Health

Gluten Free Thanksgiving???

Michelle Grant — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:17:35 -0800

Just reading the title seems to throw me for a tail spin. Gluten free Thanksgiving? Is that even necessary? After doing a lot of research I am realizing it is completely necessary.

80% of Americans have a wheat and/or gluten sensitivity and don't even know it. Many of the symptoms that people go through on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis can be rooted to this little culprit called gluten. I remember hearing it over and over again over the past couple of years, "I have celiac disease" or "I just found out I have a wheat and gluten sensitivity."

After hearing it over and over again, I began to ponder, "what happened?" How come all of a sudden so many people were coming down with this health challenge? Did something change in the wheat and gluten? Or did we change?

Then an amazing book crossed my path called The Body Ecology Diet by Donna Gates. As I was reading it my eyes opened wide to the revelation of what I was seeing. People have these extreme sensitivities due to an overgrowth of Candida in their bodies. Amazing!!! Could it be that simple? Yes. I did the obvious; I decided to be the guinea pig. I changed my diet to see if this really could be true.

So far I have been walking in utter amazement. I feel so great. For the first time in my life I have complete sustainable energy. All my health challenges are gone.

Is it a little more work? To be honest; yes it is. But aren't you worth it?

Battle for the Heart

Marcus Santi — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:09:54 -0800

Hello Freedom (Clay),

I have been reading a book and it posed a very interesting thought... What if we looked at this world as a battle and everything in this world is competing for our attention/ for our souls? What if? Then all that is around us is either for our good or for our demise.

I read last night, in this book, about the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Long to short he was once a man, flesh and blood. He loved a woman and he worked long days so he could earn the money to marry this love of his. The wicked witch saw this love and she despised the Woodsman for his passion. She caused one accident after another for the Woodsman and with each accident the woodsman was cutting off a limb which would slow down his work. The Witch thought she was stopping his love.

The Woodsman found a tinsmith who could make a piece of tin that would replace his limb. The Woodsman now could work day and night and never tire. The witch saw this and finally she thought "I will take his heart". She did and the now Tin Man became so efficient at his work. The one thing; he forgot why and what he was working for. He lost his heart. The Woodsman, now Tinman wanted to see Oz so he could ask for a heart. He wished to remember/feel why he was working.

The greatest lost he experienced was not the loss of a limb but a loss of his heart.

Back to the beginning question: What if everything around us is a battle of good and evil? The enemy will steal our heart and now we walk aimlessly through life not knowing what we are doing all this for. Having the eyes to see and the ears to hear the enemies and the good of this world. This is our battle, it is all around us.

Rock on Freedom, you want freedom to reign. I want freedom to reign in my own life but as with the freedom we have in the United States it came at a cost. Many wars/battles have been fought and won to attain this freedom. We must fight, be aware there is a fight for our very own hearts.

Beachkid (Marcus)

Seven Steps to Recovery

Christy Tennant — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

So, folks, I've been homebound for the past week. Aside from a trip to the doctor, pharmacy, grocery store and bank, I've pretty much been home. Jonah's gotten very short walks (i.e. walks to the front yard to do his business and then back inside we go) and I've been reading, writing, blogging, watching movies and sleeping. The diagnosis? Chest cold > strep > bronchitis. I am past the cold and strep (thanks to antibiotics), but still have a horrible cough. In fact, I went to church yesterday morning and, 20 minutes into the service, was lovingly sent home by my friend/pastor's wife Rebecca, who told me I still needed to be in bed.

When you're used to a very active lifestyle and are relegated to staying in sweats for a week, sleeping and eating and being pretty sedentary, what are some of the steps you can take to getting "back into the swing of things?"

Here are my suggestions for how to feel human again after a not-too-serious week-long illness:

1) Take a bath/shower. On Wednesday night, my friend and fellow blogger Jeannine Seery stopped by my apartment after Family Night at our church. When we spoke again on Friday, I confessed that I had not bathed or changed since we had seen each other. As soon as we got off the phone, I ran a hot bath. What a difference being clean and putting on clean clothes (OK, more sweats, but at least they were clean) that made.

2) Clean your home. I wasn't ready to go jogging, but I needed some motion. The solution? Put on a "book on CD" and do some much-needed deep cleaning in my apartment. The dust I stirred up didn't help my cough, but it sure felt good when I stood back and admired my clean bedroom.

