Healthy Living Journey

I know that no one reads this blog but I still want to keep this journal. I used to blog for other people hoping to gain a readership. Well, I am officially a dud in that category. So I have decided to blog for myself. I love to keep journals. I have a milk crate full of spirals that became journals for me. There are over 15 years of journals stacked up in my closet (One of these days my children and grandchildren will be able to see just what a basketcase I really was. LOL!!!) I don't get to journal as often as I like these days. I type faster than I write thus I am going to begin to use my blog as part of my journal.

I am at the beginning of a very long journey. It is a journey toward health. I used to want to be healthy so that I wouldn't get sick. I was especially afraid of getting cancer and dying. My mom is a breast cancer survivor. When she went through her cancer I just developed a tremendous fear of suffering cancer myself. Before that time I was already beginning to hate modern medicine. Then it turned into a journey to heal my body from the Candida (yeast) that had taken over. During this time I grew a tremendous fear of food. Also during this time I had 3 children that started to developed health issues that I believed were related to food. So, up until this time I have been basically searching for the fountain of youth and perfect healing.

God is my healer. He is the One that provides health and healing. I can do all the research I want on how to cure my 2 yod of the severe eczema and intestinal ringworm that he has but I will not cure him. It is only God that can cure him. I will never be cured of the Candida unless God does a miracle. He can if He chooses. My roll in all this is to respond the difficulties in my life with grace and faith. I MUST trust the Father with the good and the bad. So I am no longer seeking the fountain of youth. I can honestly say that I am resting in His arms and waiting for Him to either heal us here or heal us in eternity.

Just because I may or may not be healed in this world doesn't give me the right to abuse my body. And abuse I have. For most of my life I abused my body and didn't even know it. My poor mother (I think) feels guilty because I have learned so much about all the antiboitics and steriods that I was one as a child. All that time that I had asthma I was really allergic to dairy and wheat. My poor body just couldn't handle all the junk food and drugs being pumped in it. That is just what you did for those that you loved and I know that my mom was doing the best that she could for me. God works all things for good and that includes poor health as a child and then as an adult.

Now that I know the right way to eat, I am dealing with idols in my life. Food is an idol. I either love it or I fear it. Either way I usually make it more important that God in my life. I have to repent of that sin. And that leads me to today. Over the past few weeks the Spirit has been working in me to see my weakness and my complete inability to heal myself or my son. If I am going to be healed it will be God that does it not some special diet that I follow. That doesn't mean I should go hog wild and eat whatever. Just like our cars need the right kind of gas for fuel, our bodies need the right kinds of fuel in order to run properly. That is what I am seeking. I do not beliefe that I can effectly serve the King when I feel crummy after eating a pastry from Starbucks. If I don't drink water and drink only my decaf coffee, I will get run down. If I stay up really late instead of getting plenty of rest, then I will not be able to function the way my body needs. I do believe that there are times when we must lean on Him and trust Him to carry us through times of illness and sickness. But if I eating in a way that I KNOW will harm me, I am fully responsible for the consequences of my actions. This is the are that I seek to change in my Healthy Living Journey.

My first time of business is to cut down my need for sweet stuff. I haven't realized just how dependent I had become on sweet things until I read that Agave Nectar has more fructuse than high fructose corn syrup, which is a HUGE NO-NO is our home. I stopped eating Agave nectar and I find honey to be bland. URGH!!!! I put WAY too much Stevia in my drinks to sweeten. I expect this to be hard. I am praying for the grace and strength to get past the sugar cravings that are sure to come. No doubt I will experience a bit of die off over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I can't begin this journey Sunday because my oldest daughter is turning 10 yod this week and we're having a grand party on Saturday. . .lots of sweets. URGH!!!! But the road is in view and I will start out on it Sunday morning.

There are many more areas of health that I will journal about as I begin to embark on them. I have already done some experimenting with goat's milk yogurt, coconut oil, and pastuer raised beef, chicken, and eggs. The eggs of a pasture fed chicken are AWESOME!!! I will never go back to a regular egg again. I am also making some strides in taking care of my body. Right now I am experimenting with using baking soda on my hair and rinsing with lemon juice. I haven't gone no poo yet but that is my next step. I am trying to find a week where I can be home all week and deal with the potential greasy hair that usually happens when you start out in this step. I also made myself wool dryer balls this week and felted them this afternoon. We'll find out in my next load of diapers if they work. I will also be hanging a clothes line in the next few weeks. Underdog's garden is growing very well and we're hoping for tomatoes for our salad next week. :)

I am off to bed. I am trying to get in bed early. Lights out by 10:30. I have 10 minutes. Gotta run.