May 9, 2013 - Got Your Glasses On?

My eyes are tired currently as I am working long hours at church as well as proofreading my devotional cookbook as we begin this journey to publication. My eyes are screaming, "stop," and I am having to move them forward in spite of their declaration. I am grateful that in the mornings they always seem better for a few hours. I will be brief this morning as I need to be in staff prayer early this morning (have a guest coming) but God always places something on my heart to share. How many of you know without a real vision of our continued health and an established "picture" in our mind's eyes, we may eventually determine we are simply going through the steps of motion to look and feel better for a season with no real plan to be healthy for the remainder of our lives? I know that when many people train, they see the the finish line, see the trophy, see themselves holding the trophy and see themselves in the moment. The real winners never seem to let the vision of winning diminish. It is their life and future. I watch some of these shows on television where people are competing in dance and song. I actually love this, but I love the shows best as they draw near to completion and the tension of winning is high. All of the participants are focused and always comment how they are determined to win. They want the prize that says to all of those viewing, "this person paid the greatest price." I wonder sometimes on our health journey, if we are okay to be on the program but have no vision of winning. I have been on sports teams before where not everyone felt the same way I did about winning. I never understood their position. Maybe they thought I was a lunatic. On this journey to health, I want to win and not simply "go through the motions for a season." Winning means I have a vision of being successful as far as my eyes can look into my future and no other option exists. If I have no vision of completing my life's journey as a healthy woman of God, there's a great chance I will eventually cast off the restraints of living healthy. I cannot afford to allow myself that option. Let's consider Proverbs 29:18 as we begin our morning and consider our the future of our health. "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful." (NLT) Have a great Thursday, PK

May 8, 2013 - Helping One Another!

Matthew 8:16-17, "That evening many people with demons in them were brought to Jesus. And with only a word he forced out the evil spirits and healed everyone who was sick. So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said “He healed our diseases and made us well.” This is a promise and brings truth to our lives today. I want to share one of my devotionals today - it encouraged me: Jesus took upon Himself every sickness and every disease that mankind has ever experienced so that we could be healed. I cannot imagine the unfathomable price that Jesus paid for today's promise to become a reality for us in our generation. In the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus was sweating great drops of blood, He cried out to His Abba (Father) for the strength to drink from the cup that would pave the way to our redemption. It was at this crucial time in history that Jesus took upon Himself ALL our sin and exchanged ALL our brokeness for ALL of His life. I believe that only the Holy Spirit can bring revelation to us so that we can grasp in part the incredible sacrifice that Jesus paid so that we could become heirs of His glorious inheritance. May God give all of us the grace today to comprehend the fact that Jesus took upon Himself all of our sickness so that we could be healed. May faith rise in our hearts today so that each one of us could appropriate the finished work of the cross in every area of our body and our soul that still needs to be healed. Thank you Jesus for saying 'yes' to your Father and drinking the terrible cup of the brokeness of humanity so that we might be made whole...spirit, soul & body. Amen! Also, I wanted to share some happy news from one of our family (Brenda) concerning bread options for those of us who don't do white or wheat flours: I bought a loaf of the almond bread made by Julian Bakery. I must say very tasty! I had a sandwich on Friday (1st day of phase 2) It has only 1 net carb and 60 calories a slice! Less than the melba toast. I was experimenting to see if eating a sandwich with the almond bread would affect the weight loss. NOT AT ALL! I lost 4.6 lbs the first day! I'm very excited that I will be able to eat a sandwich for lunch. I will continue to eat this bread from here on out. It is a little pricy but if you truly want to "eat healthy" it's not costly at all. At Good Nutrition on Johnson Ferry rd it's 9.99 a loaf. On the web sitewww.julianbakery.com it's only 7.99 a loaf. If you order 6 or more loaves it's only 5.95 shipping and it can be frozen for up to 4 months. I purchased 3 loaves of almond and 3 loaves of coconut and a loaf of cinnamon bread. Maybe this could help someone "in the family" that CANNOT go without bread. Okay everyone, we are mid-week, and counting. Watermelons are soon to be abundant, pool is opening soon, the flowers are in full bloom and the tanks of both grills are fleshly filled. Bring on the summer!

May 7, 2013 - A Sincere Prayer

I love reading the prayers of those in the Bible, as they are familiar to me and give me a since that my heart can also need consolation. I can identify with many of the verses that are lifting their hearts to the Lord. They suffered through difficult life situations as we do. No one escapes, do they? Out of our desperate prison cells of unhealthy ways, we cry out to God and eventually come to realize that He always answers. Sometimes God says, "yes," sometimes, "no," and sometimes, "not now." But God is not slow of hearing nor distracted by the multitude of His creation. I believe He absolutely hears and is touched by every prayer, but His plan must be executed at the right time. There are things we learn in those waiting periods. I am convinced that I will never understand God's reasoning in the manner in which He responds to my prayers. That's ok. It never changes my love nor undying devotion to Him. I know He heard and He knows best. As you read the following scripture, let it bring hope and encouragement to you today. As I read it, there was such peace that rested in my heart. Praying this blesses you today, PK Psalm 86: (CEV) 1 Please listen,Lord, and answer my prayer! I am poor and helpless. 2 Protect me and save me because you are my God. I am your faithful servant, and I trust you. 3 Be kind to me! I pray to you all day. 4 Make my heart glad! I serve you, and my prayer is sincere. 5 You willingly forgive, and your love is always there for those who pray to you. 6 Please listen,Lord! Answer my prayer for help. 7 When I am in trouble, I pray, knowing you will listen. 8 No other gods are like you; only you work miracles. 9 You created each nation, and they will all bow down to worship and honor you. 10 You perform great wonders because you alone are God. 11 Teach me to follow you, and I will obey your truth. Always keep me faithful. 12 With all my heart I thank you. I praise you,Lord God. 13 Your love for me is so great that you protected me from death and the grave.

