Small Steps to Better Health ~ Step 2

Well, how have you been doing with small step one?  Are you drinking more water throughout the day?  Hopefully, you are and are keeping your bodies well hydrated.  Step number 2 is simple, but may be much harder for some to do.  Since I told you last week what to drink...I will tell you this week what NOT to drink.

Step 2:  Give up all soft drinks.  I know, I know...that is a hard one for some.  It certainly was for me.  For years, my drink of choice was a Mountain Dew...and if I couldn't have that, my next favorite was Mello Yello.  Leave it to me to prefer the drink with the highest level of caffeine!  But, it is not only the caffeine in your bodies that are harmful with soft drinks.  There are many other dangers lurking within that nice cold, sweet beverage.

First, let us talk about caffeine.  Caffeine is a diuretic.  That means it robs the body of the water it needs to keep organs, muscles, joints, bones, etc. functioning properly.  If you must drink caffeine, for every cup you have, you need to add another two glasses of water just to counter the affects.  If you are suffering from joint pain or arthritic symptoms of any kind, caffeine only intensifies your aches and pains.

Sugar:  Soft drinks are loaded with them.  And many of these are in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  I could do a whole post on the dangers of HFCS.  Studies have recently found mercury in food and beverages that contained HFCS.  And take it from one who is suffering from mercury poisoning...you do not want to go there!  Secondly, HFCS comes mainly from genetically modified corn which is very dangerous.  We will get into GMO foods later.  Thirdly, HFCS is one of the leading causes of obesity and diabetes. I could go on and on, but I don't want this post to turn into a book instead!

Now, for those of you that drink diet drinks and think that it is good to avoid the HFCS.  I must tell you that I think it would be better to drink the regular soft drink than diet.  Diet drinks...as well as almost anything that touts the label sugar free...is loaded with aspartame.  Aspartame takes the number one spot for complaints of adverse reactions with the FDA. 

The following quote was taken from Dr. Mercola's site.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.(1) A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.


According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2) Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.


Ten percent of aspartame is made of a chemical called methanol.  If you do not know what methanol is, it is wood alcohol, which is a poison.  Methanol breaks down into formic acid in the body.  What is formic acid?  The same thing as formaldehyde.  Most of us know formaldehyde as the same as embalming fluid.  That was enough for me to stay clear of aspartame!  Especially be careful with children drinking diet drinks, they seem to be even more susceptible to these dangers than adults.  I could once again go on and on about the dangers of aspartame, but time will not allow. 

If you do decide to cut out the soft drinks, I would advise you to do so gradually, especially if you drink at least one soft drink a day.  Expect to feel worse before you feel better.  Whenever your body detoxes from a man-made chemical, it has to release those toxins that your body has now grown accustomed to.  The process may be a little difficult at first, but you will be doing a great service to your body.  I hope this has encouraged you to keep giving your body the drinks that will keep you healthy!  God bless you!

Training Children in Godliness

Technically this is the beginning of my series in training daughters to be Proverbs 31 women, but to effectively do that, we must cover some of the basics of parenting and that applies to both girls and boys.  So, my hope is that we will cover the basics of parenting and then once we do that, move on to specifics with training daughters.  I will tell you from the very beginning, I do not come to this subject as a perfect parent.  I have made many mistakes and know there will be more that I do make.  I am not an expert on parenting, but I do know the One who is.  It is His knowledge I hope to impart, because really His knowledge is all that is worthy of repeating.  God does have a manual for training our children.  It is called the Bible.  So as simple as this first idea may sound, I would recommend that you only and always defer to His Word when it comes to how to raise your children.  Everything we need for instruction in righteousness can be found in the Word.  Oftentimes we do not go to the Word for our answers.  We go to modern psychology, or parenting experts, or to our neighbours and friends and we never stop to read what God has already said on the issue. 

Now, I am not saying that we should not seek help from others.  The Bible clearly talks about Titus 2 women training younger women in respecting their husbands and teaching their children.  What I am saying is that if those friends, experts, neighbours do not give you advice based on the Word of God, then dismiss it.  If you ever feel anything I say is of my own understanding and not founded on God's principles, then I want you to reject that as well. 

So, my first piece of advice would be to immerse yourself in the Bible, and while you are doing that, immerse your children in the Word as well.  How many times during a day do your children hear the Word of God read?  Almost everyday in our home we have two devotionals.  I do one with the children in the morning and my husband leads one in the evenings.  But, what if your children do not sit still?  Train them to do so.  Having quiet times of sitting while you read the Bible and pray is a good practice for young ones.  At two years of age, our youngest was able to sit still for Bible reading and prayer.  While they are young, we would only read a few verses and pray.  Now our youngest is five and we read chapters aloud, pray and even try to sing many times.  This is the time that your children will remember the Word.  I am amazed at how many Bible verses my oldest has memorized just by hearing the Bible repeated to her day after day.   

