Why???...for your Testimony

I love my morning walks. It is so quiet and there is not much going on. I feel so much closer to God when I am out in nature. It isn't any wonder though - He created nature. As I was walking I was thinking about how there are many times in our lives that things happen and we ask Why? Sometimes that "Why?" comes from an angry heart or it comes from a hurt heart. I am sure that God has heard that question a gazillion times. And all of a sudden I thought ~ it is for our testimony.

If our lives were easy and nothing bad ever happened then we would never have the chance to experience God's loving care for us in a real way. God wants to reveal Himself to us, but many times we are too busy to even notice.

This morning in my quiet time, I read about something that just blew me away. We all have probably heard about the time when the children of Israel were trapped with mountains on either side and the Red Sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were coming after them. And how God parted the waters for them to walk through on DRY land. Wow!
But did you realize that He did it again? After the 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness and the generation that had not have faith in God had passed away - it was time to go into the promise land. God let them to the Jordan River and He did it again. He parted the waters for them to get across. I thought this was amazing because God was revealing himself to His children. He was letting them know that He would guide and direct them and He would also take care of their needs. How awesome is that? So the next time you come to a place in your life when you are asking why? Remember that God has a plan for your life and if you will hold onto your faith in Him - You will have a story to tell of His goodness and mercy. :O)

If you would like to read about the children of Israel going across the Jordan River - you can read it below:

"9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."
Joshua 3:9-17

Update/ Little more Healthy Information

Hello everyone~ I hope you all are doing fine. I am doing pretty good. I am so thankful that our weather has turned beautiful lately. It is actually getting into the 50's and 60's at night. And our day time highs are in the 80's. This is such a pleasant change from the 100's we went through for a while this summer. And can you believe it- My yard needs to be mowed again. I was going to do it today but the grass was SO wet. That I thought it would be better on the grass and on my mower if I waited till the grass was dry.

With going to this seminar - I have been much more busy than usual. I am usually just gone 1 evening each week - and now because of the seminar - I have had to be gone 3 evenings a week. And that has been hard. It is like a total of about an hour drive to where I am going - since I pick up a friend each time and drop her off. So I end up wasting 2 hours a day with just driving. And I end up getting home much later than I would like, which totally puts my schedule off and it does not work as well. Next week will be much better. I look forward to next week. I will no longer have the seminars to go to and I will have more time and plenty of time to get to bed at a decent time.

Ok - I wanted to share something that might be very helpful for some of you that have made changes to be healthier. Ok - I have explained that basically this seminar is talking about eating a plant based diet and many other things to be helpful to a persons health. Well there are at least half of the people in the class that have lost at least 7 pounds in the 2 1/2 weeks so far. The Dr. said - IF you are not losing much weight - please realize that once you get to eating healthier and taking care of yourself - your body will take care of what really needs it's attention. So there are things going on but it may not be quite noticeable yet.

I think I have already shared this - but before I made these changes - I had noticed that my blood pressure had been getting high. I had not realized how bad it was till last nights meeting. I think it had been running about 138/78 area. Anyway Dr. B. said that the top number is much more important to focus on. He did say that when the bottom number is 90 or above - you may want to get worried because it means that the heart is not being able to relax. He said that an increase from 120 - 130 in the top number is an increase of 30% for heart problems. And that the 140/80 - is getting to the lethal point. So now I am thrilled for the changes that I am making!! I have now gotten to the point of my blood pressure being 115-125 over 60-70! I am so thrilled! And my heart rate is running lower already as well.

When you take good care of your body - it can take good care of you.

#1 Responsibility

It amazes me as to what music can do. It has the ability to take you down or to lift you up. Most - if not all - of the songs that I share with you, are songs that have really had an impact in my life as I go along this journey.

I have come to realize that the number one thing that our lives should do is to Glorify God. And the only way in which we can do that is to turn our wills over to Him and allow Him to guide us and direct us along the path of life.

What songs have really made an impact in your life to bring you into a closer walk with God?

Just wanted you to be able to hear this song

Having a Beautiful Day/Recipe

Well we are having a wonderful day!! This morning I woke up to a lot of fog. I was a little concerned that I would get rained on - during my morning walk. But Praise the Lord! I did not. I did end up having a walking buddy. This buddy is not a normal buddy by any means. This one was only about a foot tall. A little dog that lives at one of the houses on the corner of a circle that I walk around. So he joined me on my second round. Normally I have been walking about 3- 4 rounds of that circle. So we walked 3 rounds -which brought me to my #4 round. He seemed like he wanted to continue to follow me so I went one more time. When we got back to his house the newspaper was at his house. Well since I live on a fairly busy street - I thought it would be a good idea to get him back to his owners. So I went up to the door and rang the bell - with the paper in hand. I waited for a little bit and no answer so I walked around to the driveway - put the paper on the trashcan by the back door and then I put the dog in the back yard. I started to walk home. I got halfway to the busy street and what do I hear - the jingle of the bells on my buddies little collar! He had gotten out and was following me again! Oh no- I don't want him to get hurt so I thought - One more round and hopefully his owners will be out by then. So we went around one more time. Sure enough his Daddy was out to get the paper by the time we went around the circle. And he went home and I was able to walk home. I had walked about an hours or a little more. I was tired! I have been walking about 30 -45 minutes per day. I am working up to 1 hour of exercise per day - because getting at least an hour of exercise each day is the best for a person. So I got a great amount of exercise today!! The fog lifted and the sun came out before I was done with my walk.

Now our weather is great. It is overcast and about 67 degrees!! We opened our windows up yesterday - it was not this cool yesterday though. I love weather like this. I love having our windows open and enjoying the cool breeze.

Well I wanted to share another recipe that we have been eating about once a week. It is probably high in sodium but it is a recipe that my Husband loves and I am able to fix it - and then remove part of it and then add the cooked ground beef to the rest of it for my husband.



The original name for this was 7 Can Soup - but I have found that I like it better with and addition of one more can - so now it is:

8 Can Soup

2 cans Campbell's Minestrone Soup
2 cans Ranch Style Beans
2 cans Whole Kernel Corn
1 can of Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 can of Black Beans

Take all the cans and just dump into a big pan. I simmer this for a while. In the meantime, I defrost ground beef. And I cook it by boiling it in water and then draining off all the water and grease. I take out part of the soup for me and then I add the cooked ground beef to the pan and cook for a little more. Now I usually make up some brown rice as well. And so when I eat this I put some brown rice in my bowl and then add the soup(without meat, of course.)

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as we have! :O)

The Importance of Surrendering

I have tried many times to lose weight before, but I was trying my way and I failed. This time I have allowed God to lead. What has been awesome is the fact that I have heard a lot of these principals all of my life. And I guess my stubborn, rebellious self just would not listen. I did not want to give up MY way and I paid for that. I paid with struggling and failing so many times that I gave up.

