An Exciting Adventure Awaits

Our family is thrilled to be going on an adventure this year. What is the adventure? Just a minute. I want to share the background first.

We have two lovely daughters. I am a homeschool Mom and I absolutely love it! Yes, even on the dreary days in February, I love being with my kids. I love the extra time we have for training and instructing. I love the time we spend together reading, listening to audiobooks, playing games, and learning new things together. Together is my favorite place to be.

As my oldest is now a teenager and starting high school next year, I feel the years slipping by like water in my cupped hands. No matter how I try to hold on, it still pours forth. There is only so much time left to experience the things we want as a family unit.

When I was in school, I loathed history class. Always. Every year. I hated dates. I hated the boring past. Wars. Kings. I didn't see how it all applied to my life. But now, as I am relearning all of this and teaching it to my own daughters, it is fascinating. I LOVE HISTORY (Mr. Clark and Mr. McAllister would be so happy) !!

The United States is actually not very old and doesn't hold a lot of historical sites. Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful places to visit in the US and some history to explore (and we love that as well)…. but other than the Native American history, it is really only about 300 years old.

Europe on the other hand....now there is some history! Oh, we read about so much of it in books, both fiction and non-fiction. What a blessing it would be to actually go there!

So we made a proposition to our kids. We asked if they wanted to go to Europe. I'm sure you can guess their enthusiastic answer. And then we told them if they desired to travel across the Atlantic, they should help save for this expensive trip. We want them to be a part of the process. We do not want to raise children that feel entitled to anything. We want them to see the value of saving and helping to provide for this adventure.

And do you know what? They loved this idea! They looked for ways to earn money. They donated birthday money, Christmas money, earned money and even money they found. It all went into the Europe fund. When we had a substantial amount of coins, we would take it to the bank and put it through the coin machine. It was fun to see how quickly their coins would add up.

When there was a sale last fall on tickets to London, we decided to go for it. The flights were very reasonable and we booked the tickets for this coming spring. The hardest part was keeping it a secret from the girls. This was to be their Christmas surprise. The best part of the surprise for them was to find out that Grandma is coming with us.

It turns out there is a vast amount of information to discover when going on such a grand adventure. Follow along as I share some of this helpful info and as we go exploring Europe. I plan to share pictures and tales from our journey across the big pond.

Have you been to Europe? Do you have any lessons learned to share? I'd love to hear from you.

Colostrum Update & Homeopathy Study Group

First - an update on our Anovite Colostrum6 30-day challenge.

The first thing we noticed was that we were all pretty, um, well, "gassy". I am not sure why that is but I think it might have something to do with it being a powerful probiotic and we were experiencing some die off. I have had that happen before with Kombucha, homemade sauerkraut and even Probiotic supplements. So that didn't surprise me. A dose or two of Nux Vomica and this was gone fairly quickly.

Other reactions we experienced were:

I had same reactions that I have with dairy: itching all over and some constipation (sorry for personal info). This was when taking a small amount once a day. I took the remedy Bovista and Lycopodium (a combo for food intolerance) and this almost immediately "fixed" these reactions.

My youngest had a mysterious rash on her back that I am not sure was related to the Colostrum6. I sprayed Young Living's Lavaderm spray (my answer for almost all things skin) on her back and in 2 days it was gone.

One surprising thing happened. My oldest daughter experienced little to no reaction at all. I was totally surprised at this. This was so encouraging to this Mama's heart who thought she damaged her kiddos beyond repair with the antibiotics, ibuprofen, Tylenol, C-section, and bottle feedings.... There is hope!

The problem with the 30 day challenge - we had a cross country vacation planned during the middle of it and we seriously didn't want to experience any irritating itch, painful bloating, stinky air or anything else while we were stuck in the car together enjoying family time while we traveled across the country. So we put the challenge on hold.

I will definitely keep you updated on what happens from here.

My 2nd announcement is that I am going to lead an online Homeopathy Study Group in October!!

Yay!!! This is one of my passions and I just really want people to understand what homeopathy is and how you can really heal the common ailments that plague your family with these tiny white pellets. I know there are others like me that hate going to the doctor for every fever, ear infection, headache, belly ache, etc... You can truly be set free from the germy immediate care center!!

     Class information:
     Fridays and Tuesdays from 7-8:00 pm Central Time 
     Starting Tuesday, 10/3 for 4 classes 
         Classes will be 10/3, 10/6, 10/9, 10/13
     Cost $30 total for all 4 classes
   
You will also need to purchase  Everybody's Guide to Homeopathic Medicine  (by Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman) ahead of time for the class since this will be the book of reference and I don't want to infringe on any copyrights.

Bonus: You will be grandfathered into any future homeopathy study groups that I hold for free after paying for the initial class.

Payments can be sent via paypal to edsiefker@yahoo dot com. Please also email me at drsiefker@gmail dot com to confirm the email you would like to use for the class information and to let me know that the payment has been sent (so I know to look for it).