May 6, 2013 - Hiding Water for Later

Again - running late. Sorry, having to fit into this Monday work schedule. Taking a coffee break and returning to the grind stone. I was thinking about all this rain we've had for the past couple of days and how deeply the water travels into the soil and stores in pockets to be used at a later time. The deeper the water, the longer the cycle of preservation given to the plant during times of drought. There were times on Saturday when the rain never stopped for hours and there was seemingly no end. I wondered if I had moved backward into Noah's days. Just sayin. But I know that the abundance of the rain in it's gentle state and not in sheets to wash away my seedlings has made everything in my yard smile. And why not, deep rain is not a simple "water the yard for today" event. Is it? Again, the deeper the penetration of the water into the soil, the further from the surface of the sun the water hides. That's fairly simple to see. Deep, intense watering brings a profound hope that during periods of extreme drought those hidden pockets of moisture will allow the plants to survive against all odds. Water is so necessary to all life that these plants will endure saturation and almost drowning as they understand that the blistering heat will return and every drop of water is critical. Although they are not human and have no ability to reason, it's as if they have a master plan. And that plan centers around holding on to every drop of moisture available. I wonder what we can glean from this scenario? I know that some of us drink water, sometimes, while others really have to work at forcing it down as I do. As a child I never chose to drink water, only sweet tea and Tab. I was never taught how critically important water was to my health. But as I have embraced being healthy, I have come to value the importance of water. Do I enjoy the taste? No. Do I enjoy the benefits? Yes. But watching the solid days of rain gave me another insight into our water journey. Sometimes after consuming my daily assigned water, I will always rejoice and grab a glass of tea. I never rejoice at starting my daily water journey though. After Saturday I have determined why. I don't value the importance of water to my survival. If we are honest, after a few days of falling short with the consumption of this life-giving substance we often see the response from our cells deep within our bodies: swollen feet, harder stools, bloating around our bellies, headaches, heart palpitations. I could continue the list. These are outward signs that inwardly our cells are thirsty. Placing our body into a drought situation, as in my yard, will most definitely produce negative responses. My suggestion is that we saturate our bodies as often as we can so that on the days when we really need a glass of tea, we have the water reserves within our cells to complete their daily functions without complaining. And let's be honest, when our cells are thirsty they complain. So let's begin this new week saturating those cells and making them smile as are the plants in my yard. I just got my first 10 ounces down. 12 cups, here I come. PK

May 3, 2013 - Lessons from a Season

Another week has come and gone and we have entered another month. As a child it seemed that one month was 67 days and as an adult one month seems to be 6-7 days. Preach. I cannot determine how to slow the hands of time, nor can I account for where days seem to come and go, but I am being more deliberate to stop and consume the experience these days. As I ponder the really cool temps and breeze this morning, perhaps it's blackberry winter? Or, perhaps it's just God being God. I have learned over the past tens years that my routine and the structure of life is good and yet can quickly change. I am determined to "not be set in my ways" and demand that the pattern of yesterday be the pattern of today. I am determined to embrace change and fight for truth. How many of you know that change is not only good but necessary. The Lord reminded me again this morning from Song of Solomon, "the winter season is over: flowers come upon the earth; the season of singing has come." Let's look at the progression as we embrace daily changes with our health: 1. The winter season is over - that season in our lives where we made excuses for our undisciplined health; we tried every fad with no intention of truly making life-style changes; we confessed failure, comforted ourselves, and hid in shame. OMGoodness that's a winter season! The Word says, "IT'S OVER." 2. Flowers have come upon the earth - meaning new life, color, fresh oxygen into the atmosphere, shades of green over drab colors of death, etc, etc, etc. The Word says HAVE COME - that isn't asking a question, is it? 3. The season of singing has come - It's interesting to me that the Word links winter, flowers and singing. Death to life usually promotes singing, especially in the context of new life and not simply existing in the "old" way of life. (winter season) The birds begin to sing again, the wind causes the leaves to sing their songs, the frogs break out into Jubilee, and when we come from our winter season and begin to experience the evidence of deliberate change, we too break forth in song. You know you do. Perhaps your thoughts are, "yes, but the singing is for a season." I see that. However, what if our health journey lasts until we leave this earth? Isn't that a season? Seasons represent periods of time, I understand. What if you and I determined we were allowing unhealthy ways to be over, new life to spring forth in our healthy choices (never returning to our death season), and singing from a place of total health for the remainder of our lives. Song of Solomon says of the winter season, "it's over." I take that as forever over in my health journey. How about you? I'll choose flowers and singing over winter seasons all day long. Talk on Monday, PK PS - please send word about Sunday evening. I am gathering supplies today and tomorrow. Much love!

