Healthy Minute- Having Healthy Babies

As a mother of 3, I see differences in my babies that I wish I could fix. My oldest daughter has lovely teeth! Just one slightly crooked one in the bunch. My middle child has a mouth that is so full of crooked teeth that she will probably need at least 4 permanent teeth pulled to have braces actually do their job.

If I knew during my pre-pregnancy and pregnancy what I know now about nutrition this would not have happened. So, I'd like to pass that knowledge on to those who are or will become pregnant.

First, pregnancy saps a ton of nutrients from your body. It's always wise to make sure your body is in the best nutritional shape before becoming pregnant. Prenatal vitamins really should be taken about 3 months before conception to actually help the growing fetus and placenta. Most women don't start taking them until around 6 to 8 weeks pregnant, and by then the important things have already formed! Also, cod liver oil (the brand I suggest for the best nutrition- Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver/Butter Oil) should be taken before, during, and after the pregnancy while nursing. It is high in Vitamin A which helps protect against eye, skeleton, and organ defects. Cod liver oil also helps supply Vitamin D, which will help reduce the risk of schizophrenia, diabetes, and skeletal disease. Plus, it'll help you have a smart baby! :)

Remember, that dad is also contributing to this child. He will also need to take some vitamins and fortify his health before conception.

A little hint for those trying to get pregnant. Moisture is nature's way of starting seeds growing. When you are fertile, you will have about 3 days where you will be "moist" or "wetter" than any other time. The timing is different for everyone, but the process remains the same. These three days a month are your window to conception, because that is when your body is the most fertile. For more information on this subject, please read the book Love And Fertility.

Once you are pregnant, the placenta will take the nutrients you ingest to mold your baby. If your diet is lacking in this area, your placenta will pull the nutrients from your own body. In the case of calcium, your bones and teeth will be sapped to supply the baby with the needed resources. I, myself, lost all the calcium in my back molars with my second pregnancy because I didn't know this! If your baby needs fats, and you are not ingesting them, your placenta will pull these from your brain to feed your baby. Mama will get some emotional instability and memory problems, but the baby will be somewhat healthy. The placenta will play the "lets make the best baby possible while not killing mama" game. For both of your sakes, please keep your vitamin and mineral intake high!

In her book Deep Nutrition, Dr. Shanahan makes mention of the Four Pillars of World Cuisine. These are the four basic foundational nutrition components that make up the healthiest mothers and babies. They are meat on the bone including the skin, organ meats, fermented foods and sprouted foods, and raw fruits and vegetables. The way you prepare and consume these four foods is just as important as how often you eat them. A good resource book on this is Nourishing Traditions.

Your baby will drain a lot of nutrition from your body not only during pregnancy, but also during breast feeding. It is important that you maintain good nutrition while nursing your baby.

So, a good balanced nutritional meal should contain good protein (eggs, meats, and other sources), raw vegetables, fermented foods (kefir, yogurt, saurkraut, kombucha, etc.), good fats (coconut oil, nuts, avacado), organ meats (liver, kidney, etc), bone broth, and a good multivitamin with a side of cod liver oil.

And, let your body rest between pregnancies. It needs to rebuild the nutrients to be able to produce another miracle! Around 3 to 4 years between pregnancies would be best for both the mother and the baby.



Links have been added for your convenience. The video below is an hour and 23 minutes long.

Believer's Heritage- James Chalmers

James Chalmers was born in Scotland in 1841, in the fishing village of Loch Fyne. Being raised here, he came to love the sea. He had many adventures, coming close to death by drowning three times while a child. His father told him, "You will never die by drowning."

In 1859, two preachers came to hold meetings near his town. The rough 18 year old thought that he and his buddies would break up the meeting. They came on a night that there was a storm. The singing seemed so wonderful to him that he listened to the preaching. He came under conviction and left without making a tumult.

A few days later, James talked with a pastor about what he was feeling. The pastor preached Christ and salvation, and James came to know the Lord as his Savior.

It took no time for James to jump into this new life. He became a Sunday School teacher and would tell anyone who would listen about the Lord.

One Sunday, the pastor read a letter written by a missionary to the Fiji Islands. The letter was filled with tales of savages. The pastor asked if there was anyone who was willing to go tell the cannibals of God's salvation. James told the Lord that he would be willing to go. He began talking to Mr. Turner, a missionary to Samoa.

He worked in the slums of Glasgow, went to college for two years, and then took another year for special studies that would help him on the field.

He married his first wife in 1865, and left for Rarotonga in the South Seas in 1866. It was a treacherous journey. They lost all their belongings due to a ship wreck. They were saved from the stranded islands by a pirate named Bully Hayes, who took them to their final destination. Hayes even allowed them to hold services on the ship for any of the crew who wanted to hear the plan of salvation.

Almost a year and a half later, they arrived at Rarotonga. The natives called him "Tamate". This is the name that he was known by in Rarotonga and New Guinea.

