But God

Every day, I need to remind myself to “Keep God on the right side of BUT”!

Huh? You might think.

As a new Christian, I remember when my mentor and now co-author, Jackie, taught me about the phrase “But God . .  .”  This lesson continues to be one that shapes my worldview and daily life. The phrase “But God . . .” is found 43 times in the Bible.

“You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to . . . save many people alive” (Gen. 50:20).

“Their beauty shall be consumed in the grave . . . . But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave” (Ps. 49:14-15).

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:7-8).

“But God” is an important declaration in His word.

Every day we think about 65,000 words.  Of the words we think, the average woman can speak up to 20,000 of those words out loud for the world to hear.

The words we actually think, and ultimately say, create our view of life and God.  How we form sentences can shape how we respond to a situation and how we live our life.

I learned it matters where I place God’s name in a sentence.  If I put his name before the “but”, then I am claiming it as my own.  I have taken off my “kingdom vision” glasses and put on my own “narrow view” glasses.  I have taken over my life and am now my “own” god.

However, if I put His name after the “but”, I am giving Him all the power and glory in this world. I can be reassured of His involvement in not only my life, but everyone around me. He is holy, righteous and completely in control.

For instance, if I say:

God knew this was going to happen here, but I don’t like it at all.

OR

I don’t like what just happened here, but God is completely in control.

Do you see how different the second sentence is?

During this last season, I was cautioned by one of my favorite quotes – “Keep God on right side of BUT”.  Struggling between how much I do and trusting God to do all that He is. There is such a fine line. I found myself putting “God on the left side of BUT!”  This is a huge mistake!

Examples of “God on the left side of BUT”:

• God is healing me, but I have to eat this way.
• God has allowed this in my life for a reason, but I am researching for a cure.
• God supplies all my needs, but I have to depend on others.

The exact same sentences with “God on the right side of BUT”:

• I have to eat this way, but I know God is healing me.
• I am researching for a cure, but I know God has allowed this in my life for a reason.
• I have to depend on others, but God supplies all my needs.

I have had to catch myself over and over again in the last months. 

I am always trying to take over and run the show. 

Is there anyone else out there like me? 

Can any of you relate?

This week, I felt like God wanted me to remind myself and tell all of you to keep His name on the right side of BUT!

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Revival...Who Needs It? Part 2

If there was ever a need for Revival, today is it!

“An evangelist reaches your emotions.  A true prophet reaches your conscience.” Leonard Ravenhill

God had brought us to Arnold, Nebraska and He had a Plan…

Something alive was stirring in Arnold!

He used the people living in those sand hills to reveal His heart and our need.  He used the warmth of the Nebraska heartland and its very special inhabitants…

Nebraska Sand Hills

God used this community to introduce us to genuine hospitality and throughout all these years of ministry we have purposed to practice what we learned there.

This is the town God used to reveal the possibilities of God using us in Panama, in a remote village on the Colombian border.

This is the town God used to give us an opportunity to first know His faithfulness to us through His people.

In this community, “everyone knows your name” and everything about your family, for at least three generations!  Californians pride themselves in their independence from the need for community life and this is found in their perpetual church hopping!

Downtown Arnold, Nebraska

God’s plan was about to shatter any preconceived ideas about revival…

This was it…after months of prayer and preparation…the day had arrived!  The Crusade was packed!  The school auditorium was filled with people from every denomination, all walks of life, people who would never enter a church…the turnout was phenomenal. 

God had a plan that would advance His kingdom!

A revival flame had been ignited!  Hearts were challenged all over that auditorium! Many young people responded to the truth of God’s Word and would go on to serve the Lord in missions all over the world, most of them with New Tribes Mission, reaching into tribal regions.  Many of them are still on the field.

A few weeks after the crusade, on prom night, the police wanted to know why the streets were empty.  The only explanation was that the young people were back in the auditorium watching a Christian film!  A number of couples, including Smokey Kellner, a quadriplegic, and his wife entered missionary training and served as missionaries in Mexico for 20 years or more.  

Lives were changed that night in homes all over the town of Arnold.  There was no age discrimination when it came to God ministering to needy souls…  Young and old were confronted with sin, God’s provision and their desperate need.

“A revival means nothing less than a revolution, casting out the spirit of worldliness and selfishness and making God and His love triumph in heart and life.”  Andrew Murray

God had a plan and allowed us to be a small part of the moving of His Spirit in the hearts and lives of those He had already prepared to harmonize with His will.

