Update

Just a quick update - My husband came through his surgery with not problems. The surgery took 2 hours. I was at the hospital from 6am - till about 9:15pm. I did not get home till about 9:35pm. I am so thankful to see my bed last night. But missed my husband. I was thankful that his little brother stayed the night with him. I will be headed up to the hospital in just a little while. He should come home today but don't know when. You never know when you will get out. But that is ok - because we made it past the surgery and he is on his way to recovery. Praise the Lord!
Thanks for the prayers, it sure made difference. :o)

Prayer's Appreciated

If everything goes as planned on Monday Morning my husband will be having surgery. I am a little concerned because even though he has had several surgeries - this will be the first one that he is put totally out. He has had knee surgery and then carpel tunnel surgery on both hands, one at a time. This time they will put him totally under.

One of my friends posted a really good picture of Jesus on Facebook. And when I went to check out this artists' work - I found this photo. It is by Nathan Greene and it brought m some peace. God loves us so much He is involved in every aspect of our lives, if we let Him.



And believe me - I will be praying and asking God to guide the Dr.'s hands and every aspect of the surgery and my husband's stay at the hospital.

We will have to wake up at 4am - in order for him to get a shower and then wait an hour and then apply some cleaner to his back - then wait a little bit and then clean it off. We have to be the hospital at 6am. It will be a LONG day.

If you think of it - I would really appreciate anyone who would be willing to join me in prayer. Thanks so very much. :O)

Sabbath Praise

Today I wanted to share one of my favorites with you:
Newsboys "In the Hands of God"



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

A Problem..Hoping for a Solution

I think I shared with you all how I had gotten an upper respiratory infection and how I had been having to work A LOT because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. I think I also shared how my Mother-in-Law(boss) smokes and was smoking a lot around me. And while I was working around the smoke - I would get super hot and then nauseous and felt like I could throw up any minute. I would have to get some fresh air. Well I know that I have always gotten headaches from cigarette smoke. But this is the first time that I have gotten physically sick from it.

Normally she does most of her smoking in her office and my nephew smokes at the front of the store - like a freight train. And in the kitchen - when they have the grill open they have the exhaust fan on and it pulls a lot of the smoke to the kitchen. And even when it is not on - when I turn on a fan to keep us cool in the kitchen - a lot of times all the smoke, especially from the front of the store comes back there and the smell is real strong.

Anyway I have been thinking a lot of about this lately. I have made a lot of changes to the way I live my life in order to be healthier. And now it is bothering me more and more to be around the cigarette smoke. And then this morning I read this article. And it really got me thinking that I do not need to be around the smoke - it is bad.

I also started to think it is funny because here I am feeling super nauseous and all and then I feel intimidated in telling my MIL because I don't want to hurt her feelings. Think about that for a minute - I don't want to hurt her feelings and what she is doing is hurting me physically...

I am praying about this situation. My MIL has a hard time hiring people to do the job I do. I know what needs to be done -I get in there and I get the stuff done. Other people that she has hired dilly dally around and take all day all week what I do in about 10 hours a week or so. And she already has her plate full of the things she is doing so I hate to just quit. I am thinking about looking into some kind of an air cleaning system to put in the kitchen but then I think it is kind of dumb to be putting a lot of money into this when it might be that I work just to pay for the air cleaner machine and filters- now would that be worth it? Do you see my dilemma here?

So I am going to be praying about this whole situation and see where God leads me. If any of you have and comments or ideas - please feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Thanks, I really appreciate it. :o)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! I hope everyone has a great holiday and that you are able to have it with those you love.

Sorry I have not posted very much. It was a busy couple of days. Yesterday was my birthday so when I got off of work - my sister and I along with our sons went thrift store shopping. We both are losing weight and needed to find some clothes that were fitting a little better. We had a very good time. It was nice, but by the time I got home - I was worn out - more to do with a very busy couple of days. I did find a couple of great finds.

I know this is not the best photo but I wanted to share this outfit. It makes me feel like I am a teenager again. I mean seriously I turned 41 yesterday but that does not mean that I have to dress like an old lady..lol ;o)

Speaking of the photo - I found the pants and the top - and paid 4.94 for the pants and 1.41 for the top. So less than 7.00 for the outfit! That is the way I like to shop. And especially now. What I am buying right now is clothes to be used for the next 6 months and if I continue the way I have been...which I see no reason why I would not..then I will be needing smaller clothes by the next time I would need pants. So why spend a lot of money on clothes.

