April 29, 2013 - Lessons from my Mouth Guard

Sorry this is late, been working since I sprung from my bed. Now taking a coffee break to shoot you a quick encouragement. Just an up-front reminder, Sunday is our family grill-out event. Are you coming? If so, please let me know. I am asking everyone to bring your meat to grill (and a recipe if needed) plus a side dish and the recipe. I am doing steak and salsa. :) And, I'll make a sugar free dessert. My grand baby would love to speak to any of your children who may need a word of encouragement to change their eating habits. She wants to share a chocolate sugar free cake and some jicama fries. Do you have any little folks that she could share with??? Okay - so this morning as I am brushing my mouth guard (worn at night to keep me from grinding my teeth) the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about the importance of the guard I wear. I really detest it, but would like my teeth to be nice when I turn 100. (wink) So when I began to think of my mouth guard, these are my thoughts: 1. it protects my teeth from being destroyed 2. it works while I rest 3. it serves a purpose that I can't see 4. it saves me a lot of time and money in the future Can I tell you eating healthy does all the above? Yes, it does. Healthy eating protects my teeth/gums, regenerates my cells while I sleep, works from the inside out to allow my body a long life, and keeps those doctor bills to a minimum. Then I began to really consider how NICE it would be if a mouth guard miraculously appeared every time we were about to consume a food which offered no nutritional value. Or, a guard that would appear when our portion size had been met. As much as I hate my night guard, somehow this sounds appealing. Or how about even better - talking food? "I'm sorry, these french fries you are about to consume are loaded with fat and salt which eventually will lead to heart disease." YIKES! I am laughing, but sometimes I need this. How about you? That's why we have this group. The food can't talk, but the scale and our health family can. (now while I don't eat fries, I do like nuts and I really have to watch the salt content) And can I be honest, being healthy is not always easy nor care free. In fact, I have found that it takes energy and intentionality to be effective. I have a choice each night as to whether the mouth guard is placed or not. No one reminds me of it's importance and sometimes I am too tired and stressed to even fit the devise in my mouth. But as I begin my morning routine, I am certainly aware of my bad choice the previous evening. This is such a picture of our journey, our health. No one is with us when the temptation to "remove the guard" for a season occurs, but our jeans remind us quickly that consistent, bad choices lead to consequences that we were hoping to avoid. So today, whether we like it or not, let's place a guard around our food choices and portion sizes. It may not be comfortable today, but will be easier tomorrow. Starting the week off making great choices and saying thank you to my mouth guard. PK