How I got Here; Part One

It was Friedrick Nietsche who coined the phrase, " Better living through chemicals". His philosophy is definitely not one that I admire.
Growing up, I observed the health problems of my family of origin: Obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, mental illness, cancer, etcetera. I spent some time in a hospital from a serious accident as an impressionable teenager. I soon figured out that I was not going to get healthier eating the sub-standard processed foods provided there! Being constipated at 13, with no ability to ambulate was sheer agony! I had lots of time to think lying there. A candy-striper (volunteer) came around with a library cart, full of all kinds of great books. While the other kids in pediatrics chose adventure stories of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, I wanted to read about physiology and health. One glorious day, I found Jethro Kloss' book, "Back to Eden". I read it cover to cover, over and over. That book was only the beginning. Determination rose up in me, and I demanded fresh fruits and vegetables from the kitchen, and I got them. While the doctors were telling me I would never have children, I was determined to be a mom someday. I was in constant pain, but I begged my doctors to take me off of the morphine and other painkillers. I was already finding out that the river of anti-biotics coursing through me would cause my intestinal flora to be compromised. I learned that when the digestion process becomes unbalanced, the entire system is thrown off. More on that later.

I have learned since then, that great health is not just a gift of God, but that He entrusts us with a great responsibility, a stewardship. In the Old Testament, there was great care taken concerning the Temple, and even more so, the Tabernacle. Believers in Jesus as The Messiah are now the Temple where He chooses to dwell. Should we not give honor to the only vehicle we get here on earth to display His Glory? How can I serve others if I am all bound up in how bad I am feeling? I know that God uses folks when they are sick, He sure used it in my life, but I cannot help but think that health is His desire for us.

My "take-aways" from those hospital days  ;
1) I was full up with television for the rest of my life!
2) I wanted to live free of chemicals all my life!
3) I wanted to be active and pain free all of my days.

It was a long road to recovery, and I lived with pain for years and years. Even now, if I gain weight, the pain returns. Along the way, I discovered the power of live, whole foods, regular exercise, proper sleep hygiene, the power of hydration, the strength of herbs, the value of chiropractic, massage, sauna, homeopathic and other health-building modalities and most importantly, the care and feeding of the human spirit. I have studied and researched all these years... and have found that, like gravity, their are certain laws that our bodies are governed by, and when I veer off path, my weaknesses arise, and I am humbled by the great Designer and His plan for functioning optimally on our Pilgrim journey, brief as it is on this planet.

Grasshopper Killers

Well, here we are at the tail end of summer. I am tearing up another garden plot and got a horse poop delivery from my dear friend Deborah today. Turned over the compost last week, and am spreading that out over the newly plowed earth. It will be ready for some rye in about a week. The lovely rye will be the cover crop for the winter, adding valuable nutrients to the soil. And THAT, dear folks is what it is all about....healthy soil. You can have the most gorgeous seed, the greatest weather, awesome irrigation and perfect organic fertilizer, but if you don't have a friable, viable soil, your yields will be low, and not so tasty, either.

I do not go for adding expensive chemicals to my precious soil. Long before the chemical companies came along, God made an ecosystem so exquisite! Feed the birds! The birds eat the bad bugs! I am finding more and more about that everyday! Today, Deborah encouraged me to kennel up the doggies and let loose with the chickens. (They're birds, right?) Well, they went to work eating the durned grasshoppers. I have been hating those grasshoppers lately...they want to chow down on everything that I plant in the ground.

Grow the sunflowers to feed the birds. Fill up the hummingbird feeders! Gotta have those pollinators busy working for you! Don't knock down the bee's nest, or the wasp nest, grow some flowers that the butterflies will be attracted to, as well. All this stuff is fun to watch, the whole thing is amazing. Planting my winter pansy seeds tomorrow! Woot! Woot!

My Adam

 Snooping around tonight in my Picasa Web Albums, and came upon this great pic of my firstborn grandson, Gabe and his step-dad Adam. I just love my son-in-love! Adam is a loving man. He is good to my daughter, and a wonderful step-dad to my grandsons. I am so proud of him and all he does to influence the people around him for the better. He has all my respect. I miss him and my daughter Yvonne. They make such a dear couple.