Starting All Over

In 2017 my husband and I began a raw vegan lifestyle for his heart health. I joined him because I don’t like to cook and making two meals was out of the question. I also thought it could improve my health; make what was good, better.

In 2018 cooked vegan was introduced into our plan. That was good but by now I was exhausted. The Dr. told me that I didn’t have to make everything from scratch. Well, O happy day. I thought this was a blessing. I began a new journey into the vegan processed food world. Label reading became more of a necessity. As with most products in our stores the packaging can be misleading or barely truthful. Some brands are vegetarian but intimate that they are okay for vegans. Some meat substitutes taste decent and others don’t. One thing they all have in common is too much sodium and they are PROCESSED. In 2019 I gained weight eating processed food.

Here I am in 2020 beginning our raw journey again. This time it is for me. This time it is harder. I don’t know if I know too much or not enough. One thing I do know is the processed meat substitutes will be eliminated and if ever returned it will be sparingly.

As a singer once put it

Starting All Over Again is going to be tough but we’re, I’m going to make it.

Einkorn Waffles and Pancake Mix

This mix is a blend of Einkorn flour, brown rice flour, Amaranth, Tapioca flour,Sorghum flour and Garbanzo(Chickpea) flour.

My first try was edible and that’s all I can really say about that. I left iut the syrup and the vanilla flavoring. You wouldn’t think that would matter but it did. The vanilla, not so much but the removal of the sweetener was a mistake. Because I’m vegan I used E-nerG egg substitute. I didn’t let it sit long enough before i used it.

On my next try, I used blue agave sweetener and I allowed the egg substitute to fully complete its transformation.

The batter was a little thicker than I like but the waffles were much better. I will try again using the egg replacement equivalent of 2 eggs and I may add a little more milk if needed. The Einkorn really absorbs the liquid. I will keep you posted.

Einkorn Pancake and Waffle Mix

Join my journey through the Young Living nutrition products. The recipe for the waffles are on the bag. Click on the Young Living link on this page and purchase the book.

Un-conditionally

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, especially the last few days. Have I really grown to love unconditionally?

You know I went back to the dictionary to see if I missed anything regarding “un”.

Un means not. When attached to a word it means not that. Un+Fair =unfair – not fair.

Un+conditionally =unconditionally – not conditionally. We, or maybe I should say I, think of no conditions, no strings attached. Could it mean more?

I looked at the statement my son Sam made: you can’t love unconditionally unless you know the condition the person is in or has. (My paraphrase). The context for the word condition changes. This doesnt’have anything to do with the strings attached but instead the state or situation the person is in. Could mean their character, their socioeconomic status, their health, or behavior. I thought about that. I don’t like liars. It would be easier to embrace someone with a possibly contagious disease than a liar. But that’s the condition of mental health they are in, their character.

Condition = liar

Uncondition = not liar

I am to love them as if the condition did not exist. Love them as if they weren’t liars.

To love unconditionally then means to love as if the condition you find so offensive was NOT. See past the condition and love them anyway. This doesn’t mean you accept or agree with wrong. It doesn’t mean you are blind to the condition. It means you see it and choose to love as if it wasn’t there.

I have to ask myself do I truly love some people unconditionally that I thought I did? Can I love racists, hatemongers, rapists, pedophiles, murderers, liars, and the like in my present “condition”? I still don’t like liars but can I love them anyway?

Loving unconditionally is loving as if the condition was NOT.

Step Back, Balance

Lying in bed this morning I looked back over my life. I do that sometimes to remind myself of the good things and the good times I have experienced. In the midst of those thoughts something unexpected happened. The thought came “Why just the good things. What about the bad things?”Now why would I want to do that? To learn. So I did.

It is said your behavior follows your thinking. I now see oftentimes your thinking follows your feelings and ignores facts. I discovered most of my bad decisions were made during a time of or were motivated by emotional pain. I really never looked at it like that but after some analysis it proved to be true. This was and is not wise. When you are hurting, it is likely you will only see the negative circumstances and the negative options. The flip side is also true. If you are on an emotonal high it is likely you will only see the good options. The lesson I learned for me this morning is

Remember to calm down, step back, get an emotional balance along with the facts and then

make your decision.

