Riding the O-Fense

There is a lot of stuff we can ride the "fence" about when it comes to making a decision.

Do we want to eat at the burger joint, or the chicken joint.  Oh, I dunno, I am on the fence.

Do we wanna go to the romantic comedy or the horror film?  Hmmm.  Let me think about this.  I am on the fence.

Well, there is one thing that we cannot be on the fence about.  This one is not up for negotiation if we are seeking to live a peaceful Godly life.

I was reading this morning a book I have not come across in quite some time.  Micah, that book in the between Jonah and Nahum.  It's just a little book, but it packs quite a punch!

Micah 6:8 talks about loving mercy, acting justly, and walking in humility with God and man.  Great verse and definitely one to pause on.  But not the verse that grabbed me today.

Today, in my own egocentric "I am the center of the Universe" wallowing at 5 am because I couldn't sleep, I came upon this little diddy.

Micah 7:18-19 says, "Is there any God like you, forgiving iniquity, passing over transgressions by the survivors who are your heritage? He is not angry forever, because he delights in gracious love. He will again show us compassion; he will subdue our iniquities. You will hurl all their sins into the deepest sea."

5 am woke me with a jolt as I was consumed with how I felt wronged.  For days, anger and hurt ruminated within me and stole every bit of my peace.  Interestingly, I had just bragged about being a person who does NOT get offended.  Hmmm.  Pride got me all "Tripped" up and I found myself bruised and bloody from that fall.  Did I have reason to feel hurt?  Probably.  But letting myself stay in that place was WRONG.  I am grateful that I had my 5 am wake-up call to hear truth spoken into my heart from dear old Micah.  

Here's the deal.  Being on the "fence" about being offended is like being lukewarm.  It is neither hot nor cold.  It is neither wise nor foolish.  I don't know about you, but I want to be wise and hot.  (not that kinda hot...)  I want to love others well.  I want to love mercy.  I want to walk in humility.  I am called as a follower of Christ to love others and follow his example of loving well.  

For in my own wrong doings, and there are a lot of "doings,"  my Creator forgives, and he delights in a offering me His gracious love.  He shows me compassion, and then hurls my offenses into the bottom of the deepest bottom of the sea.  

THAT is the attitude I desire to have when I feel offended.  I have said it before:  When I feel offended, I know its usually a result of either me not setting a strong boundary, or its because of my own need to do some heart surgery.  I realized that it doesn't matter why my feelings are hurt.  That is God's job to deal with.  He is still in control and will fight those battles on my behalf.  It doesn't matter if my offenders are justified unjustified or if my emotional triggers are justified.  

IT. DOESN'T. MATTER.  I want to love mercy.  I want to walk in humility.  I want to see those who hurt me with the compassionate loving eyes of my Redeemer.  My Redeemer who pulled me from my own pit years ago.  My Redeemer who sat me on the high places and cleaned me up and put a garland of praise on my head.  Sometimes, there is nothing we can do to prevent being hurt.  We can choose how to manage the pain.  We can decide if we want to perpetuate drama and talk too much, spout off our offenses, or we can calm it down, get still in our spirit, and let the Master of our souls do what he does best.  He heals the broken and crushed in spirit.  He also is in charge of making everything else right.  

Proverbs says it well.  "A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered"  

So, don't ride the fence.  It only creates more pain and suffering.  Get off the fence, and take Micah's words to heart.... 

Delight in gracious love. Show compassion. 

A New Power Tool I Use Daily!

That time I agonized for a solid month led me to the greatest freedom I have ever experienced.  It was the month that I cried every single day.  There was a lot of pain, and just so you know, it wasn’t the month of February with 27 days either.  It was a full on 31 day mourning period.  I am so grateful for it because had I not been so distraught, I would not have called my friend and mentor who I affectionately call.......the “wise one.” 

By distraught, I remember telling the “wise one” (thats what I call this wise friend of mine) that if this was as good as it got, I was done… out…. Did not want to live.  Man isn’t pain good at doing that kinda number on us?   After patiently listening to me go on and on about my situations, his gentle and profound words rocked me.  The impact drove me to keep his words verbatim in my Bible.  Memorizing them, I use the same statement in nearly  every coaching session.  You see, the pain in that month was my training ground; for now, I am able to bring this statement to you now. 

Then he said to me, “The reality you experience springs from the embedded story you are telling yourself.”  Then he asked me, “What embedded stories have you been telling yourself, what words do you need to re-frame over your life?”

