In case you are not aware, Planned Parenthood (I despise that very name) is doing all sorts of illegal things - partial abortions being one of them - so that they can sell baby body parts for profit. Lucrative profit. Check out this website, The Center for Medical Progress, to see their investigative videos of top administrators in PP as well as StemExpress and other evil enterprises that deal so callously in this world of killing fetuses. Please also consider signing the petition they have for Congress to investigate PP as well as cut off funding. Did you know that 40% of PP funding comes from tax payers dollars, and Pres. Obama promised that no taxpayer money would fund abortions? Please also email your representative. The CMP (Center for Medical Progress) website has it all laid out for you. Here's a link to one of the videos:
http://www.centerformedicalprogress.org/cmp/investigative-footage/
Thursday, September 17, 2015
#ILovetheFamilyProclamation
Did you know there is a party going on? Check it out on these three blogs!
beinglds.blogspot.com
cranialhiccups.com
athingcalledloveblog.com
beinglds.blogspot.com
cranialhiccups.com
athingcalledloveblog.com
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The way I eat...
is forever changing. When I think back 11 years ago to how we ate when we were first married, I cringe a bit. But I have been making our own bread for almost that long, which is fun. That has changed a lot too, my bread-making method. It's fun to learn and grow.
My friend Jessica recently helped me grow in a new way that I wanted to share with you. She gave me a book called Discovering the Word of Wisdom. I devoured the book (ha ha, that was for you, Jonas) and enjoyed and agreed with its message: that we should eat a whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPB). That is fruits and veggies, legumes and grains. Yum! What more could a girl ask for? Chocolate, that's what. So I eat that too.
Here's a link to a 12-minute video if you want to see what Discovering is about. If you want to learn more, check out the documentary Forks Over Knives. It's only 1 1/2 hours long and is fun and informative and you will lose three pounds just by watching it!
Why am I so jazzed about eating WFPB? One is that it is pleasing to my Heavenly Father AND I get some amazing blessings if I follow the Word of Wisdom. Here they are:
D&C 89
18 - And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19- And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 - And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 - And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
Amen! I want to make a couple of points here that I think are important. The first is that this Word of Wisdom as the Church calls Doctrine and Covenants 89 is more of an invitation, an optional thing; "not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days -- . . . a principle with promise." So we can still live with Heavenly Father, attend the temple, be good and righteous people if we don't follow this, but if we don't, I think it safe and fair to say that we have no claim upon the blessings and promise (the destroying angel passing me by) if we don't follow it. Heavenly Father also teaches us that he is pleased when we do follow it, and we will be happiest and healthiest if we do.
We know all about what to avoid: tobacco, coffee, tea (am I bad that I drink herbal tea? I don't know. I need to research that. I LOVE peppermint tea!), drugs, and alcohol, though the scriptures don't spell all of those out for us. The prophets have taught us about some of those things. There are many scriptures in the WoW that discuss what we should eat: "wholesome herbs...every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." v14 - "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life."
v16 - "All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground"
So maybe we should stick with what the WoW says we should eat, and nothing more. Except for chocolate.
And then there's meat. So much of the American diet revolves around meat, and most of that is poor quality. Yet Heavenly Father says three times that we should not eat meat except in times of winter or cold or famine. v13 - "And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." See also verses 12 and 15.
So why do so many members eat SO MUCH meat? Vegetarianism isn't preached from the pulpit, not like avoiding pornography, and for good reason. Eating meat and animal products isn't nearly as detrimental as viewing and becoming addicted to pornography. Heavenly Father said Himself that the WoW isn't a commandment, just a really good idea if you want healthy bodies and some great blessings. Jane Birch, author of Discovering the WoW also pointed out that it took 100 years for the saints to give up coffee, tea and tobacco. They finally had to put it in as a temple recommend question for it to become mainstream. Maybe we aren't ready or willing to give up the meat unless absolutely required to do so.