R. A. Torrey gave a prescription that never fails to bring revival:

•  “Let a few Christians get thoroughly right with God. (No unconfessed sin or anything between another person and yourself…totally repent!).
• Let them bind themselves together to pray for revival
• Let them put themselves at the disposal of God for His use as He sees fit in winning others to Christ.  That is all.  It never fails.” 

It worked in Arnold! 

Billy Sunday was asked: “When is revival needed?  He answered:  When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.” 

…Please, Lord Jesus…

“Will you not revive us again, that your people will rejoice in you?” Psalm 85: 6

For those of you in Arnold who read this, time is a witness to the strength of loyal and eternal relationships.  Your community has abundantly blessed the Ralph Johnson family and we are indebted to each of the families and individuals who invested in us and trusted us with your hearts…

~Jackie Johnson

I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Are You a "Yes!" Mom?

Be the “Yes!” Mom!

Halloween 2015 has come and gone.  I have been reflecting on what has changed.  I no longer have much input on their costumes.  They don’t really need me to hold their hands while trick or treating.  They want to invite friends along and tell us we can stay behind and watch the World Series.  Times have changed.

My children aren’t wearing their costumes today – the day after Halloween.  They no longer insist on wearing them to the grocery store, or to church, or to a party at Easter time.  They no longer want to wear them to dinner when we are having spaghetti or outside playing in the rain.  They are folded neatly and put away.  Some of them went back to the costume shop today.

The older my kids get, the more I miss the “littles”.

Now, my youngest is 7 and my oldest is 14, so in some peoples minds, they are still little.  But I am talking about the squishy cheek-weeks, over-managed months and diaper days that go by way too quickly.  People used to say “Enjoy these days with your little ones, they will be gone before you know it”.  I actually think I couldn’t believe it back then because     the.      days.     are.     so.      long.

I was the kind of mom who insisted on wearing costumes only when it was appropriate.  I wish now I hadn’t.  Today, I would love to see Princess Grace at church, Robin Hood at the grocery store and Princess Leah at an Easter party.  I would be happy to wash marinara sauce or mud off any costume now.  But those days have passed.

Are you an uptight mom who wants them to dress just right? 

“Oh honey, that costume is good for Halloween or around the house, but not for church”. Maybe matching perfect clothes for an outing and hair combed just right? “Sweetie, I love that Batman costume, but I just don’t think it is right for Aunt Sharon’s Easter feast”.

I know, me too.

So I am here today to encourage you to let them DO IT!  Crazy, right?  I wish I had let them live out their fairy tales and I wish I could have taken pictures.  I have too many perfectly-dressed, hair-just-right photos.  Let them wear their princess dresses and cowboy outfits because some day they will not want to anymore.

Take it from me.  Your time with them is short and the moments when they want to be adventurers, explorers and royalty for a day will come to an end.

Just say “Yes!”

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Revival....Who Needs It? Part 1

There really is no place like Arnold, Nebraska!!

This is the town where I got my first and only black eye!

Arnold is where Ralph and I had the privilege of joining hands with Pastor Stan Scragg, Jerry Beltz and every denomination in this community to see God do miraculous things in the lives of all of us.   I know He did a huge work in my heart that confirmed our calling to the mission field, gave definition to our life purpose and gave us a vision for the hearts of mankind that has yet to dim…

Something was happening in Arnold!

When the churches in this farming community began meeting together to pray and prepare for a Jerry Beltz Crusade, we jumped in wherever we could.  We spent days witnessing to high school students and staff.  We visited farms, families and churches in Arnold. We hit the “highways and byways” inviting anyone and everyone to the crusade. We canvased parks and meeting places where young people “hung out” looking for an opportunity to present Christ.  In the evenings we would have Bible studies in most of the homes we stayed.  On Sundays we would speak in the different churches in the community.  Jerry Beltz interviewed Ralph on his television station in North Platte and Christina tapped on the screen wondering how her daddy did that!  There were open hearts everywhere…

We had only intended on fulfilling a promise to fellow missionary candidates, Gary and Shirley Bassett and at best, stay a few days in Arnold.  Shirley’s sister had lost her husband, and we volunteered to “stop by and encourage her oldest son on our way to California” after completing the training at New Tribes Mission Language School in Camdenton, Missouri. 

We had no idea what God had planned for us!

