Blogtober 5th – Grocery Day

Time to shop!

Its been a long time since I was confident enough to buy this much produce. If there are a lot of convenience foods in the house, we won’t eat much produce. If there are Hot Pockets in the freezer, the beans are ignored. We don’t make salad to go with the diGiorno pizza. Fruit smoothies don’t taste good with an Egg McMuffin.

In previous attempts to start eating plans created by someone else, and written in books, I’ve tried their techniques to be successful, like cleaning out the cabinets, complete abstinence from no-no foods or else start all over, fasting before I start, no dining out, make everything from scratch, etc. Maybe I just don’t have the temperament for these. For instance, Whole30 is the “start over” plan. So, if you get to day 29 and discover there’s glazed almonds in your salad that you ordered at a restaurant and didn’t notice until you ate some of it, you start over. There’s no Whole30 police watching you. Obviously, a sane person can ignore this directive and just move on, but it feels like cheating a game to me. I’m not playing a game. I’m trying to stay well.

So, this month, I’m striving for vegan. I’ve never done this before, but I’m finding it surprisingly easy to stay away from meat of any kind. I may be able to follow close to Dr. Fuhrman’s Nutrarian plan which treats meat like a condiment, after October is over. I want to try to make and drink more bone broth as well. The eating plans I have read about and studied and tried are all helpful in their own way and have taught me important things about nutrition, but what I am most concerned about is food that has traveled far, far away from God’s garden and was robbed of its value by the time it gets to our dinner plate. As a psychology student, I am intrigued by the evidence for psychological side effects from an overly processed diet. The physical effects are already well known.

Blogtober 4th – Breakfast

Strawberry, banana & kale smoothie with a bowl of organic beans with salsa and avocado.

I don’t have enough time to make everything myself. I use Bolthouse Farms bottled fruit smoothie and I blend it with kale. The organic beans are just a can of Simple Truth Organic Tri-Bean Blend. The salsa is Frog Ranch Salsa and there’s nothing special about the avocado. I drink a lot of water. My water is flavor enhanced. I haven’t given that up and I probably won’t.

So far, this plan is working for me. We will see how it works in the coming days.

Brothers and sisters on the beach, awaiting hurricane Irma.

“Hallelujah, Holy, Holy, God Almighty, The Great I Am!
Who is worthy, none beside Thee, God Almighty, The Great I am!”

Blogtober 3rd – Making Daily Progress

My morning fasting blood glucose is changing:

9/29 – 223 mg/dl

10/1 – 162

10/2 – 135

10/3 – 138

 

Blogtober 2nd – More of Him and Less of Me

“.. lay aside every weight..” Hebrews 12:1

I’m done with days 1-3. The first thing I have noticed is a sense of stillness in the evenings as my body is trying to figure out what to do next, because I’m not constantly consuming and digesting something. My stomach decides its hungry and my brain starts running through a slide show of snacks, so I sip cold water.

I woke up the last 2 mornings without my usual headache. I’m down 3 pounds and my fasting blood glucose reading in the morning is down 50 (mg/dl). I’m about 32 away from normal. Even avoiding refined ingredients, processed foods and animal products, during the day my blood sugar can go too high if I eat too much fruit or grains. That’s when walking will be my friend. I haven’t started that yet this week. I will start Monday. I was supposed to start yesterday, but stuff happened over the weekend and I didn’t get to it. I have to be ready for stuff to happen, because it always does…like today when you are working OT and you aren’t able to make your food, so you order the salad without chicken and it has blue cheese in it, which you only notice when you get to the bottom. It was delicious, but I digress.

I’m back to the plan, which is to be fit and lean in service to Christ, laying aside “every weight” that hinders. Someone reading this might say ‘Paul isn’t talking about losing body fat.’ No. He’s talking about laying aside anything that clutters up our mind and life, hindering the body from serving Christ fully. The physical me is about 45% more than I need to carry and at 50 years old, I’m running out of steam. My aches and pains are shouting for my attention, but I’m not going to give in without a fight.

Bible Study

Using YouVersion app for iPad

• Bible in 90-days Plan
  • Today I read 1 Chronicles 10-23
    • Notables:
    • Death of Jonathan and his brothers
    • Death of Saul & end of his house & reign
      • So, did this completely end Saul’s descendancy?
    • Uzza smote by God for reaching out his hand to prevent the ark from falling off of the ox cart.
    • 1 Chronicles 15-16 David celebrating the return of the ark to Israel
      • Michal, the daughter of Saul and wife of David, despising David’s dancing with the singers.
      • So, ok, Michal is one of Saul’s descendants
    • “Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. for great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.”
    • 1 chronicles 16:43 “And all the people departed every man to his house: and David returned to bless his house.”
      • Bless your house, men! Bless your house.