3) Skype. After being a recluse and hermit for a week, it was really good to have some contact with people through Skype. I talked with my friend Susan Isaacs for over an hour, I talked with my brother Matt and sister-in-law Melanie for nearly two hours. Susan's in California, and Matt and Mel are in Oxford, England, so I don't get to see them in person too much. But with Skype, we can talk on video, meaning I can have some human contact without spreading the germs. And becaus Skype is FREE, you can talk for hours at a time.

4) Catch up on reading your favorite blogs! I rarely have time to read all the blogs I subscribe to, much less comment on them. So this week, as Stan Jantz put it, I've been a blogging machine! One redemptive purpose in being sick, perhaps?

5) Listen to God. That's been my favorite thing about this week. I have not actually minded being stuck inside at all, because this week, I have felt God's presense so strongly, and have spent some good chunks of time reading and absorbing his word more than I am usually able to in my busy life. I've written two new talks this week, and one might even become my book project soon. So it's been productive in many ways.

6) Buy a fitness magazine and imagine exercising. While I was at the pharmacy waiting for my Rx to be filled, I perused the magazine rack and felt inspired to at least THINK about exercising, since any actual exertion only resulted in a coughing fit. But it gives me something to look forward to, for when I'm well again. I want to start running.

7) Pray more than you usually do. I have prayed for people and ministries and political situations more this week than I usually do, because I could. I had the time.

What would you add to my list? How do YOU feel human again after battling an illness (serious or temporary)?

Though He Slay Me, Yet I Will Trust In Him

Jeannine Seery — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:01:20 -0800

Five years ago today, as I sat in a dark examination room looking intently at the sonogram screen, my OB/GYN turned to me and said the words I will never forget.

"There is no heartbeat."

At that moment, it seemed as though the universe came crashing down on me. I was too stunned to speak, too stunned to cry. The doctor and nurse left the room. I got dressed, called my husband and delivered the terrible news.

Unfortunately, there were still formalities to be dealt with. My Doctor gave me all of the particulars-- who I'd have to call to set up the appointment for the D&C, how the procedure would go, when I'd have to come back for a follow up. And in an attempt to comfort me, (by now, the tears had started to flow) he assured me that none of this was my fault; that I'd had one full term pregnancy before so he was sure I'd get pregnant again, that there was probably something horribly wrong with this baby that caused it to die so suddenly within my womb.

With that, I was escorted out the discreet back entrance of the office, found my way to my car and was immediately overcome by grief like I'd never known before. It was at that precise moment, that the words of Job I didn't even know I remembered came into my mind and spilled out of my mouth.

Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him (Job 13:15).

In the prior two weeks, after the first sign that something was amiss, I'd prayed for this baby like I'd never prayed for anything in my life. My husband prayed, our friends and family prayed, our church family prayed. God heard every one of those prayers. And still, our baby died.

Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.

I have found no good explanation for my miscarriage. Five long years later, the memory of my lost little one can still take my breath away. As long as I live, I will remember. A part of me will always mourn. But amidst the grief, the sorrow, the unanswered prayer I found a truth that can never be taken from me. God is good. God is trustworthy. While His ways are sometimes beyond my comprehension, He always acts for my greatest possible good No circumstance can change that, no circumstance ever will.

Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.

Of Fire and Loss and People Far Away

Lisa Borden — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:34:13 -0800

It's never good to wake up to several emails saying things like, "Just want you to know that your boys are O.K." or "The fire is approaching campus but they are all in the gym."

Don't get me wrong. I am tremendously thankful for a handful of people, (most notably Tanya, Jenelle and Kjaere) who went into over-drive to give me frequent news of Jesse and Trevor's safety, mood and whereabouts.

But I am ahead of myself.

On Thursday, November 13th, at about 6pm California time, a wild fire broke out in the hills above Westmont College in Santa Barbara, (Montecito, to be exact.) The cause of the blaze is unknown at this time. What is known is that the 70 mile per hour winds took the fire and whipped it into a fast and furious inferno that engulfed the college and destroyed 14 faculty homes as well as a significant portion of one of the residence halls and several smaller buildings.

Within moments of smelling smoke and then spotting flames, the student body and everyone else on campus, was in the fire- proof gym where they ended up spending the night. The blaze ripped through campus and then up into the Riviera area of Santa Barbara and has (so far) taken at least 70 homes down in its 2,000 acre path.

Westmont students are off campus now, scattered here and there. They are waiting to hear if classes might resume by next Wednesday.

Those are some of the sparse details.

It has been 16 years since we lost our home in Loita to a fire.

I remember the surreal feeling of knowing that the house was gone. I remember the oddly pleasant feeling of lightness when I pondered the fact that I really didn't HAVE anything. (Painful but strangely good at the same time.)

Of course, I had everything that truly mattered. I had Byron, Jesse and Trevor and the 4 of us together made a wealth that nothing else could touch.

But all the little things were gone... The ring my mom gave me when I turned 11... The letters from my grandfather who lived in West Africa for 40 years... The baby blankets my grandmother had made for the boys... The note Byron wrote me on the night Jesse was born... The stuff of life, no more.

The loss of place is a more elusive feeling to deal with. There is a sacred nature to the shelters we call home. This is where we live and breathe and laugh and kiss and have our arguments and welcome our friends and make our tea and lay our tired selves down in the cool of night. This is where we grow and where we find the safety to dream tomorrow into being.

This space called home is nothing less than a holy place.

Today, I am thankful that no lives were lost. I am thankful for a well-planned emergency response and a dedicated crew of courageous fire-fighters. There is just so much I am thankful for.

But I am also sober and mindful of tender things. I don't know who all lost home Thursday night. I do know that my friends, Russell and Allison, lost theirs.

I know how much loss they have already experienced in the last few years. I know that cancer took their lovely teenage daughter and then raged in Allison's body as well. I know that they have been rebuilding life as a three-some with their son, Travis.

And now home is gone. The place where they tended gently to their dying daughter and escorted her as far as they could go as she slipped away from them has "gone with the water" as the Maasai would say.

My Maasai friends came to sit with me when my house burned down. Over the next couple of weeks, my friends would arrive with a bag of sugar or a bowl and spoon or some other gift, and sit quietly with me. If I was busy with the work of living in camping mode, I would pause to receive their companionship.

Jesse and Trevor said they saw Russell working hard all night to help the evacuated students. When they passed him on their way out the next morning, they asked after his house. It hit them hard to realize that he was serving others while his own home was burning down.

I guess I wish I could sit with Russell and Allison today.

No need for words. "What good are words now?"

Just the unglamorous gift of presence.

365

Marcus Santi — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:51:04 -0800

Clay,

Got a quickie story for you. It was about this time 5 years ago. I was given an assignment to train the U of Memphis women’s soccer team. This team just came off a year where the football team and this team won the same amount of games, 5. The only difference is the football team had 11 opportunities and this team had 20 opportunities to win games.

This was the worst team on campus. I got in front of them and spoke with them.The one thing I told them is this: “If you want to be a champion on the field be a champion off the field. It will first start off the field of play and then you will find it happening on the field of play. Every day when we train you will have the opportunity to win. We have 365 days in a year; every night when you lay your head on your pillows ask yourself ‘did I win today in my life?’ ‘Did I give my best in what I did today?’ We have 365 opportunities to win this year.”

We went on to win 13 games that season (school record for wins). It was the second largest turn around in NCAA women’s soccer that year.

Clay- both you and I have 365 opportunities to win over the course of a year. I cannot say I have won each day of my life. We are a team. We can win today. Let’s do it!! Name one thing you will do today and do it to your best. “We win Gracie!!!” (Armageddon)

Beach Kid

Isaiah 40:31 (NewInternational Version)
31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Flesh and Blood

Jeannine Seery — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:36:29 -0800

I have a love/hate relationship with my body. Truth be told, it's more hate than love. I can only remember a handful of times where I have been content with the way I look. I have been trying to lose my last 15 pounds of baby weight for almost 4 years now- I have a feeling it isn't going to happen. I was looking at pictures of myself in my 20's and wondering why I was so unhappy with my appearance. It then occured to me that I will probably look at pictures of myself today tfifteen years from now and be thinking the very same thing.

I am trying very hard to be thankful for the body God has given me. Despite its visible flaws, it is currently serving me quite well. Remember, it hasn't always lived up to its full potential. When I recall the dark time after my open heart surgery, I don't remember being concerned that I might never fit into my 'skinny jeans' again. At that point, I was content just to feel my heart beat in my chest and I hoped and prayed that it would continue to do so for just a little bit longer. While I would never voluntarily go back to that time in my life, I do miss the intense appreciation I felt about just being alive.

So today I choose to be grateful for the body I've been given, which I must continually remind myself is only a temporary home for the real me. I look forward to the day when I can shed the "outer man that is decaying" in favor of "the inner man who is being renewed day by day" (2Cor 16:8)

Real Life Letters: "Living in the Arena"

Marcus Santi — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:31:16 -0800

Man in the Arena

'It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.'

Clay,

I love this speech. Here is our challenge in this life. I ask myself where do I want to be sitting; in the stands as the critic or do I want to be The Man in the Arena!

I once heard in a movie: "life is going to hit you and knock you down. It is not about when life knocks you down it is how you get back up and keep moving forward each time it does hit you."

How do I become the Man in the Arena? How do I get backup and move forward?

Hold your head high Clay. Fight! I know you can. We all have our struggles and temptations. Ephesians 6v13-14 “…and after you have done everything to STAND. Stand firm then, with the belt of TRUTH buckled around your waist.”

I love you,your parents and brother love you, and God loves you. Clay anyone who loves you will want you to be your best. We all want our parents to be proud of us. Truth will set you free. Be truthful and you will be surprised what will come from what you may see as a failure in your life.

You say I have helped you. I hope you are aware how you have helped me. Without your struggle I would be consumed with myself. I would be completely lost in me if it was not for you asking me to send you Bible verses. The only reason why I opened my Bible, over this last month, was to find scripture to pass on because you asked me too. I knew God gave me a responsibility. I did not know as to why but today’s phone call opened my eyes to God’s great vision. He knew what’s to come for both you and me. This is how you helped me in my life.

Let your parents and loved ones embrace you in the midst of your struggle. This is why we are here; to celebrate in victories and pick up when we are down. When you become victorious you will have lots of people to celebrate with. Look at all the people who are with you now. You are not alone, you have many around you.

My failures have brought about the greatest times in my life. I get the chance to see mercy, grace, love,and forgiveness in a world conditioning us for the opposite. I grew up in a house that knew nothing about this. When I failed I was not loved. I do not like failing but God has brought out greatness in me because of my failures. I see who I really am in my moments of weakness.

I am not Superman even though I try hard to be (in my workouts). I am human and I need people. I need you. I need God. The one thing I can do and try to do is be me. I serve God and people of this world by striving for honesty with who I am and seeking honesty with those I have relationship with.
I am selfish, I am controlling, I doubt and lack trust in people. I give people a chance to accept me, my best and my worse. You are an alcoholic, so what! You are my friend through the thick and thin.

God tells us we are his children and he wants relationship with us. Even after all our failures he still wants relationship? Yes he does. Hard to believe but this is a TRUTH!

Man in the Arena,

Beach Kid

P.S.
How would you like to be running 13 miles through the mountains of Southern France on March 22? Will tell more…

Day 4- Zzzzzzzz....

Jeannine Seery — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:32:12 -0800

Still working out this gratitude thing.

Tonight, I am tired. It has been a looooong day, filled with taxiing my girls to various appointments, folding piles of laundry and moderating an ongoing debate between my daughters regarding who is loved the most. I am physically and even moreso, emotionally exhausted.

In my fatigued estate, I find myself most thankful for my bed. At the end of the night, I can fall into my queen-sized refuge, close my eyes and drift off to sleep (At least until one of my girls wakes me up for a midnight drink or a run to the bathroom.) Feeling my muscles relax, I think about those who are less fortunate than I, the homeless man sleeping on a park bench, the child sleeping with sounds of war threatening to invade their retreat. As I drift off to sleep, I pray for those who have nowhere safe to go, and thank my Father in heaven for my own place of peace.

Day 3-- Keeping it Real

Jeannine Seery — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:08:07 -0800

There are so many reasons to be grateful for my children. They bring me so much joy on a daily basis; I absolutely adore being their mother.

But the thing that I'm feeling most grateful about these days is that they consistently prevent me from taking myself too seriously.

As you may have guessed, I fancy myself a writer of sorts. So I was pretty excited the other day, when the inaugural issue of Bible Study Magazine arrived in the mail. There, on page 9, was my very first published article. As I looked at the byline most admiringly, I could just envision the many literary doors that would open for me as a result of this accomplishment.

I gave the magazine to my husband, who fawned appropriately over it, and decided to show it to my youngest daughter, Amanda. She looked at it with a somewhat puzzled look and then I saw her face light up. "Look, Mommy!", she said, "VEGGIETALES!!"

Yes, indeed- my article had been placed directly opposite a full page color advertisement of the most recent VeggieTales movie. Now in her mind, THAT was worth getting excited about. Of course, in my mind, I'd been upstaged by a talking cucumber.

I am so grateful for these two little girls whose love for me is not dependent on my failures or accomplishments. I am thankful that when I take this life and my part in it too seriously, they are there to bring me back to the reality that the most significant role I play is that of their Mommy.