May 2, 2013 - Lessons From The Postage Stamp

GMA, It seems bad weather may threaten our gathering this Sunday. I will keep you posted. Do let me know by tomorrow if you're planning to attend so I can call you Sunday evening if we need to postpone. Yesterday we had lessons from the watermelon seeds. Today, lessons from the postage stamp. One of the things I admire most about certain people is their ability to cope with and endure extremely difficult situations. People who are closers and unwilling to quit mid-stream when fatigue and an easier path appears. I'm not speaking of the scratch your nail or stub your toe experience. I am seeing those who have struggled against cancer, lost limbs and learned to walk again, lost hundreds of pounds and continued to walk in the freedom of a healthy body. Those experiences take great determination and endurance. Those individuals know what it is to have a passionate desire to live again, not simply exist, and stay with the plan until the manifestation of their determination emerges. I see these individuals as patiently being stuck to their commitment and vision of life beyond their circumstances. Their patent endurance gives me hope. How about you? I have been thinking a lot about purpose and completing my God-given assignments. Sometimes our health journey seems to wind itself in challenging places. I have heard from several of you who are eating healthy and yet struggling with cholesterol or gaining around your belly when you absolutely know you have stayed within the boundaries. Sometimes our bodies have their own agenda and stress can cause responses we cannot account for. Ever been there? I have. During those times it's easy to trump the "this plan doesn't work" card or the "nothing ever works for me" card. That's the easy path. But can I encourage you today to trump the "I will stick to my health plan no matter what" card. Let's look at the life of a postage stamp. I found some stamps in my wallet that were 2 years old last month and yet sticking to the book as if they were first placed on the paper. I wondered exactly how long those little guys would keep to the task of sticking? Listen, they really have no options if they are going to complete their assignment. Do they? They remain attached through various temps, being tossed from bag to bag, or being transported across the oceans. Years may pass and we find the postage still attached. God's Word in Hebrews 10:36 speaks of patient endurance. Patience is not one of my best virtues; but my determination to be healthy regardless is developing that patience muscle within. I cannot buckle under today's weigh-in or yesterday's issues. Being healthy is not an option therefore I am stuck to my health plan until I go to Heaven. Today, I am seeing myself as a postage stamp fulfilling my assignment against all odds. Our verse in Hebrews declares there is something waiting for those who endure patiently. The little stamp never quits. God give me that type of stickability. Continue doing what's right - it will pay off. I promise. Have an amazing Thursday, PK

May 1, 2013 - Lessons for the Watermelon Seeds 2013

As many of you know, I am a freak about watermelons. I spent an enormous amount of time and energy last year trying to grow some in an effort to help with food cost. We had about 8 melons that got to be small in size, but never grew beyond that. It was if they decided one morning to stop growing and taunt me. It was a huge disappointment. So in my dismay, I simply left them in the garden until late winter and finally plucked and trashed them. We tilled the garden area, as we had no really good results, and planted roses. However, upon inspection of the soil after we planted the roses last weekend and to my surprise, 8 of the 8 watermelon plants have re-emerged. And what's funny is that the largest leaf contains a singular seed attached to it. How is that? My reaction was not a beautiful sight. "So, you think you're just gonna pop up and gain all that attention from last year. Not." I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. No watermelon seed had escaped the melons that we discarded and yet there was a seed being held high in the air from the tip of the leaves. And, right in my newly, re-puporsed rose garden. It was almost as if the watermelons were saying, "we did it. We found our purpose and against the cold and your lack of attention, we did it." I had to laugh. Life is critical across the board from people to watermelons I guess. I thought, "I dug the bushes from their vine-entrapped cell so they could live, I'll let you live too. But this year, I won't make a fuss over you. You're gonna need to show me some determination to produce." Those were MY last thoughts. I came home yesterday only to discover that my husband had found a new spot, re-tilled the soil, removed stones and debris from 6 inches down that he feels will keep them from living well, moved all eight little seedlings and placed sticks where each had an identifiable marker. Really? And yet, I so see God in this. When others are ready to toss us aside, the winters of our lives have not allowed us to produce nor bear life, and the circumstances of our future seem dim, The Master Gardener, who breathed life into us all, never tosses us aside. In our desperation to live, we hold our leaves into the air again as hands lifted in worship and prayer, and the One who first placed us (even though we haven't yet produced or "fulfilled our purpose") finds a better location, with better soil, more attention and a greater chance at life. God never gives up on us. I smiled when I thought about how many times that was me with my seed in the air and hands lifted high hoping for another chance at life. And there was my Eternal Father not simply leaving me to fight through the old circumstances, but moving me to the newly created spot where my life was better than ever. Can you smile today as you see yourself in the story? I can. Have a great day, PK