The class will cover some of the following items:

I have been using homeopathy for a couple of years now and have nearly eliminated the need to go to the doctor for myself and my family (and we were at the doctor all the time before). I have witnessed how powerful these little white pellets are and love that I can treat our family's acute illnesses at home and I am extremely passionate about teaching others to do the same.

One note: I am a Christian and my faith plays a big part in everything I do. I am sure it will come into the conversation and want to anyone aware of it ahead of time.

Also, I am not a doctor and this is in no way an attempt to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. You should always consult your primary physician before changing any prescribed medication. This is merely an educational study group to learn more about homeopathy.

Feel free to email me at drsiefker@gmail dot com if you have any questions.

30 Day Challenge - Colostr-YUM

Our family is taking on a new challenge.

It is a Colostrum challenge.

For 30 days, we will take this daily and "see what happens".

What is colostrum you ask?

If you are a mother, you probably heard about colostrum before you had your first baby.

This perfect gift begins with the formation of life itself. Colostrum is a food produced by mothers, it is not milk, but precedes milk production. Colostrum’s benefits are fine-tuned by nature to deliver increased immune efficiency, metabolism support, tissue repair and regeneration.

My daughters and myself are allergic to milk. We have been told we can take this product without any allergic reaction since it is not an actual milk product. I am praying this is true.

It contains these wonderful health promoting agents (plus more):

Immunoglobulins

Also called antibodies, work on pathogens.

Thymosin

Composed of two protein-based chains, known as alpha or beta chains, which are separately present in bovine colostrum. The chains act on the thymus gland independently or stimulate activation, development and maintenance of the immune system.

Proline -rich polypeptide (PRP)

Helps regulate the immune system, keeping it in balance between under- and over- activity this can be extremely beneficial for those with Autoimmune diseases.

Leptin

A small hormone-like protein that can suppress appetite and lead to body weight reduction.

Enzyme inhibitors

Also known as “permeability factor,” are actually small proteins that slow down or inhibit the enzymatic breakdown of proteins. They provide protection to the immune, growth and metabolic factors as they pass through the digestive tract.

Insulin-like Growth factor (IGFSF)

The complete family of naturally occurring growth factors that functions like the captain of a ship, triggering the events that activate cell growth and reproduction, protein synthesis, and the release of energy (glucose metabolism).

Our family has dealt with the following issues:

acid reflux, food allergies, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, auto-immune disorders, underactive thyroid, chronic inflammation and pain, migraines, leaky gut, vertigo, mood disorders.... 

I would really like for our guts to heal and our immune systems to be balanced.

How about you? Do you suffer from any of these conditions ? If you are interested in joining our challenge, go to Anovite to find out more information.

You will have the option to purchase the product at either the retail price or wholesale (think Costco) with a yearly membership fee.

But for now, you can just follow along vicariously through our journey and see if it is all they claim it to be. 

{{ fingers crossed }}

I have to say that I'm a bit nervous. So is my darling hubs. He made a funny face when I asked if he would join along. But he is so supportive and encouraging that he is willing to try it out with me and our daughters.

** Update **

We received our product - and the crowd goes wild!!!!!!!! Well, some for different reasons. I cannot say that my daughters are sold on the idea yet. ha !

I forgot to mention that one of the allergies we have is to dairy. My youngest daughter and I had a bit of a reaction (nothing violent) after taking the first 1/4 tsp, so we are starting MUCH slower now.

Since it is such a wonderfully rich probiotic, I would suggest anyone to start slow. My hubs and other daughter seem to be tolerating it just fine, so they will take 1/4 tsp 2 x daily this week and start to ramp up to the 1/2 tsp. My youngest and I are taking a pinch at a time (I am taking it more than she is because I think it is SUPER yummy). I am hoping our bodies will adjust and we will be able to increase our intake.

I'll keep you posted on affects soon.

Here's to our health!

Our Healthcare Choice

In our home, we use a lot of natural methodologies in order to keep our bodies healthy.

We take a lot of Vitamin C and Vitamin D.
We eat a lot of fruits and veggies.
We get exercise.
We use essential oils (Young Living is our preferred brand).
We try to eliminate all chemicals in our environment.
We love elderberry syrup made with raw, local honey.

But sometimes, we still get injured or sick.

We do not take antibiotics.

We do not take ibuprofen.

We do not take Tylenol.

We definitely do not take steroids.

Our choice for healthcare in the situation where we are injured (not critically) is homeopathy.

Our choice for healthcare in the situation of a sickness is also homeopathy.

Homeopathy is the idea that "like cures like". It is the treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease.

So the symptoms for an overdose of Beladonna are:

headache; nausea; vomiting; dry mouth; difficulty swallowing; blurred vision; dilated pupils; hot, dry skin; dizziness; drowsiness; confusion; anxiety; seizures; weak pulse; and an irregular heartbeat.

So when someone in our family has one of these symptoms (from a known or even unknown cause) like a throbbing headache we will take a Beladonna 30c homeopathic remedy. This is a very minute dose and will, usually within minutes, take away the symptoms of the throbbing headache. If the case is severe, a second dose may be needed, but that is rare.

