Friday Coffee with PJ

Given that I am posting this on a Friday morning, I invite you to pour yourself a cup of that black gold known as coffee. And if you are reading this post and it is after noon time, then you may want to consider what President Ronald Reagan once said, "I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon." So drink up in the AM, and as you do, here are a couple of random thoughts for you to ponder. 

On Monday of this week, I saw a nephrologist. When I got the word that my left kidney had lost its function (late May), I was referred to this kidney specialist. As my family physician put it, "we want to make sure we keep your right kidney healthy!” As a result of my time with the nephrologist, I now have some adjustments to make. One of which is diet related. For starters, I will say I am glad coffee is not on the "no-no" list ... that is, as long as I drink it in moderation (so I figure two to three cups of day will suffice!). But the big diet challenge will be to cut down on sodium. Why is this a challenge? Well, sodium is everywhere! One of the nephrologist's patients told him that "salt is what turns a cook into a chef!" So, when Sharon and I stopped at Cracker Barrel to eat dinner last evening, I downloaded their nutrition guide to my phone. It did not take long before I realized that I would have to eliminate at least 80% of their menu if I was going to stay within the sodium guidelines laid down by my doctor! But I managed to order what turned out to be a very good meal and kept the sodium to a very reasonable amount! 

Due to this new low sodium diet, my wife and I have found ourselves reading the labels on our foodstuffs. We are also researching the Internet for low sodium foods. In doing this research I discovered that one of the best vegetables to eat for kidney health is asparagus. Ugh. Now that might be going just a bit TOO far! 

Speaking of diets, let me morph to talking about a healthy diet for the soul (and if you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably know where I am heading with this). If you want to grow spiritually, then you need to feed your soul the Word of God. Not just on Sundays but everyday! Really, how often do you feed your body? Just once a week? I hardly think so. 

But maybe you struggle with daily Bible reading, Yep, if you want to get serious with eating well for your soul's health - as I am for my kidney's health - then you need to be reading and meditating on your Bible every day (Psalm 1:1-5). Perhaps you don't do so because you don't know how. If this is you, I have a suggestion. Recently, I ordered from the Good Book Company a subscription for their quarterly devotional, Explore: For Your Daily Walk with God.   I have been using it for the past 2 weeks and I am VERY impressed with it! I have gone through the book of Jude and am now going through the book of James. The comments on the Scripture are insightful and very pertinent to where we all do life! The cost is $29.99 for an annual subscription - and, in my opinion, worth every penny (don't you wish you could feed your body a healthy diet for under 9 cents a day?).  

So whether you were to use this devotional guide or another to help you establish a healthy routine of daily Bible intake matters little.  What is of utmost importance is that you just do it! The health of your soul depends upon it!

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj