Then Sings My Soul

Vacation 2012

What do you get when you cross kayaking, hiking, cliff jumping, big trees and even bigger cliffs? A Bliss vacation.... to California. Turns out I have a small problem with heights (I can hear the short jokes now) but I did it all. I drove into oncoming traffic to avoid the shear drop off that was waiting for me if I made a wrong move...but still did it.

Taft Point and it's amazing hand rail that spans about four feet
 of a one hundred foot cliff edge.
 I sat down for this one.
Keep in mind that those are redwoods that look like toothpicks down below.
 My grandma always uses the phrase "It gave me the whim-whams."
 Now I know exactly what she means.



I am pretty sure that 8,300 feet is reason to have your legs go weak, anyway. TC was sweet and stayed with me until I scurried off of the worst of the peaks and we all came down safely. I only had a few heart attacks so all is well. Ha.

We started out our trip taking an Amtrak train from San Antonio to Los Angeles and really liked the ride. It is cheaper than flying and less crowded. We had a "roomette" which is like a bunk bed inside of a closet somewhat. Still, there is a huge window and a door for privacy. The bunks move to make two recliners for day use. There is also a table to pull out and plugs for charging things. The trip took around twenty-four hours but was faster than driving and we got to relax. We loved watching the world go by from our window and waking up to fields of windmills outside. We stepped off the train to beautiful California weather. The lack of humidity made cool, light air that would make you think you could fly. It was glorious.

We rented a car and went to San Diego from there. Fruit was cheap, it was EVERYWHERE and we ate it. All along our trip we bought mangoes, blueberries, cashews, pistachios and cherries along the side of the road. Like I said....glorious.  We kayaked in LaJolla and had seals and sharks swim under us. Just as TC called out to me to look at the big shark going under my kayak a wave hit and dumped Rivers and I into the water. We walked to shore from there.  ;)

San Diego is beautiful and I loved it. A busy few days there included the San Diego Zoo, Lego Land, Cabrillo Point, Balboa Park and a really cool go-cart race track. 

The San Diego Zoo
Ryan and TC are amused by the monkey cage in ways I will never understand. We stood staring at this thing waaaaaay to long. The whole time I am watching them laugh like it was putting on a show....I still don't get it. 

Lego Land won me over with organic coffee, real cream and stevia in the snack stand. I am used to carrying any snacks we may want along with us. It is nice to be able to grab a snack like anyone else would do and this park had a huge counter of gluten free snacks too! It is the little things in life and I REALLY wanted coffee ;)

Cabrillo Point has a light house that we toured. There are also hiking trails along small cliffs where lots of tide pools form and you can spot cool stuff.   

Balboa Park is really an incredible place. There are museums, gardens and beautiful architecture everywhere. Ryan was excited to get to go inside the type plane his grandfather flew in during WWII at the Air and Space Museum.

The Go-Cart track was a lot of fun and highly competitive. These things go up to forty miles per hour and I was happy that only two other boys drove while my girls were out there. AND Ryan didn't flip it ;)

Me on a boulder watching T.C. take the plunge

On the road again we headed North to Sequoia National Park. Ryan, TC and I have been before but the girls really wanted to see all the things we had talked about doing there. This may be my favorite place on earth. Right away everyone hiked down to a river we saw from the park road just a few miles in. The water was so pretty that we all kicked our shoes off and jumped in. Ryan said that it was the coolest place he had ever swam and we all agree.



 Sequoia is all about the wow factor. BIG TREES. All the things God came up with just blow me away. The smallest little chipmunks live in the biggest trees on earth. Cute. Now, that's a sense of humor for ya.

The Fam in front of a fallen Sequoia

Everywhere you look is another breath taking beautiful thing! In Sequoia things seem more breath taking than usual. It may be the altitude, but truthfully, it is God. He showed out quite a bit here. Lilies growing in spring fed streams miles away from the tiny road we drove on to hike these trails. The cliffs are so high you can't look down. Berries grow wild all over the mountains. Maybe it's just me but this is the stuff that makes me feel alive. If you can walk through these trees, stare up at the sky and try to see the tops or where they may end and not want to break out in song then you are tougher than me. This song kept running through my mind.

