SHE RESTS: 14 days and counting

Have you ever really thought about confession? It is vocalizing failure but for some reason it feels great and helps us move on. Deep down we all believe we are honest people and want our actions to be justified. I don’t think confession is utilized enough. Instead we ‘justify’ our actions by lying to others which causes guilt. Or we ‘justify’ to ourselves by blaming it on someone or something, becoming less responsible for our actions and opening the door for immature lifestyle. And my personal favorite: ignore the problem only for it to continually resurface. I have long been in a season where my dirt has been lingering. I have made effort to identify it and now that it’s visible, I find it everywhere. It is out of control, growing like interest to loan. The more I try to change the more frustrated I become. Desperate times call for desperate measures. So here I am in prayer and fasting. These last three days my prayers have been in anguish. I have had no one to turn to but my God. I have confessed and His healing torrents have swept over me; liberating.

My physical has become a barrier to my active lifestyle. I conserve all energy for alertness at work, grocery shopping and juicing. I have been attempting exercise but am slow and weak. When I don’t pay attention to my physical needs, they get really bad - fast. Last night I talked on the phone for almost two hours before bed, and I forgot to keep drinking. I woke up in the night so dehydrated that I looked like a wrinkled old woman. I drank an entire watermelon. Within an hour my skin was nice and plum again.

I find that I pay more attention and feel better when I am relaxed. It has been quite stressful with the limitations I have set for myself –only juiced fruits and veggies. On my 7^th day of fasting I am resting (as much as possible with a full time job). I am currently soaking my feet in a warm bath, have a heat pad on my back and am sipping delicious fruit smoothie with added Pedialyte (for hydration). For dinner I broke my rules and savored a half cup of chicken broth! I also had vitamin C & D enhanced orange juice. It is not about how hard I try but the rest that is found because of it.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 Jn 1:9

TODAY I CHOOSE: 17 days counting

I found myself about to Mapquest Lewisville Park, a place my parents took me a hundred times in my youth. For some reason, it seems that if I have adequate recourses available I lean on them instead of go with what I already know - an unnecessary dependence. There comes a point where I just need to drive myself in the direction I know. I am at Lewisville park, the landmark of my baptism. My baptism was my coming of age story. Half of my life ago, I was here, professing my faith in Jesus Christ before God and man. When I was 8 years old, I remember asking my dad several times if I could be baptized but he always said no. One day he told me to stop asking him. He said that I would know when I was ready to be baptized because there will be an obvious change in my life. It was here when I was 14 that my parents came to give me away…to complete trust in my new father. The best choice I ever made. My family’s faith had become my own.

Today is the 1^st day of SEVEN, my church’s 7 day corporate fast. I am taking today to reflect on the person I have been over these past 14 years of my new life. Thank God that I am where I am today! I hope that in 14 years I could look back on now and say the same thing. I want every day to be better than before and for myself to be an ever growing, ever satisfied individual. I only look at my past to be thankful for today. I don’t want to speak of the good old days as if they were better than now, or live in depression from a past I can’t forget, nor speak of a future that may not even be attained. I choose to enjoy today. “Give me today my daily bread.”

This positive mindset I have also adopted for my fast. I choose to dwell on the cleansing and not the impurities. I take pleasure in the yummy drinks and ignore the hunger and weakness, knowing that what I am doing is for my own good. I recently was watching A Beautiful Mind which is about John Nash, a brilliant mathematician who struggled with paranoid schizophrenia but eventually won the golden peace prize for his work. A man asked how this credible professor at Princeton University was able to overcome his hallucinations of the mind. Nash said that “I still see things that are not here. I just choose not to acknowledge them.”

This is the 4^th day of my fast and I am now experiencing the difficulties of food deprivation. The first two days were a breeze. The third day I developed an unquenchable thirst. I now consume 5- 32oz containers of juice a day, each juice made of several pounds of fruits and vegetables. I also have at least 3-32 oz of water per day. I go to the bathroom at least once an hour. This morning my entire body was very weak. While getting up I blacked out for 30 seconds. Small exertions of energy are taxing. My stool today was dark, almost black. –not sure if this is from toxins in my kidneys? Canker sours are on my tongue. My tongue is green. My breath is fowl. I am not going to ignore these challenges but as my grandma Mimi says, “I’m going to keep my grief brief.”

A CONSULTATION: 21 days and counting

The other night I had a “discussion” with my mother basically over the fact that when approaching a fast, I need to be more cautious about my hypoglycemia (i.e. sugar imbalance). I have childhood memories of my mom bursting off the bleachers and down to the court to give me Skittles. Moms seem to always know when you need a pick me up! If anyone knows me, it is my mom. The only reason it could possibly have been interpreted as an argument was that it was late at night and I was defensive, probably because of low blood sugar. Mom: I heard you.