John Williams had already paved the way in Rarotonga. He went there as a missionary in 1822 when the island was full of cannibals. By the time James and his wife arrived most of the inhabitants were professing Christians. James preached and printed and translated on Rarotonga for a while, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to go somewhere where people had never heard of Christ.

In 1877, after 10 years, he and his wife sailed for New Guinea. New Guinea was a land full of cannibals and savages. There was only one missionary there, W. G. Laws, who wasn't seeing much fruit for his labor. Not only were the people very wicked, but there were many different languages on the island. James said that "The tower of Babel must have been located in or near New Guinea."

In each village there was a temple filled with bones of humans, crocodiles, and wild boars. The idols had the bodies of fish and the mouths of frogs. War, murder, and disease were also common place in each village.

Their first home was on Suau. They were surrounded by cannibals. When they moved into their home, they were visited by many of the natives- some to steal their things and some out of curiosity. Some of the natives even invited them to their cannibalistic feasts. James was even offered the hand of one of the chief's daughters. James visited over 100 different villages in a small boat. He always went unarmed. Many of the people of the villages had never seen a white man before. 

In 1879, Mrs. Chalmers died. This was a great grief to James, but it drove him to want to witness more.

James won many different natives to the Lord, each with their own story to tell. One native asked James to teach him a prayer. When war broke out, this native gave his life to protect his friend. As he lay in his friend's arms dying, he recited the prayer that James taught him.

Pirates heard the plan of salvation. God's light was brought to those who had lived in savage darkness. Cannibal ovens went unused. Around 200 natives gave their lives to take the gospel to others. 

In 1901, James was killed by one of the savage tribes that he was so desperate to help. The cannibals had their way with his body, but his soul went to be with his Savior in heaven to forever be with all the saints who he had helped to light to that eternal home.

Give Him The Glory (song)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie recipe

Crust:
3/4 cup ground nuts
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 TBS powdered sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Filling:
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup nuts

Mix ground nuts, graham cracker crumbs, sugar and 1 stick of melted butter together. Press into a deep dish pie pan (I like to use a large deep cast iron skillet).
Mix all other ingredients together and pour on top of the crust. Bake at 325* for 55 to 60 minutes.
Note: I have added dried cranberries to this recipe, in place of the peanut butter chips, and it turns out wonderfully good!

When His Ways Are Not My Ways (poem)

I'm standing in a trying place unsure of what to do.

God has His will and He has His way

And I'm suppose to submit to Him each day.

But His Ways are not my ways.

I'm standing in a trying place and searching for the end.

God wants one thing and I want another,

And I don't think we understand each other.

His Ways are not my ways.

I'm standing in a trying place looking at the sin.

I know God wants me to walk away,

But I think the consequences I'll pay.

Because His Ways are not my ways.

Years later, I'm in a trying place, a place of my own making.

God said "no, it isn't the time."

I took what I wanted. I made it mine.

His Ways wouldn't be my ways.

I'm living the consequences of my ways-

The loss of joy and sleepless nights.

Tons of pain and endless fights.

I wish I'd made His Ways my ways.

I'm in a trying place and I chose to be here.

I didn't know the price I'd pay.

I didn't know God's peace I'd slay.

I should have made His Way my way.

Friend, if you're in a trying place and don't know what to do.

Listen to God and accept His will.

Obey His Word, His Way fulfill.

Make His Ways your Way!

-JCT

Funny Happenings- Cleaning

When my children were younger, we lived just around the corner from my husband's brother's house. We would often go over there just so that they could play with their cousins and we could have an adult conversation.
My sister-in-law kept a big popcorn bucket full of toys for the children to play with in the living room. As usual, my kids had thrown every toy in the bucket all over the room and then threw the bucket somewhere.
I had gotten the bucket, but I really didn't want to pick all those toys up with the kids standing there because it would really be pointless! Then I had an idea.
With the other adults sitting around the table in the kitchen, I called out, "Who wants to play 'I spy'?"
All my kids yelled, "Me!"
"Okay." I began, "I spy something red."
Each child rushed to grab something red. Fortunately, they all grabbed a toy.
"Yay!" I clapped. "Everyone wins this round! Put it in the bucket." I pointed to the bucket and they rushed over to drop their treasure in the bucket.
With each new color called out, 3 more toys were picked up and thrown in the bucket with another "Everyone wins!"
At the end, I said, "Okay, pick up the last things and bring them here."
As the children gathered up the last of the debris, my son got this look on his face and yelled, "Hey! This is cleaning!"

At His Feet book review

At His Feet is a book on biblical submission as shown by the characters of the book of Ruth. Pastor Bob Leib shows you how submission is every Christian's duty.
The start of the book is a little background on the different types of teachings used in the Bible. Pastor Leib shows the differences between parables, similitudes, and types.
The rest of the book deals with the different characters in the story of Ruth. Most people like to focus only on Ruth. She is a submissive woman who followed her mother-in-law to a strange land and found a family and love there.
This book shows you that biblical submission is the only way to serve the Lord while earning rewards in heaven and being the fruitful Christian that Christ always wanted us to be. A Christian needs to submit to the Lord, work, and sometimes even be willing to humble themselves under other people. It's how we learn not only to obey, but to joyfully submit.

