I shall abide

When I was knocked down by a viral infection last week I was thinking about all the things I could have done to prepare myself
for this.
a. Buy those chicken roasters from West Wind farm to make chicken broth.
b. stocked up on some basic foods like cooked beans, ground beef, diced with peppers and onions, a few quick meals frozen and ready to go.
c. My house in order (ok well maybe just the laundry folded and put away)
d. Bathrooms clean, and a dust free house.
e. Honey in plenty, lots of herbal teas and lemons

Being prepared for sickness is such a blessing because your not as stressed, your husband's not wondering what to make for dinner and while your passed out in the bathroom coughing your lungs up, you can rest assured that its not too dirty.
Of course gracious mercies abound for the sick even if we don't see them at first. For me it was the little things that made a huge difference.

a. My husband picked up the slack by taking off from work for the first two days. He folded laundry, cooked dinners and put up with my crabby self.
b. My husband and daughter bonded while I was stuck to the couch. My daughter also was considerate of my needs and took the opportunity to play quietly. THIS was HUGE.
c. I was able to read my Bible, and A Severe Mercy.
d. Most importantly I feel like I was able to take time to wrestle a little with my Savior and learn once again how to trust even when things get scratchy. and pray. pray. pray.

I also wanted to mention, for those who are interested, a few things that I did do that helped with my recovery.

a. I went to my MD right away and was given an adjustment, and some anti-viral and immune booster supplements.
b.For my pinkeye I put FRESH raw milk in my eyes which helped.
c. Kept taking things like zinc and staying away from sugars and nasty but tempting foods
d. I drank water, hot tea, V8, and honey and lemon
e. Gargled with Celtic Sea Salt. (Btw my MIL sent me some wonderful info on gargling in the morning and night as well as swabbing your nose with salt water to help kill germs. Must start doing that)
f. cod liver oil
g. Got myself some IntraMax to help fight things off for my loved ones.

And when things got bad like coughing all through the night and crying because I felt like I was going out of my mind, I clung to my pillow and meditated on the following.... "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.'"
I'm not very good at abiding but when I get sick there is nothing else to do but abide.

I hope some of this has helped. And I'd love to hear about some of what you all do to keep healthy and fight off sicknesses naturally.

The Opal

For all of us who feel broken today....


Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
October 16, 2009

The Opal
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
--Psalm 51:17
I've always loved opals, partly because that's my birth stone. But also because opals seem even more brilliant and full of fire than a diamond. Amazingly, this beauty comes from desert dust and silica from sand dunes. That's what opals are made of. They owe their beauty to a defect--it's a stone with a broken heart. The opal is full of minute fissures that admit air, and then the air refracts the light. Because of this defect, the opal is all the more brilliant.

You and I who have broken hearts are sometimes only conscious of the cracks and the fissures. But out of all this God is making an opal heart. We must be broken in ourselves before we can give back the lovely hues of His light, including the fire, the brilliance. The Bible says that God can best use a heart that is broken and contrite. It's true in my life. When I'm self-sufficient and in control, my heart becomes a little hardened to others' needs. In fact, that self-sufficient attitude even hardens my heart toward God.

Ah, but then He breaks it...by a cutting yet true remark from a friend. Or rejection from someone whose opinion I respect. Or by a verse such as, "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12). Sometimes something beautiful will break my heart...a special hymn or the testimony of someone who has suffered. Only when my heart is fractured, full of minute fissures, can God's love enter in and refract His own light.

Next time you see an opal, think of how you must be broken before you can give back the lovely hues of God's light. Let the opal remind you to thank God for a broken heart.

* * * *

Lord of my heart, thank You that You use brokenness to create beauty and that my defects are tools to serve Your purpose.

Blessings,

Joni and Friends

Taken from More Precious Than Silver. Copyright © 1998 by Joni Eareckson Tada. Used by permission. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Nursing Cover

I was planning on getting this nursing cover done oh about a year ago, but just the thought of doing it made me tired.
Well now that I'm feeling better I decided I would start getting some things done. My hubby was at a U2 concert and since I have a hard time falling asleep without him I stayed up super late and was able to get the whole thing done in one night. I prayed really hard before I started. It turned out better than I expected. I'm usually all nerves when it comes to sewing. My poor mother tried to teach me back in the day but I was a basket case just trying to make a little pillow. I thought I would never pick up sewing again, but since I didn't have a major catastrophe with this project I just might try something else...we'll see.

The Practical

Making changes in ones life doesn't come easy but if you have a desire even if its a very slight one... don't get stuck, just start moving forward....

