GOING VIRAL

When I posted the blog The Big Behind, it was because the year we had prior to this one was filled with personal hardships and losses – one right after the other, over, and over……and over.  Many people in our life would attempt to encourage us by saying that this new year had nowhere to go but up.

Without trying to be cynical, I told them to beware of that thought.  There is no magic in a number, or the flip of one day being New Year’s Eve to the next being New Year’s day.  Life still happens.

And it is happening now in a way that I’ve never seen, and no longer are we experiencing just private trials.  This is worldwide.  And it’s not just this historical pandemic.  It’s racism.  And violence.  And inequality.  And politics.  And violent protests.  And debates.  And relationship strains.  And loss.  And death.  And numerous kinds of epidemics that span the world  in the most provocative way. 

It doesn’t matter which political party you support, or even what country you live in.  ‘Pandemic’, they call it.  Well, I suppose we all call it that now - this contagion that has affected each one of us - whether we have contracted it or not. 

Isolate yourselves.  Don’t be together in groups.  Wear a mask and cover your face.  Social distance.  Don’t go out.  Close your businesses.

New spikes.  Partisan.  Controversy.  Challenge.

It has created a Divide of Togetherness, an Isolation of Fellowship.

Have you heard of the prolific book, Around the World in 80 Days?

If you haven’t, let me fill you in on at least part of the plot:  Phileas Fogg is a rich British gentleman living in solitude. Despite his wealth, Fogg lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision. Very little can be said about his social life other than that he is a member of the Reform Club, where he spends much of every day.

Sound familiar?  We are IN a fog, and, for the most of us, NOT wealthy but definitely living in solitude.  In spite of and / or because of our situation, we live modest lives with habits carried out with a new-normal precision.  Very little can be said about our social lives other than that we are in a pandemic and ordered to stay home, where we spend much of every day. 

Side note: The Reform Club was, until 1981, a club for men only.  No coincidence that systemic inequality, yet another epidemic, rears its ugly head in my analogy.

Oh sure.  We’re opening back up now.  Because everything had to shut down.  But what are we opening back up TO?  We have since seen another spike in cases and even in deaths. 

Yet we have realized our dream of toilet paper on the shelves enough for everyone again.  We are now allowed to buy enough chicken to start our own coop if we wanted to.  We are back to having what we want when we want it and how often we want it, and never feeling satiated.  Which still leaves us feeling anxious, sad, angry, or even despair.

It all can feel hopeless to be in humanitarian crisis and universal disparity.  There is a strange vulnerability and sense of feeling fragile in that.  At least I hope so.

My thought process in that hope lies in something better going viral, spreading worldwide.  Not the propagation of disease, or the fear of abuse or discrimination.  Not intolerance or political fervor.  Not entitlement or privilege.

I want for us, as a people, to remember what this year has been like.  Where each new calamity had us, and the susceptibility that rose in us like a wildfire.  If we forget or try to put it behind us, we will not have grown through it, because without learning from our past, our future is daunting.

There is a path to hope during the chaos of it all.  You can find peace and purpose in this one life we’ve been given no matter what the situation.

Focus on what is good around you and don’t let the negative lodge itself within.  How to do that?  Profoundly count your blessings!  We tend to put what is positive on a shelf and let it collect dust when the hard times seem to be raging. 

I am not implying that we shouldn’t be awake and aware to what is plaguing us as a society.  Nor am I trying to translate finding joy through it all into ignoring it or blocking it all out. I am not saying that we don’t truly suffer through losses and personal trials.

I am, however, saying to seek out a deeper love and appreciation of humanity – go ahead and stand up for what you believe in.  I am also saying to feel empathy and compassion for what is happening to someone else by putting the shoe, worn out as it may be, on your own foot – especially if you expect the same grace from others as troubles arise in your own life.  I am saying that growth, development, and understanding can only come through forging through tough times.

It’s an easy path to follow when we allow negativity to embed itself, and it takes discipline to find the joy through each circumstance.  Stop what you're doing - even if it's just for a moment - close your eyes and breathe slowly.  Test yourself by naming at least three things you're grateful for.  Is it your health?  Your family?  Your faith? 

