We can and do eat anything! We went out to eat with the grandparents tonight to a place where the food was served buffet style or you could get Hibachi grilled on the spot after picking out the foods you wanted to cook. It was pretty unhealthy, nasty stuff from a health food perspective, but we are happy to be free to share in fellowship with the ones we love. My kids had never seen anything like it and were amazed at all of the choices. The grandparents had fun seeing their reactions to everything. Overall it was gross: too much fried foods, too much sugar, too much processed foods, unhealthy fats, table salt, etc., etc., but we had a great time, and I didn't have to cook or do any dishes.
But I do not need to fear, because it was not the GAPS diet that healed us; it was God who healed us! The kingdom of God is not about food or drink, but about righteousness, and about peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me! He gives life to my mortal body! He healed us! God set us free from the bondage of having to follow a strict diet in order to be well. Not only did He save us from our sin, He saved us from our sickness, too. We are well because God is love, and Love heals!
I am walking in faith everyday and seeing miracles everyday, because God is good all the time, His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations, nothing is impossible for God, He rewards those who earnestly seek Him, and His WORD is TRUE! I have come to a place where I believe His word over my past experiences. His word trumps my experience. According to our faith, it will be done to us. Fear is the opposite of faith, and I have let go of fear and choose to walk in faith.
My other blog is about my current walk with the Lord. He is amazing! Check it out!
My children and I are all healed of multiple GAPS symptoms: anger, frustration, eczema, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, anxiety, ADD, reactions to most foods and chemicals, and much more. I am nearly 37 weeks pregnant with my sixth child and this is the first pregnancy without pre-term contractions or any of the pregnancy complaints that plagued my earlier pregnancies. God is good. I am truly healed!
It is Good News! Jesus is Good News! Seek Him!
September 7, 2012
July 1, 2012
Vitamin D, Exercise, and a Heart Full of Joy
I walk almost every day. I walk in the sun, so I get Vitamin D and I get exercise. I think this may be the reason that all of my kids have been sick, but I have stayed well. I have had a few slight symptoms and some fatigue, as if my body were indeed fighting something off, but my kids have been outright sick over the past four weeks.
First it was my younger three, with the youngest, unvaccinated child, being the least sick, having the fewest symptoms and the shortest duration of symptoms. Coincidence? Then we had a break for a few days and the oldest two children got sick. They were absolutely wiped out. It has been nearly two weeks without having the help of my older two with chores and childcare. My eight year old has graduated to big kid status, and she is very proud of herself, so this has been a good thing, all in all.
My heart is so full of joy as I realize all of the things I have to be thankful for. Things just get better and better all the time!
This past week I realized that the urgency that my 3rd and 4th children had with needing to go to the restroom is gone, and has been for a while. We can drive across town and back without having to make an emergency stop. They can actually hold it for a bit when asked, but often, they do not even have the strong urge to go. Amazing!
I also found that these same two children are having more dry beds in the mornings, meaning fewer nighttime accidents. In fact, this morning I had absolutely NO laundry to do! Amazing!
Last week our three year old finally decided it was time to start using the potty and wear underwear. He is putting pee and poo in the potty everyday, and to top it all off, his poos are normal, brown, fully digested poos (little brown logs), which is a first, as his poos have always been a sloppy, undigested mess, hence my procrastination to spend any time working on potty training, as the messes are just too messy to deal with. That was a really long sentence. I hope it made sense. Also, this week he decided to start using the big potty, instead of the little potty seat. Praise the Lord!
Our five year old discovered the Hooked on Phonics curriculum, as I have been rearranging things to prepare for next year's schooling. (I am turning the two bedrooms into study rooms during the day for the two big kids, so they can concentrate better when they need to get away from the chaos of living with so many younger siblings.) So, CKS is flying through the curriculum and is having a blast earning new books and stickers everyday. SSS, our three year old, also wants to learn to read, so he is learning his letter sounds with ABC the KEY and loving it. Every time he learns all of the sounds a letter can say, he earns a new letter bag, which I created for him. He is so proud. He knows the four sounds that "a" says, and he knows the sound that "b" says. I'm so proud of my boys!
My youngest three have been taking ISR swim lessons for the past 4-5 weeks. My eight year old graduated in 4 weeks after she passed her test of swim-float-swim in winter clothes. My boys are close to testing in summer clothes. They can both swim and roll to a float. They can both float and roll to a swim. They need a little more time to put it all together and get themselves to the edge or the steps. They were really scared at first, but now they love it and they are so very proud of themselves. Our non-GAPS selves celebrate their hard work in the pool with an ice-cream treat everyday. They love that! Bonus: washing their hair, or any part of their body, is no longer a struggle because they love the water now and they are not afraid to get water in their ears or on their faces. WooHoo!
I also noticed that there are absolutely NO traces of autism left in my 4th child! His eye contact is brilliant. He loves to look at me and tell me all kinds of amazing things that only a five year old could come up with. He figures things out! He also cares deeply for others. I asked him to sign a card for his favorite babysitter, who was graduating, and he asked me what kinds of things she liked. I told him animals and horses. He decided to draw her a picture of a horse. I quote, he said, "I love drawing what other people like." Is that not the coolest thing ever!!! I just do NOT take these things for granted anymore!
Along the same lines, our oldest, who fit the Asperger's Syndrome description quite well for years, is now volunteering his time to help others. He helps me with the little ones and with chores, cheerfully when asked, and sometimes he even offers when he notices that I could use some help. This past week, his sister was sicker than him and he asked her if he could get her something. He did this regularly. This coming from the same kid who, as a little guy, pulled his sister's finger out of the VCR causing her skin to be peeled back creating a large gash gushing lots of blood, put his hands over his ears and screamed for me to make her stop crying because it was too loud and it hurt his ears. Now, he sees when others are hurting or are in need. Now, he figures things out and acts appropriately, more often than not. Amazing! Praise God!!!
I also noticed that when the kids were sick, they were mentally fine. My older girl used to get really anxious and she would look pained and miserable as she pushed her legs against the couch cushions. She needed to push against something. She needed that tactile input to help put her at ease. I noticed that she handled being sick with a positive attitude. All of the kids were fine, sick, but fine. Praise the Lord! Yet another sign that we have been healed.
I continue to praise God for an amazing pregnancy. I am now 27 weeks pregnant and I am not having all of the strong, even painful, Braxton Hicks contractions that I had with all of my other pregnancies. I also am not suffering from other common pregnancy ailments. I have varicose veins, but they no longer cause me pain or trouble. They may gross people out, but they do not bother me, all glory to my Heavenly Father, who has heard my prayer and relieved me from the pain.
Because of all of the sickness, my house is a wreck, but I am not. That is amazing!
There may be more, but that is all of the big stuff. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!! Praise the Lord!!! He is worthy of our praise! He is love, and my love for Him just grows and grows and grows, as I learn to trust in Him. My heart is full of joy!
First it was my younger three, with the youngest, unvaccinated child, being the least sick, having the fewest symptoms and the shortest duration of symptoms. Coincidence? Then we had a break for a few days and the oldest two children got sick. They were absolutely wiped out. It has been nearly two weeks without having the help of my older two with chores and childcare. My eight year old has graduated to big kid status, and she is very proud of herself, so this has been a good thing, all in all.
My heart is so full of joy as I realize all of the things I have to be thankful for. Things just get better and better all the time!
This past week I realized that the urgency that my 3rd and 4th children had with needing to go to the restroom is gone, and has been for a while. We can drive across town and back without having to make an emergency stop. They can actually hold it for a bit when asked, but often, they do not even have the strong urge to go. Amazing!
I also found that these same two children are having more dry beds in the mornings, meaning fewer nighttime accidents. In fact, this morning I had absolutely NO laundry to do! Amazing!
Last week our three year old finally decided it was time to start using the potty and wear underwear. He is putting pee and poo in the potty everyday, and to top it all off, his poos are normal, brown, fully digested poos (little brown logs), which is a first, as his poos have always been a sloppy, undigested mess, hence my procrastination to spend any time working on potty training, as the messes are just too messy to deal with. That was a really long sentence. I hope it made sense. Also, this week he decided to start using the big potty, instead of the little potty seat. Praise the Lord!
Our five year old discovered the Hooked on Phonics curriculum, as I have been rearranging things to prepare for next year's schooling. (I am turning the two bedrooms into study rooms during the day for the two big kids, so they can concentrate better when they need to get away from the chaos of living with so many younger siblings.) So, CKS is flying through the curriculum and is having a blast earning new books and stickers everyday. SSS, our three year old, also wants to learn to read, so he is learning his letter sounds with ABC the KEY and loving it. Every time he learns all of the sounds a letter can say, he earns a new letter bag, which I created for him. He is so proud. He knows the four sounds that "a" says, and he knows the sound that "b" says. I'm so proud of my boys!
My youngest three have been taking ISR swim lessons for the past 4-5 weeks. My eight year old graduated in 4 weeks after she passed her test of swim-float-swim in winter clothes. My boys are close to testing in summer clothes. They can both swim and roll to a float. They can both float and roll to a swim. They need a little more time to put it all together and get themselves to the edge or the steps. They were really scared at first, but now they love it and they are so very proud of themselves. Our non-GAPS selves celebrate their hard work in the pool with an ice-cream treat everyday. They love that! Bonus: washing their hair, or any part of their body, is no longer a struggle because they love the water now and they are not afraid to get water in their ears or on their faces. WooHoo!
I also noticed that there are absolutely NO traces of autism left in my 4th child! His eye contact is brilliant. He loves to look at me and tell me all kinds of amazing things that only a five year old could come up with. He figures things out! He also cares deeply for others. I asked him to sign a card for his favorite babysitter, who was graduating, and he asked me what kinds of things she liked. I told him animals and horses. He decided to draw her a picture of a horse. I quote, he said, "I love drawing what other people like." Is that not the coolest thing ever!!! I just do NOT take these things for granted anymore!
Along the same lines, our oldest, who fit the Asperger's Syndrome description quite well for years, is now volunteering his time to help others. He helps me with the little ones and with chores, cheerfully when asked, and sometimes he even offers when he notices that I could use some help. This past week, his sister was sicker than him and he asked her if he could get her something. He did this regularly. This coming from the same kid who, as a little guy, pulled his sister's finger out of the VCR causing her skin to be peeled back creating a large gash gushing lots of blood, put his hands over his ears and screamed for me to make her stop crying because it was too loud and it hurt his ears. Now, he sees when others are hurting or are in need. Now, he figures things out and acts appropriately, more often than not. Amazing! Praise God!!!
I also noticed that when the kids were sick, they were mentally fine. My older girl used to get really anxious and she would look pained and miserable as she pushed her legs against the couch cushions. She needed to push against something. She needed that tactile input to help put her at ease. I noticed that she handled being sick with a positive attitude. All of the kids were fine, sick, but fine. Praise the Lord! Yet another sign that we have been healed.
I continue to praise God for an amazing pregnancy. I am now 27 weeks pregnant and I am not having all of the strong, even painful, Braxton Hicks contractions that I had with all of my other pregnancies. I also am not suffering from other common pregnancy ailments. I have varicose veins, but they no longer cause me pain or trouble. They may gross people out, but they do not bother me, all glory to my Heavenly Father, who has heard my prayer and relieved me from the pain.
Because of all of the sickness, my house is a wreck, but I am not. That is amazing!
There may be more, but that is all of the big stuff. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!! Praise the Lord!!! He is worthy of our praise! He is love, and my love for Him just grows and grows and grows, as I learn to trust in Him. My heart is full of joy!
