Today I'm tired. But it's a really good tired. Last night I was up until very early in the morning worshiping our Jesus who heals, delivers and saves! It was actually a "Thank you Jesus!" party that one of my favorite people in the world threw on the anniversary of her 1 whole year of complete healing from 18 years of clinical depression! EIGHTEEN YEARS of medication to be functional! ONE FULL YEAR OF COMPLETE HEALING, NO MEDICATION, TOTAL LIFE CHANGE! The story makes me either cry or jump for joy every time I think of it or hear it.
Jesus is good. And He is loving. And He is healer and redeemer and savior and deliverer. I haven't written in awhile, but for no real reason except busy and feeling like I don't have much to say. But Jesus is amazing and faithful and good. Keep pressing in for Him to be all that He says He is. That's what He wants to be for you and me.
PSALM 27:13 "I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!"
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Laughter is good medicine
"A merry heart does good like a medicine." Proverbs 17:22
"A main aspect of joy is laughter. Studies have proven the benefits of laughter. Cancer patients have been healed through a 'prescription' of watching funny movies. Cells that destroy tumors and viruses increase through hearty laughter. "Energy-causing" endorphins are released into our body's system through hilarity."
~from "Igniting Faith in 40 Days" by Steve and Wendy Backlund
I've been making a conscious effort to laugh with the kids more. Chasing Ella around our house playing "Tag, You're It" or laughing at silly jokes or just being in the moment enough to have fun and laugh. It's been great for all of us! So here's your joke for the day. Judah and I laughed out loud for a long time with this one!
"What was the last thing that went through the bug's mind when he hit the windshield?"
First, less appropriate answer: his butt
Second, rated G answer with just as many laughs: "I won't have the guts to do that again!"
"A main aspect of joy is laughter. Studies have proven the benefits of laughter. Cancer patients have been healed through a 'prescription' of watching funny movies. Cells that destroy tumors and viruses increase through hearty laughter. "Energy-causing" endorphins are released into our body's system through hilarity."
~from "Igniting Faith in 40 Days" by Steve and Wendy Backlund
I've been making a conscious effort to laugh with the kids more. Chasing Ella around our house playing "Tag, You're It" or laughing at silly jokes or just being in the moment enough to have fun and laugh. It's been great for all of us! So here's your joke for the day. Judah and I laughed out loud for a long time with this one!
"What was the last thing that went through the bug's mind when he hit the windshield?"
First, less appropriate answer: his butt
Second, rated G answer with just as many laughs: "I won't have the guts to do that again!"
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Quote of the day
"Don't eat when you're angry, sad, scared,or anxious. These emotions all shut down digestion. When you are emotionally out of balance, it is better not to eat at all. I mentioned earlier that when we eat sugar, our immune system can be depressed for up to six hours. We also learned that when we are angry, our immune system can be depressed for up to six hours. So if you go and eat a donut while you're angry, half of your day is ruined!"
~ Jordan S. Rubin from "The Maker's Diet" pg 197
Hmm, then I should've spent a large portion of my life not eating at all!!! :-)
~ Jordan S. Rubin from "The Maker's Diet" pg 197
Hmm, then I should've spent a large portion of my life not eating at all!!! :-)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Quote of the Day
"Historically, we ate the equivalent of only 20 teaspoons of sugar a year as hunter/gatherers. Now we eat 158 pounds per person per year, or about 50 teaspoons or half a pound each day! The average schoolboy has 34 teaspoons of sugar a day."
From pg 152 of "The UltraMind Solution" by Mark Hyman, M.D.
YIKES!!!!!
From pg 152 of "The UltraMind Solution" by Mark Hyman, M.D.
YIKES!!!!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The New Me
I've been given a few new nicknames around our house lately!
~ Brainwashed
~ Tree Hugger
~ Mom's gone CRAZY!
Why? Because if you knew me three years ago, these would all be appropriate names considering the way I used to be and the things I'm doing now! The cleanses I am doing have promoted lots of additional reading on being more healthy in general. After pondering some of these things for over a year, I've decided it's not as daunting and difficult (or crazy) as I've always thought. Here's just another one of those things I said I'd never do and lo and behold . . . here I go!
