Country Living Blog

If you are thinking about moving out into the country and independent living, here is someone who is blogging about their experience: Our Wilderness Cabin blog.

Pause & Reflect - Vision

This is an attempt to apply a technique – palming – from The Bates Method spiritually.

It is night time... probably about 1A. The baby has just woken up to eat and fallen back to sleep. I gaze out the top window and can clearly see a bright star. I am reminded of God's creation. I take my glasses off to look at the star again. It is blurry and faint. “How can I see this star?”, I wonder. Then, I remember palming – an eye relaxation exercise. The Bates Method claims that relaxing our eyes improves vision. (Oh, I'm reminded to blink as I type this.) Although I don't actually do the exercises, I thought about this blurry star and palming; I couldn't actually see the star. But, because I can't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there, and it doesn't mean God didn't create it. So, how can I see this star? I must relax my vision. Relax continually and my sight will be restored. Applying this to our spiritual life, we must rest in Christ always and our sight will be restored.

*I don't practice The Bates Method exercises. I've just read about certain exercises, specifically palming. And, although, I'm not too familiar with that either... this thought did come to me... and I had to jot it down. After all, I am reminded of the meaning of Selah's name - pause and reflect - and felt the need to share. Another "pause and reflect" post will be coming soon...

The Bradley Method: We are teaching!

It's in the works, but we are teaching The Bradley Method® .

Baby Dedication

Bible Alive*

"Are you going to heaven?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Because I am good."

Isn't it ironic that the very people that might call us legalist are the very people that would answer this way. Doesn't that sound... kinda... ummm... legalist? After all, to think that being good will save you is like trying to earn God's love by what we do. Now that is legalistic.

And have you noticed? Being legalist is often mentioned in context of keeping the Sabbath or eating a certain way. It's not often mentioned for other commandments.

Obedience to God's law is not legalistic, it's faithfulness.

*Much of this info came from Bible Alive (Cain & Abel) - a Christian television program.

Milk Share (Donated Breast Milk)

MilkShare is a place to donate breast milk to other mothers who have a low milk supply, cannot breastfeed, are adoptive parents, etc... It is also a place where mothers can find donated breast milk for FREE. What a wonderful idea! Mothers can donate or find donated milk in their area (searching by state). Plus, there is a forum for those willing to ship breast milk "anywhere". Check out the website.

I added this post in case there are mothers with an abundance of breast milk supply who are interested in donating.

Birth Story (The Bradley Method)

The choice to have a natural childbirth was not to prove "female machismo", but rather it was an educated decision. Educated in the sense, that we read about natural childbirth and learned the emotional and physical signposts during labor, the exercises to prepare for labor, and the techniques to endure labor. Knowing these gave us a glimpse of what labor would be like. This took away little fear (from me), but prepared us mentally for what to expect.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day before I went into labor I noticed an increase of energy that other mother's have mentioned they had just prior to labor. I could easily walk up and down stairs. My energy level only increased slightly, but it was noticeable. I wondered if this was a sign that I would go into labor soon. I asked Kurt to get "the list" of things we need for the hospital ready.

Water Breaks - 11:30PM-ish

That night around 11PM, I lay in the Runner's Position and soon I heard a POP! I wasn't really sure what that was, but I thought it could be that my water broke. I got up to use the restroom and felt some water drip down - more than usual. This happened twice. I told Kurt about it and it was about 12:00A. As long as I go into labor within 24 hours, all would be well. So, we prepared ourselves mentally for first stage labor at home and baking a birth cake. We called the midwife on call and she said to go to The Birthing Inn at 8:30A. Great... we didn't want to go too early! Well, we didn't have to wait long when my first contraction came; it felt like a cramping pain. Kurt started the Contraction Timer on his smart phone. I thought it was too soon to start timing, but I was quite happy he did! Because, we soon realized the contractions were 2-3 minutes apart! Kurt was certain they would grow further apart. After all, we expected about 16 more hours of labor and to have time to bake a birth cake.

