You Have a Consumption Problem (...it's okay; I do, too)

A few years ago, I read this book called Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. The whole idea was to learn savvy restaurant and grocery tricks that could help you lose weight and eat healthier through simple food swaps. Unfortunately, I don’t remember most of what I read (sorry David and Matt…), but the concept of “easy swaps” still resonates and interests me.

Author Gabe Lyons says Americans have a consumption problem. Not just with food, but with EVERYTHING. We take things in at lightning speed, never stopping to evaluate the value of any of it. And the next thing we know, we find ourselves sluggish and overweight (physically, intellectually, emotionally, and mentally) without realizing how or when we got there.

One antidote to the mental side of over-consumption is to get a little pickier about what we consume with our minds. Kind of like the concepts presented in Eat This, Not That, we can take back the power of choosing what we allow our brains to process. This means intentionally choosing toplace a filter on what we’re watching, listening to, and reading.

Entertainment is there to, well, entertain. I get it. We all need a little downtime; things to make us laugh, mentally breathe, and even zone out on every now and again. But the problem comes when we consistently allow ourselves to be inundated with things that just honestly don’t conform to our souls' beliefs.

What if, for this month, we took a little break from some of the things that, maybe, we know in our hearts we need a rest from. Maybe it’s too much video gaming that causes us to numb out to negative images and violence. Perhaps it’s too many episodes of "The Bachelor", making inappropriate behavior seem sensible to us (preaching to myself here, btw). Maybe it’s a little too many political news shows or twitter rants that fire us up to a frenzied state where we can’t seem to have a civil and balanced conversation with someone who doesn’t share our views.

I don’t know what “it” is for you, but I bet there is something you could use to swap out for a bit. For me, I’m choosing to fill my ears with some really good podcasts instead of trashy TV, renewing my mind with what’s actually closer to the Sacred instead of so sharply secular.

In case you’re interested, here are a few podcasts I love that correspond to our new Fall 2019 course: First Tuesday! We’re exploring soulful ways to make great life decisions, with God at the helm! You’ll hear more about what we’re learning as we go forward over the next few months. In the meantime, check out some of these podcasts and see what you just might learn along the way.

· The Enneagram Journey (Suzanne Stabile) Episode 57 with Emily P. Freeman

· Cultivate Your Life with Lara Casey: Episode 6 (2/6/19) Is It Okay to Set Goals as a Christian?

· For the Love (Jen Hatmaker): January 15, 2019 Give Yourself the Gift of Done with Jon Acuff

· For the Love (Jen Hatmaker): January 1, 2019 Small Steps to a Happier Life with Gretchen Rubin

· For the Love (Jen Hatmaker): January 23, 2019 Stuck? Just Do the Next Right Thing with Emily P. Freeman

· The Alli Worthington Show: April 1, 2019: Emily P. Freeman on writing, creativity, and doing the next right thing

· The Alli Worthington Show: March 25, 2019: Kyle Idleman on courage, confidence, and not giving up

· The Next Right Thing (Emily P. Freeman): August 20, 2019: Start with this Simple Rhythm

Praying for you and yours, counting you as one of ours.

Xoxo,

Wendie