Its easy to get discouraged quickly when researching healthy living. Sure seems like the world is out to kill you! One could become scared to eat anything! I have certainly met a few hyper-freaky “health-nuts” who boarder on hypochondria! When my efforts to pursue excellence and health begin to push me to worry, fret and fuss I stop and remember that no one is going anywhere until it is their time. My sweet grandmother smoked like a fire and lived into her 80’s. God is the one in control and I could put petrochemicals all over my body and bathe in diet Coke and still happily live to see my great-grandchildren. Grace can do such things, ya know! God knows our financial and circumstantial limits. He isn’t going to punish me with cancer because I couldn’t afford all organic products. How silly!

Of course God gave us minds and abilities and resources to use wisely. He has established principles to help us learn virtue and wisdom and through these to have joy. In general, the healthier we live, the more we manage this earth as good and wise stewards, the ‘healthier’ we will be, though God often makes exceptions to “the rules” so that He may display grace. May we revel in His grace! Truly, what sustains my healthy efforts is really the peace and joy of doing in more than the fear. Sure, fear of being fat and having cancer gets me going, but fear doesn’t sustain it. Though fear of consequences may get the ball rolling, the joy of the Lord is our strength.

I was in such a good mood today because I was so excited about God’s creation! How the things HE made are the most awesome! When I pulled out my truly all-natural, organic “Tush Treatment” to put on Ella’s hinny I felt joyful, that I was nurturing my little one with the hands of God, with the wondrous things He has made and given to us to use and cultivate. Fish breathe best in water, birds fly best in air and people live best in the things designed for them by God.

Does this mean that the things men make are bad? No! We were made in the image of the Creator, made to also create! However, the things that we make, I believe, reflect the virtue with which we make it. So many things now are made fast and cheap, with a heart to make a profit above all. And the products which result reflect it; cheap, fast products that are not well designed with care and our bodies, lives and environment suffer as a result.