While at Shirley’s sisters house we were included in a Bible study she had in her home.  After the meeting we were invited to stay with Ed and Ginny Steele for a few days before heading to California.  Their boys were small and Christina, only 6 months old, loved all three!  While at the Steele’s, we met Glenn and Connie Weinman and their four small children. They invited us to stay with them before we left for California, as did Don and Sunbeam Swanson. We ended up staying almost six months in Arnold!

Charles Finney is quoted as saying that “a revival is nothing more than a new beginning of obedience to God.”

While at the Steele’s, Ginny’s brother and his new wife (Lane and Josie McClure) joined us for a prayer and Bible study. We stayed in their basement for a few days and Josie taught me to sew sundresses for our daughter, Christina.  Ralph was helping Lane with a silo and caught a screwdriver in his eye!  Ralph asked him if he lost his eye, would Lane go to the mission field in his place?!  Shortly after arriving in Panama we heard that Lane and Josie had entered Boot Camp training with New Tribes and went on to serve in Paraguay! 

Nebraska Silos

There were many families (Fletchers, Androcks, Goodnows, to name a few, etc.…) that opened their hearts and homes to us over those months.  Bob Watson’s family cared for us when Ralph left for an outboard motor course in Wisconsin for two weeks!  Bless their hearts!  The Carlson’s lived across the street, and it was in their attic that Ralph penned the life lessons that God has used to change lives on two continents over the last 50 years.

Everywhere we went, everyone we talked to had a spiritual interest we had not experienced before.  Hearts were open to the Word, people were listening to the claims of Christ, and sin was being confronted ubiquitously.  We had never been a part of anything like what God was beginning to do here…

What was happening?

Join me next week, Monday morning, for the revelation of that plan!

You won’t believe it!

~Jackie Johnson

I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! 

I know most of you know that.  Pink ribbons are everywhere.  I love the awareness part, but not so much the pink ribbon.  Here is more information why.

Because the statistics say 1 out of 8 women reading this blog will have breast cancer in their lifetime, I feel called to share the things I have learned along the way. 85% of the women diagnosed have no family history of it. Having been a miracle two times now, I'd like to offer some ideas to reduce the risks to our bodies.

Are you at risk?

Are your hormones high?   Have your hormones checked next time you are getting blood work.  I never knew to do this and my hormones were 5 times the acceptable range when I had cancer.

Are you overweight?  I was. Ask yourself if you are more than 60 pounds over the weight you were at 18 years old.  Fatty tissue makes estrogen, so this will put you over your body’s desired amount for estrogen. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly minimize your risks. 

Do you have dense breast tissue? A routine mammogram will discover what kind of breast tissue you have.  I recommend thermography instead, but either way, discuss your breast tissue with your doctor. 

Do you watch your environment and lifestyle?  How we eat, what we put on our bodies and how we live does largely affect our risk of breast cancer.   These are the biggest areas we can change. Exposure to solvents, plasticizers and other industrial chemicals in the products we use can increase our vulnerability.  Pesticide residue on the foods we eat is included in this.   

So avoid . . .

• cigarette smoke (even smelling it)
• processed foods (everything on the inside aisles of the grocery store)
• hormone replacement therapy (that includes the pill)
• more than one alcoholic beverage or cup of coffee a day (not my coffee!!!)
• non-organic produce (eat mostly fruits and veggies!)
• chemicals like parabens or BPA that mimic estrogen in products (check your shampoo, make-ups, lotions, etc)
• stress in your life (learn to make margin)

I know it’s a long list, but if only someone had told me! 

God has a plan in all things and I believe, for me, it is my job to help inform you all!  God has given us many resources in this world to combat the evil of breast cancer.  Yes, I think it is evil and reminds me a lot of sin.  He has given us wonderful food to eat – his food that comes from trees and vines.  Not plastic man made food in colorful boxes.  He has given us iodine to rub on our thyroid or iodine pills to help regulate our estrogen.  He has made curcumin, grape seed extract and pomegranate supplements that help to reduce our risks.

I pray you will make the changes you need to so you will not be one of the eight. I believe God has given us everything we need to live this life.  I just wish I had known and changed sooner.  Praying for health for each of you reading this!

2 Peter 1:3 Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

 ~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life,  redecorating her home, loving on her husband,  planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Dry Bones

If there was ever a day when our families, country and world call for Revival…this is the day!

“Revival is absolutely essential to restrain the righteous anger of God, to restore the conscious awareness of God, and to reveal the gracious activity of God.”