Not one thing is greater than the other when it comes to blessings.  They are sanctioned by how you view them.  Let that perspective be the plague that takes over your mind, your body, and your spirit.  Let that be the positive test result you live with.  Let that be what you pass along to others so they, too, can share in the boons of  that particular epidemic.   Let it be CONTAGIOUS.

And perhaps that’s the story that will go viral.

NEW YEAR'S PRESENT

LASDI©

Happy New Year! What a wonderful celebration of life we have in each New Year. We put so much stock into it being a chance to make peace with the year of old and look forward with hope to the year to come. That’s why we make resolutions. We resolve to do things better; to make things right.

For some of us, that means removing the toxic things from our life. Those toxic things could be anything from food to our relationships with certain people. I have done this very thing in my own life; in both areas, in fact. I often wonder about that, though. In looking back, I don’t think I waited until the New Year to do so. Can you imagine if I had? If there is something toxic presently in your life, do you say to yourself, “I know New Year’s is six months away, but I think I’ll wait to remove it until then!” If it is toxic, that means it is somehow making you sick. If you have the power to remove what is making you sick immediately, why would you wait?

Most of us use the New Year to eat healthier and / or work out. Right on! If waiting until then is what drives you to be successful at it, then that’s what you should do, as long as it works! But statistics say that 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. 80%?!?

That is not to say I have not done the very same thing myself, of course. In fact, this last January 2nd, I re-started SHEsTox – The Inside-Out Detox & Cleanse. I am the creator, and I have many clients that do it and that also have re-started it, or new clients for the New Year starting it for the first time. I try very hard to live well and eat right during the year. If I didn’t, I am one of those people that would weigh 300 pounds! (It’s happened before!) But like most people, I tend to indulge during the holidays. My week to do so in particular is the week between Christmas and New Year’s. We have so many traditions that are wrapped around food! Chinese takeout on Christmas Eve, Pajamas and PannyCakes on Christmas morning, a smoked goose and brisket with potato kugel for Christmas dinner, any leftover cookies or bread from the neighbors’ Christmas baskets we make (can’t let any go to waste, of course!), traditional vera bizzi (pronounce ‘vedda-beet-see’), full of pasta, for New Year’s Eve, and a greasy, cheesy, double burger with fries on New Year’s Day! Yes. Every single one of those things is tradition. So, given that week of my life, I have no choice but to re-start healthy living!

But that does not mean I don’t try really hard the rest of my year challenging myself to be healthy from the inside-out – in mind, body, and spirit. I don’t wait until each New Year to make a conscious decision to live well. It’s not easy, but absolutely NOTHING good comes easy.

I reflect on the past. If I didn’t, I would have nothing to learn from and no growth in my life. And I always look toward the future. If I didn’t, I would not have goals to meet or success to focus on. But more than either of those things, I try very hard to live in the present. The present is the truth of where we are. And if you cannot find the truth where you are, where else can you expect to find it?

In my experience, I have learned that the continuous search for happiness will cause you to be unhappy, and that the greater part of happiness depends on our outlook and not our circumstances. If you train yourself to live in the present moment and see the blessings for what they are, the things that make you unhappy will be seen as an opportunity for growth. This is not to say bad things don’t or won’t happen, or that we won’t make decisions that aren’t the best, but it is to say there will always be joy to be had if we will only see it and receive it. And that doesn’t have to be set aside for one day of the year! Life’s far too short for that!

So I say again to you, Happy New Year! I pray that every day within it, you try really hard to detoxify yourself from the inside-out in mind, body, and spirit, and look toward your future of success with determination. But mostly, I pray you are able to unwrap the present blessings that surround you!

For the purpose of New Year’s present, I am adding some of my traditions from the week I spoke of above, but with a healthier twist! Enjoy them. They’re my New Year’s present to YOU!