Before we went to the thrift stores we went to Khol's, my sisters son wanted to go. So we went to check out the clearance racks. We hardly found anything that we wanted, plus what we found was WAY too expensive - like 10.00 a top. And I can NOT pay that much for clothes that I may not use more than a few months or so.

Well I better close - we are headed to my M-I-L house for Thanksgiving. May we not only Thank God for our blessing today on this holiday but everyday! :o)

Day 3 of Busyness

Today will be the busiest and longest day this week. And if I thought things couldn't go worse - guess what - they did. I have an upper respiratory infection. Not like major symptoms but I coughed up some red/orange sputum yesterday morning and have felt kind of warn down and all - so I decided since my husband will be having surgery in a week - that I need to be well and not get him sick. So I went to the Dr and have meds. Normally I would have taken Vit C and would have just tried at least for a while to kick it myself.

I should not be surprised that I got sick, last week end I ate a little more sweets than I have been. And on Friday I stopped and got a mini choc chip blizzard. And I am wondering that since my Dr. said to limit milk( I don't normally drink milk at all any more - except in that blizzard) that maybe the blizzard along with the other sweets may have gotten my immune system down?. I had been hoping not to have to go to the Dr this year at all. The way our insurance works - you have to pay a pretty big deductible and then the co-pays kick in. So I was hoping to make it till next year - then have alot of my check ups done. Oh well. I did what I needed to do.

Well I hope that you all have a great day! I will see if I can take some photos through the day - to share with ya'll later. :o)

Day Two of Busyness

Good Morning everyone! So I made it through day one of my 4 days of busyness this week. I thought that you guys would like to see what 32 pies would look like - and a bit of the store that I work at.
We are so thankful that we have these 32 pies done. We will continue to accept order through today till closing. So who knows what we will end up with. So far it looks like we will be peeling and chopping 27+ cups of apples. We make Apple Cakes and this is for the Apples Cakes that we have ordered so far.

When I got done with all of the pies yesterday - I had to run to the grocery store to pick up some groceries. I had to get some stuff - since it will be Friday at the very earliest that I can make it to the store. So I am thankful that I have gotten the things that we need.

Last night I made up a pot of Lentils with onions, carrots and celery. I wanted to have some healthy food for my lunches this week. I also cut up some celery sticks.

Well I better get off of here and get going on my day. I hope you all have a wonderful day! :o)

Busyness..

Good Morning~ I hope you all are having a good week-end. Mine has been nice so far. But I will be headed to work in the next hour - we have 33 pecan pies to make today. And then I will be working Mon- Wed. This is the hardest time of the whole year at my job. I love my job most of the year but this week is just a hard week. With it just being my Mother-in-law and me working - and having everything due mostly the same time - it makes for a tough week. Anyway So I wanted to write a quick post to let you know - I may be scarce this week. So you will know why now.

During all of the busyness that will be this week - I plan to take a lot of time that I will working and not - thinking about all the blessings from God ~ And praising and thanking Him! :o)

Sabbath Praise

This is such beautiful song! Amy Grant's "Better Than A Hallelujah"



Hope you all have a wonderful week end! :o)

By Faith

By Faith
1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. " Hebrews 11

There is so much wisdom and understanding to be found in this chapter. :o)

What Are You Absorbing?

There are many times that I wish that I was a better writer. There are so many blogs that have wonderful writers. And when they have a message they are able to say it in such eloquent ways. Anyway here is what I have been thinking about today.

First of all, we absorb what we spent the the most time doing. Are we spending our time watching TV and reading secular magazines and watching the news? Well if we are spending most of our time in those areas- then we will be absorbing worldly view and secular ideas. I think that slowly our views, ideas, and morals change as we devote so much time to secular input.

But if we want to reflect God's character, then we need to devote more time studying the Bible and in prayer. And we need more quiet time, when the TV or Radio are going all of the time and it is always noisy around us - we don't have the ability to hear what God has to say to us.

I mean think about it - the only place - yes the ONLY place that we can find truth is in the Bible.
When we read the newspaper, or a magazine - are we reading something that is true? Who knows - I know that just this week I spent a few minutes reading a magazine that my sister had giving me and I was amazed at a few things that I read - just from the knowledge that I have have I recognized it as error. And when we watch TV and the News - is it truth? It is more than likely propaganda - some of it might be true but there is no telling.

