Little Doggy

Last week, a little doggy followed by husband around on his morning run. So, we let her in our house. She is about 12-15 lbs, 1 year old, and very good natured. We have been posting everywhere...Internet, neighbourhood, Home Owners to find her owner. We have had no luck. Today we posted to find her home,and have had one reply. I hope an pray for her to find a good home, as I think her last owners may have just dropped her off on the streets. Part of me would like to keep her, but I can barely keep up to my life now with the kids and two 50 lb dogs.

The Girl at the Supermarket

I figured out what I was suppose to give the girl at the supermarket, not sure why so I just did it. I have her a silver chain with a ATP USB charm. The charm is pink and silver with a breast cancer support ribbon.

Yesterday a friend gave me a small trunk full of baby items and gear left over from a house she rented including stroller which just needs someone who can work with the one wheel which is a little wiggly and they will have a good Evenflow stroller. I am unsure who I am suppose to give this stuff to, but hopefully I'll find out. There are a few single mom's at work, so maybe start looking there.

Spiritual Gifts

I felt the need to try a spiritual gifts test again..ok..so here are my ratings on them from top to bottom.

Score Graph of Score Spiritual Gift Statement / Response
21 ====================== Poverty 22 = 5 50 = 3 78 = 5 106 = 3 134 = 5
21 ====================== Giving 10 = 1 38 = 5 66 = 5 94 = 5 122 = 5
18 =================== Helps 12 = 5 40 = 5 68 = 3 96 = 5
17 ================== Discernment 5 = 3 33 = 5 61 = 3 89 = 3 117 = 3
15 ================ Prophecy 23 = 3 51 = 5 79 = 1 107 = 1 135 = 5
14 =============== Missionary 19 = 5 47 = 3 75 = 0 103 = 1 131 = 5
13 ============== Knowledge 15 = 3 43 = 1 71 = 1 99 = 5 127 = 3
11 ============ Mercy 17 = 5 45 = 1 73 = 0 101 = 0 129 = 5
10 =========== Faith 9 = 3 37 = 3 65 = 0 93 = 1 121 = 3
9 ========== Wisdom 27 = 3 55 = 1 83 = 1 111 = 1 139 = 3
9 ========== Pastoring 21 = 1 49 = 5 77 = 0 105 = 0 133 = 3
9 ========== Exhortation 8 = 0 36 = 3 64 = 0 92 = 1 120 = 5
8 ========= Music 20 = 5 48 = 3 76 = 0 104 = 0 132 = 0
7 ======== Celibacy 3 = 3 31 = 0 59 = 1 87 = 0 115 = 3
6 ======= Hospitality 13 = 1 41 = 0 69 = 0 97 = 5 125 = 0
6 ======= Leadership 16 = 1 44 = 0 72 = 0 100 = 0 128 = 5
6 ======= Miracles 18 = 5 46 = 0 74 = 0 102 = 0 130 = 1
5 ====== Encouragement 6 = 0 34 = 1 62 = 0 90 = 1 118 = 3
5 ====== Healing 11 = 1 39 = 1 67 = 1 95 = 1 123 = 1
4 ===== Intercession 14 = 1 42 = 1 70 = 0 98 = 1 126 = 1
4 ===== Apostle 2 = 3 30 = 0 58 = 0 86 = 0 114 = 1
3 ==== TonguesSpeaking 26 = 3 54 = 0 82 = 0 110 = 0 138 = 0
3 ==== Administration 1 = 3 29 = 0 57 = 0 85 = 0 113 = 0
3 ==== Teaching 24 = 1 52 = 0 80 = 0 108 = 1 136 = 1
3 ==== Writing 28 = 0 56 = 0 84 = 1 112 = 1 140 = 1
3 ==== Evangelism 7 = 0 35 = 1 63 = 0 91 = 1 119 = 1
1 == Craftsmanship 4 = 0 32 = 1 60 = 0 88 = 0 116 = 0
0 = TonguesInterpreting 25 = 0 53 = 0 81 = 0 109 = 0 137 = 0

The Little Things

It is true that the little things can help..Connie you are right, so far the pay it forward idea seems to multiply the best. I guess sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the needs of everyone and the so little I have to help. In this last month I have been inondated at work with fund raisers for the Heart and Stroke Foundation...almost literally every day, someone was asking for money..ie bake sales, breakfast fundraisers, draws, etc. By the way, I told them I refused to buy bacon and eggs to support the Heart and Stroke foundation. If they put out fresh fruit, I would bite. So, the next day, they put out grapes and apples, so I bought them along with some of my supportive co-workers.

