Lion and Lambs

Yes, today is the day I have been hesitantly coming to since I arrived here. I have had my consultation with some long term raw people, and the time has come. No more dead food for me! Life in, life out. This is the theme, the strength, the encouragement behind this approach to wellness.

Proponents of the raw diet believe that enzymes are the life force of a food and that every food contains its own perfect mix. These enzymes help us digest foods completely, without relying on our body to produce its own cocktail of digestive enzymes. It is also thought that the cooking process destroys vitamins and minerals and that cooked foods not only take longer to digest, but they also allow partially digested fats, proteins and carbohydrates to clog up our gut and arteries.

Followers of a raw diet cite numerous health benefits, including:

increased energy levels
improved appearance of skin
improved digestion
weight loss
reduced risk of heart disease

and hopefully less migraines.

Though in the long term it brings healing, in the beginning there will be challenges. With that in mind, I would appreciate prayer. I will keep you posted on how it is going, and how I am feeling on this food program.

From a link at Chasing The Wind, I learned that the billboards are running again for 2005. The cool thing is that if you visist the GodSpeaks website, they have all the billboards, old and new, and if you click on each one, they include a devotional such as the one below. Of course I chose this one because it fits so well with the other messages I have been posting about crying out to the Lord.

Imagine for a moment, having access to the most powerful, wealthy, wise, intelligent and influential person on the face of the earth. Imagine that this access allowed you contact with that person at any given moment, in other words, no busy signal and no voicemail. That kind of access should be used to seek advice, information, simply express appreciation, laugh, cry, seek comfort, etc. Now, imagine, having all of that access and rarely if ever using it. God says we have that access with Him. God gives us that access through the Bible, through prayer, through other the Church. For example, God encourages us to pray continually. Prayer is conversing with God, having access, all the time. If you doubt it, just try it…start right now, just say “hi” and see where it goes.

Hebrews 4:12-13 (they word is sharper….)

I am so happy to be in a state that has Daylight Savings Time at the “fall back” time of the year. I am not a proponent of DST normally, but when you get an extra hour in your day night, I am right there with ya. The bonus is, when I return home, they don’t participate in DST. We are going to be in the same time zone in a little while, so I get to keep my hour!

Oh yeah!!

UPDATE: I was just thinking that if I come here at this time every year, by the time I retire I will have gained a whole day!

Pete Nelson, the pastor of Calvary Chapel Albuquerque, preaches from the New King James Version of the Bible. Mark Martin, The pastor of Calvary Community in Phoenix, which is where I attend, preaches from the New American Standard Version.

I am attending CC Albuquerque while I am here and have been really enjoying the teaching. My problem is that I cannot follow along in a different version than the one the pastor is reading from, my brain gets behind trying to merge them and then I usually miss a key point. The solution? I went into the bookstore at the church, Parchments, where I had my choice of many different bibles in the NKJV. I opted for a nice lightweight, leather looking bible for a whopping three dollars and ninety cents. Can’t beat that.

This got me to thinking about an event we had at our church called Gal’s Night Out. We do this once a month, and one of the events was planned for us to learn about the persecuted church. When we arrived we were given ONE page from the bible. It was later explained to us that in many of the persecuted countries, people consider themselves blessed if they have one page of the bible to read. This one page they read over and over and over again, clinging to it’s messsage.

We in America have a plethera of bibles available to us, in multiple versions, and each version in multiple formats. We go whenever we want and purchase a new one, for the latest study aids included in them, or just to have a different version. Yet so often, our bibles cling to the shelves, they gather dust. We take for granted that they will always be there when we want them, or find the time for them. We are richly blessed, and we assume it will always be so.

What if we in America became a persecuted church? Would we then choose to read and re-read? Would we then cling to the message of the Word? Would we treat it with the respect it deserves, not as a mere book, but as the very words of God? As God Himself?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I have been to several different planets in the last 48 hours or so. Apparently the one Wednesday night was really far away, cause D and J said they never want me to take them there again. You’d think they would be used to that, what with being in New Mexico and all.

I must admit, I am thrilled to be back myself!!

By the way, has anyone checked the forecast for here lately?? Well let me tell you, starting Monday I may become a hermit! What’s up with a temperature that starts with a 2?? How can it be below freezing with all our sunshine?

Vickie, the Lord keeps bringing you to my mind. This is the Mary Engelbreit calendar page from today…

It seems that the muscle spasms that accompany my migraines are not friendly to dislocated joints. In that, Dr Mike felt the need to re-set the bone in my wrist.

The bad news…the bike is going to continue to gather dust in the garage. The good news…the special opportunity he keeps giving me to see stars is really quite spectacular…once I catch my breath!! Now I understand why my friends told me I would have been better off breaking it.

I am going to see him again in the morning…..

Isn’t it great that my sister put a temperature gauge and forecast link on my blog? She is just the coolest! And speaking of cool, thanks to her, now I know how cold I really am.

She thought, and I agree, that you would enjoy laughing at tracking the weather with me. So when you are feeling especially sympathetic, check back here and see how blue I am doing.

Yes, I have been thanking my friend D often. Sunday night she prayed for snow. Well according to the descending lows, 34 by Saturday, God is working this out for her.

The book, “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” , by Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, is incredible. I have been studying it since I have been here, and I have been very excited about it. I want to share some of the highlights that I have been learning.

The resounding theme of this book is to “Call upon the name of the Lord,” which Jim points out, translated in the bible means, to cry out, or to implore. I love this that He wrote:

God says, “I’ll help you, I really will. When you are ready to throw up your hands, THROW THEM UP TO ME! When you don’t know where to turn, TURN TO ME!!

Man, that’s great stuff! So simple, yet so profound. Then later he includes this scipture, which is another one that I know I have read, but in the context of this book, on crying out to the Lord, just really got me.

Rev 5:8 …when the twenty four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one was holding a harp and golden bowls, full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

What we say to Him is so precious, a sweet smelling fragrance, that He keeps it like a treasure!!

You can count on hearing more about this book in the future, it is so moving, and so black and white, I love it.