The symptoms of Arsenic poisoning include

vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood. Long-term exposure can result in thickening of the skin, darker skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea, heart disease, numbness, and cancer.

So when we have symptoms that match these - like food poisoning - we will take the homeopathic remedy Arsenicum Album 200c. This will bring about a quick, full recovery of all the symptoms.

I actually took this remedy this week. I was having a very noisy tummy with a lot of cramping and, well, let's just say "bathroom issues" from an unknown cause. I took one dose of Arsenicum Album 30c and felt better within 15 minutes.

If you are interested in learning more about homeopathy, please watch for more resources coming soon.

Also coming soon will be an online class on how to strengthen your immune system naturally before the upcoming cold and flu season.

To make a long {health} story short....shorter

Ok, so I could totally drag our health story / journey on and on (kind of like the wonderful story of the Hobbit going on and on for 3 very long movies), so I'll condense it a little.

Dairy

Dairy from a cow is a wonderful gift from God, especially raw, unpasteurized milk. It is a blessing unless you're allergic to it, which it turns out myself and my daughters both are allergic. This allergy was the cause of all the pain (and turns out itching from eczema) I experienced for years. We did a 30 day challenge and did not even need to wait the entire time. It. Was. Obvious. Dairy had to go. That was a learning curve (especially 10 years ago when things were not labeled as well as they are now).

Cancer

I. Hate. Cancer. Everything. About. It. But blessings do sometimes come through the storms of life and the cancer journey we took with my Dad had lasting effects on our lives. One huge thing we learned is that it matters what you eat, whether you are battling cancer or just wanting to fuel your body the best way possible. Veggies matter. Lots of them. The more colorful the better. Artificial anything is bad.

Gluten

Oh the smell of yeast filled bread baking in the oven or a yummy banana quick bread baking on a cold winter day. It is heavenly, again, unless you're allergic, which it turned out my youngest is highly allergic to gluten. We learned that it does NOT matter if the allergist and dermatologist both tell you that the horrible eczema on your daughter's face is not caused by a gluten allergy - it can be. They don't know everything (but they will send you a bill which makes it seem like they think they do). We eliminated gluten, the eczema went away. I eliminated gluten in my own diet and I was able to go off thyroid medication and stopped having horrible abdominal pains. My other daughter went off gluten and she stopped having so many headaches and throwing up for no reason. So gluten is so super yummy as long as you are not allergic.

Probiotics and Immunity

One of the most devastating things I learned was how important it truly is to have a vaginal birth and to breastfeed your babies (of which I did neither for my daughters). My babies were both C-sections (one emergency and the other by choice because a VBAC scared me to death). Because of this my daughters had terrible immune systems. That was compounded by the constant ear infections as babies which meant several rounds of antibiotics for their little bodies. Their immune systems were shot. It is no wonder they caught every cold and virus that came through our community.

But now, after several years of learning more and more, we are stronger. The Lord has been gracious and prepared my mind to be in a place where I was open to "alternative" healing. We have tried acupuncture / acupressure, chiropractic care, essential oils, supplements, cleanses, and more.

There are so many wonderful benefits from those healthy choices, but for true healing, there is one methodology that has proven to out do them all.

What is it?

You'll find out in my next post.

Stay tuned.

Our Medical Journey

Migraines

Eczema

Ear Infections

Sinus Infections

Strep Throat

Vertigo

Food Allergies

Constipation

Diarrhea

Food Intolerances

Chemical Allergies

Seasonal Allergies

Joint Pain

Nerve Damage

Raynaud's Phenomenon

Hypothyroidism

Fatigued Adrenals

Brain Fog

Severe Fatigue

Gall Stones

Appendicitis

Ovarian Cysts


Do any of those sound familiar in your life? This is a list of the conditions that we face or have faced in our family. The way that we face these challenges has changed a LOT over the years and I would love to share part of our journey with you in an effort to encourage you to ask questions for your own health. Just because someone with initials after their names says something does not mean that we just do whatever they say.

Sometimes they suggest what they "think" is best. Sometimes different doctors have different opinions.

Our bodies are more complicated than modern medicine knows how to address.

I never used to even question what the pediatrician or doctor told me to do. So what changed?

My eyes were opened, unfortunately my children have suffered at the hands of my ignorance. Now we are taking our lives back.

Step #1 in our journey happened when I was pregnant with my first born. I was sick. I had horrible pain. At one of the numerous visits to the OBGYN (and I really loved my doctor and trusted her completely), I asked her about it. She said she didn't know what it could be.

So my medical career on google began. {I know you're laughing because you're guilty too}

What did I discover? Great advice! Track what I was eating with the pain and see if a fatty meal triggered the pain. Well that was easy since I love, love, love ice cream.

Boom! That was it. That meant there was a high possibility that it was gall stones, a common ailment in pregnancy because of the changes in hormones.

Another visit to the OB. She gave me some painkillers to take when the "attacks" hit. Then she sent me to a surgeon who suggested the issues may go away after having the baby.

So the last two months of pregnancy I just endured with little to no fat. It was a little like torture, especially since I also turned 30 in that time - no cake, no ice cream. Boo!