So what am I doing to "go green?"
~ I've changed over all our cleaning supplies to all natural ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, baking soda, cinnamon or tea tree oil. Club soda works for many things too. One author who has been cleaning like this for years said that she has calculated that using these materials is not only safer for your health and the environment but is actually 1/10th of the price you pay for commercial cleaning supplies. (Keep in mind the switch over will cost a bit upfront to get the supplies to start.)
~ I've found recipes for homemade toothpaste (haven't tried it yet), homemade shampoo (haven't tried it yet), homemade deodorant (currently using), and homemade dish soap. They are all very easy and not very time consuming.
~ I'm slowly switching over my use of white flour to whole wheat, white sugar to sucanat, honey, maple syrup, or agave, and trying to eat more whole foods. This one is the toughest change with 4 kids used to eating everything American Standard Diet!
~ I ditched my laundry detergent and decided to try Soap Nuts. Soap Nuts are berries from a tree that has saponin in them. They deseed and dry the berry and then you toss it in your washing machine! It costs about 7 cents a load and they get my clothes clean.
~ The kicker for Abiel is that I decided to make homemade strawberry freezer jam! She has asked me to do things like that in the past and I would adamantly say something like, "I'll probably never do that sort of thing! Too much work!" Again, eat my words (and jam!) I found a SIMPLE recipe for freezer jam sweetened with honey or sucanat and it only took me an hour to make 16, 8 oz. jars!
So here is the new me that I swore I'd never be. But here's my catch. My baby is now 2 years old. It is my firm belief that until your baby is 2, it is very difficult to make any dramatic changes to your life. It seems that once your baby is 2, life (or moms) normalize. So unless you are more "with it" than I was with children under 2 (which is VERY probable) or you grew up in a home where these things were modeled, I don't really suggest trying to do a whole house makeover for awhile.
If you want more information on any of these things, feel free to email me (see "contact me" in sidebar) or check out this website. This is where I found the majority of information for most of my switches. She's really gung ho, but if you sort through the personal conviction to find things that work for you without feeling like you have do try everything she suggests, it's a great site. Passionate Homemaking is the website.
My blog will not be about "going green." I don't plan on talking about it any more than I talk about anything else I am living out. I hesitated sharing because I hate feeling like I'm coming across as "This is the way everyone should live." I don't feel that at all. In fact, I could write pages and pages of how I've come to this, and my thoughts about why so many people aren't ready to make these kinds of lifestyle changes. It IS hard to teach old dogs new tricks and there is NOTHING easy about changing the way you do everything simply because it's "better for you!" I only share to encourage those who have been thinking about changing over some things. If I can do it. . . anyone can!
So come over for a visit and we'll share some jam and bread! ;-)
~ Brainwashed
~ Tree Hugger
~ Mom's gone CRAZY!
Why? Because if you knew me three years ago, these would all be appropriate names considering the way I used to be and the things I'm doing now! The cleanses I am doing have promoted lots of additional reading on being more healthy in general. After pondering some of these things for over a year, I've decided it's not as daunting and difficult (or crazy) as I've always thought. Here's just another one of those things I said I'd never do and lo and behold . . . here I go!
So what am I doing to "go green?"
~ I've changed over all our cleaning supplies to all natural ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar, baking soda, cinnamon or tea tree oil. Club soda works for many things too. One author who has been cleaning like this for years said that she has calculated that using these materials is not only safer for your health and the environment but is actually 1/10th of the price you pay for commercial cleaning supplies. (Keep in mind the switch over will cost a bit upfront to get the supplies to start.)
~ I've found recipes for homemade toothpaste (haven't tried it yet), homemade shampoo (haven't tried it yet), homemade deodorant (currently using), and homemade dish soap. They are all very easy and not very time consuming.
~ I'm slowly switching over my use of white flour to whole wheat, white sugar to sucanat, honey, maple syrup, or agave, and trying to eat more whole foods. This one is the toughest change with 4 kids used to eating everything American Standard Diet!
~ I ditched my laundry detergent and decided to try Soap Nuts. Soap Nuts are berries from a tree that has saponin in them. They deseed and dry the berry and then you toss it in your washing machine! It costs about 7 cents a load and they get my clothes clean.
