Last week my mom and I went on a "hard-core" cleanse. And it was . . . hard!
Some people ask me, "What exactly does a hard-core cleanse look like?". I am warning you here that this post might get a bit graphic and verge close to TMI, but inquiring minds do want to know, so here goes!
Our goal was to cleanse our intestines, colon and liver. Since these are areas that rarely get a break due to our eating habits, I have vowed to cleanse twice a year. My hope is to go one time a year back to the Optimum Health Institute (shooting for the spring - anyone want to come with me?) and one time this intense cleanse like we did last week. The cleanse is designed to rid the body of the congestion of accumulated toxins, intestinal plaque, and mucous, and to provide the glands and organs of the body a much-needed rest. Cleansing and resting will naturally give the glands, organs & body as a whole a better chance to work more effectively... the way God intended them to work.
The cleansing diet is quite limited. We drank five"cleansing shakes" daily consisting of bentonite clay(mineral-rich volcanic clay) and psyllium husk and seed mixed with apple juice and water. We took herbal supplements 6 times a day. We drank 1/2 our body weight in ounces and I drank a ton of veggie juices. We ate no food. The biggest thing was we had to do an enema or colonic once a day to help rid the body of toxins. I also got a massage to help stimulate the lymph system.
The first day I felt very tired and had a terrible headache. Day two I started to feel better but was always really hungry which I continued to be hungry most of the cleanse. Third day, I was just nauseated. I just drank a veggie juice to help with that. The good thing was I never went to bed hungry since the shakes filled me up right before bed. On the last day, we did a liver cleanse which meant we drank grapeseed oil (4 oz.) and lemon juice (4 oz.) before bed and then had a colonic early in the morning.
My body experience a deep cleansing. The disgusting things that came out of my body!!! I can only say "Good riddins!" Truly gross to think that has been in my body for who know how long. I have vowed to also have one day of juicing a week.
Here were my results:
• Healthier skin - clearer, pores are smaller, healthy color
• More energy – get up easier in the morning - more alert - mind is sharper - easier to exercise and have my quiet times
• Joint pains are greatly diminished
• No more snoring
• More regular bowel movements
• Back to eating more healthy choices and I lost a couple of pounds!
Last week was also a good time to reflect on my spiritual body. Since I believe our spirit, mind and body are very connected. As I was cleansing, and releasing a horrid amount of toxins (black stuff, yuck!), it made me think of sin!!!! Toxins are just like sin. They enter into our body in many forms seemingly harmless. Many toxins take on the form of temptation (for me a frappacino and a maple nut scone from Starbucks). They go and stay in unwanted places and are difficult to rid from our bodies. Extreme measures must be taken to expel them only after we see and believe that they exist. When left unchecked, they make you smelly, tired and unhealthy.
So I encourage you today - do a detox. Either of mind, spirit or body. Take a break from TV, radio, coffee or whatever dirties up the body He gave you. God will honor any or all that you choose. You won't be sorry!
As for me, I will always say:
"Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion" Psalm 103-2-4
If any of you were wanting to take the plunge and do a in-home detox, here is all the info you will need http://www.watersoflifecleansing.com/about-us
Friday, September 28, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
My Kids are NOT Science Experiments
Getting cancer opened my eyes to so many things and one of the great SHOCKERS to me was about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Just to bring you up to speed on the "big deal" about GMOs. Today, an estimated 75 to 80% of processed food in the U.S. contains GMOs and because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared GMOs “substantially equivalent” to foods produced with traditionally bred plants and animals, Americans have no idea that everyday they eat foods that contain genetically altered genes that have been engineered in a laboratory changed at the molecular level.So what is the big deal? First of all, there has been no long-term human testing done on GMOs. So essentially, you and I, and more importantly our kids, are a science experiment. When GMOs were tested on animals it had terrible side effects: Infertility, immune system suppression, accelerated aging, severe allergic reactions and altered genes. There was a 6x birth mortality rate in the animals tested.
Second, GMOs change our farms and food supply dramatically. Not only do they increase pesticide use, but it destroys sustainable agriculture with cross - pollination. GMOs create super-weeds and decreased trade for the US farmers. Creating this Monoculture makes our food more susceptible to disease and pests while introducing the terminator gene and putting our ecosystem in a very fragile state.
Next, GMOs are in EVERYTHING. Well, almost everything. You can't even find a non-GMO ear of corn anymore, even if it is organic. The high-risk foods so far are: Corn, Canola, Cotton, Papaya, Soy, Sugar beets, zucchini and alfalfa. And our meat, milk, eggs and honey are contaminated because of the feed. So every day we are feeding this stuff to our kids, thinking we are being healthy!
Lastly, these BIG companies (like the giant Monsanto) have changed what the God of the universe made for us, his people, to eat. If that doesn't get you all bent out of shape like me, then I don't know what will!!! How dare them change what He has made and risk all of the other animals, plants and the ecosystem to do it in the name of the all mighty dollar!
This November, we will get a chance to have these GMOs labeled on all our food. Then we can decide! Imagine my delight and surprise to see a poster in Mother's Market letting us know that the ballot will contain this opportunity for us. So don't forget to VOTE YES on 37 - for the right to know what is in our food. And we will join the other 50 countries - 50 COUNTRIES - that already ban GMOs and all of our American produce (Europe, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and even Russia!) I have a hard time understanding why our government would ever have allowed this in the first place, but now it is our chance to change it!
Bring back the food God gave us in the first place!
He is wise and created us for his good pleasure.
He knows what is good for us!
Isaiah 42:5-6 "Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens, and stretched them out. Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it,
"I the Lord have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand"
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Being the Fun Mom Keeps You Healthy
Are you a fun mom?
I think I used to be a very long time ago, maybe before I was a mom. One of the reasons Bruce married me in the first place was because he says I am fun (that was his #1 reason). But as the years progressed and we had more kids, my hormones changed, I slept less and took on more stress, I don't think I am fun anymore.
With the kids, I often feel like the referee, the teacher, the cook, the maid, and the taxi. Somehow it drains all the FUN out of me!
But I want to be a fun mom! I always have wanted that . . .
After a year of cancer, I can see I have changed. I take each day that God has given me and I don't wait for the next time or when things might be perfect. I just dive in because today might be my last. You just never know God's plans for you. I think it is sad that it took cancer to get me back to being a more in-the-moment kind of mom. One thing in particular I have noticed this summer is I am no longer a bystander. I now do so many more things than I used to, instead of just sitting around and watching others do them.
For instance, our Bible Study group, Elements, decided to take the summer off and head to the beach each Tuesday with all our kids. Each week I coax the ladies I am with into the ocean with me for a half hour. One of them has not been in the ocean for 15 years! We take in the waves, talk and shiver in the chilly Pacific waters. I feel rejuvenated and refreshed. Today I asked the girls how old do you feel jumping over the waves? "12", one of them said. Ah, we are living life!
Now there are a bunch of health benefits to going in the ocean every week which I just have to mention here.
First, the minerals in the sea air decrease stress and increase a sense of well being. Salt in water preserves the melatonin, tryptamine and serotonin levels in your brain. This helps with fighting off depression or improving your sense of well being. Going in the ocean water with your back to the breaking waves is like a reset of your emotional state.