Back to the story.

To skip over the boring bits, I'll summarize. My baby girl was born via emergency c-section. I was so worried she would be deprived on my boring diet, especially since I was losing a pound a week instead of gaining. Nope. She was covered in rolls and weighed over 8 lbs.

The pain did not go away and 4 weeks later I had my gall bladder removed.

The end. The pain went away and I felt great!

Oh I wish that were the end. I had all the same pain, and now the pains from 2 surgeries. It was horrible. I was in a very low place. When I called the surgeon and told him, he said to keep taking the Percocets. What? I was a mom with a newborn and needed to get back to work soon {I was still working out of the home at that time}. I cannot keep taking strong pain killers.

So I just dealt with the pain. A lot of pain.

2 years later. I found relief.

But in the mean time, I had to learn what it meant to be an advocate for my new baby.

Stay tuned for the next part of our journey...

Best Spring 2017 Reading

I love learning, therefore, I love books.

One of my favorite things to read are inspirational biographies. This is what I read or listened to lately that I think would enrich your life as well.

The Insanity of God
This book starts with Nik Ripken's personal testimony and how he and his family came to live on the mission field in Kenya and Somaliland (which is heartbreaking). After some tragedy, he begins to question how people can endure under such persecution. How can this possibly further the Kingdom of God? So he goes on a quest to interview different people and groups who have lived under such persecution and ask them how and why they survived.  What a page turner! This book is full of heartbreak, but also such beauty rising from the ashes. In my opinion, it is a must read for all who live in the blessing of a free society who struggle to even comprehend what it is like to live under persecution.



The Boys in the Boat

This is a secular book that documents the story of the boys, particularly one young man, who competed in the Olympics in Nazi Germany. It switches back and forth between the story of the young men and a historical look at the politics of that time period. I listened to the audiobook (and the narrator was fantastic) and found myself at the edge of my seat during the race scenes. This is a wonderfully inspiring book of tenacity and great strength.





A Thousand Miles to Freedom
This is a heart wrenching tale of a young girl born in communist North Korea. The descriptions of the despair and hunger under this tyrannical government is hard to even fathom. Living in the free USA, we cannot imagine a government willing withholding food and starving the people to death. Hungry people are more easily controlled, I suppose. But this family makes the hard decision to find freedom. They endure the physically and emotionally painful journey of sneaking out of North Korea. What an amazingly, true tale of endurance in the face of political oppression.




Amos Fortune, Free Man
This was a book that I read with my daughters in our homeschooling year. This was an interesting story of a free black man living in the times of slavery in America. We don't hear of this happening very often, but there were some free Africans living here. He was a strong, hard-working, thoughtful man living in a difficult, primitive time and his story is definitely award winning.





What have you read lately? Anything worth sharing? Please leave a comment below and let me know what I should add to my book list for summer.

Another change of direction

Going - In Faith

One other big change has been where we live.

God has directed our family to move to another state, hundreds of miles from where we called home our entire lives. Neither my husband nor I have ever lived out of state. We did move away from our respective hometowns, but we were close enough for birthday parties, family visits, holidays, etc.

But we both felt the tug on our hearts to step out in faith. It took 3 years for it all to become clear and a reality. We moved to a town where we knew no one. We weren't able to even identify a church we would attend before we moved (which we did not feel comfortable with).

But God {two of my favorite words}...

God is not only good, He is generous and gracious.

He directed us to a house on a quiet street with wonderful neighbors.

He directed us to a church just a few minutes from our house (we are still pushing the limit for getting there on time, though. Some things never change - ha!). 

He has grown our faith and trust in Him in ways that cannot be described.

This has all been a wonderful testimony for our children. They have been witnesses to how scary it can be to move states away, but how wonderful it can be to trust in God.

Have you ever stepped out in faith like this? Comment below and tell me about it. I'd love to share in the beautiful way God has directed your steps as well.

Blessings

A new direction

I have not posted in a while and many things have changed in my life. One of the biggest changes is our family's transition from conventional, allopathic medical treatments to more of a natural, holistic and homeopathic lifestyle.

Soon....

Very soon...

I will start posting about the different things that have worked so well for our family.

Why would I take the time to do this? I mean to each his own, right?

I believe our nation is full of sick people. They don't even realize it.

They are eating "food" that isn't really "food".

They are using medications that just suppress symptoms and never heal.

They live in chronic pain.

Our children will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Our children are being diagnosed with cancers, autoimmune disorders, anxiety, neurological disorders.... and the list goes on.

I believe there is an entire generation that has been robbed of a quality life because they do not know how to nourish their bodies.

As a Mom, it especially breaks my heart when I see how this affects the children.

So be watching for encouraging ways to move you and your family to a more natural, wholesome, healing way of living.

About God - Part 3

The Self-Existence of God 

Where did God come from? This is a good question, well at least a good starting point. It reveals a lot about the way we think. We came from our parents. The litter of kittens from the mama cat. The flowers in the garden from small seeds. Light and warmth from the sun. The wind...well, I have no idea where the wind comes from but I wish it would go back there. I digress. 