I am challenging myself to spend more time in the Word of God, more time listening to Christian music, more time listening to Christian Radio - I want more of God in my life - not more of the world. :o)

A Nice Slow Day at Home

Today has been a very nice day. The type that you are able to just stay home and focus on your home. I love those kinds of days. I think that the fact that I work at a bakery and next week will be an extremely busy week for us - makes me appreciate today even more. It has been so nice- quiet and a slow pace. It has been refreshing to my soul. I am hoping that next week in the midst of busyness, I can think back to today and just feel the peace.

We found out the my husband's surgery will be the Monday after Thanksgiving. He has been in a lot of pain - so we had kind of wanted to have it sometime this week. But the good news is that he has been working 10 hour days (they have a job that needs to be done quickly) so he only has to work tomorrow and then 3 days next week - then he will be out till his surgery. So it won't be too bad-I hope.

This morning when I woke up my jaw was a little sore but it has not been very bad at all. I am very thankful.

Well I think I will get off of here and see what all else I can get done today. I hope you all have a great day! :o)

Thanks :o)

Thanks to everyone who prayed for me today. I made it. For some reason I tend to take more of the deadening stuff - it takes longer to take effect, I guess. Anyway when I was done - I was talking funny. I have never done that before. My left side of my face was numb up to my temple and even my ear. In fact, the deadening has just worn off in my ear in the last hour. And I was done with my appointment at 11:45am. Then about noon - I decided since I had not drank very much water that I would get a drink. Something else happened to me that has not happened before -I was so numb that when I was drinking the water - instead of it going down - it seemed to be going into my nose. I was glad that I only drank slowly. It took a little bit for everything to go were it needed to go. Anyway it is not - 4:15pm and I am feeling some numbness in my jaw but mostly it is easing up. That side of my throat is sore. I will probably need to rinse with some salt water and hope that help soothe things but also keeps an infection from starting up.

When they drilled out the mercury that was in one of the teeth that they were fixing - they found that the cavity was deeper than they had originally though that it was. Anyway I am hoping that what they did will work out - I do NOT want a root canal. They fixed two cavities today. I will be calling later to make an appointment to get the others fixed later. I was just not talking very clear at all and it was hard to talk so I just decided I would take care of it later.

On my way home I stopped and got myself a smoothie- like at 3:00pm. That will be my lunch. I am making myself a pot of lentils with onions and carrots - this is something I love. I made a pan of healthy rice pilaf yesterday so I will probably have it with my lentils for supper tonight. This will not only be my supper but my lunch for the next couple of days. I love making things that last like that. That way I have healthy meals. And it helps me stay on eating healthy. It is when I am hungry and there is nothing easy to eat -that give me a hard time.

I am so glad that my dental appointment is over. Oh one more thing I am thankful for - this dentist is great. She stops ever so often and lets you rest your mouth. They are excellent at their care and I appreciate that. One reason I changed dentist - was that lady that was helping my dentist did not do a very good job at getting the excess water and such out of my mouth and one time I choked. And one more great thing I like about them - it is much easier for me to deal with the shots in my mouth is I am laying down. This dentist lays you all the way down and then does the shots. When the seat is too upright - I have a hard time keeping my eyes shut and relaxing.

Anyway - thanks again for the prayers. God is good and I praise Him for His watch care over me. :o)

Prayers Appreciated

Just checking in for a minute to let you all know - I am still around. Yesterday was busy and today I have a dental appointment. I am kind of nervous about it because I really do not like the shots in my mouth. Will be so glad when it is over. Hoping it goes well since I will have to go back in a couple of weeks to fix the other half of my problems. If you think of it, I would really appreciate prayers for peace. Thanks so very much. I hope you all have a wonderful day!! :o)

Freedom - Letting Go

Giving your spouse freedom to make their own choices can be very hard at times. I know this is something that I have found to be true. As I have shared(maybe too much) with you all - I have learned a lot of really cool information about taking better care of myself. And after hearing of a lot of success stories from people that have changed their lives, it is hard for me not to push my husband to make these same changes.

I would love for him to eat healthier, get more rest and exercise and drink the water that his body needs. And part of me thinks that it could make a big difference in how he feels. Well actually I think that he would feel a lot better, I don't know if making these changes could reverse the Parkinson's. I did not get a chance to ask the Dr about this. I know that these changes have reversed heart disease and diabetes. So I know that it would be a really good thing for him. And not only would it be best for him - but it would be a lot easier if we all ate the same way and if I could save the money that I pay for meat -and use it for more healthy foods. Trust me - I have been finding that it is not really expensive to eat healthy. But it is hard to continue to buy meat and make meat dishes -especially since I no longer eat meat. Well I do eat salmon when we go out - ever so often.