Ezekiel was a prophet, a priest and a servant of God who was sent to give God’s message to a wicked and rebellious nation, not unlike our own.  Chapter 37 speaks of his vision of a “valley of dry bones”.  Verse 11 cries out, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off”!  Spiritual deadness is a frightening position, and the absence of the fear of God reveals itself in our moment-by-moment life practice…

Are we dedicated to comfort and convenience,

claiming personal rights,

doing our own thing?

Or are we dedicated to Cavalry’s road and a God that calls us to holiness?

Our dedication determines how alive we are spiritually or if we are a mass of “dry bones”.  There is a quality of spiritual life that is rarely experienced among believers in the West because we are so busy…living in entitlements. 

Where are you living this moment?

Stephen Olford in Heart Cry wrote, “O that God would teach us that it is just as important to be spiritual as to be sound in our approach to the Bible, just as vital to be obedient as to be orthodox, and that the purpose of revelation is nothing less than transformation of human lives!”

Revival is the power of the Holy Spirit transforming God’s Word in our souls.  While in Bible School a fellow student introduced me to a small paperback book, The Calvary Road by Roy Hession.  Revival’s clear definition and seeing my need for personal application has been a constant reminder of God’s promise to set us free from sin and self…continually!

Revival is the result of:

• A new experience of the conviction of sin
• A new vision of the cross of Jesus and redemption
• A new willingness to walk in brokenness, repentance, confession and restitution
• An understanding of how to maintain a consistent walk in the light
• A joyful experience of the power of the blood of Jesus cleansing us fully from sin and healing all that sin has lost and broken
• The test for knowing you are cleansed…ask yourself

1.     Do I have any un-confessed sin?

2.     Is there anything between another person and me?

• A new entering into the wholeness of the Holy Spirit and His power and His own work in and through us
• A new “gathering-in” of the lost ones to Christ

Revival does not begin with someone else.  It begins with each of us!

Is revival stirring in your soul? 

“The fruit of revival comes only as we come to the cross and acknowledge our emptiness and failure apart from Him.  It is not good Christians becoming better Christians…but rather Christians honestly confessing that their Christian life is a valley of dry bones and by that confession qualifying for the grace that flows from the Cross and makes all things new, dry bones made alive again!”  Roy Hession

Understanding our desperate need initiates this promise:

Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good…

He came to make dead men live!

~Jackie Johnson

I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey: Sacrifice...What?

We are all living sacrifices…for something or someone…for good or evil!!

Some live life sacrificing for money; some for drugs and alcohol; some for sports; some for self-gratification, etc.  Most dedicated mothers sacrifice for their family.

My husband recently shared a verse with me that put “rubber on the road” in my understanding of sacrificial living! 

II Chronicles 12:14 says, “He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the Lord”.

My idea of evil is unlimited in its ability to fill my imagination with what I see, hear and read in our frazzled culture today! 

 In the light of God’s definition of evil, what are we really living for?

Are we shortsighted, committed to doing our own thing?

According to this verse, evil is defined as not setting our hearts on pleasing God and His purpose for our life; not seeking the Lord, first and always.

All other pursuits are considered evil from God’s point of view!

So I asked myself…

In my life quest, I consider my pursuits sacrificial but am I actively setting my heart on seeking Him first in every endeavor?”

Isa. 50:11 promises us needless defeat and suffering when we “light our own torches to do our own thing”.

As busy moms and grandmas, how often do we look for God’s purpose when we are being consumed by a whirlwind of activity all around us?  We are teachers, taxi drivers, counselors and nurses… you fill in the blank!

Isa. 50: 10 states, “All believers walk in darkness”.  This means we are all shortsighted and blind to the immediate future.  We tend to sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.  By setting our hearts on pleasing God and having his purpose first in our lives, we find sacrificial living fulfilling, understanding that “all things work together for those who ‘set their heart on seeking God’ and are called according to his purpose”.

Are we too busy in our “life of urgency”

 to look for God’s purpose in our next interruption?

Is it a moot point when we are fractured with wrong attitudes and responses because we are being inconvenienced?

“I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.  If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…” 

Can He listen to you?  What do you set your heart on? 

What do you cherish above all?

~Jackie Johnson

I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Impacting Your Culture!

There is a great movie coming out this weekend – Woodlawn.