We are created beings and came from something. We have a beginning. We are a part of the timeline. 

"God has no origin," said Novatian, and it is precisely this concept of no-origin which distinguishes That-which-is-God from whatever is not God." [Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer]

That is a lot to wrap our minds around. God is lot limited by time. He exists outside of time. That is why he told Moses to tell the Israelites that He is "I AM WHO I AM" 

God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” 

And He said, “Say this to the people of Israel, 

‘I am has sent me to you.’” 

Exodus 3:14

Psalm 90:2 tells us that God existed before our world:

Before the mountains were brought forth,

    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

God is self-existent, meaning He needs nothing to exist apart from Himself. He does not need oxygen, water or food. He does not need sleep or rest. He does not need a dwelling place. He does not need us. But He chose to create us and love us to display His love and majesty. Chose is the key word. 

Chosen sounds so personal. So loving. So kind. 

Remember playing kickball at recess. Two captains choosing one by one who would be on their team? We all would be silently praying, "Please pick me. Don't let me be the last one standing. Choose me."

God chooses you. Rest in that for a moment. 

The more we contemplate how magnanimous God actually is, the smaller we will feel and the greater our dependence on such a great God will grow. 

Could this great, majestic God actually care about our lives? I mean, even the small things in our lives? Do you ever feel like only praying about the big things since God probably doesn't care about the smaller, daily events of our lives? 

Steve Lawson in the DVD series, the Attributes of God, reminds us "compared to His greatness and self-sufficiency, ALL THINGS in our lives are small; yet, He invites us to come to Him anyway." He calls us as His children if we have repented of our sins and trust in Jesus as our only Savior. 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, 

that we should be called children of God;  

1 John 3:3a

And because you are sons, 

God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 

crying, “Abba! Father!” 

So you are no longer a slave, 

but a son, and if a son, 

then an heir through God. 

Galations 4:6-7

Do you cry out to God? Do you call on the great, self-sufficient One to help you reflect His Son to a lost world? To your children? And husband? 

What is stopping you? 

 In trifles as well as in nobler exercises the believer should be conscious of his own inability,—should never say of any act, “Now I am strong enough to perform this; I need not go to God in prayer about this; this is so little a thing; it is beneath the dignity of God, and I am quite sufficient for it by myself.” No, believer, you are sufficient for nothing at all; without Christ you can do nothing that is good, nothing that is right. “We do not have sufficiency in ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is in God.” John Newton quoted on AIG {emphasis added}

For more information, I highly suggest A. W. Tozer's book, Knowledge of the Holy. 

About God - Part 2

Photo credit Photobucket

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” [Jeremiah 9:23-24]

What should we boast in according to God? That we understand and know Him. Wow! There is so much about God that totally blows my mind and I cannot even wrap my puny brain around things like His being infinite or any of the omni's. 

But it delights God that I spend time and energy trying to learn more. What could be better than pleasing God? 

So what is involved in knowing God? J. I. Packer in his book, Knowing God, describes four things that are required to know God: 

1. Listening to God's Word and receiving it as the Holy Spirit interprets it and applying it to your life. 

We must read and be in our Bibles. God gave us a book that tells about His beautiful story. If we are not grounded in His Word which is full of truth, then our minds will be tempted to invent our own truths {which fall short and are easily distorted by emotion and culture}. 

We need to study God and His Word, "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." {Ephesians 4:14}

2. Noting God's nature and character, as His Word and works reveal it.

What is required in order to know another person? Spending time with them. Investing in things they are interested in. Celebrating things they celebrate. 

No matter how much you try to imagine another person, you cannot know them until you actually talk with them and find out what they are truly like.

In addition, no matter how much you sacrifice {time, money, energy, interest}, it is up to the other person as to how much, if at all, they want to open themselves up to you. You can only know a person as much as they will allow you into their lives and thoughts. 

It is not this way with God. He has revealed Himself in the Bible. It tells about Him, what He likes, what He despises. It tells how to please Him and how to upset Him. His character and nature is clearly described in His holy Word. 

Just as an example, see what we can learn about God from the Jeremiah verses above. We see that He is loving, just and righteous and He delights in such things from His children.

3. Accepting His invitations and doing what He commands.

God has commandments that He clearly describes in the Bible. Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." I think that is pretty straight forward, don't you? 

If you spend time in God's Word and find out what He requires of you and you willfully choose to not obey, then you might want to ask yourself,

Do you really love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength? 

4. Recognizing and rejoicing in the love that He has shown in approaching you and drawing you into this divine fellowship. 

God does not owe us anything. He has given us life but we daily choose to rebel against Him. Our sin separates us from Him. It is through His amazing grace {giving us what we do not deserve}, through the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for us to be friends with God. 

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. {Romans 5:8}

This should cause our hearts to rejoice and worship God Almighty! And as we rejoice, we are drawn closer to Him and His heart. 


Do you wish to know God better? Someone said one time {I don't remember who or else I would give props} that, "You can have as much of God as you want, in fact, you already do."

