My Favorite Commercial

I love football season. One of my favorite things to do on Sundays and Monday nights is to watch football. If it was up to me, they’d play year round. It’s especially nice if you’re at the game – LIVE in 40 degree weather. Bundling up and watching any football game live with a crowd is such a high for me.

I also enjoy college football, but since it’s more difficult for me to keep up with, I stick more with what I know.

Okay, and there’s nothing like watching the #1 most accurate quarterback EVER with the laser rocket arm, Peyton Manning. He is everything that you would want in a quarterback not only because of accuracy, but he can call plays and runs the best no-huddle offense. Hands down he’s numero uno.

So on November 19 I get to watch the Colts take on the Cowboys LIVE in Irving. Sorry Cowboys, but the Colts have the game.

"Put That Salt Dauwn"

My husband has a friend who when he (his friend) eats any meal and picks up the salt, will say to himself, “Put that salt dauwn (down).” This gentleman said that growing up if he picked up the salt at dinner to spice his food up a little bit, his mom would always use the phrase, “Put that salt dauwn.”

That’s some great advice for all of us, and if we all took that advice, how much better our health would be. I know all too well, though, that this is advice very few will take because we are so accustomed to using salt in everything we eat. Some of us not only use it, but we douse our food in it.

Even the doctor’s orders to ‘put that salt down’ and his warning of the health risks associated with salt don’t seem to deter us from pouring it on during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even on already salty snacks.

So you ask, “What’s the big deal? Is it really that bad?” Yes. Salt really is that bad. Dr. Mercola (www.mercola.com) has written an article about it (http://www.mercola.com/forms/salt.htm), but I’ll save you the reading and will give you some main points. Then, I’ll list some alternatives.

First of all, we NEED salt in order to live. The problem lies in the kinds of salt we consume. Today’s table salt is completely different from the natural salt our bodies need.

“Your table salt is actually 97.5% sodium chloride and 2.5% chemicals such as moisture absorbents, and iodine. Dried at over 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit, the excessive heat alters the natural chemical structure of the salt causing the potential for a myriad of health problems in your body.” (mercola.com)

“What remains after typical salt is "chemically cleaned" is sodium chloride - an unnatural chemical form of salt that your body recognizes as something completely foreign. This form of salt is in almost every preserved product that you eat. Therefore, when you add more salt to your already salted food, your body receives more salt than it can dispose of. This is important as over 90% of the money that people spend on food is for processed food.

Typical table salt crystals are totally isolated from each other. As a food, table salt is absolutely useless, and can potentially act as a destructive poison. In order for your body to try to metabolize table salt crystals, it must sacrifice tremendous amounts of energy.
Inorganic sodium chloride upsets your fluid balance and constantly overburdens your elimination systems, which can impair your health.

When your body tries to isolate the overdose of salt you typically expose it to, water molecules must surround the sodium chloride to break them up into sodium and chloride ions in order to help your body neutralize them. To accomplish this, water is taken from your cells and you have to sacrifice the perfectly structured water already stored in your cells in order to neutralize the unnatural sodium chloride. This results in dehydrated cells that can prematurely kill them.” (mercola.com)

“For every gram of sodium chloride that your body cannot get rid of, your body uses twenty-three times the amount of cell water to neutralize the salt. Eating common table salt causes excess fluid in your body tissue, which can contribute to:

• Unsightly cellulite
• Rheumatism, arthritis and gout
• Kidney and gall bladder stones

When you consider that the average person consumes 4,000 to 6,000 mg of sodium chloride each day, and heavy users can ingest as much as 10,000 mg in a day , it is clear that this is a serious and pervasive issue.” (mercola.com)

Did you know that there are dangerous preservatives in table salt that aren’t required to be listed on the label? “Calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, and aluminum hydroxide are often added to improve the ability of table salt to pour. Aluminum is a light alloy that deposits into your brain - a potential cause of Alzheimer's disease.” (mercola.com)

“Many people believe sea salt is a healthy alternative to table salt, but this is no longer the case. The oceans are being used as dumping grounds for harmful toxic poisons like mercury, PCBs and dioxin. Reports of oil spills polluting the sea are becoming more frequent. With some 89% of all the sea salt producers now refining their salt, today's sea salt simply isn't as healthy as it used to be.”