Second, studies indicate that the minerals contained in the ocean’s water help with arthritis, psoriasis and even depression. Other skin diseases such as rosaeca, eczema and rashes from plant allergies or heat are positively affected by the ocean water. We decided today that we felt our skin was softer from our once a week plunges.
Third, ocean water contains iodine which boosts thyroid function and improves the immune system. When you are in sea water the amount of oxygen carried throughout your bloodstream is improved and more nutrients are carried through your bloodstream to fight off free radicals. Ocean water also improves circulation of blood to organs.
Next, the swells and currents in the water act as a lymphatic massage to our whole body. Being in the ocean water for a half hour is just like paying $80 for a expensive spa lymph massage. Only God could know what our bodies need and provide a free alternative for our health.
Lastly, air particles break apart releasing ions into the atmosphere when the waves break. Some scientists claim that sea air contains an abundance of negatively charged ions. In today’s society we have too many positive ions in our life. You may know positive ions by another name – free radicals. Because electricity, computers, TV and electronics are all sources of positive ions in our lives, it is easy to see why we have a shortage of negative ions. Increasing our exposure to negative ions has many health benefits including enhancing the immune system, increasing alertness and improving concentration. The negative ions also help to reset your immune system and give you energy.
The biggest benefit is that my kids come and hang out with me in the water. Atleast Danika and Emmi do. They all think I am a "cool" mom for getting in the water and playing. Next week, I am going to boogie board with them and this week we are headed out to Long Beach to windsurf like I did 20 years ago. I can't wait to pull out the old board and see if I still can do it!
So I am writing this for all the moms out there that want to stay in your beach chair this summer (like I have done so many years in a row!). I had many excuses - I didn't want to get wet, it was too cold, I didn't want to have anyone see my overweight body, I didn't want to have to shower . . . and so on. JUST DO IT! Whatever it is, experience God's creation with your kids! Get in the ocean, the river, the lake - take that hike, jump in the pool with your kids . . . experience life! This one life God has given you! You never know when it will change - your kids will grow, your health may deteriorate - do it now before it's too late!
The fun mommy in all of us is just waiting to come out and we never know we might get healthier while we're at it! Come join me this summer . . . your kids and probably your husbands love it! Just picture our God in heaven will be smiling down watching you enjoy the things he made for you! What could be better!
You shall go out in JOY and be led forth in PEACE" Is 55:12
Thursday, June 21, 2012
What Do Cancer Cells and Bed Bugs Have in Common?
Bed Bugs and Cancer Cells, really?
Embarrassingly enough, last January we found out we had bed bugs. Did you just start itching when you read that? I know!
Bruce had traveled to a not so glamorous hotel (although you can get them anywhere) and came home with a critter or two. We never saw them until they took up residence in our home. We had never researched bed bugs or thought much about them. We would come home from a trip (and we do like to travel) and throw our luggage on our bed to unpack and then store the luggage under our bed until the next trip. Well in the world of bed bugs that is a big no-no.
At first, I was the one getting bit all the time and Bruce just thought I was imaging things because he was untouched. Until the night, he killed one on his face at 2:30 a.m. He tore apart the whole room and cleaned them up, showered and slept downstairs two hours later. Unfortunately, this scenario played out a couple of times and for a few months before we found them in the kids rooms. That was the last straw! We hired the pest exterminators next.
The big guns came in and heated the rooms to 138 degrees to kill the little suckers and then they spray. They come back a few weeks later and spray again. We hired an eco-friendly non-toxic company because of the chemicals we did not want to encounter. So we did this and we felt pretty sure they were gone, but we had a 30 day warranty just in case.
A couple of weeks later, the girls were bit again and so was I. Danika actually found one on her decorative pillow on Saturday morning. We are so glad she did so that we had proof that "they were back" and scheduled for them to come and heat up the place again.
I am telling you all the logistics, but then behind the scenes Bruce is convinced this is all spiritual warfare. He had just accepted the role of training to be an associate elder at our church, Mariners. He was certain that these little creatures were here to irritate us. I will have to ask God what their purpose in life ever was because I really don't see how they fit into the circle of life, but that would be another blog . . .
So around the same time in January, my holistic body scans began to show that I was making cancer cells again in my bone, breast, ovaries, and lungs. In the smallest minute forms, but over time they would create into larger masses (million of cancer cells) and we would see them in an ultrasound in a few years. So I have been going a couple times a month to combat this. I have done mud baths, lasers, biofeedback. supplements and other crazy remedies, but nothing seemed to be working. For five months, I struggled with this along with the anemia and it was tiring, overwhelming and discouraging. I was beginning to give up hope (as I shared in my last blog), but then we went to Forest Home Family Camp for Memorial Day.
Up at Forest Home, God shared many things with me. One of the moments, we as a family were praying for things in our lives, we had to make a "sculpture" to represent it. As the kids and we were making the sculpture of beg bugs and cancer cells, we realized how similar they looked. Cancer cells and bed bugs are similar in that in the beginning it is not that big of a deal. Most of us, don't even know when we start making cancer until there are so many of them - they show up - just like bed bugs. They feed on us and devour us - one from the outside and one from the inside. They are both extremely difficult to get rid of. They both consume your life as you are trying to get kill of them. Both of them effect your kids (and you!) in profound ways that frighten and leave us feeling vulnerable.
After showing me the similarities, God shared with me that the timing of the two were no accident. When the bed bugs were gone, then my cancer cells would be gone. So I began to hope that they would all be eradicated some day and trusted God in what he had shared.
Just last week, I went in for a routine check up with my oncologist and she said that my iron counts (while still low) were back in the normal range AND I had brought my estrogen from 400 down to 83! Now these had both been big prayer requests! I was beaming with happiness from ear to ear! Could I be healing?
The next day we had the bed bugs heated out of home again and sprayed. It slipped my mind about what I felt God said about the bed bugs and cancer cells, as I walked into the scanning biofeedback appointment the next day! And yes, did you guess it? I am no long making cancer cells!! Amazing and truly a blessing that I am grateful for each day! I feel stronger and more myself each morning!
I continue praying that the bed bugs and cancer cells stay gone . . . will you join me in that prayer? Thank you faithful friends! Now be careful when you travel . . . don't bring home any unwanted guests because they definitely overstay their welcome!
Ps. 103:1-5 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion; who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's"
Embarrassingly enough, last January we found out we had bed bugs. Did you just start itching when you read that? I know!
Bruce had traveled to a not so glamorous hotel (although you can get them anywhere) and came home with a critter or two. We never saw them until they took up residence in our home. We had never researched bed bugs or thought much about them. We would come home from a trip (and we do like to travel) and throw our luggage on our bed to unpack and then store the luggage under our bed until the next trip. Well in the world of bed bugs that is a big no-no.
At first, I was the one getting bit all the time and Bruce just thought I was imaging things because he was untouched. Until the night, he killed one on his face at 2:30 a.m. He tore apart the whole room and cleaned them up, showered and slept downstairs two hours later. Unfortunately, this scenario played out a couple of times and for a few months before we found them in the kids rooms. That was the last straw! We hired the pest exterminators next.