God said His Word will not return to Him void.  What better way can we begin to train our children in righteousness than by filling their minds and hearts with God's Word?  Many of us read many other books to our children.  We allow them to play video games and watch DVD's.  If they can sit still for those things, they can sit still to feast on what is far more important for their souls.  And quite frankly, for ours as well.  We used to read Bible storybooks to our children and I am not saying that many of those are not good.  We just found that our children understand so much more than we give them credit for and we felt that reading the infallible Word of God was far greater to them.  I have found that many Bible storybooks take great liberties with the Scripture, leaving out crucial parts and inserting things that were never intended to be there in the first place.  Did you know that when Moses would read the law to the Israelites, he read it to whole families?  That's right...men, women, young people, infants...it was a Word from God and that made it important for everyone to hear.  Deut. 31:11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

So there is the precedent for our family...found in the Word of God.  We have seen it make such a difference in our children.  So, if you read to your children from the Word, I admonish you to keep on and maybe even challenge you to do more.  The Bible is one book that will never be a waste and the one book you can never read too much.  May the Lord bless you as you train your children for His glory!

Small Steps to Better Health ~ Step One

I don't know about you, but I am the kind of person that can get overwhelmed when I am bombarded with a list of 100 things to do to make yourself and your family healthy!  I have found that when people start talking about getting healthier, they defeat those they are trying to win over just by the shear impossibility of it all.  We are constantly shown how this cleaning agent, that food, these cosmetics, this medicine, this drink...are no longer healthy for us.  And study after study does seem to show that most of these findings are correct.  I find it as no surprise that this is the case.  We have chosen fast food, over God's food.  We have gone for quick and easy over healthy and nourishing.  We have become so much a part of the unhealthy culture that finding a way out seems like climbing Mount Everest!  And we copy what we know...well...my Mom cooked like this, or my grandma ate this...etc. that we don't question and say, "But is this the best choice for my family?"  Does food even matter to God?  After all, we have Christian liberty right?  Yes, we do have Christian liberty...liberty to follow the commands of God which are freeing for us, for our good and for His glory.  Food is no different.  If our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then is it not our Christian service to keep that temple as healthy as possible?  If we know that eating and drinking a certain way will make us more effective for the Kingdom's work, why would we not do it?  I have asked that to myself many times...and my answer...because I like those yummy Aussie Cheese fries from Outback...or the MSG laden Chinese food down the street...or the Coffee frappuchino from Starbucks!  They taste great...and they give me an emotional lift.  But, I quickly found that the down they produced afterwards, the wear and tear on my body, the headaches I got from not having my caffeine, the emotional swings that came because I needed that lift and didn't have my comfort food...those I could live without.  And so, I began systematically changing the way I eat and drink and have begun to creep back to the land of the living.  Well, I should say limp back.  I will tell you that I was born with an auto-immune deficiency.  Things that affect me greatly may only slightly seem to bother another.  And the issues that I am now facing health wise stem from mercury poisoning in my body.  If you know anything about mercury, it never leaves the body, but it can be lessened and the effects diminished greatly.  I am therefore on my own quest (which may take years if God does not sovereignly heal) to a healthier body.  The fact that I have good days now is a testament to God's healing foods.  I do not claim to be a doctor or an expert on any of these matters.  I am only sharing what I have learned in my own life...with my own health.  You must pray and seek God concerning these issues for your own life. 

I have chosen Fridays for these posts because my hope is that if you do desire to make a change and you need to purchase something, or prepare in some way, that you will have the weekend to do that and implement your changes for the next week.  My steps are small ones...incremental baby steps so that hopefully you will not feel overwhelmed with the prospect of changing your habits for healthy living.  And so, without making this post too terribly long, I now give you small step number one:

1.  Drink more water everyday.  See, I told you they would be small.  But every small step will bring you closer to the big payoff of a healthier lifestyle.  So, this next week, your challenge is to drink more water.   Did you know that water makes up sixty percent of our bodies?  Here is a quote about water from Dr. Joseph Mercola:


     Drinking eight glasses of pure water is an important foundational health principle for most people.  An alarming number of Americans don't follow this guideline and are constantly dehydrated.  Dehydration is subtle and most don't feel the thirst on their tongue, but their bodies are suffering-without sufficient water intake they cannot properly detoxify and aid their bodies in the elimination of wastes.  Some minor symptoms of insufficient water intake are headaches, feeling tired and groggy, constipation and dry skin.  If left untended, dehydration can contribute to a variety of serious health problems with blood pressure, circulation, kidney function, immune system function and digestive disorders.

The problem with most of us is we drink too much of the wrong things and only reach for water when we "feel" thirsty.  But, in reality, our bodies need it long before we ever feel it.  So, this next week...try to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water everyday...and make sure your children are drinking enough as well.  A good rule for little ones is to take half their body weight and have them drink that in ounces.  If you need to mark down how much you drink until it becomes second nature to you, then do that.  It will pay off for you in the long run.  Blessings to you!