TRADITIONAL NEW YEAR’S VERA BIZZI:

Farfalle Pasta – Farfalle means ‘butterfly’ in Italian, which represents transformation for the New Year

(For healthier version, you can use organic whole grain pasta, or substitute tofu shirataki noodles of any shape)

Kielbasa Sausage – Represents hearty provision for the New Year

(For healthier version, you can use turkey or chicken, or leave it out for Meatless Monday!)

Cabbage – The vegetable leaves represent good health and nutrition for the New Year

Black-Eyed Peas – This lowly pea represents humility throughout the New Year (I use dried, but feel welcome to use two cans, drained, instead)

Onions – Represents the sprouting of growth and rebirth in your New Year

Garlic – This odorous bulb represents continued breath of life throughout the New Year

Carrots – Represents great vision in your life for the New Year

(additional ingredients for this recipe: extra virgin olive oil (evoo), sea salt & black pepper to taste, 1 tbs garlic powder, chicken, beef, or vegetable stock)

If using dried beans, clean and cook according to instructions, sprinkling with sea salt and pepper to taste as you go. Remember, when it comes to salt, you can always add but you can’t take away, so be careful!

Cook pasta according to instructions but using stock of your choice in place of water. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Add cooked or canned black-eyed peas and stir.

Heat a large pan, dry, on medium-high heat for two minutes, then add enough evoo to barely cover the bottom and let heat for another two minutes. Add one small chopped onion and four finely chopped cloves of garlic and stir. Peel and chop three carrots and add to the pan. Cook until barely caramelized, about five minutes, stirring only once in between.

While this is cooking, slice your kielbasa sausage. Add to the pan and cook another ten minutes, stirring only once or twice in between. While the pan mixture cooks, rough chop half a head of cabbage. Toss with ¼ cup evoo, sea salt and pepper to taste, and garlic powder. Broil for ten-to-fifteen minutes, until desired consistency, stirring about twice in between cooking time.

Add sausage mixture and cooked cabbage to your beans and pasta and toss well. Good luck! (Get it??)

BUTTERNUT SQUASH PANNY-CAKES

(this recipe can also be found on my SHE Sure Can Cook Blog HERE!)

2 cups butternut squash

extra virgin olive oil

1 cup almond flour

4 eggs

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp baking soda

coconut oil

For my butternut squash, I bought pre-peeled and cubed at the grocery store. It’s just easier and faster. I tossed them with a little bit of evoo and placed them on a baking sheet. I broiled them for about ten minutes until they were cooked through, and then put them into a standing mixer bowl. If you don’t have a standing mixer, a hand mixer will do just fine! Place all other ingredients up to coconut oil into mixing bowl and mix until blended into a loose batter consistency.

Heat heavy pan (I use my cast-iron griddle, flat side!) without oil for about two minutes. Add about a tablespoon of coconut oil before each panny-cake prior to cooking and adjust heat with each one accordingly. Ladle or pour desired amount onto pan and cook over medium heat until browned. Just like a regular panny-cake, when you see the bubbles on the upside, flip it carefully and cook the other side until brown.

NOTES: This is a great low-carb substitute for bread, which is what I intended for a breakfast sandwich for The Hubster; however, if you would like a sweeter panny-cake, add 1 teaspoon of (organic) sugar to the batter and add your favorite (organic or fully natural) syrup after cooking and prior to eating! I just squashed the bacon, egg, and cheese right between two huge pieces and watched it disappear with a smile on The Hubster’s face!

BUTTERNUT SQUASH KUGEL

2 16-oz store-prepped butternut squash cubes

1 small onion, chopped finely

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg

1 cup heavy cream

½ tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp garlic powder

Toss butternut squash, onion, and cheddar cheese together in a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish. Beat together egg and heavy cream and pour over the squash / onion / cheese mixture. Add seasonings and carefully fold together until well mixed. Pat down a bit so that it’s a somewhat flat on top. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 45 minutes. Let sit for a minimum of five minutes before serving!

NOTES: This is FANTASTIC for all you low-carbers like me! (Year-round!)

I AM FLAWED. NOW PASS THE BUTTER.

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.

