Lemons!

There are many uses for this sour little fruit. I have heard of many of them. They run the gauntlet from weight loss to acne control. Yet, this sour little fruit could have easily been over looked if people had only relied on their taste buds. I personally love to eat lemons, but most folks don’t go around sucking on lemons or eating lemon wedges that I know. Someone went past that first sour taste and found a wealth of goodies!

Let’s look at the lemon.

It can help with acne problems. Put a little fresh lemon juice on affected areas and go to sleep. Wash your face in the morning. You are letting the low pH of the lemon that makes it antiseptic work on your face naturally.

If you need a pick me up because you are tired, cut open a lemon and take a smell. It also helps to relieve anxiety in this manner too. I saw a picture of a hiker with a lemon cut open, a straw inserted, and he was sipping away because it was providing him with hydration and an energy boost!

If you get sores in your mouth, then rinsing with lemon juice diluted in water will help them heal.

It really helps with colds and fevers to mix lemon, honey and hot water into a nice cup of lemon tea to sip on every couple of hours too. To help relieve your sore throat and help with tonsillitis you should dilute lemon juice, water and salt to gargle every hour or so. And you don’t have to worry about swallowing the gargle like you do Listerine!

It even helps with halitosis. In other words bad breath - even smokers breath!

It can act as a pain reliever too. Just drink the juice of one lemon in water once per day.

And of course, those of us who are looking to lose some weight should jump start our day with a cup of hot water and the juice of one lemon. You can keep your metabolism boosted throughout the day with a cup of water, the juice of a lemon and a dash or two of cayenne pepper.

Lemons, they are truly one of God’s powerhouse plants that we can use to help feed our families and to keep us well. Yet, they teach us another lesson too. Sometimes things that are good for us don’t always taste good, or it takes an acquired taste to handle and appreciate.

Sometimes, I feel that way about some of the things in the Bible. When a new movie comes out that I think would be so funny, sometimes I want to justify it to myself and go see it even though I know that the content will not be holy. Yet, I know if I go to that movie theater or Netflix or the TV and watch a movie filled with cursing, or fornication or (name your poison), then I have used my time and my money to glorify sin.

Movies are just one source of things that make being a Christian hard sometimes. I have to choose to pick God and His ways over things that sometimes everyone else is doing and I just don’t want too. I would rather go along with the crowd, and sometimes unfortunately I do and it always brings me guilt. When I am watching something in mixed company especially that is racy, I can feel my cheeks heating up, and I get squirmy in my seat wishing I was somewhere else, yet it was I that chose to be there.

As I focus on getting spiritually and physically healthy I have had to suck on some lemons lately. I have had to dig deep into my mental basket of craziness and take a look at some things that make me tick. Some of those things have been buried deep and have been ignored for way too long, but now that I am dealing with them, I am coming to see that purging the brain of ugliness is so wonderful, especially when you are trying to fill your mind with good things.

Just like lemons at first seem to bitter and sour for good use I can take some of those bad memories and turn them into good use too. How? I can relate to folks going through things I have already been through, and if I learn to deal with those problems in a godly way then I can help them learn to do the same.

Galatians 6:2 - Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

God wants us to help one another. I can tell you that every time I have attempted weight loss it was very frustrating to get guidance from a bean pole that had never had to lose a massive amount of weight. I was grateful and I was thankful for their help, but I never felt like they understood where I was coming from.

My aunt Jean had breast cancer. She fought it for many years before it claimed her life. One day I was visiting with her and as we chatted she made this comment.

“I have really valued Heather. She talks to me and tells me about things she experienced in her fight against cancer, and she knows how I feel.” I will never forget that look on her face or the sound of love and appreciation for that link she had with my cousin. Heather fought cancer as a teen in high school and thankfully continues to be in remission today.

I learned from that conversation that you can truly help ease someone’s burdens by sharing like experiences. It bears out in the trials of life whether they be illness, death or weight loss. It is very true concerning being a Christian. God knew this and encouraged/commanded us to fellowship with Christians on a very regular basis.

You can become one of God’s powerhouse Christian encouragers by sharing your experiences with others and trying to help them. Get busy studying God’s Word so that you can teach it! Look for folks struggling with things you have experienced and reach out to them with the love of the Lord! You’ll benefit just as much as they will!

So today, don’t walk around looking like you have been sucking on lemons. Dwelling on your failures won’t change them. Ignoring problems will not make them disappear. But if you look at them with a heart seeking God’s ways in dealing with them then you will be able to make those sour lumps in your life into sweet lemonade! Then you can share it with the world around you!

Thank you all for the encouragement on my journey to a Healthier Me. I hope your day is filled with goal accomplishing steps. I hope you fill you mind with the wonderful words of God. I look forward to hearing from you about your successes! They keep me going and I thank you for sharing!

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