      *In my case the stories sounded kinda something like this:

       “Why can’t I get it right?  What is wrong with me?  What am I doing wrong?”

         ( there were more questions laced in victim mentality )

      *I was buried in pity party and victimization and still digging deeper. 

      *I felt I had done all the right things in life and I was still getting the SHAFT. 

      *Fear was working overtime in my heart.

The conversation continued about re-framing my personal story; and creating the experiences I want to live in through my thought life. 

There are many ways to re-frame our thoughts; create our realities.  My personal favorite is through gratitude.  Sounds easy, huh.  Not so much when your heart hurts, or you are stressed about  how you are going to make the bills.  How about when you are sure “that job” is the one you are going to get and you really nailed the interview, yet, they didn’t call you back.  How easy is gratitude then?  In my experience, THAT is exactly when we should belt out the “thank you’s” at the top of our lungs!

Supernatural things happen when we practice gratitude.  When all we can do is lay in bed beating on a pillow and crying “Thank you for this pain?”  That is when beautiful masterpieces begin to form from the painful ashes of our life.  These moments are the sacrifices of praise that when offered up are  received, and healing peace is poured out. 

Often, I needed to coach myself out of a potential situation.  And by situation, I mean, a slight pity party.  Recently, stressed and overwhelmed by some disturbing news over a person I love very much, on top of a few closed doors in my own life came upon me somewhat abruptly, and I am grateful I had the tools in my tool belt to pull out.  Before the crying month and the “wise one’s” words this could have sent me into a mini spiral.  But My trusty tool slid right out of my holster, and I got busy with it.  My tool was GRATITUDE.   I was about to get to some RE-FRAMING, and REALITY CHANGING with this tool.  The beauty in the tool wielding is that my circumstances in the physical may not change immediately, but my perspective sure does!  My heart is postured differently. 

Here is what happened.  I decided that I was going to journal a different way.  I was not going to pray and ask for relief, requests, or petitions.  I was going to call out my gratitude for the things I wanted to see happen.  I thanked my Creator for his gifting in me.  I thanked him for this  because the good stuff was on the way!  I thanked Him for the things I wanted to see happen.  All good things he promises us.  His kingdom come means health, vitality, joy, provisions, prosperity.   I thanked him for these promises!  I told new stories!   I created new realities in my gratitude. 

What happened next brought an amazing peace and comfort, in the beautiful gift of a butterfly that flew right up to me, landed on my journal, and sat there staring at me for a few seconds before flying away.    Butterflies have always been special to me;  a symbol of His love, and good gifts to come.  When that butterfly landed right on my journal, my words, it was a reminder from the dream bringer himself, that “he’s got this”

           

You see, He will never leave, forsake, abandon, or carrot dangle!  He is good and he loves it when we are thankful!  He wants us to call it out!  Peace like no other follows, stress relieved, and rest. 

Basically the take away here is this.... You will get the SHAFT.  Shaft happens.  What are you gonna do with it? 

Think about it.  What stories are you telling yourself?  How is that working?  What new stories do you need to tell yourself?

Freedom is in the BE DO HAVE-ing

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! 

This morning, like most, I am thinking a lot about freedom.  Today is July 4.   It is Independence Day and all over Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter I see pictures of fireworks, flags, and all things July 4 celebration.  I too posted my picture!

As I was thinking about our freedom in America, and the great cost of it; the blood shed for our freedom, I thanked God for the bravery and courage of all the men and women who fought so that we could have this day to celebrate.... This Independence Day.

I then began to think about freedom of our hearts.  Oh how tragic to live a life as a free citizen of America, yet to be so enslaved within our own hearts.  How tragic that we do not use the power we possess.  The courage and bravery it takes to live in our own personal freedom does not cost our lives in bloodshed, for we already have the precious blood of Christ shed for us!

There are multitudes of hurting and broken people all around us.  If we stop and take a look, really be intentional, we will see them.  Look, just LOOK!  They need freedom!  Most people don't even know how to get that precious commodity.  Maybe you don't even know.  Do you want to be free;  Free from your own suffering?   (fill in the blank with whatever your suffering is)  It's simple.  I did NOT say it is easy.... but simple.

Allow me to introduce you to a simple phrase that I learned in an Encounter Intensive Training that I am a part of.  This phrase changed my life 3 years ago, and I have not looked back.