June 21, 2012
Eating Off GAPS - Effects of Diet Change
In November of 2011, we quit the GAPS Diet and started to eat a more conventional diet. We did so because I began to seek the Lord and discovered in God's word that when Jesus healed people, he often said that it was their faith that healed them or according to their faith it would be done to them. He also said that anything is possible for Him who believes. ( I was reading through the Gospels.) I read God's word and I prayed for faith to believe. God gave me faith and I took us all off of the GAPS diet. Not only did we not see regressions, but we began to improve. We could eat anything! Now, all five of my children and I have regular bowel movements everyday. Eczema is gone! (with the exception of two tiny patches, one on each girl) Eye contact is great in all of my kids. No signs of autism in any of my kids. Everyone is happy and engaged in family life. Everyone is growing and developing and learning on or above level. Praise the Lord! It is a true miracle. One day we were reacting to everything and were imprisoned by a very strict diet and fear of chemical exposure everywhere we went. The next day we were free from fear and were not reacting to anything. All glory to God, we are free!
Granted, this is the simplified version of our story. The details and the journey are not quite that simple.
Since having been healed, we have had to figure out how to eat, what to spend our time and money on, and what is important in life. We continue to take some probiotics. We continue to include homemade sauerkraut with our meals daily. We continue to have broth, but not everyday, mostly because it takes effort to make it and now that we are off GAPS no one want to eat boiled meats. Hmm. We continue to buy mostly organic and natural. We continue to buy pastured eggs and meats. However, we also eat out and buy packaged foods. Lately, we have had lots of ice cream, sometimes ice cream with corn syrup or HFCS. (YUCK!) I aim to buy packaged products with a short list made up of mostly organic ingredients. But, we had been eating out a lot and have been purchasing more and more convenience foods.
I have to say this. It just isn't satisfying. Now that we can eat anything, we waste a lot of food, mostly because we eat a bit and then do not want the rest. The leftovers do not seem to appeal to anyone. I can't get anyone to eat the leftovers, and I don't want them. Therefore, we move on to the next food, which does not get finished, and no one wants those leftovers either. Such waste! While we were eating whole foods only, we enjoyed every bite, ate more than seemed humanly possible, and never let any of it go to waste. Leftovers were eaten as is or were remade into something new. We did not have lots of bottles, jars, and boxes to recycle. I kind of miss the GAPS/whole foods way of life, but I do not miss being bound by it. It was a lot of work and it controlled our lives. I loved the way everything got used and little was wasted. I loved being satisfied by the food and not feeling hungry all the time. I loved being able to create new dishes when we added a new food and the excitement that everyone felt when we made something for the first time. It is amazing how fast we gave up the excitement of eating out. Nothing sounds very good or appetizing. Hmm.
Also, I know that we are truly healed because everyone is growing and learning and because everyone is happy and on level in every area of development. Empathy and caring for the needs of others has blossomed at our house. When everyone was sick, they just cared that someone would meet their own needs, but now they care about the needs of others, and that is so awesome. However, when we were on the GAPS diet, we rarely got sick. Now that we are eating rice, bread, crackers, sugar, etc., we have been sick a lot. These last few weeks have been really intense. Three bugs in three weeks. I know it is a bug because the symptoms go from one kid to the next to the next.
So, no more signs of auto immune deficiency or autism, but our immune systems seem to be less effective to fight off normal bugs due to the high sugar content of our diet. Hmm. It seems that it is still wise to make healthy choices about foods and supplements. It matters what we put into our bodies. It matters what we put into our minds.
Read God's Word. Ask God to help you understand it and to give you faith to believe it. He will answer you if you cry out to Him. He will give you wisdom if you ask for it. He will teach you if you ask Him. His Word says so, and I have experienced it or myself. Ask, and you will receive.
May 24, 2012
'Tis So Sweet
Praise Jesus! It is so wonderful to get up in the morning and hop out of bed without the fear of pain. The varicose veins on my legs do NOT hurt me anymore and my tummy is soft, soft, soft. It is also big, big, big! I am only 21 weeks along in this pregnancy, but comparing myself to pictures of myself from the past two pregnancies, and I look like I am 9 months pregnant!!! Granted, I have always carried small, but for me, this is huge. We had an ultrasound last week and found only one baby boy. Healthy - YAY!!! Praise God for such great mercies!
I continue to marvel that I am not having all of the contractions that plagued my other pregnancies. It is all for the glory of God! I just have to express my joy and shout out praise to the One who healed me.
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His word,
just to rest upon His promise,
just to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
how I've proved Him o'er and over.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus,
oh, for grace to trust Him more.
Hymn from 1882. Words written by Louisa M. R. Stead
Music composed by William J. Kirkpatrick
I love this hymn.
Since my focus has shifted from GAPS to faith in the One who made me, I have started a new blog called Walking in Faith. The address is www.iinhimandheinme.blogspot.com
I will likely start posting more on my new blog and less here. We shall see.
I continue to marvel that I am not having all of the contractions that plagued my other pregnancies. It is all for the glory of God! I just have to express my joy and shout out praise to the One who healed me.
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
just to take Him at His word,
just to rest upon His promise,
just to know, "Thus saith the Lord."
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him,
how I've proved Him o'er and over.
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus,
oh, for grace to trust Him more.
Hymn from 1882. Words written by Louisa M. R. Stead
Music composed by William J. Kirkpatrick
I love this hymn.
Since my focus has shifted from GAPS to faith in the One who made me, I have started a new blog called Walking in Faith. The address is www.iinhimandheinme.blogspot.com
I will likely start posting more on my new blog and less here. We shall see.
May 12, 2012
Do We Still Eat GAPS Food?
YES! We do. I really like to choose plain and simple "healthy" food, and I find that I am most satisfied by simple whole foods.
But...we also eat everything else! We had Taco Bell the other day. Yuck! I do like the tostadas, but everything else just grossed me out.
We eat bread or rice every day now. I like the Whole Foods brand sourdough bread the best, but we eat my husband's local grocery store bread, too, without fear. I buy 365 unsweetened peanut butter, but we will also (at times) eat my husband's local grocery store peanut butter, too, without fear.
We share in a potluck style dinner every Sunday with our small group, as we take turns bringing the main dish, sides, and desserts. My kids look forward to having dessert at small group every sunday night. My kids eat one, while the other kids just eat and eat. I still believe in moderation.
My father-in-law likes chinese food. My husband and oldest son were out of town and several days went by when my father-in-law did not come over to our house, because I was just too busy/lazy to go and get him. I wanted to spend some time with him after church on Sunday, so we went out for chinese food and then played at our house all afternoon. It was a great day!
I mentioned being pregnant in a previous post. This baby loves Mexican food (we live in Houston)! I want to eat Mexican food all the time, but my oldest daughter "really" doesn't like mexican food. Alas, I manage to work it in every now and then.
Oh, oh, oh!!! I never mentioned this! My husband and my oldest son were out of town for a week because...My oldest son is on a LEGO Robotics Team called Epic Team 2.0, and the team won 2nd place in Regionals and were invited to the LEGO Robotics World Invitational at LEGOland in Florida. WooHoo! Because Jesus healed us, we are no longer restricted by the GAPS Diet and he was able to go with his team. He met other teams from Japan, Brazil, New York, Florida, and from other states and countries. He had a great time! They won 2nd place for teamwork! Congratulations to the Epic Team 2.0!
We still eat sauerkraut and/or yogurt everyday and we like to have broth on a regular basis. I have come to find broth and homemade chicken soup to be very comforting.
Healed is healed! Life is such a joy! That gives a pretty good idea of what we do for meals these days. We are free and living without fear of food!
But...we also eat everything else! We had Taco Bell the other day. Yuck! I do like the tostadas, but everything else just grossed me out.
We eat bread or rice every day now. I like the Whole Foods brand sourdough bread the best, but we eat my husband's local grocery store bread, too, without fear. I buy 365 unsweetened peanut butter, but we will also (at times) eat my husband's local grocery store peanut butter, too, without fear.
We share in a potluck style dinner every Sunday with our small group, as we take turns bringing the main dish, sides, and desserts. My kids look forward to having dessert at small group every sunday night. My kids eat one, while the other kids just eat and eat. I still believe in moderation.
My father-in-law likes chinese food. My husband and oldest son were out of town and several days went by when my father-in-law did not come over to our house, because I was just too busy/lazy to go and get him. I wanted to spend some time with him after church on Sunday, so we went out for chinese food and then played at our house all afternoon. It was a great day!
I mentioned being pregnant in a previous post. This baby loves Mexican food (we live in Houston)! I want to eat Mexican food all the time, but my oldest daughter "really" doesn't like mexican food. Alas, I manage to work it in every now and then.
Oh, oh, oh!!! I never mentioned this! My husband and my oldest son were out of town for a week because...My oldest son is on a LEGO Robotics Team called Epic Team 2.0, and the team won 2nd place in Regionals and were invited to the LEGO Robotics World Invitational at LEGOland in Florida. WooHoo! Because Jesus healed us, we are no longer restricted by the GAPS Diet and he was able to go with his team. He met other teams from Japan, Brazil, New York, Florida, and from other states and countries. He had a great time! They won 2nd place for teamwork! Congratulations to the Epic Team 2.0!
We still eat sauerkraut and/or yogurt everyday and we like to have broth on a regular basis. I have come to find broth and homemade chicken soup to be very comforting.
Healed is healed! Life is such a joy! That gives a pretty good idea of what we do for meals these days. We are free and living without fear of food!
May 11, 2012
Another Child Healed Because of the GAPS Diet
Read the comments under Healed Because of the GAPS Diet! Another little child (age 3) is talking and progressing and eating food off of the GAPS Diet! Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4 something)
May 7, 2012
* A Gift - Update
I mentioned on a previous post, called "A Gift", that I began to suffer pain and discomfort from varicose veins in the same places that they had popped up in the last half of my last pregnancy. I have been seeking the Lord and praising Him, for He is definitely worthy of our praise, and I have been thanking Him for all of the healing that He has given us. I have asked the Father, in Jesus' Name, to heal my varicose veins completely, and I have been thanking Him for the healing. I confessed sins that I was aware of having committed, and I thanked God that He does not let me continue in sin and that He guides me in paths of righteousness. I have asked Him to enable me to forgive others in the same way that He has forgiven me, and He is faithful to have filled my heart with love and compassion for those who have done me wrong. Yesterday, I had very little pain in my leg and in my pelvic area. I did not need to wear the support hosiery. At the end of the day, still little to no pain.
Today, I woke up and praised God for all of the good things that He has done. I got up out of bed...no pain. I went to the potty...no pain. I got dressed (no support hosiery) and went for a 30 minute walk...no pain. I keep praising God for this kindness to His child. I have been on my feet doing chores and caring for children all morning...still no pain. I have sat at the computer for a little bit to write, and...still no pain. Praise the Lord!!! There is no explanation for such a sudden and complete improvement, except to acknowledge that God has heard my prayer and has answered with a resounding "YES". I give God the glory for His healing touch!
Also, I mentioned that I have been on bed rest for all but one of my children's pregnancies because of pre-term contractions. In the past, I have had lots of strong contractions starting as early as 15 weeks. I was put on meds and bed rest at 24 weeks for my first pregnancy, 21 weeks for my second pregnancy, 20 weeks for my 3rd pregnancy, self-imposed bed rest (on and off) for my 4th viable pregnancy, and at 30 some weeks for my 5th viable pregnancy. My contractions were strong and came every 5-15 minutes even when on meds and bed rest. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant (today) and I am not having contractions. My tummy is pretty nearly always soft and squishy. I declared, in Jesus' Name, that contractions were not going to be a problem in this pregnancy and I have been thanking God for no pre-term contractions. Praise the Lord - indeed, contractions are not going to be a problem in this pregnancy.
