Hello Friends! I wanted to clean out some frozen fruit in our freezer last week, so this recipe for Paleo Blueberry Oatmeal bake was just the ticket. The only alterations I made were to combine frozen sweet cherries with the blueberries, and to add some unsweetened shredded coconut and cinnamon to the dry ingredients. You can top it with full fat yogurt for breakfast or some quality ice cream or real homemade whipped cream for dessert. It’s a two-fer, and a yummy one at that.
Upcoming Events for the Locals: Milling your own grain and baking homemade bread…sound ah-maz-ing? Come find out for yourself on Sunday, March 3, at 2:30pm at Taft HQ. We will sample a few different delectable breads (to include gluten-free) and also chat specifically about children’s health. Spaces are limited to 12 participants, and childcare will be provided at no cost, so send your RSVP now via text, Messenger, or email. As I mentioned elsewhere, I have found this art of bread-making to feel sacred and ancient and right. You won’t want to miss this event!
Challenge #2: View your health in terms of The 5 Foundations
I had to invest a couple thousand dollars to learn this information from a secular organization, but I’m offering it here for free. (You’re welcome). And you’ll see that it isn’t rocket science. Neither is it original. In fact, the more I thought about this list when I first learned about it back in 2017, the more I realized this was God’s plan from the beginning. His ideas are always the timeless ones! Spend some time in Genesis and see if you don’t agree.
FIVE THINGS THE HUMAN BODY NEEDS TO BE HEALTHY
1. Whole Foods Diet - humans were placed in a garden, surrounded by vegetation. After the flood, God tells Noah he’s invited to eat animals as well as plants. As far as I’m concerned, this marks the end of the herbivore-carnivore-omnivore dilemma. God said it’s all good. Mix and match real food options in a way that helps your unique body thrive, and don’t worry (or judge) what others are doing.
2. Sleep - God modeled rest for us, and though I don’t believe He requires sleep, his creation certainly does. Most experts agree that we need 7-8 hours on a regular basis. I meet people all the time who claim they do just fine with 4-5, but while I’m sure there might be the odd exception to the rule, you and I probably are not one of them! The test: try to maintain your current sleep routine without caffeine, vigorous exercise (for that endorphin rush), or other harsh stimulants. Scary thought, eh?
3. Time in Nature - Adam and Eve could have been placed in a cement box or a science lab. But God chose the beautiful outdoors. Aren’t you glad? We aren’t made for indoor captivity under harsh fluorescent lighting and windowless rooms that are climate-controlled to perfection every day of the year. We are designed to be immersed in nature year-round. In fact, we ARE nature, so don the appropriate gear, get outside daily, and enjoy basking in it.
4. Relationships - Without a vibrant vertical relationship with our Creator, and meaningful horizontal relationships with one another, we feel lonely, lost, and empty. No man is an island, and the man who attempts to be one will find his health failing rapidly. We are relational beings, even though it can get messy sometimes loving imperfect people just like ourselves. Love them anyway.
5. Movement- Can you imagine if God made us without arms and legs and the ability to bend, twist, climb, run, push, pull, jump, and lift? Our bodies are made for movement, and not just the cardio kind or the muscle-building kind, but also movement that tests our balance, flexibility, and mobility. The best kind of exercise is the kind you enjoy, so find what you love - recognizing it might change from one season of life to the next - and do it as often as possible.
Truly, this is where abiding holistic health begins.
While this list of items is simple, the implementation of them certainly is not - especially in our stressful, chaotic, high speed, get-after-it world. If you don’t believe me, just look around. Better yet, look in the mirror and get honest with yourself.
The weaker the Foundations are in our lives, the less vitality we experience, the more compromised our health becomes over time, and the more we start relying on pharmaceuticals and surgery to keep functioning. We open ourselves up to a myriad of diseases when these five basics are not firmly established and practiced daily. Over the last decade, I’ve realized the goal is not to optimize all of them at once, but to continue engaging in this continuous dance to address the area(s) that are getting the short end of the stick in that moment. Spoiler alert - the dance never ends this side of heaven!
So…which of the Foundations is wobbly for you right now? Which ones are rock solid? It’s to our benefit (and our family’s benefit, too) to keep tabs on each of these five areas and to make adjustments and course-corrections as needed.
Spend some time evaluating your current situation, and then be prepared to dig deeper into the question - Why Are We So Sick? (Hint: the answer is not our genetics, our bad luck, or karma). That’s coming up in the next edition. In the meantime, if you are looking for more thoughts to ponder, head over to my weekly blog and poke around in there. The most recent one is here, and I publish a new article every Tuesday. Blessings to you all!
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