The Demonic World (video sermon)

Pastor Charles Lawson brings us a message on the demonic world. We like to think that these things only happened back in the time of the Bible, but they don't happen today. Some times, we know that they exist, but we fool ourselves into thinking that it only happens in third world countries.

The demonic world is real, and it is closer to our lives than we really know. It is frightening to think about. But, Christ brought this to our attention for a reason. Wishing it weren't true won't make it go away. Hoping that it is just a figment of our imagination won't make it a fiction story.

Because it is real we need to know how it works. We need to know that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is powerful enough to overcome it. We need to ensure our family's safety from the things that bring the demonic world into our homes and our lives.

Christ tells us that certain demons won't leave except through prayer and fasting. Our christian walk, our Spiritual life, needs to be as close to God as possible to be able to stand firm when we come in contact with the demonic world.

In closing, do not seek this world out. Christians have no business seeking the demonic world. We are to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  You are already on the firing line, don't jump into the line of fire where God doesn't want you!

Being Worldly

Paul warns us many times in the New Testament to watch out for worldly Christians- Ephesians 5:11- And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. The world is sneaky. It's been creeping into churches slowly for years now.

Most recently, though, it has pushed it way in through a new system. This system requires that you find out what your community likes and incorporate it into your church. Churches all around have been doing this and seeing huge growth in their numbers. But, as the world moves in Christ moves out.

Christians through the ages have seen the end of such "christianity". Those who were faithfully serving God have invited the world into their lives, their families, their marriages, their businesses, and have become cursed of God, but they don't notice because the world has their arms wrapped tightly around them.

Think about New Orleans. What comes to mind? Mardis Gras? Bourbon Street? French Quarter? Some form of debauchery? When God thinks of most of these worldly churches or Christians that's what comes to mind- unfruitful works of darkness. 

So, how do we spot the unfruitful works of darkness? We simply look to the wisest man to ever live and see what he said.

Proverbs 5:3-4- For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

Solomon describes the worldly person (or church) as a harlot. She is sweet talking and politically correct, but her end is painful and bitter.

Proverbs 3:5-6- Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. 

Her ways don't lead to life; they lead to hell. There isn't salvation in her motives, but a person who isn't really searching won't see it because she changes her stance based on what those around her want. Her views and convictions change.

Proverbs 7:6-10- For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house, In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

She wears the attire of an harlot. What is that? It's tricky because it changes based on the clientel. When you see a Christian that dresses one way going to church and then dresses another way out with friends you're looking at a worldly christian. When you see a church that uses one Bible and hymnbook for the "older generation" and then a different Bible and different sons for the "younger generation" you're looking at a worldly church.

Proverbs 7:11-12-  (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.) 

Seems like she's out finding out what the community wants so she can cater to them! She'll do anything to get into your life. She'll change what she has to until she has you- be it her attitude, her beliefs, her clothing, her personality, etc!

Proverbs 7:13-15- So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. 

She was searching for someone, and she found him! But notice something else- she paid her vows and has peace offerings- she's religious! The world can be religious, but it's an outward show. It looks real good on the outside, like a Pharisee, but when you get to the heart of the matter it's full of death!

Proverbs 7:21-23- With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life.

She talks him into joining with her. And he doesn't realize that it's his life that's being destroyed. Watch out for someone that always tells you what you want to hear! They do everything your way until you're stuck, then you realize they're dragging you into their worldly way of doing things and you can't get out.

If you have a friend (or pastor) that will tell you to your face that you're doing wrong, or with the wrong person, you better thank God! Cause they care for your soul!

Proverbs 7:25-27- Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. 

She takes pleasure in coming after those who are wounded (spiritually, emotionally, etc.). She takes a strong Christian and makes him an unprofitable worldly wretch that lives his life for her pleasure instead of God's service. She makes him a curse instead of a blessing.

Proverbs 5:8-11,20- Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? 

As a Christian we are earning rewards in heaven. When you go with the world, you're giving your treasure to a stranger. You're wealth and eternal riches go to the world, and you end up paying the consequences of your actions alone. This women doesn't stick around to help you out while you're suffering. Nope! She's gotten what she came for and your tears will go unnoticed by her, because she never really cared.

Why am I writing about this? Why do I feel that this is something that should even be brought up? Because it was important to Paul. It was important to Solomon. And it was important to Christ!

Proverbs 2:16-19- To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.

Once she has you, she destroys you. It says none return again! None. Is that possible? What about grace? What about forgiveness? Solomon watched people- and he never saw any return. There are always exceptions to the rule, but they are very few and far between.

Did I make you mad? Did I hit home? Good! Then consider me a friend.

Proverbs 27:6- Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Watch out for the flattering lips of anyone around you. It could be a relative. It could be a business associate. It could even be a leader in your church. The devil has people everywhere! And they all have smooth speech, but will never let you see the dagger behind their back until it's too late!