bunsofaluminum's Xanga

Friday, October 23, 2009

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:56:56 GMT

I wanted to post tonight about my amazing hike...an hour's worth of big time cardio as I walked in the foothills for two miles.

It started at 6:00ish, with my sister's dog Daisy, who is a blue Australian shepherd just a year old and a ball of energy. My sister is athletic and jogs these trails east of town...I am not, so I hike at best, and generally go slow. Daisy was a silver bullet, racing along as fast as possible, and then stopping and either running back to me or just standing in the trail ahead, her tongue out and head to one side "You coming? Why you going so slow? mom runs...run! run!" she seemed to say.

The trail I chose is moderate. That is, lots of good uphills, dispersed with lots of level and some downhills, through grasses and scrub oak. With the mountain on my left, and a western sun and town to my right, it was very nice, and Daisy kept me laughing with her antics. It was challenging enough to get "the pain taste" a couple of times, and got my heart rate right up there once or twice, but pleasant in the October evening. The sky to the east was SO blue! and the oak leaves on the trail made that soft, crisp sound as I walked through them.

At about one mile, I turned around. Daisy was dropped off, and the sun was just going down. This is where it gets interesting. There is a golf course that lies just west of the foothill trails, and I ended up WEST of the golf course...not where I wanted to be...so, finding it wide open, I went into the golf course! No one was golfing, so I just marched in. Kept on going northerly and trying to get back to the trails east of the course, which also meant climbing some mighty hills! Seriously, they GOLF on these slopes? But i kept on going, wondering how to get back to the trail.

At one point, I had to get across a little crick...oh! it smelled like spice at that place! There were aspen trees, oaks, birch, and together in their Autumn glory they had the most amazing fragrance. I was standing on big stones in the crick, with the sounds of trickling water and gentle
"end of season" crickets and the amazing scent of autumn trees. A benediction!

Then the serious business of getting to the trail was at hand. After that moment of sweetness by the water, the sky wasn't as light as it had been, and I was wondering how on earth to get out of the golf course and to the trail...and not looking forward to it, in the dark. But I knew my general direction (it's easy in this area: the mountains are ALWAYS east, so north and south follow readily and of course, town to the west) and I was parked to the north and east of this GOLF COURSE! argh!

Now I was tired, though. I'd been walking hard for 45 minutes or so, and going uphill to get to the trail was pushing it. But I kept on going. What was I gonna do? sit and wait? The hike had started out as something pleasant and interesting to do with a free evening, and now it had turned into the discipline of taking one step after another and not stopping until I got where I was going.

Actually, this is one of my favorite aspects of long walks: you get really tired and want to quit, but you simply CAN'T. The only way to be done with it, even when your feet are hurting and your thighs are in burn mode and your heart is pounding hard, is to keep putting your feet down in front of each other. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. that is the only way to finish: keep putting one foot after another on the ground, until you get where you're going. So, I say the hike began pleasant and ended in the self-discipline of finishing what I'd started, but not stopping is SO good. The pleasure of a wander in the woods gives way to the amazing sense of accomplishment that comes ONLY by getting to the end of it. Finishing is a different pleasure from beginning.

One is fresh and sweet, with a lot of attention to the beauty around and a pure enjoyment of the cool air and the blue sky, yellow leaves, whispering crickets. Sheer enjoyment simply because of being out and walking in God's good earth. The other is sweaty and loud with hard breath and pounding heart and problem solving and focus, ignoring the tinge in the left ankle to just keep on moving. It is a fierce and powerful pleasure, the pleasure of getting there.

So, I climbed the sloping green to the east border of the golf course and found it fenced. I almost cried. Looking to the north, i could see the apartment building that marks the parking lot at my trailhead...but I couldn't get to the trail, because of a 7 foot fence. Meanwhile, I was walking on plush grass that was pretty easy on the ole feet,so it could have been worse.