So to be honest - it is hard for me to just let him make his own choices. I am trying to let him make his choices and I am hoping that maybe if I give him the freedom to make his own choices that maybe he will be more supportive of me in what I am trying to do.

So even though my husband makes choice that I do not agree with - he is an adult and I need to give him the freedom to make his own choices. Yes - this is a post for me - talking my self into letting go of this situation. So anyway - that is where I am. I hope you all have a good week! :o)

Sleepy Kities/ Temple of God

It's been a quiet week end here. Of course, whether it is quiet or not - the kitties would be sleeping soundly. I just wanted to share a few photos of some of our kitties. They sure know how to relax.

Well I was able to watch the movie - "Forks Over Knifes." This time my sister and her husband took me. My sister has been such a blessing to me over the last couple of months. When I went to this seminar and learned a whole new lifestyle she listened to me and started she also made the lifestyle change. I have been so proud of her because she did not even get to see the movie or hear the information at the seminar and she has jumped on board and has lost at least 16 pounds so far.

Now some people can lose weight very easily, but for my sister and I-we usually have a really hard time with losing weight. We both have had to work extremely hard to lose weight in the past. But following our new way of life - it has been easier. I'll be honest - there have been times that it has been a challenge or both of us, but we have tried to be of encouragement to each other.

Watching the movie(for the 3rd time - for me) was very encouraging. It really is true that what we put into our bodies can help our health or it can harm our health. I used the phrase - what we put into our bodies - because it is about more than just food. What we drink or smoke can do us a lot of damage. There are many health problems that we could reverse if we just made a few changes in how we live our lives - it is true.

As I watched the movie, I realized how in this world of ours - it seems that many times I find myself swimming up stream. Our bodies are the temple of God. And in order for us to be good stewards of our bodies - we really should take care of them the way that God intended for us to take care of them - from the very beginning. The good thing is that even though I feel that I am swimming up stream - I have God's promises that I can claim. "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthenth me." Philippians 4:13

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." Matthew 7:13

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 1 Corinthians 6:19

Sabbath Praise -AGAIN

"In every victory

Let it be said of me

My source of strength

My source of Hope

Is Christ Alone"

I love these lyrics. This is what I thought the other one was but this song has the message that I really like. I hope it blesses each of you as it has me. :o)

Sabbath Praise

This is a very important lesson that I am learning and I thought this song would be a perfect one for today. "In Christ Alone" by Avalon :o)

A quick note

Just checking in for a few minutes. Yesterday my husband had an MRI and today he had a Dr. appointment. It looks like he will be having surgery on his back. On Monday they will be setting up the date and time for the surgery. Plus the next week and a half will be extremely busy at work. Since I do work at a bakery..it is crazy busy. So this just adds - a whole lot of stress- but God is in control. Oh and I can't forget I have a dental appointment next week as well. Oh it's gonna be a fun week - I can just imagine...
I hope you all are doing well. I am tired tonight. I am thinking I will be trying to get to bed at a decent time. :o)

From Where Does My Help Come?

"A Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore."
Psalms 121

Happy Veteran's Day

On Facebook there was this status going around saying to put your favorite vet as your profile photo. Well I looked for my husbands official military photo but could not find it; however, I did find this photo of him so I posted it. He IS my favorite Vet. Anyway I just wanted to have a post - even though it is so late - to say a Big Thank You to everyone who has served in the Military! Thank you to you and to your family who sacrifice so very much!! We appreciate everything you do! :o)

By the way this photo is about 18 years old - this is my oldest son - he was about 2 in the photo.

You Never Know What You Are Going To Find

Yesterday I had a little free time - so I decided to go to my favorite thrift store. I have not been in almost 2 weeks and since I am losing weight- I have been trying to keep my eyes out for some clothes that are reasonably priced to help get from point A to B. So I went and I looked through the clothes and wouldn't you know it - nothing. About 3 months ago- when I went to this store- all I saw was the size I am now looking for. Well at least the really cute things were in that size. Now that I am looking for this size - I am not finding anything. But that is ok because I have some stuff and I just need to be thankful for what I have. Well I had really felt that I was suppose to go to this store yesterday so after I looked at the clothes, I went to look at the other stuff. And I always like to look through the furniture. I have seen some awesome things. My son got a great old fashioned radio and I found the cute little table that is at the end of my bed that has the sides that drop down. Anyway when I went to the furniture area I was thrilled to find a over sized chair that matched our couch and love seat!!!