I was walking and talking with the Lord this morning, with my Bible, and the Lord showed me these verses. John 16:23-24, 26-27 "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name...Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete...you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."
God is not a Genie-in-a-Bottle that He will just give us everything we ask for in Jesus' Name. We must seek Him, believe in Him, obey His command to love others as He loves us, and keep His words in us by spending time with Him in His word and in prayer. I have so much more to learn, but this is some of what God has taught me so far through His word.
Seek the Lord! His word tells us that if we seek Him, we WILL find Him! He has given us His word. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to find Him. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him! He saves those who believe in His Son, Jesus!
Today, I woke up and praised God for all of the good things that He has done. I got up out of bed...no pain. I went to the potty...no pain. I got dressed (no support hosiery) and went for a 30 minute walk...no pain. I keep praising God for this kindness to His child. I have been on my feet doing chores and caring for children all morning...still no pain. I have sat at the computer for a little bit to write, and...still no pain. Praise the Lord!!! There is no explanation for such a sudden and complete improvement, except to acknowledge that God has heard my prayer and has answered with a resounding "YES". I give God the glory for His healing touch!
Also, I mentioned that I have been on bed rest for all but one of my children's pregnancies because of pre-term contractions. In the past, I have had lots of strong contractions starting as early as 15 weeks. I was put on meds and bed rest at 24 weeks for my first pregnancy, 21 weeks for my second pregnancy, 20 weeks for my 3rd pregnancy, self-imposed bed rest (on and off) for my 4th viable pregnancy, and at 30 some weeks for my 5th viable pregnancy. My contractions were strong and came every 5-15 minutes even when on meds and bed rest. I am currently 19 weeks pregnant (today) and I am not having contractions. My tummy is pretty nearly always soft and squishy. I declared, in Jesus' Name, that contractions were not going to be a problem in this pregnancy and I have been thanking God for no pre-term contractions. Praise the Lord - indeed, contractions are not going to be a problem in this pregnancy.
I was walking and talking with the Lord this morning, with my Bible, and the Lord showed me these verses. John 16:23-24, 26-27 "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name...Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete...you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God."
God is not a Genie-in-a-Bottle that He will just give us everything we ask for in Jesus' Name. We must seek Him, believe in Him, obey His command to love others as He loves us, and keep His words in us by spending time with Him in His word and in prayer. I have so much more to learn, but this is some of what God has taught me so far through His word.
Seek the Lord! His word tells us that if we seek Him, we WILL find Him! He has given us His word. He wants us to seek Him. He wants us to find Him. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him! He saves those who believe in His Son, Jesus!
* Healed Because of GAPS Diet
I was just thinking about what brought about our healing. I have prayed for years that God would heal me so that I could live a normal life like everyone else, but to no avail. My children also seemed to have many of the same issues that I did. Then, several of my children exhibited severe symptoms after a vaccine given in May of 2009. We started the GAPS Diet to bring healing to our guts, and we saw much progress. My children were recovered from many of the issues that caused us such concern and grief. We were overjoyed to have an answer and a plan of action. We praised God for leading us to the GAPS Diet.
However, we were only recovered and not healed. We had to stick to the diet, which had become very limited and restrictive, and we had to avoid pretty nearly every toxin, which is virtually impossible to accomplish, in order to stay well. Being on the GAPS Diet became a prison for us. While it was difficult and tiresome, I was willing to follow it strictly, because life off of the GAPS Diet was so much more difficult and tiresome and stressful.
I learned so much about the body, detox, toxins in the world around us, hormones, vitamins, alternative therapies, energy healing, homeopathics, etc., etc. I learned that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I learned that mankind has only begun to discover all that there is to know about the body and how it works. I learned that if we fix one thing, we might be messing up some other thing.
I became overwhelmed at the amount of information and the impossibility of being able to piece it all together and know that I was doing the right thing for me and for my children. It was all guessing and hoping that I had found and implemented the right information. Trial and Error led to progress. It was better than accepting the doctor's conclusions that nothing could be done but to treat symptoms, and in some cases that nothing could be done but to accept the reality of the situation. I saw results, but any exposure to toxins or new foods led to regressions, and we never knew when everything would fall apart. I became very depressed after two years and hitting yet another big regression.
That was when I gave it all to the Lord. It is quite a remarkable story of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. In the end, the Lord healed us miraculously from all of our big issues. There are a few lingering issues, for which we continue to pray for healing, and they are being resolved one by one. God is amazing and loving and powerful. He wants us to believe Him and love Him. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The GAPS Diet drove me to the One who could and would heal us! Praise the Lord!
Read the Comments below to hear the testimony of another child healed and off of GAPS!
Update: Three years later, we are still healed in body and soul! God is good! He is love, and love heals! Praise the Lord! Go to http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/12/our-story.html to find links to walk you through our whole story (without having to read every post of a multi year blog). We are free! You, too, can be free from the fear of food and toxins!
Be sure to read "What Are We Doing?" and "Why Are We Doing It?"
http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-are-we-doing-and-why-are-we-doing.html
Also, The GAPS Diet Did NOT Heal Us!
http://www.gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2011/12/gaps-diet-did-not-heal-us.html
However, we were only recovered and not healed. We had to stick to the diet, which had become very limited and restrictive, and we had to avoid pretty nearly every toxin, which is virtually impossible to accomplish, in order to stay well. Being on the GAPS Diet became a prison for us. While it was difficult and tiresome, I was willing to follow it strictly, because life off of the GAPS Diet was so much more difficult and tiresome and stressful.
I learned so much about the body, detox, toxins in the world around us, hormones, vitamins, alternative therapies, energy healing, homeopathics, etc., etc. I learned that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I learned that mankind has only begun to discover all that there is to know about the body and how it works. I learned that if we fix one thing, we might be messing up some other thing.
I became overwhelmed at the amount of information and the impossibility of being able to piece it all together and know that I was doing the right thing for me and for my children. It was all guessing and hoping that I had found and implemented the right information. Trial and Error led to progress. It was better than accepting the doctor's conclusions that nothing could be done but to treat symptoms, and in some cases that nothing could be done but to accept the reality of the situation. I saw results, but any exposure to toxins or new foods led to regressions, and we never knew when everything would fall apart. I became very depressed after two years and hitting yet another big regression.
That was when I gave it all to the Lord. It is quite a remarkable story of seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness. In the end, the Lord healed us miraculously from all of our big issues. There are a few lingering issues, for which we continue to pray for healing, and they are being resolved one by one. God is amazing and loving and powerful. He wants us to believe Him and love Him. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The GAPS Diet drove me to the One who could and would heal us! Praise the Lord!
Read the Comments below to hear the testimony of another child healed and off of GAPS!
Update: Three years later, we are still healed in body and soul! God is good! He is love, and love heals! Praise the Lord! Go to http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/12/our-story.html to find links to walk you through our whole story (without having to read every post of a multi year blog). We are free! You, too, can be free from the fear of food and toxins!
Be sure to read "What Are We Doing?" and "Why Are We Doing It?"
http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2009/09/what-are-we-doing-and-why-are-we-doing.html
Also, The GAPS Diet Did NOT Heal Us!
http://www.gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2011/12/gaps-diet-did-not-heal-us.html
May 5, 2012
* CKS's Eczema Completely Gone!
Did I ever post about this? When we stepped out in faith and got off the GAPS diet (basically cold turkey), I believed that the rash on CKS's backside, on the backs of his hands, and on his face would heal. Immediately, the rash on his backside healed and has never returned (maybe briefly just once).
The eczema on his hands and face were slower to resolve, but we continued to pray for complete healing. The eczema on his hands went away and has not returned, but his face continued to flare up. I would pray for it daily and I could see it visibly improve, but it did not ever go completely away.
I became discouraged and stopped praying. It became so bad that it cracked and bled and peeled. It was gross. We began to pray again and it improved, but it did not go away. We went through this cycle several times. Finally, convinced that God could and would heal him, we praised God daily for healing the eczema, even though it was still there before our eyes. We just kept praying and praising God!
Finally, it healed up completely! We did not change his diet or treat the eczema with anything. The only thing we did was pray and give glory to God, Our Healer. It has been months and it has not returned. His skin is so soft and smooth. I love to kiss his cheeks and I praise God every time I do.
Also, every time he looks me in the eyes, which he does so often now, I praise God! I can not take any of it for granted anymore. What a gift when everything works the way it is supposed to work. To God be all the glory!!!
The eczema on his hands and face were slower to resolve, but we continued to pray for complete healing. The eczema on his hands went away and has not returned, but his face continued to flare up. I would pray for it daily and I could see it visibly improve, but it did not ever go completely away.
I became discouraged and stopped praying. It became so bad that it cracked and bled and peeled. It was gross. We began to pray again and it improved, but it did not go away. We went through this cycle several times. Finally, convinced that God could and would heal him, we praised God daily for healing the eczema, even though it was still there before our eyes. We just kept praying and praising God!
Finally, it healed up completely! We did not change his diet or treat the eczema with anything. The only thing we did was pray and give glory to God, Our Healer. It has been months and it has not returned. His skin is so soft and smooth. I love to kiss his cheeks and I praise God every time I do.
Also, every time he looks me in the eyes, which he does so often now, I praise God! I can not take any of it for granted anymore. What a gift when everything works the way it is supposed to work. To God be all the glory!!!
Bloating and Constipation
I used to think that my bloating and constipation were food reactions. Indeed, I suppose they are, but I have found that my bloating and constipation are directly related to my mood. I thought that the bad mood, bloating, and other symptoms were a direct result of a reaction to food. But...now, instead of changing my diet, I change my mood and, indeed, the bloating and the constipation is resolved. WooHoo! What a discovery! God is so good! His word is true!
Proverbs 3:5-8 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart...fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."
Proverbs 3:5-8 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart...fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones."
* Spending Time in God's Word
Not so much a GAPS issue, but relevant in the life of this GAPS Mamma, is the issue of time spent seeking the Lord, because He is the One who saved us. Not only did God save our souls from the consequences of His wrath because of man's sin, but He saved us from GAPS. We were captive to it. Life was hard on GAPS, but harder when not on GAPS, so we stuck with it, but...oh, it feels so good to be free. Now I tell you, there is a battle going on and sometimes/often our faith is tested, but God has proved faithful. God is more powerful than food! Nothing is impossible for God!
So, when I began to seek the Lord, it was towards the end of the school year. I shared everything I was learning during my Bible reading and quiet time with my children. OK, not everything, but everything that jumped out at me and excited me. I figured that getting to know God was more important than anything else (and I was right). We finished up for the year and took a much needed summer break from academics. We usually study through the summer, but...well...given everything we had been through in the past few years it just seemed the right thing to do (and I was right).
