Just for Me

This last week I have begun preparations for my church family’s annual Daniel Fast. I already lead a plant-based dietary lifestyle. So, what to do? I decided to go back to raw vegan meals, especially a week of smoothies.

Along with thoughts about food, I looked at my life this year. What would I change? What would I add? My assessment continually asked “But what have you done just for you?” I heard all my children’s voices asking, Mom what did you do for you?

I realize I have a difficult time to do for me. So I’ve decided to do more just for me in 2020. I now have to figure out what that looks like.

Any thoughts?

All In The Head

It’s been a little over a year since we began this raw vegan/vegan lifestyle change. I have learned how to prepare meals which is a real accomplishment; I never liked to cook. I am still learning because my husband’s cardiologist wants as much gluten-free, oil-free, clean food as possible. This is no easy task. Eating out is hard and cooking requires learning how to make good food with these substitutes. The journey has begun again.

I discovered one other thing, your mind is still the main battlefield. Occasionally my mind still test me when I am tired. Catfish and fried chicken, Chinese and authentic Mexican screams at me. The struggling vegan pops up and shouts substitute. That is my present objective; substitutes and the changing of my mind, again.

“…..but Be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” Romans 12:2

This is the key to all lifestyle changes. It all begins with how you think. When you determine to make the change and settle it in your mind the rest is easy.

The Kingdom is At Hand?

For a long time  some terms used in the Bible puzzled me. This is one of them. From a Christian perspective I knew or thought it was referring to the presence of Jesus the Christ but John the Baptist was not a Christian. Christ wasn’t even a Christian. They were both of Hebrew birth, Jews. They both went to synagogue, read  or heard the scrolls read, learned the Torah and the Prophets. So what did this term mean to them? I have read some theologians thoughts that they were referring to Daniel’s prophecy regarding the kingdom that was eternal that would destroy all human kingdoms. I can imagine in light of Roman oppression this would be, certainly be something the Jewish nation would be looking forward to.

I did  a word study, of course, and this is my understanding of the phrase. The reign or rules of God is here. You would think that would not be necessary to say to a group of people whose very national existence is based on the rules of God. Apparently something was missing. Just like many of us today, we know the rules of our beliefs but we do not apply the rules in our daily lives. We pick and choose what we want to obey and then get mad at God when we don’t get what we want or things don’t work out as we planned. So it seems, Y’shua came to teach how to truly live the rules so that God rules. If this were not so, would John have preached, Repent or Reform? Would Yshua have said Repent or Reform? Some things needed to change.

This declaration simply states for me that God is in charge and if we claim to be His, then His rules need to be lived daily. Yshua the Living Word of God showed the difference between what the Pharisees and Priest taught and lived and what God intended.

So change your way of thinking (Repent) for the rule of God is here.

Here, right now.

Live accordingly.