I was standing in my kitchen a few weeks ago mentally taking note of all the no-no food I had stashed in my cupboards...uhhh the 5 lbs of whole wheat pasta I just bought from the co-op, granola bars, white flour...and the list went on and my frustration mounted. My thoughts at that moment? You don't want to know. So what did I do? I called on my expert friend who lives the GF life. She sent me a wonderful list of things I could eat and it was like I was charlie opening up that chocolate bar and getting the golden ticket...never mind about the chocolate I've got that ticket!

So here you go. Just a few things to get you started from my awesome friend KatieO.



Just so you know all dairy, meat, veggies and fruit are naturally gluten free. ...the only exception might be bluecheese:)...(hotdogs and deli meat rarely have gluten but we do get the ones w/o hormones/nitrates etc. just because we like them better

Breakfast:
Frozen GLuten Free Waffles/French Toast Sticks (we get VANS)
Gluten Free Oatmeal (BiLo, and Greenlife) the company is called BOB MILL...but it needs to say GF
Yogurt
Eggs
Bacon/Sausage
GF cereal (Rice Chex, are at WAlmart cheap and gluten free!!)....the BIG thing to look at with cereals is if it contains, barley...malt...oats...and obviously wheat.
Fruit
Protein Shake (i use Chocolate Rice Protein in Rice Milk(do not use Rice Dream if you want to use Rice Milk) but you could use any protein powder that says it is GF and any kind of dairy or nut drink)
Gf muffins that i make from a mix (i can share that with you if you want it) ...i mix in chocolate chips, apple, banana, etc.
Brown Rice Bread Toasted with cinnamon and butter (the bread is called Food for Life...must be toasted...you might hate it but my kids like it..there is MUCH better bread but Mason is allergic to eggs so that limits our options:)


Lunch:

Corn Thins (b/c they are much thinner and tastier than Rice Cakes) w/ peanut butter, sunbutter, or hummus
Chicken Salad (shredded chicken, diced veggies, sliced almonds, and we use vegan mayo but Helmanns is GF)
Egg Salad over spinach or lettuce (just Gage and i eat this:)
Tuna, Sardines, and even canned salmon mixed with the same things i do with chicken salad
Turkey,Ham, Roast Beef, 'roll up' with a couple cheese strips
Salad(rare but it happens)
Leftovers from the night before
GF Crackers with Peanut/or Sunbutter (we like Healthy Valley's Rice ones...somewhat like graham crackers)

Dinner:

Tacos (just watch out for the seasoning...look for one that is JUST seasonings no extra junk..or make your own...stay away from anything with MSG)
Grilled Chicken Strips, over Brown Rice (i put sauteed diced carrots and onions in at the last minute) , with fruit
Rice Pasta (they sell it at Walmart...the brand we like the most you would have to get at Greenlife called Tinkyada...you can save leftovers and they heat up just fine or even taste good cold where not all Rice Pastas will do that) w/marinara sauce (i hide veggies in it) and meatballs
Fish (frozen tilapia, or salmon...i try to buy wild caught but doesnt always happen) grilled or broiled w/olive oil and we like to put a strawberry/mango/cilantro salsa on it...or capers and toasted almonds w/ sweet potato fries (we buy a brand called Alexia...but its super easy to make them yourself)
Hamburgers/Turkey Burgers w/o the bun, steamed carrots/broccoli and sliced apples
Quesidillas/salsa...i get flour tortillas for Ryan but use corn for us....i cook ours first in the pan and then his
We buy a gluten free Pizza made with Rice crust but it would taste much better and be cheaper if you have an all purpose mix (anything but BOB MIll is gross) and make your own
Pulled Pork in the crockpot with BBQ sauce (there are cheap ones but you really need to make sure it doesnot have soysauce b/c it is made w/wheat)
Stirfry (brown rice, whatever veggies we have, a meat...and Tamari(wheatfree soysauce)
Shish Kabobs (meat/shrimp and veggies grilled over rice)
Roasted Chicken w/ veggies....and i use leftovers for Chicken salad


Snack Ideas:

Popcorn (we airpop it and use coconut oil...and then bag it up and it can last for over a week or two still tasty:)
Potato/Corn Chips (wheat free)
jello/pudding
yogurt
fruit strips or fruit roll ups (Target sells Archer Farms Fruit Strips they are the cheapest i have found)
apple sauce
Pirates Bootie/Veggie Bootie/Tings (Greenlife-its cheap)
Celery w/ peanut or sunbutter and raisins
Handful of nuts/seeds
Trail Mix (i make my own but just check it if you buy it already mixed)
Betty Crocker GF brownies, cookies, cake mix....best mix for these three things and you can get them at Walmart:)
GF pretzels (expensive but we splurge once a month or so...about 7.99 for a big bag:(
Hummus with veggie sticks


okay so real quick watch out for lingo like this:

