Tired of Being Tired

My health for the past few years has been marginal.  Not that I'm sick a lot, I'm just tired and weary much of the time.  So, I've decided to try to improve my health.  I found a medical center that practices integrated medicine (healing-oriented medicine using conventional and alternative ways of healing).  I have no real clue what my problem(s) might be, but I like the idea of a healing-oriented approach.  I don't want to take medicine to treat symptoms that otherwise might never go away.  But the thought of actually healing a problem is very attractive. 

After my visit this week, I was asked to try a detox eating plan in an effort to rid my body of impurities and help determine if I might have food allergies.  With a trunk-load of supplements and my detox plan in hand, I started my journey on Wednesday.   Since then I have given up all that I would normally eat, and I've added food that hasn't been processed.  In essence, I've returned to what God had planned from the beginning.

Genesis 1:29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.  

In less than a week I've begun to lose weight, sleep better, and I have a little more energy. This could be a very interesting journey. 

CrossSums Turns One

This week marks one year since I began writing this blog.  As I look back over my posts, it is like reading a diary.  I see the ups and downs, the victories and struggles, the mundane and unexpected, the serious and silly.  These are the events that anyone may experience during any given year.  The one constant in each post is Christ.

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Jesus is with us in everything we do.  He sees all, hears all, knows all and feels all.  He is the One who always says, "I am here."  Keep that in mind as you go through this week and see how often you find yourself 'Adding Christ to Every Day'.

Neti Pots and Baby Bottles

After years of sinus infections, one of my friends advised me to use a Neti Pot.  No way, I'm not pouring water in my nose!  I had memories of chlorine and ocean water burning my sinuses every time I attempted to swim.  And if you've never seen anyone use a Neti Pot, it's not pretty.  You must dilute 1/4 tsp of salt in a cup of warm water then pour it in one nostril and let it drain out the other.  Very reluctantly I tried it.  It worked: bye, bye sinus infections!

Several years have passed now and I use the Neti Pot almost daily.  I always used tap water and sea salt, but I started reading stories about people dying from bacteria attacking their brain after doing exactly what I had been doing!  'Experts' said to use distilled water.  Did they really think that I would spend the time to heat distilled water, somehow get it to the correct temperature, and use it instead of the tap water (which I could adjust to the desired temp in seconds)?

I considered the stove or the microwave, but nothing appealed to me because I didn't want to go to another room while I was trying to get ready for the day.  It wasn't until I thought about the temperature of the water that I found my solution.  What else ever needed to be at body temperature? That's right, milk in baby bottles!  And what better way to warm liquid to body temperature than to use a bottle warmer?  So I purchased a bottle warmer and a baby bottle.  It worked!  A new use for a bottle warmer.

John2:6-7 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.  Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

At the wedding in Cana, Jesus used what he had for another purpose.  The manner of purifying of the Jews was to allow them to present themselves clean before God during ceremonies. The six waterpots were there for the Jewish wedding guests to wash their hands before entering the wedding area.  Jesus re-purposed the waterpots to be the containers for the best wine at the wedding.  

Now I have my Neti Pot hanging from a banana holder, a bottle warmer for the distilled water and a crystal container for the sea salt.  I feel rather foolish telling you all of this, but I think it can be good to use what you have for other purposes.

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Ouch!

After a very stressful week at work, I spent Saturday trying to unwind.  Mindless manual labor was the plan of the day.  Late in the evening the weather was cool and I decided to mow the lawn.  Then over an hour into the job, my mower surprised a yellow jacket nest and they surprised me!  First my right leg, the my left index finger were hit with stings.  Much pain, but I thought I could shake it off and finish the job.  Uh, no.  When I got close to the area, one got me on the nose!  Quadruple ouch!

That was it, I was done.  The pain was awful.  I was crying.  I called my parents and within a minute my dad was barreling across the field in his SUV. (Who needs roads, right?)  Thankfully I didn't have an allergy to the stings.  I was even more thankful for Benedryl, Cortisone10 and the TLC from mom and dad!

This is an event I won't forget, at least not while here on earth.  It's pain like that which makes a person long for heaven.

Revelation 21:4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

For now I'll just nurse my injuries and wait upon The Lord.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.