"One of the most wonderful things about knowing God is that 

there is always so much more to know. Just when we least expect it, 

He intrudes into our neat and tidy notions about who He is and how He works." 

 Joni Eareckson Tada

"Being infinite, God is inexhaustibly interesting. 

It is therefore impossible that God be boring." 

John Piper

About God - Part 1

Do you know anything about God? Do you even think there is a God? Some of us grew up in Sunday School always believing there is a God and others need a bit more convincing.

This article {or series of articles} is aimed at the person who says they know there is a God, but maybe does not know Him as well as they should. Wait. Does it matter if you don't know much about God? As long as you acknowledge Him, does it matter if you know His attributes or characteristics?

Knowing God changes everything.

J. I. Packer says in his book "Knowing God"

"As it would be cruel to an Amazonian tribesman to fly him to London, put him down without explanation in Trafalgar Square and leave him, as one who knew nothing of English or England, to fend for himself, so we are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it."

He goes on...

"The world becomes a strange, mad,  painful place and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.

This way you can waste your life and lose your soul." [emphasis added]


Do you feel like life is a strange, mad, painful place? Disappointed and unpleasant? Do you feel as if you may be stumbling in the dark with no sense of direction?

Maybe it is time you seek after the One Who created the world and Who runs it.

I have started a study on the Attributes of God and it is wonderful! God has never been more perfectly magnificent in my life and so unfathomably ginormous...but also never more real, close, compassionate and loving as He is now.

As Christians, we say we want eternal life, and Jesus Himself defines it as this in John 17:3,

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent."

What is eternal life? Knowing God. Do you know Him? If not, what is stopping you?

Follow along as I walk through the attributes I am learning each week and I pray that the true and living God will use the feeble words I type to encourage you and bless you.

It's all for His glory!

Top 10 Books

I was challenged recently by my Auntie M to think of 10 books that have influenced my life. She probably thought I forgot about this challenge because it has been some weeks (months), but it keeps popping into my thoughts and I think, think, think {kind of like Pooh Bear}...

In no particular order, except for number one, here are 10 books that have influenced who I am as a Christian, Wife, Homemaker, Mom, Teacher....

1. Holy Bible  - Lord, please may be this always be Numero Uno. The Bible is the source for wisdom. It is how we know God. It is how we understand our place and purpose in the world. It is how we understand life. It is where I find out how great God is, how small I am, how great my sin is and how precious His Salvation Plan is for me {and the universe}.

2. Holiness - J. C. Ryle

3. The Excellent Wife - Martha Peace

4. Shepherding a Child's Heart - Tedd Tripp

5. Pathway to Freedom: How God's Law Guides Our Lives - Allistair Begg

6. The Unhealthy Truth: One Mother's Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America's Food Supply-- and What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself - Robyn O'Brien

7. Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate - Jerry Bridges

8. Peacemaking Women: Biblical Hope for Resolving Conflic - Tara Klena Barthel & Judy Dabler

9, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition) - Susan Wise Bauer

10. Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs - Emerson Eggerichs


Looking over this list tells a LOT about who I am, doesn't it? I love to read so it was hard to narrow it down to a short list of 10.

What does your list look like? I would love to know your top influencing books! Reading is such a fabulous blessing!!

{Contains affiliate links}

I'm Back

Well, hello.

Sometimes I find out that someone has been missing from my virtual world only when they reappear. Honestly, that happens to me in my real life as well sometimes {unfortunately}. Does that ever happen to you? Someone you know shows "back up" at church or in your email inbox and you ask yourself, "Wow, I wonder where they have been?"

Maybe you're asking yourself that question about me? Where has Dana been? She hasn't written on her blog in a looooonnnnnggggg time. 

The truth of the matter is my Dad went to meet Jesus in June '13 and I lost any and all ability to write. The words were gone. The thought of writing something my dear ole Dad wouldn't read and respond to broke my heart. 

My Dad was my first love. He was wise. He laughed with his entire body. He gave strong hugs. He loved greatly. 

And I miss him. 

There are days when I am still overwhelmed with tears and loneliness as I ache to chat with him. I long to hear him laugh again. 

I know I'll see him again in heaven {eternity gives us such hope}. I know he would love to see me still writing. 

And since I have so many ideas swirling around inside my head - I feel compelled to share with you! There have been many changes in our lives since I have written last. 

Be on the lookout for updated pictures {I cannot believe how big my girls are now!}.

Look for articles coming soon on - 

• Healthy Living - including some fabulous recipes that are based on a whole food diet. Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Egg-free.
  
• Essential Oils - Join me as I get started down this exciting adventure with healing naturally.
  
• Homeschooling - Yes, I have a 4th grader and a Kindergartner now! It is such a fun and very challenging time in our lives! I am so excited to share schooling ideas and challenges.
  
• God-centered living - The most important thing about me is my God and my Savior. I am always thrilled to share God glorifying articles to enrich your thought life. 

Looking forward to hearing from you as well! 

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." 

-A.W. Tozer

Drawing a Conclusion Pt 1

I admit it. I am a documentary addict. I love to learn and it turns out there are many, many documentaries available to watch {and from all different perspectives, so I must put on my thinking cap to separate truth from propaganda}.

