Life Update

Whew!  Life gets away from us sometimes, doesn’t it?  I want to thank Miss Debra for checking up on me after me being absent, it is sweet to know bloggers really do care!  My life has become quite crazy, I will start with the biggest change and also the most sad I suppose… my job.  If you’ve followed me for some time you have heard of my questions if I should stay or go here and God has finally given me the final answer, it’s time to move on.  Today is my final day working here and it comes bitterly because it turns out that all employees here truly care about the doctor we work for but he doesn’t care about us.  I am a horribly loyal employee so it stings a bit to learn that after five years of dedicated loyal service to my boss, he doesn’t care about his employees.  Sometimes God makes us uncomfortable when it’s time to move, I found a new job (PRAISE GOD!) and even get a week off between the two jobs which I will be paid for because I have unused sick and vacation time.  My commute which is normally an hour to work and anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours  will be drastically cut, I lose 26 miles a day in my commute!  Most of that is the most congested freeways of Portland, so I am grateful.  I am sad that I will be leaving my coworker to deal with the mess that has become this office, I have grown to care about her very much and it is hard for me to leave her here, but I pray for her and pray that she finds something quickly so she can also leave.  I am hurt and that is coming out in anger…I know I need to let go of the anger and when today is over and I am away from this place I do believe I will get over the anger/hurt. I found this great song though, so wanted to share it does express how I feel today.

Hubby has also found a job.  That is a blessing, I am grateful and so is he.  The environment is very “worldly” and often times he finds himself being pulled in to that negative environment.  He actually LOVES his job but not the environment or the people, so maybe God will provide another job for him in the same field soon.

As for diet, interesting things have happened.  I went back to a fairly regular eating plan, meat and dairy and sugar all included.  I had a wake up call and it scared the mess out of me!  I started to feel like I was getting a cyst back that I had 12 years ago, and with the job change I’m losing my insurance so I went to urgent care Tuesday to get checked out.  The gave me some antibiotics and said the cyst had not formed yet but if it did take the antibiotics.  This time I’m not a 20-year-old ignorant girl so I was right on top of the pain, knew the pain and tried to get it under control before I lost my insurance.  We have been doing sits bath’s with comfrey and plantain herbs and epsom salts, rubbing DMSO on the area daily and also did castor oil packs.  I was under the impression these things don’t come back once you had surgery but after looking it up online I found that many people believed that too.  I believe I have it under control but did relate some of it to the change in diet.  I have since got back on track with juicing and plan on having meat maybe once a week and cutting dairy out.  There will be times to splurge, like this weekend we celebrate my Gramp’s 90th birthday by dancing at the Moose Lodge, he dances 3 times a week at 90 years old can you believe that!?  I am sure I will have a couple of drinks and a chicken fried steak in celebration of my sweet Gramps.  🙂

So I am still here, we are in gear to get our garden going.  A few set backs there but our potatoes are going nuts, corn is popping (LOL), tomatoes and peppers are surviving our colder than normal start to summer, and we have trays of seeds starting including some stevia, and I saw yesterday the stevia is growing!! 😀

God is good even when the world isn’t… Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Just for kicks :

XOXOXO

Corri

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Amazing view on marriage! WOW!

tsuLife

Desiring God: The Story of Ian & Larissa Murphy from Citygate Films on Vimeo.

This story will change your view on love. My friend showed my this video a couple days ago, what a great story. -tsuLife Author

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The incredible shrinking me

Me in probably 2006, yes I used to smoke…

I’m in the blue this was probably 2007 or 2008

YIKES! Up we go… this was probably 2008

2010 with my Mom

After the fast sporting a shirt I couldn’t get into a year ago, Praise God!

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Rough Times: Day 35

Does anyone remember the old song “It’s me, Oh Lord standing in the need of prayer”?  I remember some old cassette tapes that I used to listen to had this song on it… “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.  Not my brother, not my sister but it’s me oh Lord standing in the need of prayer.”  I guess that is where I am today.