There has been a drought here in our part of Texas (and all around) and so we passed through the summer with virtually no rain. This made it possible for me to establish a set time to go outside (too many distractions in the house) and spend time reading God's word and talking to God. I would garden, ponder what I had read, ponder what I was observing in creation, and I would talk to God about all of it. I told my kids what I was doing. I shared with them what I was learning. I encouraged them to read their Bibles, too, and even had my oldest commit to reading at least 10 minutes and log what he had read (because he was not inclined to do so on his own). My now 11yo girl wanted to have her own quiet time, so we scheduled it in before her chores. My now 8yo girl also wanted some quiet time, so we scheduled it in for her as well. I had to schedule their times, because in order for me to get any quiet time, someone had to be in the house prepared to comfort and help the two little ones when they woke up in the morning (if they woke up before my quiet time was over, which sometimes did happen). I did not require my girls to read their Bibles or have a quiet time, and they had to wake up early in the morning to have it, but because of the changes they were seeing in me, they got up and voluntarily had their own quiet times. I was so blessed.
Then, school started and Fall Back (Daylight Savings) made it too dark to read outside in the morning, and it was incredibly difficult to drag ourselves out of bed an hour earlier by our biological rhythms. I put off my quiet time for a few weeks (which dragged into many, many weeks) in order to get school off on the right foot. Big mistake! Everything fell apart. I began to spend time with the Lord again, but my children never got back into the routine of it. So sad.
Ah, but I do share what I am reading and learning and we started reading missionary stories during lunch, which has really encouraged us and strengthened us in our faith. Because I was asked about all of this, I mentioned it to my girls and encouraged them to read God's word for themselves and to spend some quiet time with God to see what He will teach them, so we shall see. They seemed very receptive.
I could insist that my kids have a quiet time, but I can't really make them have a relationship with God. That will only come if they begin to seek the Lord on their own. I hope and pray that they will. Our lives depend on it!
So, when I began to seek the Lord, it was towards the end of the school year. I shared everything I was learning during my Bible reading and quiet time with my children. OK, not everything, but everything that jumped out at me and excited me. I figured that getting to know God was more important than anything else (and I was right). We finished up for the year and took a much needed summer break from academics. We usually study through the summer, but...well...given everything we had been through in the past few years it just seemed the right thing to do (and I was right).
There has been a drought here in our part of Texas (and all around) and so we passed through the summer with virtually no rain. This made it possible for me to establish a set time to go outside (too many distractions in the house) and spend time reading God's word and talking to God. I would garden, ponder what I had read, ponder what I was observing in creation, and I would talk to God about all of it. I told my kids what I was doing. I shared with them what I was learning. I encouraged them to read their Bibles, too, and even had my oldest commit to reading at least 10 minutes and log what he had read (because he was not inclined to do so on his own). My now 11yo girl wanted to have her own quiet time, so we scheduled it in before her chores. My now 8yo girl also wanted some quiet time, so we scheduled it in for her as well. I had to schedule their times, because in order for me to get any quiet time, someone had to be in the house prepared to comfort and help the two little ones when they woke up in the morning (if they woke up before my quiet time was over, which sometimes did happen). I did not require my girls to read their Bibles or have a quiet time, and they had to wake up early in the morning to have it, but because of the changes they were seeing in me, they got up and voluntarily had their own quiet times. I was so blessed.
Then, school started and Fall Back (Daylight Savings) made it too dark to read outside in the morning, and it was incredibly difficult to drag ourselves out of bed an hour earlier by our biological rhythms. I put off my quiet time for a few weeks (which dragged into many, many weeks) in order to get school off on the right foot. Big mistake! Everything fell apart. I began to spend time with the Lord again, but my children never got back into the routine of it. So sad.
Ah, but I do share what I am reading and learning and we started reading missionary stories during lunch, which has really encouraged us and strengthened us in our faith. Because I was asked about all of this, I mentioned it to my girls and encouraged them to read God's word for themselves and to spend some quiet time with God to see what He will teach them, so we shall see. They seemed very receptive.
I could insist that my kids have a quiet time, but I can't really make them have a relationship with God. That will only come if they begin to seek the Lord on their own. I hope and pray that they will. Our lives depend on it!
April 30, 2012
* A Gift
First things first: The Lord is blessing us with another child. We are delighted! I am 18 weeks along and all is going well.
I am learning to walk with the Lord, in faith, and I am learning to trust in Him above anything else.
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make your paths straight.
Be not wise in your own eyes.
Fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
And nourishment to your bones.
I am learning to trust Him. God gave me this child. He will keep this baby safe. He keeps me safe. I will not lean on my own understanding. I will not be wise in my own eyes.
My own wisdom and experience tells me to worry about yeast infections, athletes foot, UTIs, constipation, painful and constant Braxton Hicks contractions, painful varicose veins, headaches, stuffy nose, ligament pain, leg cramps, and more, including the increased risk of complications and abnormalities due to my maternal age (41-42).
But know this! God commands me to rejoice in Him always! He commands me, "Do not be anxious about anything!" He tells me to pray and make my petitions, with thanksgiving, and He promises me peace (Philippians 4:4-7). Fear, anxiety, and worry are not from God. I know because 1 John 4:8,16 say that "God is Love." and 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." Galatians 5:22-23 says that "the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
God tells me in Proverbs 3 that if I stop trusting in my own self to figure things out based on my own knowledge and experience, and if I put my trust in Him alone, then my body and my bones will be healthy and nourished. I have found this to be true. Indeed, my children and I are healed.
When I begin to doubt or worry, I have to remind myself what God has done for us and I begin to praise God for all that He has done! How can I doubt when He has already shown me such great love. Why would He be any different than He says He will be? God is not a man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19). When God wants to bless His people, He blesses them with health, fruitful crops, and babies. When He cursed His people, He allowed sickness, famine, fear, and destruction(Leviticus 26). God is good. He wants to bless us. He wants me to believe Him. I do! He wants to bless me. He does!
Ok. So we are in a spiritual battle. The Enemy does not want to lose territory. I begin to trust God and...WHAM! Morning sickness!!! Do I eat a cracker or praise God for His strength and provision? I did not have any morning sickness during the first trimester of this pregnancy, except when I gave into my own wisdom and understanding. When I trusted Him to give me strength that I might rise up on eagle's wings, I had awesome days.
I praise God for keeping me well and...WHAM! Athlete's Foot pops up on my foot, in the same place that plagued me throughout my last pregnancy!!! I said, "NO!!! In Jesus Name, NO!!!" I thank God daily that it is not going to be a problem for me during this pregnancy. The itching was minor and in a few weeks it was gone. The redness lasted for several months. Yesterday, I noticed that it is completely gone!!! Praise the Lord for what He has done! I did nothing but pray with thanksgiving.
At around 12-13 weeks...WHAM! Painful varicose veins on my right leg, in the same places where they popped up at the end of my last pregnancy!!! I prayed, but they continued to hurt, so I wear support hosiery. However, I have been walking and talking with God (literally). As I talk with Him about who He is and all that He has ever done, and as I remember all that He has done for me, I reason that He can and will heal this, too. Yesterday and today, I have had no need for the support hose. I notice the veins every now and then, but they do not hurt or really bother me. I expect that, like the morning sickness and the athlete's foot, it, too, will go completely away! Resist the Devil and he will flee from you! Greater is He who is in me than the one who is in the world.
Oh, experience from five previous pregnancies tells me that constipation is an issue for me that leads to too many contractions which leads to fear of pre-term labor, hospital visits, and medications. So...WHAM! Constipation! Braxton Hicks contractions! Yes, as early as 15 weeks. But this I have learned, God wants me to trust in Him. When I get stressed about it, I get more constipated and I get tired and uncomfortable from contractions. When I give it up to Him and praise Him, I relax, I go, uterus relaxes, and all is well. Yes, as my constipation is being relieved, I am looking up to the heavens and I am praising God out loud!!!
I had some issues with not being able to sleep well, but now I am sleeping comfortably most every night. He says that He gives rest and sleep to those He loves. So, I ask Him for sleep.
God is my Healer! He is my Provider! He is my Savior! He is my All in All! He is my Everything! He can be your Everything, too! Ask God for faith to believe in Jesus!
Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make your paths straight.
Be not wise in your own eyes.
Fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
And nourishment to your bones.
I am learning to trust Him. God gave me this child. He will keep this baby safe. He keeps me safe. I will not lean on my own understanding. I will not be wise in my own eyes.
My own wisdom and experience tells me to worry about yeast infections, athletes foot, UTIs, constipation, painful and constant Braxton Hicks contractions, painful varicose veins, headaches, stuffy nose, ligament pain, leg cramps, and more, including the increased risk of complications and abnormalities due to my maternal age (41-42).
But know this! God commands me to rejoice in Him always! He commands me, "Do not be anxious about anything!" He tells me to pray and make my petitions, with thanksgiving, and He promises me peace (Philippians 4:4-7). Fear, anxiety, and worry are not from God. I know because 1 John 4:8,16 say that "God is Love." and 1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." Galatians 5:22-23 says that "the fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, PEACE, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."
God tells me in Proverbs 3 that if I stop trusting in my own self to figure things out based on my own knowledge and experience, and if I put my trust in Him alone, then my body and my bones will be healthy and nourished. I have found this to be true. Indeed, my children and I are healed.
When I begin to doubt or worry, I have to remind myself what God has done for us and I begin to praise God for all that He has done! How can I doubt when He has already shown me such great love. Why would He be any different than He says He will be? God is not a man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23:19). When God wants to bless His people, He blesses them with health, fruitful crops, and babies. When He cursed His people, He allowed sickness, famine, fear, and destruction(Leviticus 26). God is good. He wants to bless us. He wants me to believe Him. I do! He wants to bless me. He does!
Ok. So we are in a spiritual battle. The Enemy does not want to lose territory. I begin to trust God and...WHAM! Morning sickness!!! Do I eat a cracker or praise God for His strength and provision? I did not have any morning sickness during the first trimester of this pregnancy, except when I gave into my own wisdom and understanding. When I trusted Him to give me strength that I might rise up on eagle's wings, I had awesome days.
I praise God for keeping me well and...WHAM! Athlete's Foot pops up on my foot, in the same place that plagued me throughout my last pregnancy!!! I said, "NO!!! In Jesus Name, NO!!!" I thank God daily that it is not going to be a problem for me during this pregnancy. The itching was minor and in a few weeks it was gone. The redness lasted for several months. Yesterday, I noticed that it is completely gone!!! Praise the Lord for what He has done! I did nothing but pray with thanksgiving.
At around 12-13 weeks...WHAM! Painful varicose veins on my right leg, in the same places where they popped up at the end of my last pregnancy!!! I prayed, but they continued to hurt, so I wear support hosiery. However, I have been walking and talking with God (literally). As I talk with Him about who He is and all that He has ever done, and as I remember all that He has done for me, I reason that He can and will heal this, too. Yesterday and today, I have had no need for the support hose. I notice the veins every now and then, but they do not hurt or really bother me. I expect that, like the morning sickness and the athlete's foot, it, too, will go completely away! Resist the Devil and he will flee from you! Greater is He who is in me than the one who is in the world.
Oh, experience from five previous pregnancies tells me that constipation is an issue for me that leads to too many contractions which leads to fear of pre-term labor, hospital visits, and medications. So...WHAM! Constipation! Braxton Hicks contractions! Yes, as early as 15 weeks. But this I have learned, God wants me to trust in Him. When I get stressed about it, I get more constipated and I get tired and uncomfortable from contractions. When I give it up to Him and praise Him, I relax, I go, uterus relaxes, and all is well. Yes, as my constipation is being relieved, I am looking up to the heavens and I am praising God out loud!!!
I had some issues with not being able to sleep well, but now I am sleeping comfortably most every night. He says that He gives rest and sleep to those He loves. So, I ask Him for sleep.
God is my Healer! He is my Provider! He is my Savior! He is my All in All! He is my Everything! He can be your Everything, too! Ask God for faith to believe in Jesus!
