A Well-Stocked Life!

Close your eyes. (Hard to keep reading!)

Picture what is inside your pantry or cabinets where you store your nonperishable food items.

Are the items you see helpful or harmful to your healthy eating plan?

I have a combination of items, some that help and some that hinder.

As we start the New Year many have asked us to focus on nutrition and fitness tips...keep reading if you want to see how they can also relate to faith!

 

What did you see when you closed your eyes and examined the pantry? Good? OK? Really Bad?

The goal is to have more in the pantry that helps! This looks about like mine..some good things, some not so good things!

A pantry stocked with canned beans, brown rice and tomatoes helped me discover a yummy recipe online for black beans and brown rice. I used it as a side dish one night, but it was hearty enough to be a meal! I was searching for something tasty to serve along with chicken and my pantry helped me with a healthy side. Now flip the coin, a pantry with chips, cookies, and sodium rich rice packets or noodle packets would have been a detriment to my healthy eating plan. Make plans for your grocery list to include canned beans, whole grain pastas, brown rice, tuna, salmon, canned tomatoes, and whole grain cereals. The same idea works for our refrigerator. A good supply of skim milk, good cheese, eggs, lean cuts of meat, low-fat yogurt and fresh veggies will help you avoid tempting alternatives. A good rule of thumb for avoiding your food enemies is to simply not buy them! Do you love potato chips? Avoid buying them at the store. A well-stocked counter top can be your best friend..really! Keep apples, bananas, oranges, and other fresh fruits out on the counter so that they are always in your eye’s sight! Grab them on the way out the door for a midmorning snack. A well stocked purse can keep you out of a drive thru line! Go ahead, throw in a granola bar, an apple! You have everything else in there, right?

Now close your eyes again. (I know, hard to read!)

Consider the pantry of your heart.

You know…the area where you store up all the things that will help or hinder your spiritual walk with the Lord. The things that will get you through each day or the things that will hinder you each and every day. Do you have a “well-stocked” heart?

Is your heart prepared to get you through the best of days and the worst of days? Stocking your heart with God’s word and God’s love is crucial to our daily life. The bible tells us that God is our refuge and our strength. Just like we go to the store and stock up on items we need each week, we must go to the Lord and fill our carts (hearts) with His word. These are staples that you want on hand. God’s love is always present and His word is always truth!

 

I know that my heart is sometimes like my food pantry…..some things are helpful and some things harmful….some things help me with my daily struggles and some things do not. I love reading the Psalms. I relate well to David. Sometimes he is crying out to God and sometimes he is praising Him. Often he is asking for forgiveness and always he is seeking the Lord. I find that each day the word of God has applicable truth and love. Stock up!

Psalm 119:11 says

Take inventory this week…clean out the things that clutter your pantry and your heart….the things that hinder your faithfully fit lifestyle!         
     With you I struggle and I rejoice- Jodie