Our family is venturing into veganism, though not strictly because we have no allergies, and if my kids are offered cheese at another person's home, they gladly gobble it up. We are giving up animal byproducts for the most part because I read a book called The China Study that discussed the many negative effects of animal protein. First of all, the emphasis on protein is overdone. Our bodies can get all the protein they need from eating plants, yes, even veggies. But whole grains and legumes are also great sources. This enormous study that was done in China showed that those who consumed the least amount of animal products had the best health, if they also had access to preventing the diseases of poverty (vaccinations, sanitation, etc.). Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, they are all wreaking havoc here in America and we could do away with these for the most part simply by eating plants. If you don't believe me, read The China Study. You can borrow my copy if you want to. And since starting this new way of eating, we have spent a lot less money on groceries, hooray!
I think there were other points I wanted to make but I'm too tired to think of them. Maybe I'll come back and post some more. Probably not, looking at my history.
My friend Jessica recently helped me grow in a new way that I wanted to share with you. She gave me a book called Discovering the Word of Wisdom. I devoured the book (ha ha, that was for you, Jonas) and enjoyed and agreed with its message: that we should eat a whole foods, plant-based diet (WFPB). That is fruits and veggies, legumes and grains. Yum! What more could a girl ask for? Chocolate, that's what. So I eat that too.
Here's a link to a 12-minute video if you want to see what Discovering is about. If you want to learn more, check out the documentary Forks Over Knives. It's only 1 1/2 hours long and is fun and informative and you will lose three pounds just by watching it!
Why am I so jazzed about eating WFPB? One is that it is pleasing to my Heavenly Father AND I get some amazing blessings if I follow the Word of Wisdom. Here they are:
D&C 89
18 - And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19- And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 - And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 - And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
Amen! I want to make a couple of points here that I think are important. The first is that this Word of Wisdom as the Church calls Doctrine and Covenants 89 is more of an invitation, an optional thing; "not by commandment or constraint, but by revelation and the word of wisdom, showing forth the order and will of God in the temporal salvation of all saints in the last days -- . . . a principle with promise." So we can still live with Heavenly Father, attend the temple, be good and righteous people if we don't follow this, but if we don't, I think it safe and fair to say that we have no claim upon the blessings and promise (the destroying angel passing me by) if we don't follow it. Heavenly Father also teaches us that he is pleased when we do follow it, and we will be happiest and healthiest if we do.
We know all about what to avoid: tobacco, coffee, tea (am I bad that I drink herbal tea? I don't know. I need to research that. I LOVE peppermint tea!), drugs, and alcohol, though the scriptures don't spell all of those out for us. The prophets have taught us about some of those things. There are many scriptures in the WoW that discuss what we should eat: "wholesome herbs...every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving." v14 - "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life."
v16 - "All grain is good for the food of man; as also the fruit of the vine; that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground"
So maybe we should stick with what the WoW says we should eat, and nothing more. Except for chocolate.
And then there's meat. So much of the American diet revolves around meat, and most of that is poor quality. Yet Heavenly Father says three times that we should not eat meat except in times of winter or cold or famine. v13 - "And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine." See also verses 12 and 15.
So why do so many members eat SO MUCH meat? Vegetarianism isn't preached from the pulpit, not like avoiding pornography, and for good reason. Eating meat and animal products isn't nearly as detrimental as viewing and becoming addicted to pornography. Heavenly Father said Himself that the WoW isn't a commandment, just a really good idea if you want healthy bodies and some great blessings. Jane Birch, author of Discovering the WoW also pointed out that it took 100 years for the saints to give up coffee, tea and tobacco. They finally had to put it in as a temple recommend question for it to become mainstream. Maybe we aren't ready or willing to give up the meat unless absolutely required to do so.
Our family is venturing into veganism, though not strictly because we have no allergies, and if my kids are offered cheese at another person's home, they gladly gobble it up. We are giving up animal byproducts for the most part because I read a book called The China Study that discussed the many negative effects of animal protein. First of all, the emphasis on protein is overdone. Our bodies can get all the protein they need from eating plants, yes, even veggies. But whole grains and legumes are also great sources. This enormous study that was done in China showed that those who consumed the least amount of animal products had the best health, if they also had access to preventing the diseases of poverty (vaccinations, sanitation, etc.). Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, they are all wreaking havoc here in America and we could do away with these for the most part simply by eating plants. If you don't believe me, read The China Study. You can borrow my copy if you want to. And since starting this new way of eating, we have spent a lot less money on groceries, hooray!