Things just aren’t going my way recently.  I suppose I am on the down side to the cycles of Christian growth.  It is in these times that God works in us to make and mold us into the people he wants us to be, but *whining* why does it have to be so hard!?

Financially things are just out of control and there is a part of me that worries I will run out of money before this fast is over.  I have left that in God’s hands, if in fact we run out of funds to buy produce then I have to just trust that is the way God wants it to be.  So my disclaimer to my readers, I am sorry if I am unable to continue the juice fast until the whole 40 days.  If that happens, do know I am fully content with the outcome thus far, and I will eat vegan/raw until the 40 days are up.  I have buckets of beans and rice at home and I refuse to worry myself sick if I am unable to buy enough produce to finish.  I have enough stress right now.

Then my job.  This has been the subject of a few blogs recently, I don’t know what that means but I don’t feel it can be good.  I am over the top stressed.  I work in a very small doctors office, with two other coworkers.  We have all we need, a medical assistant, front desk and biller, but our front desk gave two weeks notice and surprise surprise the doctor has done nothing since then.  Well, to be fair it’s not nothing, but there has been zero progress on getting a replacement person.  His worries are only the things that really affect him, rather than listening to the fears and worries of his two remaining employees.  I actually took time to sit down and talk to him over a week ago and still nothing has changed.  At this point I am covering two jobs, plus doing a whole new set of duties that could really mess someone up if I forget a step or something.  There has been no choice on a person to replace our front desk, and all the people that he is talking to need to give two weeks notice wherever they are.  So unless he makes a choice this week we are looking at probably three weeks of me doing this.

I feel the weight of my little world right now.  So it’s me in need of some prayer, if you find yourself talking to The Big Guy (aka God) please mention my needs and if nothing else pray for the peace that passes ALL understanding to fall into my heart and life.

Hugs

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Happy Feet & Giveaway

I am a bzzagent, which means I am given the opportunity to receive products and review them.  I just received Dr Scholls for her High Heel inserts for free to review.  The name make them a bit deceiving I believe, because not all woman wear high heel shoes and these inserts are NOT just for high heel shoes.  When I got them in the mail Hubby and I both couldn’t stop touching these things, LOL they are super squishy and gel-like.  I am not a high heel kind of girl, don’t get me wrong they are fun but I’m clumsy and I tend to not stay upright when wearing high heels.  I do wear one pair of flats all the time to work, they are slip on easy type Mary-Janes and I love them.  So I slipped these inserts into them and wore them to work.  The first thing I noticed is that they add quite a bit of arch support to my flats!  My feet were quite happy.  The inserts seemed small, like my feet were not going to fit on them, but I was wrong.  They fit very well, I can feel the arch the most, then the foot pad next, but not much in the heel.   I was most impressed with the arch support, especially in flats!

I have mortons neroma in my feet and I bought Dr Scholls custom orthotics, but they are pretty bulky and they do not fit info my work shoes.  So I really like that there is an alternative that I can wear and still get some support during my work day.  These are also clear, so if you want to slip them into your sandals, or wedges or any high heel or shoe that is open, you won’t see these.  Summertime comfort, I am ALL about my feet being comfortable.

Over all I’m impressed with these!  Plus they are about $10 at most stores and get this, they sent me $4 off coupons to share!  So here’s what I’m going to, if you are interested in giving foot happiness a try, I’m going to give one reader a pair of these, and two others I’ll mail you a coupon.  I am not sure how the coupon will work in other countries, so for my out of the USA readers you can enter for the insoles but I won’t offer the coupons (unless someone can tell me they will work).  If you are interested give me a comment and lets say by June 4th (my official fast ending day) I’ll name a winner, and the two others who I’ll mail a $4 off coupon to.

So to be clear to enter the giveaway: Write a comment saying your interest.  Three people will win, one person will win a NEW pair of insoles and two others will receive a $4 off coupon to use to buy your own.  Sound good?  😀  I love happy feet!

