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I got an email yesterday from a young lady who found “My Keto Kitchen” on Amazon. She asked, “Is your blog a Christian blog or a Keto blog? I’m looking for keto tips but it looks like more of a faith blog.”
My answer was that Shine TYC is a Christian Lifestyle blog and I explained to the young lady what Shine TYC living means. Having said that, I am a Keto Christian and I’m talking more about it because it’s a huge part of my life. More specifically, I’m being purposeful about my physical health because I am a Christian and I chose the Ketogenic, low-carb, high-fat diet because it works for me. So in essence I’m keto #becauseJesus
I didn’t have a weight problem because I ate very little of all the wrong things. I’d have cake for breakfast and maybe for dinner. For lunch, I’d have french fries— and not sweet potato fries, either. My caloric intake was sufficient for me to stay at a size 6 even though I was filling my body with trash. I knew I needed to do better. I knew that 1 Corinthians 6:19 says my body is “the temple of the Holy Spirit”. So I finally got purposeful about my physical health with the same intensity as my spiritual and emotional health.
When you think of the miracles Jesus performed in the Bible you think of healing, right? He did a lot of that. He also fed people. Then there’s the wine thing. I read those miracles over and over again and I realized something. It finally clicked for me. Most of the time when Jesus did a miracle, he required people to do something.
God can do anything without our help. That’s not how he chooses to do it. Physical, emotional, spiritual, or financial health requires our participation. In John 9, Jesus heals the blind man by putting mud on his eyes. The man is not healed instantly. Jesus tells him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” When the man washed and came back he could see. When Jesus fed the 5000 in Matthew 14, he required the disciples to hand out the bread and fish rather than just snap his fingers. When Jesus turned water to wine, the servants filled the containers with water first. They always had to do something.
I had to do something.
So, I chose the keto diet because it helps fight diabetes and inflammation. It keeps me satisfied with delicious alternatives to the “regular” stuff I used to eat. I swapped out white flour for coconut flour and almond flour in my cakes and pie crusts. I swapped out rice for cauliflower and mashed potatoes for…well, you can swap out almost anything for cauliflower on the keto diet. I eat a ton of spinach. I replaced my three cans of Diet Coke each day with water and sometimes a flavored seltzer if I’m feeling adventurous. It works for me.
When I didn’t think I could kick my carb addiction I leaned into 1 Corinthians 6:12 and remembered that “I will not let anything control me.” (ERV) I was not being intentional about my diet and exercise. Today I am. You can too. Step by step. Choice by choice. God requires your participation in the process. When you do, He’ll take your lil’ bit and multiply it, making it so much better.
By the grace of God, I had been low-carb, sugar-free for six years before adopting the keto lifestyle. That’s why this Christian blog is also becoming a resource for the keto diet. It’s a parenting blog, a marriage blog, and a “Are you watching…tonight?” blog. As Christians our faith informs the way we live— all of it. That’s Shine TYC living!
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