Watch “The Sandbox was Before That” on YouTube

Still feeling the results if the conference. My soil has been greatly enriched by this experience. In addition I developed new relationships and made others stronger.

TODAY, the Best Day❣

Today is workday. I am finally organizing my office/sewing center/guess room. I am setting up to continue my self-care. I’ll explain in my next post. My soil is blacker now. So many nutrients were added to it these last two weeks.

TODAY is the BEST day of my life🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

God is leaning in my direction❣

Black Soil Living

Oftentimes a change in direction or purpose is accompanied by a name change. This season in my life is no different. I am still interested in health and wellness for mind, body and spirit.

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LOVE?

What did Y’shua mean?

Matthew 22:35-40 (KJV)
35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38  This is the first and great commandment.
39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This word is used so freely to describe such a wide range of emotions. We say “I love you” just to be nice sometimes without thinking of the depth of feelings the other person may believe it to mean. In the scripture above the word is translated from the Greek word agapeo which is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as “to love in a social and moral sense.” What does that mean? Comparing it to brotherly love, phileo, agapeo is an deliberate, intellectual act of the will that embraces duty, propriety and principle. In other words, it is not based on feelings but is a choice. As Y’shua states above, we are to love God with all our heart, our soul and our mind. Love the Lord your God with all your thoughts and feelings, your breath, and your deep thought (understanding).

That makes clear HOW I am to love but what does the word love mean?Going back to Deuteronomy 6:5 that Y’shua was quoting the word love is defined as ‘to have affection for.” That seems easy. I can have affection for God and for you. However, it goes so much deeper than that. It has to be an “all” kind of love. My entire being expresses love for my God. It’s ALL encompassing; my very lifestyle. That my friend affects how I love you or myself. Paul, a scholar of the Law, summarizes Yahweh’s instructions on the lifestyle of the Israelites and Y’shua’s teachings in the following text.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV)
4  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
5  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
7  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. …….1
13  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I deliberately, and intellectually choose to LOVE.

Y’shua’s Gospel

We would do Well to Remember!

One day I decided to study the gospels, you know, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, with the purpose of determining the gospel message according to Y’shua (Jesus). We have so many people telling us what the gospel is in sermon, song, or behavior. Their versions have just gotten so anti-everything, except what I can get for “me”. Now I am not new to the scriptures but I wanted a fresh look. I set aside everything I knew or thought I knew and approached the investigation with fresh eyes.
The question I wanted answered was “what is the gospel according to Y’shua?”  Remember He had not died and resurrected, so that could not be His gospel.
Also, why were the religious leaders so angry with Him? You would think they’d be supportive after He read Isaiah in the synagogue. After all, they had been, supposedly, awaiting with great expectation the Messiah”s appearance on the scene.

I noticed that Y’shua challenged the practices of the religious leaders with his every act and word. The religious leaders prayed in public so everyone could observe their piety. But where was the submission to Yahweh? Y’shua taught his disciples not to pray like the Pharisees who had a semblance of holiness. He taught them to respect and yield to Yahweh’s sovereignty when they prayed. They wanted the law to be obeyed without compassion for the person. He taught obedience to the law wrapped in love. Take the women caught in adultery. The law said both the man and the woman should be stoned but only the woman was brought before him. He did not condone the woman’s behavior. Instead, He asked her where are your accusers. He did not condemn her, instead he showed her compassion and to sin no more. His response also cast a light on their hypocrisy and disobedience. He who has no sin cast the first stone. We would do well to remember.

I could go on but I will stop here with examples. It is my opinion that HIS GOSPEL, HIS GOOD NEWS was
1. Freedom from legalism, religiosity,selective judgement, man-made traditions
2. Freedom to love their God, themselves and their neighbors.

Yes, Yahweh’s law was to be obeyed. Yes, Yahweh’s messages through the prophets were to be listened to. Y’shua reminded them that the law and the prophets hung on the commandment to love God (Yahweh) and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:35-40 (KJV)
35  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38  This is the first and great commandment.
39  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In everything He said and did, Yahweh’s Love was the why. His expression or example of righteous Love is the how. Love in all circumstances was His message; His GOSPEL; HIS GOOD NEWS.

We would do well to remember what is most important.

LOVE!