Here it is:

 Ready?

BE, DO, HAVE

We live in a world in where we believe we need to do do do all kinds of stuff (you fill in your own blank) to have all the things we desire, then we can BE happy.  This is jacked up.  We have been living this lie, and hence we have reaped the harvest of business, pain, suffering, and broken relationships.

Freedom comes with the price of learning how to BE first, then Do, then Have.

Freedom is in the having.

Do you want to feel joy?  Do you want to feel inspired?  Do you want to feel hope again?

BE the joy, inspiration, and hope to others.

DO something to show joy, inspiration, and hope to them.  I guarantee you this... when you create the experience for others, you will experience it for yourself.

I had a conversation with my daughter the other day about a specific area of struggle she was having. It began like most 16 year olds may begin: living in their "child" and in the "poor me" mentality.  In the past, I would coddle her, and try to manipulate the situation to help her feel better.  Not this time.  I am not teaching her anything by doing that, and much worse, I am enabling her to be a victim.

AND LORD KNOWS, I USED TO BE ONE OF THOSE AND COME HELL OR HIGH-WATER, MY CHILDREN WILL NOT BE VICTIMS IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

So what I DID encourage her to do was to re-write HER story.  I told her to flip the outcome (she was expecting) by flipping the story she was telling herself;  to be proactive and go create the story she wanted by BE-ing for others.  I asked her what that could look like for her?  End result?  Well, lets just say, she had an amazing outcome and I never heard another word about it.  She was FREE from being a victim and she had joyful experiences!

I also want to interject that Shit happens.  Life can throw some pretty painful curve balls.  What we do with those wounds from that fastball is up to us.  We can be a victim, get down and roll around in the mud and moan and groan, or we can get up, dust ourselves off, and CHOOSE a tool from our tool belt to move forward.  We can choose to BE what we need to create the reality we choose to live in.

"Be transformed by the renewing of our minds" is what scriptures tell us to do.

Want freedom in your heart and mind?  Be Do Have.

Just a few simple tips:

1.  Create gratitude in your life with a gratitude journal.  Nothing fancy!  Mine is not fancy.  Its a spiral notebook that I set a 3 minute timer to and just write for 3 minutes in the morning with.

2.  Slow down:  Put your phone away and look people in the eye at the grocery store.  That cashier will be blessed if you simply look her/him in the eye and smile.  Promise.

3.  Slow Down: Look your waiter in the eye and smile.  Ask them a question about themselves, even.

4.  Slow down.  Fill in the blank with more ways you can slow it the heck down.

5.  Regard another above yourself.

Scripture says

"do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but with humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others."

THAT my friend is BE DO HAVE

Please try it!  And then let me know how it goes!

Happy Independence Day!

And have a Happy BE DO HAVE DAY!

If you would like help achieving freedom in your life, I'd love to work with you.  Check out my website at shellitripp.com or email me at shellitrippbloom@gmail.com  

For more info on the Encounter Training, go to www.encountertraining.com   It will change your life and rock your world.  

Poison or fruit......

COME HERE…..

Words:  simple letters of the alphabet purposefully strung together to communicate.  Add to the structures punctuation marks, pauses, and there is a weapon of mass destruction waiting to launch. 

One simple word spoken has the power to call out life.

One simple word,  has the power to call out death.

Then there is tone.

Tone colors the word with personality.  A simple word answered when asked, “How are you today?” can reveal so much in the delivery.  

“Good,” is usually the one word response.  

Oh, how many different ways can we say “Good?”  

Put a feeling and tone behind that spoken word, and let the interpretations ensue.  

This makes the spoken language both beautiful and hideous. 

Another example…..

“Come here,” flavored with anger, impatience, or even sarcasm births shame, fear, even defensiveness.  I mean, If I hear the words “come here..(you are going to get a spankin’) that is not exactly the same “come here” seasoned with tenderness as when a love takes you by the hand pulling you in close for an embrace.  The warmth of that “come here” draws me in.  Beckons intimacy, acceptance, and life.  Tone travels through the filter of the listener’s soul and assembles emotion.    How desperately she wanted to hear the tender, gentle tones.  

In this moment, reflection on the words spoken over her life….

