Women of the Bible: Naomi

The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!  He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”  Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.   Ruth 4:14-17

 
NAOMI

Oftentimes our mindset is to work while we are young so that we can be comfortable when we are old; however, with a little maturity and some life lessons, we learn that life doesn't always happen that way.  Naomi is a perfect example.  She had a home, husband, two sons, and two daughters-in-law, and by accounts life was good.  Then, over a short period of time she lost everything, everything except her daughter-in-law, Ruth and only because Ruth refused to leave her.  Naomi called herself, "Mara", which means bitter.  Thankfully, even  in her loss and bitterness, Naomi did not collapse or give up.  She put one foot in front of the other, did the best she could each day, and learned to trust God.  God never left her.  He led her through the pain to His perfect will.  Through perseverance and faith, Naomi was again blessed as we read in the above passage.  God did that for Naomi and He will do that for all of us who love and trust Him.

GOD NEVER changes and His promises are FOREVER!

God’s Promise

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.  Romans 15:13 

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?    Numbers 23:19 

 (images from google)

homemade brew...the healthy kind!

When I found this on YouTube, it was called "Good Girl Moonshine".  My husband, bless his heart, can't remember names at all, so he inevitably began to call it "Good Girl Juice" and occasionally requests that I fix him a bottle of it.  We can only hope he's not telling the guys at work what he calls it.  Ha.

Now, I was skeptical upon seeing the downright ecstasy with which these two sisters extolled the virtues and health benefits of drinking this stuff.  But since I'm always looking for something to help give me energy or lose weight, I was game to try it.

Here are the simple ingredients for making this concoction:

1. ice (fill a 32 oz. container to the top)
2. purified water (just don't use tap!)
3. lemon juice  (2 Tsp)
4. ginger root, grated  (2 Tsp)
5. apple cider vinegar [also known as ACV] (2 Tsp) 
6. sweetener  (to taste)

First of all, make sure whatever brand of ACV you get that it has "the mother" in it.  Ha-ha.. I know, that just sounds weird, but stick with me.  This simply means the ACV is organic and unfiltered, which leaves it with strands of the apple protein, enzymes and friendly bacteria.  It will appear as a sort-of 'sediment' which may float at the top or settle in the bottom of the bottle.  I use Bragg's brand because it has been around for forever and has a good reputation for being an excellent product.  ACV has TONS of benefits for your health, including stabilizing blood sugar, promoting weight loss, and aiding digestion among others you can read about here.

Secondly, purified water.  We all know the importance of pure water.  Don't take a chance with your tap water.  Thirdly... the lemon juice, make sure it is 100% juice and not a cocktail or a lemonade mix.

Fourthly, (is that even a word?) and probably the most complicated...ginger root.  My adventures in procuring "the perfect" ginger have been varied and somewhat disappointing.  I've bought it from Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

I can't really tell that it makes a difference where you get it other than from Whole Foods, it will more likely be organic. (but check to make sure if that's what you're looking for)  No matter if it's organic or not, ginger root is gonna be different.  I've found some that are a dark yellow, almost brown color, others that are bright yellow and more moist.  Ginger is stringy by nature, but sometimes it will be MUCH stringier than others.  Those daggone strings drive me nuts!

Egads!  The strings!!!

Ginger will grate best when it's frozen, so pop that baby in the freezer soon as you get it home.  I've read posts that say you don't HAVE to peel it, but I don't like the papery texture of the ginger peel, so I use the back side of a knife and scrape the peel off as best I can.

We have grown extremely fond of ginger as witnessed by my empty tub of Trader Joe's famous Triple Ginger Snaps.  They're the bomb & a couple of them make a nice treat after a delicious, healthy supper.

As you can see below, I have an ancient Salad Shooter that I've started using after grating the old fashioned way quickly got too time-consuming.  I don't know how long my Shooter will work because, seriously, it's OLD and the grater cone has a crack in it, but it sure beats the grater EXCEPT for having to stop and disassemble the thing to clear the strings.  ARGH!



I've also used my old-fashioned crank grater...you know, the shiny silver kind your grandma probably had that you either clamp or suction to the counter.  It is tied with the Shooter for efficiency.  Meh.

So, really grating the ginger is the single most time-consuming part of this whole process.

STOP THE PRESSES FOR THIS UPDATE!  [9-14-15]
I had been contemplating buying a zester, which is basically a very fine shredder/grater but I digress, to see if it would do any better for this. I had serious doubts and didn't want to end up with another kitchen gadget I had no room to store in my house, but the other day I found one in Burkes on sale, so I grabbed it and lo and behold:

IT WORKS!! And wonderfully well, I might add! I did enough for my 48 ounce bottle in two snaps. FOR REAL! No stopping to clean the blades, no immense waste from all the strings (there ARE no strings with the zester!) Be sure it's still frozen though, I'm sure that made it all the quicker.
So rejoice and cue the "Hallelujah Chorus" y'all...then run out and get yourself a zester RIGHT NOW!
And now back to your regularly scheduled post....