When I gave up, I realized that I needed to allow God to work on the inside of me. That is what I have been trying to do this last year. I finally came to the point of being willing to turn my life and my will over to the care of Him who loves me most. God knows what is best for me and I am better off in His will. There are times that I try to take back control or I have a hard time releasing control to Him still, but I am on a journey to live my life more and more in His will.

Barlow Girl has a great song out called "Surrender." If you ever get a chance to listen to it please do, Because this song really has spoken to me.


"Surrender"
My hands hold safly to my dreams
Clutching tightly not one has fallen
So many years I've shaped each one
Reflecting my heart showing who I am
Now you're asking me to show
What I'm holding oh so tightly
Can't open my hands can't let go
Does it matter?
Should I show you?
Can't you let me go?

Surrender, surrender you whisper gently
You say I will be free
I know but can't you see?
My dreams are me. My dreams are me

You say you have a plan for me
And that you want the best for my life
Told me the world had yet to see
What you can do with one
That's committed to Your calling
I know of course what I should do
That I can't hold these dreams forever
If I give them now to You
Will You take them away forever?
Or can I dream again?

Surrendering is hard to do, but when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ you are in the best hands ever. The very Hands that were pierced for you and I. :o)

TGIF

So today has been such a busy day! Well really the whole week has been busy. I am still going to my Seminar 2 days a week for another week. I have enjoyed it but I will be so thrilled when it is over. It is harder to get to bed at a decent time those nights. And when I don't get to bed at a decent time then it messes with my whole schedule. I have explained before that the alarm at my house goes off at 4:41am and we are up by 5am. Well when I get to bed late - then at 5am - I don't feel like I have had enough sleep to get through the day and sometimes I end up going back to sleep which throws my whole day off. First of all, it takes a bit to get back to sleep. Anyway I really like how my day goes when I go to bed earlier and wake up at 5am.

When I wake up that early - I am able to get a lot of things done in the morning. I have been trying to go walking near my home - as many days as I can each week.

One of the many benefits of walking is getting to see the beautiful sunrises! One morning I got to see a Red headed woodpecker that was at the top of a tree. That was so cool! There are some huge beautiful flowers, along where I walk and I tried to get a photo but my phone just does not always get the best photos. I messed with some of the settings and since then I have problems getting good photos with it.

Earlier this week, I had a rough day. We got a bill for double what we thought it was going to be. And several other things added on top of that and I was a little stressed when I was going to my seminar. And when I got out to the overpass that I have to go over in order to get onto the highway - there were a lot of cars backed up at the intersection. And as I sat there waiting for my turn - I noticed a pretty rainbow in the sky. And so I just had to get a photo of it. I could not tell if I got a good photo or not, but I knew that it was an "I love you" from God.

Well I have several ideas of some posts that I want to write but I really need to get my thoughts altogether good before I write them.

I hope you all have a wonderful week-end. :o)

Busy Day

Hello~ just wanted to let you know that I have a busy day today but should be able to get back on here later this afternoon for a real post. I hope you all have a great day!! :O)

Another Great Recipe

Thai-Style Curry

1 C. diced carrots
1 onion, diced
1/2 C. each green and red peppers (yellow are nice too, if you have them)
2 cloves of garlic
4-5 small zucchini or similar vegetable, diced small
1 C. tomato sauce
2 T. peanut butter 0r 1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 T. Bragg Liquid Amino's (or 1 T. soy sauce)
1 T. Curry powder
1/2 tsp. or more salt to taste
1/2 C. cilantro (optional)
1 C. cooked garbanzos or lentils
1 C. frozen peas

1. Place diced carrots, onions, peppers, and garlic(not the peas yet) in a kettle with a small amount of water and curry powder. Simmer about 5 minutes until tender.

2. Add zucchini, cover, and simmer 5 more minutes.

3. Blend all the remaining ingredient except the peas and garbanzo beans or lentils in a blender until smooth, and add to the cooked vegetables along with the frozen peas and garbanzos or lentils. Heat and serve over Rice.

Makes about 8 cups.

Here is a photo of when I had the stuff ready for the #1 directions. Just looking at this you can tell how much nutrition is in it! Look at all the colors!

Ok - for my family, I made an adjustment to this recipe. Since we are new to eating fresh herbs - I only used about 1 T. and unless it was something else in this recipe - it gave a little kick to the recipe - enough for my family. I think the next time I make this I will make it with the peanut butter and then I will chop some roasted peanuts and have them in a container so each person can use the amount that they would like. We really enjoyed the addition of the roasted p-nuts to our supper last night! Oh and by the way, just in case some of you are saying - oh no you can't eat nuts - you will gain weight - I have some good news! I had lost another pound this morning! When you are eating a plant based diet - you can have nuts - in moderation of course!

An Idea of What I am Eating...

So after my seminar one day - I looked on my shelf to see what cookbooks I had that would be good resources of recipes to help me in my journey to a healthier me. Well here is one of several cookbooks that I have.
This cookbook - I just happen to have bought in the last 4 months. Someone was talking about how much they liked it and I really thought that I should get the cookbook. It looks to have a lot of really good recipes. So far I have only tried 2 of them but have liked both of them.

So just in case some of you are wondering how I am eating now - I will share one of the new recipes that I really like!
Coconut Curry with Greens

1 small onion, chopped

2 - 3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated or chopped fine

2 tsp. salt

1-2 tsp. curry powder

1 medium carrot, sliced

2 C. chopped fresh greens, OR 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, drained

2 C. cooked black beans (or Lentils or Garbanzo beans)

14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes, drained

1 can coconut milk

1 C. golden raisins(optional)

1. Place onion, garlic, ginger, salt and about 1/4 -1/3 cups water in a medium sized kettle. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.

2. Add the sliced carrot; cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

3. Add the chopped greens and simmer 3 more minutes, adding a little more water, if needed.

4. Add beans, tomatoes, curry powder, milk and raisins. Heat and serve over rice.

Makes about 8 cups.
*********************
When I make this recipe, because our family is not really big on using ginger, I do not put the full amount in. And I know that the raisins at the end are optional - but the flavor of them pop in this dish and well worth the addition of them!

This makes enough for our family that we eat it for a meal and then I have left overs for at least 2 more meals. And that is a good thing because then I can have them instead of being tempted to eat something not quite so healthy. You will be surprised at how good this is and just remember there is so many nutrients in this dish.

This recipe is from my "7 Secrets Cookbook" by Neva and Jim Brackett (pictured above)

No More Counterfeits

Lately as I have been thinking about the ideal way to eat and take care of our bodies and then what the world's standard is right now - I can not but compare it to many other things in life. God set up ideals for the best way in which to live our lives and wouldn't you know it - there are all sorts of counterfeits out there. So many things trying to distract us from what is really important. And just think of what we miss when we choose the counterfeits instead of the real deal.