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I’m not who I was

“I wish you could see me now, I wish I could show you how I’m not who I was.  I used to be mad at you  A little on the hurt side too  But I’m not who I was, I found my way around to forgiving you Some time ago But I never got to tell you so.  I found us in a photograph I saw me and I had to laugh You know, I’m not who I was” –Brandon Heath

The words above are words to a song by Brandon Heath called I’m Not Who I was.  It’s a fairy popular song on contemporary Christian radio, but it really strikes a chord in my life.  See friendships have always been very important to me, they are deeply rooted relationships I don’t take lightly.  When I started dating Hubby, it wasn’t a popular decision in my group of friends or even my family.  I don’t like conflict so it became a huge weight on me during those years.  One of my best friends actually wrote me a “Dear John” email to end our friendship because of him.  I was heart-broken!  All I wanted was for everyone to get along, why couldn’t everyone see in Hubby what I saw?  Why would a friend end a very personal, very deep and long friendship over my choice in a boyfriend?  Why would it cause so much conflict with my family and why would I go months without speaking to my own Mom?

Sometimes we have to wait for answers in life… mine have finally come.  See after my last failed boyfriend (yes, I’ve had several) my Mom asked me if I had ever asked God to approve a boyfriend.  A strange request at the time to me, but I thought I hadn’t been doing my best on my own so why not.  I did.  When I met Hubby, I asked God and waited.  I remember the day I heard “yes,” I remember like it was yesterday, what I was doing, what I was watching… So I went forward with the relationship having no idea what was coming next.  I suppose when we are doing God’s will in life, Satan hates that and throws as many road blocks at us.  I’m actually surprised I managed through all of them.  There were times I would just cry and cry not understanding why we were the focus of so much gossip and drama.  My heart ached.

When I got the “Dear John” email from Alecia, it hurt deeper than anything I’d gone through.  Boyfriends sure, they come and go right? But friendships are supposed to last forever.  She had been with me through some of the darkest, hardest parts of my life and all of a sudden because of who I chose to date she no longer wanted to be my friend?  I was hurt and angry for a very long time.  I tried to be “Facebook friends” with her but that back fired when everyone in my family was invited to her wedding, everyone but me of course.  Now in all fairness she was marrying my sister-in-law’s brother, but that also made it worse!  I wrote her a note saying how I couldn’t be a distant viewer of her life and I wished her well and deleted her, and later deleted my whole Facebook account.

From time to time she passes my mind.  What is she doing?  How is she?  Is she happy?  What is new in her world?  Does she think of me?  No matter how much time passes, friendships are friendships and she made a lasting impression on my life.  Today I randomly searched her name and saw her Facebook photo, it looks like she and her husband now have a baby.  Then I go to thinking about this Brandon Heath song, and the lyrics really hit my heart… I’m not who I was.  The friendship was not meant to survive because of who God has been working to change me into.  She no longer fits into my life, as well as the other friends I lost during those years.  God was slowly removing the people from my life that were not going to be fitting anymore, and as painful as it was for me then, it helps me now.  She also isn’t who she use to be and at this point we probably wouldn’t have much in common anymore.  I didn’t understand why I went through all of that, but today I have a better grip on why God allowed some friends to leave and some to stay.  For example, one of my DEAREST friends in the world, Erin (Hi Erin!).  She and I used to be pretty different.  There were a few years in middle school I thought she was stuck up and didn’t want to be her friend.  But God knew what we would be going through in life and he allowed us to stay together and become close friends.  She is now the only friend I call when I have issues with my marriage or something I need a good solid Christian woman’s opinion about.  She has replaced that missing piece that I lost with some of those friends, and in such a better way!  I am blessed to have her as a friend.

