Reliable Promises

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

and there was no longer any sea.

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,

coming down out of heaven from God,

prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people,

and he will dwell with them.

They will be his people,

and God himself will be with them and be their God.

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Those who are victorious will inherit all this,

and I will be their God and they will be my children.

~ Revelation 21:1-7 

Alive and Going

• Our past week: Nice and normal and social. Our small group did have our summer party, complete with a picnic, a water slide, a slip n' slide, a sack race, a three-legged race, and a pie-eating contest :) It was fun-filled, and Ricky was at the center of it! (Micaiah stayed home with Grandma.) [There's a video below, but it is sort of long.]
• We removed the water filter from our faucet and installed a new water system the other week, called a Vortex Water Revitalizer. It supposedly restores the energy of lifeless water... Anyway, I am already seeing results from using it!
• As anyone with little kids can relate, Frozen's song "Let It Go" has permeated our home. When Micaiah has to poop, let it go. When I have to pee, got-ta go. Aolani thinks this is hilarious... I can just see all the embarrassment this could cause -- sigh. Look what I've done.
• Micaiah's mishaps: says his name is "Me-cay-ah" and his sister's name is "Ay-oh-wah-knee" :)
• Aolani's antics: really enjoys mazes (like I ask her to do 2, and she does over 20 at one time!); and, loves to tell make-believe stories (that she invents as she is telling them, which means they are very imaginative and make no sense) ;)

enjoying this month of World Cup

I actually have two bookworms (and neither can read yet)

• One more week to finish memorizing these verses: Acts 20:22-4 ~ "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships await me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

My Flesh, The Spirit

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ~ Galatians 6:8, NIV

I was quoting this verse the other day, and I noticed, for the first time, something simple, slight, and telling.

Whoever sows to please...

THEIR flesh...

THE Spirit...

I like congruency, so I read this and think, "Whoa, shouldn't these words be the same to be grammatically congruent?" But they're not. So, naturally, I know that Paul must have had a reason.

"Their" is a plural, possessive pronoun. That means ownership. Each of us owns a flesh. It is not outside of us, meaning we cannot lay blame on anyone for this; it is inside of us -- mine and yours. {Of course, the less you feed it and the more you starve it, the weaker it becomes. But that takes the strength of God!}

"The" is an article. I do not own it (or I'd say my; my shoe versus the shoe). The Spirit is very different from my spirit. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit of God; my spirit is Aidan's spirit, which is contaminated by my flesh. "Whoever sows to please their spirit..." That's like saying follow your heart. (Ha! I definitely don't want to go where it would lead me!) While believers are given the gift of the Spirit, He does not become ours. He lives in us, but we do not own Him.

Sowing to please THE Spirit (and not my flesh),

Books of All Sorts

• It's been a pleasant week, although I did feel overwhelmed last Friday (friends, kids, money). I left the house last Saturday for the first time since Micaiah got his body cast. We went to a picnic with several other friends at the park with the splash pad and playground; Aolani got to play with a lot of her friends (and join Daddy while he played Bocce Ball). Then, I got to go out again the other day to see Disney's Maleficent (which I enjoyed) and visit the chiropractor! 
• Last week, I started a Beth Moore Bible study with some girlfriends (not the video part though). I have not done one since becoming pregnant for the first time over five years ago. It's my fourth BM one, and I am already loving the focus and diligence it requires :)
• Micaiah's mishaps: found duplos (big legos) and toy trains down the top part of his cast; am astonished by how much his speech has improved since being in a cast, which forces him to communicate more/better; frequently sings Broccoli...Celery... (from Veggietales); and, has learned to yell, "Poop now!" whenever he wants Grandma to hold him.
• Aolani's antics: made Ricky an adorable booklet for Father's Day; called the bar between Micaiah's legs on the cast "a bone"... :)
• What would we do without a library?? My mom and Aolani have to go every week to get a new batch of books for Micaiah. He is obsessed with books and reads each one multiple times a day! Toddler in cast = library books are a MUST HAVE!

Loves to pull himself on his side

The shoes on her hands are 'paws'

Wee widgit hat

Stirring colorful sand soup

A friend loaned him these trains, which he adores

A livestock raft

• Verses to memorize the next few weeks: Acts 20:22-4 ~ "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships await me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

Eating Scientifically

This is not really a prayer or pondering; it is more of an explanation.

E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e asks me about our new "Symptometry-diet". Symptometry calls it eating scientifically because it is based on years of study in a food science lab and fully considers all of the scientific composition of food, not just the nutritional part of food as natural health does.

