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. 

Relax

If you are stuck in a cycle of negativity, or perhaps a critical and offensive spirit, then perhaps this is for you today.


"Stop taking yourself so seriously…."

That is EXACTLY what I heard  in my meditation.

"Excuse me?" {sarcasm}
"Say What?"

"You heard me, dear," was kindly, and ever so softly spoken into my heart.

I had moseyed into one of my favorite verses.  Ever done that?   "Moseyed" awhile over one particular verse?  If you haven't, then I encourage you, to try it sometime.

How to "MOSEY" in scripture:

1. Read a verse of your choosing.
(By the way, your "verse" can be anything that inspires you.  Doesn't have to be a Bible verse.  Just so happened mine was.)  

2.  Dictate the scripture into your handy little mobile devise.

3.  Close your eyes, and listen to the verse word for word.                                                                 Listen to each and every word.  One word or theme may stick out.

4.  Play it again, and listen for a particular word to resonate.

5.  Play it a third time.                                                                                                                          What did you hear?   Treasures are waiting to be discovered.  Write them down.

Michah 6:8:  "He has shown you, O man, what is good.  What does the Lord require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" 

In my mind, I am screaming out…… "LOVE!!!!  YESSSSSS!!!!!!"
 
The "love-child" hippy in me immediately sees "LOVE mercy."  (before my second listen)

I'm all about the LOVE.  And mercy comes in at a close second!

In fact, the joke my kids have with me is that if I ever went on ABC's The Bachelor (which I wouldn't…. but I COULD take them all!!!),  I'd be gathering all the drama queens around coaching them on how to BE  LOVE to each other.  That, and passing out all my essential oil remedies for their hangovers.

But today, (back to the point) upon my moseying, the  treasure uncovered was  the word "humbly"  and it beckoned me to come sit a spell.

Convicted in places I have "failed" this whole humility thing, I want to first go to more even more critique.  This is what my brain wiring likes to initially do… critique myself the most.  Then I remembered  a conversation I had with  a good friend.  He reminded me  that reframing my words will ultimately change my reality. In my  reframing I discover more buried treasures, and the more the dazzling diamond in my soul comes forth from that lump of cole....

So I hear this word humility, and I hear, "Listen!"

"Okay? ! I am listening!"

"Stop taking yourself so seriously, Girl!"

 "Well, I will pay attention to that more."  I say out loud.

The flies my the wall are wondering what the crazy woman is gonna say next to herself!  I imagine them calling each other around, "Guys, Guys!  She's at it again!  Comon'  grab the popcorn!"  

I paid attention to this word Humble.

I found that in Greek translations,  the origin of humble is described several ways, but my internal spotlight stopped at this:

"Bring down ones pride.  To have a modest opinion of oneself.  To behave in an unassuming manner devoid of all haughtiness.  To confess ones spiritual littleness…. "

Wow!  "To behave in an unassuming manner devoid of all haughtiness.  To confess my spiritual littleness."

The opposite of this is to get offended.  When I forget that I am spiritually little,  I become critical, impatient,  blaming, and much too busy to look a stranger in the eye.   I miss out on so much beauty.  I take everything and everyone too seriously…. including myself!

I want to take Humility's hand, and walk with her down the unconventional path.

She  doesn't let me "get" offended with others, or myself.
When I am offended with others, its ALWAYS a "me" issue projecting out.  I daresay, that being offended is a control issue as well.  

Humility says, "Sow into others."

Humility says, "Be."    

Humility leads me to know that all I own is not of my own doing but a beautiful gift.

When I critique myself harshly, Humility soothes me with, "You are wonderfully made,  beautiful, and unique.  Stop with the striving."

Humility offers grace to "view"  through a lens of kindness and compassion.
She shows me  when I am rightfully upset about the way I have been treated, and I just HAVE to retaliate,  that there is something beautiful still in that person's soul.  That She is also taking my "offender" on a journey.  

Pause, Breathe….

"There is always beauty," I hear. 

"Stop taking yourself so seriously, so that you can see my beauty."

In other words, I felt him jokingly say, "Get over yourself, girl."

My take away?

There is always beauty.  I miss out on beauty, relationship, and peace when I take myself too seriously.  Others will miss out on the authentic me, and  I miss out on their diamond bright.  Oh that I may forever see the diamonds.  May it always be.

speak life

I propose a new thought for today.  We feed on obvious things like food and we hear the phrase all the time,  "We are what we eat."  While this is true, there are other sources of nourishment that we eventually will exhibit.

WORDS

Words that are spoken over us,  and words that we read are the obvious thought, but what I propose you to digest slowly, is  the words that we speak over ourselves!

"We are what we SPEAK."

If you have read any of my posts before,  you already know that I am a huge advocate of speaking life and love over others;  calling out gifts and beauty.  By doing this, they will rise up to that word.  What I am learning and trying to apply to my daily life is to speak out gifts and beauty and promise over MYSELF.

