Baby Steps Into A Granola Life – By Jodi @ Granola Mom 4 God

People get excited as the New Year rolls around.  Or maybe convicted is the better word.  They fill that first month with thoughts and even actions to fulfill their New Year’s resolution, with promises that this year will be better.  This year they will exercise.  This year they will eat healthy.  This year they will go to church.

And then . . . February hits.  February just seems to be that little month that gets a bad rap.  Some people hate it because it is the month for lovers . . .it is often gray . . . there are hints of a new season that bring forth false hope of new life peaking up from the earth.  Chocolate is all around.

We might as well eat it and be merry.

If you are going to eat chocolate . . . at least make it organic . . . or chose dark chocolate.  But what I would really love to encourage you to do as the first month of 2010 draws to an end is to reassess your goals.

Particularly one.

If your goal is to get healthy I want to applaud you.  But I want you to set that unrealistic ideal aside.  When endeavoring to radically change your life you have to take baby steps.  It is a rare toddler who will go from rolling from side to side to walking.  No, first the baby rolls . . . then rolls a lot . . . then gets up on their hands and knees . . . rocks . . . takes a tentative crawl . . . you get the idea.  The change from being horizontal to vertical is gradual.  God made us that way to prepare our bodies and brains . . . to develop habits, make observations, before He grants independence and freedom.

So . . . I want you to be like a baby.  I would recommend that if you want to change your way of life, particularly as it relates to becoming more holistic (meaning eating organic, eliminating toxins, exercising, practicing sustainability): pray.

Is God calling YOU and YOURS to a life of simplicity . . . I really view it as going back to how He created us to live . . . natural, simple, and raw.  To accomplish such a task, I really and truly feel that you have to have a prompting from God to propel this movement in your life.  It is hard work.  It requires learning and studying.

But it is rewarding and you feel better.

Be prepared to be different.  You will stand out.  It feels so good to be going against the grain, literally.

What next?  What is your task for February?

Get a good book.  A few suggestions are:

• Introducing Whole Foods Cooking for Health and Hospitality by Rich and Sue Gregg
• Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
• Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig
• The Great Physician’s Prescription for Health and Wellness by Jordan Rubin

While you are reading one of these books, make one change.  Some suggestions would be:

• Move your body (for example, take a walk, do a Biggest Loser workout, jump on the trampoline)
• Instead of using white sugar, switch to raw honey
• Eliminate white flour from your diet and use 100% whole wheat
• Make a recipe from the book you are reading
• Sample plain whole milk yogurt, plain kefir, or kombucha

Many times our friends are overwhelmed by our current lifestyle.  (You can read more about it at  Granola Mom 4 God.)  But remember that once upon a time, our diet consisted of white flour, diet coke, microwave meals, and lots of pasta.  We are still changing and learning daily about how to live closer to what we sense God wants from US, but for the majority of the makeover to be completed in our house too about 4 years.  You can read more about it in a post titled My Family’s Journey To Whole Foods.