Wheat, Barley, Spelt, Oats, Malt, Soysauce(b/c it contains wheat), MSG, ...here is a full list below but those are the ones that are clearest

here is a good unsafe list:

http://www.celiac.com/articles/182/1/Unsafe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Unsafe-Ingredients/Page1.html

here is a good 'safe' list just for more ideas:
http://www.celiac.com/articles/181/1/Safe-Gluten-Free-Food-List-Safe-Ingredients/Page1.html

here is a list of Gluten Free Medications---gluten is in some so you have to check:
http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/Glutenlist.htm

Feeling Clearly

I've had to make some hard decisions the past few months but now that I'm feeling better I am so thankful I went ahead with all of it. I know that a lot of people struggle with similar issues and I was always super blessed by people who shared their stories with me and encouraged me to push on and keep trying. So its in that spirit that I wish to share a few things that I've been doing that have helped me get to this point in my life. First of all I've been praying a ton really going before the Lord and asking him for healing and I know a lot of people have been praying for me as well. I know that the Lord has the power to heal me completely but I've also seen how going through so much sickness and all the red tape that surrounds someone struggling with LD and chronic fatigue can also glorify His name and be the guide to help others who are struggling too.

I know a big part of my journey in getting better has been my desire to seek out MD's who are more preventative and that seek at going to the root of the problem not just masking over a deeper problem by treating the symptoms. The biggest set back for most people to go to this type of MD is the monetary factor. Some people end up having to pay out of pocket for everything and that can be really hard trust me I've been there. Walking out of their offices shaking my head near tears when I think of all the money I'm dropping on supplements and office visits. And yet we were able to do it and not get in over our heads either. When I was first getting treatment for LD we even had friends and family send us money to help pay for the cost of things! This is a testimony to me of how faithful the Lord has been in providing the resources we needed for my care.

The other things that have been super helpful for me personally are the supplements I'm taking. As I mentioned before I am deficient in iodine and zinc and so I've been taking that for over a month now. I am also taking P-5-P which is and activated Vitamin B6 and Max Stress B Nano Plex. I do really feel like these things have really helped me especially in the area of PMS, mood issues, stress, and fatigue.

I've also made some changes in how I eat. This is a huge thing because it really affects me every single day. I usually wake up in the morning feeling really awful like sick and stiff joints and just grumpy. I was muscle tested and found out that Wheat is not a thing I should eat. I'm not technically allergic to wheat but its just not good for me. SO while I was at it I just cut out all gluten. Now I know that sounds crazy hard to do and it took me a really long time to actually do it but now that I have done it it really wasn't that hard and really not that bad either. Next thing I did was cut out all refined sugar. What I ended up doing when I went GF was that I would just eat more sugary GF stuff. This of course made me feel really bad and so I just decided on my own that I was going to take out sugar, chocolate, and all manner of sweets out of my life. You know what ended up happening? Well I would wake up in the morning and actually feel good! Shocking I know...well it makes sense sugar is an inflammatory and wreaks havoc on your body in so many ways. I do allow myself freedom on the weekends or when there is a special event like a birthday or party. This has made going GF and SF really doable for me.

I also try to eat whole foods as much as possible. I'm really big into Raw milk, which I get from a local source, West Wind farms has wonderful meats and they deliver to our door once a month and although we don't eat organic eggs all the time I can totally tell the difference between my 44 cents Aldi eggs and the fresh eggs that my friend lets me get every once in a while. As far as fruits and veggies go I don't usually get all organic. It ends up being really expensive. So I've been doing some gardening and using my own produce as well as going to a lovely little farmers market called Linda's my sister-in-law told me about. I just wash everything really well and don't stress out about it.

This is a huge thing that I've learned. I've done all of this slowly and I've learned that if I stress about eating ALL organic I'm actually doing my body more harm. I've also learned to just do it and not push my thoughts on others. I KNOW I've probably made loads of people feel uncomfortable and stressed out when in my excitement I've shared all my findings.
It can be overwhelming but I was in a place in my life where I was totally willing to try anything to get better.

It has taken me a long time to get to this point in my life. Don't think for one minute that I am doing this all in my own strength. I'm just as weak and weary over all this striving as the next person. But there is a purpose behind all of it. To be one who overcomes even in areas of health and eating has been every bit physical as well as spiritual. It is a laying down of myself and constantly being filled through the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing can be done without it.