~ The kicker for Abiel is that I decided to make homemade strawberry freezer jam! She has asked me to do things like that in the past and I would adamantly say something like, "I'll probably never do that sort of thing! Too much work!" Again, eat my words (and jam!) I found a SIMPLE recipe for freezer jam sweetened with honey or sucanat and it only took me an hour to make 16, 8 oz. jars!
So here is the new me that I swore I'd never be. But here's my catch. My baby is now 2 years old. It is my firm belief that until your baby is 2, it is very difficult to make any dramatic changes to your life. It seems that once your baby is 2, life (or moms) normalize. So unless you are more "with it" than I was with children under 2 (which is VERY probable) or you grew up in a home where these things were modeled, I don't really suggest trying to do a whole house makeover for awhile.
If you want more information on any of these things, feel free to email me (see "contact me" in sidebar) or check out this website. This is where I found the majority of information for most of my switches. She's really gung ho, but if you sort through the personal conviction to find things that work for you without feeling like you have do try everything she suggests, it's a great site. Passionate Homemaking is the website.
My blog will not be about "going green." I don't plan on talking about it any more than I talk about anything else I am living out. I hesitated sharing because I hate feeling like I'm coming across as "This is the way everyone should live." I don't feel that at all. In fact, I could write pages and pages of how I've come to this, and my thoughts about why so many people aren't ready to make these kinds of lifestyle changes. It IS hard to teach old dogs new tricks and there is NOTHING easy about changing the way you do everything simply because it's "better for you!" I only share to encourage those who have been thinking about changing over some things. If I can do it. . . anyone can!
So come over for a visit and we'll share some jam and bread! ;-)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
What does sunshine taste like?
Sunshine tastes like fresh California strawberries and oranges straight off Uncle Mike's trees!
The kids and I are studying food chains and how they all start with the sun. The sun's energy is changed into food energy in plants which are then eaten by herbivores which are then eaten by carnivores or omnivores. And the energy is transferred. Simple science. But I have been mulling over and over the beauty of the idea of tasting the sunshine! As I'm still on my systemic cleanse, I am eating loads of fresh veggies and fruits. With every bite I think about tasting sunshine. Which has led me to think about tasting SONshine. Hmmm. My mind spins, especially at 1:45 AM when my detox symptoms are so bad that I'm still awake. UGH. Nevertheless, I think on! Happy sleeping to all of you who can!
The kids and I are studying food chains and how they all start with the sun. The sun's energy is changed into food energy in plants which are then eaten by herbivores which are then eaten by carnivores or omnivores. And the energy is transferred. Simple science. But I have been mulling over and over the beauty of the idea of tasting the sunshine! As I'm still on my systemic cleanse, I am eating loads of fresh veggies and fruits. With every bite I think about tasting sunshine. Which has led me to think about tasting SONshine. Hmmm. My mind spins, especially at 1:45 AM when my detox symptoms are so bad that I'm still awake. UGH. Nevertheless, I think on! Happy sleeping to all of you who can!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Cleanse working?!
Life is good right now. It has been peaceful and we have had fun family time. I can tell I have more energy and my mind is clearer from the cleansing and eating better. I only have occasional, small outbreaks of hives and that alone feels miraculous. But the most obvious evidence of the cleanse working came unexpectedly on Thursday.
A few years ago, Heath had me watch the documentary on McDonalds called, "Super Size Me." It was repulsive but even still, I had no problem getting fast food if we were out and about. Thursday, the kids and I met the cousins at McDonalds to play. I ordered them a mini meal to snack on. I promised I wouldn't eat it, BUT it was right around the time I needed to eat and I didn't have a healthy snack with me. Sooooo, I gave in. Ate the whole pile. Drank my favorite drink in the whole world (Dr. Pepper).
How did that show me the cleanse is working? Never before in my life has fast food made me feel sick. . . . . .until that night! Within 2 hours of eating the fries, I began getting a severe headache (which I haven't had AT ALL since the first days of detoxing). By 10:00 that night, I thought my head was going to explode. Then came the vomiting. I have never had such violent spasms of vomiting in my life and I'm truly not exaggerating! It was like my body was completely revolting against the toxins in that food.