As many of you know - I am reading through the "Little House" series - I am just about to start "The Long Winter." I have SO enjoyed these books. As I read these books, I realize that even though we have so much technology and machines to help us do our work - They are the ones who really knew how to live. They knew what was important in life. The Sun was their guide as to when to go to bed and when to rise. They ate of the land. And they worked hard and got plenty of exercise and sunshine and fresh air. Church was important to them and they enjoyed fellow shipping with those around them. They gave a helping hand when needed. They invited people into their homes and fed them. They really knew how to live.

For me..Counterfeit showed it self as soda's to drink - instead of pure, clean water. Did you realize that we are about 70% water. That means that water is like a life line. And when we do not drink water - we become dehydrated and then many symptoms appear. And then we treat the symptoms with meds and cause more harm to our bodies. I am happy to report that I have not have a soda since September the 10th - by the grace of God. And I have not even craved it. This is very surprising because several days a week I go to my MIL store to help her with the cookies and stuff like that - and normally when I am there, it is So tempting to have a soda. Just like a habit - that was so deeply ingrained that many times before when I tried to stop - I would find myself going to get one anyway.

Eating many foods that have no nutritional value at all was another way in which I chose the counterfeit. You would not believe the difference with just eating a good diet and drinking water - how much energy you will have. And not only that but I don't seem to have cravings. Every now and then, I have a little bit - but it is more linked to emotional eating - and it is not very strong. And now since Dr. B said that when you have a craving that it will go away in 5 minutes. I try to get myself a glass of water or find something else to do. And this normally works.

I don't know about you, but I am tired of the counterfeits - I want the real deal. I want the foods that will nourish my body - I want the water that will help my organs work properly and my brain to think clearly. And slowly I am bringing all of the real deals into my life. No more counterfeits! :O)


"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:1-2

My Chickens

I really enjoy going out to take care of my chickens. They always come running!! And how they like to talk to me!
I decided to get a little water for their "creek bed."

They love to walk through the water and see what treasures they can find!

And as you can tell it does not take long to attract more chickens to the water.

I thought I would share this photo because I think it is funny how the chickens will lay down and just relax. They really know how to live. They work hard looking for food - then take time to relax.

They also like to make themselves a nice little dirt hole to lay in and take a dirt bath in. I thought it was so cool that I was able to get a photo of all of the chickens - kind of looking at the camera!

Well I hope you have enjoyed my chickens as much as I do! I also hope you all have a wonderful week! :O)

What I have been up to today

Bright an early this morning, just after I let the chickens out for the day, I decided to clean up their hen house. It is a much more pleasant job to do IF I can do it when it is some what cool out side. Well it was in the mid 70's so I figured that it probably would not get any better than that any time soon. This is kind of a tough job - since we are using a small shed - with the laying bins connected to the two sides of the shed. The shed is not really tall. I can not stand up straight while I am in there. And with the fact that my tail bone has been hurting me lately - since I fell on a concrete block - in the chicken pen last year. Anyway as I was working - it was so neat because a whole bunch of my chickens thought that they needed to come an encourage me - yeah right! They were probably complaining because they had those nest just right and comfortable. And now, Now they were going to have to work really hard to get the hay moved around just right.

So after I get done and I come inside. A little later, I mentioned what job I had done and a friend asked if I had a problem with snakes getting in the laying bins and under the hay. What??? REALLY? Now I find out that there could be snakes out there. Well it is a good thing that I wear gloves - but these are not like snake proof gloves by any means. Oh and not are they just any snakes but snakes that could be 5 - 6 feet long!!! Now that is a scary snake! So I am Praising God that I did NOT encounter any snakes today!

Well I also had a cute top that I liked but it was white and really think fabric. So I decided that I would dye it blue. So this was the first time that I have attempted this job, so I was a bit nervous about messing it up. But it turned out quite nice. Not exactly as dark as I would like but since I will not be wearing the shirt for very much longer - it does not really matter.

Today I have also looked through a clothes basket that had some clothes in it that I was not wearing but holding onto just in case. Well I have gotten to the point of being so much more willing to let things go that I do not need, want or use. So I have a bag for my sister, and a couple of bags to go to GW. And my house is slowly looking better. Later I am going to have my husband or son bring a few boxed down from the attic. I had wanted one of them brought down before they left for a fishing week end but they forgot. So I am hoping that after the football game that they can do that for me. I want to see what I have for when I lose weight. I am hoping that I have at least a few clothes in the size that will be in between the size I am and the size that I want to at least get to. And I want to really see the clothes that I have in a special tub that are stuff that I wore the last time I lost quite a bit of weight. I want to see the things and have them easily accessible so I can use them as some inspiration!

Well I am fixing to spend some time looking in a few of my cookbooks. I want to pick out a few recipes of things that I want to make this week. And then write out a list of things that I might need to go pick up.

I hope you all have a great day!! :O)

Trusting God

Yesterday I got my very first comment from Anonymous they reminded me of something very important - that I need to not let a lot of this stuff distract me from trusting God~ I am paraphrasing but that was the message I got from the comment. And that is very true - I think the most important thing we can do is have faith in/trust God. Last year was a really rough year for us, I even suffered hopelessness - I don't know if I ever really shared that on here or no. Anyway if you want to read a little about it you can find it Here. In order to really realize how rough that time period was you would have to read other posts as well but basically- it was rough and I actually felt hopelessness for probably the first time in my life. But God did an amazing thing, He used this time period to teach me to totally depend on Him. And part of the totally depending on Him is giving our lives and our wills over to him. And by doing that you allow Him to lead you and to be willing to follow Him.



Part of allowing God to lead is also being willing to let go of the things that God leads you to let go off. I know that my going to this seminar was God orchestrated. And that it was very important for me to hear this information. I have already been able to put some of it into practice - and it has not been that hard. I am going to bed earlier - which allows me to wake up with my husband at 5am and stay up. And by doing so - I am able to get a lot more done in my day. I have not have a soda since Friday and I am not experiencing the caffeine withdrawal headaches at all, nor am I craving it! That is such good news because for years I have tried to give it up and it was just too powerful over me. And it also allows me to get enough water to drink each day - without over taxing my organs in my body by drinking lots of water and lots of soda. I am trying to incorporate more healthy meals into our diet. And I am eating more fruits and Veggies.



I have come to realize that right now I will not be able to make all the changes that I would like to make - but what is really awesome is that I am WILLING. This is the first time in 40 years that I have been willing to give up soda, meat and dairy - if that is what God wants for my life, and I think that speaks volumes of what God can do in our lives. And I am praying that if it is God's will for us to eat even more healthy that He will lead my husband to be willing to make the changes.



You know - I have struggled with giving up soda and caffeine for a long time. Well when I met my husband - he drank Dr. Pepper. And he would drink a lot of DP at times. Well what is so funny is the fact that for years I thought he would never give up DP - He gave up DP LONG before I have given up sodas. He mostly drinks Root beer now or Tea. So he is just as capable of making choices to improve his health as anyone. And I am not to be his Holy Spirit. I will try to make healthier foods for us while at the same time - having meat for him. It is doable. And I can just wait on God's leading for changes.