Proverbs~ "Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.  Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit- you choose"

Most recently…  the “why do you want to do THAT????” disapproval.  Or the, “why do you let your kids listen to that awful music…. "Your sister ......" (on on and on goes the comparison)  she would never understand the reason for the daggers all these years.  Never.  When all she needed was a kindess  a tenderness.  A gaze.  A loving touch… not a stinging slap across the mouth.  All she wanted  was a “come here”  just a “come here”  instead, with every intentional pushing of the metaphorical button, the chasm between “come here,” and “I don’t know you” deepened.  Deeper and deeper still….. that her dream of “come here” faded into a whispy fog, then dissipated into thin air.

Poison or Fruit.... 

Words so powerful that they seeded, rooted, and birthed into a life of their own.  Those damaging words so long ago spoken, had now transplanted themselves into her own voice.  The murderous words spoken over her were in the familiar voices of herself.  The taunting voices that spoke ill, death and condemnation … were now her own.  She knew it was time to do that work….. Because these spoken words she had entertained,  would slowly destroy her and if that wouldn’t destroy her, the  “Come here” desires unmet from a failed marriage would  destroy. 

One sylabell at a time they would kill. ....slowly, systematically, and achingly drawn out…. A, B, C, D, E, F…BAM, you die!  NOT right away,  but it may as well be right away.  

Because when your soul diseases, you stop living.  

Poison or fruit...

Words.  In This moment she wished that there were no spoken words.  

"Why do we need  to speak so much to communicate?"  

Words so often interfere!  Oh how lovely and beautiful it would be to simply convey tone, emotion, in silence, in a gaze, in a touch.  

"Yes, a world of no verbal pratter back and forth is my heaven,"  she mused. 

 Verbalizing everything over takes the senses.  When we walk outside and take note of the climate, we say, “Wow, it’s a beautiful day!”  The empty vocal gutturals of “It’s a beautiful day,”  are spoken and we move on to our next thought, chore, errand.   

"What does that even mean?" she pondered.

She wanted to stop and bask in the beauty of the day, if even for a brief moment.  Her senses awakened at the beauty, and she marveled in the yellow sunbeam warmth on her skin.  The branches were bare, and the air crisp, but the yellow ignited warmth and gratitude in her heart.  In that moment of basking in the beauty, the smell of fireplaces burning all around stimulated peaceful memories of  days gone by when she would practically sit in the fireplace!  Such golden precious memories of that fireplace hearth, and her treasured spot beside it.  

And what did she hear?  The wind.  Singing her song of welcome into the day.  Wind welcomed her  softly, gently in song, but let her know she was there with her biting crisp chill that blew strait to her bones.  

"How can 'it’s a beautiful day' be truly conveyed in mere abc’s? "  

“Come here, Oh beautiful day… Come here.  Let me take you up in my embrace and hold you close to my beating heart.  Come here, my love and let me hold you, enjoy you, gaze upon your beauty…."

 “Come here,” she whispered.

And now...... in the midst of the Come Here.......

Sitting with trembling hands, she clutched at the words she held in ink.   The ABC weapons against her soul.  This was all she had left.  No more words after these.  Taking them and holding them close to her heart she asked herself, “Am I brave enough?”   Interesteingly enough her heart was her pain body…. And now she held this letter, this weapon that could take her down. 

Could she handle these words? Her Achilles heel, she let them in, received them so easily all her life, and NOW, she had the choice.  She had the choice to let them in.  Insulting weapons againster her soul.  Could there be any other tpe of word spoken into her heart.  Was it possible?  Never before had she had this choice.  Now….

(stay tuned for the rest of the story)

Snapshot of the Soul

Want to get a picture of your own heart and soul?  Hold up a mirror?  Think about your thoughts and judgements towards others.    How do you feel about the person you like the least?  That right there my friend is an accurate snapshot of your heart.

Often, the flaws or things we judge in others are the things we judge  deep down into ourselves.  A particular person I love very much once said something hurtful to me....  "embarrassed by the way I have lived my life" was the direct quote.  Man did that hurt me.  Did I sit in that hurt and stew awhile?  Well, heck yeah I did!  But not too long... Because certain tools I have acquired in my toolbox were pulled out and I directed myself back to center.  The thing I knew was that for that person to speak this, meant they didn't have a very high opinion of themselves at the time.  I actually felt compassion for that person once I did the work.  

That statement really was not about me at all.  I can allow that statement to enter into my "hula-hoop" or I can toss it in the bucket with the rest of the junk that gets thrown my way.  