December 19, 2011
* Enjoying Our Freedom
We are still doing well. Our sound minds come from the Spirit of God. (2 Timothy 1:7)
Sweets are everywhere! I allow my children a reasonable ration of sweet treats each day. They are fine.
A reasonable ration would be a few pieces of candy, or a piece of cake, or a donut.
Plus, we are eating bread and butter almost daily, or white rice, sweet potatoes, etc.
Shopping, cooking, cleaning is less!!!
Beds are most often dry. Laundry is less!!!
Everyone sleep through the night!!!
I can now experiment with all kinds of ferments! WooHoo! I have my first batch of Beet Kvass fermenting right now. I think my husband has ordered the Wild Fermentation book for me. Since we can now have whey (and, well, anything), I can try many new ferments.
We have reduced the amount of Bio-Kult by nearly one half and will drop it completely when I get more ferments going and into our regular routine. We cut our dose of FCLO by about half. No more Natural Calm Magnesium. Cost is less!!!
We have stopped juicing regularly and do not have lemon water everyday. Food prep time is less!!!
My hubby and I have actually gone out on a date: ate at a restaurant and went Christmas shopping. What fun! Stress is Less!!!
We participated in a Christmas concert and dinner at church. Amazingly, all of our 5 children, ages 2-13, sat quietly on the front row for the duration of the concert. I was impressed. We ate what was served at the dinner, including something from the dessert table. Choosing was difficult, as there were so many choices and we limited ourselves to one. My children were curious why others filled their plates with 3-4 different desserts. Hmm. We could actually have true fellowship with others and talk about something other than food.
God is so good! Praise Jesus, because He is the One who healed us!
Everyone, all six of us, are having normal formed bowel movements every day.
Bloating is gone!!! I have received so many comments on my slender figure as of late. Nice!
No one has itchy skin!
Energy and attitudes are high! "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Eye contact is AWESOME!!! Love it!!!
The children play well together. They all play together. They LIKE playing with each other.
There is a lot of tickling, chasing, laughing, and playing happening at our house. There is peace at our house. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17)
My daughter, KES, has only had one leg cramp once since we started eating off-GAPS. I prayed in Jesus' Name, and Jesus took the pain away. I kid you not! "Christ the Power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24)
My daughter, KRS, has only had one headache since we started eating off-GAPS. I prayed for her in Jesus' Name, and Jesus took the pain away completely. I kid you not! "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7)
Search it out! "Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Seek Him! He is the ONLY ONE who has all the answers. He is the ONLY ONE who can make you righteous. He is the ONLY ONE who can heal us.
He loves us and He wants to heal us. He sent His Son to die for us, so that we might be saved, and saved means so much more than an insurance policy to get into heaven. Saved means saved. Saved now. It means saved from sin and saved from the power of sin in our lives. It means saved from death, eternal life. It means healed. There's more. The Greek word "sozo" means: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. It is often translated as heal, save, cured, made well, preserved, recover, restore, etc.
He saved us from our slavery to sin and restored us to what we were always meant to be; sons, who were created in His image for His glory. He has clothed us in His righteousness. Wow!
"God is love." (1 John 4:8) "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) Oh, YES!
Search it out! Seek Him! It's good. It's all good.
Sweets are everywhere! I allow my children a reasonable ration of sweet treats each day. They are fine.
A reasonable ration would be a few pieces of candy, or a piece of cake, or a donut.
Plus, we are eating bread and butter almost daily, or white rice, sweet potatoes, etc.
Shopping, cooking, cleaning is less!!!
Beds are most often dry. Laundry is less!!!
Everyone sleep through the night!!!
I can now experiment with all kinds of ferments! WooHoo! I have my first batch of Beet Kvass fermenting right now. I think my husband has ordered the Wild Fermentation book for me. Since we can now have whey (and, well, anything), I can try many new ferments.
We have reduced the amount of Bio-Kult by nearly one half and will drop it completely when I get more ferments going and into our regular routine. We cut our dose of FCLO by about half. No more Natural Calm Magnesium. Cost is less!!!
We have stopped juicing regularly and do not have lemon water everyday. Food prep time is less!!!
My hubby and I have actually gone out on a date: ate at a restaurant and went Christmas shopping. What fun! Stress is Less!!!
We participated in a Christmas concert and dinner at church. Amazingly, all of our 5 children, ages 2-13, sat quietly on the front row for the duration of the concert. I was impressed. We ate what was served at the dinner, including something from the dessert table. Choosing was difficult, as there were so many choices and we limited ourselves to one. My children were curious why others filled their plates with 3-4 different desserts. Hmm. We could actually have true fellowship with others and talk about something other than food.
God is so good! Praise Jesus, because He is the One who healed us!
Everyone, all six of us, are having normal formed bowel movements every day.
Bloating is gone!!! I have received so many comments on my slender figure as of late. Nice!
No one has itchy skin!
Energy and attitudes are high! "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)
Eye contact is AWESOME!!! Love it!!!
The children play well together. They all play together. They LIKE playing with each other.
There is a lot of tickling, chasing, laughing, and playing happening at our house. There is peace at our house. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17)
My daughter, KES, has only had one leg cramp once since we started eating off-GAPS. I prayed in Jesus' Name, and Jesus took the pain away. I kid you not! "Christ the Power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24)
My daughter, KRS, has only had one headache since we started eating off-GAPS. I prayed for her in Jesus' Name, and Jesus took the pain away completely. I kid you not! "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (John 15:7)
Search it out! "Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33) Seek Him! He is the ONLY ONE who has all the answers. He is the ONLY ONE who can make you righteous. He is the ONLY ONE who can heal us.
He loves us and He wants to heal us. He sent His Son to die for us, so that we might be saved, and saved means so much more than an insurance policy to get into heaven. Saved means saved. Saved now. It means saved from sin and saved from the power of sin in our lives. It means saved from death, eternal life. It means healed. There's more. The Greek word "sozo" means: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. It is often translated as heal, save, cured, made well, preserved, recover, restore, etc.
He saved us from our slavery to sin and restored us to what we were always meant to be; sons, who were created in His image for His glory. He has clothed us in His righteousness. Wow!
"God is love." (1 John 4:8) "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) Oh, YES!
Search it out! Seek Him! It's good. It's all good.
December 14, 2011
* The GAPS diet did NOT heal us
While I am thankful to God for leading us to the GAPS diet and I agree that it is a very healing diet, the GAPS diet did not heal us. God healed us. He did not heal us through the GAPS diet. He healed us by His Word. (Psalm 107:20)
God is love. Love heals. He IS the Great Physician.
I will try to explain what happened, but by no means do I have a formula for receiving healing. It is God who heals. There IS power in the blood and in the Name of Jesus!!!
I was so very depressed after more than one and a half years on the GAPS diet and seeing regressions, yet again. It felt like a prison. There was NO way out!!! A friend counseled me by listening to all that I had to say and by asking me one simple question. The question was, "What are you doing to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness in your life?"
At first, I was a little bit annoyed because I really thought that I had been seeking God all these years. I couldn't get the question out of my head. I began to wonder what it really meant to seek Him. How does one go about seeking Him? I didn't know.
I came to realize that I knew a lot about God, but I didn't really know God. I read His Word. I listened to the sermons and tried to apply the teachings to my life. I memorized lots of scripture and tried to apply what I knew to my life, but I just could not do it consistently. I participated in Bible studies. I prayed all day everyday, but my prayers were primarily asking God to help me and to help others. I did praise God, I thanked Him, I confessed my sins, and I made my requests, but I was not seeking a relationship with God.
So I did the only thing I knew to do: I humbled myself as a little child and I asked my Heavenly Father to teach me. I figured that He is really the only One who has all the answers. In Jeremiah 33:3, God says, "Ask me, and I will show you great and unsearchable things that you have never known."
I was reading through the Bible so I began to talk to God and ask Him about passages of scripture that didn't make sense to me. Later, I would find the answer in another part of scripture, or in a Bible study, or a sermon. I began to notice that certain topics were very repetitious. I kept reading, "Your faith has healed you." I kept reading, "Love one another," "Love your neighbor as yourself," "As I have loved you, so you must love one another," "a new commandment I give you: Love one another," "The entire law is summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself," "but the fruit of the Spirit is love..." "These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." "Nothing matters except faith expressing itself in love."
If anyone reads this and wants to know the references for any or all of these, I will gladly share. I just want to post this soon. I recommend reading all of Galatians, John 13-17, and all of 1 John.
I have found more, so much more, but it is best if one seeks the Lord for these things so I do not want to give it all away as it would not mean near as much to one who had not searched it out with the Lord. I have simply believed what God has written in His Word.
Note: Previously, I was not confident to read my Bible and try to understand it, because I had been told so many times that you have to understand the history and the context to understand the true meaning of the words. What a lie!!!! I was afraid, but 2 Timothy 1:7 says that "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind."
I began to read the Word of God and I tried to understand it. I asked my "Abba" to help me understand it and I reasoned that if I guessed wrong (as my children often do) that He would be patient with me and would teach me all things as I become ready to learn it, just as I am patient with my kids and I teach them new things as they become developmentally ready to learn it. God is so good. He is teaching me.
I became convinced that love was more important than anything else I could do for my kids and one day I simply had faith that my daughter could eat honey and would not react. She did eat and she didn't react. I later gave some to CKS, and he did not react. They have been eating fruit and honey ever since. They only had reactions on bad days where love was not reigning in our house. I found that I could make my kids sick in an instant by criticizing them or yelling at them or shaming them in any way. I would love them back to health and, indeed, the reactions would go away. So I concluded that Love heals. However, we all still reacted to everything NOT on the GAPS diet.
I kept reading God's Word, seeking God, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness. He is amazing!!! I can't and won't tell you everything I have learned. I will, however, encourage everyone to "seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Also, check out Matthew 7:7-8. Ask God and He will tell you everything you need to know. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Don't just read His Word; talk to Him about it and believe what He tells you. It is amazing!!! HE is amazing!!!
I came to a point where I believed that it was indeed God's will to heal us. I prayed for complete healing everyday, believing that He would indeed heal us. I spoke the Word of the Lord (verses I have memorized) all day and talked to God as if He were my daddy in the room with me. At some point, I knew we had to step out in faith (prove our faith genuine) and expose ourselves to the foods/environments that we had been reacting to for so long. We bought some bread at the Farmer's Market and ate it with butter. We were fine. We kept eating bread and butter and added in other non-GAPS food. We were fine.
Note: When I began to eat bread and butter, about a week earlier, the kids had reactions akin to pre-GAPS or early GAPS. CKS regressed. KES became enraged and hateful. It was insane. I'm the one who ate the food and no one else knew of it. The children were still having "reactions" when I gave them the bread and butter, and I believed that they would be fine and would actually improve. They were and they did. Rashes were as bad as they have ever been, but they have been improving.
You see, it was God who healed us, not GAPS. We had been reacting to so many things just a few weeks earlier. Now we are fine. Praise the Name of Jesus!!! All glory to God!!!
We have enjoyed treats at Christmas parties. We had our own special day where we decorated the Christmas tree, watched the Nativity Story, drank hot chocolate, and ate candy canes. We shared a Thanksgiving meal with our family. We ate dinner at church with our church family. We can eat anything. My kids can play with play dough again!!! WooHoo!!! Healed!
The GAPS diet did NOT heal us! God did!!!
[As of 12/20/14, we have been off GAPS for more than three years and are enjoying freedom from the fear of food and toxins. You can be free, too! I want you to be free! Please go to http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/12/our-story.html to find links that will guide you through our story. Be encouraged!]