So remember the important thing is to Trust in God and to realize that He is in control - but that does not mean that we can just disregard the knowledge that He has given us in order to better take care of our bodies which are the Temple of God.

A Treasure Chest of Healthful Information part 6

We can reverse the damage that has been done by a poor diet!

As I have shared in earlier post - our genes do play a little role in our health. It is kind of like this - our genes just point the gun at us - it is our behavior is the deciding factor as to whether the trigger is pulled. Lots to think about just with that one example.

There was a study done with 2 groups of mice. One group got 20% casein and the other group got 5% casein. Well the group that had 20% had a rise in cancer and the group at only 5% seemed to do really well with no increase in cancer. Then after a while the Scientist wanted to try something different -so they switched the groups and gave the 20% group only 5% and there cancer decreased - and the 5% group that got switched to 20% had an increase in Cancer. Showing that even if there was cancer that by lowering the animal products - could help cancer decrease. I thought this was very cool.

In 12 out of 14 medical studies showed a link between Cheese and Prostate Cancer.

Now for some good news:

Just 5 Almonds a day can reduce death by coronary disease by 50%! Isn't that great news!!

Exercise is just like a miracle drug. Exercising reverses your aging process. It lowers your chance of cancers and heart disease. Not to mention that it will help you sleep better. And it will give you more energy. There are so many positive things about exercise that they way out weigh any negative. You can find time here and there throughout your day. It does not all have to be together. Another thing that is important - is to work on balance - like stand on one leg for a little while - then switch to the other leg. At first you may want to stand by a table or chair to be able to catch your self is you lose your balance.

Dr. B said that a fellow Dr that he knows says that may people spend their last 20 years just "circling the drain". I don't want to be one of those. I want to take care of myself so I can enjoy life as long as possible. How about you? :O)

A Treasure Chest of Healthy Information part 5

One of the cool things about the seminar that I am going to, is that Dr. B is working really hard to get us great information. He brought in several people yesterday to talk to us about Exercise. One of the ladies that came specializes in the Pelvic Floor.

She told us that:

13 Million Americans struggle with incontinence
11 Million of those are Women

That sounds overwhelming doesn't it? But there is good news! There are things you can do to help prevent or even improve the situation if you find yourself having problems.

I wish I would have had a chance to write down all the information that she shared but I will do my best to share what I remember - some of these lists are not complete - sorry.

Some of the things that cause incontinence or urgency are:
multiple pregnancies, being over weight, menopause, poor muscles in the core of the body, and JIC - This one is very interesting. She said that when we were children our Mothers would many times have us use the bathroom - "Just in case" well this is not really good for our bladder because like a child that gets away with something - then our bladder begins to think that it can get away with going when it really is not full- thus causing the urgency feeling.

Well there is help and hope:

You have probably heard of Kegel exercises- if not I am sure you can find all sorts of information on the Internet about them. She said they really do help. If you have tried them and don't think that they work - maybe you just did not do enough of them. She suggest you do 60-80 Kegel Exercises Every Day. And another reason that they may not have worked is if you are not doing them right.

There is another exercise that she showed us that really helps and I am hoping that I can explain this one enough for ya'll to understand.

You will sit in a chair - like on the edge of the chair with your feet spread apart -You will place your toes on the ground and you will turn your heels out - which will bring your knees to the center and together- then you will take your heels to the center - which will take our knees apart and out. She called these Rocking Chairs and said to do 2 sets of 15 every day.

This exercise will strengthen your pelvic floor. She also said it was very important to have good posture. Sit up tall and stand up tall and pull your stomach in slightly. These will help with your core muscles.

Another exercise that she said would help your core is to sit on the chair on the edge just as before. Sit up tall -hold in your tummy slightly to brace your abdomen - You will then raise your right are up and down and then switch to the left arm - raise it up and down. Then you will add leg movement. Lifting right leg up and down and then left leg. Then you will lift one leg and the opposite arm and back and forth.

The Pelvic is the base of the core. So if you strengthen the core you strengthen the pelvic floor as well. The Pelvic floor is no different than any other major muscle group in the body and it needs regular maintenance to function properly.

A Treasure Chest of Healthy Information part 4

Well I am so very glad that I listened and followed God's leading in my life and signed up for this seminar. These are things that I have needed to hear. I can be kind of stubborn and rebellious. I do not really like to be told not to do something without an explanation. Here is a good example of that: At the seminar Dr.B was talking about drinking room temperature water. Well I really like ice water myself and do not want to change unless there is a good reason. Well lucky for me - someone else asked him why he said room temperature. He said that when we drink cold water(and I am guessing other cold drinks as well) that blood has to go from working in other organs throughout the body and they have to go to the stomach to warm it up. Well I don't know about you but I would much rather drink room temperature water and allow the work that needs to be done in my organs continue than to disrupt it by drinking cold things.

Ok here is something else that may be helpful in your journey to a healthier you:

Super D A B C D E 5 21 P

So I am guessing that many of you are wondering what in the world that list is for. It is something important to remember.

Super D A B C D E 5 21 P

Super D is the Decision that you have made - You have to want to make the choice to want to change

A- Advantages
For this part - you will want to write on a piece of paper some of the advantages that you will have if you make this change - And this can be probably for a lot of different things - but for mine - eating healthier - you could put - will be Healthier, smaller clothes, slimmer you, more energy, Look younger, the list goes on

B- Behavior Brain Changes
Remember that you developed your habits over the years- it will take some time to change the habits.

C-Complete Total Change
-make changes needed
- within a week you will start feeling better
-learn new circuits and unlearn old circuits

D-Disadvantages
Time to make another list - This time list the disadvantages of not sticking with the changes you have made. Examples - gain weight, tired all the time, no energy, bad health issues, etc.

E - Environment
Sometimes you need to clean up your environment - if you can get rid of the unhealthy things - or the things that tempt you the most. I will not be able to do this step because I have a family and I do not believe in forcing major changes on the family. I will be making new things - healthier foods. I will have available to them good choices. But I will be leaving some of the other things that they really like.
The Dr explained that sometime there will be people that you will have to stop hanging around with - I am lucky -I don't think that I have to worry about this one to much.

5- This one will be good news for many people- whether you struggle with food or smoking or drinking: Overwhelming Urge Lasts 5 minutes. That means if you really want M&M's if you will just find something else to do that the urge should go away after 5 minutes. Of course you could get urges again - just work through each one.

21 - It takes 21 days to develop a new Habit. Don't give up. Just do your best. If you relapse - as you probably will(we all do) then just make the decision to get right back on track.

P - Last but certainly not least - Prayer - We have a Helper - who will help us -whenever we call on Him.