I am not going into any details, but here are the two foundations per se that I tell people that lay the groundwork:

1. Food contains vitamins and minerals, which is all we ever hear about. This is called the upside of nutrition. What we never hear about are all the health disruptors found in those same foods (i.e., spinach contains high amounts of oxalic acid). Symptometry calls this the downside of nutrition. However, applying heat for certain lengths of time (cooking) can destroy the health disruptors in certain foods but not all foods. This why we stick to a general (but not thorough) list of "the 45 foods" that are safest for human consumption. [Excluding the six fruits I regularly eat, I have not had a single raw food in ten months!]
2. Humans have a set number of enzymes everyday. Every food and health disruptor requires a certain number of enzymes to break it down. I had learned that one reason we need to eat raw veggies is to receive their enzymes so that we can use them (and heat destroys their enzymes). However, humans can only use human enzyme and not plant enzymes -- pooey. So, a big thing to keep in the forefront of your mind each day is to eat in order to build an enzyme surplus for that day. So, we also want to consume foods that require a low number of enzymes to break it down. Another reason why we stick to "the 45 foods" list.

We were totally into natural health (more so than anyone we personally knew -- limit grains, coconut oil, green smoothies, flaxseed, nuts, seeds, avoid sugar, brown rice, raw everything... those people), so this was completely mind-blowing to us, which is why it took us a month of talking about it to each other to come to terms with trying it. [It was just so crazy-sounding and paradigm-shifting to us, unlike anything we had ever heard before.]

Symptometry does not like chemicals or drugs or processed foods (much), which is why Symptometry is neither allopathic or alternative. It is based upon science (discoveries made by gas spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography) and stands alone.

Side note: If you had asked me a year ago, "What would happen to you if you went without eating a single raw veggie and ate lots of white flour for a whole year?" Oh my. I would have thought that I'd have a lot of acne, gained a lot weight, have zero energy, feel horrible, and definitely have had my disease progress. But after eating this way for 10 months, I am sleeping better, more energetic, and getting better! Now, that is truly mind-blowing to me!

I must add that eating scientifically does not make you well or cure any diseases. And, it is kind of like an all or nothing deal. Symptometry makes it perfectly clear that you must ionize existing blockages (through particulates) to fully heal; if you ionize without eating scientifically, then you will either heal slowly or not completely. Also, you will quickly lose your healing if you do not maintain it through eating scientifically (diet). [I ate this way for a month before beginning particulates, and my mouth ulcers and acid reflux went away instantly, but that's minor compared to a nerve disease and those corresponding issues.]

For more information about health disruptors in food, see Downside of Nutrition by Dr. Maxwell Nartey. For more information about which foods to eat, see What to Consume by Dr. Maxwell Nartey.

Straightening Up

• Micaiah went to the doctor for an update last Friday and a good report. The spica body cast may come off in 2-3 more weeks, and a leg cast may replace it for the final weeks. Our days consist of my mom reading to Micaiah on her lap in the recliner while I try to do some school/activities with Aolani and watching a movie or show most evenings while my mom  prepares dinner. After dinner is Daddy-time!
• Micaiah's mishaps: is constantly counting -- 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (skips 1 and 2 every time); calls himself "Humpy Dumpy"; frequently yells Pee coming! or Poop now! (poor previously-potty-trained little guy); and, calls most colors "orangent" but not the actual orange color, of course!

Imaginets

My friend sent the above and below activities for the kids (thank you)

Foam hearts (stick with water)

"I'm a kitty-cat-doggie-dress-up-girl-princess-ballerina"

Grocery shopping with Grandma

Backyard picnic

• The first physically-noticeable-to-others health improvement has been the increase in circulation and improved color in my lower extremities. [While I notice plenty more, they are things that you have to take my word for.] Also, most everyone that was in a wheelchair when starting Symptometry, on average took about 2 years to take their first steps. I've heard that the first year is very slow compared to the second year. And I hear that diseased genes are tough, doable but hard -- that's me. Let patience have its perfect work (James 1:4), right?! These pictures are not perfect but at least you can see Ricky's foot color is the same and is a good comparison. Picture on left is from September 2013 and picture on right is from this week --

• Verses to memorize the next few weeks: Acts 20:22-4 ~ "And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."

A Father's Love

In one of the many books I got to read on our beach vacation, a new insight came to light -- something I've never heard before.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... ~ Ephesians 5:23-5

Now in all three of these verses the wife is analogous to... the church.