As God transforms my life it is nice to be able to look back and see where I came from, and yes sometime reminisce about old friends and old paths.  But I am grateful for the path I am on.  I wish those who have left my life nothing but God’s grace and love.  I am good with them being gone now, they don’t fit in my life.  I’ve forgiven them and that has healed my heart a lot.  I am grateful I am not longer who I was, I am so much better now!

Colossians 3:13

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My Summer Car Game

 

AN OREGON PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATE WITH THE LETTERS “WET (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok so I’m sure I’m not one that “came up” with this idea and probably am not the only person to do this but it is a fun little game for the summer in the car.  I have an hour each way commute to work, ie two full hours (sometimes more when traffic is bad) on the road.  In the summer more people travel and I start to see license plates from all sorts of random states.  One year I got to thinking, I wonder if I see all 50 states?

The game started out pretty simple, I started keeping track of the states I saw on a piece of paper in the car.  I had hand scribbles of the states we saw, with numbers to count to see if we had 50.  But recently we have “upgraded” to a printed copy of all 50 state names where now I can simply check off the states as I see them.

Our rules are these: 1) you HAVE to be in the car for the plate to count.  For example I go for walks a lot at work and because of the mall near us there are always out-of-state plates, but they only count when I am in the car.  2) On semi trucks the trailer plate doesn’t count, it has to be the license plate on the front of the cab, we figured that was were they are really from anyway.

Last year I think we got every plate but West Virginia, and I have already seen that plate this year.  Might be a great year for the license plate game.  It’s silly but it keeps me occupied.  I enjoy seeing out-of-state plates and dreaming of places I’ve never seen.

I have additional game “boards” (ie the names of the 50 states on a printed piece of paper) in the car for more years.  I suspect I will use the board more than once, maybe changing ink color for next year.  I also write down the month I start the game so I once I get all 50 states I know how long it took.  😀

For those in different countries, I suspect you can do the same but of course you’ll have to figure out your variation of the plate game.  Kind of fun, and dorky too… but I will never deny being a bit dorky. 😉

Happy Friday All!

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Spring in Oregon!

From what I hear, it’s “cold” in Oregon.  I’m so used to the weather here I don’t notice, but compared to the humidity of Florida… I can see how it’s “cold.”  We have had some really amazing days.  Hubby and I are excited to be experiencing our yard and trees for the first time.  Now that everything has bloomed we are ready for the fruit to come!  We have a plum tree and SEVERAL cherry trees, we are really big on canning, dehydrating and freezing food for later use and it looks like God has provided us with some amazing food this year.

This cherry tree doesn’t seem to be producing fruit anymore.  We had that happen at a rental house with a plum tree, however after our garden, plenty of chicken and bunny poo, that plum tree started to produce again! Maybe we’ll be blessed with this cherry tree and it will do the same.

Praying for some plums!

Jack playing in the creek.  He LOVES his ball!

Jack & Lyla in the creek.  She wouldn’t go near the water when we first got her, she has come a LONG way!

Can you tell I love my dogs? He’s just so handsome!

She is certainly “my” dog.  She is a blessing!

One of our desires in our house was to have a creek, God provided everything we asked for!

Hubby went to visit his Grandma for her birthday.  She lives in the Columbia Gorge (one of the most amazing places on earth!) he came home with mushrooms!  Here are some coral mushrooms he picked up.  He made some Chinese food with these last year, looking forward to that again!

He also came home with fresh Morrells! We enjoyed them last night, and they were SOOOO tasty! Yay for mushroom season!  I love spring in Oregon!

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Great Resource: Hallelujah Acres

In my search for juicers I found a website called Hallelujah Acres.  I have to admit I like the name!  There isn’t a lot of health websites that put God first, but when I find one I cherish it.  So I signed up for their email updates and am just thrilled with them so far.  Today I have been looking around their recipe section, temptation much? LOL  They follow the same principles as Fat Sick & Nearly Dead (a mainly plant-based diet) for health and vitality.