Then I came to a place where I could see a golf cart road going up a really steep hill, or I could turn and go up a less daunting slope in the opposite direction. I said a little prayer "Lord, help me find my way" and went up the lesser incline even though it wasn't in the direction I was aiming for. The light was quite dim, but not yet dark as I came to a rough place full of trees and the fence...would I have to climb it? seriously?...then, looking along the fence, i saw an opening! It was a little open gateway, just wide enough for a person to pass through, and I did! Now I was on the trail, level and broad, and aiming directly at the 29th Street Trailhead, and just barely light enough to see where I was putting my feet.

Sweating, breathing hard, and feeling really good, I came home and showered and was I ever beautiful to behold in the mirror. Strong, rosey, tousled and SO happy to be home!

Making a Garden

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:07:23 GMT

It's been busy outside this place the past few weeks. Eating a vegetarian diet, no animal products including dairy or eggs (I don't say vegan because I will eat honey and wear leather, etc...it isn't for ethical reasons,) and basing my eating on whole starch foods (a variety of whole rices, oats, and potatoes) with lots of vegetables, plus many fruits and the occasional nut and no added fats or oils, has got me so energized I'm fair busting at the seams with it!

So, after a good take down inside the house, when I got done vacuuming the ceiling, I looked around outside. What needs doing? hmmm? and saw the monster rambler rose pushing up on the eaves of the house and completely overshading the front porch. One week ago, I took that baby down. Piled all of the sticky poky overgrown stems in a heap near the driveway.

note the recycle bin, for perspective. That was a heap o'brambles!

Over this past week, I've decided I want to grow veggies my own self, but the garden areas are severely overgrown. Four o'clocks and fennel are the bane of my existence. You can hack 'em down, but you can't make them stay away. Well, I was ready to do battle with standard hoe, shovel, trimmers, gloves and good ole elbow grease (and back grease, shoulder grease, etc) when someone suggested Lasagna Gardening to cut back on weeds and unwanted plants while enriching the soil at the same time, with much less extreme effort. Mind you, I did put in some of that effort on Saturday, getting lots of four o'clocks out, before layering this section...But today I ran to Lowe's and bought two big chunks of peat moss and this is what I did.

put down newspaper then peat moss.

I put mums in there, and newspapers on top, this time tearing the paper into strips. I later changed my mind about the marigolds because...they are sort of insect resistant and I don't know what that means for earthworm attraction, so I pulled the mums out from the paper and put in comfrey leaves instead.

and another layer of peat moss

wetting everything down

And for good measure, I snipped some elm saplings that were in the corner, and laid those over the top of everything. This is how the bed on the south side of my house, near the back door, looks. We'll see how it winters over, and what it may look like in the spring. The lasagna webpage and my own Wormhaven Gardening Book assure me that worms love this stuff and I should see lots of them when I'm ready to plant next year.

In the back, I'm going to place black plastic and weight it down. Let the heat and the winter decompose the unwanted plants back there, and have a second garden plot :)

Yay! Baby Born! Yay!

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:46:05 GMT

Well, she did it! She got born, our little Nadia. At 3:39 am on Oct 4, 2009 sweet little angel baby pie boo-boo baby angel.

she the sweetest baby angel darlin!

Love her to pieces! she slept the whole time we were there, including through a diaper change! and she makes sweet little whimpers and whispers in her sleep. Her dad said "She needs to eat" and her mom said "I wish you had the equipment to nurse her, then! You're so worried about it" LOL

yay!

Friday, September 25, 2009

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:04:30 GMT

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:6-9

These two verses are about resisting the devil. James promises us that he will flee from us when we resist him, and Peter exhorts us to be watchful and sober because the devil wants to devour us. Both of these apostles exhort us to RESIST him. But both of these exhortations to do spiritual battle come with a command: submit to God, humble yourself under His mighty hand. I think this is telling me that there is no "resist" toward the devil, without "submit" toward God.

