So… Why Vegan?

If you happen to be following my “30 things Challenge” you may have noticed that one of the things on that list was, “eat a vegan diet.” Today marks my almost 2 months of eating an entirely vegan diet. Just letting you know this is going to be one of my longer posts. I cover a lot of bases to help you understand my process on this new journey.
So if you wanna know ALL the deets of how it’s going, and why I even wanted to put this in my challenge Keep reading…

First, let me start off by saying, if you scroll through my social media, or know me personally this is a HUGE shift in my diet. I literally have posted SO many pictures of me baking muffins, mac and cheese topped with bacon, sugar cookies, doughnuts, among other things. All of which were SOOOO far from vegan. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think much about ever changing my diet. I was far from any type of candidate that just decides, I am going to STOP eating all of these things.  I had absolutely NO desire to stop. I am not trying to be offensive to those who are in the Vegan community or healthy in general. I made a promise to be open and honest with you. So, as promised, I am being honest.

My journey started while my husband was on tour…

Here is a picture of my husband James with his band Death Requisite. Check them out if you like. They are a Symphonic Death Metal Band. https://www.instagram.com/deathrequisite/ Perhaps it’s not your cup of tea. I want to challenge you…Give them a listen. Like I changed my diet, and tried something new, I challenge you to do the same! Anyway, while they were away, we had A LOT going on in our family. These tours seem to sneak up on us or something. Cause EVERY TIME James is about to leave, ALL the bills are due and ALL the things to do fall into our lap. Or so it feels ..on my lap. Not really, but it just all seems harder with him away.

& for those of you who do not know, we recently had another son in October! His name is Levi Judah. We are just so in love! Check out our Legacy Page for more Pictures! With another little guy to care for along with our 2 year old Malachi… I was left with quite a bit on my plate and mind. Please don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled when James gets these awesome opportunities. Yet as an artist myself, and still newer mom to the mom game, I often have felt confused about my purpose. But like always I pulled up my big girl shorts and tried to ignore any fear-filled lying thoughts telling me I am insignificant. I mean COME ON! I’m a MOM! To these little guys, I am VERY significant. So while James was away almost every single post on social media was about New York and how they passed the bill for full term abortion. This to me was not a surprise, but more of a wake up call. I will NOT sit on this side of the computer and act like a know it all. Argue. or try to persuade you to be just like me or a non thinking clone of someone else. I enjoy hearing others thoughts, opinions, view points, and desires, while having the self control to stay true to my own or learn something new that will cause me to change my mind. With that said, I am pretty concerned with this new wave in America. I say wave because I believe it’s purpose is to splash over on our entire country. Full term abortion is not something new. Perhaps to our beloved U S of A, but it isn’t new. The slaughtering of children began and is laced throughout our history and even within the Bible itself. In fact if your familiar with his story, Jesus himself escaped the mass murder of toddler males of King Herod when he heard word of a new King to be born in Israel. Similar circumstances with Moses as he too escaped the mass infant-cide decreed throughout Egypt during his time. For years people have slaughtered and sacrificed their very children to their gods, for power, atonement of sin, and for wealth. So no, I am not surprised. I am heart broken.

What does any of this have to do with becoming a Vegan?

I am so glad you asked. In fact it’s taken me a while to actually publish this post. I just want to make sure I write this right. Up until this point like many others I ate meat on the daily. I didn’t think about it. I just ate it. Now if you were to ask my husband, there were times I would not be able to eat said food if people were to talk about the animal in which I was eating. I just couldn’t. I would feel gross, sick to my stomach, and quickly lose my appetite. During this explosion of minds about the abortion issue I began to live in slow motion. I do this often. It’s where I take a step back and remember that I am a person. I mean duh. But for real. Try it. Look in the mirror. Instead of quickly getting ready in a haze… Look at your self. Look into your eyes. Look at your skin. Now your hands. Then back into your eyes. Just look. Okay let your self get creeped out for a second or two. A lot of us don’t do this very often. I try to make it a habit. It keeps me grounded and on edge. I have to do this so I wont be distracted by my daily routine.