The big guns came in and heated the rooms to 138 degrees to kill the little suckers and then they spray. They come back a few weeks later and spray again. We hired an eco-friendly non-toxic company because of the chemicals we did not want to encounter. So we did this and we felt pretty sure they were gone, but we had a 30 day warranty just in case.
A couple of weeks later, the girls were bit again and so was I. Danika actually found one on her decorative pillow on Saturday morning. We are so glad she did so that we had proof that "they were back" and scheduled for them to come and heat up the place again.
I am telling you all the logistics, but then behind the scenes Bruce is convinced this is all spiritual warfare. He had just accepted the role of training to be an associate elder at our church, Mariners. He was certain that these little creatures were here to irritate us. I will have to ask God what their purpose in life ever was because I really don't see how they fit into the circle of life, but that would be another blog . . .
So around the same time in January, my holistic body scans began to show that I was making cancer cells again in my bone, breast, ovaries, and lungs. In the smallest minute forms, but over time they would create into larger masses (million of cancer cells) and we would see them in an ultrasound in a few years. So I have been going a couple times a month to combat this. I have done mud baths, lasers, biofeedback. supplements and other crazy remedies, but nothing seemed to be working. For five months, I struggled with this along with the anemia and it was tiring, overwhelming and discouraging. I was beginning to give up hope (as I shared in my last blog), but then we went to Forest Home Family Camp for Memorial Day.
Up at Forest Home, God shared many things with me. One of the moments, we as a family were praying for things in our lives, we had to make a "sculpture" to represent it. As the kids and we were making the sculpture of beg bugs and cancer cells, we realized how similar they looked. Cancer cells and bed bugs are similar in that in the beginning it is not that big of a deal. Most of us, don't even know when we start making cancer until there are so many of them - they show up - just like bed bugs. They feed on us and devour us - one from the outside and one from the inside. They are both extremely difficult to get rid of. They both consume your life as you are trying to get kill of them. Both of them effect your kids (and you!) in profound ways that frighten and leave us feeling vulnerable.
After showing me the similarities, God shared with me that the timing of the two were no accident. When the bed bugs were gone, then my cancer cells would be gone. So I began to hope that they would all be eradicated some day and trusted God in what he had shared.
Just last week, I went in for a routine check up with my oncologist and she said that my iron counts (while still low) were back in the normal range AND I had brought my estrogen from 400 down to 83! Now these had both been big prayer requests! I was beaming with happiness from ear to ear! Could I be healing?
The next day we had the bed bugs heated out of home again and sprayed. It slipped my mind about what I felt God said about the bed bugs and cancer cells, as I walked into the scanning biofeedback appointment the next day! And yes, did you guess it? I am no long making cancer cells!! Amazing and truly a blessing that I am grateful for each day! I feel stronger and more myself each morning!
I continue praying that the bed bugs and cancer cells stay gone . . . will you join me in that prayer? Thank you faithful friends! Now be careful when you travel . . . don't bring home any unwanted guests because they definitely overstay their welcome!
Ps. 103:1-5 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion; who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's"
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Building an Altar for the Forgetful
Two weekends ago, my family and I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Forest Home Memorial Day Family Camp for the 9th year in a row. I loved the chance to get away, breathe in the fresh air and be surrounded by God's beauty. Forest Home is a special place for me as God always speaks to me on that mountain top and it is the place Bruce decided to marry me. He wrote that moment down in one of the prayer books in the chapel - recorded forever in time.
The weekend was filled with wonderful speaking (from Jim Candy from Menlo Park Presbyterian), beautiful worship (Worship guys from Yorba Linda Friends Church), time spent playing cards with great friends, the lake day with the overly excited kids, lots of time at the Craft Shack to create and time to reflect on the last year.
On Saturday morning, we did a Family Adventure Walk. While most of the activities are physical challenges, there was one that stood out in my mind that was not. We built a monument to acknowledge the Lord and how He had answered prayer for us this year. Of course, there have been many answered prayers. We used rocks to build our little altar right near the path that we walked up every day that weekend. The kids enjoyed stacking the rocks and then we each prayed to thank Jesus for bringing Mommy thru cancer, for making me a miracle. I was blessed each time I saw the monument during our time there.
You might not believe it, but I have recently forgotten all that God has done for me in the last couple of months. Not that it was completely gone from my memory, more shoved in the back somewhere ("out of my frontal lobe", my kids would say). With my continuing health journey, I have become weary. My chemical imbalances (anemia, hormonal, etc.) lead me to a state of depression at times while definitely robbing the "I can do everything" attitude from me. I often times just want to sit, rest and do nothing. I lack the motivation of this once called "Energizer Bunny". Somewhere in the last couple of months, I have lost the grateful, joyful attitude I once had going through cancer. Just the day to day activities coupled with my lack of energy have really put me at a state of sheer survival. I wonder how many of you are there or have ever been there.
Being up at Forest Home really helped me stand back and look at everything . . . to remember . . . to be grateful . . . to trust . . . to have hope in the mighty God of the universe. I found that I desperately wanted a change in my life, but all I really needed to do was give the first part of the morning back to God in the form of time with Him. He has promised to redeem the time for me. How easy it was to let go of time with Him in the morning over the last couple of months because I needed my sleep and I simply lacked the motivation. It is hard for me to stop and hear Him once the day has begun. It just doesn't happen. Kids, activities, laundry, school, anything else fills in the rest of the hours. For me, my time with the Lord HAS to be in the morning. Oh, how I have missed Him . . . it feels good to be back in the routine of this again.
I also found that I was worrying. ME?? Yes! I didn't worry with cancer as much as I have the last couple of months because I am still challenged making cancer cells. But this constant strain is just a breeding ground for me to wake up in the middle of the night worrying. For me, all the verses about "Don't be anxious" has not really soothed me. You know all those verses too, but I tell what verse has stopped me worrying and trusting more. Eph. 3:20,21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"
So for me, "the medical miracle", I have to be honest in this walk I am having. I know that there must be others out there who have seen God work in their lives, yet forget Him and his great works as the days get long. Sad for me to say, but I sound like an Israelite wandering the desert. I do not want to be that person! So tonight I am grateful for mountain top experience where I can stop . . . reflect . . . and be grateful again. It feels good to be "back on track"!
The weekend was filled with wonderful speaking (from Jim Candy from Menlo Park Presbyterian), beautiful worship (Worship guys from Yorba Linda Friends Church), time spent playing cards with great friends, the lake day with the overly excited kids, lots of time at the Craft Shack to create and time to reflect on the last year.
On Saturday morning, we did a Family Adventure Walk. While most of the activities are physical challenges, there was one that stood out in my mind that was not. We built a monument to acknowledge the Lord and how He had answered prayer for us this year. Of course, there have been many answered prayers. We used rocks to build our little altar right near the path that we walked up every day that weekend. The kids enjoyed stacking the rocks and then we each prayed to thank Jesus for bringing Mommy thru cancer, for making me a miracle. I was blessed each time I saw the monument during our time there.