The movie is based on a true story of a small town set in Alabama in the 1970’s.  A gifted high school football player learns to embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field.  This inspirational new “Christian” movie is all about learning to love and unify during a time of hate and division. Many “big” Hollywood names have shown up for this movie:  Sean Astin (The Hobbit, Rudy), Nic Bishop (ABC’s Body of Proof), Sherri Shepard (NBC’s The View, 30 Rock) and Oscar-winning Jon Voight, just to name a few.  This is not your old-fashioned low budget Christian movie.

I want to encourage you to go see it with your whole family.  Yes, I am hoping you will fork out the $10+ per ticket and see it in the movie theater.

I know you can wait and watch it on Netflix or rent the DVD, but here are a handful of good reasons to NOT do that.

1.  Supporting Christian movies sends Hollywood a message.  Growing up, there were very few Christ-centered movies.  Finally, Hollywood is acknowledging the 91+ million Christian movie-goers.  In the past, Christians were portrayed in movies as pedophiles, killers or strict-no-fun kind of people.  They are seeing us and hearing us now, so let’s support the effort.

2.  Going to watch Woodlawn is good for your whole family.  The movie is rated PG -  so take everyone.  Your older kids will enjoy a well-made movie and with good acting and your younger kids will be excited to see a “grown-up movie”.  But most of all, you can have a wonderful conversation afterwards about the truths and questions this movie is bound to create.

3.  Woodlawn is a good tool to reach the lost.  Nothing speaks to culture like movies.  Woodlawn is a natural bridge in conversation with someone who doesn’t know Christ.  This will make you relevant around “the water cooler” at work or at the playground talking to moms.  Aren’t you looking for a way to talk about Christ to strangers?  Here is your opportunity!

4. Christians need to unify behind the message.  Hollywood has the ability to reach millions of people for Christ.  People who have no faith will buy a ticket to a movie about football and not even know it is a Christian movie.  They will stay and be entertained by the good acting and moving story.  However, they will also take away a piece of God’s truth in the process.  We Christians have to unify our dollars and our influence behind messages like Woodlawn.  Then Hollywood will hear our unified voice and keep making more movies like this one.

5. Going to see Woodlawn helps endorse fellow believers.  We are blessed to know a few people in the faith-based movie-making arena.  Most of our friends are sold out to Jesus and really want to make a difference in the world.  They are not in Hollywood to make the big bucks, but there to impact culture in a way unheard of before.  They are missionaries in a field untouched by Christians in the past.  They are going head-to-head with the evil one as they impact a world that doesn’t know Jesus.  So by going to see Woodlawn and other movies to come in the next years, you are supporting a missionary in hostile territory.

I hope to see you all at the movies on October 16th when Woodlawn premieres.  Go and make a difference!

Check out the movie trailer!

~ Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life,  redecorating her home, loving on her husband,  planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: A Princess Miracle!

In life there are times when God’s heart stretches across time and space and touches us profoundly. 

Do you know what I mean?

This morning was one of those times.  My 9-year-old, youngest granddaughter walked into our room with her Bible and journal in hand.

Princess Megan Joy

Something seemed different about this little energy-giving princess this bright sunny summer day.  When Megan Joy walks into a room, a ray of light comes in with her…lots of it!  She quietly, even silently, opened her diary and began to read.  After just a few words, tears began to roll down her cheeks and she handed her journal to me to finish.

 “What is it, Love?” I asked, pulling her close to me. 

I began to read her written thoughts and realized I was being given a divine gift.  She had, transparently, recorded in detail, where she had read that morning.   It was in Matt. 24 where God is “going to return on the Day of Judgment”.   He had opened her heart to hear His voice through the verses.  She had been exposed to God’s Word for the last 8 years, but that morning she understood and acknowledged her desperate need to be claimed by the cross of Calvary’s truth and sought His forgiveness and had received the redeeming love of her waiting Savior!

Now both of us had tears streaming down our faces!  She looked up and said, “I want Jesus to be the boss of my life, Grandma.” 

Her concept of His Lordship was so clear to her and my heart was overwhelmed. Her new joy was infectious and her peace surpassed not only her understanding but also mine.  His grace is greater than my finite mind can comprehend.

It has been said that the humpback whale enthusiastically sings tunes that often last 20 minutes and resonate through the water for hundreds of miles!  (Achieving True Success, IACC)

 If I could I would do that this morning!   My heart is overjoyed, enthusiastically expressing with my spirit the joy of my soul!   

“Rejoice, I say rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: REJOICE”!  Phil. 4:4

“You, oh Lord, have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in Your presence.” Psalm 16:11

“It is the rightful heritage of every believer, even the newest in the family of faith, to be absolutely certain that eternal life is his present possession.  To look to self is to tremble.  To look to Calvary’s finished work is to triumph.