 "Oh, Lord my God. When I in awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hands have made. I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. And there proclaim, MY GOD, how great thou art!!! Then sings my soul. My saviour God, to thee. How great thou art. How great thou art."

We hiked a lot. We saw more amazing things and hiked some more. One highlight was swimming, again, in emerald pool. It isn't really a pool but pooling water at the top of a waterfall that we had hiked to see the top. The water there is chilly. Like, go-numb-immediately chilly. It was nice to soak my aching legs in hoping it would aid in the sore muscles I was sure I was going to have the next day. Thankfully it worked and we all climbed over a thousand feet in elevation that day (and back down) with no problems. This was marked "advanced" and other scary words like that on the maps and guides. It was hard. Long steep trails that lead to rocks and stair-like rocks that last forever and a day. So, the pool was a very nice surprise. We thawed on the warm rocks after swimming.

Super cool water and toasty hot rocks

Rocks and stair-like rocks and trails oh my!

T.C. at Vernal Falls Trail on our way to Emerald Pool

We spent several days hiking Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks. Both were amazing and we had a great time. We packed food in backpacks everyday and took off. The sun sets at nine o'clock in California this time of year and we raced it to the car almost every day. While in Yosemite we were at the end of a long hike and looked up to see Granny Smith Apples hanging off of every branch on the tree we had parked under. They were REALLY tart but the kids ate one anyway! It was just too cool to pass up.

We left Yosemite National Park and toured through several small places. The Mystery Spot, another great swimming hole that Ryan found and Point Bonita Lighthouse. We even saw this black bear along one trail. The kids were all thrilled as if this was a completely controlled situation. Thankfully this was a mild mannered old bear who was thinking about food more than people.

From Yosemite we went to San Francisco and toured Alcatraz. This is one of Ryan's favorite places. If you know him then you know that he is all about history, war, forts, submarines, battleships and that sort of thing. This is an island full of  history and it really is a fascinating thing to see. The kids volunteered to be put in solitary confinement with a tour guide so I followed them in and looked back to see Ryan standing and watching me as the door closed....with a grin on his face. Haha. Nice.



While in San Francisco we walked the Golden Gate Bridge and watched a kite surfing competition going on in the bay below the bridge. The wind off of the water is cold and strong so the Texans wore jackets. We were all impressed by the shadow of the bridge on the water. On one side you can see Alcatraz and on the other side there is Point Bonita Lighthouse. Everyone had an great time, enjoyed being outside and just spending time together. These are forever memories and they are sweet.

And they all lived Blissfully Ever After.

The End.

Energy Bombs!!

#links


One of my favorite bloggers, Rachel from Until The Thin Lady Sings,  posted this great recipe.

I had to share it after I made a batch yesterday. These give a great dose of HEALTHY fat and coconut oil has lots of  *lauric acid* which is one of the healthiest things on the planet. It is only found in one other source which is breast milk. God-given, brain-growing healthiness! It balances the bacteria in your digestive system and helps in healing all sorts of stomach ailments. And these are refreshing with lots of lemon zest in them and just out of the freezer. There have also been a lot of people who say, with coconut oil in their diet, they no longer sunburn. I have noticed a big difference in sun tolerance and I am a freckle-faced white girl. ;)             
As you may know!!                                                                        

**I used 20 drops of liquid stevia for a double
 recipe. I also traded out coconut butter for real
 butter (because I didn't have it). They turned out
 great and there are plenty more health benefits
from dairy fat so EAT 'EM UP and enjoy!

LIVING in IF

We have been doing some intermittent fasting (IF) and have had great success. My husband, Ryan, joined the effort with this idea and it has been a great thing for us both! Doing this with someone gives you the accountability that can be vital in keeping willpower up in the late night hour when someone breaks out snacks. We follow a schedule of daily eating for only five hours (aka Fast-5).There are a lot of advantages and here are just a few.