 I will admit to using ground ginger in a pinch.


However, let me spare you some pain by sharing what I learned the first time I used ground instead of fresh:  use ONLY 1 TEAspoon of the ground, not a TABLEspoon...and DEFINITELY not TWO tablespoons!!  (stop laughing!)   Be aware, too, that the ground will not completely dissolve, so just be sure to shake it each time before you take a swig so it's not all concentrated at the bottom or that last mouthful will FEEL like you put 2 tablespoons in it.

Once you finally have your ginger grated, you're ready to put your concoction together.  You simply put all the ingredients in your jar or bottle (more on that in a sec), shake it up really good and let it sit for about 5 -10 minutes (if you can wait that long).

As for sweetener, I have a couple different things I use.

Yes, I actually use regular ol' sugar too. Having had type 1 diabetes for over 40 years, I have tasted pretty much every artificial sweetener to come down the pike.  I have tasted some dawg-nasty stuff, trust me.  I don't really care for any of them, even the newest stuff, and I avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible.

Then there are the side effects of using those types of things.  I have never been able to tolerate stevia, but I keep trying.  Most any artificial sweetener will give me a headache.  I don't need any of those, thank you, so when I am going to "splurge" on a sweet treat, I just go for the real thing and bolus to cover it.  Now you know.  So anyhow, I make a 48 ounce batch for myself (that's the size bottle I have) and so using around a tablespoon of sugar in that amount along with the properties of the ACV apparently, I don't need to bolus insulin for it.  It has never caused my blood sugar to spike.

Okay, now for the bottle.  If you watched that video linked at the first of this post, you will see they are using regular ol' glass Mason jars.  That's fine for most anyone, I suppose, but there are many downfalls to using those.  For one, my hands are too small to easily grip a quart jar.  They are glass...difficulty gripping them is a pretty sure bet I'm gonna drop one and break it all over the place.  Not fun.  They don't travel well.  Sure, you could go ahead and put the flat and ring on it if you wanted to take it with you in the car, but it ain't gonna fit in the cup holder, ya know?  Then there's the problem of actually carrying it from one place to another.  What do you do?  Put it in your purse?  No, I had to find a better solution.

My family is full of outdoorsy nutjobs.  Seriously, they love hiking, kayaking, camping, cycling (of course) and rock climbing.  We are always in the market for VERY sturdy equipment.  Somewhere along the line, my husband and boys found these things...

Nalgene bottles rock!  We have about 5 of them just between Hubby and myself.  They are made of a hard BPA-free plastic that's almost indestructible.  In addition to these Nalgene bottles, we get something called a Cap-Cap for them so that they're easier to drink from.

You can see most of the Cap-Cap in the above photo.  It essentially lets you have a smaller opening to drink from (eliminating that inevitable face-splash from drinking from the larger one) and still have easy access to the wide-mouth of the bottle for filling with ice and liquid.  I got some of my Cap-Caps on Amazon, but they also carry them in most outdoors or sporting goods stores.  REI is our favorite.  I swear I'm not getting kickbacks, but we do love our awesome outdoor gear!  You can also see this is my 48 oz bottle.  Nalgenes come in 16 oz, 32 oz and 48 oz sizes.  They also have different styles and cap-types available.

The single downfall I have found to using my Nalgene is that it's like a little baby drinking from a huge sippy cup.  You are NOT gonna sneak a sip from it in a meeting or group setting, trust me.  But if that's the only drawback, I'm okay with it.  Ha-ha!

I try to get a full 48 ounces of GGJ every day.  I haven't found that it gives me tons of energy which is really disappointing, but it is obviously helping me lose weight.  After the cycling kick-started my body into dumping some weight, adding this is the only thing that could be helping me continue to lose even after NOT being able to ride for over two months now.  Now THAT is exciting!

One more product before I go... this:

We laughingly refer to that as my Nalgene Purse.  It's made by a company called ChicoBag and we bought one for me (at REI) after a short hike up to Natural Bridge wherein I had to awkwardly tote that heavy bottle the whole time because I had on running shorts with nowhere to hang it on my pants.
It doesn't work as well with the 32 oz, only because you will have to roll or push the top of the bag down a bit to expose the top of the bottle, but is designed perfectly for the 48.  Even when I'm just around the house drinking my GGJ, I put it in the bag.  It keeps it from sweating on everything and makes it easy to grab and keep right with me.  I've been known to take it into the grocery store or even a restaurant with me.  It "wads" up into itself leaving you with a neat little stuff sack, has a small caribiner to clip your keys to when you head out for a hike or paddle.  It also sports a couple of little skinny pockets on the handle just right for a pen or a tube of lip balm.