I also love books, especially non-fiction books that glorify our great God and encourage my walk along the narrow path.

I am about to draw a conclusion that is disturbing, but at the same time, it is full of hope because I think I see a link. I'm going to introduce each piece of the pie as evidence.

Evidence #1

This past summer, I did a book study through the book, "Six Ways to Keep the Little in Your Girl" by Dannah Gresh. In chapter 8, she is encouraging parents to unplug their kids from electronic devices. She states that the lack of imaginative play eliminates {or decreases drastically} children's self-control. One example is a child's ability to stand still.

Before all the technical gadgets, TVs and gaming devices came along, a child ages 5 and above was able to stand still for an indefinite period of time. Can you imagine that? Can your child stand still for any amount of time? Now that our children are spending hours in front of screens, they have lost the ability to focus and stand still. They cannot self-regulate.

Sound familiar? I'll bet if you are a first grade teacher, you would understand this in a big way!


Evidence #2

Stay tuned...

A Time of Reflection, Pt 2

So 20 years ago, I was a High School senior dreaming of what I would be when I grew up and preparing to start tackling those dreams.

I pointed out in the previous post that, even though I would have told you that I was a Christian, I was not walking with the Lord at all. Mistake #1.

Fast forward 10 years. I am married {to an unbeliever - mistake #2}. After several months of trying, we are finally pregnant! We called everyone we knew to tell them the good news. We even came to an agreement on a name for the baby {if it were the boy we were hoping for}.

I had an early ultrasound since it was my first pregnancy. There we found out that we were not in fact pregnant. My body just thought that it was. The technical term is a blighted ovum, which means something went wrong during the fertilization and there was not a baby in the growing fetal sac.

Devastated. My entire world came crashing down. My foundation was built on shifting sand and it just imploded.

It hurt so badly and deeply to even think about, so I began to numb the pain. I escaped reality. I looked for anything or anyone that made life fun and happy, even if it was temporary. My husband was not being supportive or loving {I mean who could love the tornado I had turned into anyway}, so I looked for love in other places.

At the time, one of my best friends was also going through a very difficult emotional situation. We often referred to ourselves as train wrecks. We were out of control friends searching for anything to make us happy. I was a horrible influence on her and she was a horrible influence on me.

But we would have both told you that we were Christians.

10 years ago...

I lost the baby I longed for.

I ruined the marriage I thought would last forever.

I pushed everyone away and hurt anyone who dared get in my way of having fun.

I was on my way to breaking all 10 commandments.

I ran as far away from God as I possibly could.


God was going to show me that it took more than walking an aisle or being dunked in water to be a follower of Christ. I had to lose everything so that I could clearly see the glory and grace of God.

Whoever says “I know him”

but does not keep his commandments is a liar,

and the truth is not in him {1 John 2:4}

 

Whoever says he is in the light

and hates his brother

is still in darkness. {1 John 2:9}

 

Do not love the world or the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world,

the love of the Father is not in him. {1 John 2:15}

 

 

Ashamed and broken. Hurt and alone. I had broken so many hearts and I cannot even imagine how God was feeling at this point, looking down on the mess I had made of my life. It took a while to get back on the right path to God, but at least I was starting to search again. At least it was becoming very, very obvious that I needed to be back in church.

 

Hebrews 12 tells us, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 

 

I was not being punished for my sin - Jesus took care of all that on the cross. I was being disciplined in order that I might seek the Lord. I was being disciplined to save my life.

I am ashamed of my sin, but I am thankful for the Lord's forgiveness and mercy. My life has changed so much in the last 10 years that it is hard to remember who I used to be. Of course, there are ramifications to the sin I committed {mostly emotional scars and temptations for sin} that I will carry for my entire life - but I have found love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and eternal hope in Jesus.

Have you experienced forgiveness through Jesus? Do you know for sure that you will go to heaven when you die? If not, I highly suggest you learn more about Jesus and how to become a genuine Christian.

Do you ever take time to look at all you have been saved from and the person you used to be {the "old man"}? I think remembering who I was makes the salvation I find in Jesus even more sweet.

Blessings.

 

 

 

 

 

A Time of Reflection, Pt 1

This year, 2013, is going to be a very significant time in my life. It has only just started and I can already feel myself being pulled into thoughts of the past {some good, some not-so-good}. This is year marks the anniversary for so many different things in my life that I cannot help but be pulled back onto memory lane and view it through my current world view {aka, the lens of age and experience - imagine how thick those lenses will be when I am my grandparents' ages!}.

First, it means that 20 years ago, I was a Senior in High School. Ah! I know, I look so young {lol!)! But seriously, 20 years?! How on earth did 20 years fly by so quickly?!  I was not a popular kid or even an unpopular kid. I had many friends and a couple trusted BFFs. Of course, like any normal HS girl, I bounced around the thoughts of "love" for this boy or that boy, but there was not a significant "boyfriend" {until after I graduated}.