You might not believe it, but I have recently forgotten all that God has done for me in the last couple of months. Not that it was completely gone from my memory, more shoved in the back somewhere ("out of my frontal lobe", my kids would say). With my continuing health journey, I have become weary. My chemical imbalances (anemia, hormonal, etc.) lead me to a state of depression at times while definitely robbing the "I can do everything" attitude from me. I often times just want to sit, rest and do nothing. I lack the motivation of this once called "Energizer Bunny". Somewhere in the last couple of months, I have lost the grateful, joyful attitude I once had going through cancer. Just the day to day activities coupled with my lack of energy have really put me at a state of sheer survival. I wonder how many of you are there or have ever been there.
Being up at Forest Home really helped me stand back and look at everything . . . to remember . . . to be grateful . . . to trust . . . to have hope in the mighty God of the universe. I found that I desperately wanted a change in my life, but all I really needed to do was give the first part of the morning back to God in the form of time with Him. He has promised to redeem the time for me. How easy it was to let go of time with Him in the morning over the last couple of months because I needed my sleep and I simply lacked the motivation. It is hard for me to stop and hear Him once the day has begun. It just doesn't happen. Kids, activities, laundry, school, anything else fills in the rest of the hours. For me, my time with the Lord HAS to be in the morning. Oh, how I have missed Him . . . it feels good to be back in the routine of this again.
I also found that I was worrying. ME?? Yes! I didn't worry with cancer as much as I have the last couple of months because I am still challenged making cancer cells. But this constant strain is just a breeding ground for me to wake up in the middle of the night worrying. For me, all the verses about "Don't be anxious" has not really soothed me. You know all those verses too, but I tell what verse has stopped me worrying and trusting more. Eph. 3:20,21 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"
So for me, "the medical miracle", I have to be honest in this walk I am having. I know that there must be others out there who have seen God work in their lives, yet forget Him and his great works as the days get long. Sad for me to say, but I sound like an Israelite wandering the desert. I do not want to be that person! So tonight I am grateful for mountain top experience where I can stop . . . reflect . . . and be grateful again. It feels good to be "back on track"!
Monday, April 23, 2012
A few more thoughts on cancer . . .
As I continue down this road of healing, I am reminded that it takes a while. Even though I have had all of the cancer removed via surgery, four holistic doctors have confirmed that I continue to be challenged as my body likes to make cancer. There are days when I just want to get well and I don't want to tell anyone I don't feel well. I put on a happy face and say, "I'm doing good"! I believe there is something to the mental part of telling yourself "I AM good today!"
I have been doing so many CRAZY holistic remedies that most of you would laugh at me, but I DO feel surprisingly better. Today, I did some blood work so we will see what my oncologist says on Wednesday. She worries about me with my low iron and high estrogen. But I believe God has me on this journey to help people. And it has been such a blessing to do just that almost every day! So many friends are getting healed and it is exciting!
I have been praising the Lord lately that I did not have to do chemo or radiation. Truly feels like a miracle because if I had been, I would just be finishing my four month treatment and moving on to my year long dose of herceptin. My hair would be growing back and I would be feeling more "normal" they say. Thank you Jesus for making me a miracle to help others and not have to endure this!
Along the journey, I have learned much. Recently, a friend sent me an email with all of this information. There was no credit given to a single source; however, the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego does tell all their students most of these points. Some of them I learned just researching. I just had to share this because I believe each one of the points. God has given me the blessing of getting to research them and now share them with you. . .
I have been doing so many CRAZY holistic remedies that most of you would laugh at me, but I DO feel surprisingly better. Today, I did some blood work so we will see what my oncologist says on Wednesday. She worries about me with my low iron and high estrogen. But I believe God has me on this journey to help people. And it has been such a blessing to do just that almost every day! So many friends are getting healed and it is exciting!
I have been praising the Lord lately that I did not have to do chemo or radiation. Truly feels like a miracle because if I had been, I would just be finishing my four month treatment and moving on to my year long dose of herceptin. My hair would be growing back and I would be feeling more "normal" they say. Thank you Jesus for making me a miracle to help others and not have to endure this!
Along the journey, I have learned much. Recently, a friend sent me an email with all of this information. There was no credit given to a single source; however, the Optimum Health Institute in San Diego does tell all their students most of these points. Some of them I learned just researching. I just had to share this because I believe each one of the points. God has given me the blessing of getting to research them and now share them with you. . .
Things I learned at OHI and doing research along the way:
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer
cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have
multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients
that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after
treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the
cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable
size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a
person's lifetime.
3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer
cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and
forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has
nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,
but also to environmental, food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing
diet to eat more adequately and healthy, 4-5 times/day
and by including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
It is important to find out if the supplements you are taking work with your body.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing
cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells
in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc., and can
cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars
and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often
reduce tumor size. However, prolonged use of chemotherapy
and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from
chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either
compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb
to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to
mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy.
Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer
cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made
with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute
would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small
amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in
color Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the
gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus.
By cutting off milk and substituting
with unsweetened almond or coconut milk cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based
diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little other meat,
like chicken. OR THE BEST IS A VEGAN DIET.
Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites,
which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole
grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into
an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked
food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live
enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to
cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance
growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building
healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most
vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw
vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at
temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C)..
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high
caffeine Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer
fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or
filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap
water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of
digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the
intestines becomes putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By
refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes
to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the
body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system
(IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals,
EFAs etc.) to enable the bodies own killer cells to destroy
cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known
to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's
normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or
unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit.
A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior
be a survivor. Anger, un-forgiveness and bitterness put
the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to
have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated
environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to
get more oxygen down to the cellular level.
Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
Here is to living the life that God intended for you to live with the health that He planned for each of us to have to ultimately bring Him glory until He takes us home! Blessings!
"Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you , your right hand upholds me" Ps 63:7
Monday, March 5, 2012
My "Academy Award" speech
A few weekends ago, my brother's family and mine celebrated my mom's birthday for the fist time without my dad. We ate dinner. opened gifts and affirmed my mom. The kids got to play with their cousins which is a rare treat. We also watched the Academy Awards . . .
I normally don't watch it as I find moments of it distasteful and boring. They seem to always border on offensive and indoctrinating. But inevitably I catch parts of it because I am intrigued as the event planner with the event, the stage, the parties, etc. This year, I thought it was different, enjoyable and funny. Billy Crystal brought back class and humor of an age gone by. I also noticed that each acceptance speech was to only be one minute long. How do you thank everyone in your life in one minute?
I thought back over the last six months and all the people that help me and my family in a time of need. In the moment of those days, I was extremely grateful, but perhaps the whirlwind of events, pain of surgeries and many lost days to my illness washed all of my "thank yous" into the black sea of my memory. I am a "day to day" kind of gal. I live in the moment. I decided that each of us who has had cancer (or any trauma in their life) need the opportunity to give an "Academy Award" speech without a time clock. So here is my acceptance speech for the greatest award to receive - a friend who loves you.
To my love, Bruce, I want to thank you for being a wonderful doting husband. I want to thank you first because "I don't want to run out of time in the end" (that's what Merryl Streep said) nor do I want to put you anywhere but on the top of the list. Bruce was thrown into all of this with me without warning and he did a fabulous job. We had a couple of rough spots that we worked through that indeed has improved our marriage. The things Bruce did are too numerous to count here, but he was loving, kind, accepting, encouraging, helpful and full of grace. I love you and thank you for loving me in spite of me!