1. So much to do. Taking something off the list is a great thing! I cook less. I have time and energy to put more effort into the meals that I am eating. AND then there's money. Less eating means more denero for the meals you DO have. So, steak it is. :)

2. Hormone changes. This goes for everyone. Man or woman we all have them and your body will adjust to what you are doing. The food we are eating on a Standard American Diet is not helping our hormones. We have to get back to basics and Eat What He Gave Us!  Fruit, nuts, meat, veggies and water. Organic dairy! There are practices that make sense to a pocketbook and only the pocketbook. The things going on in non-organic dairy defines the difference. Oils are right up there doing the same damage. Stick to butter, coconut and olive oil. Soy is NOT your friend, Friend.
 If you are programming your body to be sick...hang on to your britches, cuz that's what you will get. BUT, if you are training your body to submit to your will instead of the other way around...those britches will be a few sizes smaller very soon.  I am in love with the idea of victory. Nothing feels as good as knowing that the battle we fight is a hard one but we have already won the war! With open eyes and willing hearts we, as Christian believers, are to submit everything unto Christ. This doesn't just mean our wallet, our choice of churches or if we should apologize for bad behavior. It means everything. He has blessed us like CRAZY!  We are free to choose what we want from a store full of food... down the street from our air conditioned homes... with our comfy car taking us there. We can't put down the Doritos and eat something He made so that we can stay alive long enough to live for Him? Honor Him? Serve Him? Most of us are living such fast and furious lives that we throw whatever will fit into our mouths. We live from one high to the next. Coke to coke, candy bar to cookie. We can't get enough and are just dying for it...and we ARE dying for it! Disease is rampant. But not here. We are standing for a change. We are LIVING for Him!!

3. Better sleep. Ryan has struggled for years with restless sleep. Since we began intermittent fasting he sleeps more soundly. He dreams the kind of things that leave you tired when you wake and waking often through the night. He recently had a snack before bed with guests that were visiting. When he woke the next morning he swore off ever doing it again. Most days we eat our last meal before 5 pm. This break has given Ryan peaceful sleep. No sugar-crazed dreaming and overloaded digestion taking place while your body should be resting! You could do this once a week for twenty-four hours or once a day. We eat lots of healthy fat and protein to help keep cravings to a minimum.

An article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition listed benefits of fasting.

They include:

Lowering of blood pressure
Reduction in damage to lipids, protein and DNA
Improvement in insulin sensitivity
Decrease in fat mass

*This list is all explained by the fact that when we break from eating our bodies have more time to rest and repair. In most of our worlds we are eating all the time. We are even told to eat smaller meals more often. I find that this is a difficult lifestyle and one I can't maintain. Most of us just end up eating all the time...period. Give it a rest and just watch the results. You will be amazed at what this body God gave us can do to heal what we have done to it.

4. Transition.  Do a little at a time or do it all at once. Some people just can't ease into anything. The cannonball approach is how it is gonna be, if it is gonna be at all. Whatever works. Just start. Listen to your body....it's smarter than you. I didn't know what any of this was a few years ago. God took me from one thing to the next by letting my symptoms be my guide. Fasting helps speed recovery so I think it is a great idea to incorporate IF as soon as possible. What I am surprised by is that I am not hungry. For nineteen hours, sometimes more, I have no cravings or want for food. My body has adjusted and so will yours. 

5. Recipes. I have been promising them and still haven't posted any other than the occasional FB pic in excitement of a great dish. IF gives lots of time to look into what you want to eat for the meals you prepare. I have been able to expand my cooking skills because of this extra time and have come up with some pretty tasty recipes in the process. I really like the simple ones I can throw together quick. Here are a few of them!

                                            Creamy Italian Dressing          

1 pint Organic Heavy Cream
3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar (or preferred)
*Sea salt and course Ground Pepper to taste

Mix and store in mason jar. Keep refrigerated up to two weeks.

**Optionally you could add in basil, chives, garlic, dill or any herb you like.


                                                Frozen Banana Bites

1-2 Bananas
Peanut butter fudge (recipe below)
Dry Roasted Peanuts, Pecans or nut of your choice

Slice bananas and dip into freshly made chocolate. Arrange slices on wax paper lined cookie sheet and top with nuts. Place cookie sheet in the freezer and enjoy a "bite" anytime. Do NOT eat this all at once ;)


                                                    Peanut butter Fudge

1/2 cup coconut oil (slightly melted)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Prepare a muffin pan with 10 muffin liners.