Stage 1 Labor - midnight

We started putting our Bradley Method techniques to use. I lay in the Runner's Position and tried to relax. Kurt packed the car between contractions and he would apply pressure on my back during contractions. We didn't practice this technique; so, it was awful. Because I was at the edge of the bed, Kurt got onto the bed on the other side and applied pressure - a lot of pressure. Two reasons this didn't work for us. First, his movement on the bed was a huge distraction I couldn't relax through. (And, we have one of those beds where you're not supposed to feel much movement... but Kurt was moving quickly too.) Second, I required so much pressure on my back; he pushed me out of my relaxation position which caused even more tension. It was just awful. (Next time, we'll practice this one, because the pressure helped.) We could only successfully relax through 2 contractions. At this point, I knew I couldn't endure increasing pain for 16+ hours and knew I would want an epidural later. So, we skipped making the birth cake and I wanted to go to The Birthing Inn. Since the contractions were still 2-3 minutes apart, Kurt made a 2nd phone call to the midwives. Meanwhile, I went to the bathroom and had a contraction. Rather than end up on the floor, I sat on the toilet facing the wall with my arms over the tank. I had some blood... and I let Kurt know so he could tell the midwife which she replied we should head to the hospital. Thank goodness!

Off to The Birthing Inn - 1:30AM-ish

We started for the car and I felt like I was somewhat serious - an emotional signpost to watch out for while in 1st stage labor. I sat in the passenger side and put my seat back down. I had a few contractions in the car but couldn't relax in any position. I should've laid in the back of the SUV. A good idea, if the seats had been down. We arrived at The Birthing Inn. By this time, I was serious! I noticed the difference, but I didn't think I could be so far along into 1st stage labor. I entered The Birthing Inn and had a contraction while on my feet. I felt the need to just lay on the floor to relax through the contraction. Fortunately, Kurt was right behind me so I hung onto him.

Antepartum

There were so many questions to answer and papers to fill out. I was registered and wondered why I had to do all this! I'm glad Kurt was there to answer the questions. By this time, I asked the nurse "How soon can I have an epidural?" I don't think Kurt could believe what I was saying. I just knew I couldn't endure this for 16+ hours of labor. The nurse checked my cervix and said I was 8 cm dilated. A few moments later, our midwife arrived and checked my cervix. I was 9 cm (station 1). By now, Kurt and I both knew that my demand for an epidural was THE emotional signpost that 2nd stage labor was around the corner! Yeay! The midwife mentioned that getting an epidural at this time would prolong my labor, and she reminded me that I wanted a natural labor. Because I knew 2nd stage labor was around the corner (and less painful) I didn't request an epidural anymore.

2nd Stage Labor - 2AM-ish

There was no way I wanted to walk to the delivery room, so I was wheeled on the bed. After arriving and about 2 contractions later, I felt the need to push. I mentioned it to the midwife ...and so began the pushing! Kurt and a nurse held my legs up during the whole time - pushing or not. It was very helpful for relaxing. When I wasn't pushing, I just let myself relax in a comfortable position. When the urge came to push, I pushed 3 to 4 times. Kurt was a great coach! He kept reminding me to relax my lower extremities, to hold my breath when I pushed, and to breathe deeply. I kept forgetting to do all those at just about every contraction. I felt like I wasn't progressing, but Kurt could tell. At one point, I switched to a squatting position - the position I thought I would want to labor in. (Who wouldn't want the squatting position allowing 10% more opening?) I was wrong! It took way too much energy to hold myself up. We quickly went back to pushing on my back (~45 degree angle). The midwife asked me twice if I wanted a mirror and each time I refused... until I finally changed my mind. It didn't encourage me to push harder, but it was interesting to watch. I got to feel our baby's head at one point; it was all lathered with soap but you could see the baby's hair. Finally, after about 2 hours of pushing, Kurt noticed that the nurse and midwives seemed concerned. We weren't sure that anything was wrong, but I was given oxygen every now-and-then. The midwife had to help things along some *ouch!*.

It's a Girl! - 4:25AM

Finally, the baby's head came out, and the baby was just about pulled out of me. I can't remember pushing the body out. The baby was placed on my chest with chord in tact. I didn't know what to do nor how to react. I almost didn't touch the baby... then I smiled and gently touched. The nurses then began stimulating the baby until cries were heard. As Kurt was stepping back to get the camera, someone asked, "Do we know if it's a boy or a girl?" The midwife spread open the baby's legs. I expected Kurt to say if it was a boy or girl, but I think he was speechless. The midwife said, "It's a girl." Kurt got to cut the chord after it finished pulsing. Then, the baby was placed nearby for the nurse to clean her up.

