Letter Lesson 5

Letter/Lesson #5

Dear Member,

In Letter/Lesson #3…

I wrote that “At best, a weight problem is a nagging nuisance. At its worst, being overweight can be devastating.” I went on to say, “The problem of weight control has overweight people feeling lost and desperate. They grab onto one diet plan after another, hoping beyond hope that something will work, only to have their hopes dashed, and they’re left to look once again for another plan that just might work.” I shared with you that this is the reason part of my “waiting room prayer” was for our child to be really, very, very smart concerning his health, to adopt a healthy lifestyle, not constantly fighting the battle of the bulge. Then I asked this question: “Is there an answer to such a destructive problem?”

A bit further into that lesson I stated, “Yes, God offers the answer!” I gave you a detailed, workable strategy that God shared with us to “train up” your child to “go the way” of daily exercise, which provides an essential step toward achieving vibrant health, free from weight problems and serious illnesses.

In the Next Three Letter/Lessons

I’m going to share other vital strategies you can use, combined with daily exercise, to guarantee that your child will never have to struggle with a weight problem! At the end of these letter/lessons, I believe your eyes will be filled with tears of joy because you’ll know that you know that you know your baby will never have to struggle and fight this horrible battle that confronts most Americans today! Your child will be free and better able to concentrate on pursuing a great education and discovering the life’s work (career) that God has planned for him or her.

Counterfeit Money

Way back in the “good ole days” there was enough advanced technology that a few folks figured out how to print counterfeit money. As a result, this new breed of entrepreneurs enjoyed several benefits. They were able to buy many things with this phony money. They even received change back from their purchases—in legitimate money. But then the good guys figured out how to catch the bad guys, and the bad guys went to jail. The fruit of the counterfeiters’ labors was short lived.

How Did the Bad Guys Get Caught?

Actually, it was pretty simple. Bank employees and other money handlers were not taught what counterfeit money looked like. They were taught what real money looked like! Every aspect of a genuine bill was emphasized and studied so that when a fake bill appeared, the differences in the two were quickly and undoubtedly obvious.

Counterfeit Food

In somewhat the same manner, way back in the “good ole days” a few folks figured out how to make counterfeit food. Of course, counterfeit food passed for real food (no pun intended!), and among other things promoted overeating. A person could consume a tremendous amount of calories in a short period of time. Instead of using a printing press like the money counterfeiters, the food counterfeiters used fat, salt, refined sugar, refined flour, and a whole list of chemicals and additives whose names could hardly fit on a can or jar, much less be pronounced. To this day, food counterfeiters continue advertising, producing, and making money without going to jail. We the people are the ones who are penalized and pay the price by consuming such foods, overeating, and getting fat and unhealthy either during childhood or later in adult years like I did. Counterfeit foods disguise real food. A kid thinks this type of food is really cool. But as time passes, just as in cases of printers of counterfeit money, consequences must be paid.

Stop! I Know What You’re Thinking Just About Now

Before we go any further, let me get something out of your mind. You’re thinking, “This man is about to try to take all the fun out of my kid’s life by suggesting no birthday cake, no ice cream, no cokes, no candy, no chicken fried steak with cream gravy, no pizza, no chili cheese fries, no this, and no that. He’s trying to take all the joy out of a kid being a kid and fitting in with other kids!” Well, you’re wrong. I can assure you I live in the real world. Just bear with me. You and your baby are about to be so blessed!

“Study: Fast Food Consumption Has Increased Fivefold Since 1970″

This was the headline from The Review Newspaper, Alliance, Ohio, on Monday, January 5, 2004. Quoting from the article, “Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. children ages 4 to 19 eat fast food, which likely packs on about six extra pounds per child per year and increases the chance of obesity, a study of 6,212 youngsters found.” The article goes on to say that one of the reasons for these alarming facts is the steady increase since the early 1990’s of fast food restaurants and fast food marketing. This trend grew at an even greater rate since that time. Now in 2015 the amount of fast food consumption by kids is out of control.