The body is the Temple of God so I am sure that He wants us to take really good care of those Temples and He is sure to help us when we go to Him for help. :O)

An Update on How things are going with me

OK - I will keep posting the series of cool information that I have been learning at the seminar, but today I wanted to take a little time to write some personal thoughts.

First of all, I think that the $ that I spent to go to this seminar was the best money I have ever spent~Already I am feeling a difference! If you are someone who would love to lose weight but it has always been SO hard - then you may really want to consider a plant based diet. It is SO filling and you are so satisfied -that you do not have those intense cravings for bad foods.

I have not had a soda since Friday and do not intend on drinking any more. They are damaging to the body and I have known this and not cared enough about me to really take care of me. But I do know. I think that I am worth taking care of. My body is the temple of God - so I need to treat it as such.

Second of all - I wish like everything - that I could just go to my bookshelf and pull 1/2 of the cookbooks that are not healthy off of it and donate them. I would love to totally say goodbye to meats. But - yeah - isn't there always a BUT?. Well my "but" involves my husband. He is not as gun hoe(sp) about this new lifestyle. He did go to the showing of the movie last night and saw a lot of the cool information that I have learned. But he is not quite there yet. And truth be told - he may never be there. I pray he is though because let me tell you - if a change of diet and improve peoples health as much as it seems like it can - then it would be the very best thing for him. I don't know if diet could totally reverse his Parkinson's but at least it would make the quality of his life SO much better. I will be praying about this.

OK - So I have started going to bed about 9:30pm. This is great since the alarm goes off at 4:41am and he gets up by 5:00am. Well now - when I get up with him - I stay up. So I don't lose any time at all by going to bed earlier - I actually gain it.

I have started drinking basically only water. I have switched to soy milk - only because I will still want cheese - unless my husband gets on board then I might be able to afford the healthier cheese. But until then - I would like a little here and there. And I would like some ice cream now and again. Oh by the way, Mc Donalds has a new Fruit Smoothie that is really good. My sister and I have a banana and strawberry one and it was quite good. Of course this is not something that I will be getting all the time but every once in a while it will be a great treat.

The Dr. gave us a list of exercises to do and then we had a few exercises that the exercise specialist told us about and so I am trying to do all of these every day. And I am going to do my best to start going to the track and walking several times a week. I live on a busy street so it is not really the type you would want to walk on but there is a little circle street that is not too far that I could walk on. And I might see if I could walk it ever so often. That would be a good choice when I don't have a lot of time.

Now for the best news of all - I am feeling good. I am already have more energy. And I am not starving to death. There is another bit of good news for me but I am not ready to share it with you all yet. If things keep going really good -then I will share it later. I think it is a good testimony for following Healthy Guidelines for your life. And also the blessings that God can bring into your life with out you even realizing it.

We all need to get back to the diet that God intended us to have. Maybe you can't go all the way to a great diet - but there are choices every day that you can make to contribute to good health! Start making some good choices for yourself every day. You ARE worth it!! :O)

A Treasure Chest of Healthy Information part 3

Good Morning Everyone! I have been doing my best to get to bed by 9:30pm and if my family can just work with me - I think this will be the best schedule ever. I can get enough sleep by the time that my husband has to get up to go to work. So if you wouldn't mind - I would really appreciate prayers. Well onto today's information:

Here is some information that I probably should have shared first. I know that most of you probably already know to wash your hands when you get home from running around. That is very important. But one thing that Dr. B told us was to Wash your hands before you eat. It is very important - even if you have been home. It is very important to get the bacteria and all off of your hands before you eat. Because that bacteria can cause plaque and that plaque can break off and end up causing Strokes. Yeah - that is pretty important information.



Another bit of important information is that Vitamin C only stays in your body about 24 hours. So it is a good idea to replenish it every day. One way that Dr. B does this is that every morning when he wakes up he drinks 2- 3 glasses of water. He puts lemon with his water in order to get that Vitamin C. If you have not drank much water after 7pm the night before- you will be thirsty and this will be pretty easy to do. If you really don't like lemon - start with just a little and increase as you get used to it.



Now I am going to share what Dr. B does for Breakfast and one of the things that we had for Breakfast. Dr. B takes 1 Cup of - Oat Groats, Pearled Barley and Wheat Berries. Today I went to a nearby store that sell this stuff that you can buy how ever much you want. And I just did 1/3 of each of the grains. Put this grain in with some water to soak - through the day. In the evening, before you go to bed. Drain the water off of the grains. Then you will put the grains into your crock pot. Now add 4 cups of water and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Put lid on and cook on low all night. Your breakfast will be ready for you in the morning! I have my grain soaking now and will have this for breakfast in the morning. You can add honey to this and all sorts of other goodies like: sesame seeds(very good for you) sunflower seeds, raisins, walnuts, pecans and I am sure there are other goodies that can be added. The Dr also recommends eating 2 - 3 fruits along with this hot cereal. There is so much goodness to this. And so much nutrition as well. And let me tell you this - it stays with you so you don't end up hungry and hour or two later.



Here is something I found interesting: Singing releases Endorphins. That is one reason why we sing these two songs at the beginning of each meeting.

The National Anthem and America the Beautiful!

What is interesting is that the reason behind why he chose these two songs. Because usually when we hear these songs - something important happens afterwards. So once we have sung these songs - our brains know that important information is to follow. I thought that was interesting.

PS~ I had written this post yesterday - while I had so much information in my head and I was wanting to try to get it down without repeating anything. Anyway - I diligently did everything with my grain yesterday- and got it all ready last night and went to bed. Well guess what? I plugged in the wrong thing - I did not get the grain plugged in. So my Chickens get a real treat this morning. I am disappointed but I will just start the process again. And I will let you know how it goes.

I hope you all have a wonderful day! :O)

A Treasure Chest of Healthy Information part 2

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

You are the guy who'll decide where to go.

-Dr. Seuss

Well I understand that I am probably not giving this helpful information in a real orderly fashion - and I am sorry. I really am excited about everything I am learning and I really want to share with you all this powerful information.

So I want to start with something that I thought was very interesting. Your stomach as these little sensors and in order for your brain to get the message that you have gotten enough to eat - you must eat enough food for the sensor at the top of your stomach to go off. So how do you to this and still lose weight? It is really quite easy- if you will pick a more plant based diet and eat more fruits and vegetables(things with a lot of fiber) it will help fill your stomach up! Now I know for some of you that Meat is a very big part of your diet this would be very hard, but I am sure when you are ready God will give you the ability to make the changes needed. With all of our rich, fatty foods that we eat - we really mess up our taste buds. And it might take a little bit to make the transition over to healthier foods and more natural foods but as you eat them - your taste buds will come alive and you will be able to enjoy foods that maybe before you did not.

A personal note here - the last couple of years I have noticed that not very many foods taste really good to me. And that is not a good thing because then you eat more than your fair share in order to feel satisfied. Yesterday we went to the seminar all day -They fed us breakfast and lunch. It was very healthy and filling and we all felt great. Good food will do that for you. It will be like energy giving. But foods that are empty calories - meaning no nutritional value - they don't give you energy.