I think there were other points I wanted to make but I'm too tired to think of them. Maybe I'll come back and post some more. Probably not, looking at my history.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
I have so many granola-type things I want to blog about, but never have the time. If you are interested in saving the earth a little, please read Plastic Purge by Michael SanClements. An excellent read for the layperson on the good side of plastic, mostly about the bad sides, and what alternatives we have. If you only do one thing, please join REI's movement to eliminate single use plastic, like sandwich bags, string cheese, etc. Eliminate most single use things, really. they are bad news for the earth. If you want to do another easy thing that will save you lots of money, please don't buy bottled water. It is ridiculously over priced, the water quality is not at all monitored, and so much energy goes into making, transporting, and distributing said bottles. HUGE waste. Use reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones. Replace plastic in the home with wood, glass, stainless steel, and fabrics. The book is a quick read with lots of good ideas. Have a good day!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Tough stuff
I am a big wimp when it comes to difficulties. Meaning small difficulties seem like monumental trials to me. Okay, maybe having five young children isn't a small difficulty, but I figure with my first-world lifestyle and not worrying about feeding, clothing, and sheltering my family, what do I have to complain about? I have five beautiful, healthy kids with no detected physical or mental concerns and the best husband a woman could ask for. But man, caring for five children 8 years old and younger is sometimes suffocatingly difficult for me. And our family has been blessed with amazing help since Adele entered our lives almost four weeks ago. (Can you believe she is almost one month old??!?) We have had meals brought in, playdates for my kids, one woman came and cleaned my floors and bathrooms today and they look so pretty, my sister came and helped as did my MIL. I'm forgetting so many things that people have done to help us right now because I'm tired and just ate an obscene amount of gelato.
I am eager to get back into an exercising and healthful eating routine. Sadly, when I am worn down after constantly attending to others' needs, I turn to eating naughty food throughout the day and late into the evening to give myself a break. And I am very eager to lose these last 15 pounds and be back to my normal self, which isn't happening quickly enough for me. I keep trying to remind myself that it took nine months to get as big as I was so I need to chill out and take it step by step. But when my clothes are too small and my tummy jiggles when I walk and I'm grossed out by that, it's hard to be patient. But tomorrow I am meeting my friends at the track for my first ever postnatal workout, wahoo!!! It's going to feel a lot worse than necessary because of all that gelato I just ate, but oh well. At least I'm getting out and doing something finally.
How is your summer going thus far?
I am eager to get back into an exercising and healthful eating routine. Sadly, when I am worn down after constantly attending to others' needs, I turn to eating naughty food throughout the day and late into the evening to give myself a break. And I am very eager to lose these last 15 pounds and be back to my normal self, which isn't happening quickly enough for me. I keep trying to remind myself that it took nine months to get as big as I was so I need to chill out and take it step by step. But when my clothes are too small and my tummy jiggles when I walk and I'm grossed out by that, it's hard to be patient. But tomorrow I am meeting my friends at the track for my first ever postnatal workout, wahoo!!! It's going to feel a lot worse than necessary because of all that gelato I just ate, but oh well. At least I'm getting out and doing something finally.
How is your summer going thus far?
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Huh
Boy, have I neglected this blog. I probably won't be any better in the near future, as baby #5 is about to pop out. But I often compose posts in my head and wish I would actually get to posting them. I guess that doesn't quite cut it, does it?
Here are some thoughts that have been milling around in my head.
Materialistic Thoughts
I am sad that Quizno's appears to be going out of business. We lost ours here in our little town, and when I've tried to find another, those stores have closed too. In their place, I see lots of Jimmy Johns. Very lame. Jimmy John's two main ingredients appear to be Mayo and cheese. My last sandwich has three slices of cheese, lots of Mayo, some guacamole (yum), and some lame ice berg lettuce. Quizno's at least offered a good variety with lots of veggie and bread options. Boo to Jimmy John's.
If you know me at all, you'll laugh at this next statement, because I really don't like to shop. I dislike malls; they are silly places filled with silly things. But my new favorite store is at a nearby mall. What store is that, you ask? Lush. Have you heard of it? Probably way before I did. I found out about it through a book I read about getting plastics out of our daily lives, because I'm a granola like that. And the book mentioned Lush because they make bars of shampoo and conditioner. What the what? BARS of shampoo and conditioner? Yes!!! And they smell so good and work so well. The shampoo takes an incredibly small amount to work up a good lather and there's no packaging or anything to throw away. Amazing! I did not like the massage bar I got. It's basically a bar of lotion, which is a great idea in the no-plastic arena, but it hardly lasted two weeks and as it got smaller, it fell apart into smaller and smaller pieces, which did not work for smoothing all over for the lotion effect. I just threw it away, it was annoying me so much. So don't buy the massage bars.
