel did not carry out God’s battle plans, the Amalekites would keep coming back again and again in order to plunder and destroy them.  They did not realize it at the time; but carried within the capacity of the nation of Israel was the salvation of all the people of the earth.  Could such a treasure be destroyed before it even had time to flourish and grow into a mighty nation?  Could God let our salvation be quickly defeated by an evil greedy nation of rebellious people who did not care one thing about God and His plan of salvation?  Surely not!  God, standing outside of time, could see what mere men could not see.  He knew this was the only answer for the survival of His people. 

The Amalekites, similar in many ways to the people the Israelites had escaped in Egypt, worshiped pagan gods and filled their days with pagan practices.  They did not care for the ways of the God of Israel.  If allowed to thrive without supernatural intervention, they had the power to destroy all the things God had been teaching the people, just as had happened to them in Egypt, should the people be taken captive by them.  God did not allow this, and He warned His people against such a thing.  

God did not order the extermination in the battle against the Amalekites in order to be cruel, but simply to prevent a greater evil from occurring in the future.  Any time that you hear the name Amelek and face anyone associated with that name, you are really encountering God's greatest enemy that backs up the power of Amelek; Satan.  Satan would have gladly ended the conflict with God right there in the wilderness through the Amalekites dwelling at the foot of Sinai; but God did not allow Him to do so. 

Unfortunately, not all of the Amalekites were in this group that came against Israel in the wilderness.  There were more of them scattered in the land and hiding out in other places. Israel would encounter them again and again as history turned its pages. God wanted this “first time” to be noted and remembered.  If you are going to win a battle against evil; you must beware of the correct identity of the enemy.  He told Moses to write it down in a scroll.  That meant THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER!  So Moses did what God instructed and wrote it all down; then he built an altar and called it The LORD Is My Banner.

Moses proclaimed the following words to The People of God:  “Because hands were lifted up against the throne of the LORD, the LORD will be at war against Amalekites from generation to generation.”  God must have given Moses yet another glimpse into the future in order for him to make that statement.  It has turned out to be a true prophecy, happening over and over again. 

Generation after generation of The People of God have fought against the spirit of the Amalekites all throughout time.  It is obvious that the enemy of God is the spirit living within and controlling such people who would think nothing of destroying the precious children of God and abolishing God's ways from the earth.  

The name Amelek has now become synonymous with evil and evil ways.  This first encounter was definitely not the last encounter with such a spirit of people. 

From the scriptures scattered throughout the bible It seems that God has plans to bring yet another, last, end-time, victorious battle against Amelek and the spirit of evil that he portrays.  Once more there will be a supernatural and victorious battle fought, and it will be a final one to end this name of Amelek forever and wipe it completely from the face of the earth.  We must all stand like Moses, with lifted hands before God and join in the battle cry.  We must trust the Three-In-One God who will equip us for battle and led us to victory when the time approaches.  God will help us to overcome, just as He helped Moses, Aaron and Hur.  We must stay firmly planted on The Rock, just as Moses did, with our arms lifted high in worship toward our Mighty God.  On that day, God will stretch out his staff and save the flock of His people.    

WRITING SAMPLES: SCRIPT WRITING BY SHEILA GAIL LANDGRAF

HEALTH AND NUTRITION
5 MINUTES WITH GOD

DRAMA

Theme:  Does God desire for us to be healthy and physically fit?

Description:  When we open the scriptures to read God’s Holy Word and we come to 1 Corinthians 6:19,  we are asked a question; and then given a very interesting fact;    “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of The Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own.” 

If we belong to God and our bodies are not our own (but they are houses for God’s Holy Spirit) how then should we be treating our physical bodies?  Our story today will deal with part of the answer to this question which is often asked by those seeking to further understand God’s will for their daily lives. 

Purpose:

(1)  To emphasize that God has given us good instructions in the bible for living a healthy life.

(2)  To encourage people to realize and respect the fact that God’s people’s bodies have become His modern-day temple.

(3)  To help others to see the practical benefits of following God’s dietary laws.

CHRIST TO THE WORLD MINISTRIES

Writer: Sheila Gail Landgraf                             Christ to the World Ministries

Editor:  Dr. Art Criscoe                                      Copyright © 2015

DIRECTORIAL INFORMATION

CAST OF CHARACTERS: (note voice quality required)

·        Each voice should be recognizably different than any other character.

          HOST:                                    Voice of a mature man.

          MOTHER:                     Voice of a thirty two year old woman.

          WILLIAM:                             Voice of a ten year old boy

         

Notes to translators:

·        Use names that are culturally appropriate.

·        When Scripture is used, the print is in italics, and it is the NIV (1984). Scripture references are given to aid the translators and should not be read as part of the script.

Director’s notes to readers:

·        These are audio dramas. The actions and emotions are in the words. Remember that the listener will only hear these words once. Speak distinctly with appropriate emotion. Carefully observe all punctuation (i.e., pause at commas, stop at periods, intensify at exclamation points, and give special emphasis to words in bold type.)

5 MINUTES WITH GOD

HEALTH AND FITNESS

(Music: Theme Music gradually fades to underscoring as host begins to speak.)