4.5 Hours Labor

I had a 1 cm tear inside (my perinium in tact) requiring 3 stitches. But, nothing I ever felt during labor. I was then wheeled into the Postpartum room.

4.5 hours of labor. Fastest labor I never imagined I would have. And I thought I was going to be a putter-er. I am so glad we both read Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. It was extremely valuable during our labor since we had to cancel our Bradley classes. If it weren't for the book, we would not really know how fast things were moving and Kurt would not have been such a great coach in 2nd stage labor! We have to work on 1st stage labor for next time.

Pediatrician

Recommend reading: The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears

An unbiased view about vaccinating... or not.

I learned about this book through Kristen's Raw.

While touring a pediatrician's office, we quickly got the impression that they did not welcome vegetarians/vegans nor those who want a selective and alternative vaccine schedule. When we asked the coordinator if the pediatricians would support a vegan lifestyle, she quickly mentioned their concern would be if the baby was receiving appropriate nutrition - primarily protein. I thought it was odd since nutritionists would probably be concerned with iron, calcium, and B12 intake (IMO)... and maybe fat. Well, maybe she wasn't the best one to answer the question; however, I would expect the pediatricians to test for nutritional deficiencies and toxicity, then advise, and certainly not impose their values on us.

We were also disappointed to learn that this particular pediatrician's office would only accept patients that have all immunizations - mandatory or not. The office requires just about every vaccine, including the yearly flu shot and HPV shot (at appropriate ages, of course) on their schedule. (BTW, this is when we learned that the H1N1 will be in next year's flu shot.)

Well, after this visit, we thought that looking for a pediatrician would be extremely difficult and time consuming. Fortunately, one call to our midwives' office gave us hope. They recommended Whole Child Pediatrics where they allow for selective and alternative vaccines. If opting out, you must provide a reason. They start vaccines after 2 months of age, plus consider the weight of the child before vaccinating. Now, this makes much more sense to us!

Frontal Lobe Completes Development at About 30 Years of Age

Years ago, I attended a lecture by Dr. Neil Nedley and read his book - Proof Positive. I was amazed with the topic of the frontal lobe; the location of the brain where will and morality reside. And, your frontal lobe is not fully developed until about 30 years of age! Interestingly, Jesus didn't start his ministry until he was about 30 years of age! Also, John the Baptist, only 6 months older, started his ministry 6 months before Jesus did. Fascinating.

Here's some more info I will just attach here if you want to learn more:
Studies show that the frontal lobe is the center for our will, our thinking and reasoning, and our moral values and personality. Evidence indicates that the frontal lobe is where God communicates with 
us through the Holy Spirit, helping us to have accurate thoughts that enhance our mental health.

Neil Nedley's Frontal Lobe DVD where he "focuses specifically on the frontal lobe of the brain, which is the 'seat of our morality, spirituality & the will'".

Brazil Mission Trip

We have arrived from our Brazil Mission Trip. I cannot believe we left sunshine & sunburns for being snowed in. I love it.

But, we will certainly miss the tropical fruit - mango, graviola, silver bananas, acai, papaya, passion fruit (maracuya), guava, jaboticaba, sweetsop, cashews, cashew fruit, jackfruit - growing in the wild Brazilian land. Yumm! We need to go back!

The view from Escola dos Profetas, (Alcançando Corações, RHI Brazil). In this picture, notice how the tree casts a shadow on the lake that makes it look like a heart.

Sabbath. The children singing "This Little Light of Mine" in Portuguese.







After Sabbath lunch, we walked door-to-door to visit a few of the locals to hand out donated toys and remind them of Vacation Bible School starting that evening. One of the locals showed us this cute little monkey.
This was absolutely delicious as a main dish. Jackfruit "meat". Wow, the center is cooked and prepared, breaded, and fried/baked. A nice meaty main dish for any meal. The edges (yellow part) is the fruit eaten raw. Interesting taste.

RHI group built the foundation of the married housing and the cesspool.



Driving through the city...




Vacation at the beach, swimming with the fish, and enjoying more coconut water.

Wilted Kale Wreath & Pineapple Icebox Dessert

Merry Christmas!

This is a dish we enjoy making for Christmas - Wilted Kale Wreath. The recipe is James Russell's Wilted Kale Salad & it makes for a perfect wreath with tomato ornaments.

Substitute sesame seeds for hemp seed, if you can't find it in stores.

