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From Desperation to Inspiration
A Mother’s Cry for Help
David lay sick in bed again. His joints ached painfully, his head throbbed, his breathing was difficult. Any movement was agony. He had spent the last twelve of his nineteen years in varying degrees of this condition. At age seven the symptoms had begun and shortly thereafter the long odyssey of trip after trip to the doctor, test after test at laboratories, all searching for a diagnosis and cure. All to no avail.
Doctors wrote prescriptions and David took them. Antibiotics helped for a couple of weeks only to have the same aches and pains return with a little more severity each time.
At age 19, David was 6 feet tall and weighed only 118 pounds. He was pale and gaunt and I could see the pain in his eyes on a daily basis. My own health began failing through these years as we searched for an answer to David’s dilemma, and now I needed answers for mine as well.
We had exhausted every test and pill the allopathic medical world had to offer, and no relief was in sight. My heart was broken as I realized David had no positive future for education, work, marriage, and family. He couldn’t complete a semester of college before he would be flat on his back again, unable to take the finals. What hope did he have of being successful in life or starting and supporting a family of his own?
End of the line. Bottom of the pit. No open doors. These were the phrases that filled my mind as I cried out to God in desperation, “Where do we go from here, Lord? How can I help my son?” The answer came, unwittingly, from a new acquaintance who phoned as I was drowning in these hopeless thoughts of a hopeless future. Her words opened an entirely new world to me that propelled me into eight years of research, study, and application. Within the first two months David had a new life and was well on the road to health. Today, he is healthy and strong, has a wonderful wife and daughter, and works hard at a great job to support them. Life is good!
As I shared this wonderful story of restoration I was occasionally asked to lecture on the principles I had learned. After each lecture I was further asked if I had written these principles down so they could read the book and learn them for themselves. I was hearing the heart-cry of others who wanted and needed to study and learn what I had learned about food, health, and environment. This book was “born.”
Looking for Health in all the Wrong Places?
Who holds the key to your health? You do! After twelve years of praying, searching, and crying out for answers, I learned that I had the key the whole time. The key was not the doctor. The key was not the latest prescription. The key was not the latest book published on health. The key was God and His Word and finding His health plan for my life and my family’s life within those pages.
And yet, while the key was God’s Word, opening it was like stepping into a gold mine. Even though I was entering the richest gold mine in the universe, few nuggets were lying openly on the floor waiting to be picked up. The riches were located in the many tunnels within the mine and more often than not buried deeply within the walls of those tunnels. How could I get at them? How could I even know where to start digging?
I didn’t need another book or another expert on health. The “experts” contradict one another. One declares the benefits of butter, the next says to never touch it. One book says eggs are the perfect protein, while another says to avoid them because of their cholesterol content. What makes one author’s opinion more valuable or accurate than another’s? In the ageless question of a frustrated Pilate asking Jesus “What is truth?” I needed a way to find the answers to my personal health challenges – physical, but also spiritual and emotional.
The Principle Approach® to education provided the answer for me and is the key for anyone willing to seriously use this method to search out their solutions.¹ But be prepared to have your presuppositions challenged and your thinking altered about some of the most basic principles. What is health? What is sickness? What is food? What isn’t food? These may seem like simple or even foolish questions, but searching out the surprising answers through the Principle Approach® proved to be the building blocks that restored my health and my son’s.
In my life as a military wife, I have been exposed to many different environments, people, and situations. We have lived in rural areas and suburban areas, from Southern California to northern Massachusetts, in the Heartland, the South, and three times near our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. I have been exposed to and personally involved in all kinds of education—the government/public school system, the private and Christian school system, and even spent four years home educating my children.
It was during the four years of home education that I first encountered the Principle Approach®, the method of education used by our Founding Fathers which teaches the learner how to think, not what to think. Modern education is made up of “facts” (or authors’ opinions) poured into students’ heads for memorization and later regurgitation on tests. These facts are usually forgotten soon after as the student had no mental “investment” in the learning or investigative process. This is the bleak result of being told what to think.
In the case of health, the “facts” (what to think) from one book often contradict the “facts” in the next, plunging the reader into deeper confusion, and perhaps even causing them to give up the idea of reforming their lifestyle habits, since no one can agree on what is really good or bad for you anyway! Using the Principle Approach® helps individuals to search out truth for themselves, learning how to think and reason logically for themselves, based not upon different authors’ opinions, but upon a solid foundation of truths from God’s Word that they must personally study.
In the Principle Approach® the Bible is a resource book, indeed the foundation, for every subject studied, including health. Individuals using this method learn how to measure and evaluate everything that is presented to them through God’s Word. Leading ideas and questions, word studies, and seven foundational principles are also used. The American Dictionary of the English Language, more commonly known as “Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary,”2 is the dictionary of choice for this study.