I can see this will be a wonderful resource for continuing to eat vegetables and plant-based foods.  They also have a ton of raw recipes, including some soups and some sandwiches.  There is a salad wrap on there I could eat right now! LOL Of course I could eat all of it right now. 😉  Wanted to share, bookmark their page and subscribe to their newsletter.  LOVE this website!

 

The featured recipe today is called (click this link to see the photo! mouth-watering!)  Black Bean Burgers by Connie:

This recipe comes from Connie Maginnis, who writes, “When we go to cookouts with people on the Standard American Diet, we bring these Black Bean Burgers to grill. Their acceptance is amazing and I have to bring enough for everyone because all the other people want ours!”

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 small onion (coarsely chopped)
1 medium red pepper (chopped)
4 medium cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 cups cooked or canned organic black beans (drained)
1 cup cooked brown basmati rice
2 cups fresh whole wheat bread crumbs
Hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)
Also optional is adding 1 tablespoon of Ketchup (from Rhonda’s Recipe book)
1 1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper, and garlic. Cook while stirring frequently until soft and onions are translucent. Stir in cumin, turmeric, and cook for an additional minute. In a food processor, combine beans, rice and onion/pepper/garlic mixture. Transfer to a large bowl. Add breadcrumbs and mix well. Season with salt and hot pepper if desired. Flatten 1/4 cup amounts of mix into patties and they are ready for the outdoor grill. Cook about 3-5 minutes each side. Makes 8 burgers.

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Juice Fast Day 14 of 40: Hungry

I am hungry, there is no doubt about it.  I think about food most of the day, what I want, what I can’t have, what I wish I could…   It doesn’t help that I work by a very popular outdoor mall, the smell of cooking food can be smelt all around my work.  Even going for a walk you can smell the lovely hamburgers being cooked up, I’m salivating!  If I’m totally honest with you, there have been several times in the past week that I was ready to throw in the towel for one bite.  I haven’t, I’ve stayed strong but ONLY but God‘s grace.  I don’t have much self-determination/control.  I’ve been the one to quit thing when they get too hard rather than push through and finish what I started.  I feel like this fast is pushing me to be different and better than I’ve given myself credit for. Don’t get me wrong, I have always wanted to be like those people who never quit and never give up but that has never come easy to me.

All I could think about yesterday was a cheese burger, and still today the thought is still there.  I settled for the rest of my taco “meat” (aka walnuts see yesterday’s post for recipe) in a big salad with avocado, tomato, cilantro… a big raw taco salad.  As Hubby and I stood in the kitchen praying over our dinner it struck me, God created the food we were about to eat, it wasn’t made in a lab, or in factory, it was grown and picked just as God provided it.  So to truly give thanks for our food mean so much more because I was thanking God for providing the tomato and avocado and cilantro and walnuts.  I wasn’t thanking God for providing Kraft or Nabisco.  Somehow eating this way makes me really appreciate what God gave me and I can be so much more thankful for it.

The other thing that God mellowed my heart with is just the fact that when Jesus fasted he HUNGERED.  I was listening to a sermon on my way to work and they were talking about the pain and suffering that Jesus went through for us.  How when we go through something difficult we can be assured that Jesus too went through pain and difficulty.  There is no way I could be nailed to a cross for the sins of everyone that hated me.  No way.  But the sermon reminded me that Jesus went through all of these “human” things because of his love for us.  He was hated, persecuted, he hungered, and thirst,  he even asked to have the cup he was about to endure to be taken from him… but not his will be done but God’s will.  I would never want to serve any other god that doesn’t make themselves human and go through what we go through on a daily basis.  That is love, it’s hard down here!  But if Jesus could eat no food for 40 days and he hungered at the end, I can certainly drink juice and eat produce for another 26 days.  Sometimes all we need is a change of prospective.  I still hunger but 40 days isn’t the rest of my life, I will eat a burger again, I will have pasta again… but I can follow the foot prints of precious Jesus and finish this fast with some grace.

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