At 17, I thought I knew everything there was to know about everything. There are a few HUGE regrets I have {even though I know God uses it all for His glory and for my own good}.

Purity - Not having a good biblical view of purity and understanding why God has all these rules. I wish I had an understanding that went beyond the mean, legalistic, narrow-minded rules to the beautiful, God-honoring, pure view of marriage. When a person has a goal in mind, and that goal is beautiful, sacred, wonderful, fun, and secure, it makes the rules "worth it". But when there is  no goal in mind, the rules just seem unreasonably harsh and are easily thrown out the window with the "everybody else is doing it and they seem to be enjoying themselves - a LOT" kind of excuse. When you see how the beautiful, pure bride represents the church and the handsome, strong husband is Christ, it sheds a whole new light on marriage and relationships.

Knowledge vs. Relationship - Even though I thought I knew everything about everything as a teenager {and if I didn't, I had enough control of the English vocabulary to use an avalanche of words to convince anyone that I did - lol!} I did not have a full understanding about what it meant to be a Christian. Oh, I had read some of my Bible and been attending church, but it was not a sound bible teaching church and they didn't teach {or at least I didn't listen if they did} about what it means to have a relationship with Christ. They taught about sin and hell and that we all need a Savior {that's a good starting point}, but they didn't tell us what to do after we walked the aisle, confessed Christ as our Savior and were baptized.

Mom - One thing I regret most of all is the way I treated my Mom. My mother is a jewel. I know everyone thinks that about their Mom, but mine really is. We did not have an ideal situation at home, but my Mom was determined to keep our family together. She loved {and still does} my father so much and was willing to stand by him through extremely difficult decisions. At the time, I remember thinking {and actually saying to her - unfortunately} that she was the biggest doormat ever and there was no way I would ever let a man treat me that way! I recall times when my Mom would not make a decision about something until she could talk to my Dad and I would roll my eyes and give the big, full-body sigh {you know the one that gives the message that "I am so smart and you are so stupid"} in unbelief that she would respect or even care about what he thought.

Looking back - my Mom is an excellent example of a biblical, submissive wife. She is not perfect, but she tried her best to honor and respect my Dad, even if  I didn't think he deserved it. She loved him when he was unloveable. She took seriously those vows they said 38 years ago - for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to death do us part. The only way she was able to do this was by the grace of God. My Dad did not make it easy on her - but neither did I. That is the part that I regret. I wish I could have seen her through the eyes of Jesus. I would have helped her more instead of condemning her. I would have loved her more to help fill the painful wounds in her heart. I would have willfully helped out more {instead of begrudgingly}with my younger sisters. My mom truly is a jewel and I wish I could have seen her beauty when I was such a "smart" teen.

Dad - Ok, so I talked about my Mom, now I'll admit my regrets about my Dad. You can already tell that he wasn't perfect, but I love him so much! You see, we all have our own personal walks and some of us make decisions early in life that impact our entire walk on the Earth. We make decisions to be involved with things that are addictive or we are exposed to abuses as a child that impact how we handle life - some more than others. It is only by the {common} grace of God that we are not all partaking in the amount of wickedness that we are capable of.

With that being said, my Dad did a number of things that I am sure he regrets that were sinful and not godly. However, he did many good things. He is such a loving father and tried to make up for the difficult times by making sure we knew he loved us. Even though his walk wasn't perfect, he loves the Lord. He made sure that we knew God is the Creator of everything. He made sure we knew that we are all sinners in need of a Savior.

I regret not seeing my Dad as a person who was drowning in his own sinful choices. I only saw him through my self-centered agenda and concentrated on how he wasn't meeting MY needs. I didn't see him through the eyes of Jesus - Who loves my Dad unconditionally. Oh, Jesus hates the sin, but He loves my Dad. I needed to just love my Dad, too. I needed to be compassionate and loving, especially when he was broken.

You see, it wasn't that many years later that I was trapped by my own sinful choices and broken. I am thankful that Jesus was there to pick me up, instead of treating me like I treated my Dad - smug, self-righteous, know-it-all, I-told-you-this-was-going-to-happen. I love my Dad and am so very thankful that God chose him to be my father.

Sisters - I was so self-centered that I did not care much about my little sisters. I should have been a good role model and had a desire to mentor them. Did I? Nope. I was so selfish that I looked at them as burdens {since I had to watch them so much of the time}. Oh the regrets!!!  It breaks my heart to think of my daughters treating each other the way I treated my sisters. Amazingly, we are still friends today {even though we are not as close as some sisters are} and I pray this relationship will grow through the years. I would do almost anything for my sisters today, although because of past hurts, they do not tend to ask.

So basically I would have told you I was a Christian when I was a teenager, but I was ignoring the greatest commandments. I did not love God with my entire heart, soul, strength and mind and I did not love others more than myself.

We all have stories of regret. The key is deciding how to give it to God for the glory. Remember, if we are His child, He has allowed all of this for His glory and our good. I hate that all this happened, but God used it to shape who I am today. Without a gross picture of my own depravity, I would not see my need for a Savior.

This was 20 years ago; next up {and even more painful} is what happened 10 years ago...