The solution – EAT PURE HIMALAYAN CRYSTAL SALT
Benefits – 1) not bad for you!! It can even be a healing agent
2) has a balancing effect and does not contribute to high blood pressure, etc.
3) minded by hand and hand washed
4) There is no limited shelf life and no need for silica packets to prevent clumping

Read more about it here: http://www.mercola.com/forms/salt.htm

Milk - It Does a Body ...Bad?

“Have you had YOUR milk today?” Hopefully you have not. Thanks to the FDA, our country and most people are clueless as to the effects of drinking milk – all negative effects. I’m talking about the milk we buy at Wal-Mart or our local grocer. There is NOTHING good about drinking that kind of milk. Period.

Why, then, are there so many commercials with milk-mustached celebrities promoting and encouraging the consumption of milk? The simple answer is money $$. That’s right - money for the FDA, the milk companies, and even the pharmaceutical industry. This will wait for another blog, but just know that these organizations are not out for our well-being. They’re out for our money, and if that means that we continue to get sick so that we can feed the pharmaceuticals, then so be it.

Back to milk – when milk is heated as part of the pasteurization process, the protein molecules are damaged and then even function as a potent allergen. That’s the reason milk is the number 1 allergen today.

“Pasteurizing destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamins, denatures (damages) fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, kills beneficial bacteria and promotes pathogens. Pasteurized cow's milk is the number one allergic food in this country.
Pasteurization has been associated with a number of symptoms and illnesses ranging from diarrhea, cramps and gastrointestinal bleeding to heart disease, cancer and arteriosclerosis.” (mercola.com)

The pasteurization process also turns the sugar in milk (lactose) into beta-lactose. “Besides destroying part of the vitamin C contained in raw milk and encouraging growth of harmful bacteria, pasteurization turns the sugar of milk, known as lactose, into beta-lactose, which is far more soluble and therefore more rapidly absorbed in the system, with the result that the child soon becomes hungry again. Probably pasteurization's worst offence is that it makes insoluble the major part of the calcium contained in raw milk. This frequently leads to rickets, bad teeth and nervous troubles, for sufficient calcium content is vital to children; and with the loss of phosphorus also associated with calcium, bone and brain formation suffer serious setbacks.” (mercola.com)

Organic pasteurized milk is not treated any differently. The pasteurization process is the same. Please read http://www.mercola.com/2003/mar/26/pasteurized_milk.htm for more information.

Food for thought – did you know that humans are the only living creatures that drink milk past the infancy stage?

The solution:
1) Stop drinking milk altogether (this includes the consumption of dairy products).
2) Drink grass-fed cow’s raw milk (see this website for states that can legally sell it http://www.magma.ca/%7Eca/rawmilk/sale.htm, and see this website for locations in your particular state that sell raw milk www.westonaprice.org) See this site for a complete report on untreated milk http://www.magma.ca/%7Eca/rawmilk/demand.htm

Lawlessness

A hot topic in America today is the controversial subject of illegal immigration in this country. Every person I’ve spoken to believes it’s wrong, but each one has his own opinion about how to solve the issues. The problem is that these solutions don’t address the real problem.

A stuffy nose, coughing, and a fever are all symptoms of a deeper problem. If I take over-the-counter medications, the symptoms may subside for a while, but they will return because I haven’t taken care of the root of the problem.

The proposed solutions to illegal immigration won’t take care of the issue on a long term basis. The heart issue must be addressed if we want real solutions. The end.

Oh, not the end yet. So it was funny – I was riding to a gathering with some friends, and our conversation during the drive somehow led to this whole illegal immigration thing. All of the people, friends A, B, and C are adamantly opposed to illegal immigration, and each, of course, had his own opinion on now to solve the issue. The bottom line, though, was that it’s illegal, and we are to submit to the laws of the land as long as they don’t contradict the Word of God. What’s funny is that when we got to a toll booth, friend C says, “Just run it.” Friends B and C don’t have change, so they say the same. Friend C goes on to say, “I pay taxes, etc., etc., so why should I have to pay to drive on this road?”