I am flawed.  On the inside and on-the-out.  And not just for me - but for women everywhere since the dawn of time - weight loss has been one of those flaws.  Well, I'm not sure weight LOSS is the struggle so much as weight GAIN. And loss.  And gain.

This is something I have struggled with my entire life.  Even when I was in high school and built like a brick poop-house and had the tiniest little waist, I had those thunder thighs.  And believe me, I know I did because those 'helpful peers' in school would tell me so.  "Hey, Thunder Thighs!  Where'd ya get those thunder thighs??"  Clever.  Very clever.

When I got pregnant with Chelsea, the time bomb kept ticking.  I gained 120 pounds.  I literally gained an entire person in nine months.  And I don't mean the 7-pound little person I was carrying.  And I had 'those' family members that liked to have fun at my expense and thought nothing of bestowing upon me my new nickname, Eclipse.  Nine months later, I got pregnant with Cameron and the weight gain continued, as did the new (and oh-so-funny) nicknames.

And let us not forget the people that dubbed me the Butter Body.  What's that, you ask?  Well you've heard of a butter face?  Where they say everything looks good on her but-her-face?  I was the opposite.  The people (I know you meant well, Y'all) who said, "You have such a pretty FACE!"  Which meant everything else was either not note-worthy, or it would be a shame to mention.  But-her-body.  Get it?

I am in the present.  I have since lost the weight, and it took hard work.  And it continues to be a struggle on a daily basis.  But so much of it (besides the eating right and exercise, obviously!) is about the heart of the story.  It is about living healthy in mind, body, and spirit. Those people that called me names, whether it was all in good fun, out of mean-ness, or their own insecurities; those people had no idea that no one is exempt from allowing that to define a person, and it indeed worked on me and made me unhealthy - on the inside and on-the-out - for a very long time.

I am in my 40s.  And I LOVE IT.  There is abundant power in the age that allows you to feel your sexiest, even though your body is not the same; or feel your best, even though you're so much older.  But it is not all about the age of wisdom and experience that has helped me learn to love and respect who I was, who I am and who I have become.  

I am a woman of faith.  There is a quiet and serene humbling that happens as you grow and develop in the life of having the Creator lead you that allows you to understand all are created, and a very large respect happens for all bodies that house the souls that are people - no matter what they look like.  You have more of a respect for the wrinkles and lines in a person's face that are proof that none of us are immune to life-and-death.  You have more of a respect for scars on a person that are proof of the battles they have fought.  You have more of a respect for every body-type that are proof that we are all different, yet created equal.  But it is not all about the strong foundation of faith I have that has helped me to learn to love and respect who I was, who I am,  and who I have become.

I have a husband.  He is also my friend.  And he is also at that age of wisdom and experience, and is also a person of faith, and continues to grow and develop in that.  And he loves me.  For who I've been, who I am, and who I have YET to become.  On the inside and on-the-out.

Example:  I am washing dishes.  The Hubster comes up behind me and grabs me around my mid-section playfully.  I, being coy (and a bit embarrassed about my mid-section, if we're being honest), say, "Hey!  Don't grab my rolls!"  And his retort?  He closes his eyes like he is picturing a smooth whiskey with a nice cigar, or a juicy steak wrapped in bacon, and says, "Mmmmmm.  Get me some BUTTER for dem rolls!"  I guess that makes me a Butter Body FOR REAL. 

I am grateful.  I am blessed to have that kind of love and friendship, and I allow it to have power over me and give me confidence.  He calls me beautiful every day, whether I've got my eyebrows and lips on, or if my hair is in a knot and I'm bra-less and in my loungy pants for the second day in a row.  And he knows I'm flawed on the inside and on-the-out.  And he doesn't care.  He loves me.  He lifts me up, edifies me, and encourages me.  He celebrates me.  

So who are you surrounding yourself with and what kind of power do you allow them to have over you?  Who do you allow to be relevant in your life?  Are you judging people for their outsides, yet never wanting to be judged for your own outsides?  Or do you allow yourself to see people as beautiful; flaws and all?  

Lift up, edify, and encourage people.  Celebrate them.  Celebrate you.  On the inside and on-the-out.  Do your best to live healthy in mind, body, and spirit - and pass that around.