Let me know if you start drinking your own Good Girl Juice and how it works for you!  I'd love to hear.

Let's Fight

As I sit in my quiet place tonight, I can hear the tree frogs and all of the night sounds outside.  I have just returned home from watching the movie -War Room at our local theater for the second time in two days. 

It is a wonderful God inspired movie but it didn’t tell me anything that I didn’t already know.  It did, however, reaffirm in me what I should be doing. 

I have all of my life said I want to be a better Christian but until a couple of years ago, I had never really done anything about it.  I went on a Walk to Emmaus and heard a talk on Growth through Study (You grow through reading and studying God’s word).  That did it; that taught me that there are different ways to help me better understand God’s word.  Everyone is different and has different ways of learning.  We each need to find what works best and stick with it. I am very bad about comparing myself to other Christians, always thinking they are better Christians than me.  But the Bible says and I am learning that we all sin and come short.   While I feel I have deficiencies in some areas, I have strength in others.  I am pretty good about showing people God’s love.  I love to encourage people, love on them, and nurture them.  I love talking to people and even going out of my way just to help them if possible.  Studying and growing in Christ helps me.

Now this movie, War Room has built a fire in me, a passion to fight on my knees for the lost and dying world, the sick, and the lonely.  

In our homes we need to turn off the tv’s and teach our children and our grandchildren what is most important and that is communicating with God.  Talking with Him is a two-way-street because we talk to God and He listens, and God talks to us and we need to stop and listen.  

I am learning that slowing down to listen is a good habit for me to develop in my prayer time.  I tend to tell God all of my concerns and requests and then amen and off I go onto something else.  I believe we all have so many things that we need to go to God about, but we also have to stop and listen to what He has to say.  I guess what I’m trying to say is let’s all make ourselves a War Room and take God more serious! I’m not saying add on a room to your house or clear out your already crowded closet.  Let’s just start with a few quiet minutes before bed or each morning before the house wakes up or even during our lunch times.  Let’s get serious about a two way conversation with Christ.  Let’s get to fighting!

 

Blessings, Carmella

GOD CAN!!!

        Some of you may have read my Mom’s previous blog about my youngest daughter’s diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy called, "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made". For those that have not I will do a quick recap. At 6 months of age Isabella was not rolling over or sitting up and was very weak on her left side. I mentioned it to her pediatrician who just dismissed it at which time we took her for a second opinion. Isabella had a 9 month checkup and the doctor agreed with me about my concerns and decided she needed to see a neurologist. We made the trip to Cincinnati where the doctor observed her for 30-45 minutes and said that he knew she had CP as he sees this very often and that she would walk, but closer to 2 years of age.  We decided to go through with the sedated MRI ,which showed no damage. The doctor told us that a lot of times the MRI never shows damage but they will continue to treat her as a CP patient. There was about a span of 6 months between the time we first saw the neurologist and the day of her sedated MRI. Almost every day, I wondered what the MRI would show.   I replayed my pregnancy in my mind a million times trying to figure out when Isabella had the stroke the doctors said she had.  I also questioned if I would ever see her walk the halls of our home, the isle at church or if she would ever walk to the door of my parents’ home when we went for a visit. I knew God COULD heal her but I just didn’t know if it was in His plans. Perhaps Isabella could reach more people and give more glory to God by being wheelchair bound or strapped to a walker. Having to reach a point where you were completely ok with your child being in such a state in order for her to honor God is completely sobering. I had always heard parents say as their children were heading to the mission field that if that’s God’s will for them then that’s the safest place for them. I too felt this way.  What if this was God’s plan for Isabella’s life? Who am I to reject it? After all King Darius turned to God because of the power of God shown thru Daniel’s trial.  My husband on the other hand had complete faith that God would heal Isabella and that she would walk. He took her before the church on a Sunday and had her anointed with oil and prayed over. From that point on he had unwavering faith. It was almost for those months that we lived as a house divided. He wasn’t wrong in his thinking and neither was I. I didn’t know if God would heal her by allowing her to walk but I KNEW either way He would be there and that was enough for me!!! We have continued weekly therapy with Isabella and I am so thankful to report that I have watched her walk the halls of our home, the isle of our church and to the front door of my parents’ home. I have watched her climb items in our home that a CP patient should NEVER be able to do. I have watched the strength in her left side be restored.  She climbs steps like a pro. Just this week I watched my friend’s amazed face at seeing Isabella walk. The nurse said that either Isabella has CP and it isn’t showing on the MRI or she never had it. But I say she had it BUT GOD healed her!!!! I know what she looked like at 6 months and my mommy gut said something was wrong. She began walking at 15 ½ months old. I am so thankful and so unworthy and the grace shown to me. Can God??  GOD CAN!!!!