In July 2002 I decided to do a colon cleanse. After conferring with my husband I went to the local health food store and asked for their top selling colon cleanse formula. The directions suggested that there be an increase in fruits and vegetables. I decided to take it one step further and do it raw and for two weeks.
After my second day of raw, I thought that if I ever ate another salad in my life I would just die! Then a thought crossed my mind about a ministry my mother had shared with me about 9 years prior - It was called 'Hallelujah Diet.' At that time I was 22 years old, 5'6" tall, weighed 135 pounds, was in great health, and was doing just fine on my own. In my mind I had thought 'good information to tuck away in case I ever get cancer - I will just eat a lot of carrots.'
In the event that perhaps Hallelujah Diet would have some sort of recipe book that would include something other than salads, I contacted Hallelujah Diet. A couple of days later I received Rhonda's book, 'Recipes for Life from God's Garden.' Upon receiving the book I sat down to dive into it, but it wasn't very long before I became mad. This wasn't just a cookbook, it was a book talking about all these 'legalistic do's and don'ts.' All these rules and restrictions! What kind of life would that be - even for two weeks? These people at Hallelujah Diet were just crazy! So I threw the book on the couch and walked away.
Later that night I sat on the couch and cried. All afternoon I had wrestled with God. Are you calling me to a 'lifestyle change?' I was now 31 years old, still 5'6" tall, but topped the scales at 214 pounds, and I had 3 children to care for. I was a stay at home mom and home schooled my children. How could I eat one way and my children and husband another? This was all too much! This would complicate my life!
Later yet that day I sat on my bed and was reading out of my devotional book. Everything seemed to hit me square in the eyes about my diet and lifestyle. Finally I cried out to God and said 'Lord, I know this is you! I hear you! If you are calling me to a lifestyle change then this is not good enough!' Angrily I cried out 'show me in your word!' That quick, a scripture in Job 35:16 popped into my mind -it said: 'He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.'
I wept before God. My husband came running upstairs to see what all the commotion was about. I told him that the God of the Universe had just come into my room and out of His mercy and grace, here is what He said: 'This was my table! This choice food was the best of the best! Following after God there was only freedom! There were no restrictions!' I wept some more. Then I reminded my husband of something he had said in a sermon just the week before: 'The seemingly difficult decisions in life boil down to obedience or disobedience. What's it going to be?' I had to obey! I had to follow hard after God!
I spent the next couple of days devouring everything I could get my hands on about God's healthy way of eating. My 10-year-old daughter came to me and said she wanted to eat like mother. She then asked me if it was a sin that daddy ate meat. I said 'no'! My husband and I talked later that day about my earlier conversation with my daughter. I said that we were unequally yoked and that I did not want to do anything to cause our daughter or sons to stumble. He agreed to pray about it and left the room disturbed.
Two days later my husband came into the bedroom with his arms crossed and almost begrudgingly stated 'OK, I will stop drinking coffee! I will stop drinking Pepsi, and I will stop eating meat - But I am having turkey on Thanksgiving!' That's how it started! now here's a little of what followed:
My husband and I have now been married for over 14-years. We have never used birth control. I gave birth to our only daughter 12 years ago. Since that time we have adopted two boys through the foster care system. Our youngest son Christopher aka Topher was a 'Crack Baby.' At three week's old we were told that he most likely would never walk or talk.
Prior to our lifestyle change, Topher was walking and talking. Topher was three when we made the lifestyle change and adopted The Hallelujah Diet. At that time Topher was being treated for asthma. He was also being treated for a displastic fused pelvic kidney. (We had been told when Topher was age three weeks that if he lived to the age of two, he would be on dialysis or have to have a kidney transplant. His kidney function was less than 30% and the doctors said that it was inevitable that he would have kidney failure. Topher also had epilepsy and was on medication for that. In addition to a very weak immune system, Topher had pneumonia 9-11 times in the first three years of life. Topher also wears glasses.
At age five, just two years after implementing The Hallelujah Diet, Topher no longer requires any breathing treatments! His kidney function is over 90%, and we just received word last week, following an EEG, that he shows no signs of seizures! Nor has there been even one bout of pneumonia! His eyesight has improved each time he has been back to the optometrist! And he tells me almost daily that he only wants me to give him healthy food.
Also, since our lifestyle change, I have lost over 50 pounds! I lost 13 pounds the first month and 17 pounds the second. Since giving birth to my daughter 12 years ago, I have had irregular menstrual cycles. At one point I went 4- years without one. But after just three days of eating raw, I have been like clockwork -- that is until August 2003 - I am due to give birth in one month. our Hallelujah baby is on her way!
