Healing ~ It's in the Food!

{turkey and avocado on sprouted buckwheat groat bread}

Some days feel like I don't get much accomplished as a lot of time can be spent in the kitchen. When I started the Enduring Health Journey website my husband was pushing me to join instagram which inspired me to photograph the food I was cooking. I love capturing moments on camera so instagram has turned out to be a good fit for me. I hope I can inspire others to try eating some new, healthy meals. (You are welcome to follower me HERE.) Even if it is only me that looks at my account, I enjoy looking through the photos to see where my time goes... it is in preparing healthy meals that will nourish my body as well as my family's; it is in overall wellness. Kaelyn likes to push me to create new foods and I enjoy experimenting, especially when it turns out delicious! This statement makes me laugh, because not even five years ago, I disliked spending any time in the kitchen and didn't think I could cook anything! Vegetables were scarce in our house. So much has changed. I have grown, I have found foods my taste buds thoroughly enjoy, foods I would have never tried if it wasn't for my health spiraling downward. I now thank God every day for the food, and healing He has provided. We have found first hand how extremely important food is to one's well being. Please don't let anyone tell you differently, not even a medical doctor. Food IS the best medicine!

{warming bean stew}

I listened to the whole series of "The Truth About Cancer" by Ty Bollinger which was very good and informative. I was impressed by how many people and doctors he interviewed along with the wide distance he covered. Although the video is focused on the many ways to heal cancer naturally it really tells you how to heal pretty much any form of disease. I was pleasantly surprised that all my points I have listed on my Regaining Health page were talked about in the videos. They are all important steps to healing. I was also impressed by their spiritual stand... God is needed in order to heal, along with the food/herbs He has provided, this is the way to victory in health.

{chocolate ganache pie}

In other health news, the Food Revolution Summit starts tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to listening to as many of the speakers as I can over the next few days. Knowledge is power. You can go HERE to here Ty Bollinger and Ocean Robbins talk a little about it along with some other good health info.

Have a great weekend!

Beauty ~ Seeing the Positive

My daughter came home from school yesterday in a terrible mood, and when I asked her about it she started complaining about the weather and why did it have to be so rainy. She wanted a sunny day so she could play outside with friends. We had quite a long conversation about it. I explained that although she may not care for the weather at the moment, it is (for) good. Trees and plants need it to grow, animals to drink and bathe in... I remember watching the birds play in it after the last rainfall and it made me think, how many times do we want something but forget or pay no attention to what someone/something else needs. Sometimes we become so focused on ourselves we miss the beauty around us. Sure I really like warm, sunny days, but we need the rainy days too, so other things in this world can grow and become beautiful. If there wasn't rain there wouldn't be any rainbows, and I know my daughter loves rainbows as that is about all she drew for 3 years. :) In time I think she realized it wasn't such a bad day because of the weather. In every situation we face we are given the choice to look at it positively or negatively. With a positive view we will always search out the good, there is always something good, and this will keep us uplifted through our journey. I believe the good we find is one of God's ways to show His love for us, to brighten our spirit... He wants us to stay focused on the good, but it is up to us to find it, see it, feel it, hear it...

We woke up to another grey, wet morning. And as I was making breakfast I looked out the window and noticed the raindrops on the trees. I felt this prompting within to put breakfast aside, even though it takes a long time to prepare, and so I went and grabbed my coat and camera and headed outside to capture the beauty around me...

 

I felt it, God's love being revealed all around me. How many days go by that I don't notice these gifts, the beauty surrounding me? I let the busyness of my day take priority over seeing the details that God has laid out in plain view. Taking the time to see the beauty in what seems the simplest of forms is where joy can be found. I am so thankful I was given the urge to grab my camera this morning. It delights me to see what is captured, because even though I see things a certain way in real life, when I look back at the photos, take a closer look, I see even more beauty, and I sit in awe that this is all God's creation... and it is very good, it is beautiful!