The day I found out I had cancer, my first call was to Victoria Sanders, a friend for 17 years. She is my accountability partner, my friend through thick and thin. She was the first one to hear me crying and babbling on the phone since Bruce was not picking up his line at work and my parents were out. She dropped everything and headed to my house. She was there for the first couple days, helping with the kids, keeping the house in order and many times thereafter when I went to doctor appointments. She listened when I would talk, cry or just not know what to say. She planned Danika's birthday party for me just weeks after my double mastectomy and she helped me find my full time help. She prayed endlessly for a miracle for me and God answered her prayer. Thank you Vicky for loving me during this time and rearranging your whole life to be there for me!
Once I found out it was cancer, my sweet surgeon friend, Lisa Fox found me at the hair salon. (Yes, I was in shock and went to get my hair done. Crazy, huh?) We went to lunch and cried. She and her husband John were a support the day I thought I had thyroid cancer too. They came to every medical procedure for support - from the biopsy to my surgery. She is my doctor friend who I could call with medical questions. She helped me take my first shower and treated me to my first pedicure after surgery. She called me daily or texted and came to help so often. I don't know what I would have done without her help! Thank you Lisa for your kind and firm ways to help me through this season in my life!
My dear friend and "sister" Christina Landaas, my maid of honor in my wedding was right there to help once she heard the shocking news. She dropped everything once a week, sometimes twice a week to take me to doctor appointments and then out to lunch. She even went to a Feldenkrais class with me. She came to Hoag while I was in surgery and supported my husband. She helped me wash my hair the first time after the surgery and pampered me. She called me, emailed me and prayed for me. God gave her huge capacity to love on me during these months and I will forever be indebted to her and her family who gave us a place to escape for the day and not think about our lives. I love how it made us much closer!
Our help in time of need was definitely, Dawn Heinrich, our full time helper. She came in right before my surgery in October and she learned how to "be me". She did everything from homeschooling the kids to grocery shopping, laundry to running the kids around. She is a true servant always trying to help above and beyond what is needed. I will forever be in her debt because she did such an excellent job, I never needed to worry about anything. Thank you Dawn for "being Jesus" to me!
Once I had gone through the detox at OHI, my old friend from MOPS, Theresa Sharp, came to my rescue with food and nutrition help. Not only did her and her daughter, Jasmine, juice, cook and shop for me, but they helped me think through many of my health questions. She went to a cancer conference for me and took notes, getting me holistic information and CDs. She even did a blood analysis for me that was very interesting. She was my "go to" person to drive my kids everywhere during a time when I couldn't drive. Thank you Theresa for filling in so many places where I needed help!
Long time Inside/Out friends, Bradley and Cindy Kirk, were kind enough to show up at our doorstep on one of the first nights with dinner. Cindy was a huge help as she herself had traveled the breast cancer journey. I loaded her with tons of questions, and still do! She was also the one who set up my online meals calendar and communication on "Lots a Helping Hands". Bradley was a support as he showed up at my surgery and was the first one there to pray with us and help with a knowing look. Thank you for supporting me and loving me through this hard time!
Many of you brought meals through the months that helped so much! I am not going to name you all, but each of your meals was a bright spot in our day and something I didn't have to think about. My kids thought the food was wonderful since mom was only cooking healthy stuff before the surgery. A couple of friends who I can't leave the "speech" without mentioning are Tami, Carolyn and Tina. Tami Mangum, my deep thinking spontaneous friend, was a shoulder to lean on through much of this time. She watched my kids so many times, I can't even remember. She fed us many meals. She was just a pillar of grace and strength for me. Carolyn Olsen, long time Pepperdine friend, was having so many hard situations in her own life, but was able to still watch my kids, call and pray for me and even bring us meals. And Tina Bush, who would anonymously, bring meals to school and leave them frozen on my car for the "just in case" days. That was truly precious!
Honorable mentions: There were a group of you that gathered and prayed while I was in surgery at Hoag Hospital to support Bruce - my parents, Christina Landaas, John and Lisa Fox, Sheri Trupp, Bradley Kirk, Chuck and Judy Marshall and my brother Garrett. I was blessed to know you were all there praying for me. Many of my neighbors, who I do Bible study with in the summers, took me to most of my doctor appointments. I loved catching up with them and talking through life. One of them even decorated my front door with pumpkins in the fall when my dad died. There were so many friends who lived far away that wished they could have been here and they let me know. . . I wish you lived closer too.
I had quite a team of prayer warriors that I believe were answered with a miracle from the Lord. Thank you for praying for me so much and often! A couple of special friends stand out. Lolo Beshore prayed so much for me, I think it physically was too much for her. Sally Clarkson prayed for me at 5:00 a.m. as I was driving to the hospital and also called me ten minutes after my dad died without knowing it. The Lord used her to calm my heart and two different monumental moments. My mentor Jackie Johnson prayed for me and listened to me think through things. Thank you for your advice! My group of friends at Mom Heart Intensive Leadership Team prayed and texted me daily. I was covered in prayer. To my sister-in-law Amy your continued and many emails, cards and calls really lightened my days. Too all of you I cannot thank you enough for bowing a knee for me!
Last but not least, my parents. Thank you mom and dad for being a continued support and sounding board. Even though you couldn't be there much because dad was sick too, I knew you were thinking about me and praying for me. And to my in-laws thank you for always coming to help with the kids, especially when I got home from the hospital and the next two weeks when Bruce and I will have our first vacation away since all this has happened.
For those of you that have made it through this speech, God bless you! Whenever you do something like this, you forget someone. You just do! I have been working on it for the last couple of days hoping not to do that and I hope I didn't. But if I did, please forgive me! I am grateful for all that everyone has done! God bless you all!
I normally don't watch it as I find moments of it distasteful and boring. They seem to always border on offensive and indoctrinating. But inevitably I catch parts of it because I am intrigued as the event planner with the event, the stage, the parties, etc. This year, I thought it was different, enjoyable and funny. Billy Crystal brought back class and humor of an age gone by. I also noticed that each acceptance speech was to only be one minute long. How do you thank everyone in your life in one minute?
I thought back over the last six months and all the people that help me and my family in a time of need. In the moment of those days, I was extremely grateful, but perhaps the whirlwind of events, pain of surgeries and many lost days to my illness washed all of my "thank yous" into the black sea of my memory. I am a "day to day" kind of gal. I live in the moment. I decided that each of us who has had cancer (or any trauma in their life) need the opportunity to give an "Academy Award" speech without a time clock. So here is my acceptance speech for the greatest award to receive - a friend who loves you.
To my love, Bruce, I want to thank you for being a wonderful doting husband. I want to thank you first because "I don't want to run out of time in the end" (that's what Merryl Streep said) nor do I want to put you anywhere but on the top of the list. Bruce was thrown into all of this with me without warning and he did a fabulous job. We had a couple of rough spots that we worked through that indeed has improved our marriage. The things Bruce did are too numerous to count here, but he was loving, kind, accepting, encouraging, helpful and full of grace. I love you and thank you for loving me in spite of me!