God is love. Love heals. He IS the Great Physician.
I will try to explain what happened, but by no means do I have a formula for receiving healing. It is God who heals. There IS power in the blood and in the Name of Jesus!!!
I was so very depressed after more than one and a half years on the GAPS diet and seeing regressions, yet again. It felt like a prison. There was NO way out!!! A friend counseled me by listening to all that I had to say and by asking me one simple question. The question was, "What are you doing to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness in your life?"
At first, I was a little bit annoyed because I really thought that I had been seeking God all these years. I couldn't get the question out of my head. I began to wonder what it really meant to seek Him. How does one go about seeking Him? I didn't know.
I came to realize that I knew a lot about God, but I didn't really know God. I read His Word. I listened to the sermons and tried to apply the teachings to my life. I memorized lots of scripture and tried to apply what I knew to my life, but I just could not do it consistently. I participated in Bible studies. I prayed all day everyday, but my prayers were primarily asking God to help me and to help others. I did praise God, I thanked Him, I confessed my sins, and I made my requests, but I was not seeking a relationship with God.
So I did the only thing I knew to do: I humbled myself as a little child and I asked my Heavenly Father to teach me. I figured that He is really the only One who has all the answers. In Jeremiah 33:3, God says, "Ask me, and I will show you great and unsearchable things that you have never known."
I was reading through the Bible so I began to talk to God and ask Him about passages of scripture that didn't make sense to me. Later, I would find the answer in another part of scripture, or in a Bible study, or a sermon. I began to notice that certain topics were very repetitious. I kept reading, "Your faith has healed you." I kept reading, "Love one another," "Love your neighbor as yourself," "As I have loved you, so you must love one another," "a new commandment I give you: Love one another," "The entire law is summed up in this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself," "but the fruit of the Spirit is love..." "These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." "Nothing matters except faith expressing itself in love."
If anyone reads this and wants to know the references for any or all of these, I will gladly share. I just want to post this soon. I recommend reading all of Galatians, John 13-17, and all of 1 John.
I have found more, so much more, but it is best if one seeks the Lord for these things so I do not want to give it all away as it would not mean near as much to one who had not searched it out with the Lord. I have simply believed what God has written in His Word.
Note: Previously, I was not confident to read my Bible and try to understand it, because I had been told so many times that you have to understand the history and the context to understand the true meaning of the words. What a lie!!!! I was afraid, but 2 Timothy 1:7 says that "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind."
I began to read the Word of God and I tried to understand it. I asked my "Abba" to help me understand it and I reasoned that if I guessed wrong (as my children often do) that He would be patient with me and would teach me all things as I become ready to learn it, just as I am patient with my kids and I teach them new things as they become developmentally ready to learn it. God is so good. He is teaching me.
I became convinced that love was more important than anything else I could do for my kids and one day I simply had faith that my daughter could eat honey and would not react. She did eat and she didn't react. I later gave some to CKS, and he did not react. They have been eating fruit and honey ever since. They only had reactions on bad days where love was not reigning in our house. I found that I could make my kids sick in an instant by criticizing them or yelling at them or shaming them in any way. I would love them back to health and, indeed, the reactions would go away. So I concluded that Love heals. However, we all still reacted to everything NOT on the GAPS diet.
I kept reading God's Word, seeking God, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness. He is amazing!!! I can't and won't tell you everything I have learned. I will, however, encourage everyone to "seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). Also, check out Matthew 7:7-8. Ask God and He will tell you everything you need to know. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Don't just read His Word; talk to Him about it and believe what He tells you. It is amazing!!! HE is amazing!!!
I came to a point where I believed that it was indeed God's will to heal us. I prayed for complete healing everyday, believing that He would indeed heal us. I spoke the Word of the Lord (verses I have memorized) all day and talked to God as if He were my daddy in the room with me. At some point, I knew we had to step out in faith (prove our faith genuine) and expose ourselves to the foods/environments that we had been reacting to for so long. We bought some bread at the Farmer's Market and ate it with butter. We were fine. We kept eating bread and butter and added in other non-GAPS food. We were fine.
Note: When I began to eat bread and butter, about a week earlier, the kids had reactions akin to pre-GAPS or early GAPS. CKS regressed. KES became enraged and hateful. It was insane. I'm the one who ate the food and no one else knew of it. The children were still having "reactions" when I gave them the bread and butter, and I believed that they would be fine and would actually improve. They were and they did. Rashes were as bad as they have ever been, but they have been improving.
You see, it was God who healed us, not GAPS. We had been reacting to so many things just a few weeks earlier. Now we are fine. Praise the Name of Jesus!!! All glory to God!!!
We have enjoyed treats at Christmas parties. We had our own special day where we decorated the Christmas tree, watched the Nativity Story, drank hot chocolate, and ate candy canes. We shared a Thanksgiving meal with our family. We ate dinner at church with our church family. We can eat anything. My kids can play with play dough again!!! WooHoo!!! Healed!
The GAPS diet did NOT heal us! God did!!!
[As of 12/20/14, we have been off GAPS for more than three years and are enjoying freedom from the fear of food and toxins. You can be free, too! I want you to be free! Please go to http://gapsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/12/our-story.html to find links that will guide you through our story. Be encouraged!]
December 6, 2011
* Healed is Healed!
All glory to God! We are healed! All six of us. Totally healed!
So I want to share what has happened, but I don't know where to start, so I will start with this:
Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness!
I was so depressed after the holidays last year because we had been on the GAPS diet for over a year and had followed it very closely, as much as we were able, but we were still very limited in what we could eat. Most all of our symptoms were under control and we had indeed added several food items back, but not that many. CKS and KES could still not tolerate any fruit or honey. After the holidays, everyone started to react to everything again. I contemplated starting over, yet again. My heart was screaming, "NOOOOO!!!" I broke down.
What I have learned from the GAPS diet is that we are truly fearfully and wonderfully made, and the only one who really knows what is going in inside of us is God, our Heavenly Father. Only God has the answers. Only God can heal us.
God says to get rid of all bitterness, anger, and rage. If He tells us to do it, then there must be a way. I had reasoned that diet helped me to live a more godly life, but I became a slave to the diet. I could only be godly if I stayed with the diet (kids, too). We would inevitably be exposed to some chemical or food without our knowledge or control and we would react and behave in unreasonable and ungodly ways. We began to fear and detest food. It was such a chore. Even going to church was difficult because the children would react to perfume or chemicals in the church building. I was angry. I would break down and cry. I would get so frustrated. I wanted to quit, but quitting was worse than staying on the diet. There was nowhere to go. We were trapped. There was no way out. (Psalm 107)
I began to communicate back and forth with a godly woman who had such compassion for us and for our situation. She listened to all I had to say about everything and she listened to all my questions. She did not answer any of my questions, but instead she asked me one simple question: What are you doing to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness in your life?
I balked. "I pray. I read the Bible. I memorize scripture. I praise God for all the good things in my life. I talk to God all day everyday. Of course I am seeking God."
Then I realized that I was always seeking what God could do for me. I begged Him to help me. I begged Him to heal us. I begged Him to change me. It was all about me. I was not seeking His Kingdom and His Righteousness after all.
Now I had a real problem. I had no idea how to go about actually seeking God.
I still can't put my finger on how to do this. I think I asked God to show me and He did.
I found Jeremiah 33:3 and daily I asked God to show me great and unsearchable things that I have never known. He has! I keep asking for more!
James 1:5 says to ask God for wisdom and that He gives it generously to all without finding fault. I asked God to give me wisdom. He did and continues to do so.
Matthew 7:7 says to "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
I asked God to help me in my unbelief. I asked Him to increase my faith. He has!
Everything that I have asked for, He has given me!
There's so much more and I can not sum it up in one post. Over the past eight months, God has changed me completely! I am a new creation. I have been a "Christian" all my life, but I have not been living in victory. I still struggled. I still fell. How could I tell people about the Good News of the Gospel if I wasn't convinced in my own heart that it was really Good News? I couldn't. But now...
Now I know Him. He has pierced my ears! (Exodus 21:5-6) I am His, and He is mine! I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. It's true. I was made for this! I am not my own. I was bought with a price. Now I know Him, and I can tell you that He really does love us as much as He says He does!!!
I still haven't written about how it came to be that we are all healed, but really that is secondary anyway. It's all about God, not me. More to come...
Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed. Save us and we will be saved, for You are the one we praise! This was my prayer for weeks after I came to understand that it was indeed in God's will to heal us. It comes from Jeremiah 17:14.
So I want to share what has happened, but I don't know where to start, so I will start with this:
Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness!
I was so depressed after the holidays last year because we had been on the GAPS diet for over a year and had followed it very closely, as much as we were able, but we were still very limited in what we could eat. Most all of our symptoms were under control and we had indeed added several food items back, but not that many. CKS and KES could still not tolerate any fruit or honey. After the holidays, everyone started to react to everything again. I contemplated starting over, yet again. My heart was screaming, "NOOOOO!!!" I broke down.
What I have learned from the GAPS diet is that we are truly fearfully and wonderfully made, and the only one who really knows what is going in inside of us is God, our Heavenly Father. Only God has the answers. Only God can heal us.
God says to get rid of all bitterness, anger, and rage. If He tells us to do it, then there must be a way. I had reasoned that diet helped me to live a more godly life, but I became a slave to the diet. I could only be godly if I stayed with the diet (kids, too). We would inevitably be exposed to some chemical or food without our knowledge or control and we would react and behave in unreasonable and ungodly ways. We began to fear and detest food. It was such a chore. Even going to church was difficult because the children would react to perfume or chemicals in the church building. I was angry. I would break down and cry. I would get so frustrated. I wanted to quit, but quitting was worse than staying on the diet. There was nowhere to go. We were trapped. There was no way out. (Psalm 107)
I began to communicate back and forth with a godly woman who had such compassion for us and for our situation. She listened to all I had to say about everything and she listened to all my questions. She did not answer any of my questions, but instead she asked me one simple question: What are you doing to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness in your life?
I balked. "I pray. I read the Bible. I memorize scripture. I praise God for all the good things in my life. I talk to God all day everyday. Of course I am seeking God."
Then I realized that I was always seeking what God could do for me. I begged Him to help me. I begged Him to heal us. I begged Him to change me. It was all about me. I was not seeking His Kingdom and His Righteousness after all.
Now I had a real problem. I had no idea how to go about actually seeking God.
I still can't put my finger on how to do this. I think I asked God to show me and He did.
I found Jeremiah 33:3 and daily I asked God to show me great and unsearchable things that I have never known. He has! I keep asking for more!
James 1:5 says to ask God for wisdom and that He gives it generously to all without finding fault. I asked God to give me wisdom. He did and continues to do so.
Matthew 7:7 says to "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
I asked God to help me in my unbelief. I asked Him to increase my faith. He has!
Everything that I have asked for, He has given me!
There's so much more and I can not sum it up in one post. Over the past eight months, God has changed me completely! I am a new creation. I have been a "Christian" all my life, but I have not been living in victory. I still struggled. I still fell. How could I tell people about the Good News of the Gospel if I wasn't convinced in my own heart that it was really Good News? I couldn't. But now...
Now I know Him. He has pierced my ears! (Exodus 21:5-6) I am His, and He is mine! I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. It's true. I was made for this! I am not my own. I was bought with a price. Now I know Him, and I can tell you that He really does love us as much as He says He does!!!