My issue with this – that’s just as lawless as a person crossing the border illegally. Just as murder is breaking the law, so was “just running” the toll plaza without paying. Clearly the Bible says that we are to submit to the governing authorities unless they contradict God. A governing authority in the state of Texas and city of Dallas requires us to pay a fee when using a particular road. It doesn’t contradict Scripture; therefore, not paying is disobedience to God’s Word period. We’re not even forced to use these roads. We are free to use other roads. When we choose these particular roads, however, we’re to pay a certain fee. Not paying this fee is wrong.

Excuses, Excuses

Okay, so you know what really annoys me? Well, a few things do, but right now what’s annoying me is people using their ‘personality’ as a crutch. What I mean is people not being willing to change just because they are this way. Yes, God made us with different personalities and backgrounds. This plays into who we are and what we do. This, however, shouldn’t negate God’s Word that tells us to be joyful and encouraging, etc. We should always be willing to grow and change. Just because we’re not naturally positive people, it doesn’t mean we can’t grow. Isn’t that what being on this earth is about? It’s about growing. It’s about being changed. It’s about being perfected into who God wants to make us. So if that means a bit of uncomfortability so that we can look more like Jesus and therefore impact more lives for Him, then I think we should stop with the excuses. Thanks.

My Planks

So this morning for some reason (back to this later) I was prompted to review some Scriptures I had previously memorized back in high school. Low and behold I come to the first part of Matthew 7 - what I call the plank verses. As soon as I began reading them, I knew God needed to get a message through to me.

He has been dealing with me about righteousness, not His righteousness but SELF-righteousness...mine. There you have it. Sweet lil' Susy has self-righteousness, pride issues. What's sad is that my poor husband has to put up with most of it.

See I tend to um, be 'real proud' (in the not-good way) of ALL the stuff I can do and how little everyone else can do. Yeah, that's one of the uglies of me.

Nathan puts up with it and knows that eventually I'll come down to earth and realize who I am (or am not), but one day he just had enough. I'll never forget it. We were heading home after spending the day house-hunting, and I started it - telling him oh, of how much I was doing and how much he wasn't. "I'm going to school, working a full-time job, AND a part-time job. On top of that, I can keep a 4.0 GPA, a clean house, AND a social life." TOP THAT! Boy did he.

I knew that I was wrong for intentionally trying to put him down and hurt him (I know. I'm awful). I knew what I was doing.

This time my great husband didn't take it. He politely said, "Susy, just because you do all of these things doesn't mean that you're better than me or anyone else. Choosing to busy yourself isn't a sign of godlyness."

I started to defend myself (by the way, defensiveness and never admitting mistakes is another sign of my self-righteousness) with, "I'm not saying I'm better..." But he was right on target.

Wow, this has gone into a different direction...well, all that to say that this pride thing is not pretty. Who in the world do I think I am looking down on people that way? As Matthew says, I must first take the PLANK out of my eye to help remove the speck from my brother's eye. You know, a plank is a large piece of timber, while a speck is a speck. It probably means that this issue of mine might be a bit larger than that lil' piece of lint I see in others.

How in the world does Jesus put up with our planks?

What a Savior we have in Him!

I'm hanging Wonder Woman

Many little girls grow up dreaming about being gymnasts. They watch girls flip all over the floor and a 4w-inch wide beam while looking as graceful as a ballerina. I was no exception. From the time I can remember, I was glued to the television during the Olympics watching these girls. So I decided to give it a try. For a few years I took gymnastics and became eligible to compete in some competitions. During one competition, I wore a red, white, and blue outfit that earned me the nickname "Wonder Woman."

It was annoying at first - you know, the whole 10 year-old boys calling me names, but when I got older and the name had worn off, I began to miss the name. I wanted the name back because I think I started believing it. I started believing that I could be her - Wonder Woman.

