The Mysterious Boy--by Ian, age 10

Once upon a time there was a boy who could pick up cars.  One day he was gone, and his parents looked and looked for him but could not find him.  He had gotten on a train heading for the rain forest--where he dug a hole and put a trap door of mud, leaves and moss.  He lived there for three years, but one day he thought about his mother and father.  Then he said bye to his home and got on a train and went home.     

THE END

Feeling and Focus: One Thousand Gifts, Chapter 7

Contemplative simplicity isn't a matter of circumstances; it's a matter of focus.--Ann Voskamp




Our perennial spiritual and psychological task is to look at things familiar until they become unfamiliar again.--G.K. Chesterton


Love is not blind; love is the holy vision.--Ann Voskamp




The only way to fight a feeling is with a feeling.--Rollin McCraty, "The Grateful Heart"

Christ the Lord is Risen Today--Easter '11

Ready for worship

 

 

 

 

 

After worship, a good meal, and a flute rendition of the title hymn, it's time for the hunt.

Hurry, scurry!

Cael shows Aunt Brittany and Grammy the ropes.

This one just needs a frame.

Time for a quality inspection.

Add 'em up, Cael--and don't forget to factor in the cost of shout gel for that shirt!

Never a dull moment!

Azaleas Again

These azaleas in front of our church building just make a body want to take pictures.

So we did.

Then we did it some more.

Then the little girls got in on the shutterbug action with the church's neighbor.

Lots of fun for everyone.

The Power of the Pit--One Thousand Gifts, Ch 7

You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavals, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are.  You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies--though that never occurs to you.  Nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet [God's] beloved children curse it because they do not know it for what it is.--Jean Pierre de Caussade

Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?  That Satan's way is more powerful, more practical, more fulfilling in my daily life than Jesus' [sic] way?  Why else get angry?  Isn't it because I think complaining, exasperation, resentment will pound me up into the full life I really want?  When I choose--and it is a choice--to crush joy with bitterness, am I not purposefully choosing to take the way of the Prince of Darkness?  Choosing the angry way of Lucifer because I think it is more effective--more expedient--than giving thanks? . . . Why? . . . because [I] believe in the power of the pit.--Ann Voskamp

Spring Parking

  

I love this big old tree in front of the library.  And I must say that I think whoever thought to put a library and a park in the same spot was something of a genius.

***********************

After spending lots of time flipping through books, we loaded thirty-something of them into our library basket and went outside to enjoy the beautiful spring weather.

 

Some of us had trouble putting our books down . . .

 

So many reasons to smile!

Sharyl's Spinach Salad

A recipe in high demand after last Sunday's potluck: Spinach Salad  Dressing 1 C. extra virgin olive oil 1/2 C. raw apple cider vinegar 1 med. onion - chopped 1/2 C. sweetener of choice or stevia to taste 1 teas. worcestershire sauce 2 teas. soy sauce 2 teas. salt 1/2 C. catsup Blend in blender and chill. Salad 1 bag of baby spinach 1 can water chestnuts 1 can bean sprouts 4 hard boiled eggs - chopped 1/2 pound fried bacon 1/2 C. chopped peacans Mix with desired amount of dressing and chill. ~Sharyl

Low Carbs and Low Blood Sugar

This response from Bee to a question posted on her yahoo chat group clarifies our experience upon transitioning to a high fat / low carbohydrate diet  eight months ago.  (The first few months were a bit of a bumpy ride to say the least.)  It also provides insight into weight loss issues:

There is a period of time you will experience more hunger when your body is still "trying to" switch over from running on carbs/sugars to running on good fats. Once the switch is made, you won't have such hunger pangs, nor the extra weight.
 
Both the anticipation of carbohydrates and the actual eating of them cause our bodies to secrete the hormone insulin which deposits both fatty acids and glucose in fat tissue and it keeps those calories trapped in fat tissue once they get there.
 
As long as we respond to carbohydrates by secreting more insulin, we continue to move nutrients from our bloodstream in expectation of the arrival of more, so we remain hungry or at least not fulfilled.
 
During this transition the body is expecting to deal with glucose but there is none coming in the diet, and so there is still too much insulin in the circulation. The liver will not give up its glycogen (storage form of glucose) due to high insulin in circulation, which would help to stabilize blood sugar if it were released, and our blood sugar drops. Even if we eat fat and protein, the insulin will serve to store those nutrients rather than allow them to be used for fuel.
 
In other words insulin induces hunger and prevents satiety, even though fats easily satiate the appetite once your body switches over, but that takes time.
 
Once your body changes over, and doesn't secrete insulin as an automatic response so you won't feel so hungry, and your weight will decrease.
 

--Bee Wilder www.healingnaturallybybee.com

A Well Dressed Bear

 Meme's knitting student has successfully finsished another project.

All three look very proud.