For the purpose of this letter/lesson, I’m going to use the term “counterfeit/fast foods” instead of “fast foods.”

Sobering Thoughts about “Counterfeit”

Dictionary synonyms for “counterfeit” include “imitation, not genuine, forgery, pretense, sham, simulated, feigned, fraudulent, false.” In short, “a lie.” Jesus clearly identified Satan as the “father of lies.” As the master deceiver, Satan has always attempted to subtly substitute the false for the truth, to pervert what God created for our good, and to persuade us to accept the counterfeit. Don’t think for a split second that he wouldn’t try to fool and trick us about what sustains our physical lives. And never forget that some of the prime targets of Satan’s destructive lies and deceptions have been our precious children.

Now Consider…

that the average person needs between 2000 and 2500 calories a day. One regular order of chili cheese fries packs over 3,000 calories. It’s very easy for a kid (or anyone) to consume 5,000 to 10,000 plus calories a day with very little effort. And counterfeit/fast foods are sold in huge quantities in restaurants, convenient stores, grocery stores, movie theaters, and numerous other places. They’re basically available everywhere!

Remember…

in Letter/Lesson #1 under the heading “God’s Awesome Grace” I told how God answered my “waiting room prayer” by giving Linda and me a burning desire to read His Holy Bible? And then do you remember under the heading “God’s Focus Paid Off!” I shared with you how God had given us the focus to pay attention to everything that would help us apply Proverbs 22:6 to our son’s life? (“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”)

Well, One Day…

I was reading my Bible and praying, and I found this: “And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.’” (Genesis 1:29) “And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” (Genesis 2:9)

I Knew

I knew God was talking about real foods. All of a sudden the Holy Spirit opened up an astonishing revelation. It was revealed to me as I read these scriptures that if we trained Jon to “go the way” of these real foods, he would be protected from the power of counterfeit/fast foods, which are major contributors to overeating.

This Is Not To Say…

Jon wouldn’t eat and enjoy other types of foods not mentioned in the above scripture, such as meats and fish, even counterfeit/fast foods. After all, it’s not a sin to eat foods other than the Genesis 1:29 foods. But counterfeit/fast foods have the tendency to cause a child (or anyone) to overeat, thereby dominating a person’s life, causing unhealthy attitudes and choices. Romans 14:17 says, “for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

It’s A Very, Very Rare Person…

who has developed or has the inborn will power not to overeat counterfeit/fast foods. If the resistance to them is a learned behavior, it’s surely taken a lifetime of struggles and battles to get to that point. Kids are just not wired that way. Once a child’s diet becomes mostly counterfeit/fast foods, then he/she is programmed to gain weight, become lazy, overweight, and unhealthy. The danger of counterfeit/fast foods is not so much in the foods themselves, but in the tendency to overeat these foods.

Real Money — Real Food

Bank employees were taught what real money looked like instead of what counterfeit money looked like. So instead of telling and showing Jon what not to eat, we “trained him up” to eat real foods. And we did this at an early age.

“And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.” (Proverbs 23:2)

The idea is for your child to learn how to control food by controlling the quantity of food eaten rather than food controlling your child.

“And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.” (1 Corinthians 9:25)

The Greek word “temperate” means “to exercise self-restraint (in diet and chastity); self-control (in appetite, etc.)”

Eating the foods of Genesis 1:29 helps prevent overeating. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) The revelation of the truth in Genesis 1:29 can be a lamp to your child, illuminating the path of freedom—freedom from being a slave to food.

A Very Simple Three-Step Plan to Prevent Your Child from Overeating, Especially Counterfeit/Fast Foods

1. Breastfeed your baby. (If this isn’t an option, don’t beat yourself up. God has cut us humans a lot of slack. Just move on to Step #2.)