The day I found out I had cancer, my first call was to Victoria Sanders, a friend for 17 years. She is my accountability partner, my friend through thick and thin. She was the first one to hear me crying and babbling on the phone since Bruce was not picking up his line at work and my parents were out. She dropped everything and headed to my house. She was there for the first couple days, helping with the kids, keeping the house in order and many times thereafter when I went to doctor appointments. She listened when I would talk, cry or just not know what to say. She planned Danika's birthday party for me just weeks after my double mastectomy and she helped me find my full time help. She prayed endlessly for a miracle for me and God answered her prayer. Thank you Vicky for loving me during this time and rearranging your whole life to be there for me!
Once I found out it was cancer, my sweet surgeon friend, Lisa Fox found me at the hair salon. (Yes, I was in shock and went to get my hair done. Crazy, huh?) We went to lunch and cried. She and her husband John were a support the day I thought I had thyroid cancer too. They came to every medical procedure for support - from the biopsy to my surgery. She is my doctor friend who I could call with medical questions. She helped me take my first shower and treated me to my first pedicure after surgery. She called me daily or texted and came to help so often. I don't know what I would have done without her help! Thank you Lisa for your kind and firm ways to help me through this season in my life!
My dear friend and "sister" Christina Landaas, my maid of honor in my wedding was right there to help once she heard the shocking news. She dropped everything once a week, sometimes twice a week to take me to doctor appointments and then out to lunch. She even went to a Feldenkrais class with me. She came to Hoag while I was in surgery and supported my husband. She helped me wash my hair the first time after the surgery and pampered me. She called me, emailed me and prayed for me. God gave her huge capacity to love on me during these months and I will forever be indebted to her and her family who gave us a place to escape for the day and not think about our lives. I love how it made us much closer!
Our help in time of need was definitely, Dawn Heinrich, our full time helper. She came in right before my surgery in October and she learned how to "be me". She did everything from homeschooling the kids to grocery shopping, laundry to running the kids around. She is a true servant always trying to help above and beyond what is needed. I will forever be in her debt because she did such an excellent job, I never needed to worry about anything. Thank you Dawn for "being Jesus" to me!
Once I had gone through the detox at OHI, my old friend from MOPS, Theresa Sharp, came to my rescue with food and nutrition help. Not only did her and her daughter, Jasmine, juice, cook and shop for me, but they helped me think through many of my health questions. She went to a cancer conference for me and took notes, getting me holistic information and CDs. She even did a blood analysis for me that was very interesting. She was my "go to" person to drive my kids everywhere during a time when I couldn't drive. Thank you Theresa for filling in so many places where I needed help!
Long time Inside/Out friends, Bradley and Cindy Kirk, were kind enough to show up at our doorstep on one of the first nights with dinner. Cindy was a huge help as she herself had traveled the breast cancer journey. I loaded her with tons of questions, and still do! She was also the one who set up my online meals calendar and communication on "Lots a Helping Hands". Bradley was a support as he showed up at my surgery and was the first one there to pray with us and help with a knowing look. Thank you for supporting me and loving me through this hard time!
Many of you brought meals through the months that helped so much! I am not going to name you all, but each of your meals was a bright spot in our day and something I didn't have to think about. My kids thought the food was wonderful since mom was only cooking healthy stuff before the surgery. A couple of friends who I can't leave the "speech" without mentioning are Tami, Carolyn and Tina. Tami Mangum, my deep thinking spontaneous friend, was a shoulder to lean on through much of this time. She watched my kids so many times, I can't even remember. She fed us many meals. She was just a pillar of grace and strength for me. Carolyn Olsen, long time Pepperdine friend, was having so many hard situations in her own life, but was able to still watch my kids, call and pray for me and even bring us meals. And Tina Bush, who would anonymously, bring meals to school and leave them frozen on my car for the "just in case" days. That was truly precious!
Honorable mentions: There were a group of you that gathered and prayed while I was in surgery at Hoag Hospital to support Bruce - my parents, Christina Landaas, John and Lisa Fox, Sheri Trupp, Bradley Kirk, Chuck and Judy Marshall and my brother Garrett. I was blessed to know you were all there praying for me. Many of my neighbors, who I do Bible study with in the summers, took me to most of my doctor appointments. I loved catching up with them and talking through life. One of them even decorated my front door with pumpkins in the fall when my dad died. There were so many friends who lived far away that wished they could have been here and they let me know. . . I wish you lived closer too.
I had quite a team of prayer warriors that I believe were answered with a miracle from the Lord. Thank you for praying for me so much and often! A couple of special friends stand out. Lolo Beshore prayed so much for me, I think it physically was too much for her. Sally Clarkson prayed for me at 5:00 a.m. as I was driving to the hospital and also called me ten minutes after my dad died without knowing it. The Lord used her to calm my heart and two different monumental moments. My mentor Jackie Johnson prayed for me and listened to me think through things. Thank you for your advice! My group of friends at Mom Heart Intensive Leadership Team prayed and texted me daily. I was covered in prayer. To my sister-in-law Amy your continued and many emails, cards and calls really lightened my days. Too all of you I cannot thank you enough for bowing a knee for me!
Last but not least, my parents. Thank you mom and dad for being a continued support and sounding board. Even though you couldn't be there much because dad was sick too, I knew you were thinking about me and praying for me. And to my in-laws thank you for always coming to help with the kids, especially when I got home from the hospital and the next two weeks when Bruce and I will have our first vacation away since all this has happened.
For those of you that have made it through this speech, God bless you! Whenever you do something like this, you forget someone. You just do! I have been working on it for the last couple of days hoping not to do that and I hope I didn't. But if I did, please forgive me! I am grateful for all that everyone has done! God bless you all!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Where does God hide during trials?
Last weekend, I was blessed to speak at the Mom Heart conference with Sally Clarkson. I was honored to speak, but also found that the process of preparing, pondering, writing, practicing and then finally giving the talk (with tears) was very therapeutic for me. I hope it will bless you all!
"Last August, I was tested with a real trial - multi focal invasive ductal carcinoma. I knew that this day would come because I had been discipled that life is not without trials. According to James, trials are the fastest road to maturity and I knew this day would come. James 1: 2-4 'Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.'
And I had been blessed with a pretty Pollyanna life so far. But as I am learning each of us will have our time. When the day came, I panicked initially. I asked “Why me?” When I went out and saw people at the grocery store, I thought“They don’t have cancer and they are eating so poorly. Why do I?” In the beginning, it seemed I had only a 10% survival rate as we thought I had Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I began to think about dying. I began to ponder my life and what Bruce would do. I came to grips with Bruce remarrying and my children being raised by someone else. You just do that! I had a very blessed opportunity to come to grips with dying and being excited about the reality of heaven. Part of me looked forward to leaving this world and seeing my Jesus face to face. It is a beautiful place to be really.
I cried alone . . . and with friends. I had many sleepless nights trying to come to grips with it all. The hardest was the unknown. I am a planner and I just wanted to know all the answers. I wish I could tell you I made the right choice in those first minutes or days of my diagnosis, but I didn’t. If I had, I don’t think God would have had the opportunity to teach me more of who He is and lead me on this journey.