HOST: Welcome to 5 Minutes with God, brought to you by Christ to the World Ministries.

Long before Jesus came to walk this earth within a physical body just like ours; God was already teaching His people about the very best ways to live.  On one of the annual festival days that has now come to be called Pentecost; God descended upon the mountain and spoke with Moses face-to-face about things relating to this very subject.

Moses and God spoke for many days up on the mountain.  After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments; He also gave Moses further instructions to use for educating the people in the very best ways to live.  Part of those instructions became known as the dietary laws.  They are written down in the book of the Holy Scriptures we call Leviticus.  God’s people passed these instructions down from generation to generation and everyone who kept them faithfully honored God. 

It seems that these same dietary laws are also very important today; at least to the typical modern housewife and mother we meet in today’s story.  She has been faithfully honoring God by teaching all of God’s stories to her son.  Hopefully, he will grow up to pass them on to his children.  So let’s start this story out right:

Once upon a time there lived a ten year old boy named William who detested eating carrots; or any other vegetable for that matter.

MOTHER:  William you can’t leave the table until you finish eating your vegetables!  

WILLIAM:  Awwww Mom!  I hate vegetables, especially carrots!  There is just nothing good about carrots, and I don’t see why I have to always be eating them.

MOTHER:  Carrots help your eyes to see.  Well, that is funny!  Obviously you are not seeing EVERYTHING there is to see here.  I suppose you have never heard about what happened to Daniel?  If you had; you would not be making such a silly statement.

WILLIAM:  Daniel?  Who is Daniel?

MOTHER:  Daniel was a young man living in Jerusalem who got captured by The King of Babylon.  He was forced to grow up inside a prison far from his home and separated from his parents. He was one of many of God’s people brought over from Jerusalem and held captive in that far away land.

WILLIAM:  Oh, that must have been terrible for him!

MOTHER:  Well, it didn’t STAY terrible.  God was looking after Daniel.  The king decided to make use of the young captives for service in his royal courts. He appointed one of his top officials to pick out the best, most intelligent and most handsome young Hebrew captives and groom them for service in the palace.  Those who got picked were able to leave the prison, go to school under some of the top educators in the land.  They were also taught to speak the language of Babylon.  When they were well trained and ready, the King intended to pick the best-of-the-best for service in his royal palace. 

Life in the palace would have been highly preferred over life in prison.  Those men chosen would even get to eat from the King’s table every day.  They would have all that they wanted, and have it any time that they desired to eat.  The palace was always full of trays and trays of tasty goodies to nibble on in between meals; and three times a day a major feast was served with rich foods and lots of wine and many sugary flavored specially concocted drinks.  There were lots and lots of sweet decadent desserts at the end of every course. 

WILLIAM:  Alright!  Now that is what should be happening to me!  I would never eat vegetables again!  Every meal would be chocolate cake and ice cream. 

MOTHER:  Well, not Daniel!  He had been raised on God’s dietary laws for young Hebrews.  He did not wish to eat in that way!

WILLIAM:  Mom, I’ve never heard of God’s dietary laws.  I didn’t know God gave laws about what we should eat and drink.  Did God choose ice cream and cake too?

MOTHER: (Laughing)  No!  He chose all the things that I’m always teaching you to eat; like broccoli, celery, spinach, asparagus, beans, avocados, all kinds of lettuce and cabbage, almost everything green and then some squash, onions, garlic, tomatoes and many spices and lots and lots of carrots!  He recommends that we drink mostly clean pure water and lots of it.   There was no mention of chocolate cake and ice cream in the Hebrew’s diet plan, nor were there any cokes or soft-drinks allowed, especially not diet cokes, nor any of the other sweet sugary drinks you sometimes ask for.

WILLIAM:  Mom, I think you are just making this up to get me to eat my carrots…..aren’t you?

MOTHER:  Absolutely not William!  I would not do that.  What I am telling you about Daniel and the way God requested that the Hebrew people eat is absolutely true.  I promise.  It all really happened a long, long time ago.  Now, eat some of those carrots!

WILLIAM:  Okay, but I’ll bet Daniel didn’t eat carrots!

MOTHER:  Well if you listen to the rest of the story you will find out that Daniel requested just fruit, vegetables (which would include carrots) and water for his diet.  He did not want to eat all the other junk that was being served at the King’s table which the others were quickly gobbling down. 

WILLIAM:  Really?  How dumb!  Daniel must have been crazy.

MOTHER:  Actually, Daniel was very, very smart, William.  You could say he was one of the smartest men that ever lived.  When the King’s official picked Daniel and several of his closest Hebrew buddies to go to school and learn how to run the palace; the thing that the official noticed about Daniel that stood out above the others was how very smart he was, and how eager to learn he was.  The official just could not understand why he kept insisting on eating only fruits and vegetables and drinking only water; but everything else about Daniel seemed to be exceptional. The King’s Official favored Daniel because he liked him so much; and he found himself listening to what Daniel had to say.  After awhile the official tried to reason with Daniel. 