I sat in it and thought it was quite comfortable. I called my husband told him about it and he told me it was up to me. The biggest problem we had was trying to get it home. He has been working 10 hour shifts and his back is really bothering him - in fact - he will go for an MRI today and a Dr. apt tomorrow. Not only all of that but the back of his truck had a lot of their camping stuff in it s0 he probably could not get the chair till tomorrow. And then the question was - would the chair even be there tomorrow.

Also we have a recliner but it is not real comfortable - when we got it - it had some problems and my husband fixed it and now it is having a problem with the leg rest. Anyway we had already decided to get rid of it and so getting this chair would be perfect. But I did not want to get the chair till my husband could sit in it and see what he thought of it.

I decided that we would not buy it until he got to try it out. And that if it was God's will that we got the chair -it would still be there. Now I have done that before and what I wanted was gone. So when I left the store - I was not very positive that we would be getting it. By the way, that was at about 11am.

When my husband got off of work and went by the store - it was STILL there! He liked it and he arranged a lot of stuff in the back of the truck and got it. He did not tell me- I had been on a walk with my sister and when I got home - I thought I saw the shadow of the chair in the camper. I was so excited!!

It is not in the house yet. We have to move the recliner out of here today and then clean up that area and then when he gets home this evening - we can move it into the living room. I am so excited about it! And Praising God for the blessing of not only finding it but it still being there 7 hours later! :o)

What is Life Really About?

Yesterday when my alarm went off the very first thing that I heard was a snippet from Former President George W. Bush's new book and he was reading it - Life is not about becoming a better person but about getting to know Jesus better. This may not have been the exact words but the same meaning. Anyway it was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in trying to be so good that we totally leave out the ONLY way that we can truly be good- Jesus Christ. It is through the power of Jesus Christ that we can be good. There is no good in us without a connection to Jesus.

For me, the only way that I can be successful in my Christian walk and in any area of my life that needs improvement is through His strength. I have tried on my own too many times and have failed each time. I would much rather follow God's will for my life.

In order to get to know Jesus better, we need to spend time in the Book that tells us all about Him - the Bible, in prayer and quiet times. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing- that means just a continual connection with Him throughout your day. A quick prayer when needed. Praise and Thanksgiving for blessing that come from Him. Speaking to Him like he is a friend. I mean seriously could we have a better friend? He is never too busy. He is there to listen to us any time we need Him. Oh I could go on and on. But instead I will leave you with this video of Alan Jackson singing "What a Friend We Have In Jesus." :o)

Healthy Versions of Chili and Cornbread - and they are Yummy!!

I have found 2 more great recipe in this cookbook - 7 Secrets Cookbook. Actually every recipe that I have tried so far - I have loved. I have shared all the ones I have tried so far. I have a couple more slated to try in the next week or so.

Chili with Corn

1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 green or red pepper(optional)
1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed, or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp California Chili - I used regular chili -only 1 tsp.
2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cooked black or small red beans (may be canned) I used liquids as well
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh corn
14-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
2 T. molasses

1. Put onion, peppers, and seasonings in a medium-sized kettle and add about 2/3 cup water. Simmer for about 8 minutes -or until onion is tender.

2. Add remaining ingredients, and heat to serving temperature.
Makes 6 cups


Lite and Tender Corn Bread

3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. Ener-G Baking Powder(or 2 tsp. regular baking powder)
1/2 C. coconut milk(may use 1/2 cup plus 2 T. soy milk and omit water)
1/4 C. applesauce
2 T. honey
2 T. Water or as needed

1. Mix together in a mixing bowl: cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder.

2. Stir together the coconut or soy milk, applesauce, and honey in measuring cup - Add water as needed to make 1 full cup of mixture.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring briskly until smooth. Pour into and 8X8 pan, or scoop into muffin tins. Bake at 375* for 20-25 minutes.
Makes 9 squares.

Both of these recipes are fantastic!! :O)

We had some excitement at our House this Morning

Today started out to be such a beautiful day! It was so nice to be able to go on my walk - leaving the house before 7am! I got my shower and then was in my room getting dressed.