I am sure you all have heard it said that you should eat like a King for Breakfast, a Prince for Lunch and a Pauper for Supper. Well this is very true. You should eat a nice large breakfast with several pieces of fruit included. The food that you eat for breakfast will be turned into energy. Isn't that good news. So many times people skip breakfast in order to lose weight - but this will only back fire on you. You will not have energy and then you will end up eating WAY too much for supper.

Oh the Dr. also said that it is the supper meal that really does the most damage - like causes diabetes and such. Because it puts such a burden on your body(trying to digest it all.) So many organs in your body really do not get to function properly because they are so busy trying to digest that meal.

Dr. B said that you should try to not eat after 5pm. I know that will be hard on some of you - adjust it to fit your schedule. But He said that it was best to eat your last meal about 4-5 hours before you went to bed. He also said it was not good to drink a lot of water right before going to bed. It was best to maybe limit what you drank after 7pm. IF you drink a lot of water- then I think he said that your liver had to work on filtering it and then your bladder would have to be working - which would cause you to have to get up in the middle of the night. And it is best to have 7 -8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Speaking of sleep- He said try to be asleep by 10:00pm - something about growth hormones. I think it was that was when the body released the growth hormones at about 10am and so if you are sleeping and have not eaten anything in several hours and not drank a lot of water - then your body would work on itself. I know I have heard that that sleep before midnight is very important.

OK - I think I will stop there. I am a little discouraged. The movie that we got to watch - "Forks over Knifes" that does not hit the theaters till March 2011 is going to be shown again for free at a church nearby. Well I called several people I know that I think would be very blessed by it and I got 1 Yes - and 2 No's. I was hoping that they could all enjoy this movie and get the blessing that I got from it. If any of you are in the Fort Worth area - and would be interested in going - let me know - I will get the information to you! :O)

Prayer Request

Today at noon, my husband has a root canal. I am praying that it goes smoothly and that he is not in much pain. And that he recovers quickly. I am hoping it is doing good by this evening cause I would feel really guilty going to the seminar if he is not doing good. Thanks so much for the prayers, I really appreciate them. :o)

Edited:
Well the root canal went well. Part of the work had been done so it was not as long as we thought it would take. Things went well and he is doing good. I am eating a quick supper and will be headed to pick up a friend and then we will head to seminar. Ya'll have a good evening! :O)

I finally did it

Well this morning I finally was able to get registered for the up coming seminar. I had a hard time taking care of this. Yesterday I had called and gotten an answering machine and I had left a clear message of what I was calling for with name and number. And I never heard back from them. Then this morning before I had to leave for work, I called and got a hold of someone but I had to be transferred to someone else in order to pay over the phone. Well the lady I was to talk to did not answer, so again I left a message. I thought to myself - well leaving a message yesterday did me no good. But I decided I was not going to call back. If I was meant to go to this seminar - they would return the call. So I left for work. As I drove to work, I felt kind of sad. I was thinking that I was probably not going to get to go to the seminar after all. I, then said to God - it is up to you - if I am to go - they will call- and I let it go. Within a minute - they called me back. I pulled over to the side of the road to take care of the call.

So I will be going! Tomorrow night is the first meeting. I am kind of nervous. You know the kind of nervous that you had as a kid - the day before the first day of school, not knowing what it will be like. Then of course, the fears like, will I find where the seminar is being held? And the 30 miles there and back 11 times - I am not used to having somewhere that I have to go several times a week. But I am also excited because I am sure that I will get valuable information. Information that will help me to learn more about myself and what I can do in order to help myself be healthier and also my family healthier.

Yesterday, during all of our rainy weather - I took advantage of being stuck at home all day and I got some of my healthy cookbooks out and started looking through them. I read through some that looked really good and I made a grocery list in order to try a few of them. I am excited about the fact that I found quite a few good recipes. I am so thankful that I have a good collection of cookbooks - at least part of them are healthy cookbooks. I had found a few of them just in the past 6 months at the thrift store for really cheap prices! And one cookbook that I had been tempted to give away but I am SO glad that I decided to keep it.

There was a recipe for barbecue tofu. It looked really good. And I was so disappointed when I was at Walmart today - and another lady and I were both looking for some extra firm tofu - they only had 3 things of silken. So I will have to put that on my next grocery list. Oh - just a little hint that was in the cookbook - if you will put the tofu in the freezer over night - it changes the texture of it and makes it more chewy.

So I am guessing I will be doing some post about some of the things that I will be learning. :O)

Free To Be Me

This has a short advertisement at the beginning - sorry but thought it was the best video that I had seen so far of this song. Enjoy! :O)

About 8 inches in a 24 hour time period

I was so thankful that I did not have any place that I had to go today. It was a great day to stay inside. I think our area got about 8 inches of rain in about a 24 hour time period. It started Tuesday evening and it rained and rained. It stopped at about 1- 2 o'clock. And we have had a little bit of rain off and on since. I was so glad to see it slow up because it seemed like every low spot in our back yard, including my usual dry "creek" bed had water gushing through it. My poor little chickens. It was raining so hard on Tuesday night that we did not bother to shut the chickens up. We figured it was raining so hard that there should not be any animals out and about that might want to bother them.

There were several schools in the area that closed early because of all of the flooding. My son went to work at about 10am - and he only had to drive about 6-7 miles and he said that there was already water over the road in a total of 5 areas of the 2 roads that he drove on. Tuesday afternoon a friend of his ended up hydroplaning and crashing into a fence that has a lot of wild grape bushes on the fence. It tore off the side mirrors and scratched up the car a little but other than that everything seems to be find. She had ended up driving across a road and we are thankful that she did not hit any other cars on the road.

I am so thankful for the rain because our back yard had big cracks in it because of how dry it had been but man - we got more than we really needed in a short period of time. And the grass and trees are all so green. I am sure that we will end up having to mow at least once or twice more before winter gets here. That is unusual to have to mow so late in the year. But I am thankful that a couple of weeks ago we had such nice weather that I was able to get it all mowed. I have some weed eating that I really wanted to do but I put it off. I was going to do it on Monday but I got an offer to do something fun with a friend so I went and did that instead. I though oh I can wait and do it tomorrow. Little did I know that we were going to get pouring down rain. But it will get done..sometime.

This evening as I was getting supper ready I had a TV on watching some news and right there during the news cast they were video taping a tornado that had actually touched down. And for about 5-10 minutes I watched is made a pretty long path of destruction. That was so sad. I feel for those that were affected by it. I know it would be so scary to go through that.

