yesterday, while watching the news, the anchor had a segment with suzanne somers. if you aren't aware, (because i know we're always up to date on suzanne... wink, wink) she has a new book out called, sexy forever. you're on your way to barnes and noble, this minute, riiiiight?! ; ) essentially, in the amount of time she was on-air, i discovered that i should avoid everything, live in a tree fort, eat nothing but milled barley and organic tomatoes, and then, just then, i'll be sexy forever. cha-ching! ladies we have found the golden ticket.
seriously, though, she went on and on about toxins and how they're everywhere. in your carpet. food. soap. clothes. make-up especially. and then she talked about diseases and cancer and tugged at your every heartstring. while i do know there is a lot of truth to what she said, i also know that i can't live my life worrying about the toxin levels in this or that. it's fine and dandy to eat as healthy as possible, to go all-natural, and organic. but, to do so because you are living your life in fear, fear of getting cancer or any disease, fear of dying, then that's no way to live. everybody dies... not to get morbid on you, but it's true. and if we go on living in fear of dying then we aren't living. most importantly, the Word says: "and which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his life span?" (Luke 12:25 -ESV) our days are in the Lord's hands alone.
and, as believers, we must remember that this earth is not our home.... my hubby reminds me of this often. he has severe hearing loss and a constant ringing in his ears; he doesn't know what silence is. i can only imagine how nagging it must be. he says it's a reminder for him to long for Heaven where his body will be restored. we are far from home. we belong in the high countries. (if you like C.S. Lewis, then the two previous lines are for you.) in this life we will have sickness, disease, and hardship... all of which make us all the more eager for Heaven. the place of perfect peace. and rest. so, sorry suzanne, i'm not really interested in being sexy forever... i'd rather be praising Jesus for eternity.
Haleakala Volcano. this was taken in dec 2004, on our honeymoon in Hawaii. i'm pretty sure that Heaven will look a lot like Hawaii. ; )
37 {comments}:
Beautiful post. Thanks for the reminder. :)
Wonderful message! I took my blog title from that line - far from home (my blog is "living far from home"), big C.S. Lewis fan! And I actually think Heaven will look more like the Blue Ridge Mountains, but that's just my opinion!
Thanks for sharing that. I didn't realize she had a book.
I love that verse! I remember in BSF 1 yr learning that :Fear is not of the Lord. That is powerful, yet it's hard at times.
Have a great day,
Daph
So true. We could live a life of fear of "toxins" or we could live a life in anticipation of meeting our Savior. I think we should opt for the second one!
When i see Suzanne Sommers, I immediately think, sexy forever. Those are just the two words that describe her!
Besides, I don't WANT to be sexy forever! When I'm old, I want to wear velour suits and get my hair done once a week, not try to STILL be sexy!
Now I live in a healthy tension. We try to make the best choices we can. We buy organic when it fits the budget. We try to avoid too much processed food -- but we still have goldfish crackers and such. And I don't stress out about it as much. In fact, I really had to surrender it to the Lord. And then I was reminded that "I'm just a stranger here. Heaven is my home."
We do our best. We know we are to be stewards of our bodies. But not live in fear. And that's what I was doing.
Thank you for writing this. Thank you. And tell Kelly that his words of advice echo my husband's words.
Rachel
It looks like the first part of my very long comment didn't make it....
The first part basically stated how about 8 years ago I lived in fear like that. Everything we did was dictated by achieving perfect health -- and I forgot I was living in an imperfect world. And this ideal this push for health and avoidance of all toxins was not rightly ordered. It surpassed (it took me a bit to figure this out) my relationship with the Lord.
It's not wrong to desire health, and to live responsibly. What was wrong, for me, was the fear that crept in and the "idol" like quality health took on.
Okay. That was part one. Don't know why that part didn't copy right. :)
Thanks again!
i sure hope heaven looks like hawaii. i seriously think about it about 20x's a day...hawaii that is. maybe i should be thinking about heaven 20x's a day;)
such a great post carissa. this is one of my very favorites. it is so easy to get caught up in all that nonsense and yes fear is the motivator there. sexy probably isn't in my future...i'd settle for cute though;)
Amen!
