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! :)

Thankful Thursday

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". John 3:16

I have started reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and it is so good! This book reminds you to stop and think of how many blessings we have been given right now, in this very moment. Presently I am thankful for the beautiful sunshine pouring in through the window, the peace and quiet while Kaelyn is outside having fun with other children, for a warm and cozy home, for being able to design and create from home... there are just so many wonderful gifts. But there is one that exceeds all others and that is the gift of Jesus, given to all of us. Because of Him, salvation, forgiveness of sins, healing, power over evil and so much more is made possible. And we did what to deserve this? All I can say is, I am thankful, very thankful, and all I can do in return is praise God for all these gifts, because they can't be earned. They are freely given to me and to you. We are blessed. I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

Knowledge is Power!

These are only a few of the books I want to be reading right now. If only I had a day where I could just read ALL day! :) I've made it part way through The 7-Day Allergy Makeover and have found it to be very well written and informative. Even though I am not finished with it, I would strongly recommend it to anyone battling allergies... it's that good! I also try my best to read the Bible every day. I used to think it seemed like such a daunting book. So big, tiny text, lots of names... but when it hit on how much it related to my life right now, and what all is actually possible, I was hooked. It isn't a book that contains information about God, it reveals Him! God and His capabilities cannot be contained. It has changed my view, the Bible is about ordinary people and it shares their experience and what they learned. Sometimes the people didn't learn their lesson but we find out what the outcome was, which shows us what we should/shouldn't do. Looking back through our health journey I can see how the stories relate to the here and now. We are supposed to share our difficulties with others so we can all grow and learn from them. If the Bible didn't exist, we wouldn't have heard the stories about there being One greater who by turning to Him can give us strength, hope, encouragement to overcome our difficulties. The Bible plainly states that the people who walked in His ways had victory in the battles they faced. Why were there battles? So the people had to rely on God and put their trust in Him, He's the only one who can disarm the power of the evil one. Now an important point is that these people shared their experiences in the Bible. Today, people can share their experiences to help someone else. I have personally found that through our own health battle, we learned the most from people who have gone through a similar situation. From learning what worked in their healing, along with God's guidance on what felt right to apply in our life, helped us immensely. (in our case healthy organic foods, herbs, and natural detox methods) I remember asking my doctor if anyone as sick as me was able to overcome it. The response was a long pause and then "No one has been determined enough." This response almost shot me through the roof! This told me the advice given by the doctor was not working. People were not healing. I had to find a different way to heal. I know God can make a miracle happen at any moment. Anyone of us can be healed immediately by simply praying for it. But I also know He has placed others on earth who went through a difficult situation to teach others what they learned and he wants them to share, to be the light in someone else's dark situation. We are meant to be the hands and feet of Jesus. What did Jesus do? He shared the word of God, He healed and helped others. He was always kind and loving. This is our purpose. The Bible shares experiences to help us, we are meant to share our experiences to help others. This is what benefits us all. God of course needs to be the focus of every situation and the ultimate guide. I continue to learn about other people's experiences to gain knowledge or simply to be inspired. I hope you will learn as much as you can about what ever you are going through or are passionate about. Knowledge is very powerful... it can change you or even impact someone around you, forever.

Do you have a favorite book that has taught you valuable information or greatly inspired you? I would love to hear about it. Have a blessed weekend!