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THE PRINCIPLE APPROACH®
Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
While the Bible was my primary and premier text in research, the second resource book I used was Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, a totally unique reference work of great worth for any in-depth study. Noah Webster, one of our Founding Fathers and a master of twenty-seven languages, dedicated years of his life to compiling the first American dictionary. Webster also held very strong Christian convictions, and wherever possible or applicable he used biblical applications, verses, or principles in his definitions.
Noah’s mastery of language and strong Christian underpinnings are two main purposes for using this specific dictionary over a newer one. But there is a third even stronger reason. As many are aware, there is a movement in the field of education today to rewrite history, what is known as “revisionist history.” But as far fewer are aware, “revisionist dictionaries” have also been written. There’s an old saying: “He who defines the terms wins the debate.” In other words, if you can rewrite the meaning of words, you can declare that black is white and not be proved wrong. Modern “educrats” (combination of educators and bureaucrats) have rewritten many key definitions, replacing God’s immutable standard of truth with relativistic, wavering humanistic standards. Allow me to give you two definition examples to illustrate the magnitude and consequences of such revisionism:
Right - conformity to standards or prevailing conditions - Harcourt Brace Intermediate Dictionary (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968), 631
In this modern definition, “standards and prevailing conditions” are the measurement of right and wrong. Since standards and prevailing conditions are constantly changing, there can be no absolute measurement of what is right. For example, today abortion would be “right” since the Supreme Court has ruled it to be legal in its infamous Roe v. Wade decision.
Now let’s look at Webster’s 1828 Dictionary and see what he had to say:
Right - according to the will of God - Webster’s 1828
According to Webster, “right” does not change with man’s prevailing and fluctuating standards, but rather is determined by an absolute, immutable God. Let’s look at one other:
Truth - a theory that is accepted as fact – Harcourt, Brace, 796
This is a very subjective definition as theories constantly change, which would mean that truth changes as theories change. Evolution is an accepted theory by some scientists, so it must be truth. Therefore, you not only came from a monkey but pond scum somewhere before that. But wait! I believe in the theory of creationism, as do many others. Therefore, that must also be truth. This brings about an even bigger problem: There is no absolute truth. Truth is whatever anyone believes. (Are you confused yet?) Let’s see what Webster’s 1828 says about truth:
Truth - conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been or shall be. Jesus Christ is called the truth. - Webster’s 1828
My confusion just left. This dictionary “takes no prisoners.” It speaks truth with no apologies. These two words that I have chosen – right and truth - are but two examples of many other revisions (re-definitions) such as sin, marriage, Satan, and God, all of which have been rewritten to develop a secular, value-free worldview in the one using it. A recent Barna poll found that, among Christians, only 9 percent expressed a belief in absolute truth.3 You can now better understand why there is so much confusion in many areas today, including health and nutrition. When we stop using the Bible and an accurate dictionary to learn, we fall prey to the lie that there is no absolute truth to be learned.
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The Four R’s
The process of the Principle Approach® is known as the “Four R’s: Research - Reason – Relate – Record.”
Research begins in God’s Word to identify basic principles which govern the “what and how” of life and living. Definitions from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary play a key role here as well.
Reasoning then assists the learner in identifying these principles as they specifically relate to food, health, and environment, areas few of us have used the Bible for studying in the past. Here is where you can truly begin to understand not only what you should and should not eat, but why.
Relating is the process by which we see these principles as they would apply to us in forming our own Christian character, self-government, or stewardship of God’s gifts to us. Now that I know the truth, what will I eat and drink? Will I exercise and develop healthy habits? How and what will I teach my children?
Recording is the actual writing—in a personal journal, letter to a friend, letter to the editor, etc.—of the principles and noting the way they are being applied to your life and living. This final step truly makes the material you have learned “yours”—you will remember it!—as you go through the exercise of putting the principles and your thoughts into your own words on paper.
The Seven Principles
There are dozens of principles that can be found throughout Scripture, but this adaptation of the Principle Approach® focuses on seven:
- God’s Sovereignty – “supreme power; the possession of the highest power. Absolute sovereignty belongs to God only” (Webster’s 1828). God is God. Not the State, not a king, not a man, not self, only God is God. He is the sovereign ruler of the universe and there is none other. Our allegiance and obedience are always due to God first, including what we eat and the care of our body. Only when the principle of sovereignty is firmly established can we move to the other six principles.
- Individuality – “separate or distinct existence; a state of oneness” (Webster’s 1828). Just as there is only one God, there is only one you. God created you as a totally unique, different, and distinct individual with certain attributes, characteristics, talents, and purposes that belong to you alone. God has a destiny in mind for every person He creates, and there is no one else in the universe who has ever existed who can do what God has planned for you to do, and there will never be another individual who will exist that has been given your attributes, characteristics, and talents, or who can perform the job God has purposed for you to perform. You matter and your health matters to God!
- Government – “control, regulate or restrain” (Webster’s 1828). This principle is incredibly broad in scope, beginning internally with the individual in the form of self-government, then moving outward to family government, church government, and finally to civil government. The main thrust of this book will be on self-government since we are talking about personal health choices. However, there will be places in this text where civil government’s involvement is seen to hinder our self-government in food and medical choices (Food & Drug Administration, American Medical Association, etc. Details later).