I also joined my church organization today, the United Methodist Churches movement ....here is my tasks for the week. All the prayer will keep me busy!

Abundance

I came that you might have life and have it abundantly
John 10:10

Moment of Centering and Reflection
Try to imagine living life abundantly. What does abundance include?

Now think about abundant life in terms of your health. Spend time imagining how God’s intention for abundant life might be reflected in our current health care crises. For many, abundance may simply mean a life in which one does not have to make decisions between buying food for one’s family, or buying costly health coverage.

We see where we have failed this offer of abundance in:

■High health care costs without covering everyone;
■over 45.7 million uninsured
■Racial Ethnic disparities
■Excess sickness & death
Please spend time reflecting on an abundant life and how the current proposals for Health Care Reform might bring us close to this kind of life. A life in which all are given the chance to live healthy lives.

Because we as people of faith value the promise of abundance, we pray for a health care system that is…
ACCESSIBLE

All persons should have access to health services that provide necessary care and contribute to wellness.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Those who are uninsured in our current system
■Health Care reform which includes a Public Option
Humanity

So God created humankind in God’s image, in the image of God [they were created].
Genesis 1:27

Moment of Centering and Reflection

Bring into your mind the face of a friend, loved one, colleague.

Please spend time reflecting on this person’s humanity. In that humanity, they are a reflection of the very image of God.

So too do the 47 million people in this country who are currently uninsured bear the image of God. So too must we honor them and value their humanity.

We see where we have failed to value this humanity in:

■Current structures of Corporate Power
■Deregulation
■High prices whenever one provider has sole control of a good or service -- drugs, hospital care, etc.
As people of faith we honor the humanity of all persons and our collective identity as children of the Creator.

We pray, today for a health care system that respects the humanity of all people and allows them the dignity to live into this identity.

Because we as people of faith value human dignity, we pray for a health care system that is…

ACCOUNTABLE

Our health care system must be accountable, offering a quality, equitable and sustainable means of keeping us healthy as individuals and as a community.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Those who are sick and in need of healing.
■The Health Insurance Industry. That as they encounter stories of those who go without health care in our current system that they would be challenged and moved by their humanity. 
Community

For all must carry their own loads…bear one another's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6: 5,2

Moment of Centering and Reflection
Paul’s letter to the Galatians offers two distinct calls. First, we have a responsibility to ourselves, to “carry our own load”. Connecting this call to our health, we have a responsibility to keep ourselves healthy.

And then he continues that we are to “bear one another’s burdens”. Scripture clearly calls us to intentional community, connected and accountable to one another.

Reflect on how reforms in our health care system might help us to live out both parts of this call.

We see where we have failed this call to community in:

■Conversion of Non-Profits to For-Profits;
■Reduction of Medicaid funding
■Means-testing Medicare/Medicaid
■Increasing pressure on the poor and the sick to fend for themselves.
We pray for a deeper understanding of community and specifically how this relates to our commitment to one another. We pray as people of faith that we would consider this scriptural mandate to care for our community as we desire a health care system which provides for even “the least of these”.

Because we as people of faith value community, we pray for a health care system that is…

INCLUSIVE

Health care is a right and a shared responsibility that is grounded in our common humanity.

Spend time in prayer for…

■Preventative and public health education programs, by which we can be held more accountable to our own health
■An end to discriminatory regulations against pre-existing conditions
■An end to racial and ethnic disparities 
Stewardship

From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.
Luke 12:48

Moment of Centering and Reflection
The Gospel of Luke clearly calls people of faith to live lives of stewardship and sacrifice.

Spend time reflecting on what has been given to you. What resources have you been asked to steward on behalf of the Creator?

We see where we have failed this call to stewardship in:

■Decisions made from a "business model" where profit is the criterion for success and the rewards go to the “owners”.
■Failure of Government to provide health care: Ezekiel 34:4 - rulers have not healed the sick
Prayerfully consider how call to stewardship speaks to our responsibilities in a reformed health care system.

What could our health care system look like if we conveyed this moral imperative to our Members of Congress and asked that they join us in this call to be stewards of the resources we have as a country?

Because we as people of faith heed the call to stewardship, we pray for a health care system that is…

AVAILABLE TO ALL

Health Care must contribute to the common good by being available to all for individuals, families and society as a whole. We pray for health care that covers everyone… a public option for those who cannot pay, and affordability for those who can.

