Thanksgiving seems to be a day for setting aside all practical and decent eating habits in favor of pure, unadulterated gluttony! Since Numeric Life is no longer keeping us up on the statistics of life, here is a link to some Thanksgiving Day calorie consumption and how to be guilt free!
Since Heidi has been filling my head with ideas that I might actually be able to improve my health by diet and exerc..., I can't say it--the "e" word, this link is for her. A friend told me to replace the "e" word with an "a" word--activity. It's much less intimidating and sometimes more practical.
I'm actually fascinated by how different foods effect our body chemistry. Along with that, it's good to know how medicines and chemical additives effect our systems.
As I have been reading, praying and studying, I am becoming more aware of the testimony that I give with my unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits. The Bible teaches us that our bodies are a temple--a holy place. If I truly value what God has given to me, I should take better care of it. I actually think that this attitude will take me farther than a diet to lose weight attitude has in the past. I certainly don't want the stereotyped image of the overweight Baptist preacher. (God knows that we have enough of those already) But all of that is a blog for another day.
This is about being thankful.
Last Friday I made the drive to Tulsa to have dinner with my two sisters. Hannah came with me and that certainly made the drive easier. It was three hours to meet them, about three hours of visiting and then three more to drive home. It may seem like quite a bit for a short visit but we see each other so little that I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I may have mentioned that I have a great family!
Aaron stopped to pick up my parents on his drive home from Chicago so they will be with us for Thanksgiving dinner. Chris' dad is driving in from St. Louis and will be here. Aaron's girl, Jenny and her family will join us as well as a friend from church. I am working the mid-shifts on both Wednesday night and Thursday night, but thankful to have a good job and still be able to have time to share our home with family and friends. Chris, Kathi and Tracey will be preparing all of the meal and I know it will be great!
One of my co-workers once asked if Chris was a good cook. I said that I'm about 75 pounds heavier than when we got married...yes, she is a good cook! Today we eat out far more often than we should and will be cutting back some--both for better eating habits and also for some cost savings. In any case, I'm thankful that we have the choice and have more than enough to eat.
It really seems like an impossible task to name all of the many blessings that I have and for which I am thankful. I hope that you will take a few moments to reflect on the things for which you are thankful. Share them with someone you care about or write a few of them here. I'd be honored to post them for you.
John
Thanks to Sarah for sharing this quote:
"The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has nobody to thank."
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti
PS Mike, I'll still indulge in some Ted Drewe's every time I get the chance!
6 comments:
Happy Thanksgiving to you and Chris and your entire family!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family :)
Outstanding post John. I looked at every link. I am especially thankful for the WEB MD link showing the normal Thanksgiving dinner and their calories. It will make me more careful today.
I hope you and yours enjoy your day!
Ciao
John - You definately have much to be thankful for. Please tell your mom and dad and the rest of your brothers and sister I said hello. Your brothers and sisters that I remember, I think, are:
Theresa, you, Steven, Mike, Mary. Which brother am I forgetting? Maybe Patrick? I can't remember, getting old.
Blessings,
Pat S.
Happy Thanksgiving back to you.
Diet? You mean my 3000 calorie a day diet? Add a Ted Drew's to that and ... I can't count that high.
No doubt you had a great Thanksgiving. We did, too! We have a potluck at church, and that's where we've been on Thanksgiving every year since this new tradition started 4 years ago.
I couldn't begin to list all the things I'm thankful for, just like I couldn't list all the stuff there is about food in the Bible, either literally or metaphorically! Our pastor is working on his PhD and his thesis topic has a lot to do with the theology of shared meals. It's quite a natural idea for him because he loves to cook (and to eat), but he's about 6'4" and 170 pounds, so it's also a survival thing for him. I don't think I've ever heard the word "exercise" come out of his mouth. He burns so many calories just by using his intellect that it would be fatal for him to go to a gym.
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