I am currently fighting a battle in my thought life, and working hard to bring every thought captive under Christ (1 Cor 10:4-6) and these passages, especially the 1 Peter section, are training me to humble myself under His mighty hand, and to cast all my cares upon Him (including the worry that I will FOREVER be fighting this fleshly pattern that He is working out of me).

so, this is my technique, when unwanted thoughts come at me. first, I catch myself "daydreaming" and stop. Then I look to the author and finisher of my faith, Jesus Christ. (Heb 12:2a) He is beautiful and true, pure, holy, righteous and filled with light, and I adore Him. Out loud, I tell Him "You are my beautiful Master. You are true, My Jesus, and holy. Your righteousness shines as a light in the darkness, and you are pure." Adoration. Looking to Him. Loving Him. Then I thank God for loving me, and out loud submit myself to Him. "I take up my cross, Lord and give You mastery of my life. I do not want to be my own master, but submit my will to Yours. I humble myself under Your mighty hand, and thank You for all the provision in my life. Thank You." And then, I resist the devil.

"The spiritual powers in this world that are against me, have no authority in my life. I stand in the name of Jesus, for His name is a strong tower and a refuge, and Satan cannot touch me here. In Jesus name, I resist!"

That is what I do, and not too long ago, when some really obnoxious thoughts were filling my head as I fell asleep, I stopped, and talked to my Father and went through these steps...and fell asleep thinking through all the wonderful events and people that had filled my day and blessed me.

Always, it is good to meditate on the Lord. Always it is good to think about Him. Always, He keeps me in perfect pease, as my mind is stayed upon Him. He is good. amen.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:30:19 GMT

Okay, I have now cooked aloo gobi twice,and love it. I think it's my new favorite food! Aloo means "potato" and gobi means "cauliflower" and it is a curry dish. YUM! I've also made saag aloo, which is a spinach potato curry and so scrumptious over rice.

Just got done making a samosa filling, which will go in whole wheat tortillas VERY nicely, and avoid the deep fat frying.

But other than not knowing my fennel from my cumin (I mean, I do know them from each other, but what recipes are they used in, and in what proportions?) and not yet having any mango powder or cardamom pods in my pantry, I do know the basics of two Indian dishes.

this is yummy food. I want to learn how to get it really spicey! I had a pav bhaji that came from the store in a foil packet to reheat. SO good,and so hot my lips burned. but YUMMY.

good stuff, maynard

Eating Vegan

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:44:32 GMT

Well, after gaining back 35 of the 75 lbs I lost, after exacerbating my IBS symptoms with the high protein diet with which I DID lose that 75 lbs, after feeling depressed, unenergetic and foggy-brained most of the time for the past year, I got to remembering one morning.

"when did I have so much energy? when I joined in with the kids' snowball fights and baseball games, what was I doing in my day to day life? what 'diet' was I 'following'?" And I remembered that I never felt better than when I ate McDougall Style, which is a low fat vegan diet, with whole food starches as the foundation (that is: whole grain rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and whole grain breads. Not the starches that come with refined flours, such as semolina pasta or rice noodles, but whole grains and whole root veggies)

So, two weeks ago today, I cut animal products out. Began eating grains again (I've been without them for many months, as I tried to eat raw vegan for the summer...) and stir fried or steamed veggies, and began exploring vegetarian cuisines.

Then I had a terrific idea. Being someone who loves to cook from scratch, and an adept "home cook" for lots and lots of American dishes, with a hefty repertoire of recipes memorized, I thought "What if I found some Indian recipes and began using them in my kitchen? what if I learned the spices and seasonings that go into Indian and Pakistani dishes? what if I added several of these dishes to my brain, and had the ingredients in my pantry, if on a whim I wanted to have a curry dish?" And that's the plan for this season of Fall: learn how to cook, Indian style.

Indian! I've learned how to make aloo dishes, which are potato curries. I'm reading about Sambars and masalas and poriyals, and exploring many different ways of cooking vegetables (Roasted is ALWAYS good. Roasted cauliflower is the best EVER.) I'm finding out that "dal" is "beans/lentils/split peas" and there are WAY many varieties of dal. And dal is used as a seasoning, about 2/3 of the time. I have a word stuck in my head: asafoetida, asafoetida, asafoetida,asafoetida,

and I discovered that tamarind is almost ubiquitous for southern Indian food. (and I think there is an Asian grocery in town that might carry these...these...flavorings. Tamarind? Is that a citrus?) I'm going to follow Abbie's boyfriend around as he shops and teaches me what to look for (He is Bengal Indian) and watch him as he cooks food. How is it done? I've eaten Indian restaurant food, and I have eaten Amlan's home cooking, and I think Indian home cooking isn't as oily as restaurant food. I hope so!