Put all ingredients in a bowl. It will be liquid-y. 

Pour the liquid fudge into the prepared muffin liners dividing evenly between the ten of them. There will be about a half inch of fudge in each muffin liner.

Place the muffin pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until the fudge has hardened. (Sometimes I use the freezer and it only takes about 10 minutes)

**Optionally you can add nuts of your choice to this and "beef up" your cups. This makes the fudge go farther so spread it out to as many as you wish.

 
                                          

Set Your Mind

So you know the story of how God is healing me. Let me tell you what it took to get me there....

I had my first baby at eighteen years old. Yes, 18 (I didn't say this was a how-to blog). Ryan and I married young and had TC seventeen days after our one year anniversary. I refer to this because I can see now how my health was in line for disaster 101 even then.

 I knew something wasn't quite right. But, because God works all things together for good, we had TC and we were thrilled. For years after things continued on the path of never knowing what was going on with my body. Doctors told us we wouldn't have any other children and said they weren't sure how we had ever had a baby at all. They said I needed a LOT of things and meds were always the answer. The only problem...none worked.

This whole time the diagnosis was PCOS and it looked like a big pile of misery wearing my face. I remember telling Ryan that I felt like I was trapped inside of a fat suit and couldn't get out. I hated wearing it and the exhausting frustration of feeling bad. I would count calories and run. I would eat totally fat free. I would be heavier at the end of week and cry. Doctors tried lots of times to tell me that I was depressed and just needed to treat that side of things. Well, duh. I was depressed sometimes but I didn't want a drug that would just make me "fat and happy". I wanted a real solution. Stubbornness has always been a problem for me, but this is one time that it worked out. I refused the meds. Now, there's an idea for ya.

Fast-forward and I manage to lose weight, Ryan gets into grad school, we have two girls in fourteen months and move twelve times in three years. I thought I had figured things out (health-wise). That second girl showed me I was wrong. Turned out that birth control had the opposite effect it is designed to have on me. Three times I took it makes for three children. Ha! Now, plan that!! This was really just God giving us our two girls...real quick like. It was wild and crazy and hard and I don't recommend it. But the girls are each other's best friend and giggle together everyday. That is worth it ALL.

At the end of school I was worse than I had ever been. I took care of everything but me. I stopped trying. I was tired! I said it all the time. I was so tired and bigger than ever. A new doctor tells me I have low thyroid and this med works. Wow. From there things got better. Slowly.

I still had a lot to learn. It took years, a lot of frustration and determination to never give up. I did Atkins for a couple of those years and felt better but knew something still wasn't right. Never mind the fact that Atkins products are heaped full of chemicals and Diet Coke had become my nearest and dearest friend. I have always tried to be aware of over-doing or needing anything but this one sneaked up on me. I thought I was doing something good for myself by eliminating more sugar. Now I know for a fact that the stuff is hard-core addictive and it did a number on me. If you haven't looked into the effects that aspartame has on your body....PLEASE....check it out. This one thing was harder for me to let go of than anything else.

 In Colossians 3:2 it says to, "Set your mind..." and this is what it took for me. I decided that I had to act on what I knew. I knew that the chemicals I was sucking down were poorly effecting my health. But the world around me was sooooo understanding about my desire to have the thing I wanted. People won't tell you that you shouldn't be eating or drinking what you have in front of you if it is what they are having too. The difference is that your eyes are open. This is where it becomes a choice. Continue on in what is killing you or revolutionize your health. What you can't do is say that you didn't know. Set your mind!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."