Proverbs 21:23 says, "He who guards his mouth and his tongue, guards his soul from troubles"

Taking this at face value, I have read this and thought to myself, "yeah yeah, I know;  I need to work on my tongue and what I speak to my kids, to my friends, and what I talk about with them."  I immediately apply this verse to the usual do not gossip, don't lose my temper, and let my words be laced in love kinda stuff.  But this morning I paused on this and thought about my day in that moment.  I reflected on my last few days and my thought life; about struggles, my desires, my hopes and dreams, and the areas in my heart where I felt lack.  Being a verbal gal, I speak out things and give attention to those thoughts,  and guess what? I give life to those words!

My words over myself  sometimes speak to my troubled soul.  Stresses of single mom life,  finances, and moments of having a spontaneous offensive spirit are battles to take captive and transform.  In some moments, fear tempts me  and threatens to plague my thought life.  What comes out of my mouth next (after these thoughts) is critical to the life I want to live and cause.

Honestly speaking, the power of my words can actually destroy my spirit and stir up hatred and violence inwardly.  These words are an overflow of my heart.  To live authentic with this heart of mine that wants to exude love and joy, I must use those words wisely!  Now this takes training!  My heart is not always congruent with my words and vice verse......  I have to practice.  Think about it!

Vulnerably, I share with you a text I sent to a friend this week as I was troubled over a few different situations coming at me in some areas of my life.  I wanted to guard my words.  I said this aloud as I wrote it, and I made a decision to proclaim this over my life daily.

"I declare contentment over every area of my life.  I no longer want to do things the way I did them in the past.  I love my life right NOW.  It is rich and full, and not lacking."

Jokingly my friend responded back, "Good!  Now go get that tatooed on your forehead so you don't forget!"

Well, maybe  not on my forehead, but I DO like this tattoo idea!

See, when I proclaim that, It becomes alive in my heart and I believe it!  It is true!  I have the courage to live this!  I have the courage to not take on a spirit of offense,  to become depressed or anxious, or jealous of anyone else.  I also don't wish for something I don't have, because I already know that I am not lacking!  Its incredible what this  phrase has done in my heart.

My witty friend Suezi   told me,  "When we discourage ourselves with our speech, we take our own courage away."  Woah!!!!!   I don't know about you, but I want to live my life full of courage, grace, humility, love, and joy.  It starts in my heart.  My heart doesn't always FEEL this way, and that is when I must train my speech to transform my heart.

In a different situation:

I have been working with a friend lately who is struggling to line up her heart and mind with her speech. She struggles in her marraige;  she complains about what she lacks.  She knows that to transform her heart, she must begin speaking outloud how thankful she is for her husband, how blessed she is in __________________ ways.  She knows to not focus on any lack.  She knows that she must look at her feelings from a different perspective!  I know breakthru is coming for her!  She is practicing!  She is courageously speaking goodness, love, joy, peace over this situation.

What does your heart need today?  What do you need to speak over yourself?  Encourage yourself today and just wait and see what happens?

Cheers!

Reach...

Furiously tapping my keyboard, emotions flow.  I implore all you who are hurting to reach up with your hands and stretch stretch them out!  Your life depends on it.  Reach!  God will pull you up.

There is always hope.

ALWAYS.

You who have left your spouse, because you thought the grass was greener. 

You who have given up on a dead marriage and want to leave.

You, who are about to sign the divorce papers..... DON'T GIVE UP!

You, who are looking too far ahead of your goal and feel the overwhelmed, doubt, fear, and guilt of never attaining it before, so why would this time be any different?  

YOU.... DON'T give up!

You, who grieve over the physical loss in your life of a child gone....... REACH UP!

You, who are staring down the bottle of pills right now wondering if taking them is the answer.  IT IS NOT!

You, filled with shame and guilt of your past..... let go.  THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE.

Friend, what is it you are facing today?  Take courage, I promise you that when you surrender your heart and will, and do the "hard thing" instead of the easy..... your reward will be great!

Proverbs 4 says this...."Let your eyes look directly ahead.  Let your gaze be fixed strait in front of you. Watch the path (path of your feet) and all your ways will be established.  Do NOT turn to the right or the left."  What I find fascinating  is the "path of your feet" part.  Don't look behind you anymore.  Stop it!  Wife, stop blaming your husband for your hurts.  That is your past and it is filled with guilt and shame.  Don't look to the sides... It is full of you comparing yourself to others.  You are you and wonderfully made.  Don't look too far ahead either, it will overwhelm you on your journey to wholeness and healing.  Press on.  Look right in front of you at the path of your feet... You can get through this, one stride at a time.

Friend, don't take the easy road.  Take the hard road.  Your life, your family, your dead marriage is worth it.  When you think the hope is gone, trust me when I tell you that there is still hope!  If you have taken the easy road, there is no shame, and no condemnation; just reach up..... ask for help.  Hope is always abundant.  The reward is great my friend.

There is redemption in all things!

I'm keeping it simple today.  You, who feel hopeless, listen to this song  You are redeemed.  Your life is ALREADY redeemed.  REACH UP AND TAKE AHOLD OF IT.  I pray blessings and reward abundant on each person who reads this today!