I used to make fun of all this “health nut stuff”—while I was poisoning my body for decades by eating loads of white refined sugar, white refined flour, gallons of sodas, alcohol, and other junk to lengthy to list here. Now, in my early 50s, I feel better, think more clearly, and have more energy that I have for most of my life.

Eating better has definitely helped, but I give most of the credit to the healing, restoring, living Word of God. It is the wisdom of God (which I asked Him for) that has led me to find and enjoy better things to eat.

It is part truth and part myth that organic, non-GMO (genetically modified, meaning changed from their original beneficial state the way God created them) food costs a lot more. Because people are deciding to take charge of their health stop being sick and tired, plus getting wiser to the benefits of eating organic and non-GMO foods, major chains are going the right way by offering a wider selection of organic foods, and the prices are very reasonable.

Most things cost only a little more, and I have been delighted to discover that some things, such as produce, often cost the same or less than the same items covered in pesticides. There can be quite a difference in the cost of meats, sometimes, but if you can get meat that states it is free of hormones, start there. You are worth it!

The point is to be deliberate about what you are putting into your body. Yes, it takes a little more financial investment and more time and thought, from planning the menu to seeking the healthiest choices, and making sure you have good things on hand when you have a craving. But it’s worth it—especially since you are definitely saving much, much more money and time and life staying out of the doctor’s office and prescription drug station!

For decades, there’s a big craze to have a flat belly, like that is the supreme sign of good health. If you’re over 18 and healthy, a flat belly may only come by surgery or discipline—and all in an effort to “recapture youth.”

Unless we are alive when the LORD Jesus returns, every physical body will die.

It is excellent to have a strong core, of course. I learned that the hard way, when, after serving as a secretary for three years and thus sitting, and not working out after work, I leaned back and suffered a pinched nerve and almost blacked out—because my core was weak. I also suffered sciatic nerve challenges in my back and leg.

Thank goodness, speaking the Word of God over myself; getting treatments from a good chiropractor; starting slow and building up on rebounder jumps; and doing measured sit-ups day after day have served to rebuild my core and I no longer have back problems.

There are a lot of things right with wanting to look and feel younger and better. But aside from the discipline that it takes and the benefits of (we hope) living longer and with more energy and thus having a higher quality of life, if the motivation is only to look good to gain more admiration from other people, the motive is wrong.

Of course a flat belly looks better to us Americans than a bloated one. But I wonder, would a few extra inches bother anybody that lives in a place where food is scarce?

I think it’s all a matter of perspective.

Yes, I enjoyed my flat belly for about 30 years (more or less). And yes, I’ve exercises regularly for most of those years. It’s been quite a while since I had a totally firm, flat belly if you don’t count the slimmer stomach I discovered after fasting all food (a juice-only fast led by the LORD; I would not recommend this unless He leads you to do it!) for 7 days. And that’s OK.

While I do sit-ups daily or almost so, I don’t spend much time focusing on my abs.

Personally, I think a strong core is great, and I have one. I also many other things to do than spend a lot of time making my stomach look a certain way.

Is it wiser to invest more time and money in getting a flat belly just to show off or say you have one? What glory does God get out of that? He says that “No flesh shall glory in His presence (I Cor. 1:29).”

Truly, our bodies are only the vessels for the real us, which is our spirits, and the LORD says in Luke 12:27 to “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Where does it stop? Who are we trying (on earth) to please? Flat belly or not—truly committed to God or not—every body will turn to dust. For the Spirit is life, and the flesh profiteth but a little while. John 6:63

Enough said. What are you living for?

Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. They lift Him up in books (P.O.W.E.R. Girl!; LEGACY; Visions of the King; Your Holy Health; more); presentations; service in church, community, and the world; and via the "River Rain Creative" (309 videos) and "POWERLight Learning" You Tube channels.