Father in heaven, there is none like thee. I give thanks to you for filling my heart with joy overflowing. Lord, I pray for everyone I know within reach of my knowledge. I pray for their salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

Blogtober 1st – Going Vegan for Halloween

Last spring, I started to write a series of blog posts about my own health and lifestyle changes, but I was too confused about it to start and finish blog posts that made sense. It was a stressful time, with both good stresses and bad. My stomach was in a lot of pain but typical of me, I was trying to exhaust all of my natural remedies before going to doctors and taking a bunch of tests. I changed my diet, but the changes were way too conservative. I finally went to see my doctor and he said my A1c was absolutely perfect!…for a diabetic. He called in prescriptions for everything from blood pressure meds, to diabetic meds and cholesterol meds. He said although I don’t actually need them now, I will need them later, so I should start taking them. I went and picked up the prescriptions. They were extremely cheap… Like less than a few dollars for all of them, and I don’t have insurance for prescriptions. It is like they were giving them away. Should I be suspicious? I never took them.

Instead, I bought a blood glucose monitor at Walmart, off the shelf. No prescription needed. I compared my readings using a chart I found on the internet. I checked blood glucose levels in the morning, Before meals, 1-2 hours after meals and before bedtime. It has helped me tremendously in narrowing down exactly what I was doing wrong. I discovered that simply walking lowers my blood sugar level. Immediately.

Summer was too unpredictable to start a major change in my diet. I did small things that have helped a lot, but school is now back in session, making the days and weeks ahead seem pretty steady. So, as long as I don’t get hit by a bus or a falling anvil, I am going vegan for the month of Blogtober.

•  3 meals daily
• Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, beans & greens
• Plain or fruit infused water or tea
• 8p-8a fast – plain water only
• no animal products
• No snacks
• No processed or refined foods

I know it will be tough at times, but the Lord will see me through each and every moment. I have had the chance over the summer to try out each of these things separately and it is time to put it all together.

Bible Study

Using YouVersion app for iPad

• Bible in 90-days Plan
  • Today I read 1 Chronicles 1-9
    • Notables:
    • Prayer of Jabez
    • Genealogy lists for Joseph, David, etc.
    • The sons of Levi!
      • “And He shall purifyyyyyyyy…the sons of Levi”
      • “That they may offer unto to the Lord an offering in righteousness”
      • – Handel’s Messiah
    • 1 Chronicles 8 – name to remember “Shephuphan”

Father, you have graciously let me live a long time and serve you. Thank you for giving me your wisdom to continue and for another beautiful day. I’m looking forward to leaning on you and working closely with you on this new adventure.

~L

 

 

 

Day 90

I turned my front porch into an outdoor sitting room. I have had furniture out there covered with a tarp for almost 2 years. When I pulled the tarp off yesterday, the porch and furniture were covered in dust and dry leaves. I swept the middles and turned the couch and chairs to face one another for sitting. I brought up from the basement, an old wicker trunk scratched and torn up from the cat. On top of it,  I put out a marble platter missing a handle, an old doily and a vase with dried flowers in it. On the other side of the porch, I have a rickety old rocking chair, another rocker with a wing piece broken off of the side and a desk with no drawers. I put out some other excess decorations and sat on the still-dusty couch. The air is pretty chill today, unlike last week. I enjoyed watching the cars go by. It is a great place to just sit and think. The cats joined me for a little while. I’m looking forward to spending many days out there this spring.

So, I curbed my media consumption the last few days. I used to follow 700 Twitter accounts. I gradually cut it down to 400 since last fall, but this week I pared down to 14. I’m going for “local” news and friends and family. I cannot give my attention to so much national and international news and be effective  the way God wants me to be in my own home. Many of the people I was following are paid lots of money to follow hundreds of people on Twitter. Alas, I am not. Also, out of all of the philosophical discussions I have had on Twitter, I have rarely engaged without being called stupid, ignorant, delusional, a liar and much worse. If it was fruitful, it would be worth it all, but sadly I believe I have wasted many hours. Facebook has the advantage of allowing unlimited word count in replies for explaining oneself, but unlike Twitter the last few years, everyone I follow on Facebook is a friend or family member. A higher word count doesn’t improve the conversation if the subject matter is defective. The ‘unfollow’ feature works most of the time, but even so I’ve thought many times the last few months of just deactivating my account. At the moment, the positives outweigh the negatives, and for that I am thankful.

Bible Study and Prayer

Bible Reading – The OT book of Obadiah

Select Verses – “But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune…” , “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you;”

Hymn – “How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that he should give his only son to make a wretch his treasure.”

 

 

Prayer for Sunday – Jesus my Lord and God of atonement, you have drawn me to yourself. I am a sinner saved by you to walk in newness of life. I confess my failures to you that you would forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank you Lord for the ways in which you have answered specific prayers this week. You cleared away the some things to make our focus much narrower as a family and as individuals. Lord, I pray today for my husband and me and our son here at home. I pray for our daughter & soon-to-be husband and our son, his wife and daughter. Changing times…Father I pray today for my parents and all brothers and sisters. Draw those who do not know you to yourself and deepen the closeness to you, those who are saved. Today is set aside in prayer just for worship and resting in you. Thank you for the way you lead us and protect us.You know our needs, but most important is our need to seek first the Kingdom of God.