After my second day of raw, I thought that if I ever ate another salad in my life I would just die! Then a thought crossed my mind about a ministry my mother had shared with me about 9 years prior - It was called 'Hallelujah Diet.' At that time I was 22 years old, 5'6" tall, weighed 135 pounds, was in great health, and was doing just fine on my own. In my mind I had thought 'good information to tuck away in case I ever get cancer - I will just eat a lot of carrots.'
In the event that perhaps Hallelujah Diet would have some sort of recipe book that would include something other than salads, I contacted Hallelujah Diet. A couple of days later I received Rhonda's book, 'Recipes for Life from God's Garden.' Upon receiving the book I sat down to dive into it, but it wasn't very long before I became mad. This wasn't just a cookbook, it was a book talking about all these 'legalistic do's and don'ts.' All these rules and restrictions! What kind of life would that be - even for two weeks? These people at Hallelujah Diet were just crazy! So I threw the book on the couch and walked away.
Later that night I sat on the couch and cried. All afternoon I had wrestled with God. Are you calling me to a 'lifestyle change?' I was now 31 years old, still 5'6" tall, but topped the scales at 214 pounds, and I had 3 children to care for. I was a stay at home mom and home schooled my children. How could I eat one way and my children and husband another? This was all too much! This would complicate my life!
Later yet that day I sat on my bed and was reading out of my devotional book. Everything seemed to hit me square in the eyes about my diet and lifestyle. Finally I cried out to God and said 'Lord, I know this is you! I hear you! If you are calling me to a lifestyle change then this is not good enough!' Angrily I cried out 'show me in your word!' That quick, a scripture in Job 35:16 popped into my mind -it said: 'He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food.'
I wept before God. My husband came running upstairs to see what all the commotion was about. I told him that the God of the Universe had just come into my room and out of His mercy and grace, here is what He said: 'This was my table! This choice food was the best of the best! Following after God there was only freedom! There were no restrictions!' I wept some more. Then I reminded my husband of something he had said in a sermon just the week before: 'The seemingly difficult decisions in life boil down to obedience or disobedience. What's it going to be?' I had to obey! I had to follow hard after God!
I spent the next couple of days devouring everything I could get my hands on about God's healthy way of eating. My 10-year-old daughter came to me and said she wanted to eat like mother. She then asked me if it was a sin that daddy ate meat. I said 'no'! My husband and I talked later that day about my earlier conversation with my daughter. I said that we were unequally yoked and that I did not want to do anything to cause our daughter or sons to stumble. He agreed to pray about it and left the room disturbed.
Two days later my husband came into the bedroom with his arms crossed and almost begrudgingly stated 'OK, I will stop drinking coffee! I will stop drinking Pepsi, and I will stop eating meat - But I am having turkey on Thanksgiving!' That's how it started! now here's a little of what followed:
My husband and I have now been married for over 14-years. We have never used birth control. I gave birth to our only daughter 12 years ago. Since that time we have adopted two boys through the foster care system. Our youngest son Christopher aka Topher was a 'Crack Baby.' At three week's old we were told that he most likely would never walk or talk.
Prior to our lifestyle change, Topher was walking and talking. Topher was three when we made the lifestyle change and adopted The Hallelujah Diet. At that time Topher was being treated for asthma. He was also being treated for a displastic fused pelvic kidney. (We had been told when Topher was age three weeks that if he lived to the age of two, he would be on dialysis or have to have a kidney transplant. His kidney function was less than 30% and the doctors said that it was inevitable that he would have kidney failure. Topher also had epilepsy and was on medication for that. In addition to a very weak immune system, Topher had pneumonia 9-11 times in the first three years of life. Topher also wears glasses.
At age five, just two years after implementing The Hallelujah Diet, Topher no longer requires any breathing treatments! His kidney function is over 90%, and we just received word last week, following an EEG, that he shows no signs of seizures! Nor has there been even one bout of pneumonia! His eyesight has improved each time he has been back to the optometrist! And he tells me almost daily that he only wants me to give him healthy food.
Also, since our lifestyle change, I have lost over 50 pounds! I lost 13 pounds the first month and 17 pounds the second. Since giving birth to my daughter 12 years ago, I have had irregular menstrual cycles. At one point I went 4- years without one. But after just three days of eating raw, I have been like clockwork -- that is until August 2003 - I am due to give birth in one month. our Hallelujah baby is on her way!
