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Truth #1

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Well, first, I’ll start with the lie…that’s how it usually begins for me, anyway.

We’re trucking along, doing our thing, and a lie begins. Someone says it, a tv show alludes to it, whatever. But there it is. And subconsciously, we begin to think we’re abnormal or missing out if we ourselves don’t go along with that suggestion. And in this case, since this is a blog about nutrition and even more so about the freedom to be well, I’m talking about lies that take us ever so subtly off the good path of healthy eating and exercise that we were walking.

So Lie #1, have you ever let this one get to you? Is this familiar at all? It sure is to me.

“You’re not under the law. God wouldn’t have you under strict rules about eating, that’s ridiculous.”

Don’t you love it when a lie has just enough truth in it to trip you up?

So here’s Truth #1 to counteract that lie:

“God loves us enough to give us boundary lines, yes, restrictions, yes, rules, and sure, call it law if you want. But just like laws keep us safe when we obey them, having clear cut boundaries about eating unhealthy foods or over eating or something even more specific are ultimately for our reward and freedom. God is a good parent. He disciplines those He loves. He cares about us: soul, mind, and body.”

This is a hard path. I want to do what I want, eat what I want, live willy-nilly. But you know what? I hate the results of that. There are too many reality moments, too many mornings-after, and those hurt. Here’s the deal: We can’t have it both ways. We will reap what we sow, period. We can’t have the freedom to be well, the rewards of wise eating, without submitting to the boundaries long-term.

Everyone has different boundaries, and you don’t need me or anyone telling you what yours ought to be. But we can come together on this truth, wherever you are in your journey to wellness. If the doctor, or your own research, or the Lord as your Wonderful Counselor has shared with you a better way for a better life, it will include boundaries and it will not feel fair. There may be some kicking and screaming and even some disobedience. We’re children, we’re sheep, He knows. But the sooner we get on board, the better, for us.

So don’t let anyone tell you that you’re missing out on fun or that “it couldn’t be God telling you what to eat or not eat” when you are sticking to a commitment you have chosen to make…or at least, don’t let it get to you! Let the Lord bless you with these Fatherly boundaries He cared enough to guide you to make and when the going gets rough, be ready to combat this lie with TRUTH!

God is crazy in love with us, regardless of what choices we make. (Thank You, JESUS!!) But He often sees our suffering, that we have brought upon ourselves, and says, “If you want to be free, here’s how to do it.” We so quickly forget that this is how the boundaries began in the first place…they were birthed out of necessity, His intimate knowledge of our personal struggles, and out of His great love for us.

 

 

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Beauty from Ashes!

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There are some gorgeous things showing up in big boxes on my front step! That can only mean one thing…It is almost Sister Bridge time!

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I’m so excited that I get to do this! We are partnering for the 3rd year with Timbali Crafts, Cooperative Outreach of India, and Beads of Java, selling their handmade crafts for the wages of women in third world countries.

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All year the ladies have worked and as they have worked, they have gotten to hang out with missionaries and other believerswho care about them. They’ve heard the Gospel, and they’ve had a good, safe, job. We get to partner in their freedom and their joy just by helping them sell their handiwork.

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Like a quilt, they take pieces of material and magazine paper and bits of this and that and create something new, valuable, cherished…Just like God redeeming our scraps and seeing us as a new creation.

 

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Anyone Insane Yet?

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So…has everyone heard the definition of insanity? Someone told me a while back, and it kind of comes back to me on a regular basis. It’s pretty wise, honestly. Insanity is when you keep doing the same thing but expect a different result. Or at least that is what will make you insane! And when it comes to trying to be healthy, many of us including myself, have been driven to the point of near insanity by doing a plan and continuously seeing no change in clothing or size or weight.

There are fewer frustrating things in life than trying really hard and not seeing any results at all.

I’ve been there for about 4 months with my exercise and eating routine. The thing is, whatever you choose to do to lose weight, that will only work for so long. Then you plateau and have to take it up a notch. This kinda stinks. It’s like we were already doing our darndest to get here, and now we have to change something else? The good news is that the change doesn’t have to be huge to get out of maintenance mode and into losing again, if you truly do have anything to lose. It’ll be slow but it will happen.  At least you will know as you make genuine changes that things won’t be stuck forever.

This post isn’t about details of what diet I am following or what changes I made, I may write about that another time, it’s simply about this reality: Don’t go insane! If your plan isn’t working for you or you’re unhappy with it, find a new plan! Make changes that you can live with, because if you plan to keep the weight off, live with them you must! Make your firm commitments–get specific with it or they won’t work–and see the fruit of your labor again!