Spend time in prayer for…

■The Members of Congress who are discussing and debating the details of the legislation that will be presented to reform health care.
■Leaders of the faith community who are carrying this message into their places of worship. Pray that they may be bold in their speech and that this prophetic word would be received and lived out by those who hear it.

Career Choice

Some days in the midst of this health care crisis I wish I was a doctor or a nurse, I think then I could really make a difference. What can a Engineering Physics grad who has never worked in her own field really do? Well, my indirect manager said I could be a Medical Physicist...but somehow that is not appealing to me right now. I feel like I want to be in the trenches helping people out, but I know that wasn't the path God had for me, so then what is it it? Why do I feel so burdened by the suffering? I don't make googlies of money like the rich and wealthy, I don't even have time to volunteer at my church these days with two children and a full time job. And the tiny things I do here and there which I know are appreciated, I fell like I can't put a dent in anything, like the pain and suffering in the world is just to great. And for me, I never realized how bad it was until I moved here from Canada 5 years ago. I thought the US was just a larger version of Canada...so dead wrong. A few days ago I met this girl who was 17 years old bagging my groceries. She was hobbling along, so I asked her what was wrong, she said she fell out of a tree over a year ago, had been to the doctor, but since then had since re injured her knee a few times. She though she may need an MRI but did not want to ask her parents to foot the bill. I asked her if they had health insurance, she said she thinks they did but somehow she felt it would still cost too much money. I figure their plan may have a high deductible...so here is this girl (by the way she worked evenings and weekends while going to school full time), hobbling along...when she should be out playing with her friends or running (she said she was a runner before the injury). I just walked away and went into my car..what could I do, was I suppose to do something? I feel so helpless, and it appears that I meet someone every week is some type of chronic pain that may be fixable, if given access to medical care. But I am not a doctor...should I have been? Some days I do wish I was, and why not? Sorry to all the doctors who love their job..but my friend unnamed who just graduated from med school said most of her classmates were in it for the money only. She is one if not only one doing it for the love of being a doctor. And on the other side, I only know of nurses who love being nurses...so I am thinking maybe nurses should be doctors, because they appear to have it right. OK..now I am going crazy. Obviously, I am an engineer for a reason, I do have that crazy mathematical mind.

Diet

OK, I have not written about this yet, but I suppose it's time to record my new diet in this blog. Over the last month I have completely overhauled my eating habits. I would say about 95% if my diet now consists of raw veggies, fruit, whole grains, and nuts. On very little occasion for a treat I will eat a little chicken or a snack make from milk products. I now am making most of my food from scratch as to avoid preservatives, oils, and of course the most deadly of them all...fructose...and I have given up Diet Coke and Iced Tea (except for the occasion) and substituted it with water.

It all started with me watching this video from the book "RAVE Diet & Lifestyle", and since then watching lectures from doctors at various Universities around the country, primarily those dealing with obese children. By the way, I have learned why there are so many obese 6 month old these days. Formula is typically 40% fructose and 10% sucrose. A regular coke is about 10% fructose, so we are feeding our infants 5X the amount of poison which our body does NOT metabolize the same as lactose (mommies milk).

I have to tell you, that I feel the best I ever have in a long time. I can't say I have more energy, I think only sleep could do that. However, I feel happy, almost sickly happy. Sometimes I laugh at work for no reason and it scares me. And the greatest thing, is that I don't have to count calories anymore. There is an even better place in my diet I would like to be but given that I have young children and a full time job, I don't have the time I would like to prepare food. However, I do the best I can.

The children don't always eat what I do, nor does my husband. The children do not like my homemade french fries with the skin on made from organic potatoes, so I have tried removing the skin, baking it longer, making the fries thinner, still no luck. Personally, I love them, but it will take awhile for the family to get on board. Although, some things like my salsa make from scratch tastes better then anything store bought. And of course, Costco is now my friend, when you eat so much fruit and veggies you can actually buy the Costco size at a cheap price and finish it before it goes bad.

The best thing also, is that there are a few of us at work, eating the same way, so we potluck lunch 3 times a week and encourage each other while helping out with new healthy food ideas that taste good.

I don't know how to fight the health care situation here anymore, except that I will try to do my part by not getting sick and keep the health system clear for those that need it.

Ant Update

Well, Colton has finally recovered from the ants, he still has little marks over his feet and legs so I will try to see what I can do about preventing scarring. We decided to have some professionals come in and spray the house "organic and not a pesticide" inside and out. I am unsure about the true nature of something not being a pesticide and still killing bugs, yet being safe for children but I decided we needed some help.