New resolve? Ahhh, YES! "Super Size Me" couldn't do it, but getting my system cleaned out enough to have such a violent reaction to the chemicals in McDonalds food just might have me cured for life!
A few years ago, Heath had me watch the documentary on McDonalds called, "Super Size Me." It was repulsive but even still, I had no problem getting fast food if we were out and about. Thursday, the kids and I met the cousins at McDonalds to play. I ordered them a mini meal to snack on. I promised I wouldn't eat it, BUT it was right around the time I needed to eat and I didn't have a healthy snack with me. Sooooo, I gave in. Ate the whole pile. Drank my favorite drink in the whole world (Dr. Pepper).
How did that show me the cleanse is working? Never before in my life has fast food made me feel sick. . . . . .until that night! Within 2 hours of eating the fries, I began getting a severe headache (which I haven't had AT ALL since the first days of detoxing). By 10:00 that night, I thought my head was going to explode. Then came the vomiting. I have never had such violent spasms of vomiting in my life and I'm truly not exaggerating! It was like my body was completely revolting against the toxins in that food.
New resolve? Ahhh, YES! "Super Size Me" couldn't do it, but getting my system cleaned out enough to have such a violent reaction to the chemicals in McDonalds food just might have me cured for life!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Cleanse progress / Lessons of the Ladybug
I've got a million thoughts I'd love to process about the cleanse, what I'm learning, how the Lord is speaking to me through it and about it. But I don't have the time to formulate succinct posts or to ramble long enough to get the point out! Here is one story.
Sunday I had some alone time and was trying to worship and pray. It seemed my mind was in a fog and I couldn't get my spirit to just receive. I thought part of it was due to the cleanse and hives, both of which are distracting. Instead of fighting it, I simply lay face down in a patch of sunlight on the floor. A friend texted and reminded me that Jesus was always with me and I didn't have to work for or work up anything. So I rested in His Presence. He is with me.
As I was lying there, a little ladybug came sauntering into my view. I observed her for a long time. For several minutes she was trying to get somewhere, maybe in futility, maybe with direction. . . who could tell. Then all of a sudden, she stopped and began cleaning herself. It was fascinating to watch this delicate little bug clean her whole body. She took at least 15 minutes. Now in the lifespan of a bug, that's a LONG time to stop for a cleanse!
One of the things I have wrestled with in doing this cleanse is that I feel like it hinders my ability to rest in the Lord and pray and worship (detoxing has been brutal and my mind is captivated by what I'm supposed to be doing and eating or not eating). I've repeatedly asked the Lord if this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now even though physically, I am desperate for healing of these chronic hives and other issues I've battled for years. How does this line up with going deeper with the Lord and trusting him for healing?
As I watched the ladybug, I felt the Lord speaking to me. I sensed him say that taking time to cleanse is necessary for all His creation (even bugs)! I felt him reassure me that this time is beneficial and not a waste of time. I heard him say that He is the healer. Being responsible to do what I have learned could bring relief and healing to my body is not in opposition to trusting Him for healing. He reassured me that even though it may feel like I'm not going deeper, He is taking me deeper and this is part of it. When I step back, I can see how this is being accomplished, even though I can't feel it. Spiritually, He is dealing with lust of the flesh issues that I've battled with over food for years. Emotionally, He's putting his healing hands on areas of my heart that may have been the starting point of all my health issues. It's been a deep process, though not as fun as other times. Physically, I can feel things shifting in my health.
Bottom line, Jesus loves it when we live all of life for him, whether that's the heights of spiritual experiences or the nitty gritty of cleansing and healing. All in preparation!
Sunday I had some alone time and was trying to worship and pray. It seemed my mind was in a fog and I couldn't get my spirit to just receive. I thought part of it was due to the cleanse and hives, both of which are distracting. Instead of fighting it, I simply lay face down in a patch of sunlight on the floor. A friend texted and reminded me that Jesus was always with me and I didn't have to work for or work up anything. So I rested in His Presence. He is with me.
