food 101

On our little vacation back home, I picked up some books from the wonderful library. I wanted to read Pollan's (Food, Inc.) books, so I got Food Rules and In Defense of Food. 2 very intriguing books! I think a few things I've pulled out that I would love to do are:

• Eat more fruits and veggies...and try new things! I'm excited to go to the Farmers' Market soon! To not be afraid of certain foods.
• Jason and I discussed eating more wild food. He's going to go hunting...we're planning to add deer to our eating. Go fish and eat more fish we catch ourselves. I'll leave the dirty part to Jason, though.
• Make sour dough bread. My wonderful friend who is all about making her own food inspires me! And she suggested this, so I'm going to try it! Plus fermented foods are good for you!
• Eat less! I picked up some organic sausage from our local store and I found that I honored it more. We ate less because it was expensive, but it felt good to actually appreciate that it took care to grow this pig. Eating a full pound in a matter of an hour does not honor that pig's life. That might sound corny, but I don't care. :)
• Eat the full fat version, but eat less. I'm sure my dietician mother will not want to read this! Bring on the whole milk, baby! Pollan discussed that making full fat products skim uses additives to reach that product. Real food = good! Preservatives = bad!
• Buy products that have 5 ingredients or less. Not easy, but I like it.
• Celebrate food. It is not the enemy. It allows us to live and thrive and love!

I wanted to list some websites included in Pollan's book to keep on hand:

Center for Informed Food Choices www.informedeating.org

Eat Local Challenge www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Eat Well www.eatwellguide.com

Eat Wild www.eatwild.com

Food Routes www.foodroutes.org

Local Harvest www.localharvest.com (I've used this site a lot!)

Weston A. Price Foundation www.westonaprice.org

r-e-s-p-e-c-t

I don't know that these thoughts will make sense, as I'm worn out from a teething little girl and another girl who just would rather be up than sleep. However, when I have something on my heart, tis best to write it down so it doesn't linger too long on my too-full mind.

I think how people spend their money and utilize the resources God has given them, speaks VOLUMES of their lives. And I have witnessed 2 polar opposites recently. First of all, the good. I completely admired the owner of Jason's previous business. I mean, he's a billionaire, a billionaire. That's a lot of zeros to one's name. But the thing is, that's not what makes him great, at all. He is simply a great guy because of character. For one thing, he is simply a nice guy, not arrogant, not pompous, even though he could be. Jason has told me that when he would have a meeting with him, and they'd go in the conference room, this CEO would INSIST that Jason go first. Secondly, he operates his business very conservatively. Assets far exceed their debt. And because of that, they have succeeded in a down market, while others have failed. In fact, not one layoff. Very cool. At their Christmas party, the company always has tons of door prizes. He and the CFO have given away their personal garage spaces at the office. I mean, like everyone parks in the parking lot and they have actual garages. They give away their spots for not April, not August, but January (in Kansas!) Seriously, I wouldn't do that! And probably the coolest thing is not about him, but his wife. So, the wife of a billionaire...what do you think she'd drive? Maybe a Lexus, an Audi....close, an old Honda Civic Hybrid. Impressive. The scripture, "Your treasure is where your heart is." shows that their treasure is not their money. Just hard work and generosity. RESPECT!

And then on the other end of the spectrum seems to be the previous owners of our house. When we were looking at this house, of course, people knew who were selling this house (it is a small town after all!) We were told they were wealthy and had built a HUGE house in a new subdivision. The more we live here and discover another area of this house that has been neglected, I'm painfully aware of how little respect they had for this house. The care they did not give this house is probably what allowed us to get this house. I have a passion for houses and house design. Houses have stories to tell, and this may sound weird, but whenever I see an abandoned house, I always feel like I'm looking at house "corpse" (a previous body (house) without its soul (house-dwellers)), and it makes my heart a little sad. They were blessed with this beautiful home, but they did not give it the care it deserved. And I fear they're doing the exact same thing to the million dollar home they're residing in now. It breaks my heart.