Scriptural Thoughts
I started the Book of Mormon over again. For some years now, there is a passage that never made sense to me, and I finally asked someone who I thought could guide me in the right direction, and I'm getting some answers! It's in 1 Nephi 11:8-23. Nephi is speaking with the Spirit asking for further clarification regarding the Tree of Life vision he and his father saw, specifically in these verses what the tree means. The Spirit shows him Jerusalem, which Nephi recognized because he lived there, and then he sees Mary, and then Mary bearing baby Jesus in his arms. From this vision, Nephi understands that the tree represents the love of God. It never made sense to me how Nephi would draw that conclusion from the little conversation with the Spirit and the things that he saw. So my friend Heather at Women in the Scriptures directed me to some articles explaining how Nephi came to that conclusion, and it has been so helpful. Here are the links to the articles she sent me. Fascinating stuff!
\http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/9/2/S00003-50be458eb2b313Peterson.pdf
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705362168/Daniel-Peterson-How-Nephi-understood-the-Tree-of-Life-and-why-the-Book-of-Mormon-is-an-ancient.html?pg=all
I feel a great cultural divide when reading the Old and New Testament, and even sometimes the beginning of the Book of Mormon as it relates to Lehi and Nephi. I'm grateful for scholars that help me understand, and for the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants that are a bit easier to grasp, especially D&C.
Yard Thoughts
We are currently attempting to re-seed our yard and it is an ENORMOUS pain. When we moved in, our yard was ugly and very lumpy, almost impossible to mow with the huge gaps and holes everywhere. Our lawnmower was being destroyed. So we convinced our landlord to let us re-seed it, which he generously agreed to let us do. He eventually got around to tilling it up, but left the grass clumps everywhere. This is where I get annoyed, so you may want to stop reading. Over the past two Saturdays we have tried to rake up these clumps, but it would take about 70-80 man hours for Jonas to do this manually. The yard should have been re-seeded in March. I'm too pregnant to help out very much, and baby #5 is about to pop out. So we don't really have the leisure time to take a month and a half to rake the yard. Plus, all sorts of things are taking seed and starting to sprout up already. So now we are going to rent a tractor and pull something behind it to pull up the grass clumps, and then we can re-seed. I just wish our landlord had thought of this and offered to do it with his tractor. Oh well. The sad part of this saga is that because we have to pay to rent a tractor, etc., we now can't afford to build garden beds this year, so no garden for us. Probably for the best anyway, with a new baby on the way. Still, it makes me sad. But next year, we can have a great garden and hopefully some chickens too! For all the work that needs to be done here, I do so love our little house and huge yard.
The end. Thanks for visiting!
Here are some thoughts that have been milling around in my head.
Materialistic Thoughts
I am sad that Quizno's appears to be going out of business. We lost ours here in our little town, and when I've tried to find another, those stores have closed too. In their place, I see lots of Jimmy Johns. Very lame. Jimmy John's two main ingredients appear to be Mayo and cheese. My last sandwich has three slices of cheese, lots of Mayo, some guacamole (yum), and some lame ice berg lettuce. Quizno's at least offered a good variety with lots of veggie and bread options. Boo to Jimmy John's.
If you know me at all, you'll laugh at this next statement, because I really don't like to shop. I dislike malls; they are silly places filled with silly things. But my new favorite store is at a nearby mall. What store is that, you ask? Lush. Have you heard of it? Probably way before I did. I found out about it through a book I read about getting plastics out of our daily lives, because I'm a granola like that. And the book mentioned Lush because they make bars of shampoo and conditioner. What the what? BARS of shampoo and conditioner? Yes!!! And they smell so good and work so well. The shampoo takes an incredibly small amount to work up a good lather and there's no packaging or anything to throw away. Amazing! I did not like the massage bar I got. It's basically a bar of lotion, which is a great idea in the no-plastic arena, but it hardly lasted two weeks and as it got smaller, it fell apart into smaller and smaller pieces, which did not work for smoothing all over for the lotion effect. I just threw it away, it was annoying me so much. So don't buy the massage bars.