Now before I go on with the Rest of the Story - I need to give a little bit of background here. I thing I have shared before that my little black cat Stewie does not get along with our big boy Tiggy or LuLu - she is our only girl. So When I was in my room getting dressed - Tiggy was in my room with me. All of a sudden I heart - Stewie screaming/hissing. I come out of my room telling my youngest son - it has to be LuLu that he is fighting with. My son is standing there in a weird position saying No it was me. I notice that his hand seems to be stuck somehow on his sleep pants. It takes a bit for me to realize that my son had a fishing lure hook in one of his fingers and one of the other 2 hooks is caught in his sleep pants.

(before we go any further - there is a photo that you may not want to look at if you are squeamish-it's not too bad.)

In the next few minutes I am told that Stewie had somehow gotten the hook -hooked onto one side of his butt and that my son was trying to get it out of the cat. He had the cat between his legs - trying to hold him so he could get the hook out and then the cat ran off - well in the process - the hook had went into his finger - deep - not enough to have the point come through the other end-but deep just the same.

Here is a photo of the fishing lure:

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Well my son - kept his cool while I cut through his sleep pants around the hook. Then he used some tools to remove the hook part off of the lure. Then he cut the main hook part off of the one that was in his finger. He worked on it a bit trying to see if he could get it out. He was wanting to pull it through - but he said his skin was like leather.

Here is a photo of it - He took the photo - I was not dealing with it enough to be taking photos. I really do not like blood and guts type of stuff. Anyway that is why the photo is smaller- sorry. But you get the idea. It was weird cause you could see the hook through the skin.

When he realized that he could not get it out - I decided it would be good to call his Dr. and Praise the Lord - they said bring him right in. Well they were able to get it out without too much pain - those shots of pain killer did a lot of good for him. And he was given antibiotics since it was so deep. I am so glad that my son is so good under pressure and stress like that. So as you can tell it has been a bit of a stressful day. We are hoping that it will heal quickly without very much pain.

Could it make a difference in your life?

I just wanted to post a link over to a short video that talks about the "Forks over Knifes" movie that is set to come out in March of 2011. I was blessed with the ability to get to see it at my health seminar. If you get a chance to see it - it is well worth the time. It has made a BIG difference in my life - could it make a difference for you? :o)

Some Hope for Parkinson's Patients

While I was checking out a friend's friend's blog post - I found a link to something that is very important for anyone struggling with Parkinson's. Because my husband was diagnosed last year with Early Onset Parkinson's - I really enjoy reading articles that show a glimmer of hope that there maybe are steps being made towards finding things to actually help with this disease.

For Parkinson's and I am sure that there are other diseases out there that don't have any cures - just meds. that might help with symptoms - it is very encouraging to see that there are still studies being done trying to find help or even maybe cures. How awesome would that be?!!!

Anyway enough talking about it - here is the link to the article.

Ok - once you read the above link - here are a few of my thoughts. It is said that Coenzyme Q10 could be a helpful thing for people with Parkinson's well I remember when we went to the Parkinson's symposium back in April - that they had said the only problem with people taking it is that you have to take quite a bit of it -and that the average person could not afford to pay for the amount of Coenzyme Q10 - well we are average folks for sure so it would be very difficult for us.

Here is a link that explains some benefits of Coenzyme Q10 - if you scroll down - you will find where it talks of alot of different things that it could help - well for Parkinson's it says you would have to take 300 - 2,400 mg daily. Well as you can see it would be very expensive.

But here is the good news - maybe if they have figured out that the function and protection of the Mitochondria is very important - maybe that will open some new doorways of areas to study. I know it has me asking questions and seeing what I can figure out. :o)

Freedom to Release

A couple of months ago, when I changed my lifestyle for the good, I had not idea what all positive changes would come about from just focusing on being healthier. I am drinking pure, clean water and eating a plant based diet and it has made a big difference not only in my health and scales, but there are other great things happening.

I shared on a post last week about my dentist appointment and how there was much less plaque (almost 2 years since my last cleaning) then I used to have when I went to the dentist every 6 months.

Another wonderful thing has happened. I am now feeling more freedom to release that which I do not need. As I brought my winter things out - I tried everything on and I got rid of a majority of it. I kept only a reasonable amount of things to last me till they are too baggy to wear. In years past - I would have boxed up things that I did not need at the moment and keep them - just in case.

I guess I have done that with many things - kept them just in case I need them some day- Kind of like a pack rat. You know the minute you get rid of something you will probably need it. It seems that my mind is working so much clearer now and I am realizing that the changes that I have made are for a life time. I enjoy what I am eating now more than I have in years. And I am NOT exaggerating at all. Water is so refreshing and you can just feel how much good it is doing you. All the changes that I have made have been so beneficial to my body and my health that I have no intention of going back to my old way of doing things.