During this time, I grappled with God. Even in the turmoil, I felt his hand of peace over me the whole time. This unnerving sense of His peace and it was beautiful. But I didn’t feel close to him. I couldn’t hear Him speak and I couldn’t find Him in the usual places. When I sat to read scripture, I was overwhelmed with the sense that the verses I found didn’t apply to me. When I prayed, I felt like I was begging. When I listened to contemporary praise music, it made me feel close to heaven and I would cry. When I tried to journal, I had nothing to say. These were all my regular places to find God, yet He seemed beyond my grasp. But I was blessed to have memorized scripture and it came to me when I needed it - Heb. 13:5 “I will never leave you or forsake you” - Ps. 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God". I could not deny the peace I had from Him. God where are you hiding? Why do I feel guilty that I can’t find you?
As a baby Christian, I was blessed to have been discipled by a Godly mentor. She is the lady who I wrote the books with Jackie Johnson. I encourage all of you to ask an older woman to walk along side you. I feel like Sally through her books has mentored me into the mom I am today. I continue to learn from her. Isn’t it wonderful to feel as if Sally is talking directly to you in her books. Does anyone else feel that way? As a new believer, I was taught about the Y in the road. Walking the Christian road, there will come a time - an irritation, a temptation, a trial where you must choose which road you will walk. I could either choose the road most taken – feeling sorry for myself, being angry, fretful or complaining and the den of Satan's lies or I could choose the road less taken - God's peace, joyfulness, gratefulness and the victorious life. In knew from 2 Peter 1:3 that God had already given me everything I need to live a godly life. The key to the Y in the road is that you must choose much sooner than the Y in the road which way you will go. If one waits for the decision when the clouds of darkness roll in, it is too late. The moment will overtake you. But I had decided years ago what I would do. I just needed to remember this truth. This choice determined everything for me.
I knew in the past I had decided to choose freedom and life and now was the test in this trial of breast cancer. Choosing life for me meant that I had to give thanks, rejoice and give God the glory with no excuses! I remember at the Intensive I told Sally that I didn’t need to sit in on the blogging part. I was never going to blog! She encouraged me years ago to do it. You never know, she said. She was right! God had called me to blog this cancer journey – for me, for His glory and for others. I write about where God has be, health tips I have learned and the Joy-filled Journey I am traveling.
In November, recovering from a double mastectomy I decided to join fellow facebook friends to give thanks for one thing each day. During those days, my larger-than life dad who was my friend and biggest fan passed into glory. I got to hold his hand and see him into eternity. Still on those days, I was choosing to practice gratefulness because I had decided before I came to the choice in the road“Y’ what I was going to do.
In the beginning, I told you I thought God was hiding. I couldn’t find him. I felt peace but I wanted more. You know when I made Him my joy, gave him glory and choose his road on the Y, he showed up! Sometimes just going through the motions until I believed it worked the best. God showed up in the most unexpected places. I was looking for Him in my weekly Bible Study and homework, journaling, my prayer time. But he was alive in my pain and became my Hiding Place and my joy during this time. I saw Him in the psalms, in old classical hymns, in the faces of my friends, in verses people would mail me, in so many of the health classes I was taking and things I was learning, I saw Him in my kids as they watched and learned God’s character through my responses to this trial, I saw Him in my husband and his increased faith journey. I can honestly say I am grateful to have had cancer now and would never want to go back to my life before.
We all know that if we aren’t in a trial today, we may be tomorrow. I know that I will have this opportunity again. So choose with me this day to embrace victory in Joy, gratefulness and Life when you get to the “Y” in the road. And there we will find the Lord and He can show us that He was walking side by side with us.- never hiding. "
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Surgery Yesterday, Next Weeks Opportunities
Surgery Update
Yesterday, I completed the 2nd stage surgery for my breast reconstruction. The surgery went well and I am home resting which leaves me time to think and blog. My mom is here taking care of the kids with Bruce as it is hard to lift and use my arms. Thank you for all of your prayers yesterday and for the meals coming the next couple of days. I certainly felt the prayers and was at peace with everything.
The whole process is a bit odd, if you ask me. It's just not something you ever think you are going to do. Am I too big? Am I too little? What is the right size? In the end, I tried to get as close as I could to the ones God originally gave me. When all else fails, go with God's original plan, right?
So I am sore today and stiff. I can't take a shower for a couple of days and I have the ace bandage on. But underneath it all, I can tell it will be better - softer, more real. This whole process has really had me just grateful for his eternal love for me. Elisabeth Elliot once said "We can only know that Eternal Love is wiser than we, and we bow in adoration of that loving wisdom".
Health Cocktail
Whenever I post, I feel the need to include a health tidbit. There is so much I am learning and I just know that I need to share it. This year we have adopted a new health ritual that we do daily. Bruce, myself and the kids, even my mom. We take the Vitamin C cocktail to ward of any colds, diseases, etc. and we have made it halfway through the year very healthy. We used to do Juice Plus or Airborne, but this works so much better and it is cheaper. Once when I forgot to give it to the kids for a week, Danika got a fever. But we quickly implemented it and she was better and no one else got it. Praise the Lord! For as you know, with four kids, when one gets sick, they ALL get it!
The Health Cocktail: Juice or water 4 - 8 oz, 5 drops of Grapefruit seed extract (GSE - a natural antibiotic- I take 10 drops) and a capful of pure lemon extract (no oil - get at Sprouts for $2) The kids drink it with a straw since the good stuff sinks to the bottom.
Try it! We swear by it! You will not be disappointed!
Bed REST is another word for Spiritual Stimulation
With time on my hands, I am catching up on my reading and sermons I have missed. I love to just have the time. God is working on two different lessons I am going to share Feb. 3rd. One to our Elements Bible Study on marriage "Where did love go?" God is teaching me so much about his love that I am excited about this. And at the Sally Clarkson Mom Heart conference, I am going to share a little about "Where God is Hiding during trials?" I have found not that He hides, but that I find Him outside of the usual places. My old ways of connecting with God don't work, but new ones come when I let go and follow his lead. So Feb. 3rd is a big day for me. Looking forward to sharing, but also excited about the preparing. Thanks in advance for your prayers!
Yesterday, I completed the 2nd stage surgery for my breast reconstruction. The surgery went well and I am home resting which leaves me time to think and blog. My mom is here taking care of the kids with Bruce as it is hard to lift and use my arms. Thank you for all of your prayers yesterday and for the meals coming the next couple of days. I certainly felt the prayers and was at peace with everything.
The whole process is a bit odd, if you ask me. It's just not something you ever think you are going to do. Am I too big? Am I too little? What is the right size? In the end, I tried to get as close as I could to the ones God originally gave me. When all else fails, go with God's original plan, right?
So I am sore today and stiff. I can't take a shower for a couple of days and I have the ace bandage on. But underneath it all, I can tell it will be better - softer, more real. This whole process has really had me just grateful for his eternal love for me. Elisabeth Elliot once said "We can only know that Eternal Love is wiser than we, and we bow in adoration of that loving wisdom".
Health Cocktail
Whenever I post, I feel the need to include a health tidbit. There is so much I am learning and I just know that I need to share it. This year we have adopted a new health ritual that we do daily. Bruce, myself and the kids, even my mom. We take the Vitamin C cocktail to ward of any colds, diseases, etc. and we have made it halfway through the year very healthy. We used to do Juice Plus or Airborne, but this works so much better and it is cheaper. Once when I forgot to give it to the kids for a week, Danika got a fever. But we quickly implemented it and she was better and no one else got it. Praise the Lord! For as you know, with four kids, when one gets sick, they ALL get it!
