My hands on lesson of reaping and sowing. Mostly sowing.

My gardening dream came true this week. I asked my father-in-law last week if there was any room to grow a tomato plant or two in their backyard (which is beautiful I might add). Thinking if there was any extra space I could use, it would be small at best, I thought the answer would be a "maybe". I was pleasantly surprised that he actually pointed to the right-hand side of the yard where it is over-grown with weeds and said I could have that entire side! Last year they planted more roses on that side, so I thought it just needed to be cleaned up again and that the roses were still alive. He informed me that they didn't make it, so if I was willing to do the work, I could plant a little garden! My heart seriously screamed with delight! There are also two smaller planters in the middle of the yard that he said I was free to use also! SCORE!!

So I asked Matt if my valentines’ gift could be some gardening stuff and he said I could get what I liked... double score! Sunday after church, we headed off to Lowes in search of some organic vegetable plants. To my dismay, I would have to wait a month. I decided I couldn't wait that long and that I'd grow from seed myself! I did however get some herb plants for one of the center planters. I got Parsley, mint, chocolate mint, sage, rosemary, basil, lavender, thyme and German Chamomile (tea time!!). I ordered the seed online a few months ago, but decided to just do half grown plants. Now back to seeds... ha ha. Organic please?

As I planted my seeds in small, indoor planters, I couldn't help but notice that each plant has special sowing instructions. Both hot and sweet peppers like heat, moist (but not wet) soil and all day sun, Zucchini likes lots of water, food and 6 hours of sun, green bean seeds have to be soaked overnight before planting and can't be planted outside until the indoor plant is 6 inches tall...etc...

Of course that made me think of the term "planting a seed in someone’s heart". No wonder the Bible used the seed as an example. The human heart and God mimics the relationship of seed and soil. Some hearts thrive when cared for one way and others another way. It made me think of how many seeds I've so carelessly sown, without caring for the heart of the person I shared God's love for. Leaving them to figure out how to get water without assistance. There is also a time to sow. This is why friendship evangelism weighs so heavily on my heart. I think some people aren't ready to accept God. So when the issue is forced, it can leave a relationship strained. If I plant a seed in the wrong season, it's less likely to grow or flourish. While I don't hide my relationship with God, I try not to scare people off with information they're not ready for.

When you harvest fruit, you can tell if it's ready when you can pull it off with a gentle tug. If you have to force it off the tree or the vine, it's not ripe for harvest. When I mention Christ to someone and they back away from the topic, they're not ready. So I can A. Keep tugging and potentially scare them off or B. let it go and continue to love them and be myself and pray for them. Of course there are those low-maintenance "seeds" that you can scatter and they'll grow in the strangest of conditions. However, that is quite rare.

So I guess my lesson was if I'm going to sow seeds, I better be prepared to care for them.

The joruney to wellness.

I don't make new years resolutions. Not ever. However, my path to weight loss happened to start January 1st. It really had nothing to do with the start of the new year, but rather with the end of last year.

I've always struggled with my weight. For years it would slowly creep up on me and I'd do some diet and lose. Almost 5 years ago my diet tactics stopped working and I gained 40lbs. I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing. I was super tired all the time and wasn't eating very much. Yet the pounds kept packing on. After a few visits to my doctor, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease. It sounds scary, but it's really just a thyroid that doesn't work the way it should.

Medication helped for about a year. I wasn't losing weight, but I felt better. Then I decided I wanted to try to treat myself with eating better and being more active. I cut out fast food and started taking loads of vitamins and drinking "Super Food". I didn't drink soda, but I ended up cutting out all caffeine; coffee and tea (both of which I love!!) and stuck to lots of water. My thyroid levels started to even out and I felt good. The weight still wouldn't come off. In fact I gained another 10lbs.

The last couple of years I haven't been so good. I haven't gained weight or lost weight, but I haven't been the most committed to my health. I discovered low carb dieting. I started a few times and lost weight both times. But was never committed for more then about a week. I was stressed out and I tend to eat comfort carbs. Most people believe that low carb is really unhealthy. However, I stay away from high fat foods and try to eat lean proteins. I also eat move veggies then they say you should, but I'm not cutting fresh foods out of my diet. Cutting white flour and sugar is one of the best things you can do for your body. Really!

So, being committed this time, I started Low carb. 12 days later I'm down 16lbs. I feel good, my clothes are getting a little bit big. It's been great. I'm really committed and it hasn't even been hard for me this time. Last night I made Matt some organic whole-wheat pasta and sauce and some chocolate chip cookies. I had a bite to taste it, and had no desire to ruin my diet by having another one. I think I'm just ready. Normally a bowl of pasta wouldn't last 5 minutes in front of me.

Next week I'm starting an intense aqua training that I'm excited about. Hopefully that will help me to lose weight and get some endurance. and hour a day 5 days a week. 2 days of intense aerobics, 2 days strength training and a treading class. I'm taking every Sunday off and eating carbs and resting. Last Sunday I was really nervous about taking a day off, but I didn't over do it with carbs and Monday morning I was back to low carb. So I think I'm OK!!

I'm excited to be thinner then I am, but seriously, I just want to be healthy again.

Simple=healthy?

I love the Internet. It opens me up to a world of information that I would not have otherwise. Matt and I have been thinking a lot about organic living. Now, even though this is a growing trend, most people don't understand that the benefits are not just for us, but for the health of the earth as well. I firmly believe that the rise in cancers and other diseases is a direct cause and effect from what we eat. Hormones and pesticides are killing us and are contaminating the earth. We're growing our food with poison...

There are a lot of Christians that believe we can rape the earth of it's resources because of the return of Christ and that we might not be here very long. I say that is a very poor way to treat something that God created for us. I want to tread lightly on earth. I don't want the generations that follow me to have asthma and cancers harder to treat then the ones we already have because Christ "might" return before then.

I want a garden more then anything. Gardens are simple. You plant a seed in the ground and you water it and it grows. No need for fertilizer or weed killers. I want home grown tomatoes and carrots and zucchini. I want healthy foods you can eat without worrying what you're putting into your body.

I have to say, Matt and I are starting off very slowly in trying to live more organically. One reason is because we live in an apartment. No room for a garden. :-( Plus it is more expensive and with just starting out, we don't have the budget. However, we do buy free-range organic eggs, Hormone free, organic milk -- though we ran out and Matt had to buy what s-mart had, not organic (!!) Oh well, we're trying right! We have lots of fruit stands, so I try to buy locally grown produce as much as I can. Sometimes even though it's not "certified" organic, things are still grown using organic methods -- with compost and good watering, not chemicals. We occasionally find deals on organic meat, but we don't eat a lot of meat. I make almost everything vegetarian. Matt doesn't care as long as it tastes good. I am making chicken and rice soup for dinner tonight though...

I'll be posting more about organic living later :-)