So that leads me to another wonderful positive. Every other time that I have worked towards losing weight - I would always get to a point of knowing that I was about to fall off of the wagon. And even though I could feel it coming on, there would be nothing that I could do about it. So since I am not dieting per say now, then I am so much more confident that this will be something that will take me to the weight that GOD intended for me to be. Notice I said God - that is because the world has so many charts and expectations of what a person should weigh - well I highly disagree with that. I was watching a Dr Oz show last week and they were talking about dangerous diets and a lady on there said "Skinny does NOT mean healthy" - and that is so true. So I may never be what a chart says I should weigh but I trust God to know what the best weight for me is and will accept it.

So for my title of this post - Freedom to Release - well I have shared how I have felt freedom to get rid of clothes that are too big- well that is one area. But I am also feeling more freedom to let go of other things that I do not use or need. It is a slow process but it is so freeing to be able to let go of thing that are just taking up space in my home and in my life. :o)

Sabbath Praise

Elvis Presley - How Great Thou Art

Wreckers or Builders

I watched them tearing a building down,
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a sidewall fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled,
As the men you'd hire if you had to build?"
He gave me a laugh and said, "No indeed!
Just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two
What builders have taken a year to do."
And I tho't to myself as I went my way,
Which of these two roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with care,
Measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds by a well-made plan,
Patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town,
Content with the labor of tearing down?

-- Unknown



I shared this a while back but I thought that it would be a good idea to share it again. It is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. A friend posted this:

"Everyone that walks through my door makes me smile, some when they walk in and others when they walk out!"(Borrowing your status Rebecca :o) )

Anyway this is very true - and it gives us something to think about. :o)

What's new in The Reading Corner

Remember a while back I shared how we had went to one of our favorite antique stores and I had found these books? Well I was so excited because there was a group of ladies at my church that were going to get together to study this book. Well I had a scheduling conflict and not able to go, but when I found this book I knew that I was suppose to read this book. And for only about $3.something these books were a part of my collection. I am going to read Traveling Light by Max Lucado first. If you are interested in reading this book - you can click into where it is highlighted and actually read if online! I thought that was really cool. I will probably read the other book next. I have had several people tell me that they have read it and it was a great book. I have already read the first two chapters of "Traveling Light." And it has been such a blessing so far.
He speaks of the reason why we are to travel light is because many of us are carrying burdens that we were never intended to carry. What a concept. We need to lay those burdens at the feet of Jesus!

Just Because IT is on the Shelf Does NOT Mean IT is Safe

From about 16 - 28 years old I drank Diet Coke. I thought I loved the stuff. When I was about 28, my husband was taking some college classes. One of his teachers gave him a packet of information about Aspartame. After my husband read it he told me, "N0 more diet drinks." If you would like to read about it there are many sites to find information. I am linking up to this one because it has a list of symptoms that Aspartame can cause.

Well I switched over to regular Coke. I grew to love it as well. And I drank it for many years. There were at least a half dozen or more times that I tried to quite drinking it. I would notice that if I had not drank one then by afternoon I would get a horrible headache and then once I figured out what the problem was - it would be too late. Even if I drank a Coke then - I would still suffer from the headache.

That was not the only problem I had - when I went to regular Coke - I started getting a lot more cavities - the kind that are found in between your teeth. I am sure it caused a lot of other problems because there are so many chemicals that our bodies were never intended to ingest in sodas.

Well I have shared how September the 10th was the last time I had a Coke - well a soda period. God gave me the victory over that addiction. And I am SO thankful.

I am thankful for a lot of reasons - like since we no longer buy sodas - we save money. And then buying the healthy things like fresh fruit and veggies that I would sometimes think were just too expensive are within reach. And I have found that eating healthy is NOT a whole lot more expensive. It depends on what is important to you I guess.

January 2009 I last had my teeth cleaned. I was told that I had a few cavities but they could wait till the next cleaning. Well I have already shared how hard of a year 2009 ended up being. Well I just did not think I was mentally up to going for the my next appointment with the Dentist so I canceled. We had also started to realize that this dentist was over charging us big time. And we just could not afford it. We are probably still paying on some of those outrageous charges even now. Anyway so I put it off. Then my husband had a tooth really bothering him and he found a new dentist and he went to her and liked her. My son next had a problem with a tooth and went. Well I made sure they were all taken care of then I finally decided that putting off the visit to the dentist was not the best thing, in fact, I was worried that maybe I had let it go too long and there would be some serious problems.