During this time of slow motion, I was waking up in the night. Thinking about this abortion issue. I thought of the reasoning behind those who have them. Tried to give them a face and a name. Looked at my own struggle of being a mother. I began to see those same woman through a lens of grace. Rather then the “M” word that was being thrown around on social media. Hint it’s not Mother. I asked God to help me to see others the way he sees them. I remembered that there are even those I hold dear that would fall under that term, “murderer.” based on decisions they had made long ago. I decided to be quiet. To sit. To listen to that voice I talked with you guys about in my previous posts. It all made me very sad. It was humbling. I realized that to God I was no better. It wasn’t like he loved me more or that those mentioned were loved less based on their past choices. The next day I woke up to make my son some breakfast. We often have eggs, bacon or sausage, with pancakes and toast. However this time, as I cracked the egg into the pan I took a moment. I was disgusted with myself. Keep in mind this was never an issue for me. I felt this tug. “You’re all upset about full term abortion and yet you do things on the daily that don’t make you feel a bit guilty.”

For those who will assume that I am saying that having a full term abortion or any term abortion is the same as making eggs in the morning, just quiet your thoughts for a brief moment. It’s a sore subject. I know, and my purpose is to tell you about my process, not to debate opinions. I felt an urgency to change my diet. This wasn’t going to be easy. I decided to ask for a sign. You know, when you feel like you’re supposed to do something, you ask for a sign as confirmation? So I asked for one. I got in the car to head to the bank in order to pay our rent on time, and there it was. Right in front of me was a Prius with about 5 Vegan bumper stickers covering the back of the windows and bumper. Wow. Ok then. Thanks for the signs... It was then I knew what one of my 30 things would be. Eat a Vegan Diet. Why? Cause I didn’t really want to. It would be hard. It would be Challenging. Which is the entire point of the challenge. It would be thought provoking, and it would eventually change my way of thinking.

This is getting long, but I have a point. So I stopped eating meat, dairy, and eggs. Little by little my perspective changed. I started learning about my body, my health, and about what we need to survive and thrive as humans. There were days it was hard. I had to change my way of thinking daily. I had to pre-plan my meals and bring food with me whenever my family went out. I had to be patient and extend grace to family members who were taken aback and kind of rude about my sudden change. Because my new change didn’t just affect me. It now affected them. Just like your drinking buddies might get annoyed if you all of a sudden announced you weren’t drinking anymore. My mom was upset about “no more Tacobell…” She’s over it now… Back peddaling… Just to throw it out there for some one reading, If not drinking is one of your goals (you may need to surround yourself with other friends with similar lifestyles) I obviously can’t just go out and get a new Vegan mom. PLUS there were plenty of people who were supporting me. One of those people being my husband and the other my sister in law. That’s honestly all that I needed to get started and stick with it. Plus My mom seems to be coming around little by little… which feels wonderful!

During this time I felt compelled to read about Daniel. Some of you may know about his story, “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” from the Bible. There’s a lot more to his story but that’s usually everyone’s take away. Well Daniel was a magi. Meaning he could interpret dreams. In fact, he worked for the King in his day. He was given a strict diet by the King’s officials, yet Daniel made a request. He asked if he and 3 of his friends could abstain from the King’s food and only eat vegetables and drink only water to honor their God. They suggested they test their appearance after 10 days in comparison with the other men. They were granted permission. After 10 days much to the chief of staff’s surprise they looked much healthier than the other men who ate the King’s food.

For those who would like to read the full story from scripture, I have included it below.