Often, I want to judge others in my life that I feel hurt or wronged by.  I honor the feelings I feel, not shaming myself.  I do not react.  I grab another tool from my toolbox.  Getting to work, I realize the work in my own heart, self image, or judgements about myself are really the problem and not that person at all.  

What's going on in that heart of yours?  Take at look at your perception of others.  

Here's to doing the hard work for freedom.

CHEERS!  

Raisin' Kale...

Move over Popeye with YO Spinachy-Self

Kale is the New Spinach!

That's right..... I said KALE!!!!!!  

Chances are, kale is not a normal food on your grocery list, but when you get through with reading this post, I bet you will be dashing to the nearest produce market and loading that basket with the beautiful bold green bunch.

Kale is my  2nd FAVORITE super food!  I love it!!!!!!

My first favorite, you ask?  

Hello?  Cocoa is my first!

 I am here to inform you that there are some surprising nutrients in this lovely curly leafed greenie.  

Packed gram for gram with more Vitamin C  than an orange,  vitamin K, (calorie for calorie) just as much protein as a steak, and all the necessary Alpha Linoleum Acid (ALA ) good fats.... you just can't NOT eat it!   

What is ALA you say?  Well basically, it is that omega 3 that we all need for optimum brain health, and  battles bladder, breast, colon, and ovarian cancers (to name a few).  

Why wouldn't anyone want to welcome this vibrant, nutrient dense veggie to the table?

Lets pretend that the battle Kale fights for our health is like a football game, shall we?  

The powerful key team players are:

 The Defensives:  Quercetin, Sulforaphane, ALA's
When I think of a defensive player, my first thought is a linebacker.  Linebackers are the portrait of toughness and grit in the game of football and the linebackers are usually the ones that make the tackle on any given play.
(My son plays football..... I know a little..... and I mean just a little)   Quercetin (linebacker) tackles inflammation and oxidative stress and prevents plaque build up in arteries so the rest of the team can deliver the nutrients needed for optimum health.  I won't go on and on with all the many nutrients in kale.  I don't know enough about football!  Sulforaphane, another linebacker is there too and, well I just know that they are armed and ready to get gritty and fight cancer!

The Offensives: carotenoids, flavonoids, ALA's
Offensively, there is this position called the tight end..... my son plays this;  its his favorite position to play.  What little I know, is that the tight end has to block ambushers trying to get to the quarterback or anyone with the ball.  His job is to get a good solid hit and slow down anyone going for the quarterback.  If it looks like the quarterback is going to get into trouble due to lots of guys trying to ambush him, the tight end must not only hit one of these guys, but he must then get into the open so he can catch the ball if the quarterback gets into trouble and has no time to find a receiver.   The tight ends are the carotenoids and flavonoids.  These beauties protect our body (quarterback) from oxidative stress (ambushers)  that can result in diseases such as cataracts, pulmonary disease, and cancer  to name a few.   They get in there and block and hit the oxidative stress, inflammation, and anything that could potentially start out as cancer, type 2 diabetes, etc.

The tight end offense gets  the ALA (Omega 3's) AKA the fatty essential  to the brain where it is needed for  healthy brain function as well as reducing Type 2 Diabetes.  In the words of my 13-year-old son, "YEAH it does!"
The beautiful thing about this game is that these players  (phytonutrients) are not ball hoggers either.  They work as a team and  love to include other players in the mix to bring out even more benefits.

Kale loves lemon.   The acid in the lemon brings out the iron, making  it more available to our cells.

Pair kale with a friend like olive oil or avocado and you have a great fat soluble carotenoid to rush those cancer cells we may not even know are there yet just waiting to metastasize.

Kale and onions rock the field!  While kale is great steamed releasing many of the enzymes to fight hard for our cellular health, Dr Joel Fuhrman recommends chopping raw kale and raw onions together before heating.  He explains (much better than I will here) that  partaking in onions have been proven to reduce colon cancer by 56%, ovarian cancer by 73%, esophageal cancer by 88%,  prostate cancer 71%, and stomach cancer by 50%.  Onions contain enzymes that are heat sensitive and chopping them raw  first releases a powerful chemical reaction to the chopped raw kale chemicals.  When they get together in that "rawmazingness" and are added  to a lycopene rich cooked tomato sauce...... BAM!!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!

So now that you have rushed out to the store and bought yourself some kale,  what do you do with it?

FEAR NOT!!!!