Well I hope you all are staying safe. :o)

Making the Right Choice - Part 2

About 5 years ago, I decided that I would try to lose some weight. Well I worked SO hard and it took me about a year, but I lost about 50 pounds. I felt great. I was probably in the best shape I had been in for a while. Some how I fell off of the wagon and I ended up gaining the weight back. For several years, I had no desire to even try to lose weight - I would rather stay the same size as to lose weight and then gain it back. I also realized that I needed to learn to accept and love myself - exactly where I was. So I really began to work on the inside of me. As I have shared before - in my church - we have a couple who put on a Recovery Class. They have spent many years in AA and Al-anon and want to pass on what they have learned. It is a very spiritual program and helps with a lot of life's problems. So anyway I have been working on the inside of me - finding out what my character defects are and coming to the point in the steps to ask God to remove these Character Defects. See many times our Character Defects are assets that have just gotten off balance - and so like with me - a person that likes to help other people and is kind and giving - it went off balance and turned into People Pleasing, which is not good. With People Pleasing - you are doing things in order to make other people like you. So it is that the motives are wrong.

Then the other thing that was stopping me from trying to lose weight was - that I know how I have been able to lose weight in the past but then I have gained it back, a couple of times. So the phrase - you can't keep doing what you have been doing and expect different results kept coming to my mind and that discouraged me.

Well yesterday on my way to work, I was blessed to hear just a tidbit of a sermon but it was the message that I needed to hear. I can not remember word for word what he said but is was basically that even if you have tried things over and over in the past and it did not work - IF you are now in God's will - it will work. Wow!! Just what I needed to hear. I had already realized that the last time I lost weight I had not been in a relationship with God in which I looked to Him for my strength. I was trying to do it on my own. And what it did was made me prideful. With thoughts like "look what I did." And I can not remember if I have already shared this part with you all and if I have - sorry. I also made some not so modest choices with what I wore when I lost a lot of weight. They were not what a lot of people would say were bad choices but, to me - they were.

So now that I am well on my way to liking myself - for who I am (good and bad) I think I am ready, with God's help to make some healthy changes. I think for more permanent weigh loss- instead of going on a diet - I think better choice is making life changes. So with God's help - I am looking forward to what changes He would have me make. :o)

Making the Right Choice

OK - so I have been really debating whether or not I should take the seminar that I had talked about last week. It cost $129. and it will be about 30+ minute drive to the place that the meetings will be held. And there will be 8 different meetings - lasting 3 weeks.

Then I found out that the Ladies Ministries at my church was going to have a meeting on one of the same nights as my Healthy Seminar. It is called "Personal walk with God." I have been looking forward to something like this for a while. And then wouldn't you know it - it is the same night that one of my other meetings will be. Well then I started thinking - well am I suppose to just blow off the Healthy Seminar and go to the other meeting? But as I shared, about 2 weeks ago I had REALLY wanted to be able to go to some meetings that would inspire me to get healthier. The Bible says that God will give us the desires of our hearts. Well I don't believe that it means that I will get what ever I want. But I think that God puts desires in our hearts that are His will and those are the ones that he will give us. So I had to realize that more than likely the struggle that I have had making this decision has more than likely been Satan trying to take away the blessing that God wants to give me by going to these meetings.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1 Peter 5:8

So tomorrow I will be calling and registering for the seminar and Friday evening I will be going to my first meeting. I look forward to what God wants to teach me. I look forward to learning new tools to help me on the journey to a healthier me.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalms 37:4

Another thing I really like about blogging

I have only been blogging for about six months now. This morning I was thinking how it is kind of funny that there are a lot of times that I share more of what is on my heart on this blog than I do on a one and one basis. Maybe many of you have found that to be true. So I started thinking why is that? Well I think for me one of the best things about blogging is that you can blog about what ever you want to and get it off your chest/shoulders/ back -where ever you have been carrying your feelings. lol Anyway what I have found in my own life is that not everyone wants to hear what you have to say. So as you share your thoughts they interrupt and move on to another subject before you have a chance to even really share your thoughts. And that is fine - I know that there are times other people have been telling me things and I am not interested in what it is they are saying. So I can understand that not everyone will be interested in what I have to say. So that leads me to this blog - I love the fact that I can share what is on my heart or what I feel God is leading me to share - and you the reader have the right to come and read if you are interested and if not then move along to some other blog where there is something of interest to you. No ones feelings are hurt and no one has wasted any time doing what they really don't want to do. Anyway - that is what I think is so great about blogs. I mean seriously - there are millions of blogs out there and SO many great bloggers that have so many talents to share. I don't feel like I fit under that heading at all but I am so grateful that I have the chance to come and to share and if it helps someone else or brightens your day or makes you think - then that is wonderful!

*************
Ok - So I hope you all are having a fantastic Labor Day week end! We really have. I have been having like a headache the last couple of days - don't know what has been causing it. I am hoping it will go away soon. We have been getting odds and end type jobs done around here - not as many and I would really like but sometimes you just need some down time. Hope you all have had a great week end! :O)

Changing the World

Several months ago I bought a subscription to get a local newspaper delivered on Saturday and Sundays. The main reason I did this was because I like to check out what coupons are in the paper each week and if they are good ones, then I will try to get to town to buy a double pack - so I can get 2 more sets of the coupons. And anyway, I got a really good deal.

One of my other favorite things about the newspaper is the comics - well one in particular~ The Lockhorns. If I don't read any other comic I will at least read theirs each week. There is some funny stuff there. This morning after I read the comics, I was thinking about how sad it is that many marriages look like that. Smarty little comments made back and forth - many times not just in fun but to really hurt the other person. And that does damage to a person. Those comments that seem so innocent - they can be very hurtful.

If we want to have the marriages that God intended us to have we need to learn to be kinder to one another to love and respect each other just as we are directed in the Bible to do. Not only will we be happier but our spouse will be happier as well. This will make happier homes. And just think how awesome that would be - happy homes. Because happy homes =a lower divorce rate and a lower divorce rate = happier, more secure children and then adults. With just one simple change - being kind to one another. Wow! I know it is not that simple but with God's help we can make the changes and trust God to make the changes that are needed in our spouses. What a simple concept. :o)

(by the way - these comics shown are not particularly my favorites but I wanted to share a couple of them.)

Great Quote

"God can never make us wine if we object to the fingers He uses to crush us with. If God would only use His own finger, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way! But when He uses someone whom we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, and make those the crushers, we object. We must never choose the scene of our own martyrdom. If ever we are going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed; you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed."

Oswald Chambers

Meekness?

This week I learned something new. I used to think that being "meek" meant being quiet and shy. But as I have been reading my "The Refiner's Fire" book, I have discovered that being meek is so much more - and something that I struggle with.

In the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary -
Definition of "MEEK"
1: enduring injury with patience and without resentment

Here are some of the characteristics of the "meek":

1. "Meekness continually seeks grace and mercy for those who hurt you."

Numbers 12:3 tells us that, "Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."

And if you study his life you will find that over and over again the children of Israel would complain and blame him for all of there problems and over and over again Moses would stand in the gap and ask the Lord to be merciful with them. I don't know if I could have had that much patience or meekness.