Yesterday was my appointment. I was happily surprised. I ended up with a few cavities but these were just the ones I had almost 2 years ago. None of them in horrible shape. And here is some great news - I had the least amount of plaque that I have ever had going for a cleaning. I mean I would go ever 6 months(like you are suppose to) and there would be a lot more. But this time there was less. And my gums were in great shape - they were very surprised. I think they saw that it had been almost 2 years since I had been to a dentist and so they were expecting the worse.

Well I wanted to share that story because I truly believe that the reason why my mouth was in as good of shape as it was - is because of the changes I have made in my life. No longer do I drink sodas which can cause havoc on my teeth and health. I don't drink anything but water between meals. And vary rarely I drink a little bit of koolaid - if I just have to have something sweet. But if I do - I brush my teeth right afterwards.

Anyway all of this to say - just because there are food and drinks being sold out on the market - does NOT mean it is good for us. Just think the cases of Cancer and Diseases are skyrocketing - why? Well I believe it has a lot to do with all of the chemicals and hormones that are in the foods today. If we could get to a more plant based diet and eating foods as closely to how they were grown- the better off we will be.

Taking care of these bodies that God has given us is well worth the effort. No matter what we do we will not live forever but we will have a lot more quality of life while we are alive if we will just do what we can to take better care of ourselves. :o)

Weather/Book Giveaway

I just thought I would share this forecast with you all. It looks like we finally have a week that looks like fall has made it. I am so excited! The last couple of weeks we have had a lot of temps in the 80's - even a day or two in the 90's. There have been a few times that our house got quite warm. We had to shut down the house at least one or two evening in the last couple of weeks and turn the AC on - that is how warm it was. But as you can tell - we will probably not have to run the AC or the heater this week. I will close windows when it starts getting too cool in here. I want to see how long we can go without using the heater. Well I finished the last book that I have been reading during my quiet time. "The Zacchaeus Effect." It was a very good book. What I would like to do - is any of you are interested in this book - if you will send me an e-mail at liscarpATyahooDOTcom - with your address and let me know that you are interested in reading this book - I will send you one. I will do my best to fulfill any request - so don't hesitate to ask if you are interested. Or if you leave a comment letting me know you are interested - I will write you back to get your information.

And by the way, for those of you that are here in the USA - be sure and vote today! It is very important that you have your voice heard. :o)

This and That ~ Monday

I spent a good amount of time this week end going through my clothes - trying stuff on. Since I had been at the same size for several years or more in a row- I found that I had a whole lot of clothes, really more clothes than I really needed. The good news is that since I am losing weight some of the clothes were already getting too big on me and it was best to put them in the get rid of pile. Then there were some of the clothes that I just did not love so I put them in the get rid of pile as well. It felt so good to be able to let go of the clothes. For a long time I would hold onto things - because I would always have the fear that if I got rid of the clothes then I would need them. Well I don't have room to hold onto that many clothes any more. And I don't plan to be the size that I was at the beginning of this journey ever again. And for the first time I am willing to let go of those clothes.

It is so funny how clothes are - I am learning that if I really like something even if it says that it is a size or two smaller than what I think I can wear - I need to try it on. Sometimes I get lucky! This last week end Goodwill had a midnight madness sale on Saturday night and my sister and I went. We are both losing weight and so what we did was tried to only get things that were a bit small on us so that when we lost a little more weight we could have some cute clothes. Oh and also we are trying to stick with only buying things that we really love! That is important. For along time I think we both would buy out of desperation and then we would not be very pleased with those clothes later. I only ended up buying 5 times, at 50% the already low prices was fantastic!!

And of course as we were shopping we could not help but go look at baby clothes for our grandchildren. Right now there parents don't have a lot of money and that is one way that we can bless them and our grandchildren as well. I lucked out - I think I found about 10 outfits - paying anywhere from $.50 - $1.25 at the most. I may have to take a couple of photos and share with you all later. I was thrilled with the things I found. I am just hoping that the things that I bought will fit her in the season that they are. You know that is really hard to do - to figure out what size a baby will be in like 6 months -a year from now. I only was able to find a couple of things for right now. But I will keep looking.

Well I hope everyone else had a good week end and also have a good week! :o)