The Consensus Is...

First of all, I want to thank all those that answered my questions about upcoming blog topics.  Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this...I have been a little under the weather lately.  It seems the most popular blog topics are 1. Training Our Daughters to be Proverbs 31 Women, 2.  Small Steps to Better Health, 3. Book reviews, and the others taken up at some point.  So, what I am planning on doing, providing I can get to the computer often enough, is to have the Better Health Series on Fridays.  That way, it will give you time to find out how to implement it if you choose to after the weekend.  And right now, I will try and post my series on training daughters on Wednesdays.  The beginning of that series however will be for all children as the basis for child rearing is the same.  Other days in the week will be for catching up on what is happening in our home, books reviews, marriage topics, etc.  Thank you all again for your cooperation.  I am greatly looking forward to exploring these topics with you!  May the Lord bless our efforts to do all things for His honor! 

Somebody's Ten!!!

Well, we just finished celebrating another birthday at our house.  Our oldest son Josiah turned ten!  He liked the strawberry cheesecake ice cream cake his sister Julia had so much that he decided he would get the same.  We had them change the icing to blue to make it look a little more manly.  But, of course, when something tastes that good, who cares what it looks like?

He chose for his birthday dinner, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese and pasta salad.  He is a big fan of noodles and cheese. 

This is one of the few times Julia is motivated to eat...when dessert follows.  She knows she only gets dessert when she eats her meal.  Joel is waiting patiently for the cake...I never have to tell him to eat.

I actually decided to get in a picture this time.  Sometimes when you are the one taking pictures you forget to put yourself in some.  Here I am with my sweet birthday boy.

Daddy getting ready to cut the cake for us.  Remember he always cuts big pieces, so the children prefer him to be the official cake cutter.

A very happy Josiah with one of his presents...this one from his Nana.  These are from Vision Forum...it is a military patrol boat and they are compatible with Legos.  We got him a Jeep and a couple of men that go with the set and a video, "Soldiering Through History: The War Between the States."  Josiah is our military historian.  He can already far surpass his mother with facts about battles of all kinds.  I have no idea how God is going to use that knowledge, but we are excited to see how He does.   Happy birthday Josiah.  We love you!

A Question for My Dear Readers

I have been contemplating blog posts lately. I have been thinking about starting a series or two and wanted to have the input of my dear readers.  When I started this blog, it was for the purpose of keeping friends and family in touch with what is going on in our family, and that will still be a priority.  But, over time, it has become something more...a place for me to write about what God has been teaching me...a place to gather my thoughts...a place for me to share my heart.

So, I am asking for your help.  I have some ideas about future posts, but can't quite seem to make a final decision about which ones to write about.  That is where you come in.  I would like to know what you would like to read here.  Here are some ideas I have been mulling over:

1.  Making the Most of Our Marriages

2.  Training Our Daughters to be Proverbs 31 Women

3.  Small Steps to Better Health (I have been thinking about posting a once a week health challenge for healthy eating/living.  With my own health issues and those of my children, the Lord continues to teach me concerning proper eating and herbal supplements)

4.  Ways to Show Love to Our Families
5.  Book Reviews

Those are a few mulling over in my mind.  So, please leave a comment and let me know what you would like to see on my blog.  I am greatly looking forward to your comments.  And thank you in advance for your cooperation!  Have a great day in Jesus!

Someone Turned Five!

It is hard to believe that my baby girl turned five on Sunday!  We had her birthday celebration on Saturday.  She was so excited.  We don't have a lot of birthday traditions...but there are a few.  The birthday child gets to choose what we have for dinner that night...Julia is a great fan of spaghetti.  She takes after my Dad on that one.

We do not watch a lot of movies, so the birthday child gets to choose a movie from our collection that they want to watch.  She picked "Runners from Ravenshead" from Vision Forum.  She likes that movie a lot because all the actors are children.  And their Nana usually gets them the cake of their choice.  Since she is a wonderful baker...she makes from scratch red velvet, carrot or pound cakes...but she mentioned ice cream cake to Julia...and the others were quickly forgotten!  So Julia had a strawberry shortcake ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  We do the not so healthy cakes on their birthdays.  I abstained from eating some...but it was hard!

Daddy cut the cake and gave them a much more generous portion than Mommy would have!  I have a feeling they will no longer want me to cut their cake anymore! 

I cannot imagine my life without my fifth blessing.  She has brought such joy to our lives.  She is by far our pickiest child!  She doesn't like to try new foods...doesn't like anyone messing with her hair...only wants to wear certain dresses again and again...and yet, she is so caring and loving in the next breath.  She is one of the first to crawl in my lap and give me a hug.  She is free with her "I love you's."  God has made her unique...and it is my prayer that this little girl will grow to be a giant of the faith! 

I am so thankful God has blessed my life with you Julia Haddassah! Happy birthday my sweet girl!