God is calling us not to frustration but to freedom. Getting free and staying free can surely feel frustrating, but the rewards along the way let us know we’re in the right place. 🙂

Peace!

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Bring Back the Wonder

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We all have days where colors are brighter, every word has meaning, and we want it to stay just like this forever…

Then we all have days where we feel grey, discontent, just old and done. Our callings feel less sure, our blessings feel more like burdens, and our joy is slipping through our fingers.

It’s a really beautiful thing to have a God thatwants to take these realities and help us with them.

It’s a really beautiful thing to have a God who is waiting for us to ask Him to make life new again, to make all these components of life come alive once again!

So let’s pray for this together–

Our Father, Lord, Friend, Helper, Great Resurrector,

In our bodies–our getting out of bed, our walking, our talking, our eating, our work and our play– please bring back the wonder of it all like only You can.

In our homes–our calendars, our finances, our family table, our conversations, our dreams–please bring back the wonder of it all like only You can.

In our marriages and relationships–our helping, our praying, our giving, our supporting, our listening, our loving–in this privilege of partnership–please bring back the wonder of it all like only You can.

In our parenting–their faces, their noise, their character, their hearts, their schooling, our pivotal role to play in their walk with You–oh Jesus, please bring back the wonder of it all like only You can.

In our ministries–on the street, in the store, to the Body of Christ within and without the Church, to the poor and the broken and the lost, in prayer or in physical action–please bring back the wonder of it all like only You can.

Come make it holy, because it is. Come make it precious, because it is. Come make it meaningful, because it is.

Amen.

 

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New CD Coming Soon

New CDJust a quick word here to say that Joanna Black (www.mjblack.com) and I will be releasing a new EP this Fall! We worked on these songs over the summer–it is a collection of worship songs I have written over the past couple of years. Her husband, Matt, was the producer and sound engineer, and we recorded out in their farmhouse here in Elizabethtown, KY. It is simple and sweet, but I think powerful as well.

There are 6 new duets on it: It Is Well With My Soul, Hallelujah, Never Be Another, Take Me In, Wells, and Love So Sure

And 2 duets from previous recordings: We Come Out Shining, and When Faith Runs Deep

It is titled “Beloved”, and we hope to have it available both for order and on iTunes in October.

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Sister Bridge 2013

I am SO excited!

This year, our third year, we have a Leadership Team of seven ladies who will be running Sister Bridge.

Early in October we will be sorting and pricing items that are currently on their way from around the world…Card Sets from India, lovely African material bags and aprons and more from Swaziland, and handmade paper beaded jewelry from Indonesia. October, November, and December we will be branching out all over Kentucky to bring these items to women who would like to purchase and support their “sisters” in third world countries. 100% of the money goes to the ladies who created these beautiful items!

I will be posting pictures and information about parties here on lyndsaytaylor.com and on our Sister Bridge Facebook page, so make sure you stay in touch if you would like to be a part!

 

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Work and Rest

As it is Labor Day weekend, the Lord has definitely shown me He has some snazzy timing.

The kids’ memory verse for school this week was Matthew 11:28-“Come to Me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” But even before that, I was pondering what probably every other adult in America ponders: busyness, priorities, needing a break, and–let’s be real with each other–wondering if I’m where I’m supposed to be, doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

There seem to be a lot of things that can steal my restful, peaceful, joyful spirit, things that can make me forget that all is well with my soul. Sometimes it is when schedules and sleep are out of balance, sometimes it is when I’ve gotten in a rut or failed to get in a rut that would have been a beneficial one! Sometimes one can figure it out and sometimes one cannot…and before you know it, “this too has passed”.

But sometimes it doesn’t pass, because something really needs to change. I have heard that the definition of insanity is when you keep doing the same thing, but genuinely expect a different result. That’s a wake up call if I ever heard one! So what may need to change? It may be a little tweak here and there in the “seen realm”, in the visible daily life, I know I have made some “external” changes lately for the better…but it may be something a little deeper that needs to be addressed.

I am learning the value of living authentically.

Living authentically, living in humble awareness of who you really are at this point in your existence and accepting it, brings rest and peace. Living with wrong motives, inferior focuses, or just a vague sense of wanting to “be more” or “better” brings strife and confusion.

