Clean Eating and Clean Living

In my fledgling quest toward better health, I've been looking around at recipes and the myriad of ways of eating that fill bookshelves, internet searches, and my personal favorite--Pinterest. One of the newest trends that has intrigued me is "clean" eating. Just the name itself sparks my curiosity--"clean" eating. Hey, my food is clean, I'm very careful when I cook to not cross-contaminate and all those other safe cooking rules, and I insist that no one come to the table without having washed hands.  What could be cleaner than that? Well, I dug a little deeper and made a shocking discovery--clean eating could just as easily be called "the way my grandparents ate" eating--fresh as possible, free of artificial flavors, preservatives, and over-processing--in other words, the way our grandparents ate, with garden fresh food, meats that many of them raised themselves (or at least mine did), and very little from the grocery store. We all would be much better off health wise if we returned to those same ideals--more work, yes---less convenient, definitely--family will protest--count on it--but eventually they'll get over it. We haven't gone cold turkey on eating out, and some processed things still come in the house, but gradually, I'm working those things out of our house, and we're discovering that we really do feel better. I can tell a difference when we go out to eat, too--restaurant food just kind of lays there like a brick now in my belly, and I don't like it!

I really began to think a few days ago about how this trend of clean eating could easily cross over into how we live--clean living. This year has been a particularly pervasive year, it seems, for what is considered acceptable and popular, and what it is not. I, too have been very saddened by the number of ladies I know, who call themselves Christian, who have followed the path of what's popular and have read those "shady" books, have been to the "magical" movie, and have just gushed about their excitement and how much they enjoyed it. And, now we have the world getting up in arms because a God-honoring man spoke his convictions--and just how many Christians were surprised by the backlash?

Clean living Christians were not surprised or shocked at all that the world jumped on the Cathay family and their beliefs with the intensity that  has come. Clean living is very similar to clean eating, and the plan was laid out very clearly in God's word--and he never stuttered once or wavered in his commands for us. Jesus said it clearly in John 17:14--"I have given them the Word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." He told us again in Romans 12:2 --"Do not conform to the pattern of the world...." Clean living is doing what is right in the sight of God, following his commands in our lives and not following the popular path. Did He promise it would be easy? No, not any easier than it's been to purge my kitchen and experience the protests that my body has sent my way. Is it popular? Definitely not! Will you lose some friends, be mocked and teased about your stand? Get ready, because you will and it won't be pretty, and you will get bruised and hurt in the battle. Is it worth it? YES, YES, infinitely worth it! You will draw closer to God as you pray for strength and turn to His Word for guidance and comforting promises. You will find new friends that will make the fellowship so much sweeter when you are with them. You can go to sleep at night with clean hands, a clean heart, and an unpolluted mind. And you will find that you did't miss a thing!

Have a glorious weekend!
Missy