What is one of the church's main purposes? To express God's love to the world.

So one of the wife's primary functions should be... to convey to your children their father's love for them!

Lately, I have been trying to keep that in mind and to not hold so tightly to my 'convictions' of less screen time, less sugar, etc. when Daddy wants to do something with the kids that I'm not gung-ho about. My aim should be to encourage their bond and the demonstration of love (not to mention, keeping the peace). I can also do this verbally by talking about why Daddy goes to work or runs errands. Ricky loves his kids, and I need to make sure that message is being received!

Lying Around

• We have been sticking around home since Micaiah does not fit in his carseat with the cast. [We have to harness him lying down flat in the seats for doctor appointments; not the safest way to travel!] Our weekend consisted of Papa's visit, which cheered Micaiah; and, we had our small group meeting here, so we could join :)
• Micaiah's care (spica cast): He spends most of his time on the couch playing with his toys -- play bugs and animals, books, Magna Doodle, stickers... He sits on people's laps in the recliner to be read to. We got a small (fake) bean bag to slide him around in some (not his favorite); and, we borrowed our friends' wagon to take him around outside (this is his favorite). There is an opening in his cast for his privates; so, we tuck an inner diaper in the front and back of the cast and cover that with an outer diaper that we use duct tape to fasten to the cast (we found that no other tape works well). We sponge bathe his body and wash his hair in the kitchen sink. He itches some and gets a little constipated. He loves having visitors and when people sign his cast. His eating is pretty normal except he won't drink a lot of water :( Sleep was a little tricky for the first week (screaming, crying, hated being alone, nightmares...), but it is getting easier and better (not yet normal though). Sometimes, he uses his crib rails to pull himself on his side (that takes muscle!) to sleep, and it looks hilarious for one leg to be stuck in the air like that ;) My mom usually feeds him while he is reclining on the couch.  He gets easily frustrated, as you can imagine a 2-yo in a cast, not knowing what's going on and why he can't jump up, would. Yet, he is usually very sweet and cheerful! 
• Micaiah's mishaps: We made the bar between  his legs look like railroad tracks, and Ricky drew a train beside it. Well, my friend, Teresa, came over with a big bruise on her leg. She showed Micaiah, and he smilingly replied, "Leg hurt. Train?" He was asking her if she wants a train too! Also, when Aolani was getting a bath yesterday, I tried to console him by telling him that he can take baths with his sister in just a few weeks once he gets his cast off. He turned to Grandma and asked, "Grandma, off?" "No, I can't," she answered. Micaiah responded, "Mommy try?" "No, I can't either," I said. Micaiah quickly countered, "Daddy try?" ;) [He's probably thinking, Alright, this gig is up; take it off now!]
• Aolani's antics: has dubbed the word thinny (thin+skinny); started crying when Grandma went to the hotel with Papa; says Where you are instead of Where are you; calls my particulates, particulurate; peeked out the window one evening and saw Aolani stuck in the wagon (or so she thought), hands raised, face upturned, tears welling, and praying to God to help her get out :) 

Yarn-wrapped tulips

"Look! I'm pretending to be Micaiah!"

We put pillows and blankets in here to level the bottom.

• Verse to memorize this week: Proverbs 29:11 ~ Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. 

How to Pray for the Persecuted Church

• That believers will stand firm in their faith (1 Peter 5:8-10)

• That they will not fear but trust God (Revelation 2:10) 

• That they would not seek to retaliate, but entrust themselves to Him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:23) 

• That they will not repay evil for evil but will seek to live in peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18) 

• That they will not take revenge, but leave that completely with God. (Romans 12:17-21) 

• That they will be enabled to rejoice, even in suffering. (1 Peter 4:12-13) 

• That they will forgive those who persecute them. (Luke 23:34, Colossians 3:13) 

• That they would be able to actually love their enemies. (Matthew 5:43-44) 

• That they will bless those who have persecuted them. (Romans 12:14, 21) 

• That they will persevere under tribulation. (Hebrews 10:32-39) 

• That they will trust God to enable them to proclaim the Gospel even while suffering. (2 Timothy 4:16-18)

• That they will keep their eyes on Jesus, persevere, and not grow weary or lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3) 

• That they will rely on the Lord’s strength and not on their own. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

• Not that You take them out of the world, but protect them from the evil one. (John 17:15) 

(There appears to be several sources for this. The important thing is to actually pray. Pick one bullet point now and say a prayer for our brethren!)