I still haven't written about how it came to be that we are all healed, but really that is secondary anyway. It's all about God, not me. More to come...
Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed. Save us and we will be saved, for You are the one we praise! This was my prayer for weeks after I came to understand that it was indeed in God's will to heal us. It comes from Jeremiah 17:14.
* Happy Thanksgiving!
Giving thanks to the One who gives all good things.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (Revelation 4:8)
You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing! (Revelation 5:12)
Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever! (Revelations 5:13)
Heavenly Father, You are indeed worthy of our praise. We are thankful to You for healing us of ALL of our intolerances. We are thankful to know that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of power, and of love, and of self-control. Because You live in us, we have the power to do what is right. You give us the power to love and the power to be self-controlled. Our sound minds, they come from You! We shared a Thanksgiving meal with our family and surprised everyone by sharing our food with them and by partaking of all the food prepared by them. What a joy to be able to do this. Oh, Lord, Your Word is so precious to me. Thank You for answering my prayers. I asked You for wisdom (James 1:5), and You gave me wisdom. Continue to increase my wisdom, Lord. I asked You to teach me great and unsearchable things that I have never known (Jeremiah 33:3), and You have shown me many great and unsearchable things that I have never known. Continue, Lord, to show me new things everyday. I praise You, for You are the One and Only True God, and You are worthy of our praise!!! Amen.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! (Revelation 4:8)
You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing! (Revelation 5:12)
Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever! (Revelations 5:13)
Heavenly Father, You are indeed worthy of our praise. We are thankful to You for healing us of ALL of our intolerances. We are thankful to know that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but a Spirit of power, and of love, and of self-control. Because You live in us, we have the power to do what is right. You give us the power to love and the power to be self-controlled. Our sound minds, they come from You! We shared a Thanksgiving meal with our family and surprised everyone by sharing our food with them and by partaking of all the food prepared by them. What a joy to be able to do this. Oh, Lord, Your Word is so precious to me. Thank You for answering my prayers. I asked You for wisdom (James 1:5), and You gave me wisdom. Continue to increase my wisdom, Lord. I asked You to teach me great and unsearchable things that I have never known (Jeremiah 33:3), and You have shown me many great and unsearchable things that I have never known. Continue, Lord, to show me new things everyday. I praise You, for You are the One and Only True God, and You are worthy of our praise!!! Amen.
November 24, 2011
* Healed! Victory in Jesus!
Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has healed us from all of our intolerances. We have been eating off GAPS for 2-3 weeks now with no reactions and we see continued improvement in symptoms that still remain. We have been enjoying bread from the Farmer's Market with butter. We have shared treats with friends at a thanksgiving party. I have celebrated a friend's birthday with a piece of peanut butter pie and enjoyed the fellowship as we "broke bread together". We are celebrating Thanksgiving with our family today. How wonderful to share a meal with all. They were surprised to hear that we can eat anything put before us. They are sure that the GAPs diet had much to do with our healing, but I know differently. The LORD healed us. All glory to God! Details later.
"Praise the Lord, oh my soul, all my inmost being praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives ALL our sins and heals ALL our diseases!" (from Psalm 103)
"Praise the Lord, oh my soul, all my inmost being praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives ALL our sins and heals ALL our diseases!" (from Psalm 103)
October 27, 2011
Update: October 27: Almost Done With the GAPS Diet!
We have been very busy trying to figure out how to accomplish Classical Conversations, other homeschooling endeavors, church activities, and GAPS cooking. God is so gracious to provide for us in so many ways. I must always seek Him first above all else.
After school started, I (temporarily) neglected my Bible reading, study, and prayer time in favor of sleep and time spent helping my kids succeed at school. Things became stressful as we tried to get it all done. Gradually, symptoms returned and my children and I became intolerant of food that we have been eating since May/June. For one week, I took out all salicylates, fruit, and honey in order to bring sanity back into our lives as it felt like our whole world was crashing in on us. It was really bad! Tantrums! Rashes! Rigidity! Loss of eye contact! Difficulty concentrating! Meltdowns! Anxiety!
When I say bad, I mean really bad! I thought my husband should want to leave me because I had no time for him and our house was not a fun place to come home to. Everything felt very hopeless.
Then, I realized that I had put school above everything else in my life. It came first before spending time with God in His Word. It came before my relationship with my husband. It was more important than spending quality time with my little ones, or any of my children. Figuring it all out became more important than loving my children as Christ loved me. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (I Corrinthians 13:4-8) "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:13) I was no longer very patient or kind, though I tried to be. I was rude, self-seeking, and easily angered. I kept records of wrong. I did not protect, trust, hope, or persevere. I wanted to, but it wasn't in me. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) The Spirit was not in me. I stopped exhibiting these traits.
Here's why: (John 15:1-14) If a man remains in Christ, and Christ remains in him, then he will bear much fruit, but without Christ, he can do nothing! He can not bear much fruit. No matter how hard I try to be loving and patient and kind, I can not do it when Christ is not in me; when His words are not in me. When I fill myself up with other thoughts, those thoughts rule, and everything I say and do reflects what I am believing.
School had become an idol (anything we devote ourselves to above the Living God). I had sacrificed my relationship with my children on the alter of education. I sacrificed my relationship with my husband on the alter of education. I put education first and stopped seeking first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. I neglected my relationship with God.
When I realized this, I turned away from my sin and confessed it to the Lord, who has removed my sin as far as the east is from the west and who has washed me whiter than snow because when I confess my sins, "He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) I remember Romans 8:1 which says that "there is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
I began to seek Him, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness first. I sought council from the Wonderful Councelor and He answered me. He reminded me of the Truth. His word is True. He reminded me that if I will only ask Him, then He will show me great and unsearchable things that I have never known. (Jeremiah 33:3) It is all in His word! He has been showing me many great and wonderful things in His word. He speaks to me through His word. I now understand how one can have a very real, active, and living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I now believe Him wholeheartedly! Everything He says is TRUE! He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! (John 14:6)
He wants to heal us! I never KNEW that before. He wants to heal us! Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." We want to be free from anger, anxiety, bitterness, and rage. These things are not from God. God tells us to get rid of it. (Ephesians 4:31) He tells us not to be anxious. (Phillipians 4:6) If He tells us to do it, then there must be a way to do it! He is WAY more powerful than any food or food reaction. When Jesus healed people, he would say that their faith had healed them or "according to your faith, it will be done to you." (Matthew 9:29) I never believed He wanted to heal us. I knew He could, but I never believed He would. Now I know that He can and will. He gave me these words:
Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I shall be saved, for You are the one I praise."
Jeremiah 30:17 "For I will restore health to you and heal your wounds," declares the Lord."
Psalm 107 (all of it, as it describes people suffering because of their sin, they cry out to Him, He heals them from their distress, and they praise Him)
Psalm 107:17-22 "Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. HE SENT OUT HIS WORD AND HEALED THEM, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Psalm 103:1-5 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who FORGIVES ALL YOUR INIQUITY, who HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
II Timothy 1:7 "for He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of SELF-CONTROL." (some versions say of A SOUND MIND)
Does God want to heal us? Absolutely! He can and He will!
For one week, I pulled all the fruit, honey, and salycilates and things just got worse! Then, I was convicted of my sin (placing school above everything else) and I confessed it to God. Things got even worse, so that we saw tantrums and rages and fits like we saw two years ago before we started GAPS. Believing that God would heal us by His word, we started adding food in. Rashes are healing. Skin on cheeks is smoothing out again. Tempers are more peaceful or with love can be brought back to peaceful. We are now cooking chicken with necks and liver. That's huge! We ate chicken and sausage from Whole Foods Market with spices we had never tolerated before. Yum! I told my daughter to participate in art class no matter what the activity and not to worry about getting color on her skin. She did fine. We had a new babysitter come who wore too much fragrance, but believed everyone would be fine. They were. We ate oranges today. Everyone is sleeping. The children are going to bed on time without complaint. They get up and do their chores and school without complaint. Life is beautiful.
The rashes are not completely gone yet, but they are fading. The little ones get anxious and scream or cry over little things, but are quickly settled with a calm loving approach. We are learning to be calm. (Kirk Martin - Celebrate Calm or Celebrate Christian Calm) Our oldest has finally accomplished the amazing task of completing his schoolwork in record time in the middle of chaos and is understanding it better than ever. Our second child, also, is accomplishing her increased load of schoolwork in record time, amidst chaos, and even includes the little ones in her studies by "teaching" them what she is learning. Our seven year old is now "officially" Mommy's Helper, much to her delight. The little ones play or help all day long. We are laughing more and having a ton of fun. There is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control in our lives at the present time even though we have been eating things we could not tolerate before. God IS healing us! Everyday we now chant, "We're almost off of the GAPS diet, we're almost off of the GAPS diet, we're almost off of the GAPS diet! Praise the Lord!"
After school started, I (temporarily) neglected my Bible reading, study, and prayer time in favor of sleep and time spent helping my kids succeed at school. Things became stressful as we tried to get it all done. Gradually, symptoms returned and my children and I became intolerant of food that we have been eating since May/June. For one week, I took out all salicylates, fruit, and honey in order to bring sanity back into our lives as it felt like our whole world was crashing in on us. It was really bad! Tantrums! Rashes! Rigidity! Loss of eye contact! Difficulty concentrating! Meltdowns! Anxiety!
When I say bad, I mean really bad! I thought my husband should want to leave me because I had no time for him and our house was not a fun place to come home to. Everything felt very hopeless.
Then, I realized that I had put school above everything else in my life. It came first before spending time with God in His Word. It came before my relationship with my husband. It was more important than spending quality time with my little ones, or any of my children. Figuring it all out became more important than loving my children as Christ loved me. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (I Corrinthians 13:4-8) "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:13) I was no longer very patient or kind, though I tried to be. I was rude, self-seeking, and easily angered. I kept records of wrong. I did not protect, trust, hope, or persevere. I wanted to, but it wasn't in me. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) The Spirit was not in me. I stopped exhibiting these traits.
Here's why: (John 15:1-14) If a man remains in Christ, and Christ remains in him, then he will bear much fruit, but without Christ, he can do nothing! He can not bear much fruit. No matter how hard I try to be loving and patient and kind, I can not do it when Christ is not in me; when His words are not in me. When I fill myself up with other thoughts, those thoughts rule, and everything I say and do reflects what I am believing.
School had become an idol (anything we devote ourselves to above the Living God). I had sacrificed my relationship with my children on the alter of education. I sacrificed my relationship with my husband on the alter of education. I put education first and stopped seeking first His Kingdom and His Righteousness. I neglected my relationship with God.
When I realized this, I turned away from my sin and confessed it to the Lord, who has removed my sin as far as the east is from the west and who has washed me whiter than snow because when I confess my sins, "He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) I remember Romans 8:1 which says that "there is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
I began to seek Him, His Kingdom, and His Righteousness first. I sought council from the Wonderful Councelor and He answered me. He reminded me of the Truth. His word is True. He reminded me that if I will only ask Him, then He will show me great and unsearchable things that I have never known. (Jeremiah 33:3) It is all in His word! He has been showing me many great and wonderful things in His word. He speaks to me through His word. I now understand how one can have a very real, active, and living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I now believe Him wholeheartedly! Everything He says is TRUE! He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! (John 14:6)
He wants to heal us! I never KNEW that before. He wants to heal us! Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." We want to be free from anger, anxiety, bitterness, and rage. These things are not from God. God tells us to get rid of it. (Ephesians 4:31) He tells us not to be anxious. (Phillipians 4:6) If He tells us to do it, then there must be a way to do it! He is WAY more powerful than any food or food reaction. When Jesus healed people, he would say that their faith had healed them or "according to your faith, it will be done to you." (Matthew 9:29) I never believed He wanted to heal us. I knew He could, but I never believed He would. Now I know that He can and will. He gave me these words:
Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I shall be saved, for You are the one I praise."