And do me a favor:  PASS THE BUTTER.

Designed: A Guest Blog

Please do not copy this photo - all rights (reservedly) reserved through The Durham Family

Well, this month's Guest Blogger is very special to me.  You can rest assured you're in for something wonderful when you read her words.  She will tell you where to find her other work in the post, but I like that I can find her by my side whenever I need her.  Carly Durham is a woman of rare quality and substance and I admire and adore her.  You can look for a large dedication to her in my upcoming book - and an even larger one in my heart of hearts.  Love you, Car.  Readers:  READ ON.

Writing a guest blog for a woman who I consider to be nailing it when it comes to being a woman who can do it all (which she herself admits, she does not and we do not have to do it all- be it all, she just wants to encourage us to do what we do overflowing with passion and love) surprisingly brought up some shoved away insecurities.  I guest blog from time to time for random internet blog buddies and write occasionally over at adoption.com but a post for Life-As-She-Does-It felt daunting. And then she had to go and get the witty Katy Livingston to go first, leaving me the follow up post. I stand little chance. It’s like signing up for a meal train to bring my store-bought chicken or grilled cheese sandwiches the night after your foodie friend has listed she is making lambs with chimi-churi sauce and homemade buttered-pecan ice-cream. The "look-ahead" is a real technique to make sure you are not setting up your people for disappointment. Now here I offer you my boxed mac n’cheese with added hotdogs weenies after you just ate homemade beef bourguignon.  Go ahead a lower your expectations my people. 

While I no longer fear that I will be childless, my lack of fertility is a theme that runs deep in my life.  Insecurity attached to infertility molds my thoughts and shapes my worldview.
What does it say about me? About God? About who I am suppose to be?
Honestly, I give it way to much power. Why do I let it take root so deeply?
Here is where we are at: We have never stopped trying. Really, how can I stop? After 5 years of charting, peeing, calculating, I know this stuff down cold and am constantly aware of where I am at in my cycle. Woman was created to bear children. Go forth and multiply. Labor and Birth.
What does that say about me that I do not join my fellow woman in this path?
In a moment of doubt and insecurity, I sought counsel and comfort in a friend after a month of disappointment and grief.

"It's not so much that I ache for pregnancy so much anymore, I just feel flawed to my very core.  My body….. It's just I……… How come I don't do what I was designed to do! I hate my ovaries. UGH!"

Speaking TRUTH over me, she replied:

"I hear you what you are saying, on a whole, as a woman, what you feel women were designed to do. BUT YOU. YOU.  You were fearfully and wonderfully made and designed. There is great purpose in that."

Designed.

Can I hold on to that promise? Can I uproot the belief that I am failing in my "role" as a woman and rather plant the conviction that I was designed? That I was indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13).

And further, when I question this truth, what am I saying about God?

Then I really dig in a little more, when I question this truth, what am I saying about my uniquely designed son?

I firmly believe he is fearfully and wonderfully made with this incredible extra chromosome. I would not for one-second question his design. Every inch! Every chromosome! (ohhh goodness- have you heard that he is the cutest baby in the world - because word is spreading fast!!!)

Designed.

Thankfully, God, He is not afraid of the dark places my doubts and insecurities take me sometimes and He finds me there. 

He would also be pretty cool about it if you wanted him to go ahead and shine some light on your dark places of doubt and disbelief if you want to ask him. Because while we cannot all rock turbans on hair and giant rings on our fingers like She does, we all have been designed to rock our own unique self.  Sometimes we start to doubt that.

Life-As-She-Does-It friends, you are women so unique. If you stumbled here to read about a legit recipe to prepare with hopes to razzle-dazzle your people for a meal train, or you have come seeking encouragement on how to make the magnificent mundane, know that life as You do it has great purpose and significance. Perhaps you are fashioned to be the mom that wears yoga pants every day and puts on make-up once a year for your husbands work Christmas party but you read books to your kids in the best character voices and make a slammin-good lasagna. Or maybe you are the woman who does not leave the house without her lashes on and lips drawn, who started her own business and is not looking to start a family as she is diving into the calling God put on her heart. Either way. Every way.
 
