I’ve denied it long enough, but I can’t ignore it any longer—that little voice telling me I’m supposed to blog about this great new adventure I’m leading with my ladies’ small group (the Circle Sistas) from North Point Community Church. Last week I announced in an email that I was prayerfully considering writing about it, and my responses back indicated the little voice might be on to something. My pal, Jeff Henderson, pastor of Gwinnett Church, refers to it as becoming aware of God’s thumbprint on your life. He advises us not to ignore the nudge but to lean into it. “Okay, I hear you, Lord.” And to quote one of our theme songs from last year’s Moldovan mission trip, “Whaddaya want from me?”
So here it is: Dtells Dtales is taking on a healthy living angle for now. Details follow.
Getting ten women to agree on something is comparable to passing a bill in Congress. Some support it; some oppose it; indifferent ones vote “present,” while some don’t show up. Luckily for the Circle Sistas, it wasn’t quite that involved, but due to running unopposed, my suggestion passed for what would be our first study of the year.
Time couldn’t be more appropriate, with the start of a new year when so many people jump on the fitness bandwagon. Our study is quite a bit more involved than new year’s resolutions or a diet, it’s a brand new study, published in 2011, called Treasures of Healthy Living by Annette Reeder and Dr. Richard Couey.
One my Circle Sistas, Karen, and I met the author a couple months earlier when Annette visited from Virginia to teach an intro class at the Bread Beckers in Woodstock, Georgia. Pictured is Sue Becker, an expert in the field of healthy lifestyles. I’d been a pretty healthy eater and cook for a couple decades now, and Karen had lived through her share of dealing with food allergies in her family. We both agreed we could learn more and incorporate any new-found knowledge in our repertoire, so after the class our interest was piqued. Karen bought the study book, cookbook, and nutrition manual. I settled on the nutrition manual and came home to read it with highlighter in hand.
Once the group decided we’d go with this study, Karen ordered nine books from Amazon but found out they were being shipped from warehouses across the country. None had nine in stock.
The group was scheduled to meet at my house for the initial lesson, but the night before not a single book had arrived. Not quite sure how I was going to pull off the lesson empty-handed, I’ve been known to wing it before, so I braced for whatever was to come.
Ten o’clock chimed, and so did the doorbell. I looked out and saw two of the ladies arriving, and right behind them was the UPS truck. Brown sure was surprised when I told him he was delivering the Lord’s work that day. The delivery man smiled and walked a bit prouder back to his truck.
Our group has grown accustomed to noshing on breakfast goodies for a half hour before we begin anything, so breaking that habit was our first challenge. Armed with a whip and a chair, I corralled the gals into one room to begin the formal lesson. I had a handout for them to complete which got them digging into their Bibles to find verses. One commented she was embarrassed not to know the order of the books of the Bible, (Don’t we love those little tabs?), but that is the best part—this study isn’t just about our diet—it’s getting us into God’s word to find the treasure He already laid out for us.
Each week’s lesson has suggestions of foods for the participants to try. I’d made carrot cookies and loaded oatmeal chocolate cherry cookies, and Karen brought a Calypso fruit salad. While some of the ladies were eager and ready to have me lead them around a grocery store, others were skeptical and resistant. I challenged them to keep an open mind about the study—this isn’t a diet we are doing—to see how their opinions may change as we dig further into it. We are learning together as we go.
More about that later as I tell you about how my friends are learning about beverages, freshly milled grains, and healthier choices for meal times. We’ll check in from time to time to see what’s cooking. Come on and follow us on our treasure hunt. What changes have you made for 2012 so far? I’d love to hear your positive comments and any questions you might have.