Man does not live by bread alone

Deuteronomy 8:3 tells us that "man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeeds out of the mouth of the Lord." Well, I'm personally very glad that man doesn't live by bread alone, because my diet recently turned gluten-free. And dairy-free, and egg-free, and sugar-free. I'm chuckling to myself as I write this, because I never dreamed I would find myself in this situation. I've always had extremely good health, and I've never been allergic to anything. My dentist even tells me regularly that he wishes I would eat candy so I would give him some business (I've never had any dental trouble either). But around November of last year I started having stomach trouble when I would eat certain things. It didn't take me very long to zero in on dairy as the problem, and a couple of months ago I discovered that eggs affected me as well. The stomach problems continued, however, and when I went in to have some muscle testing done, the chiropractor said I was also reacting to sugar and all grains (including corn and rice). So two weeks ago I began a strict diet of meat, fruits, veggies, and nuts along with a multitude of supplements to see if we can't fix the problem. It's been going quite well (not withstanding the fact that I can't have chocolate =)), and I've figured out ways to make my food interesting. I'm just glad that for the first time in several months I don't have to worry about waking up with a knot in my stomach every morning.

I could easily feel sorry for myself, and occassionally I give in to a little self-pity, but I'm trying to realize and focus on my blessings instead. Just the fact that our family has the resources for me to be on this diet and on all these supplements is a huge blessing. We also go to a natural doctor who was able to give us help and provide some answers. And because my dad has been on a similar diet in the past, and I have friends who eat gluten-free or dairy-free or both, I had lots of good ideas right away for ways to prepare food without the ingredients we usually cook with. The Lord is also using this to give me compassion for others who are on special diets or struggle with physical health. I can see the Lord working in me, softening my heart, and building my character through this experience; and as strange as it may sound, I am blessed by this trial. Granted, I look forward to the day when I won't have to eat this way anymore (hopefully), but I praise the Lord for the grace to appreciate what I'm learning, and I pray (and you could too, please!) that I'll continue with patience.

In the meantime I'm enjoying fruit smoothies with avocado substituted for milk/yogurt, apple "pie" made with almond flour and flax seed (= egg), lots of baked potatoes, and many different variations of the chicken breast =)

My life in one word...

If anyone were to ask me right now how I was, I would tell them that I'm blessed. More than any of the things that are going on, I think of and remember the blessing of God's hand on my life and on His faithfulness. The Bible is full of the testimonies of men who followed the Lord earnestly. Whether they were rejoicing during plenty or weighed down by the trials of life, they all testified to the goodness of the Lord. These men did not follow God because they were forced to against their will or because they were afraid of Him (although the world should be afraid, and all righteous men fear the Lord); they followed Him becasue they knew that no matter what they were going through, they had been given more than they deserved. What do we deserve? Death. Punishment. Hell. What do we have? Life. And not only life, but life abundant. We have the hope and joy of knowing that we will live forever in perfect communion with the One who saved us. Is that not something to rejoice about and fill us with awe and reverance for the rest of our days?

This is what has been on my heart of late.

And this is what has been happening in my life:

Four months ago my family was blessed to be a part of a church plant. The Lord has been gracious to us as we have gone on this journey, and I have learned so much from the experience. I am blessed every week by the godly men and women we fellowship with, and I am continually refreshed by the teaching and worship we are a part of. The Lord's hand is clearly visible, or as my mom likes to say, "I've seen the wind."

In January we celebrated my dad's big 5-0! We had a wonderful party and I know my dad thoroughly enjoyed the evening which was filled with good food, friends old and new, and many sweet prayers and encouraging stories.

Later that month we got to have the Romer children stay with us, which is always such fun (I have to keep myself from suddently breaking forth into my Brittish accent whenever they're around). We made cookies, snuggled on the couch with books, went for walks, and had an all-around marvelous time!

In February, Miss Anna McFarland and I got together to test out our flower arranging skills (I love Kroger's "sale flowers" section =D).

We also had a Valentine's card-making party.

And, of course, I've been working on aprons:

So there you have it! My life in one word, and just a few too many pictures =D