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!

What if... ?

What if the struggle you are facing has an important purpose?
What if the difficulty lies before you to make you stronger?
What if the struggle is placed in your path so you can learn a valuable lesson?
What if our difficulty is a test to see where we will turn for help?
What if the point of our struggle is to move our attention away from the actual struggle itself, and to put our focus elsewhere?
What if you are meant to move out of your comfort zone to a place where you can share your story to support, encourage, or motivate another person?
What if you are seeking for a way out of your difficult situation on your own when you should be seeking someone for help?
What if the purpose of your battle is to see who/what you believe in?
What if there is only one way to overcome your struggle?
What if the battle you are facing isn't even something you can overcome in your own power?
What if we experience tests in order for us to realize we aren't in control?
What if it means putting our trust in someone we can't see or speak face to face with?
What if how we respond to the difficult situation is supposed to teach someone who is watching?
What if we only focused on positive thoughts, spoke positive words and did good for others, would our difficulty diminish?
What if we view the struggle as something good, an opportunity?
What if there is only one solution to your problem and it is God and you never ask Him for help?
What if during the struggle we can keep a positive focus, because we know God can make good from it?
What if the difficulty never had to be so complicated if we walked in the ways of the Lord from the beginning of our journey?
What if your hardship all comes down to a choice, to give up on succeeding and continuing to struggle or to have victory with God by building a relationship with Him?
What if we can be thankful for the difficulty because we are meant to benefit from it?
What if the struggle isn't really a struggle but a wrong mindset?
What if the purpose for our battle is to learn and grow?
What if we can persevere and succeed so we are able to impact another?
What if we are meant to be the light in someone else's darkness, but the only way we can do it is to experience the struggle our self?

Questions to ponder...

Journey to Healing... One Year Ago

One year ago, on my Enduring Arts blog I wrote this:

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I am completely driven and determined to overcome my illnesses and to share with others how I did it so others don't have to suffer the way I have. Right now I am still fighting the Candida beast in my gut, working on balancing hormones, healing Leaky Gut, overcoming anxiety, food intolerances and getting my liver working in tip top shape.
It isn't an easy list to overcome. I've tried the doctor's way and only gotten worse by most of their suggestions. I've experienced more healing by natural means.
With that said here are the main points I am focusing on to regaining my health this year:

1. {Trust in God for guidance and healing} This is a huge step. With so many things to try in this world, from doctor's advice to the huge amounts of vitamins, supplements and foods on the market, it can be overwhelming and hard to know what will work the best for you. When you ask God for help on knowing what is right for your body, He does give you feelings on direction. It is amazing and don't go against what He is placing on your heart!

2. {Nutrition} I like to think of the Bible verse, "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is constructive. Corinthians 10:23 There is a wide range of food to choose from. It is up to us to select the nourishing foods that will help our bodies. This is definitely not easy but God can give you great strength in removing offending foods that you enjoy eating. Trust me, I know this one as I have given up ALL my previous favorite foods. But the Lord has showed me so many other amazing foods I had been missing.

3. {Connect with nature} Being a Christian I believe God created us from dust and in some crazy way we can get a powerful balance from the earth. Being out in nature, taking in the sunshine and breathing deep breaths of fresh air can do so much good for the body. This step has been hard for me in the cold winter months, but I have noticed how important it really is to one's well being.

4. {Sleep} Wow, this one is powerful. This is the time the body heals. Time and darkness play critical roles in the quality of sleep. I've always been more of a night person and pushed back bedtime to get more things done. I need to make sleep more of a priority.

5. {Stress & Toxin Reduction} Negative energy is always being thrown at us. I'm pretty sure we can never entirely get away from it, but there are some important steps we can take to reduce stress and toxins. Thinking positively can greatly affect our mood. Helping others is helpful to you and the receiver. Focusing on deep breathing several times a day can really help stress levels/anxiety. Somewhere around the time of my Graves Disease diagnosis I forgot how to breathe correctly. My heart palpitations messed me up, and I think I got stuck with short quick chest breathing through my mouth, which was not good for me and reduced the amount of good oxygen from getting into my body. Toxins are all around us, but we can have pretty good control over the ones in our food, household items and the like. Exercise and sweating is one good way for eliminating toxins from the body.

So those are the main points I am currently focusing on. If you are dealing with illnesses, never give up hope.
I suggest focusing on the scripture Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not evil, to give you a future and a hope!" Praise the Lord for this promise!

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Thankfully I can say, my health has greatly improved since writing that post! You have no idea how exciting it is to eat starchy vegetables again and some sweet treats (made with God-given sweeteners) on special occasions. Now a sweet potato and butternut squash taste like dessert! :) I have to say, all my healing came from God and His guidance. Without Him I would have never improved and I surely wouldn't be starting this new blog and website! Through the year I learned that one of the key pieces I was missing in my steps was a positive mindset.
I was positive in the way I knew I was going to heal, but it went beyond that one thought. Positivity is a choice that is to be made in every area of our life. It only starts with thought. If we stay focused on the good, on God, positive words and actions, we can't help but succeed!