Scriptural Thoughts
I started the Book of Mormon over again. For some years now, there is a passage that never made sense to me, and I finally asked someone who I thought could guide me in the right direction, and I'm getting some answers! It's in 1 Nephi 11:8-23. Nephi is speaking with the Spirit asking for further clarification regarding the Tree of Life vision he and his father saw, specifically in these verses what the tree means. The Spirit shows him Jerusalem, which Nephi recognized because he lived there, and then he sees Mary, and then Mary bearing baby Jesus in his arms. From this vision, Nephi understands that the tree represents the love of God. It never made sense to me how Nephi would draw that conclusion from the little conversation with the Spirit and the things that he saw. So my friend Heather at Women in the Scriptures directed me to some articles explaining how Nephi came to that conclusion, and it has been so helpful. Here are the links to the articles she sent me. Fascinating stuff!
\http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/9/2/S00003-50be458eb2b313Peterson.pdf
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705362168/Daniel-Peterson-How-Nephi-understood-the-Tree-of-Life-and-why-the-Book-of-Mormon-is-an-ancient.html?pg=all
I feel a great cultural divide when reading the Old and New Testament, and even sometimes the beginning of the Book of Mormon as it relates to Lehi and Nephi. I'm grateful for scholars that help me understand, and for the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants that are a bit easier to grasp, especially D&C.
Yard Thoughts
We are currently attempting to re-seed our yard and it is an ENORMOUS pain. When we moved in, our yard was ugly and very lumpy, almost impossible to mow with the huge gaps and holes everywhere. Our lawnmower was being destroyed. So we convinced our landlord to let us re-seed it, which he generously agreed to let us do. He eventually got around to tilling it up, but left the grass clumps everywhere. This is where I get annoyed, so you may want to stop reading. Over the past two Saturdays we have tried to rake up these clumps, but it would take about 70-80 man hours for Jonas to do this manually. The yard should have been re-seeded in March. I'm too pregnant to help out very much, and baby #5 is about to pop out. So we don't really have the leisure time to take a month and a half to rake the yard. Plus, all sorts of things are taking seed and starting to sprout up already. So now we are going to rent a tractor and pull something behind it to pull up the grass clumps, and then we can re-seed. I just wish our landlord had thought of this and offered to do it with his tractor. Oh well. The sad part of this saga is that because we have to pay to rent a tractor, etc., we now can't afford to build garden beds this year, so no garden for us. Probably for the best anyway, with a new baby on the way. Still, it makes me sad. But next year, we can have a great garden and hopefully some chickens too! For all the work that needs to be done here, I do so love our little house and huge yard.
The end. Thanks for visiting!
Sunday, January 25, 2015
New Years Resolutions
Hi there! Have you forgotten your resolutions already? Me too, but then I remembered them, and I thought I'd share with you.
When we first moved to this town, we were in a different ward, which is a congregation. Our Bishop, like the pastor of the congregation but not paid monetarily, was a truly inspired man. I loved listening to his messages. One day he was sharing the three Cs that we should avoid: criticism, comparison and complaining. I am really, really good at criticizing and complaining. Comparing isn't a huge struggle for me, but I won't claim perfection anywhere. So this year, along with praying for one particular miracle, I am working to improve myself and get rid of those three Cs.
I do not excel in outlining concrete ways I am going to mark my progress in these areas. I should give that more thought. Maybe after we move.
Care to share a resolution of yours? How is your progress?
When we first moved to this town, we were in a different ward, which is a congregation. Our Bishop, like the pastor of the congregation but not paid monetarily, was a truly inspired man. I loved listening to his messages. One day he was sharing the three Cs that we should avoid: criticism, comparison and complaining. I am really, really good at criticizing and complaining. Comparing isn't a huge struggle for me, but I won't claim perfection anywhere. So this year, along with praying for one particular miracle, I am working to improve myself and get rid of those three Cs.
I do not excel in outlining concrete ways I am going to mark my progress in these areas. I should give that more thought. Maybe after we move.
Care to share a resolution of yours? How is your progress?
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