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Monday, 25 November 2024

The Cross of Christmas

As we prepare our hearts to celebrate Jesus’s birth on Christmas day, 25th December, (the real reason for the season), have you ever wondered why God had to send Jesus to earth to be born as a baby? 

Although the Nativity story is found in the Gospel books of Mathew and Luke, having recently studied the book of Hebrews, I was amazed to come across many verses pertaining to why Jesus was born. 

So, I thought I’d share them with you as you ponder and reflect on the celebration of the birth of our King and Savior, Jesus Christ
  1. Jesus was born so that He could become the son of God that would make us His children and God our Heavenly Father - Hebrews 1:5; 5:5
  2. Jesus was born as a human of flesh and blood so that He would no longer be immortal but would be able to die so that His blood could be poured out for us. - Hebrews 2: 14
  3. Jesus needed to be born, so He could die in order to destroy the devil through His death- Hebrews 2:14
  4. Jesus needed to die to deliver and free us from sin and break the power of death and the devil - Hebrews 2:15
  5. Jesus was born so He could become human like us and know how it feels to be tempted and suffer - Hebrews 2:18
  6. Jesus was born to become the guarantee and mediator of a new covenant between ourselves and God - Hebrews 7:22; 8:6; 9:15
  7. Jesus was born so He could have a body that could be sacrificed like an unblemished Lamb for our sins- Hebrews 10:5
When you add the Cross to Christmas, it gives meaning to the purpose of Jesus’s birth. Our wreaths of holly and berries symbolize a wreath for His death and represent the crown of thorns He had to wear and the berries, the drops of blood that dripped from His brow. 

The Christmas lights represent the light that Jesus brings to the darkness of the world, to our own darkness and how we should be reflecting His light to others. Whether you have a star or an Angel on top of your Christmas tree, both are symbols of God’s glory that ushered in the announcement of Jesus’s birth.  

The very tree represents the wood that was cut up to become the cross. The ornaments we put on our trees can represent things we should nail to the tree or they can also represent our blessings and inherited gifts we have through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  

Christmas offers us the hope of eternity in Heaven. The Old Testament’s sacrifices were just a parole but with the New Testament and Covenant, we are given a full pardon. Yes, the devil may still seem active in our lives, but he is like a dog that has been chained up to the stake of the Cross.  He can growl and bark, but he can no longer harm us, as long as we stay out of his reach. 

Christmas is God reaching out to us.  It is the celebration of His incarnation that He is Emmanuel and is always with us. It should not just be a holiday tradition, but become our response to God for sending Jesus to restore our relationship with Him.

Wishing you all a Blessed and meaningful Christmas!

Much love, 

Samantha


Sunday, 3 November 2024

Food for Fuel

Those who know me, will know the quest I have been on to find that one, simple, miracle cure to restore my body shape back to what it was in the 1980’s. Although I have learnt a lot regarding food and weightless, I’ve recently discovered that part of my problem is due to my relationship with food and the lies I’ve been believing. 

Growing up as a child, I was extremely skinny. So much so, that my doctor had me eating a small jar of peanut butter a day, just so I would put on some weight!  However, something happened after I hit menopause, which I’m told is caused by my metabolism having taken the slow lane…

There are tons of suggestions on the internet on how to boost your metabolism, and I keep meaning to try them, but at the moment, I am too busy enjoying my food.

I wake up planning my breakfast and lunch and already know what I will be having for dinner, the night before. So much of my thought life is consumed by food and what I eat.  I’ve believed the lie that food comforts me, but in all honesty, I am never satisfied with it.  If I eat something too salty, I need something sweet to balance it out, and vice versa.  

I was recently reminded that when what you consume starts to consume you, it is a sure sign that it has become an idol in your life.  So I’ve realized I need to change the way I think about food. Instead of waiting for victory in this area of my life, I’ve decided to share my thoughts, so you can join me on this journey.  Here are my 7 tips I’ve discovered so far…

  1. Reduce or Replace instead of Quit - I don’t know about you, but the minute I try to cut out anything bad from my diet, I end up just craving it more. So my answer is to either reduce or replace these things with healthier options. For instance, I have gone from 2 sugars to 1, or honey and have replaced white bread for wholegrain seeded bread. I am also enjoying dark chocolate more, instead of milk chocolate and eating popcorn, rice crackers and pretzels in place of potato crisps.
  2. Know When You’re Full – Growing up, I learnt to clean my plate, so I find it difficult to know what it feels like to feel full. However, often at Christmas or buffet-style meals, I certainly know what it feels like to feel TOO full, which means I need to learn to know when to stop, before I overindulge.
  3. Wait Before Seconds – This ties in with point number 2 – Don’t just eat seconds because it is delicious and you want more. When I wait for my stomach to give me the signal that I’ve had enough, I find it easier to resist the temptation to be greedy. By practicing delayed gratification, I save the leftovers for tomorrow.
  4. Use a Smaller Plate – If you are tempted like me to load your plate, try using a side plate or a smaller plate or bowl to help reduce your portion size. A smaller plate changes our perspective on the size of your meal. As well as knowing the correct portions we should be eating, in relation to our vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates.
  5. Eat for Fuel – So much of my eating nowadays revolves around habit or entertainment. With every celebration and event, the main focus seems to be about the food. If we only eat to refuel ourselves, we will be more energized instead of ‘maggies vol, oegies toe’ (An Afrikaans phrase that means when your stomach is full, your eyes close to sleep). I am not saying I’m going to stop eating cake or gourmet food to celebrate with, but I will try to make the event and the people the highlight, instead of the food. The same goes for eating our 3 meals out of habit.  If I'm still full from the meal before, I will delay the next or skip it. 
  6. Move it, but Don’t Overdo it! – As a non-gym fan and flat owner, with limited floor space, I was happy to hear that too much exercise is counteractive to weight loss. Apparently, the fat hormone cortisol is released when you exercise too intensively. Besides taking my dog for her twice daily 20 minutes walks, I am now also trying Chair exercises through one of the many available Apps.
  7. Pray Before Eating – Last, but probably the most important, is to pray first. When I change the way I view food and use it to fuel me for energy and nutrition, I become more conscious and convicted of what I am feeding my body. By saying Grace or praying over my meal before I eat, I am asking God to bless the food to my body. I am reminding myself daily, that my body is the Temple where God’s Spirit lives within me, and should be kept pure and holy, and is not a dustbin for feeding junk.

As we encourage one another with our body transformations, let us be patient with ourselves and extend grace when we fail.  By seeking God first and relying on His strength to help us resist the temptations and lure of food that is not good for us, we can overcome our binge, junk and comfort eating.

I love that verse in Psalms 34:8 that tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good, because it reminds me that God created food to be delicious, and to enjoy it. But, yet again, Satan has taken something good and turned it to become our enemy. 

We can grow the fruit of our self-control by being mindful of what we eat and learning to acknowledge when we have had enough. We cannot expect our bodies to operate and function as God intended them to, if we are not eating the correct ‘fuel’. 

Please can I ask you to take the time and be vulnerable to share your own helpful tips. I believe that a community that cares enough to share, is a powerful tool that God’s uses to help us each heal and grow together. God is with us all in this journey and victory is our portion!

Below are further tips from a shared source that sounds viable enough to be worth considering…

https://insights.avea-life.com/glucose-imbalance/nutrition/glucose-goddess-hacks/

For those who are struggling particularly with comfort eating, see my previous blog that I hope will help you further -  https://sharingsfromsam.blogspot.com/2022/05/seeking-comfort-from-god-instead-of-food.html

Happy eating as you eat for fuel!