Larry McGuill

5 Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat Anything!

God made such wonderful food for us to eat!  I found having children they tend to lean toward the processed, colorful and sugary foods not found on trees or in creation. No matter what we eat at home. 

“How do you get all your kids to eat their veggies?” a new mom asked me recently.  I thought about it for a moment and I realized all four of my kids eat whatever is served at the dinner table.

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.” Gen 1:29

As a cancer survivor (twice now!), I cook pretty healthy.  Sure, my kids still love all the plastic, colorful foods created by man, but I want them to eat what is beneficial for their bodies and love it.  We will always have choices when we leave our home.  My kids go to birthday parties and enjoy the cake and candy, just like yours.  But when we are home, I am in charge of what they eat.  I do the grocery shopping and most of the cooking.

Reflecting over the last fourteen years, here are a couple of things we have done.

1. Be the best example to your kids.  My kids see me eating lots and lots of veggies.  In fact, if I eat anything that is different from my normal fare, the kids notice and say I am cheating!  By doing this, my kids have oftentimes asked to try my food and experimented with something, just because I am eating it.  Don’t be the mom telling her kids to eat healthy while she stands there with a Frappuccino and a scone in her hand (I used to be this mom!).
2. Be stealth with your ingredients.  I am stunned what my kids will eat if they don’t know what it is or if it is covered up somehow.  Zucchini with cheese, smoothies with kale, and cheeseburger soup loaded with veggies.  I always look for recipes with veggies in them. Even traditional classic dishes have alternative choices now on the internet.  I have also switched my kids to “look alike” snack items with much better ingredient list.  They have no idea because it tastes good.
3. Get your kids involved in cooking.  Some day your little princesses and knights will be old enough to help in the kitchen.  When they are, you will be amazed at what they will eat, if they have a hand in making it.  Even my 14 year-old son prefers to take a salad to school instead of a sandwich.  If he makes it, he is more apt to eat it.  Sometimes it is “kids’ day” and they are in charge of cooking dinner.  I am amazed at how similar they will cook dinner to how I would.  Something is rubbing off!
4. Tell them they have to try everything.  They say it takes 10 to 15 tries before a child will eat – and like – a different food.  Wow! That is a lot of stress to get them to eat one thing, let alone a whole bunch of new foods!  Yes, it is.  Parenting is not for the faint of heart.  As parents it is our job to train them up in many areas.  I believe teaching them how to eat healthy and with good portion control is our job.  So what if they won’t eat it? (see below under ‘drastic measures’)
5. Watch documentaries and internet videos about healthy food choices.  Nothing has a more radical effect on my kids than videos about good food or bad food choices.  Movies like Food Inc, Super Size Me, Forks over Knives, etc. will impact their food choices – and yours.  Last night my husband had the kids watch a YouTube video about “leaky gut” that promoted probiotics.  All my kids got up this morning and took all their vitamins and probiotics without me having to ask.

Our Drastic Measure

When our kids were little (under 4 years old), they all had a day where they refused to eat their food.  Every one of them. Luckily, I had a wiser older woman in my life who suggested we adopt an old principle dealing with food.  We decided to do what folks in the “old days” used to do and I am so glad we did.  Back to the days of no-nonsense parenting, I guess.

So when our little kids put up a fuss about their dinner, we asked them to eat it.  To at least take a bite.  And if they didn’t, then we would let them know they wouldn’t get any other food until they ate their whole dinner.  I realized very quickly this was a power struggle.  It really had more to do with them wanting the power than something different to eat.  So I served the same plate of food for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner.  They were allowed to have water, but no other food. Not one snack.  There was so much whining, so much crying and so much demanding, I wanted to give up.  Obviously, this was a day I had to cancel everything and stay home with them.

Eventually, every single one of them got really hungry and ended up eating the entire dinner – even ice cold.  One of them went hungry for 36 hours!  Only one of them did it two times.  But I can tell you this: after this moment, they all ate their dinner or at least tried it and there was no argument (or power struggle) over “a bite” to try it.

It may sound drastic, but it worked for us and all four of our kids!  I also know it has worked for other friends, too.  Was it painful?  Yes!  Was it an inconvenience?  Yes!  But all my kids are great eaters now.  I just asked them all if they remember those days and we all got a good laugh about it!

What are ways that you have gotten your kids to eat healthy food?