When a mother breastfeeds her baby, something interesting happens. The baby really has to work for his or her food through rigorous sucking action. The first flow of milk is thin and very low in fat. After this thin flow, the milk becomes richly loaded with natural nutrients and antibodies that only God can create! This progression of milk quality is how God makes sure the baby receives the highest form of nourishment but doesn’t eat too much. God has revealed in the breastfeeding process one of His secrets to prevent overeating.

2. Help your baby discover the wonderful power of one of the real Genesis 1:29 foods—FRUITS.

Why Don’t People Eat More Fruits?

It’s because they weren’t raised up to “go” that way! And by the time most people are adults, fruits are not thought of as real food, just as snack food. Yet in Genesis 1:29 God said He had given us fruits for food. Is God wrong? No, God is never wrong! Fruit is loaded with God-given nutrients. Ninety percent of fruit is organic water. Fruit is very easy to digest. Fruit has a tremendous amount of enzymes.

Why Enzymes?

Enzymes rapidly help the body digest food and transfer this food into living tissue. Enzymes make food more efficient, thereby aiding the digestion of even counterfeit/fast foods. Fruit enzymes help burn the calories of counterfeit/fast foods rather than letting them be stored as fat. Genesis 1:29 foods are loaded with enzymes!

What’s The Strategy?

Back in Letter/Lesson #3 I wrote, “You as a loving parent can initiate an essential, vital strategy toward making exercise a permanent part of your child’s life according to the principles of Proverbs 22:6. By doing so you will have given your child a huge edge on maintaining proper weight and eliminating weight problems that constantly plague most of us Americans today. Exercise will become second nature to your child. There’ll be no reason for your child to go through the mind-over-body battle about whether to exercise or not.”

Can The Strategy Apply Here?

Yes, this holds true regarding training your child to “go the way” of eating fresh fruits. Controlling the appetite will be second nature to your child. And your child won’t have to go through the mind-over-body battle about appetite and the quantity of food consumed.

Do You See The Value?

Fruits are real food, not just a snack! Fruits require little preparation, except washing, and this wonderful, valuable food will help keep your child from overeating. So by training your children to “go the way” of eating fruits as the “way to go” according to Proverbs 22:6, they will not depart from eating this beneficial food when they grow up. When your baby is old enough for solid food (consult your doctor), introduce your child to one of the real Genesis 1:29 foods—that is, fresh, ripe, juicy, delicious fruits. As your child gets older, make sure that you go shopping together and always have plenty of fresh fruit available.

What Are Your Choices?

Here are just a few choices: apples, bananas, blackberries, grapes, oranges, lemons, pineapple, raspberries, raisins, plums, pears, apricots, cherries, grapefruit, tangerines, watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, mangoes, and papayas. At first don’t mix the fruit; prepare and serve one fruit at a time. Make sure you thoroughly wash the fruit. Then take out any seeds and peel the fruit. Mash the fruit or use a food processor.

Preferably, the fruit should be organic, but if it’s not, that’s okay. Make sure you take out any large chunks of the fruit. It needs to be the same consistency as the baby food you’d buy at the store. At first only give your baby about half a teaspoon of this real food per meal. Don’t force your baby to eat unless he or she is hungry. Your baby will tell you when he/she has had enough. God gave us the gift of hunger to make sure we wouldn’t starve to death.

3. Introduce your baby to the word “chewing” and the chewing action even before he or she has teeth.

Talk to your baby and get the idea deep in his/her spirit that chewing is a fun and vitally important thing to do. Play “chew-chew” with your baby by showing him or her how to chew, letting him/her see you chew the same fruit food that you’re giving him/her. Your baby will giggle and soon start to mimic your actions. Train your child to “go the way” of chewing fruit food thoroughly. This chewing process works similar to breastfeeding in the sense you’ll be training your baby to work for his/her food by chewing. Then the food will be well broken down before reaching the stomach, making digestion so much better. Just like with breast milk, the food value at first is minimal—very thin, but becomes richer and more nutritious as the fruit is chewed thoroughly and finally swallowed. (This blessing from God’s nutritional plan is a basic part of the program I offer for children and adults who need to reduce or control their weight in the healthiest way possible. Write me, Paw Paw, at [email protected]. There’s no charge for this service.)

