I am probably going to date myself by sharing this story but when Jeff and I were first married one of the things that we loved to do was eat at Burger King. It was Jeff’s favorite restaurant and being that Jeff had been overseas in the military for 18 months. We took every advantage to eat at Burger King when he returned home.

Jeff proposed to me right before he left for the Philippines for 9 months. He came home on leave for 45 days and in that time frame we were married for 3 weeks of that and then he left for the Philippines again for another 9 months. So it might not be surprising to you that we ate at Burger King for every meal on our honeymoon except one. 

Yes, that is right, my romantic husband did everything he could to make our honeymoon special for me so he took me to his favorite restaurant for almost every meal. Honestly, I didn’t care back then. We were young and in love and did a lot of foolish things that young people do.  We thought we were being wise after all it was a great deal. We could get 2 Whoppers, 2 Fries and 2 drinks for $4.99. Yes I said 2, I know today you can’t even get one, and that’s what’s making me sound old. 

Little did we realize what that kind of eating would do to our bodies, I came home and couldn’t even fit into my wedding dress. It has really taken me over 30 yrs to get my health back. See I had to make a choice to do something about it no matter what others were doing around me. 

Every one of us has a choice everyday. No matter what is going on around us we have a choice of what we will do. Whether it is how we respond to someone’s comments or how we allow ourselves to feel after watching some news report or even what others are eating. 

It is about what we put in us that makes the difference. Just like what Jeff and I put in our bodies over that week long honeymoon. Fast food is okay to have now and then, but it was not made to be our soul diet. Studies have been done and a steady diet of that kind of food can be extremely detrimental to one’s health.(obviously, back then those studies had not been done and Jeff and I knew very little about nutrition then)  So it is important to remember that it is not only certain foods that can be bad for our bodies but it is everything we take in. How you ever heard the phrase “Everything in moderation” 

Well, I believe that goes for not only food but everything we put in our mind, from what we watch, what we read about and what we listen too. There is an old song that went something like this. “Oh be careful little eyes what you see, Oh be careful little ears what you hear, There’s a father up about looking down on you with love so be careful little eye what you see.” 

 The bible talks about this in  Matthew

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matt 6:22-23ESV

And you want to know how to tell what someone is taking into their heart and mind. It usually comes out in their mouth.  David tells us in Psalms 4:23 “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” In fact he also says

“19But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23Above all else, guard your heart,for everything you do flows from it.24Keep your mouth free of perversity;keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Proverbs 4:19-23 

In this season of life where there are so many opinions and ideas, we can’t forget to be careful about what we immerse ourselves in. Their our temptations everywhere David warns us in 

 Psalms 101:3” I will set nothing wicked before my eyes.” We have to be careful because there may even be some sources that we thought we could once trust that just are not that trustworthy anymore. 

The only real truth is the words of God in the bible. Haven’t you been around some people or even just after having a conversation with them you feel like you need a bath. Maybe it is even something you read, or watched on TV. 

It’s time for our country to get back to knowing what God’s word says. We can’t just follow whatever tickles our ears and makes us feel good. But, really get in and decide to learn more of God’s word and do what it says. We have no promise that we’ll always have the freedom to read whatever we want or have access to reference God’s word when we need it. 

One thing that we can’t get too much of is our relationship with Jesus Christ and once we know what He wants us to do, we need to do it, even if it is hard. Like choosing a good diet of food can be sometimes, choosing a healthy mindset and lifestyle will take time too. At first it may not even feel right because it is so different. But if we follow God’s word we can’t go wrong. 

So we have a choice today, will we fill our heart and mind with positive and encouraging messages like God’s word, will we hang out with people that our uplifting and follow what God’s word says, or will we let ourselves be deceived into thinking that it doesn’t matter how much junk we are putting in our bodies/heart and mind? Because we think the temporary pleasure outweighs the long lasting ill effects it will have on us in the future. 

The choice is yours, we have control over how we respond when others are unkind, when others see things differently than we do. We can still love someone we don’t agree with and maybe that is the biggest misnomer we have today. 

Just don’t let it take you over thirty years to figure it out, like it did me.