Of course, this concept can be applied in SO many different areas. To our time, to our bodies, to our money, to our families.... May we just give honor to what we've been given, all along acknowledging it is not ours, but the Lord's.

inspire

My favorite aspect of our new town is that I feel inspired. In so many ways. And one of my favorites is the architecture in this town.

My heart has always been passionate about design, and the older I get I realize that is by design (no pun intended). I am made in God's image. And God is the ultimate Creator. And we are all creative, whether we think so or not. So I've been challenging myself to seek out creativity in other areas of my life. (If interested yourself, check out Hidden Art ) And one of my favorite areas right now is interior design.

I found this website and had to share: theinspiredroom.net It inspired me!

natural clean

This is an appropriate follow up to my previous post...but wanted to write these down so I don't forget them! I'm all about natural cleaning....it makes me feel good to know I'm surrounding my family with nature rather than chemicals. Plus, it's cheap. (That's why Jason likes it.) :)

All Purpose Disinfectant Cleaner:

2 tsp. Borax

4 T. Vinegar

4 c. Water

I'll add some Essential Oil to make it smell yummy. Either Tea Tree Oil or Lavender. I need to get some more EO's for cleaning purposes.

Natural Dishwashing Detergent:

1 c. Vinegar

2 T. Lemon Concentrate

1 c. Borax

1 c. Baking Soda

Shake it up (it will bubble) and use half the amount you normally do. Also, vinegar is a great substitute for the rinsing agent.

#2

Thank goodness it's Friday! Because it's not even 10AM, and there has been more poop in this house than should be allowed. Before 4AM, Jason discovers our poor Lucy had a serious issue last night. Not 1, but 5 instances of poop. Bless his precious heart for cleaning up that mess. Before 6AM, I had a sweet little girl with poop on her PJ's. And just now, Bella tells me in a worried voice, "Poop come out" and I discover poop on the rug, her leg, her skirt. Ahh...being a mom truly is a glamorous job. So many people tell us to enjoy this precious time, but really, I could live without so much poop!

But we are so blessed. :)

don't read if you want political correctness

One of the few shows I watch regularly is The View. Call it my lazy way of staying informed on what is going on. We hardly have the TV on and if it is on, it's usually a Shirley Temple movie for Bella. So, The View is kind of my hang out time with girls when I'm stuck inside. Except they get their hair and makeup done and I'm usually in yoga pants and a ponytail. Nonetheless, I enjoy it. I want to yell at the TV a lot...and today was no exception.

They had Mike Huckabee on, who happens to be someone I admire. He just seems authentic and nice...2 qualities that I find rare in today's political world. Mike had written in his book about the statistics of children in single parent households. Of course, a couple women attack him for his audacity to be critical of single mother situations. However, he was not attacking them, he was stating the facts. And they aren't pretty. But that's not my point.

He went on to say that because many fathers do not pay child support, our government must pick up the tab. Whoopi goes on to question him about the fact that many women want to forget their children's fathers. So, Huckabee is sympathetic to that. And I was thinking, "No! Why did you sleep with this man in the first place?!" Ugh! This drives me crazy! I am pro-choice...pro-choice in the fact of "You have a choice to not sleep with someone!" I think "waiting until you're married" is considered an old-fashioned idea. But, you know when you think about it, IT WORKS! Why would you sleep with someone who you would never consider marrying, but HELLO, there is the potential you could have a child with?! It makes no sense. The underlying purpose of sex is to procreate. The Lord did make it an enjoyable act, but there's a reason that it is to be between a husband and wife.

What would this world be like if family was a more paramount issue? What if a child did have 2 parents? And what's scary is that is a never-ending cycle. A single mom has a child. The child is raised with no father. She seeks out attention from another man, because she did not receive the self esteem that a father can give her. She becomes a single mom. And on and on an on.