Day 92

We spent a night at the spa last weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day and our Anniversary. It was wonderful. We didn’t partake of any of the professional spa services. We just made use of our wonderful room and spa-like bath. Then we walked around the historic hotel, taking in all of the amazing architectural features. It was like visiting the Titanic. Researching the history of the area was fascinating. I learned a lot about mineral springs and discovered a lot of health benefits from mineral water. As soon as I got home, I bought some Celtic sea salt and made salt sole to put in my water every morning. For more information on salt sole and mineral water, here’s a  blog link: Minerals

This is the first full week working on my health and fitness goals checklists in my journal. In 5 days of log entries, my morning blood sugar numbers have come down 40 points. My blood pressure was 120/81 this morning. This afternoon, my son and I plan a 3 mile walk. I haven’t consistently hit all of my daily goals this week and I know it is because of too much time on the computer. I have homework and work-work on the computer, but social media adds too many extra hours each week. So, I made a couple of changes, which I will talk about in more detail in my next blog post.

Bible Study and Prayer:

Bible Reading – The OT book of Joel

Select Verses – “Blow ye a trumpet in Zion”, “The day of the Lord is great and terrible. Who can endure it?”, “I will restore the years the locusts have eaten.”, “Your sons & daughters shall prophesy.”, “For the Lord dwells in Zion.”

Hymn – “My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine-For Thee all the follies of sin I resign; my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou: If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.”

1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us”

Prayer for Friday – Your name O Lord, is a strong and mighty tower! I confess I am a sinner Lord but you are faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank you for making a way for this sinner to come to you and pray and seek your face for all things for myself and for others. Thank you for your cleansing, healing, joy and strength. Lord, I lift up my husband and son to you here at our home and out at their homes, my children and grandchild. Father, I pray and honor my parents and lift up my brothers and sisters to you. For those who don’t know you, I pray for their salvation. For those who know you, I pray that they will know you more today. Father, today is Friday, and I have this day dedicated to add pray for our nation and our leaders. Thank you for the ways in which you lead us. Thank you for leaders who speak your name openly and seek to do good to our nation and serve the people for your sake. Lord, deliver us from he evil one, save the people and heal our land.

Days 99,98 & 97

I was able to walk a lot over the weekend, while away on a special trip with my husband. It was the perfect start to the 100 days, walking the streets of a little resort town, quiet in the off season, seemingly frozen in times past and think about life.

So…homework. I changed my notebook pages to keep track of my homework by the week rather than detailed days. I’ve logged several things that chip away at my personal goals the last few days. Beginning tomorrow morning I hit the full list.

A sample of my daily goals list looks like this:

Sun  Mon  Tue  Wed  Thu  Fri  Sat

5 fruits/day             ““`

4 bottles water       ““

1lb green leafy        `

1lb cooked greens  `

Etc…

Walk 1mi +                “`

Etc…

Blood Sugar             136

BP                               120/77

Etc…

Prayer & Bible 1hr +  `

Etc…

 

 

100 Days

I started a functional analysis journal at the start of the new year. I’ve done them many times, but I didn’t know the process is used by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and that it was called “functional analysis”. The method I have undertaken is to use a 2 page spread in a notebook where one page is for a fairly detailed day’s schedule and activities and the other page is a free-form journal to summarize or make notes that are pertinent to the day. I have done this for chronic health issues for myself or my husband and as a spiritual journal or bible study journal or prayer journal. I’ve done it for school when I was home schooling all of our kids and I’ve done it for study purposes, taking notes of lectures or webinars or sermons. I have notebooks all over the place.

This year, I started another health and fitness journal. Health and fitness is a popular topic every new year for many people in our culture, but I think about it all year. I became very interested in natural remedies and health when I was pregnant with my daughter in 1991/1992. I made my own almond milk and other various things that are now mass produced and can be found in local grocery stores. I’ve read many things and tried many things. I am almost 50  years old and I do not take regular prescriptions of any kind. I take aspirin for headaches, a daily multi and magnesium. I see a chiropractor 1-2 times each month. I walk with my son about 3 days a week, but the last 10 years has been a struggle for physical fitness. I’ve concluded that any fitness problems I have stem from too much eating and sitting and not enough fasting and moving.

So, now that the functional analysis is done, onto the “homework” phase. Today marks the start of 100 days I have set aside to change my habits for a new season in my life. Tomorrow, day 99, I will discuss my weekly goals and homework. I turn 50 this year. I have been a Christian for 30 years. My firstborn gets married this year and graduates from college this year. My second born and his wife made me into a new grandmother 6 months ago. My youngest was baptized this year and is finishing up home school while starting college. I hope to graduate from college next spring and also next year my husband and I celebrate 30 years married! These events represent so much thankfulness I have to the Lord for this life He gave to me. Whatever days the Lord has left for me to keep breathing, I want to redeem them.

More Media Cluelessness

“The media took this as a comment about press freedom rather than its own failure to read the zeitgeist. In fact, it largely failed to tell any story other than its own.

New Yorker editor David Remnick, as good a representative of media virtue as anybody, before he went to bed last night took a moment to throw off a thousand words or so on the death of the republic, rather than to express much interest — awe might have been in order — at the enormity and meaning of what had happened. Truly, really, a new voice had spoken — but in a pitch so high and a language so obscure that none of us in the media picked it up.” – Michael Wolff, The Hollywood Reporter