~ Sarah

...Now I See

I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, homeschooling and working on the house. It's what I do. Trying to clean up from fire damage to our property has made things all the more interesting but things look a little better all the time.
 I believe that sometimes a good burnout is what it takes for God to make things new. It lets light in on places that have been covered. That is what it took for me to regain my health. The dang fire stings, but the rain is oh-so-soothing. We do a lot of things with these bodies we have. It's the only one we get and if you break it, you buy it (the farm, that is). That is what excites me about how healing food can be.
 I relate a lot to the story of Jesus spitting in the dirt and rubbing mud in the man's eyes. (John 9) You know if the guy could have seen it coming then he never would have let him do it. But he didn't and so, Jesus did. Then he just tells him to go wash his face and just like that...he can see. Sometimes that mud in your eye is just what the doctor ordered. If you have health issues, then there's your mud. 
Victory is yours for the taking! Change one thing at a time and read about it so that you know what makes it important. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't doing everything right. No one else is either! Just do the best you can. And don't lie to yourself and say McD's is your best. One of my first decisions was that I would not eat or feed my kids fast food. There's a lot of transition for most of us just in that choice. The stuff has real-deal, hard to kick, addictive properties. Don't underestimate the power of chemicals. Just refer to it as the crack that it is and it helps. ;)
You may think that changing your lifestyle is too hard. But "hard" is being sick every day of your life. "Hard" is watching disease and addiction steal, kill and destroy people you love. "Hard" is cancer, diabetes and countless childhood disorders. Eating real food is not hard. Wash your face and open your eyes....one meal at a time. This view is great! ~Sarah

Till it Overflows

It has been stirring around in my mind  and with nowhere to go. The journey was physical and not. It has taken me a long way and a long time. And I am not there yet, but I am not where I used to be! The story goes...
We are a typical family doing typical things. Then God decides to teach me a lesson. Don't get me wrong. I am so glad He did. I just never thought of victory looking like this.
My Dad died at the age of 58 and like he had done so many times before, surprised me. He had been sick for a long time and I told myself that he would not live. I thought I had "come to terms" with the idea. What surprised me was that after cheating death countless times, he was gone and it hurt in a way that still boggles my mind.
Enter God's gentle hand...I was determined not to ever have my children deal with watching the things I had seen during my father's illness. Fear had my heart. I was running from everything. "And He walked with me, and He talked with me..." Through a series of events God showed me myself and stopped me in my tracks.
I was sick. I was poisoning myself. I was running in the wrong direction. I was so fearful that I was walking right into a trap and I didn't even see it coming.  But as a close friend often says, "The problem with being deceived is...you're deceived".  Through this time I was continually reminded in everything I read and everything I heard to "get out of the boat". God dealt with me about fears I didn't know I had. I made good on this lesson and trusted Him with my only begotten son. ha ha. After homeschooling till he was in 10th grade, we put him in public school. It was h-a-r-d. Lemme tell ya. I did not want to do it and had a good list of reasons why it was a bad idea. But every door that slammed in our face was followed by a big open window and a welcome sign.  He made varsity and National Honors Society in his first year. ahhemmm. I am so proud of him and Him.
It was about that time that my health got really weird. Doctors couldn't figure things out and I was frustrated and trying to stay determined without letting fear be my guide. What? Now I'm scared of being scared? Whoa. This is just embarrassing. God had His hands full. I would wonder, "Why are you telling me not to fear? What's gonna happen?"
I was going through books all day, every day. I researched everything I could about restoring your health. I learned a lot and tried a lot of things. Trial and error brought me to realize that gluten was a problem for me. Okay. I went gluten free. I felt better, lost weight and stopped swelling all over. Awesome. A few months go by and I am finding that my symptoms are not just gluten related. One grain at a time I went grain free. Trying to figure out what I could still eat I found Paleo/Primal Diet websites and blogs everywhere. So, although I follow this style of diet, it was not something I bought into as a program. I was dragged. It was a 360 degree mirror experience that I walked through begging God to let me out the whole way. But. Thank you, God! The number of things that have changed in my health are incredible. I feel human again.
All of this leads me to want to tell everyone I know what God has done. I am amazed more all the time at how healing the things He gave us are, when we stop messing it up! So, this is the story of why I post recipes and talk about the weird stuff that I do. I am not preaching about a program. I am talking about life. More abundantly. Till it overflows. My hope is that others will benefit along the way.             ~Sarah