The King’s Official told Daniel, if he did not learn to eat the food from the pagan king’s table, he would never grow to be strong and healthy like the other men who had been chosen.  Daniel strongly disagreed with him, but instead of arguing with the king’s official, Daniel decided to persuade him another way.  Daniel convinced him to run a test.

WILLIAM:  A test?

MOTHER:  Yes.  Daniel asked the official to allow him and some of his friends to eat only fruit and vegetables and drink only water for the next ten days.  Then he asked the official to compare their health to the health of the others who were eating and drinking as the King and his court. 

WILLIAM:  Wow, I guess Daniel WAS pretty smart.  He figured out how to get his way when it didn’t seem to be possible; but I still don’t understand why he insisted on eating only fruits and vegetables and drinking only water.  Did God really tell the people to eat this way?

MOTHER:  William, God really gave His people dietary laws.  God wasn’t just trying to rule over them with a bunch of unnecessary rules; He was just loving them, the same as any good Father would do, by teaching them the best ways to live.  You know; all of the ten commandments actually do affect your health in some direct or indirect way; and there were many other instructions that God gave to Moses on that mountain which pertain to how we should be eating for good health. 

Someone; probably Daniel’s dear old Mother, had taught and trained Daniel well!  By keeping God’s dietary rules, Daniel was also honoring that commandment to honor his father and mother.  He was remembering the things that they had taught him about living God’s way, even though they were not physically there to remind him and to reinforce that he follow God’s ways.  Keeping all of these things in mind, Daniel was very wise to resist the temptations to eat the pagan king’s delicacies. 

WILLIAM: Mom, I want to know how the end of the story turned out.  What finally happened with Daniel?

MOTHER:  Well, the king’s official agreed to let Daniel and his friends perform the test.  All of the other men were fed from the King’s table and Daniel and his friends were given only fresh vegetables and fruit with pure clean water.  That was all they ate or drank for 10 days.  For Daniel and his friends it was just a healthy and normal way to live, but for us living in the modern world today, eating that way would amount to a complete body detox.  That is because in our modern day diets we eat so many things that are unhealthy and loaded with chemicals and sugar and unnatural food products.  Nothing is served simply the way God made it.  So, when we eat the way that Daniel and his friends did; our bodies get cleansed of all these unnatural toxins and our cells get renewed and become healthier, especially if we follow this plan for up to 10 days at a time.  William, you probably won’t hear about any of this on the local news or even read about it if you look up “diets” on the internet.  It isn’t any more popular today than it was in the days of Daniel.  Still, this is a plan that comes directly from God, one that His faithful people had learned to use to their benefit for good nutrition and health for a long time. 

WILLIAM:  So; I guess the test worked in Daniel’s favor?

MOTHER:  Oh, yes William!  Any time you do what God has recommended instead of following the crowd, it usually works in your favor!  Remember that!  At the end of the testing, the official of the king was shocked to learn that Daniel and his friends were a whole lot healthier and stronger than all of the other men who had been eating from the pagan king’s table. 

By eating from GOD’S TABLE of natural foods, Daniel and his friends had managed to keep their bodies healthier.  They had many more nutrients in their systems that were busy replenishing their cells every day.  By not snacking on the sugary sweets they had kept harmful chemicals out of their bodies, and they had remained disease free.  By limiting their food intake to three meals a day of only fruits, vegetables and pure water, they had improved the health of their bones and muscles much more than the men who had been eating the other food.  Those men had become chubby and lazy while Daniel and his friends had maintained high energy levels and stronger muscles with greater strength and they had a better mental attitude to boot. 

It was finally decided that Daniel and his friends could continue their food preferences throughout the rest of the program.  When it was all over; Daniel and his friends excelled far above all the other men.  The time came for the King to inspect all the men and chose who would get the top positions in the royal palace. Daniel and his three friends were picked first and given the top positions!  You know William; I tend to think it was ALL because their parents had listened to God and taught them how to eat for good health!  Now; eat your carrots!

WILLIAM:  (Laughing)  Okay Mom, okay.  I think I want a little more spinach too.  I’m going to give this “Daniel thing” a try!  I’ll make my own test.

MOTHER:  Would you mind if we prayed about that right now?

WILLIAM:  I think that might be the best way to start this test!

MOTHER:  Dear God, please guide William as he learns your best ways to live.  Teach him, as you taught Daniel; just what it takes to live a good, long, wise and godly life.  I thank You God for the blessing of my precious son!  Amen.

HOST:  William’s Mom smiled and dipped more spinach onto his plate.  It was the last time she ever had to remind him to eat his carrots.   William read that story about Daniel as well as the many other stories about Daniel that were written down in his bible.  He also read about God’s dietary laws for the Hebrew people and eventually he incorporated them into his own daily life. William grew into a fine young man and went on to serve, not in a palace, but in an important high government office.   Like Daniel, he developed great and wonderful friends from all parts of the world.  He loved each of them, listened to their stories and shared their ideas.  He was picked to be one of the land’s highest officials because of his great wisdom.  William lived a very long and healthy life because he continued to maintain good health by paying attention to God’s dietary laws.