Love it! Isn't it funny how we can so easily get caught up in the things of this world? This life is so short-lived... I think daily of Heaven and how it must be so perfect. See you there!
Check out my newest blog post: http://drinkinfrommysaucer.blogspot.com/2011/01/picking-my-battles.html
Beautiful post!
LOVE this, Carissa! "so, sorry suzanne, i'm not really interested in being sexy forever... i'd rather be praising Jesus for eternity." AMEN! And I love C. S. Lewis -- so those two lines completed a great post. Sorry about not being around lately -- hope to drop by more often. :)
Have a lovely day, Carissa! :)
--Hannah
AMEN!! Yes, the high countries! Your husband's words "it's a reminder for him to long for Heaven where his body will be restored" are truly breathtaking. Thank you for a beautiful post!
Great post Carissa...thanks for sharing your heart:)
Amazing when we look at it in perspective! We won't be here forever...so we should be making the most of it by praising God not worrying about being sexy!
Yes! Love this post. And its crazy that you took that picture because I have a Hawaii calendar hanging in my office and the picture for January is literally almost identical to it, except mine looks a little bit more to the right. That's still so weird though! Coincidence aside though, this is so true, we can take care of ourselves, but we shouldn't worry about tomorrow, because it is not guaranteed to us.
So very true, Carissa. Some people get so worked up about making life perfect that they forget to LIVE life. And, yes, I'm tempted to do the same thing. Our eternal home should be where our thoughts are, as you so well put it, "Praising Jesus for eternity".
Blessings-
Brianna
"in this life we will have sickness, disease, and hardship... all of which make us all the more eager for Heaven. the place of perfect peace. and rest."
I needed to hear that so badly today! Thank you so much for writing this post!
Good point. I've never really thought about how hardships are supposed to make us want to be in heaven. I try to consider it joy, but I only consider it "worth it" because I am changed for the better. Which I guess is some sort of joy. Maybe I should dwell on heaven a little bit more when I am going though tough times!
Oh my goodness...I love this post! Thank you for posting this....I am going to put a link to this on my blog today. I love it...
Amen - I couldn't have said it better myself!
Great post!
So good - totally agree with you!!!
So true! I think too many people get so caught up in not eating certain things, because they are so fearful! Thanks for the reminder.
Very well said!
It would be so exhausting to always live in fear.
i love how celebrities jump on bandwagons about stuff and try and push their 'green life' on us. why not push Christianity on us? Let's me down w/God instead of Green haha
Well said! There's got to be a healthy balance between going totally all natural and living in moderation. :)
I saw the review on her book too and just shook my head. You said it best for sure! Thanks for always being so "right on." Love you!
Well put! =) I totally agree.
I couldn't agree more. We need to think eternal. Thanks.
Beautiful picture from your honeymoon in Hawaii. I often look at the beauty of this earth and think that heaven must be so amazingly beautiful!
It is true.."this world is not my home...I'm just a passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue..."
Thanks for the reminder to be more heavenly minded and to not be afraid of everything...but to live a life of faith!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
Hysterical, but poignant! :)
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
So good Carissa! Thanks for the reminder... I need to really ponder on this today :)
LOVE this post, sooOOOOooo true!! And I LOVE C.S. Lewis, so I'm so into the far from home concept! Hearing loss...your hubby's thorn in his side...he is sooo wise, so like Paul who begged God to take it from him, but if not, all the more reason to long for his true home! I've missed you, dear friend...check out what Hannah did for me!!!!! New year, new look...I'm ready to catch up in the blogging world and esp looking forward to MISC MONDAY!!!!
I missed her segment but my mom is her biggest fan. I swear! I think she has some good ideas but she's definitely gone a little overboard.
this is great. I still remember the moment I truly grasped how amazing it will to be home. My great grandma passed from a severe stroke when I was in 5th grade...we were very close. My dad's simple words letting me know that she was in heaven and wasn't suffering anymore spoke straight to my heart and soul at that age. It was just what I needed to know to ease my grief and have hope. What a treasure we have in our faith! I don't know how people live in this world without it.
I love this post and I thank you so much for writing it! It's so easy to get caught up, stress and worry over every little thing and even the big things! I know it's a tool from the enemy though just as being super concerned with looks,sexiness ect. You rock and I continue to just love your blog!
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