Yup. Gonna learn Indian cooking.

Oh, and my body has changed since beginning this vegan venture: No More I.B.S. symptoms. My gut is normal, peaceful, regular. Heartburn? Gone! Urgency? Nada. And other, unmentionable symptoms? Finis! Eating this way has put a stop to it all. I've also lost two pounds and gone through a system "cleanse" (not on purpose...my system just got rid of a lot of--whatever--and today I feel pretty good after a week of not-so-good)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:50:39 GMT

Nick Vuijicic came to town and we went to hear him speak. He is pretty amazing, and a mighty testimony to the work of a loving God in a man's heart (for he talked about heart more than anything else) He is an evangelist, and this was an evangelistic tour, so at the end he said "Today if you hear God's voice, do not harden your hearts" and called people to commit themselves to Jesus Christ. It was so moving to watch so many people come forward, and I pray that each and every one of them is as a well-prepared soil, for the seed of God's word to take root and grow, and produce fruit 100, 60, and 30 -fold. (they were all directed to a team of counselors who prayed with them, and gave them information about churches in the area, so they can begin that life of growth in Jesus.) It brought tears to my eyes. So many souls, hearing and responding!

But what really got me, and made me rejoice with great joy, was that my brother and his wife were there. Their church was a big player in getting this young man to SLC (Second time around)(but this time, he is to speak in the LDS tabernacle, only the third non-Mormon to do so, after Dwight L Moody and Ravi Zacharias) and they were involved in ushering for the first evening session, and they came with me to the second evening session (I also attended the youth event on Saturday with the kids from church ) My brother? Serving Christ? Oh, yes it gave me great joy to be there together with him! and when I looked over to the area where people were standing ready to receive these new believers in the Lord...there was my son! He was to shake hands and greet people as he directed them to counselors who would pray with them. My son? Serving Christ? Thank You, Jesus, my Jesus!

Now, how can we get my sister to bring her heart to the One who loves her? Hm, I wonder if her girls, my nieces, coming to church with their nanny, might open the door just a wee crack? hm (for that is what's happening! yay! my nieces' nanny goes to our church, and when my sister and her hubby need her for a weekend...she brings my Lily and my Sarah with her to hear about Jesus, and maybe to meet Him! yay!)

what am I watching? Is the Holy Spirit moving through my family like a wind? "breathe on us, breath of God. Speak to my heart, my brother's heart, my sister's heart, my daughter-in-law needs you Jesus, and speak to my mother's wounded heart, too, O Lord. Amen. Bring us in...bring us closer who are already in, and bring in those who hesitate at the threshold. let us love them, and let them be as Jesus to us. Let us love them as we love You. Let us open ourselves to them, that You might love them through us, and bring them in, Jesus. Bring them, according to Your loving mercies, and by Your will. Amen."

Internet Fast

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:12:58 GMT

It would seem the Lord is asking me to give up the internet for a season. It is turning out to be a time waster that distracts me from focusing on Him. I've disabled my Stumble Upon toolbar, and will soon take facebook off my address history. Perhaps with those two elements absent, I can still use the internet for legitimate purposes. IOW, I will probably check my email once a day. Otherwise, I'm going disconnected. God wants me doing other things with my time.

The Living and Active Word of God

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:01:39 GMT

The Battle is on, and I am fighting on two fronts: the flesh full of lust, and of course the evil one who constantly tweaks my flesh and tempts me. But this morning I didn’t take time in the morning for God and His word. This was because of sheer laziness on my part yesterday…the internet is an addiction that saps my personality as surely as booze or other mind altering substances … well, I didn’t get some things done yesterday, and was stuck with having to whip them out this morning, including a grocery run. I tried to read, but found myself distracted. For one thing, the SOAP list left Jeremiah 40-44 off the schedule completely, and that irritated me. And having these tasks on my mind meant I simply didn’t read. I got some things done, asking God to be with me (sometimes, you do have to DO things. If everyone only sat at the Lord’s feet all the time, how would we bless others with our kitchen blessings?) So I said “I’ll be Mary, but HELPING Martha and listening to You while I work”

Whatever.