As I was lying there, a little ladybug came sauntering into my view. I observed her for a long time. For several minutes she was trying to get somewhere, maybe in futility, maybe with direction. . . who could tell. Then all of a sudden, she stopped and began cleaning herself. It was fascinating to watch this delicate little bug clean her whole body. She took at least 15 minutes. Now in the lifespan of a bug, that's a LONG time to stop for a cleanse!
One of the things I have wrestled with in doing this cleanse is that I feel like it hinders my ability to rest in the Lord and pray and worship (detoxing has been brutal and my mind is captivated by what I'm supposed to be doing and eating or not eating). I've repeatedly asked the Lord if this is what I'm supposed to be doing right now even though physically, I am desperate for healing of these chronic hives and other issues I've battled for years. How does this line up with going deeper with the Lord and trusting him for healing?
As I watched the ladybug, I felt the Lord speaking to me. I sensed him say that taking time to cleanse is necessary for all His creation (even bugs)! I felt him reassure me that this time is beneficial and not a waste of time. I heard him say that He is the healer. Being responsible to do what I have learned could bring relief and healing to my body is not in opposition to trusting Him for healing. He reassured me that even though it may feel like I'm not going deeper, He is taking me deeper and this is part of it. When I step back, I can see how this is being accomplished, even though I can't feel it. Spiritually, He is dealing with lust of the flesh issues that I've battled with over food for years. Emotionally, He's putting his healing hands on areas of my heart that may have been the starting point of all my health issues. It's been a deep process, though not as fun as other times. Physically, I can feel things shifting in my health.
Bottom line, Jesus loves it when we live all of life for him, whether that's the heights of spiritual experiences or the nitty gritty of cleansing and healing. All in preparation!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Detox week
I'm coming out of the worst of a detox/ organ cleanse. It's brutal. I spent the first two days feeling like my head was going to explode and my stomach was flipping circles! If you've never done a cleanse for your body systems, it sounds a lot crazy. But once you've done one, you know they really change the way you feel!
Why am I doing a cleanse? Because I'm sick of living on antihistamines. I was diagnosed with a large amount of environmental allergies in the third grade. I took 2 shots a week until I got married to keep my allergic reactions to a minimum. Since being off the shots for 12 years, I have controlled it mostly with antihistamines. Where we live has a great affect on my reactions.
When we were in South Africa, I started getting hives on a daily basis. For almost 3 years, I have had what the allergist calls "chronic hives." I saw him a year ago and his only recommendation was a regular, stronger antihistamine. UGH. At the time, I was so tired of hives, I just went with it. But I don't want to keep living on these if there is another option. After doing some reading and research, I have found that allergies can be connected to my liver being full of toxins.
So, I'm taking my health into my own hands! Scary, I know. I'm doing a organ cleanse this week, a liver cleanse next week and then 40 days of The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. It's a fascinating book about eating healthy to be healthy. I'm really praying that this is what will kick my hives for good. I figured I need to do this BEFORE we move because it will be months until I'm back to stable routine and able to embark on something this dramatic. I'll let you know how it goes!
Why am I doing a cleanse? Because I'm sick of living on antihistamines. I was diagnosed with a large amount of environmental allergies in the third grade. I took 2 shots a week until I got married to keep my allergic reactions to a minimum. Since being off the shots for 12 years, I have controlled it mostly with antihistamines. Where we live has a great affect on my reactions.
When we were in South Africa, I started getting hives on a daily basis. For almost 3 years, I have had what the allergist calls "chronic hives." I saw him a year ago and his only recommendation was a regular, stronger antihistamine. UGH. At the time, I was so tired of hives, I just went with it. But I don't want to keep living on these if there is another option. After doing some reading and research, I have found that allergies can be connected to my liver being full of toxins.
So, I'm taking my health into my own hands! Scary, I know. I'm doing a organ cleanse this week, a liver cleanse next week and then 40 days of The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin. It's a fascinating book about eating healthy to be healthy. I'm really praying that this is what will kick my hives for good. I figured I need to do this BEFORE we move because it will be months until I'm back to stable routine and able to embark on something this dramatic. I'll let you know how it goes!
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