Genesis 2:8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3: 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
ALL of the beauty and deliciousness that is/was provided for us by God and here we go. We allow ourselves to be so easily convinced that God is just trying to keep something from us as opposed to do something FOR us or protect us from ourselves. I personally believe the 'forbidden tree' was no more than God's boundary for man. The tree was to remind us that God intended for us to have everything if we only obey Him. Eating the tree did not cause physical death, it caused a spiritual one. What it really did was empower satan. He learned his first lesson about us. We could be easily manipulated. No matter how much we HAVE (because they had EVERYTHING ELSE ALREADY and DOMINION over it all(see Genesis 1:28) we could be convinced that God - the very provider of EVERYTHING WE ALREADY HAVE - is holding out on us. How stupid can we get...I'm sorry - I meant me. I'm just talking to me. How stupid can 'I' get?
Even with all my prayer, study even I daresay success with properly managing my food I still allowed myself to be hoodwinked, led astray, run amuck over a tiny, teeny little 's'mores' this weekend. We went camping and it just couldn't be 'camping' if I didn't eat a 's'more'. I don't know why, but omg...it was the BEST S'MORE I ever had in my life. I danced with my s'more ya'll. It was sooooo yummy....going in. But once that refined sugar (that I haven't eaten in a good long time) got into my system and started reminding me that I don't eat this stuff...OMG FOR REAL. I thought I was gonna die, lol. (not literally - but my stomach was all flip/floppy) for the next 3 days. Now I'm not saying that you have to be perfect nor that I think I'm perfect. But I'm actually glad I got sick. It was a reminder to me that I need to be sober minded always. I could have had campfire fun with the kids and hubby and laughed and enjoyed myself all the more with OUT the 's'mores from hell' (lol - they ain't from hell, but they made me feel like it). Thank God for renewed beginnings and for always teaching. Even in the midst of disobedience.
Congratulations Time:
LaTanya H. Official start this week! I'm proud of you! Making a decision to do what's best for you is not always easy. I know you prayed and struggled for a long time. We'll go shopping together on Wednesday to make sure you plan well for your first week to see tremendous results!
Charlotte Exercise (free or cheap)Tuesday/Thurs - Funky Fit w/Nettie 5pm (Tuckaseegee Rec Center) (free if you live in 28208/28214-$3 others)
Wednesday Night - Funky Fit w/Nettie 5:30 (Bettie Rae Rec Center)(free if you live in 28208/28214-$3 others)
Aerobics w/Tish 7pm (1337 Samuel Street - New Life Fellowship Center) (free)
TimeWarner & DishNetwork OnDemand - check out the aerobics/pilates/yoga and put together a routine.
Note: Please send me any free/cheap exercise in your area w/schedules and I will include it in the newsletter!
We have NO EXCUSES not to be moving. If you don't want to do any of these types exercises just march in place in front of the TV while you watch (I do this on my wii but you can do it freestyle)
Recipe: Tarragon Chicken
3 tablespoons chopped or diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ lb sliced mushrooms
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup nsa chicken broth (nsa-no salt added) or choose low sodium)
◦1-2 teaspoons dried tarragon
◦dash nsa lemon pepper
dash ground or whole dried fennel
2 oz uncooked skinless chicken breast
Rice
◦¼ cup nsa chicken broth
◦½ cup cooked rice
In a hot non-stick skillet, lightly brown the diced onion then add garlic and mushrooms. (I let them brown just a little bit, but watch that the garlic doesn’t burn.) Then add the white wine, chicken broth, tarragon, lemon pepper, and fennel. Cook until the mushrooms are done and most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove into a bowl. Bring the pan back up to temperature to brown the chicken and cook it through. When the chicken is cooked, pour the mushroom mixture back into the pan. Add the rice and the other ¼ cup of broth. Heat just until the rice or pasta is warmed through.
After cooking the chicken, you can slice it and mix it in with the mushroom mixture, or you can keep the chicken separate and mix the mushroom mixture with just the rice or pasta.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for reminders of your love. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for my independence from food and for your help in making sober minded decisions. Lord, bless my family today. My Back to Eden family. Help us to be patience and wait on you. Help us to be diligent and consistent. Remind us to pray, daily, without ceasing, not just 'to' you but 'with' you. Send your angels with answers swiftly. We thank you for your love and all you do to keep us in the apple of your eye. In Jesus name, amen.
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