- Property (Stewardship) – “the exclusive right of possession, enjoying and disposition of a thing; ownership. In the beginning of the world, the Creator gave to man dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-30), and over every living thing. This is the foundation of man’s property in the earth and in all its productions” (Webster’s 1828). We all own property, for each individual has a property in himself, in his unalienable rights and his conscience. James Madison said, “Conscience is our most sacred property.” Your body belongs to God but was given to you by God, who expects you to exercise good stewardship over it so you can perform the destiny He planned for you.
- Christian Character – “a mark made by cutting or engraving, stamping or impressing. The peculiar qualities, impressed by nature or habit on a person, which distinguish him from others” (Webster’s 1828). A person’s character is formed over time through proper education and experience, and it determines all their thoughts, words, and actions. Character should be the first concern of education, even before scholarship, which is why it is so important that parents be the primary teachers of their own children. Genius without character will still make wrong choices. If you don’t control your habits, your habits will control you. Good character comes as a result of right thinking.
- Sowing and Reaping (Education) – “Sow – to spread, to originate, to propagate. Reap – to obtain the fruit of labor or works in a good or bad sense” (Webster’s 1828). This principle is evident and simple as it relates to health. Think, live, and eat right – reap “ease.” Think, live, and eat wrong – reap “dis”-ease. Whatever crop we reap is a reflection of the seed we sowed. Education is needed to learn what to plant (sow) and what not to plant. Education - “all that series of instruction and discipline intended to enlighten understanding, correct the temper and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations” (Webster’s 1828).
- Unity and Union – “Unity – the state of being one; oneness. Union – concord, agreement of mind, will, affections and interests” (Webster’s 1828). An internal unity of ideas brings about external union of actions. As we internally learn through our own search of principles in Scripture, and then agree with God’s principles of health, we enter into the blessings of the union of our mind, will, affections, and interests with His. Within this blessing is the power to do what is right.
You can now see why I have chosen to use the Bible, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, and the Principle Approach® method in this study on food, health, and environment. God has a lot to say about these subjects, and who could possibly better instruct us on how to feed and care for our bodies than the One who created them? Any study that is started on any foundation apart from scriptural truth is built on shifting sand, and my desire is for you to build your own nutritional understanding on the solid Rock.
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Additional Disclaimer
I make no claims to be an accredited expert on the subject of health. I am not qualified to give medical advice and want no part of this teaching to be so construed. Severe personal and family health problems literally catapulted me into a search where I logged hundreds (thousands?) of hours of study and experimentation. This book is the culmination of that study, and it has received enthusiastic endorsements from several health care professionals, educators, and pastors.
This book is presented to the reader as a study on health, where the foundational principles will be laid down, and some of them spelled out. The specific applications, however, are up to the individual reader. While there is one source of truth, the application of that truth is as varied as individuals’ unique needs (an illustration of the principle of individuality!). I have taken this time to explain the basis of this book (Bible, principles, and original, accurate definitions) because its purpose is to give you a foundation from which you can begin your own personal study on your own personal health concerns. You don’t need my opinion on what to eat and how to care for your family; you need truth. I hope to arm you with enough basic information to excite, stimulate, and motivate you to further study and to make lifestyle and dietary changes that will put you on a path to better health, higher energy, and longer life – to help you fulfill your individual, God-ordained destiny and to do it with vigor and victory, health and wellness.
My best attempts were made with any other materials I have used as secondary sources in this study to be certain they lined up with biblical principles before accepting their content. However, I am a “work in progress” and am still learning to discern. I reserve the right to amend any statements contained within this text as new revelation or understanding comes my way. My word is not the last word. Pray and reason through as you read.
May God richly bless you in your search, keep your mind clear and your heart pure, and strengthen your convictions and your health as you begin to apply what you learn!
END NOTES
1. The Foundation for American Christian Education (F.A.C.E.) is the organization responsible for resurrecting the Principle Approach® to education, the method used by our Founding Fathers that resulted in a 95% literacy rate during the founding era – the highest ever known! This method of education emphasizes Providential History, Christian scholarship and character formation. The superior scholarship is evidenced by SAT scores averaging 20% higher than all other Christian or public schools. Providential History teaching brings about an understanding of our limited, Constitutional form of government. Character training forges young people who will become involved in their churches and government to the betterment of both. I highly recommend everyone investigate this organization and see what part you could play in spreading this Godly method of teaching and learning. (800-352-3223 or www.face.net)
2. The American Dictionary of the English Language (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) has been reprinted by F.A.C.E. It is possibly one of the most important reprints of the 20th century and can be purchased through them, for those who would like to add it to their home libraries. Call 800-352-3223 or 757-488-6601 for information. (Be sure to ask about group discounts!)
3. Del Tackett, “What’s in a Worldview Anyway?” Focus on the Family, July/August 2004, p. 7-8
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