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon. The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego. But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said.”At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others. God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

Daniel 1:3-20

After reading about Daniel and his life, I picked up my phone and typed in Google, “Daniel Tiger Fast…” Wow, I thought, ” I am definitely a MOM!” I quickly backspaced… and retyped…”Daniel Fast.” I had remembered hearing my parents talking about doing a “Daniel Fast” I wanted to learn more about it. FYI to those not following, A fast is when you abstain from all food or certain foods for an extended period of time. Sure enough I didn’t have to wait long to learn more. My sister in law already had this book to your left waiting for me when I visited her later that evening. I just love how everything falls in line when I listen to that inner voice. I began to read and realized that Daniel’s diet was more or less very similar to what we can relate to as a Vegan Diet. #DangDaniel lol

It’s been about 2 months now, and I am fully convinced and believe with all of my heart that we were never created to eat animals. However, We live in a society of major convenience. I wont stand on a soap box and preach about this, but it’s been one of my major takeaways. It doesn’t state anywhere in the Bible that there’s a Hell penalty if we consume meat. I will include what I did find, I am sure there’s more. Feel free to dig on your own if you feel compelled.

In the Bible found in Act 15:19-20 it states

“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. “

New living Translation Acts 15:19-20

Gentiles are those who are not Jewish. I am a Gentile. I am not Jewish. In this passage in Acts, Jesus was recently killed by the Jewish leaders. His followers/ friends/ disciples were writing those in the surrounding cities who also believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They were giving instructions on how to turn to God and make specific changes in their lives and diets to make that pursuit less difficult.

• Do not eat food offered to idols
• Abstain from sexual immorality
• Do not eat meat of strangled animals
• Do not consume blood

Yes this was written a long time ago, but it’s worth noting. Plus there are many of us that do all of these things without a bat of an eye. I guess if you aren’t born into a “religious family” perhaps you wouldn’t think anything of it. Food sacrificed to idols? What is even that? Is that even still a thing? Well an idol is anything or anyone, that takes first place in our lives above God. Food can be considered a modern day idol. Sexual Immorality? The porn industry’s existence alone shows our heart as a nation and world. Our sexual urge can be an idol. Those we look at to meet that urge can be an idol. Don’t eat strangled animals? There is definitely an issue with that in our society. No blood? But what about my medium rare steak at Outback?! If meat is to be consumed based on the rules of the Torah/ Bible. It would need to have the blood drained from the animal hence the no eating blood rule. One would need to find a Kosher Butcher. Yet we are then faced with that idol of convenience once again. Who has time for that? Convenient Consumption can be considered an idol. Let us not forget the animals that are slaughtered for mass amounts of food. Mostly wasted for our precious convenience. As well as the harsh treatment they are forced to endure as they are pumped with hormones for growth just so we can eat or drink our preferred meals and beverages. The nutritional value at that point is pretty much none.

To many the Bible is now considered offensive. We justify killing our own children when we don’t think we will have the help and support of those around us. Or if we don’t want the responsibility. It’s convenient. We consume food from a drive through lacking nutritional value in our cars on the way to work. It’s convenient. It makes us feel better. For that short time, it feels right. It feels good and may give us a temporary “fix.” which allows us to avoid the painful reality that we are making very unhealthy choices. However most will eventually effect us and also impact those around us.

So why Vegan? Why not? I stopped eating animals because I felt convicted. I was defiling my temple daily. With what I ate, watched, said, and thought.

Until we learn to value ourselves, we will never value others. I so want to properly value others. I hope and pray you hear my heart correctly as I type. I know we touched on some hard topics. This is just my journey right now, as intense and messy as it is. It’s 2019 and I refuse to shy away from things that seem too hard or too intense. I’m choosing to run straight towards them. Humbly of course.

My take away? I wasn’t made to eat animals. I was created to find joy in them. We were not made to kill our children. We were created to find joy in them. We are created for the purpose of Joy. For too long I was on the run. God’s pursuit was always that of Love. I am so very happy I decided to slow down and let him catch me. I encourage you to do the same.

-SC

We Are Sojourners