My life - from the impact of great loss, to a refreshing new take on life and a place where I now share ............... my favorite Plant Strong recipes....

Friday, January 27, 2012

Even in the Small Things

This morning as I was walking, I passed by a tree that was totally covered with frost.  It was so stunning that I had to stop and turn around for a second look.  There were buds already, brilliantly covered with beautiful bright, crisp, minute icicles.  I contemplated taking a picture right then, but kept walking since there were neighbors out and about.  I decided that my camera wouldn’t have been able to capture the beauty, and really, I have so many pictures already…. Who would want to see one of frosty tree buds?

My heart is heavy this morning, as I have a few friends going through some really tough things – so tough that I found myself weeping as I prayed for them.

As I opened up a new devotional to restore my soul, the message was meant for me… and meant for me to share.

From Daily Readings for Difficult Days by Jennifer Carter:

“ … as I innocently bustled my way…. I see the light catching the branches of a tree – nothing surprising you may say.  What struck me is that, even now, before the harshest day of winter has come, the buds of next year's leaves are already furled up waiting for that first warm day of spring.

Even in our darkest times there is the promise of something better to come, if we can only believe and stand firm.  As surely as the seasons come and go, so the dark times eventually pass and a brighter time arrives.

Yet just as in the winter it is so hard to remember the feel of the warm sun beating down on your skin, in the dark times we need to remember that God is faithful and He promises to be with us through the darkest of days.”


Of course, after reading such a beautiful analogy, I had to go back and take a picture of the tree branches before all of the frost melted to share with my friend…. And now you.


‘ And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age. ’
~ Matthew 28:20

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Extreme Migraines call for Extreme Measures

Up until this point, I haven’t been inspired to continue posting on my blog.  The last few years have been filled with chronic pain and fatigue, and really, other than the day to day happenings of being ‘Mama’, there wasn’t a lot new and exciting going on.  It took all I had just to get through each day.

Oh yeah, the chickens have been fun for us, but really, there’s only so much you can post on that before people start thinking you’re crazy.

But I’m so excited to report that things are improving rapidly in my life and I am so thankful!  Jeff and I have started out the new year with a new lifestyle.  And yes, maybe we are a bit crazy with this one.  We have eliminated caffeine, sugar, dairy from our diets, as well as most meats.  I know!  CRAZY!!!  But let me say that it has been the best month health wise for both of us.  We feel so good!  (recently, we both ate meat and cheese, and both times could definitely tell how much worse we felt after….).  No worries, we are getting plenty of protein, calcium, etc from the foods we are eating.  We take vitamin D supplements since we don't have much sunshine now, and the small amount of meats that we will eat will give us the B12 that we need.

It’s been over 3 weeks now, and it is so much easier than I thought it would be.  Really, I wasn’t sure if we would last this long.  But we aren’t hungry – we eat a LOT – and our tastebuds are changing.  Food that we used to love doesn’t taste the same, it tastes salty and gross, and we are finding that we don’t even want it.  We both have lost more weight than what we thought possible without an extreme exercise plan – and because of our new found energy we are finding that we are becoming more active and are looking forward to family hikes and such.

Get this… I ENJOY waking up with Jeff in the still dark hours of morning to make his breakfast and meals for the day.  Mornings used to be the hardest part of the day for me as waking up in constant pain is exhausting and discouraging.  Now I bounce out of bed ready to start the day!

Best of all, I feel inspired – to be a better wife, mom, and all that God created me to be.  Kate’s giggles this morning as I ran up our hill ahead of her were priceless.  She was in shock and delighted at the same time, and she couldn’t wait to share with the other people at the bus stop.

If I feel this good in just a few short weeks, what’s the rest of the year going to be like for me??  I am excited to find out!



What has inspired us?

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (a documentary found on Netflix)
Eat to Live book by Joel Fuhrman (available at Amazon)
Vitamix my new fun blender that we invested in when we knew that this was going to be a lifestyle for us.