The Health Cocktail: Juice or water 4 - 8 oz, 5 drops of Grapefruit seed extract (GSE - a natural antibiotic- I take 10 drops) and a capful of pure lemon extract (no oil - get at Sprouts for $2) The kids drink it with a straw since the good stuff sinks to the bottom.
Try it! We swear by it! You will not be disappointed!
Bed REST is another word for Spiritual Stimulation
With time on my hands, I am catching up on my reading and sermons I have missed. I love to just have the time. God is working on two different lessons I am going to share Feb. 3rd. One to our Elements Bible Study on marriage "Where did love go?" God is teaching me so much about his love that I am excited about this. And at the Sally Clarkson Mom Heart conference, I am going to share a little about "Where God is Hiding during trials?" I have found not that He hides, but that I find Him outside of the usual places. My old ways of connecting with God don't work, but new ones come when I let go and follow his lead. So Feb. 3rd is a big day for me. Looking forward to sharing, but also excited about the preparing. Thanks in advance for your prayers!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Parasite Free 2012
As the new year begins, I have spent time writing out my new year's resolutions. I am just that kind of gal. I like having goals and encouraging my kids to have goals. This is the first year that "losing weight" has not been one of my resolutions. What a freeing feeling that is! I can't even tell you. But instead I have added "exercising 4 times a week minimum" to the list. This resolution of sweating will help me increase my oxygen and in turn keep away the cancer.
I got a body scan on Wed. from Claudia, my holistic doctor, and she said that I am not making cancer in my body, even in the smallest form (as I was once before in my ovaries and bones). I am alkaline and oxygen rich. While I still have strides to make with my thyroid, parasites and fungi, I am feeling very positive about where the Lord has brought me and the process He has allowed in my life. It is a good place to be!
As many of you start the new year, you have asked me all kinds of questions. I welcome any and all questions as I believe God has brought me on this journey to help others. It seems that many of you are in search of "The New You" in 2012. A healthier, fitter, thinner person than 2011.
I mentioned before that I have parasites. I have a couple of really nasty ones that have aided in my auto-immune system takeover which was the pathway for cancer for me. I probably got some of them traveling overseas or from mosquitoes while visiting back East. I know so of you may be skeptical of that, but that's okay. The list 13 symptoms I had first really had nothing to do with breast cancer, but they were symptoms of parasite activity in my body that led to me discovering breast cancer in the first place.
As we are in the beginning of a new year, I thought I would share a couple of ideas to keep your body healthier and parasite-free in 2012. This is not an inclusive list, just one that was shared with me that we follow. Happy New Year to you all!
1. Don't eat hamburger or ground beef of any kind. I don't eat meat at all, but when I heard about all the parasites that are in ground meat. I was disgusted because I used to eat it alot. I liked it and it was cheap. One pound of burger has the parasites of up to 100 cows, not one, because they pool all of the animals together. Also the FDA allows a certain amount of colon and feces in each pound. So hamburger has the potential to be chock full of parasites. If you must have hamburger: get fillet mignon or another type of meat and have butcher grind it for you, it would be much healthier coming from one cow.
2. Don't eat sushi. Raw fish just isn't good for you. There are parasites, no matter how fresh the fish is. It's Bruce's favorite, but he feels better since he stopped eating it.
3. Don't eat corn or corn products. I know it is in everything. Well, not everything since I still eat and I don't eat corn. But it is terrible what is happening to the agricultural industry with Genetically Modified Food. I know so many people up in arms about it. Funny how the average American has no idea. Google "GMO and corn" to read up on the arguments. Either way our government is allowing big business to change the food that God gave us. It is not good for us. Period. I buy organic corn products ONLY. Even for my kids!
4. Don't eat soy. I know it, too, is in everything! Not only is it GMO, but it also mimics estrogen in women and can lead to breast cancer. Here is a good article to sum it all up for you: http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm
This healthy eating thing is hard, but it is worth it!!! I feel great. Just eat the foods God gave us (that man hasn't infected) and you should be fine. My favorite saying to my kids "If God wanted us to eat _____________________(goldfish, cookies, candy, anything bad, you fill in the blank), then He would have given us a ____________________ (goldfish, cookies, candy, anything bad, you fill in the blank) tree!" Happy New Year!
I got a body scan on Wed. from Claudia, my holistic doctor, and she said that I am not making cancer in my body, even in the smallest form (as I was once before in my ovaries and bones). I am alkaline and oxygen rich. While I still have strides to make with my thyroid, parasites and fungi, I am feeling very positive about where the Lord has brought me and the process He has allowed in my life. It is a good place to be!
As many of you start the new year, you have asked me all kinds of questions. I welcome any and all questions as I believe God has brought me on this journey to help others. It seems that many of you are in search of "The New You" in 2012. A healthier, fitter, thinner person than 2011.
I mentioned before that I have parasites. I have a couple of really nasty ones that have aided in my auto-immune system takeover which was the pathway for cancer for me. I probably got some of them traveling overseas or from mosquitoes while visiting back East. I know so of you may be skeptical of that, but that's okay. The list 13 symptoms I had first really had nothing to do with breast cancer, but they were symptoms of parasite activity in my body that led to me discovering breast cancer in the first place.
As we are in the beginning of a new year, I thought I would share a couple of ideas to keep your body healthier and parasite-free in 2012. This is not an inclusive list, just one that was shared with me that we follow. Happy New Year to you all!
1. Don't eat hamburger or ground beef of any kind. I don't eat meat at all, but when I heard about all the parasites that are in ground meat. I was disgusted because I used to eat it alot. I liked it and it was cheap. One pound of burger has the parasites of up to 100 cows, not one, because they pool all of the animals together. Also the FDA allows a certain amount of colon and feces in each pound. So hamburger has the potential to be chock full of parasites. If you must have hamburger: get fillet mignon or another type of meat and have butcher grind it for you, it would be much healthier coming from one cow.
2. Don't eat sushi. Raw fish just isn't good for you. There are parasites, no matter how fresh the fish is. It's Bruce's favorite, but he feels better since he stopped eating it.
3. Don't eat corn or corn products. I know it is in everything. Well, not everything since I still eat and I don't eat corn. But it is terrible what is happening to the agricultural industry with Genetically Modified Food. I know so many people up in arms about it. Funny how the average American has no idea. Google "GMO and corn" to read up on the arguments. Either way our government is allowing big business to change the food that God gave us. It is not good for us. Period. I buy organic corn products ONLY. Even for my kids!
4. Don't eat soy. I know it, too, is in everything! Not only is it GMO, but it also mimics estrogen in women and can lead to breast cancer. Here is a good article to sum it all up for you: http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm
This healthy eating thing is hard, but it is worth it!!! I feel great. Just eat the foods God gave us (that man hasn't infected) and you should be fine. My favorite saying to my kids "If God wanted us to eat _____________________(goldfish, cookies, candy, anything bad, you fill in the blank), then He would have given us a ____________________ (goldfish, cookies, candy, anything bad, you fill in the blank) tree!" Happy New Year!
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