Lately, I have been thinking a lot about choices. Thinking about some of the choices that I have made over the past 39 years and how they have affected me. I am a parent to a teenage boy (14) and a preteen girl (very soon to be 12) and I am constantly talking to them about making the right choices concerning their friends, school, trying drugs and alcohol etc. We want our children to make the right choices because we know how the choices that they make today will affect the direction that their future takes. My parents lectured me and my siblings about the same things when we were younger and for the most part, I think we listened (most of the time) and turned out pretty good in the areas above but there are some additional areas in my life that they would have lectured to me about as well. Those areas being...making the right health choices.
Many of the health issues that we face in the older years of our life are caused by decisions that we made in our youth. High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Arthritis, Obesity and even some cancers (colon cancer, lung…to name a few) can be linked back to poor health choices. Sometimes, it’s not what you did that contributes to the onset of these conditions but what you didn’t do. How much more different would my health profile be if I had chosen to eat more fruits and veggies and less fast food, fried foods, cakes, cookies and candy? I wonder what my life would be like if I led a more active lifestyle instead of spending hours at a time in front of the television, playing Nintendo or (as my mom used to say) just being plain lazy? I’m thinking I probably wouldn’t have the weight issues. I probably wouldn’t have some of the GI issues (gallbladder) that I have been experiencing lately. Let’s see...I probably wouldn’t be pre-diabetic and I probably wouldn’t have borderline hypertension. Oh, and I probably wouldn’t have all of the aches and pains that I currently experience on a day to day basis.
I’m just curious....what kind of list would you have?
Fortunately, it’s not too late to correct my wrongs. I am capable of repenting of my bad habits and I can make the choice to live a healthier lifestyle now so that these conditions won’t get worse or so that they can go away completely....I can also, begin now to encourage my children. My kids haven’t been happy about it because they are casualties of my new lifestyle changes, and their lectures now also include making right health choices. As a family, we are eating out less and buying healthier snacks. Meals at home aren’t cooked as much in the microwave (yes, guilty) and more effort is put into cooking healthy, well-balanced meals...low in fat and high in fiber. They are encouraged to play the Wii more during the week but ONLY the games that encourage lots of movement...I’ll try anything to get them off that couch and moving. They don’t know it yet but as soon as the weather is stable....I have more great ideas to get us moving as a family! I am committed to making sure that we ALL get in at least 30 minutes a day of exercise (LOL). Most importantly, I am teaching them everything that I learn so that they can begin to understand the importance of healthy living so that they can make their own right choices. I hope that you will catch on to my vision and will do the same.
Before I go, I want to share with you the most important choice that I have EVER made. It was the day that I decided to make Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior! In my youth, no matter how much my parents lectured me; I made some really stupid choices that produced difficult consequences. (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23)
Fortunately, I was able to repent (change directions) and start over again and now, I have a new life in Christ Jesus. (If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9) Again, I hope that you will catch on to THE vision and will do the same.
Until the next time!
Sasha
I will be back on Monday, March 15th at my regular time slot….see you then!
Saturday’s Blog: Tovah “Life of a HS Junior” will be coming your way.
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