 Here are a few ways I enjoy it, as well as a few recipes I am about to try myself.

1.  I blend a cup of raw kale (stems removed) in my Ninja with coconut water or coconut milk.  (NO DAIRY PEOPLE)  Then I add all the rest of my smoothie ingredients and blend well.  Once the Cocoa powder is added, the strong kaley taste almost vanishes.

2.  I chop raw kale in my Ninja with an onion and then add it to my red sauce.....shhhhhhh  THE KIDS DON'T KNOW!!!!!

3. I love Kale chips (for the chip enthusiast...its WAY healthier and you get the satisfaction of crunching on something)

4.  I sauté kale with some garlic, olive oil, and a few walnuts!  Yum!

5.  Make a Caesar salad with kale instead of romaine.

Now a Few recipes I can't wait to try:

Quick and Easy Stew with Kale and White Beans

• 2 bunches kale, tough stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dr. Fuhrman's MatoZest or other no salt seasoning blend, adjusted to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper or to taste
• 3 cups cooked cannellini or other white beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans low sodium or no salt added, drained
• 3 cups diced tomatoes or 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, low sodium or no salt added
• 2 cups vegetable broth, low sodium or no salt added, or more if needed to achieve desired consistency

Instructions:

Add kale and water to a soup pot, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until kale is tender, stirring occasionally.
Add onion, garlic, MatoZest, black pepper and red pepper. Continue to cook, uncovered, for 5-7 more minutes.
Add beans, tomatoes and vegetable broth and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve.

Cheesy Kale chips

3/4 C cashews

1 bunch of kale, washed dried

1/2 Roasted red pepper

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 T soy sauce

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1 lemon peeled and cut into weeds unseeded

 Cover cashews with water in a small bowl and let the soak for at least one hour before proceeding.   Preheat oven to 300.  Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Drain cashews and set aside.  Trim stems from each leaf and cut each leaf into chip size pieces.  Blend cashews, red pepper, garlic soy sauce, yeast and lemon in food processor til smooth.  In a large bowl, combine the kale and cashew past.  Make sure it is coated evenly and place the kale on sheets allowing space between each piece so they don't touch or overlap.  This will take more than one batch so reserve any remaining kale and refrigerate covered until the first batch has finished baking.  Bake kale til crisp and completely dry, checking every 10 min.  Check after the first 10 min and turn leaves over.   Check kale periodically.  Chips will be ready when crunchy and stiff and the topping doesn't feel chewy or moist.

Kale Yeah Slaw

1 Bunch of Kale, stemmed and sliced

1 Large Carrot, shredded

1/2 Orange juiced

1/2 Lemon juiced

1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin

2 TBS olive oil

Toss kale, carrot, juices in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Let it stand a few minutes and bring a saucepan of water to a boil and stir in the onion.  Cook just until the onions are soft.  Drain and immediately immerse in ice water.  Drain the water and blot onions dry with a paper towel.  Add the onion to the kale.  Stir in the olive oil.  Toss.  YUM!!!!!  

So what are you waiting for.....lets go raise some Kale!  Enjoy!  Do you have any yummy kale recipes?

THIS? or THAT!?

Antacids or Apple Cider Vinegar? 

Today, I will uncover the myth around antacids.

THIS:

It really burns me up how we are like lambs to the slaughter, just believing what the FDA, Big Pharma, or even simple marketing to the public tells us.  We have gotten a bit lazy here in America… and I am gonna bust up the antacid myth! All that you have been told about heart-burn, indigestion and common stomach ailments is a LIE!  Indigestion is not caused by the excess acid in your stomach nor is acid reflux.  Antacids are the worst treatments for these problems.  Your stomach is meant to be in an acidic state friend… there is no such thing as having an excess of acid regarding the stomach.

The industry has made ASS-ID’s of all of us!

Antacids prevent proper digestion,  even causing all kinds of chemical reactions in your body that cause the rest of your body to be more acidic and that my misinformed friend is UNHEALTHY!

THAT:

The next time your find yourself suffering from symptoms of indigestion…. try this instead.  Take a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (ACV)  I recommend Braggs Organic ACV.  Put a tablespoon in a glass of water and your stomach churning and pain will subside within minutes.  If you have ulcers… then it won’t work.  Pharma won’t make any money on this one! Since Pharma won’t profit, you won’t be told about it or read about it in a medical journal.

Well now, considered yourself informed.