Blessed is your food and water.

Navigating Parenthood: Feeding Your Kids and Living Righteously

As a mom, one of the greatest challenges I face is figuring out what to feed my kids, how to live in this world but not of it, what to watch, what to wear, and so on. I often tell my husband that the internet feels a lot like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There's so much information that it's overwhelming.

Even the good can be too much. I watched a video on how to drink water properly and wondered how my ancestors survived with their traditional ways of drinking water. Not too cold, not too hot, and don’t forget to use a glass bottle and let it sit in the morning sun to get all that goodness—then drink it. Really? So now I have to worry about my kids taking their water flasks and just guzzling it down after running around the field?

I’ve spent time researching healthy eating habits, when to eat, what to eat, and everyone believes their way is right: Vegan, plant-based, carnivore, keto, Seventh-Day Adventist diet. Lord, is there no kingdom way to health and wellness?

After watching a certain clip, I realized that the Prince of this world and his system are not designed for our well-being. They do not like us; we are the beloved of God, and they cannot stand that. We tend to forget that they are here to kill, steal, and destroy us, so why would we trust anything they give us or make in the name of the good of all mankind?

I realized that even the time we take to look at and study all the information online is designed to be as overwhelming as it is. It's meant to occupy us and keep us from doing what God calls us to do.

We are obsessed. We actually believe that because we eat organic, grass-fed foods, we will live longer and be healthier. Even in our health and eating, we lean on our own understanding, thinking that our efforts in the gym, kitchen, etc., will give us a long, satisfactory life.

As I looked through the Word of God, however, there were no diets and fads. Most verses pointed to living righteously, walking in His word, and according to His commands to be healthy.

Exodus 15:26: "He said, 'If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.'"

Proverbs 17:22: "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Proverbs 3:7-8: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

"James 5:16: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

I was so relieved to know that God does not require us to leap, jump, obsess, and worry about the food we eat and the toxins it has. He already knew what they were up to, and He says live righteously. The world's way of living right involves all manner of diets and workouts—a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong, exercise is great, and junk food should never be considered food. But whether you can only afford some rice and beans from the local supermarket, if you take milk and eggs that aren’t from the organic farmers' market, if all you can get is fish (yes, even with mercury in it—at this point, we can't seem to get away from it), they have poisoned it all.

My favorite word from God concerning all this is this verse, and I hope that as you run around making meal plans, looking to feed your family healthy dishes, and turning to doctors and medicines to treat conditions, you would recall that no matter where that food is from, no matter what that food is, whatever you can afford or cannot afford is not where the Kingdom of God requires you to look for healing and health.

Exodus 23:25-26: "Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full lifespan."

That’s right, mama. Live right and walk in righteousness, and He will heal you and give you a long, satisfactory life. That’s the real secret we need to teach our kids and walk in ourselves.