Thanks for all the great comments about the Pineapple Icebox recipe. I didn't come up with the recipe; but, I did share the dessert with several people and they enjoyed it. (Recipe and pictures.) We made two batches of this recipe. The first was eaten before we could take pictures of it. We'd like to post our pictures, but I think the second may also be eaten before we get the camera out.

Tips:

* Use a silicone loaf pan or springform pan so the dessert can be easily removed for serving.

* Use vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract.

* The filling was really a workout for my high speed blender. So, I added a little more coconut oil and water, being sure to add more coconut oil since it will keep the shape better.

* Best served frozen!

Christian Evolution?

At church a few weeks back, the pastor's sermon made some interesting points about Christians and evolution. I just want to share them here:

If you, a Christian, believe in evolution, do you believe that God created you? If God did not create you, what purpose does He have sending His son to save you - someone He did not create?

Jesus, our Creator, had to die for us because He was responsible for creating us. So either the Creator pays or evolution pays.

Search for "Creation," 8/19/09 on the Reaching Your Heart website.

Did Jesus always exist?
And for some reason, I recall a sermon from a few months back which answers the question "Did Jesus always exist? Did God the Father create Jesus at some later time?" If Jesus has a beginning where he was created sometime between "negative infinity" and some point before or at the creation of the earth, then that would mean God existed at some point without Jesus and God didn't really give a part of Himself when He sent His only son to die for us. Any created being, such as angels, could have died for us if that were the case.




Thus, Jesus, like God the Father, has always existed. "...before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me" - Isaiah 43:10b.



I have to find the link for this sermon...

Battle of the Bibles & Changing the Word.

We recommend DVDs Battle of the Bibles and Changing the Word by Professor Veith.

We found this SO interesting... comparing the KJV with the NIV & RSV!

The following verses are NOT found in the NIV & RSV; but, they are found in the KJV.

Matt 17:21, 18:11, 23:14
Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46, 11:26, 15:28
Luke 17:36, 23:17
John 5:4
Acts 8:37, 15:34, 24:6-8, 28:29
Romans 16:24
I Tim 2:7

II Tim 4:22

In the DVD, Veith compares the KJV with NIV & RSV. He then explains the differences between the verses... and I was just amazed. Why does this matter? Well, removing or modifying certain verses make it hard/impossible to prove that Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy... and Jesus' diety!

Compare also 1 John 5:7. It would be difficult/impossible to prove the trinity in the NIV, but not the KJV.

Here are some modified verses you can compare for yourself:

1 Cor 15:34, Job 26:5, Matthew 1:16 & 25, 24:36, Mark 2:17, 10:21, Luke 4:4, 9:55-56, 11:2, John 5:39, 16:23, Acts 13:42, 16:7, Ephes 3:9, Col 1:15-16, 2 Tim 4:1, Heb 11:3, I Peter 1:22, Rev 14:5

I highly recommend the DVDs!

Or watch on YouTube. This is just Part 1 of the second DVD:

The Coming (Spiritual) Oil Crisis (Excellent Sermon & Highly Recommended)

The Coming Oil Crisis is a great sermon by Ivor Myers. I highly recommend it... and you may find yourself listening to it more than once. There are two others parts which are just as good: part II: Striking Oil and part III: God's Fire Alarm.

In The Coming Oil Crisis, Myers talks about the spiritual oil crisis and why we need to drill deeper! He basis it on the Ten Virgins parable, where the oil represents prayer, our communion with God, and he explains how & why we should be wise virgins so that we will not be left when "the door shuts". This will change your prayer life... forever.

Part II explains how each day of creation, in Genesis 1, represents a day of our spiritual creation. Awesome!

Part III explains how every week is a preparation and reminder of how to rest in Christ. And, how we prepare and keep the Sabbath will prepare us for Jesus' coming. It will change the way you view the Sabbath. Awesome too!

We have shared this sermon with several people!

Free Raw E-Cookbook

To this day, people still mention how wonderful Cheflandria's Mango Cheesecake is. It uses Irish Moss, but I've made it several times with agar-agar. Irish Moss is the raw version of what you know to be a common ingredient in your food - carrageenan. I have been curious enough about Irish moss, especially after Chef James Russell has used it with cashews to make a "tofu", that I bought some from Pure Joy Planet.  I will make Cheflandria's Mango Cheesecake with Irish Moss this weekend... hopefully.

