Day 230: Finding PURE Joy

I hope everyone has enjoyed the summer, for us ... this is back to school week so life will surely be returning back to normal. 

It has been about a month now and I have to update you on Lindsey's health at this point.  She is still in the thick of the storm of dealing with her Lupus outbreak and bless her heart, she is amazingly strong.  Still not able to go back to work, she is weak, tired and handling complications like an angel.  Every text, every call, every email every time I see her she sounds as if God has given her the ability to tackle this with strength and courage like I could ever only dream of.  After each and every encounter, I would find myself look around my house at my frustrations that were getting me down whether it be my messy house, the undone laundry, the fighting siblings - and it reminded me that it's all in how we handle things.  God never gives us more than we can't handle.  Thank you for your prayers.

Now, back to the green talk ...

Here is my question that I have been pondering this week as I enter back into my routine in less than 12 hours.  Pressure and joy.  Do you feel pressure when it comes to eating? Do you find joy in eating? 

I heard a quote the other day:

~ Eating is not merely a material pleasure. Eating well gives a spectacular joy to life and contributes immensely to goodwill and happy companionship. It is of great importance to the morale. ~

As I was making my green smoothie (yes, I am making a batch of smoothies tonight so they are ready and waiting for me in the morning ... no excuses!) and I was thinking about the joy in foods and wondering if the amount of pressure to eat green and healthy is overtaking my joy?
 

A friend told me over the weekend that she felt too much pressure trying to eat raw/green and it became unpleasureable.  We put so much pressure on ourselves (or maybe I just do) - to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother, to fit into the perfect jeans, ... but I know through my relationship with God that we are far from perfect (except for those great new jeans sometimes that are very close to perfection!) but that doesn't mean we don't strive to try for perfection.  We are human.  

However, it did make me realize that I need to recapture the joy that comes from eating and I do know that eating green and healthy does result in happiness.  Mentally, physically and emotionally.  Now it's the pressure.  The pressure to eat green and healthy sometimes outweighs the reason for joy behind it.  I think I just confused my myself.

Tomorrow, it's back to basics to enjoy the YUMMY green goodness that I am now excited for!  I hope you find joy and pleasure out of what you put in your mouth and it makes you feel GOOD!  

HAPPY GREEN!!!