Jeremiah 30:17 "For I will restore health to you and heal your wounds," declares the Lord."
Psalm 107 (all of it, as it describes people suffering because of their sin, they cry out to Him, He heals them from their distress, and they praise Him)
Psalm 107:17-22 "Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. HE SENT OUT HIS WORD AND HEALED THEM, and delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
Psalm 103:1-5 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who FORGIVES ALL YOUR INIQUITY, who HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
II Timothy 1:7 "for He did not give us a spirit of fear, but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of SELF-CONTROL." (some versions say of A SOUND MIND)
Does God want to heal us? Absolutely! He can and He will!
For one week, I pulled all the fruit, honey, and salycilates and things just got worse! Then, I was convicted of my sin (placing school above everything else) and I confessed it to God. Things got even worse, so that we saw tantrums and rages and fits like we saw two years ago before we started GAPS. Believing that God would heal us by His word, we started adding food in. Rashes are healing. Skin on cheeks is smoothing out again. Tempers are more peaceful or with love can be brought back to peaceful. We are now cooking chicken with necks and liver. That's huge! We ate chicken and sausage from Whole Foods Market with spices we had never tolerated before. Yum! I told my daughter to participate in art class no matter what the activity and not to worry about getting color on her skin. She did fine. We had a new babysitter come who wore too much fragrance, but believed everyone would be fine. They were. We ate oranges today. Everyone is sleeping. The children are going to bed on time without complaint. They get up and do their chores and school without complaint. Life is beautiful.
The rashes are not completely gone yet, but they are fading. The little ones get anxious and scream or cry over little things, but are quickly settled with a calm loving approach. We are learning to be calm. (Kirk Martin - Celebrate Calm or Celebrate Christian Calm) Our oldest has finally accomplished the amazing task of completing his schoolwork in record time in the middle of chaos and is understanding it better than ever. Our second child, also, is accomplishing her increased load of schoolwork in record time, amidst chaos, and even includes the little ones in her studies by "teaching" them what she is learning. Our seven year old is now "officially" Mommy's Helper, much to her delight. The little ones play or help all day long. We are laughing more and having a ton of fun. There is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control in our lives at the present time even though we have been eating things we could not tolerate before. God IS healing us! Everyday we now chant, "We're almost off of the GAPS diet, we're almost off of the GAPS diet, we're almost off of the GAPS diet! Praise the Lord!"
October 24, 2011
October Update Coming Soon!
All is well. Life is good. Tolerating many foods. Enjoying every day that the Lord has made! Details in next post. I'm still working on it.
September 12 Update
I have not written in my blog in forever as life has been busy with cooking, church, homeschool, and just living. School started in September and that has taken a lot of our time. Much has happened in that time and much has been learned. The Bio-Kult did change and it was a bit of a transition, but all is well with it now.
The following is an edited update I emailed to a friend on September 12th:
Truth of God's Word Brings Healing
Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. A new commandment I give you to love one another just as I have loved you. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ. It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purposes. We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. He works all things together for good for those who love Him and whom He has called according to His good purposes. He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may suffer grief in all kinds of trials, these have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and bring praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Your faith has healed you. These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.
God is love. Love heals.
We are finally on full GAPS after nearly two years. We are eating bone broths, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, brussel sprouts, asparagus, onions, garlic, parsley, pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, bananas, berries, honey, and more!!! I have taken communion on 3-4 occasions now with no adverse affects. CKS (4) drank some juice at VBS by accident and has been fine.
Eczema is gone! Rashes are gone! Rosy cheeks are gone! Echolalia is rare. Eye contact is usually great! Tempers and emotional meltdowns are rare! Development is right on target! Language is blossoming in all of my kids, on or above level. Imaginative play rules the day! Affection and just wanting to be with me is constant. Joy and peace are present in our home and everywhere we go. We get compliments on my children's behavior all the time. Whining and complaining is rare. My kids are genuinely happy and content, despite the fact that they work harder than any other children I know.
Leg cramps are rare. Anxiety is rare. Nightmares and restless sleepless nights are very rare. Poo is daily, sometimes multiple times a day and is more or less formed and brown. Smell of pee and poo is much more pleasant. Still having bedwetting issues, but is now a rare occurrence in our second child. The two who reacted to the vaccine still have lots of issues with frequency and urgency of urination, but they have more days now where it is less of a problem. Christopher has actually, on several occasions, made it through the whole day in the same clothes (today was not one of those days).
Since March, I am leading worship with our praise team. Our children go to Sunday School. We all are present for all of worship every Sunday. We participated in VBS and I lead the music and took pictures for the slide show. My husband put the slide show together. I led the music for the closing program. During VBS and this past week, we also babysat my friend's two little boys (both PDD-NOS) because her father, their grandpa passed away. We also cleaned out the attic, insulated the attic, etcetera, etcetera, and have been renovating the garage to make more room in our small house (which I love because small is so much easier to clean and I know where everyone is pretty nearly all the time).
I tell you all this to give glory to God who worked out all the details and made it all possible and who gave us the strength and ability to do so much. Six months ago, I could barely get through a day and we never knew if we would make it to church on time (we once went for the last five minutes of service). My kids reacted to something every time we walked out the door. I could not even let the littlest ones play at a friend's house.
We are preparing for the start of a new school year. I have my two girls taking classes at a local homeschool co-op for three hours every Friday. My oldest two are participating in Classical Conversations on Tuesdays and will be doing much more academics this year. My littles ones will be home with me except for four hours once a week when they will stay with a friend while I attend the Classical Conversations classes with my daughter (required). I'm stepping out in faith with all of this. I can't see how we are going to do all of this, but I know it is what we need to be doing. I stepped out in faith when I committed to lead the music for VBS and it is amazing how everything came together. I know that God will work out the details on this one, too. (The purpose of Classical Conversations is to know God and to make Him known.)
GAPS is a wonderfully healing and nutritious protocol, but what changed was my relationship with God. He is changing us from the inside out. He is renewing our minds. He is filling us with His Spirit. His Word is powerful and the Truth will set you free. When I began to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and I finally began to spend time with the Lord on a daily basis, reading His Word, studying His Word, and talking to Him, then everything began to change.
I have recently discovered that I can make my kids sick in an instant. When I am critical, their symptoms return. The rashes and eczema return. The leg cramps and tummy aches and diarrhea return. When I love on them, they bloom. They can eat fruit and honey! It is still astounding to me that they can finally eat fruit and honey! We try not to overdo it. Our bodies are His temple. Christ lives in us.
We must guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. We must put on the full armor of God. We must love like our Savior loved. God is love and Love heals. All praise and glory and honor to Jesus my Redeemer.
I could go on and on. I have alread gone on for an hour here. I hope it was encouraging. If you think it would be a blessing to anyone else, feel free to share my story. You can read more on my blog, too. Please feel free to send others my way. Gapsfamily.blogspot.com
My faith has grown as a result of this journey and I want others to know the healing power of Christ. GAPS is great, but God is greater!
The following is an edited update I emailed to a friend on September 12th:
Truth of God's Word Brings Healing
Seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. A new commandment I give you to love one another just as I have loved you. There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ. It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purposes. We were created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it. He works all things together for good for those who love Him and whom He has called according to His good purposes. He knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may suffer grief in all kinds of trials, these have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine and bring praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Your faith has healed you. These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.
God is love. Love heals.
We are finally on full GAPS after nearly two years. We are eating bone broths, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, brussel sprouts, asparagus, onions, garlic, parsley, pepper, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, apples, peaches, pears, cherries, grapes, bananas, berries, honey, and more!!! I have taken communion on 3-4 occasions now with no adverse affects. CKS (4) drank some juice at VBS by accident and has been fine.
Eczema is gone! Rashes are gone! Rosy cheeks are gone! Echolalia is rare. Eye contact is usually great! Tempers and emotional meltdowns are rare! Development is right on target! Language is blossoming in all of my kids, on or above level. Imaginative play rules the day! Affection and just wanting to be with me is constant. Joy and peace are present in our home and everywhere we go. We get compliments on my children's behavior all the time. Whining and complaining is rare. My kids are genuinely happy and content, despite the fact that they work harder than any other children I know.
Leg cramps are rare. Anxiety is rare. Nightmares and restless sleepless nights are very rare. Poo is daily, sometimes multiple times a day and is more or less formed and brown. Smell of pee and poo is much more pleasant. Still having bedwetting issues, but is now a rare occurrence in our second child. The two who reacted to the vaccine still have lots of issues with frequency and urgency of urination, but they have more days now where it is less of a problem. Christopher has actually, on several occasions, made it through the whole day in the same clothes (today was not one of those days).
Since March, I am leading worship with our praise team. Our children go to Sunday School. We all are present for all of worship every Sunday. We participated in VBS and I lead the music and took pictures for the slide show. My husband put the slide show together. I led the music for the closing program. During VBS and this past week, we also babysat my friend's two little boys (both PDD-NOS) because her father, their grandpa passed away. We also cleaned out the attic, insulated the attic, etcetera, etcetera, and have been renovating the garage to make more room in our small house (which I love because small is so much easier to clean and I know where everyone is pretty nearly all the time).
I tell you all this to give glory to God who worked out all the details and made it all possible and who gave us the strength and ability to do so much. Six months ago, I could barely get through a day and we never knew if we would make it to church on time (we once went for the last five minutes of service). My kids reacted to something every time we walked out the door. I could not even let the littlest ones play at a friend's house.
We are preparing for the start of a new school year. I have my two girls taking classes at a local homeschool co-op for three hours every Friday. My oldest two are participating in Classical Conversations on Tuesdays and will be doing much more academics this year. My littles ones will be home with me except for four hours once a week when they will stay with a friend while I attend the Classical Conversations classes with my daughter (required). I'm stepping out in faith with all of this. I can't see how we are going to do all of this, but I know it is what we need to be doing. I stepped out in faith when I committed to lead the music for VBS and it is amazing how everything came together. I know that God will work out the details on this one, too. (The purpose of Classical Conversations is to know God and to make Him known.)
GAPS is a wonderfully healing and nutritious protocol, but what changed was my relationship with God. He is changing us from the inside out. He is renewing our minds. He is filling us with His Spirit. His Word is powerful and the Truth will set you free. When I began to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness and I finally began to spend time with the Lord on a daily basis, reading His Word, studying His Word, and talking to Him, then everything began to change.
I have recently discovered that I can make my kids sick in an instant. When I am critical, their symptoms return. The rashes and eczema return. The leg cramps and tummy aches and diarrhea return. When I love on them, they bloom. They can eat fruit and honey! It is still astounding to me that they can finally eat fruit and honey! We try not to overdo it. Our bodies are His temple. Christ lives in us.
We must guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. We must put on the full armor of God. We must love like our Savior loved. God is love and Love heals. All praise and glory and honor to Jesus my Redeemer.
I could go on and on. I have alread gone on for an hour here. I hope it was encouraging. If you think it would be a blessing to anyone else, feel free to share my story. You can read more on my blog, too. Please feel free to send others my way. Gapsfamily.blogspot.com
My faith has grown as a result of this journey and I want others to know the healing power of Christ. GAPS is great, but God is greater!
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