Here is Cheflandria's free raw e-book which has that recipe:
Cheflandria VIBRANT Recipe Book FREE!
Linked from GoneRaw post.

Other food raw recipes:

Curried Cabbage, Marinara Sauce, Mango Avocado Salad, and Wilted Kale Salad

Christian Movies

Who has time to watch movies these days?  We typically don't, but someone recommended these Christian movies:  Saving Sarah Cain and Faith Like Potatoes

I recommend this movie... beautiful.

If the link does not work, click here for the trailer.

  Faith Like Potatoes (Global Creative Studio)

Raw Food Recipes

We enjoyed our time savoring raw food dishes prepared by several friends. The food was absolutely delicious! Thank you everyone.

Below are most of the recipes from the potluck. Additional recipes are found on a previous blog entry.

Eggless Salad

Recipe by Matt Amsden from Rawvolution

Equipment: Blender

Wilted Kale Salad

Recipe by James Russell.

Equipment: Blender, however optional

Pasta Primavera

Recipe can be found on The Sunny Raw Kitchen.

Equipment: Mandoline Slicer (or the like) & Blender

Mango Avocado Salad

Recipe can be found on We Like It Raw.

Falafel

Recipe can be found on The Raw Chef Blog (James Russell).
Equipment: Dehydrator & Food Processor

Pictures for... Mexican Patties, Tropical Pie, and Strawberry Pie

Russell James' Curried Cabbage Pillows with Dipping Sauce

Equipment for Cabbage: Food processor and Sprout Jars for Germinating (optional)

Equipment for Wrap: Dehydrator

Equipment for Dipping Sauce: Blender

First cold pressed olive oil and Braggs can be used instead of cold pressed sesame oil and tamari.  Optionally, add one tablespoon germinated black sesame seeds.

Refrigerator Cucumbers

Prepared by Pat

Equipment: Mandolin slicer (or something that slices thinly)

Ingredients:

8 cups cucumbers
1 medium onion
1 medium red pepper
1/2 medium green pepper
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup raw honey
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp celery seed
1/2 tsp ground pepper (optional)

Slice cucumbers very thinly. Chop onions and green peppers. Place cuccumbers, peppers and onions in a bowl. Sprinkle with celery seed and ground pepper, if used. Mix honey, lemon juice, and salt. Pour over cuccumbers and mix. The hyperosmotic solution of lemon juice, honey, and salt will pull the water out of the vegetables. (It's how pickles are made!!) Mix several times before putting in the refrigerator. Best made 24 to 48 hours before serving for the flavors to blend.

Strawberry Parfait

Recipe is posted on Any Phyo's website.

Equipment: Blender

We did not add agave to the strawberries, nor did we blend the strawberries.

Growing Your Own Fresh Air Indoors!

Researcher Kamal Meattle recommends these three plants for fresh air:

• Areca Palm - Converts CO2 to O2
• Mother-in-law's Tongue - Converts CO2 to O2 at night
• Money Plant - Removes formaldehyde and other volatile chemicals
  
  For more detailed information, watch this short video on WeLikeItRaw.com.
  It's worth the watch for cleaner indoor air!
  
  
  

Dehydrating Grapes to Make Raisins for Raw Baklava

Kurt made Cherie's raw Apple Baklava posted on Get Fresh magazine.  It tasted so good!  And, it tasted cooked!  For this special event, we made our own raw raisins.  Next time, we'll just use regular raisins, but we really wanted to make our own.  In a glass bowl, we squeezed some of the juice out of the raisins (but not too much), just enough to break each one open for better dehydration.  You can drink the delicious grape juice.  Place the raisins on parchment paper on a dehydrator sheet.  Dehydrate the raisins at 115F for 36 hours.

The raisins were used for the agave-raisin syrup in this recipe layered with apples, syrup, dehydrated-germinated walnuts, and raisins.  Additional raisins were sprinkled in between the layers

Kurt's artistic placement of the apples, which you couldn't see after we put the syrup and walnuts on top.  He did a very good job!

Applying the last syrup to be spread on top.  Beautiful!

This dessert was a delight.

Yellowstone or Northern VA?

With temperatures below freezing, the fountains in Landsdowne are quickly looking like geysers from Yellowstone NP. This is Young Faithful.