Designed.

Own it. You are a created woman. You've nailed it.

When Life Is Chronic, BE BIONIC

Photo Source: dreamstime

Some say it was from all the running and athletics I did when I was younger.  Some say it was from old injuries.  Legend even has it that it was the weight of my purse.  The Hubster says it was from the weight of all the jewels in my crown.  I like to think it was from so much prayer, but I'm guessing not.  Whatever the cause, I'm 44, and recently had to have both of my knees replaced.

My recovery has been, also according to legend, nothing short of amazing.  My surgeon, (Dr. Vishal Shah - GO SEE THIS GUY!), says I'm an animal!  

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Perhaps it was the blinged-out walker:

These images are © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Perhaps it was my physical therapist (Tyler Humphrey at First Colony Aquatics - go see HIM, too!):

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

All the prep from my chiro, Dr. Derek Maxson and my trainers, Cameron Garcia and Jan-Michael Jenkins at Legacy Fitness (ya GOTTA go see them!!) may have played a part......

These images are © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

Perhaps it was the UNBELIEVABLE support I had from The Hubster, the kiddos, the friends, family, and community (too many pics to place here, but you know EXACTLY who you are).

People keep ranting to me and asking me how I healed so quickly; some accused me of being just plain crazy.  (I'm fairly certain that is not a healing agent, but I could be wrong, as they are mostly right about the crazy part)  All I know is worry gives a small thing a big shadow.  We have been through so much together as a family; because of that, we have learned that faith and hope, and not giving something more stress than is due, is the main cocktail recipe for success.  I am grateful for my new knees in this New Year.  I'm bionic, now, after all!

I'm also back on my knees in prayer, and what I'm praying for is an opportunity to give something - even if it is some small thing - to those of you who read this blog.  (Thank you, by the way - I'm fairly certain you are a small family) What could that be, you ask??

JOY.

My hopes are for this blog to be refined and become bionic - much like my new knees. I want to work more in the community and want you to join me. So please keep a watch on the Servant's Corridor page, or even send me a way to add to it to be able to help someone you know.

Who surrounds you? Who do you surround yourself WITH? Is there constant negativity or bitterness trying to steal your joy? Are there circumstances that take away your desire to believe life is good, even when it isn't? REFUSE to give in to that. Life is too short, and you have a purpose here. And help those around you who need that same joy find it.  If you haven't started already, you have a living legacy to build, and one to leave behind.  

BE NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING. Find your joy - and keep it.  Be......BIONIC.

Two Weeks to Live

Photo Source: https://pixabay.com/en/calendar-date-time-month-week-660670/

Very recently, a dear friend of mine named Seth found out he had cancer.  Not just cancer, but CANCER.  Very advanced Medullary Thyroid cancer that had spread to his neck, throat, and spine.  He was told he would have to undergo a surgery that would take approximately 12 hours, with no guarantee of life on the turn-out.  Literally, NONE.  He is young, with two teenage boys and a beautiful wife, Charity, and they all love him VERY much. One day on social media with only a couple of weeks to go before the surgery was to take place, I saw Charity had posted something that will stay with me for the rest of my life here on this earth, and I'd like to share it with you:

"If you thought you only had two weeks to live what would you do?  Go on that great vacation somewhere, quit your job, spend all the money you had, give your money to someone in need, ask someone for forgiveness, tell someone you forgive them, buy that amazing car, go on a mission trip, skydive, scuba dive, work, spend every moment you can with the ones you love soaking up every detail about them; the way they smile, laugh, cry, or look?  Would you want to breathe every moment of them in and never forget it???