I have consulted an online physician, Dr Foster, who I have found to have good advice in nutrition intake. The doctor himself is hypoglycemic and has even experienced fainting and seizures from it. He said that on a juice fast, there are no restrictions to the amount of juice intake and therefore if drinking every hour it would be almost impossible for the blood sugar to go below the normal level. He recommends drinking an entire gallon of juice (half juice, half water) and an additional gallon of water per day. He addressed protein intake which was also a concern of mine. Many plants contain protein however he also recommends use of powdered Algae while on the fast. The four most common edible Algae are Spirulina, Chlorella, blue green algae, and Dunaliella (red algae). “The algae content is 60-70% usable protein that contains all of the essential amino acids. This is much higher than the percent protein in beef (which is only 22%), or eggs (12%) or milk (3%).” Dr Foster addressed the issue of weight loss during juice fasting as well. He brought up the point that if weight loss were a health concern, then juice fasting would not be one of the leading recommendations for cancer patients since their disease is degenerative, keeping them below average weight. Any weight loss is worth the nutrients and a superior body weight is a likely outcome of the fast.

His other recommendation was to take both an herbal laxative and a soothing colon detox caplet. These have contents such as cayenne and garlic that may be difficult to get the total amount needed in juicing. The purpose of these are to assure all toxins are completely released from the body and not reabsorbed, as well as to protect against stones from developing while the digestive system has temporarily shut down. Drinking an herbal tea such as Chai Spice will also aid in this effort. The doctor also recommended taking 3 tablespoons a day of organic apple cider vinegar which will dissolve calcium deposits from the muscles and joints and will balance the body’s pH. Here are his recommendations of the best things to be juiced.

• Greens - parsley, kale, beet greens, chard, spinach, dandelion leaf
• Cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, cabbage
• Root vegetables - carrots, beets, sweet potatoes
• Fruits - dark grapes, apples, citrus
• Herbs - yucca root (especially good for arthritis and other inflammations in the body), fennel, spearmint, peppermint, basil, ginger, garlic, green onion, chile pepper, fresh turmeric root (small amounts)
• Wheatgrass juice

http://www.drfostersessentials.com/store/juicing.php

MIRACLE of NATURE: 25 days and counting

I am in complete awe of nature. I believe that everything was created for a purpose and that all those unanswered questions are only unanswered because my little mind can’t comprehend. I am extremely fascinated by medical breakthroughs and miracles of nature. In 2007, David Blancarte a man paralyzed for 20 years was bit by a poisonous brown recluse spider. The poison shocked his nervous system in such a way that he almost died but 5 days later he was well and walking! These are the kinds of things we are discovering every day. Nature abounds with wisdom untapped.

Years ago, before I was a candy buyer, I was a dietetic major (ie nutritional meal planning). I know, talk about starting off on a good track and ending up somewhere else! What originally got me into dietetics was an article I read on Sickle Cell Anemia. This is a disease where the blood cell is curved/crescent and therefore not completely able to pass oxygen through the body. The symptoms are severe and if not treated can lead to death. This hereditary disease is only found in those of African, Mediterranean and South American descent. Back in the 70’s Australian scientists went to Africa to find answers. They found that a near 1/3 of the population had the disease but were not suffering symptoms due to a common root (same family as tapioca) that is a staple in their diet. The nutrients were the perfect dose to allow their cells to unsickle long enough for blood and oxygen pass through, but short enough to keep the individual forever immune to malaria! Interesting, eh?! That really got me excited about studying healing herbs and diet in relation to sickness and disease. Although it is not my profession, it is a hobby I plan to keep up for the rest of my life.

We all know that fruits and vegetables are huge sources of nutrients. The great thing about juicing is that you reduce pounds of product down to a manageable half cup drink. It can even be quite filling. There is a plethora of literature available on all the different health benefits of each kind of fruit or vegetable and tons of yummy recipes. One popular trend is The Master Cleanse which is a mixture of lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Although this might serve the purpose of cleansing, I doubt it will allot the same benefits of incorporating a variety of foods.

Here are some recipes I will try:

STAWBERRY PAPAYA (Good for colon cancer)

1 cup strawberries, hulls intact

papaya, seeded

APPLE YAMMER (good for weight loss)

1 yam, cut in pieces

1 red apple, cored

FRUIT PUNCH (reduces Alzheimers)

1 cup red grapes

1 red apple, cored

5 cherries, pitted

½ lemon, peeled

IT’S A SNAP (strengthens bones)

1 cup snap peas

2 carrots, peeled

1 celery stalk

(Carole Jacobs, The Everything Juicing Book)