During my Bible reading this morning I was brought to this verse:

"You have seen many things, but have paid no attention." Isaiah 42:20a

I pray that I will pay better attention to my surroundings...people, things. I don't want to miss the gifts.

Cancer is NOT a death sentence!

I was planning on sharing our simple, natural hair care involving shampoo and conditioning but I watched the first episode this morning of "The True History of Chemotherapy and The Pharmaceutical Monopoly" that was released last night and it pulled on my heart so much I have to share about this instead.

A health diagnosis, it is one thing that can truly cause fear to arise in a person. So often times we put our trust and faith in the doctors to heal us. I know I did. I figured, they were the expert, they knew best. But do they? My diagnosis was not cancer, but Graves Disease. I vividly remember the doctor and nurse telling me I needed to have my thyroid killed with radioactive iodine and the nurse said if I didn't act quickly I would become infertile for good. This scared me. I let myself get wrapped up in fear of not having any more children. I did what the doctor and nurse told me to do out of fear and what a big mistake that was! My faith and my knowledge on health and God was greatly lacking back then (almost seven years ago). I didn't realize that my fertility and well being layed in God's hands. His Word says I shall fear nothing but Him. God provides ways for the body to naturally heal itself via food, herbs and such, but we have to be aware of this information. Through the pain, heartache, suffering I have learned what really matters. I now know God comes first. That my trust goes to Him above all else and I have faith that He will guide me in my journey. Although I hadn't been given a cancer diagnosis I am pretty sure I was getting close... as Candida was taking over my body, my weight was spiraling downward and lumps were appearing... in my neck and my breast. At first I was truly scared. I didn't want to leave my daughter at such a young age. I wasn't ready for my life to be over. And on the way to yet another doctor's visit I was praying and I said, "God, I give this to YOU. I will/continue to eat the best I know how. I believe you will guide and heal me. I am putting my trust in YOU." And after visiting a couple new doctors, God confirmed to me that I didn't need to return to them, He would take care of me... and He did. The lumps are now gone. Praise the Lord! Anyway, this journey is what put the passion in me to share about God and the importance of the food and healing wonders He provides. I personally found that conventional medicine was making me worse. I am not saying there isn't a place and purpose for it, but people need to understand that sometimes there is a better way, a way that is provided by God that will not harm you. This brings me to the truth about cancer, episode 1.

The series was created by Ty Bollinger, who lost both his parents to cancer along with other family members. This heartbreaking experience put a passion in him to explore and find an explanation for so many deaths related to cancer. I have heard about many natural ways to heal from this nasty disease during my own research of healing the body, but Ty is bringing it out in the open in a new way, involving many non-conventional doctors around the world. He has put so much time, thought and research into the truth about cancer in hopes to set many people free. I pray you will listen to his series. The information may save your life or a loved ones.

Some of my main take away points from the first episode:
~1 in 2 men, and 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer.
~Doctors receive very little to no training in nutrition.
~Modern medicine is drug focused, it was a monopoly created a long time ago based on making money, not on actual healing.
~Disease is a marketplace, it is an investment industry that focuses on growth and eliminating its competition.
~Chemotherapy is highly toxic and contains carcinogens which is cancer causing. The chemo eliminates the bad cells along with the good which heals.
~Doctors will often times lose their license if they offer natural methods for healing.
~Tumors can shrink, but will often times come back even worse than before because the stem cell becomes enriched.
~Chemo side effects multiply the drug business, due to causing more damage throughout the body.
~Most patients don't question their doctors, they trust them.
~Some doctors don't know the truth about the harm in the drugs they are offering, while others give fear tactics. Honesty is often thrown out the door as they want business. Business equals more money.
~100,000 people die yearly from "safe and effective drugs".
~Naturally grown, organic treatments that can be grown in your own yard won't make anyone rich so these treatments are not marketed.
~Various testimonies were given on healing without chemo/radiation. One man was given his cancer diagnosis at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and was told he would only survive 3 days to maybe 3 months. He wasn't okay with this diagnosis and headed to a non-conventional healing center down south. He is now going on 8 yrs and cancer free.
~Some people are backing out of the Pharmaceutical industry because they found that money is driving the decisions, not well being. They believe it shouldn't be about making share owners happy.