One of the challenges of my personality is that I try to take on too much and have a difficult time saying no. I've known this since my teenage years, so I've made it a point to keep myself in 'check.' I mean, c'mon, wonder woman can do it all. Her name alone says that. She can save the world while still put on a pretty face. She's Wonder Woman.

I think I have come to realize for REAL that I AM NOT. I would always tell people that I knew I wasn't. I would even tell them that because I was aware that I had the tendency to take the world on, that I wouldn't - that I knew how to keep myself in check. But even that was my Wonder Woman act.

So here I am today, sharing with you that though an inkling of me may want to be Wonder Woman still, I can finally admit to myself and to you that I am not. I fail, I fall, and I make mistakes. Oh, and most importantly, I can't do it all. God has reserved that exclusively for heaven. So I'll wait patiently for my cape.

Babies?

From the time Nathan & I got married, I was ready for kids. Since then, the world has changed, yet still no kids for us. We have friends who have since been married and have had kids (yes, plural), and yet here we are – none. I’ve been asked if Mother’s Day is difficult for me because I’m not yet a mother. I could see why people would ask that. It’s very kind of them to do so, but to be honest, we’re happy. Yes, we think about kids and can’t wait to have them, but boy are we enjoying TODAY. We enjoy the ‘irresponsibility’ of just being and going. I enjoy waking up early to get ready for work everyday (less and less lately, but I still do). I enjoy hanging out with friends on a whim. I enjoy lazy days. I enjoy making memories with my husband, my best friend.

I believe that the reason I can enjoy life this way is because God has me where He wants me. I wouldn’t be fulfilled if I was out of His will. In my short life, I’ve come to know that it’s only in His will that I’m truly content. That doesn’t mean life will be problem free. No, it just means that I can be in a place of peace and have the kind of joy and satisfaction that comes from walking with Him daily.

just

Recently I took yet another disc test. Of course, it reaffirmed some things of which I’m already aware – I’m a demanding perfectionist, who takes criticism way too seriously. During different season of life, different things have been required of me. At work, I don’t function as a dominant person, but otherwise, that’s who I am…etc, etc.

You know what, though? I’m a perfectionist all the time, and to be honest, it’s stressing me out. I’M stressing me out. Even from the time that I was a little girl, I felt like I had to be perfect. I always had a clean room growing up because I would think, “What if the President of the Unites States decided to show up at my front door?” (I really did.) Now sure, this was great for my mom because she never had to reprimand me for not cleaning my room or the like. If I really think about it, my mom didn’t have to reprimand me much growing up. Okay, that sounds so self-serving. I wasn’t perfect, BUT because I felt like I had to be, I didn’t cause many problems (that and the fact that I learned from my older brother’s mistakes).

This is why I’m a great performer – because I feel like I have to do that all the time – perform up to others’ expectations of me. I’d be great in Hollywood. But to be me?

This perfectionism has now stemmed into adulthood, and today I have stressed myself out because of it. I have these high expectations of me that I don’t know that I can meet today. I don’t know that I can meet the mark tomorrow or even the next day. I don’t know that I can please you, or them or myself. I hate the insecurity that drives me to please the whole world.

But I do know this – that this burden I’ve placed on myself to be perfect wasn’t placed there by God. His Word says that He’ll never give us more than what we can handle. His Word says that His burdens are light. I don’t have to try to live up to anyone’s expectations, especially mine. I’ll always fail. I can’t please even me.

I must remember that I’m called to Jesus. He doesn’t require me to come to Him as a perfect vessel. He just wants ME. How long I’ve waited to just rest in His arms.

Welcome

For a while I was blogging elsewhere, but I wanted a fresh start, so here it is.

I started journaling at a young age, and I’ve come to realize how therapeutic it is for me. I don’t claim to be a writer. Although I love doing it, I'm not good at it. You’ll see that I sometimes even have conflicting thoughts. It’s just part of the ‘working-through-it’ process. So why open myself up to the world? What makes me think anyone cares what goes on in my crazy head? It’s my way of working through life. Enjoy my musings.