A Strong Strategy and an Important Message

Feeding them real foods, starting with fruit, and training babies to chew thoroughly will combine to form a strong strategy to prevent overeating counterfeit/fast foods. At each mealtime make the chewing process last long enough for the hypothalamus gland to get the message that the body has chewed, has received food, and is satisfied. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Good Examples

Here’s an example of what happens when you allow enough time for your hypothalamus gland to get the message. More than once I’ve gone to a steakhouse and ordered a big, juicy steak. Here’s what happened. After taking my drink order, the waitress directed me to the salad bar. Boy, that was a great salad! After finishing the salad, I asked the waitress how my steak was coming along. She said it would be right out. Fifteen or so minutes went by before my steak was brought to my table. But by that time I wasn’t hungry anymore. Sound familiar? Maybe something similar has happened to you at home. You started eating a meal only to be interrupted by a visitor or a phone call. Then by the time you got back to eating your meal, you were no longer hungry.

One Big Problem with Counterfeit/Fast Foods

You don’t really have to chew counterfeit/fast foods! And a tremendous amount of calories can be consumed in a very short period of time before the hypothalamus gland gets the message. (I pray you’re getting the message, too!)

Picture This

If your family is like most families, you live a very busy life. You don’t always have the time or the energy to grocery shop, cook a full meal, and clean up. Also, at times your children will eat out and at other homes, and you want them to fit in and be compatible without compromising any principles.

Picture your sixteen-year-old daughter getting up in the morning, going to the kitchen, grabbing a banana or apple to go along with some toast or cereal or maybe some eggs. As she eats her breakfast, she looks as if she’s enjoying her meal like most people would enjoy eating two, greasy breakfast burritos. Or maybe if your daughter’s in a big hurry, she makes a banana and an apple her entire breakfast. That’s okay because fruit is a real food! Then as she hurries off to school, she sticks some grapes and strawberries in her backpack along with perhaps an orange or a banana. During lunch at school she might have this conversation:

Friend talking to your daughter: “You’ve always got some kind of fruit with you. What’s up? Are you on a diet?”

Your daughter: “No, I’m not on a diet. I just love to eat fruit. Why? Do you think I’m weird or something?”

Friend: “No, I’m thinking it’s cool. I wish I liked that stuff. You look so good. When did you start eating this way?”

Daughter: “I don’t know. I always have.”

Friend: “But I see you eat other food, too, just like I eat—French fries, hamburgers, burritos, stuff like that. How come you look so good and don’t gain weight?”

Daughter: “I don’t know. I haven’t ever given it much thought.”

Train Your Baby

Train your baby to “go the way” of eating the real food of fresh fruits. Combine that training with the practice of daily exercise, and it will stick like glue. Both will become a permanent part of your child’s life as he/she grows old. Your child will be blessed for a lifetime with a slim, attractive, healthy body!

Moving On to the Next Letter/Lesson

The next letter/lesson will continue with another vital strategy, which when combined with eating fresh fruit and exercising daily, can be used to further guarantee that your child will never have to fight a weight problem. This next strategy is so easy and so simple you’ll be amazed! It’s kind of wet though, so be sure and bring your snorkel.

Until then, please email me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, thoughts, or suggestions you may have.

God bless,

Paw Paw

P.S. You may want to print this and future letter/lessons to form your own “Tomorrow’s Heroes Library” for you and your family. Beyond this, you may want to consider adding your personal notes, thoughts, and insights to customize this program to fit your family.

Edited by DC

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures quotations are from

the New King James Version.