Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Spalories

There is an empty soda can sitting on my desk. In big letters it brags, "0 CALORIE." That means I can drink it and not gain any weight.  I don't want to gain weight, so I drink it.

Sometimes, when I am hungry, I will drink my 0 calorie soda to satisfy my craving.  I feel full and I didn't take in any extra calories!  Sounds like a win-win. But it's not.

The other day I was in a hurry.  So, instead of eating lunch, I grabbed a soda so my stomach would stop making noise. It worked.  My stomach stopped making noise. But, by the end of the day, even though I had ingested plenty, I had, in reality, taken in little nutrition. Our bodies need proper nutrition to feel strong, fight diseases and to function at it's fullest capacity.  It takes great care and attention to nurture and feed our bodies the right way.

Our soul need the same care and attention. It would be great if our spirituality could be measured in something like calories. For fun, I'll call them spalories (spiritual calories).  Spalories are vital to our spiritual health and well-being. We must take in healthy, good spalories so our spirits ( our testimony and spirituality) will be strong, fight temptation and function to it's fullest capacity.

There are many ways to get spalories.

Here is short spalorie chart:

Prayer: 500 spalories ( add 100 bonus spalories for kneeling.  Add 300 more for crying tears of gratitude or pleading)


Scripture Study: 500 spalories


Attending Church meetings and activities: 1000 spalories


Doing a selfless act of service: 600 spalories


Sharing your testimony: 1500 spalories (that is sometimes really scary!)


Hugging your children: 200 spalories.


Reading this blog: 300 spalories (just kidding.....or maybe not!)

You get the drift.  There are many things we can do that are worth plenty of spalories. I'm sure you can add plenty more to the list.

Let's say I need 2000 spalories a day for proper spiritual nutrition. I could pray twice a day and read my scriptures and be almost completely nourished.

But, Satan has come up with his own 0-spalorie replacements.  He would rather you partake of his goods than those that provide real spiritual nutrition.

Here is the adversaries 0 spalorie chart:

Standing in front of the mirror giving dirty looks at your thighs: 0 spalories


Yelling at your kids: 0 spalories


Being critical of others: 0 spalories


Watching inappropriate tv shows and movies: 0 spalories

The list goes on and on.  You could spend a lot of time on these activities and have a zero spalorie balance at the end of the day! In fact, if you do these things often enough they can actually take away from your spalorie reserve!

What's a spalorie reserve, you ask?

Great question!

We know that testimony and spirituality are not static. They either grow or shrink each day, depending on our spaloric intake. If I don't get enough spalories, my testimony and spirituality lessen- even if it is just by the slightest, imperceptible degree. But, if I meet or exceed my daily spaloric intake, my testimony and spirituality will grow stronger. And, if I go way over and above that amount, I will create a spiritual foundation of spaloric reserve!

But, if I neglect my spaloric intake, and replace it with 0-spaloric activities and attitudes, my reserves with quickly shrink.

Are all 0-spaloric activities bad? No. I like a good reality TV show once in a while.  But, it is bad when it replaces high-spaloric activities, like when I replaced my healthy lunch with a soda.

Bottom line: Feed your soul. God has given us countless ways to take in spalories.  The numbers above are just for fun. Figure out for yourself your spaloric intake.  Make a spaloric goal for yourself.  Find the things that are high in spaloric value that you just love, and indulge yourself!

Watch what you say and do.  Ask yourself, how many spalories is this worth? How many spalories do I need to nourish my soul today?

Love your spalories, love yourself!  I think that's my new slogan!


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