2. "Meekness does loving actions for the rebellious."

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17

"God calls us not to criticize but to save." page 103

3. "Meekness initiates reconciliation."

"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Matthew 5:23 - 24

4. "Meekness does not try to defend itself under injustice, but trusts the situation to the Father."

"Pride is the primary enemy of meekness."
"Pride often masquerades as justice." (page 104)


"In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." Psalms 62:7-8

There are two other situations that come to mind as I read these characteristics. When Stephen was being stoned, do you remember what he did?


"And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.60. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." Acts 7:59-60

And what about when Jesus Christ was crucified?

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34

These are all excellent examples of meekness.

The Path of Acceptance

I think that one of the keys to serenity and peace - is to learn to accept people where they are. What a gift this would be to yourself and to other people! This is something that I struggle with. I expect a lot out of myself and tend to expect alot out of other people but as God leads me - I am learning that I need to be more accepting. I need to not expect people to be at the very same spot in life that I am at. I am on a journey - as the title to my blog states - "Journeying to the Real Me..the me God intended me to be" and so are those around me. And we will not all be at the same spot at the same time, and that is ok with me. Now that I realize that this is a problem for me - then I can be more aware of it when I start feeling my peace being taken away - if it is because if it is because I am expecting others to be just like me or perfect - then I am hoping that I can step back into the path to serenity - the path of acceptance.

I can't remember just when I started reading blogs, but I had been reading blogs for at least 6 months to a year before I set up my account with Blogger to leave comments in May of 2007. When I set it up I had NO intentions of ever starting a blog. Well last year was a super hard year for us and I just felt led to start one. My initial reason was that I was not really dealing with the fact that my husband was diagnosed with Early On Set Parkinsons. This was such a blow. And even when I have shared this with others - they do not always understand my feelings about it. And I can understand that - I don't think that it is one of those things that you fully understand until you go through it yourself. Too often people try to tell you to just get over what ever it is that is upsetting you and to be honest - that usually is not the best way to deal with a hurting heart. Anyway so I thought that maybe if I started a blog that maybe I would be able to be of help to others that are going through something like this. Maybe that is still a way that my blog will be able to be of help to others but God seems to be leading me in other directions as well. So as I struggle through different lessons that are brought my way - I will try to be as honest and straight forward about it, because maybe if I can share where I am at in life - maybe it can help other people. And if nothing else it is helping me to be the real me. Not a people pleasing person - which I am tempted too often to do - but a real person who is accepting of those around me and of myself, someone who does not try to please other people but who tries to please God. This is the person I want to be.

Self Acceptance

This is such a great post on self acceptance - I wanted to make sure you all had a chance to see it.

Women Living Well Blog: The Comparison Trap: "I am having technical difficulties. So I am reposting an oldie but goodie: Psalm 139:13,14 'For you created my inmost being, you knit me to..."

Hope you all have a wonderful day. I will probably be back this evening with another post - we will see. :O)

Schemes and Changes

Lately I have been thinking a lot about how diets and money making schemes are so much alike. Both industries have one main thing on their mind and that is to make money. And what is sad is that they both prey on people that really have a need, whether that be the need of money or the need/want to lose weight. But it still boils down to one thing - MONEY.

In just the last couple of months, I have been asked by 5 different people if I want to get into money making schemes. I would call them pyramid type things. Well long ago my husband and I made the choice that we would not get involved in those type things. Someone always loses in them - if it isn't us, it would be someone we cared about by getting them involved in the scheme. I understand that times are tough and people want to make extra money but these companies are making so much money by getting that initial money from someone that gets caught up in the moment thinking of ALL the money that they could make. Then they find out that it is not as "easy" as it was stated to make all that money.

The diet industry is in the same boat - as they are usually driven to make money at peoples expense. Well I am sure that there are some of the people that have written the books that really want to help people but over all a lot of the diet plans do not work - long term. You might lose weight at first but then gain it all back. I know that I have experienced this. And it is so discouraging. It was so discouraging to me that it took me a couple of years to even come to the point of thinking that I might be ready to make some changes in order to get into better health and shape.

This past week-end, while we were in Granbury we ran into one of my husband's cousins that had gastric bypass surgery about a year ago. As we talked, she told about how she had to take classes for 4 - 6 months before they would do the surgery in order to get her mind healthy before they even did the surgery. Seriously there are reasons why a person is over weight and if the inside stuff is not taken care of it will be very hard to make permanent changes. Well, as I listened to her, I thought that I would love to go to the class. Don't think I would want the surgery but I would love to learn the information and be inspired. Well yesterday a friend stopped by and as we visited she told me of a Dr. that had come to her church this last week-end and told about a seminar that he will be putting on starting the 10th of September. It will last for 3 weeks. I am so tempted to do this seminar. I am thinking it might be something that God orchestrated for me to find out about.

Then today I watched an episode of "Doctors" that I had recorded. And guess what? They talked about some things to have in your kitchen to be healthier and 5 things not to have in the kitchen- or at least to limit in order to have better health. And they talked about sodas and a lot of bad information about them. Well this is something that I have struggled with for a long time. When I was growing up we did not drink sodas and so when I started drinking them - then I just loved them and have tried a couple of times to give them up - each time to go back to drinking them. Well yesterday as I began to realize that I was ready to make changes to get healthier - I realized that this was something I was going to have to give up. I have a 12 pack of sodas - and I decided I will limit myself to one a day until they are gone. That way I can slowly go off of caffeine. There a many other changes that I plan to implement but with a family I will just slowly make the changes that are needed.

On more thing that I did - on Facebook there is a 21-Day Vegan Kickstart that is being done. Well I signed up for it - NOT that I am going Vegan - uhm.. no. I signed up because they will be sending out recipes and I thought that it would be great to get lots of recipes and actually see menus and see how people eat that are vegan. I can try recipes and see if we like them. And if we like them - I will add them to our recipes. If God calls me to that way of eating some day - I will do it but he would need to call my husband as well because I need to make sure that I make foods that my husband likes.

I know that these two topics did not really go together but I had thought that I wanted to be honest and share with you all that I have decided that I need to lose weight and how God was leading me to what I needed and I also was thinking of the other topic - and once I was writing it just seemed to flow to the decision that I have made.

I also wanted to share with you that the book that this Dr. will be basing his seminar on is the "Eat More, Weigh Less" book by Dr. Dean Ornish. And if you go to Amazon - you can actually read the introduction and it looks like maybe even the first chapter (I am only a couple of pages into the 1st chapter.) So if you are interested in checking the book out -that would be a good way to do it.

Oh and one more thing - as I drove to town to run some errands yesterday- I heard a preacher say - "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13
And as soon as I heard it - I thought I can lose weight and get healthier with God's strength. In the past - I have tried in my own strength and I may have succeeded at first but it did not last. Well this time - I will be doing my best to keep God in the driver's seat with this and everything in my life. :o)