That is a question most of us may never have to answer but for Seth, that is a question, in reality, he is facing (the surgery is very serious with life-or-death outcome).  I have caught My Love looking at me longer, holding me closer, touching me every time he passes or is near.  When he hugs the boys or I he will breathe in very deeply and sigh.  The other day as he was looking at me, I saw him out of the corner of my eye and I asked him,"Are you ok?"  He asked the million dollar question: "If you thought you only had two weeks to live, what would you do?"  I sighed and said, "This right here, I wouldn't change a thing!"  He replied, "Me, too!"  So for a week now we pray more together as a family, we hug more, we tell each other how proud we are of each other and that God brought us all together, we listen more intently to others, absorbing every moment.  None of us are guaranteed another day on this earth, funny that something like cancer can magnify everything!  He uses everything for His glory, everything.  Satan doesn't even get sickness!!!  God always knows what He is doing!
"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which can never be shaken, never be moved. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people now and forever." Psalms 125:1-2
Even when bad things of this world come into our lives or try to have an effect on us, it CANNOT overshadow us!! We are all strong in the Lord!  His mountains surround and protect us from storms so that we can rest!
So what would YOU do? I know what I'd do......nothing but be present at this moment, absorbing and breathing in all the Lord's glory of THIS day!"

WOW, right????  I'd like to think that if I was in Seth's or Charity's position, I'd react the same way, but who really knows?!?  I DO know, however, that what holds true is that we should live in the moment, always remembering that we are not promised tomorrow, or to grow old and gray; to remember that sickness and death are allowed in order to bring faith.  Does it always bring that faith?  Of course not, sadly.  But through others that are much like Seth, it at least brings awareness to how small we are and how much control we DON'T have.  The faith - and even joy - comes when you realize that very fact.

So what would YOU do if you knew you only had two weeks to live?  Turns out, Seth made it through the surgery with flying colors, cancer-free and a better man for it.  But through his tragedy-to-triumph story, it helped grow my faith even stronger, and made me want to build a better legacy - the one I'm living and the one for those I leave behind.

Not one of us are immune - so live this life you're given to the fullest, and absorb every.  single.  moment.

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." ~Dolly Parton

"He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." ~Matthew 5:45

"The tiniest seed knows that in order to grow, it needs to be dropped in dirt, covered in darkness, and struggle to reach the light." ~Anonymous

Please do not copy this photo - all rights reserved through the Mohorn Family

(Oil) Pull My Finger

Photo Source: Fat Girl Kitchen via educatedhomemaker.com

In this great and intricate world, it never ceases to amaze me how things work down to every single detail.  

Recently, there has been a bandwagon that a lot of people are jumping on for oil pulling.  Oil pulling is when you take organic oil - typically coconut for its anti-microbial properties - and swish it around in your mouth for between five-to-twenty minutes and it magically cleans your mouth, heals gum disease, detoxes your body, and whitens your teeth.  Oil.  In your mouth.  OIL......AND IT WORKS.  We were oil pulling in my household before oil pulling was cool.  (IS it cool?)  It cured - yes, CURED - two cavities I had.  Truly a healthy pull.

I've discovered there are a LOT of things that have the 'pull' factor.  Let's take thyme, for example.  (Ain't nobody got THYME fo' dat!) Yes, the herb.  Most people take it from the bottom and pull it from there to get that fragrant lemony and woodsy flavor into their food.  That's already a good pull factor.  Did you know if you hold it from the top and pull, the part of the stick that you can still use and cook will automatically come off?  So this is a win-win pull!

What about pork?  We don't eat a lot of it in my home, so when we do, it's a real treat.  And pork (especially BACON!) is just GOOD.  So what could possibly make pork taste even more delicious?  PULLED pork, of course!  That's a porky pull!

One of my favorite pulls?  Wine cork from the bottle.  Funny how that works.  Now, there has been a time or two when I have had to push that sucker INTO the bottle, but it sure isn't as good.  I had to struggle to get the wine to pour because the cork kept getting in the way, not to mention the tiny bits and pieces of cork I kept sipping into my mouth.  Bleh.  But when pulled, it makes a slight pop-sound (music to my ears), and the aroma of the wine can even be breathed in from the cork itself.  Pure delight of a pull!

Another one of life's great pulls is to pull someone's leg......but only when it's all in good fun and you keep your hands to yourself.  Yankin' yer chain pull.  

