Guest Blog - My Body as God's House

If you've been following along at all, you know we're not very religious around here. As such, I am always super interested in those that live their lives in accordance to some of those guidelines. Rebecca at "Blogging With Goodly Intentions" is one of those. Her blog is captivating to me. She's agreed to do this guest post for me, and I am forever grateful.

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19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

--1 Corinthians 6:19-20 King James Version

It's simple, really.  God's word, which are the words in the Bible,  says that my body is a temple ( house) of the Lord.  God's house should not be filled with junk.  It should be holy ground.  With that in mind, I have to figure out what is okay to allow  into my body.

My mouth is a way into my body.  What am I putting into my body when I drink a bottle of soda?  What about carrots?  What about water?  Or the cupcake?

What is good for me?  What is bad for me?  Why does it matter?  Who does it matter to?  How does it affect me?

These are all questions to consider when thinking about what I should be eating.

First of all, why does it matter?  Well, my children and husband matter.  I want to be here for them.  I don't want to die before my time.  I want to be able to care for them and nurture them. 

Second, why does it matter what I eat?  Well, if I eat a nutritious meal, avoiding the junk food, I will have a better quality of life.  Please know that I am trying to convince myself of this because it is that important to me.  Having to detox from all the bad food's effects is difficult and painful.  Believe me, I've had to do this several times.

This topic of what I am putting into my body has permeated my life so much.  My children and husband have seen me in pain.  They've heard me cry out in pain.  They don't want to see me in pain any more than I want them to see me that way.  The last thing I want is their pity.

That's why we have discussions at the dinner table.  It means so much to me that my kids learn how food affects us.  Food should give us energy.  I shouldn't be sluggish after eating a meal.  Yet, how many times has that happened to many of us?

Am I over-bearing about this topic?  Probably...but I need for my kids to know that spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes are better than chocolate donuts and potato chips.  Am I being a good role model?  I hope I am.  I am showing them my daily struggle with junk food.

In teaching my children about the types of foods, I am not spending time creating lesson plans.  I can, though.  I could spend all the time creating an Ebook about all the healthy foods we  should be eating.  I can spend money buying the books that teach about proper lunches and dinners.  The best way, though, is to live out what I want my children to learn.

I am a work in progress.  Who isn't?  I'm still learning.  I never learned how to cook from my mother, and it wasn't her fault.  I just didn't take the time to learn from her.

Then, again, she didn't have time to explain about healthy foods.  As a widow, she was busy working to put food on our table.  I did have teachers who taught me about that stuff.  The problem was that I ate junk food, like soda and potato chips, without anyone policing me.

This is the reason why I am more of a hands on mother.  It is in the teachable moments that I get to show my kids the truth of food.  Not all food is good.  Eating in moderation is best.  Sometimes, good food will still make you sick.

Allergies, food-poisoning, and proper handling of raw foods are real-life.  Those things cannot be taught from a book.  I feel the responsibility to teach my kids to cook.  It's vital to wash our hands and keep raw meat away from vegetables and fruit.  The best way to teach my kids is to have them do it.

To conclude, I'll say again that God says my body belongs to Him.  He resides in me, but how welcomed does anyone feel in a dirty house?  Yeah, you get it.  I'd say God feels welcome when our houses (bodies) are clean.

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Rebecca Garcia  is the mother of four children, which includes two teens.  She has been home schooling for about 11 years, has been married for 16 years to a devoted husband, and has been blogging everyday this year.  How she does it, is anyone's guess.  You can learn more about her family at: Blogging With Goodly Intentions.