So, I ended up fighting my flesh in a different area, as the morning progressed: bitchiness. I got the kids dropped off to SEPARATE schools, irritable and cranky at the traffic and whatever else, all along. Spaced the veggies I was supposed to bring for Pryme luncheon today, and was in a terrible mood by the time I got to Mr J’s. I recognized it immediately, and after ranting a bit about having yet ANOTHER aspect of my flesh to deal with, I asked God to grant me Peace…Love, and Joy, and Peace, please Father?

When I got in, I opened my Bible and read the missing SOAP chapters from Jeremiah…and from Jeremiah’s writings, I found the truth of the verse that says that God’s word is active and living, like a two edged sword to divide marrow from join, and soul from spirit.

Jeremiah? The history of him being taken captive, and the people of Judah saying “We promise to do whatever you say” and then when he said “Don’t go to Egypt” where they were craving to go…they said “You’re lying. We’re going to Egypt, so nyah” and Jeremiah got to go, too…THAT history? I mean, it was okay reading, but what about that stuff could be the cause of peace in my soul? And yet, when I finished Jer 40-44, I found myself lightened in my heart and no longer cranky. When Mr J sloshed juice on the counter top, no biggy. Just cleaned it up. When he dumped the full cup all over himself, I just told him to go upstairs and change clothes, and cleaned up the floor.

I recognized the changes right away, and knew the source of my impossible-to-define-peace, and thanked that Source J God is good. The Book of Jeremiah is active and living, a two edged sword able to divide between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. Wow. Awesome, Lord! You ROCK! I love you so much! Amen!

Crippled

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:29:37 GMT

Many pictures came to me today, in my time with the Lord. Reading in 2 Kings, I see Josiah going through Jerusalem and the temple like a firebrand, destroying all the idols and their altars...burning them and pulverizing them, and sprinkling their ashes over graves and brooks...utterly destroying every evil that stands in the place of the God of creation. It struck me that God is doing this in me. A friend at church, during prayer on Monday afternoon, said she "sees" me as going through a cleanse of sorts. As a physical cleanse can make you feel icky for awhile as toxins are pulled out of your cells, this spiritual cleanse is bringing a malaise. It is part of the healing process, and today's reading opened it up for me big time.

Josiah was ruthless and diligent, even burning the bones of the priests who had been in the tombs for many generations. He didn't stop until it was all gone, and God won't stop until it's all out of me, either.

Besides removing idolatry and other evils from me, God is teaching me about His love. He rejoices over me, as a bridegroom over a bride...even though I am crippled and have nothing to offer in myself, He loves me. He is crazy about me, excited to have me, desiring me to be near Him...huh. Wow. And the following is something straight out of my devotional journal:

I feel like Quasimodo, all hunched over and yucky, and a kind person is opening his door for me to come in and have dinner with him…I shuffle over the threshold, glancing up at my benefactor and thinking “why? He must feel sorry for me. Why would anyone want me to share a meal with him?” And yet grateful that Someone loves me and wants me to have what I need, and wants to bless me. But I have been mistreated so much, and I hate myself I’m so ugly and hideous. How can it possibly be that anyone would love me and take care of me? Oh, Lord I’m asking you to take my mind off myself. Of course I’m hideous and crippled, but YOU love me, and YOU can receive my heart.

I cried out to God, plead with Him to remove the things that are crippling me, thanked Him for being beautiful in my stead...and He showed me a picture. A woman whom He met while He was on the earth. She was crippled...bent over double and in terrible pain, beset by evil spirits who kept her body distorted and deformed...He healed her, and she stood up straight. He is doing this for me, too. I will stand up straight. He will remove the poisonous stuff from me and make me healthy in Him. Amen. Do whatever it takes, Lord. Amen.