In short, lives are being put at risk for profit. It hurts my heart. Kids are losing their parents, parents are losing their kids... because someone is greedy?! Sickening. What we can do is learn all we can now. Put God first. Allow Him to guide us, because He is the one who can heal our land. God will judge everyone one day, and boy I would not want the guilt of putting money over someone's life!

Listen to all the details in the informative first episode here:
https://go2.thetruthaboutcancer.com/agq/episode-1/

I'm looking forward to the future episodes involving more healing based on foods, herbs, essential oils, hormones... It will be good. Thank you Ty Bollinger for sharing this beneficial information with everyone!

Thankful for Good, Healthy Food!

It doesn't get much better than enjoying a delicious meal with family. Kaelyn looks forward to every single meal. What makes it even better is that we know we are eating items that are healthy for our bodies... God made, God given. Thankfully after omitting several foods (like all forms of grain, sweeteners and high starch vegetables) from our diet when we were cleansing our gut and healing from Candida, we were finally able to add several back in, and we couldn't be happier! The dish above is one of our family favorites. Organic brown basmati & wild rice with zucchini, organic carrots, onion, fresh garlic, ghee, freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, freshly ground cumin, chicken broth (or clean water or bone broth for cooking the rice in) and sometimes chucks of chicken. We hope we have inspired you to try it and that you and your family will enjoy it as much as we do.
I meant to get this post up this past Thursday, but I've been so busy in the kitchen, finally getting some of our favorite pantry staples listed on our websites Essentials Page, and then with regular work and happenings... I'm a bit behind.
Also, the first Enduring Health Journey newsletter was released last week!!! It was a bit lengthy, but since I am planning on just sharing them quarterly I wanted to share a good amount of information. Thank you so much to those who signed up and for the positive feedback I have received! It means so much! Also for those who have signed up after the first one went out I will be forwarding it to you so you don't miss out on anything. If you haven't signed up and would like to you can go to the bottom right of any of our Home pages and type in your name and email to get yours!

One more thing, since health and healing is so important to us, there is a new series coming out about cancer, ways to heal and prevent it naturally. Being that more and more people are getting the dreaded diagnosis, I think this would be beneficial for everyone to watch. It is free. I like to say, knowledge is power, so never stop learning... Click the link for more information:

https://go.thetruthaboutcancer.com/?ref=1cdaa8b6-6d81-4faf-b9b2-9faf3029ed55

Have a fabulous weekend!

Health, Happiness, Wellness... Tips from a 93 year old!

I would like to introduce you to my Grandma and Kaelyn's Great-Grandma. She is an amazing soul, and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. I treasure every moment we are able to spend with her, every moment my daughter gets to laugh and play with her. Looking at her life, at her experiences, her responses to situations, to the struggles she endured... I see her as a teacher. Her chosen actions and responses impact me, my daughter, and all around her... at times we didn't even realize it, she probably didn't realize. This all points to the amazing power of the Holy Spirit that works in each of us if we allow it. When we are open to the Spirit, others around us are moved in ways we can't always explain or know. We hold a power that is powerful within, that can do so much good in lives around us and even in our own. I've witnessed my grandma go through great pain, I saw her go through the loss of my Grandfather many years ago (which was actually the second husband she lost to death). I've seen her battle serious health issues, I've heard other stories of her great strength... and through it all, it is undeniable that her strength comes from the Lord. I can see how blessed she is and how she is such a blessing to those around her... or even many, many miles away to complete strangers. She is a giver. God is a giver. He works through her. God carried her through pain, to share a strength through her that couldn't have otherwise been shared. She was taught how to be independent in this world, but I believe she was also taught to be dependent on the Lord. I love watching my grandma. Sure she has had great hurts in the past, experienced pain, but she has always been carried through, and she always comes out with a renewed strength and a joy for life. Yes, she enjoys life... at 93 years old she is enjoying life! Lately when I stop by her house she is thrilled to be knitting again, blankets, scarves, nothing looks alike. She doesn't even know what's going to unfold. It's like watching a kid unwrap something they have been wishing for. You see pure delight in the eyes... it is priceless. I see God blessing her with joy. 