I’ve been asking myself these questions lately:

*1* Do I make certain choices based on the recognition or positive regard I will get from others? Anything from what I wear to what career I am in, am I doing it to be placed in a certain group or elevated to a certain level in others’ eyes?

*2*  Do I need my successes or good things that I do to be visible to others in order for me to enjoy my life and enjoy how God is at work in me?

*3* Do I decide where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing on based on whether I excel at it or if God has asked me to be there for His purposes?

Sometimes things need to change, in our jobs, in our relationships, in our lives. But sometimes all that needs to change is we get real with ourselves and see if we are living purposefully and authentically  right where we are.

I believe with all my heart Jesus came to give us LIFE and life to the FULL. He gave us work that will enrich the lives of others and give us a chance to have the Christ-life formed in us, and He gave us a rest that goes far beyond a Sunday afternoon nap. His rest is the communion with Him that carries us through every place He has asked us to be, with every person He has asked us to serve.

Peace and grace, friends!

 

 

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First “Journey Well” Blog Post

I’ll be honest with you.

I’m not sure if I’m going to have time to really stick with writing a blog about nutrition.

But I’m going to try, because as I journey through this-trying to make it less battle and more balance-I come across insights that help me and being a natural born encourager, I like to share good stuff with anyone who will listen…and maybe that someone is you.

I name this place “Journey Well” because I believe our relationship with food can play a key role in our wellness, but even more so I think this journey is about a lot more than physical health. Who we are spiritually, mentally, emotionally, socially matters just as much…actually more. Not to keep circling around, but our relationship with food (our bodies, our expectations, our illnesses, our defeats, our victories) all make an impact on the other parts of who we are, like it or not.

And we have to start somewhere to get focused and know that God has given us dominion over ourselves, at least to a certain extent. So, no more excuses, no more wishing; just hoping, learning, and changing.

Let’s journey well together.

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Making Life Harder

Really, who would do that? Make life harder, that is. That’s crazy, right?

But I keep catching myself doing it, and I’d like to explore the reason why.

This is a bold thing to say (but I believe in transparency there is humility and in humility there is great growth): I think the reasons why I continually fall into the trap of making my life harder can be put into two categories. One is “good” (in quotations because it’s obviously not truly good!), and one is bad.

So…the “good” one first. Since giving my entire being, choices, and future to the Lord at the age of 13, I have not thought of my happiness or my ease as one of the points of discussion when making most decisions. Decisions are usually made based on other criteria, such as: what is better for these specific other people, or what is “God leading me to do” with a nice long drawn out “e” in the word “leading”, because that word has to be emphasized when declaring your next choice in life, am I right? I don’t have an answer for this, because there are definitely times God calls us to do things that are everything from nonsensical to uncomfortable to personally devastating!! He is God and He sees the end from the beginning, and I trust Him! But I wonder how many times He watched me choose the stressful, overachieving path for absolutely no reason other than I thought the hard way HAD to be the best way. Hmm…Just a thought.

And the “bad” method of making my life harder is wavering from the basics of what I know to be true, right, wholesome, life-giving living. Our life gets harder, our focus gets out of whack, our resolve gets talked down when we lose sight of the foundational truths and callings we have previously set our course straight on. What do we need to get back to? We’re all different but we all have disciplines of the mind and body that help us stay out of pits.It may be as simple as getting in bed at a decent hour regularly, and it might mean quitting something we just started because it has thrown a kink in the works and it would be better to end it now than give it time to cause more confusion and chaos. It may be finding creative ways to keep the connection strong between us and the Lord. Having Spiritual Alzheimer’s means keeping that connection fresh and ongoing!

Jesus came to give us LIFE, full and abundant, wise and free. He also said in this world we would have troubles, to not be surprised at them, but to know He has overcome every one of them in His own way and time, that He is still in charge no matter what. It’s clear from scripture that difficulties are allowed to refine us and give us a chance to use our faith muscles, which results in a true act of worship and adoration of God. I guess what I’m trying to say is pretty simple. These things are coming whether we want them or not, but there are so many ways we make the blessings into burdens and allow our day-to-day lives to be less than joyful—less than enjoyable—just because we feel guilty for not being purposeful every minute. Or maybe that’s just me. 🙂

I want to remember this. Obedience doesn’t mean doing a million good things. Obedience means doing the exact things (be they few and insignificant,or many and powerful) our Teacher says to do…and maybe He is yelling RECESS a little more often than we think.

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It’s good to have these sweet little reminders (these are my girls and their cousin) of the good that comes from “wasting time” sometimes! JOY!