If you're among the lucky ones, you can pull strings.  Pulling strings has been done since the dawn of time, and can most definitely be a help in times of need.  This pull means you've actually got "pull"!

But above all pulls, I love and appreciate the finger pull.  I happen to have two boys, a son-in-law, AND The Hubster.  (And not only boys do the finger pull.  The Daughts has been known to make this request a time or two in her younger years!)  I've been asked to pull more fingers than I can shake a stick at.  But whether I ever follow through on the request or not, it's the funny kind of pull that brings a smile to my face, regardless of the end, uh - RESULT.  And that smile is a good thing!  Especially if you participate in the oil pulling - those smiling teeth are bright and shiny!

What kind of pull keeps your mind, body, and spirit in balance in your life?  Whether it’s the kind of pull that helps keep your body healthy, or one that brings a smile to your face for emotional well-being, or perhaps a spiritual pull that you can't (or shouldn't) ignore, life is chocked full of the kind of intricate pulls that won't be pushed around.

Step on a Crack

https://www.flickr.com/photos/markjsebastian/3425397343/

We've all heard the expression, right?  “Step on a crack”…you can finish it; I know you can…”break your mother’s back!!”

Though I think that is quite insensitive to the mothers of the world, when it comes to me, if I step on a crack, I usually break SOMETHING.  I have had more broken bones, torn ligaments, fractured whatevers, cracked something-or-others, and ‘itises” of the whatchamacallits than anyone I know.  True story.

It is very difficult to have an opinion these days, especially if you’re me.  I am a bit of a nut-bucket (no secret), and for that reason, people sometimes find it hard to take me seriously.  For instance, when I am touting all the good reasons to be a clean and healthy eater, most people – not all, but most – guffaw at organics or the thought of taking processed foods out of their diets.  (Nice usage of ‘guffaw’, right??)

But I’m here to tell you I have PROOF of what I am posting about today…so keep yer guffaws to yerselves.   (Totally went Cowboy Camp Speak on ya there; sorry)

This guy – we’ll call him Dr. Derek Maxson, since that’s his name – is a chiropractor from another PLANET.  First day, I walked (limped) into his office and I say, “I've got this knee thing.”  By the time I walked out – I WALKED OUT.  No limp! 

Next, I walk in and say, “So I've been running now!  Thanks for fixing my knee!  But I've run myself into a bunion.”  Low-and-behold, bunion gone within minutes.  Another time: “Cough, cough!!”  (That’s me coughing)  I hand him a hand-written note saying I have zero voice, sore throat, ear ache, AND I have to sing the very next morning.  BOOM.  Voice back by the next day after one of those “adjustments”.   AND he adjusted my EAR to fix it.  MY EAR, PEOPLE.

But recently, a diverticulitis and gall bladder attack set me back.  (It’s an epidemic these days, but I've been dealing with this since I was a kid) I mean it was such terrible pain.  I walked in with swelling that made me look five-months pregnant and pain shooting through me all up in my down-below.  (And this is AFTER an emergency-room visit did NOT help me) I did what he asked (some crazy contraption and a different kind of adjustment) and I walked out of there moments – literally MOMENTS – later with no swelling and relief from the pain enough to tend to it from home properly.

Last but certainly not least, I recently had a sweet friend yawn and dislocate his jaw.  Don’t laugh; it COULD happen to you!   It was not only painful, it was scary.  And it was late at night.  But Dr. Derek Maxson (I’m starting to sound like a commercial for him at this point) got up, met my friend at his clinic, and gently and patiently adjusted and healed his jaw. 

I know – not only do I sound like I’m selling you on a pyramid scheme of some sort or trying to get you to buy a time-share, but I’m also making him sound like some sort of weird superhero.  Well Folks, that’s because HE IS.  (Minus the pyramid scheme/time share part!) 

Me telling you all about my chiropractor may sound like quite the little thing in the grand scheme of life.  But I think we MUST enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.  Thank you for helping to keep me well, Derek.  My health is a big thing.  That’s just my opinion.

Trust and adjust!!

Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/perpetualplum/3995213761