My grandma has many interests. She is not what many picture as an ordinary grandma who sits in a rocking chair all day. Of course she likes to do her fair share of reading, she loves a good book and has hundreds of them, but she moves around, she takes care of things in her big yard, she plants a big garden every year... a highlight of hers is growing flowers, and of course she likes to give many of them away during the warmer months. She's definitely the light to others around her. I pray that I will be like her, that my daughter will learn her ways, because really her way is the Lord's way. She is humble, she gives way more than what she gets in return, she chooses her words carefully, she plants a garden and eats what it produces, she prays and gives thanks, she takes care of herself, she is self controlled, she listens, she hugs, she loves...

No one that sees her out and about can guess her age. Many think she's in her 70's which always makes us laugh. To feel good and alive at her age, what a blessing! When I was little I never wanted to grow old. I always looked at aging as rather depressing and didn't see the joy that could be, but now through Grandma, I can see it, I can see the good. And I should have seen it through her mother who lived over a hundred and was doing so well. My Great-Grandma had also lived a good long life, was blessed by the Lord... but I learned even more from my Grandma as I have spent more time with her. Time, it is precious. It is a gift I am thankful for. I am thankful for the moments I am able to go to her house and pick her mind for more information on days past, on health, and overall wellness. I see the good that has come from her past experiences and I want to learn as much as I can from her in the time we have. In one of our afternoon chats I asked her a few questions that I could share with others, in hopes to inspire someone else... or even just myself. Here are a few of my questions with her answers:

What do you believe helped you to live a long, happy, healthy life?

Her response, not in order of importance...

1. Pray~unceasing and don't forget to thank God for all His many blessings.

2. Have numerous interests. Some of hers include: books, music, stamps, cooking, writing. (I have to add, she is the queen of word games/puzzles. Most of us don't stand a chance & don't even compete with her in Scrabble. Bananagrams we might get lucky if we tell her to use words we know.)

3. Strive to have a happy family and good friends.

4. Try to eat healthy.

5. Attend Bible classes and read the Bible daily.

[Some of this information has been updated: April 9, 2016] Due to my and Kaelyn's own health journey and seeing the importance of healthy food, I often ask Grandma what she eats and what she ate as a kid. Information has continued to grow in this area. So far she has shared that when growing up they would walk to a near by neighbor and get raw milk, then later on had some delivered. She likes her milk! They ate lots of eggs and homemade sauerkraut. They didn't have all the greens like we do today, like kale. And they didn't have cauliflower or broccoli. She remembers her mom giving her and her siblings cod liver oil and she hated it! Today she grinds up flax and walnuts regularly to put on her breakfast, along with 1 whole banana to keep her potassium levels good. She likes to juice in the summer and makes the yummiest apple juice from her own apples. She also has lots of her own asparagus in the warmer months. Her meal portions are always small and she chews well which is great for digestion! These were just a few of the healthy food tidbits that stood out to me from some of our conversations and simply by watching her.

Another question, What do you wish you had known at a much younger age?

She said, "How terribly important communication is, with parents, friends, family members, especially husbands and even acquaintances."

Grandma didn't include God in this answer but from looking at her life (and even looking at her previous answer) I can see that her communication with Him is strong, and has likely grown over the years. How I see it, communication builds strong, healthy relationships.

Last question, If you could change anything, what would it be?

Her response, "I'd listen more and talk less!" 

I had to laugh, because I don't see her as talking too much. If anything I want her to share more! She is like a wealth of information. Her experiences equal knowledge. She learned, she grew and now she shares. :)

We love you Grandma, Great-Grandma! Thank you for sharing your time with us! You are a treasure.

If you follow us on instagram you saw that these health books are on loan from Grandma. I'm excited to look through all of them! :)