I think this country needs a revolution for young women to see they deserve better. Be strong women! You deserve a man who treats you right! You are precious! Do not allow a man to undermine your value as God's child. I could go on and on about how this applies to the whole being a lady and making a gentleman out of your man. But I'll stop my bloviating because this soapbox is telling me I'm too heavy and need to get off.

You Are More

I love the words:

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.

Isn't it great to know the Lord remakes us? You know how we all love new things...I can't be the only one that loves to come home with something new and perfect. And then I think, "That's what the Lord does for us. He remakes us!" We are new! Who else can give you that?!

the hole

This morning we listened to a sermon from one of my favorite pastors. He's one of my favorites because his message always convicts me.

The message all boils down to looking inward and finding that one thing that you least want to give to the Lord...and then giving it to Him...because that is the one thing He wants MOST. It all comes from this scripture about the rich, young ruler who was asked to sell his treasure.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)

I tend to think I truly love the Lord. But loving God is not just saying, "I believe Jesus is God, and I love Him." It is truly putting Him first as your treasure. And that is where I say "ouch".

Because I do love God.

I do pray before meals.

I do read the bible.

I do go to church.

I do give.

BUT...do I put Him before EVERYTHING? Do I love him more than anything else in my life?

For me, the least thing I want to give to Him is my time. I mean, I get an hour (if I'm lucky!) of time in my day that is only for me. I want to do whatever I want with that time. But I wonder if the reason my time seems unbalanced is because I have not given my time to Him.

So, here is my personal experiment...lots of people give up things for Lent. Well, there are 4 weeks until Easter, and I want to give my TIME to God. Being diligent and disciplined with my time. He gives it to me. May I honor Him with how I use it.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. ~Luke 17:33

(For a more succinct message, go to the source: http://www.mychristchurch.com/messages.html )

mood food

I'm a big believer in using food as your medicine. I'd much rather change my diet to improve my health than be put on medicine. The other day I caught a blip on a morning show about foods that improve your mood and it was very interesting.

This is what they said:

To help your brain think better, eat spinach (iron source) and pair it with high vitamin C.

In need of energy, have an apple with peanut butter.

PMS'y, have a grilled cheese.

If you're angry, drink a cup of green tea.

If you are feeling stressed, have a piece of dark chocolate. (I like to eat chocolate even when I'm not stressed.) :)

Yum! :) Have a HAPPY day!

a new view on life

This is Lucy. Our first baby...pre-Bella, pre-Geni. Our very first sweet girl. And we adore this doggy. She brings so much life and joy to our family and home. We found out our precious Lucy has something called lymphosarcoma...a cancer of the lymph nodes. She's 3. There is no cure. We have the option of trying chemo or just giving her steroids to make her comfortable. Chemo is not a great option, so we've chosen to give her steroids to hopefully make her feel as well as she can.

The prognosis is 4 weeks to 8 months.

I don't like it.

It breaks my heart to look at this sweet dog and know there is a deadly disease taking over her once strong body. She's going to die. And then I realize we're all going to die. There's something different about Lucy and the rest of us...I guess we all feel like we have awhile before we go. Lucy doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I'm praying for a miracle everyday. The way we're living with Lucy now is different. We don't take the simple things for granted. We love on her every opportunity we get. We go outside as much as we can.

I step back and think, "Why don't we ALL live this way?" I read in Job yesterday, "Life is but a breath."

Live EVERY DAY to its fullest. One time I was in a coffee shop and I overheard a man saying goodbye to his friend and he said, "Tom, have the best day of your life." Pretty cool, huh? I like it.

I hope to give Lucy the best days of her life. I am thankful we know about her future. I rejoice in my belief that she'll be in heaven. I just wish we had a little more time to take her on runs and to the lake, and just see her happy. I will choose to celebrate these days instead of mourning. I'll be sad later (I am still working on this, as I'm crying thinking about her not growing up with the girls.)

Ok...forgive the blubbering....not much eloquence in this post.

I need to go hug a dog.