Two thousand years ago, Mary Magdalene ran through the streets of Jerusalem "while it was still dark" (John 20:1), seeking the One who called Himself light. But He was not there. The tomb was empty. As two angels looked on, Mary Magdalene wept. She didn’t grasp the truth of His resurrection until He spoke her name: "Mary" (John 20:16).

The Lord speaks our names as well, in the depths of our hearts. He calls us to see Him as He truly is: risen, victorious, eternal. He calls us to believe, to leave the darkness of doubt behind and step into the light of His truth.

Food Freedom

"Because without food freedom, you have no freedom at all." "If you depend on the system to feed yourself...then you're really a slave to that system of food" production, which includes preparation, delivery and the chemicals contained in many GMO and processed foods.

Growing your own food is simple, easy and super-affordable  and in a manner that uses far less water than traditional agriculture.

So, why does all of this matter? Because of the cost of food in the stores for one! They can charge any amount that  they want, and our hands are tied. Its either buy the items, or do without. Who knows what you are eating, and if it is really good for you. Think about it.  

SPRING

Its always a challenge to know exactly when to plant seeds in the garden. Every year, about this time, you can find me scowling in frustration at the work before me. I'll be sitting with my list of seeds I bought for the garden, a calendar, trying to figure out when would be the best time to nestle each little seed under the soil.
It has been a beautiful week in South Central KY. Now I am hearing low twenty's for Friday and Saturday night. I did plant my potatoes, but they are deep enough  that the frost won't bother them. Spring are you teasing us?

 DAVID BUILT A SAND BOX FOR THE CHICKENS TO PLAY IN.

 DAVID IS PUTTING ON MY SUPERS SO THAT THE BEES CAN COLLECT HONEY.

SPRING LIKE WEATHER CALLS FOR BED SHEETS TO BE HUNG OUT ON THE LINE.



If you feel that your life is stressful and there's no avoiding stress, you're right. Stress is unavoidable. Life has a way of giving us ups and downs, and worse still, life has a way of kicking us when we're down. We've all been there - when things couldn't possibly get worse... and then they do.

We all have choices to make. How are you going to take care of your body? Will you eat the healthiest diet possible? Will you exercise? Will you get enough sleep? How are you going to react to life's inevitable setbacks?


These choices are actually life and death choices. This may sound melodramatic, but it is true. Poor nutrition, lack of sleep, little to no exercise and giving in to negative emotions will send us to an early grave. We have a choice in the way we live life, and our choices become our reality.

Tax Return

I just received an audit on my tax return for 2014 back from the IRS. It puzzles me!!!
They are questioning how many dependents I claimed.
I guess it was because of my response to the question: "List all dependents?"

I replied: "12 million illegal immigrants; 3 million crack heads;
42 million unemployed people on food stamps,
2 million people in over 243 prisons;
Half of Mexico ; 535 persons in the U.S. House and Senate
and  1 useless President."

Evidently, this was NOT an acceptable answer.
I KEEP ASKING MYSELF, WHO The Hell DID I MISS?

David ran a 5K for Dishman McGinnis School this morning and came in 3rd place. Go David!

Into The Woods

Bowling Green High School put on the musical Into The Woods. An award-winning Broadway musical. It was a twisted spin on the beloved Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. Complementary tickets were give to us by my son-in-law Kevin who played percussion. Great job Kevin. You did well BGHS!

Raising egg-laying chickens in the backyard is fun, self-sufficient and educational. Not only do you get fresh eggs out of the endeavor, you also gain some great insight in the poultry brain, get some laughter at their antics, and, if you choose, get some tasty dinners once your birds are past prime laying age.

The moment you put an animal in a cage or behind a fence, you are taking responsibility for the welfare of that animal. If you are a person of conscience, then you want to treat the animal well - possibly giving it a life better than if the animal were on its own in the wild. Does this imply that every person of conscience who has caged any animal has the arrogance to believe that they can improve upon nature's designs?
We can attempt to protect the animals from predators - this is easy to wrap our heads around. We can attempt to provide food that is better than what they would find in the wild. But wait .... we cannot seem to agree on what is best for humans to eat, let alone another species that does not speak our language. Some simple trial and error reveals what foods are preferred or result in "progress," but a lot of this information is being contested/disputed regularly.
The first domesticated chickens were plucked from the jungle. For thousands of years, chickens have been bred to survive non-jungle situations. But when they get loose they rarely survive anywhere on their own but in the jungle.

There are many physical reasons to begin practicing yoga. Yoga will increase your flexibility, strengthen and condition your muscles, and give you better balance and posture. That's the good news but the good news gets even better for those just starting this artful discipline: yoga does not begin and end in the physical realm. Yoga can also welcome deeper personal growth, in both the emotional and spiritual realms. As you become aware of your breathing, body movements, and thoughts, you can work on the issues inside you.


 In many ways, yoga takes on the form of meditation, and during these times of silence and introspection, you can reconnect with who you are. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up listening to the negative language of the scripted news media. Sometimes it's easy to let wounded people bring us down in their pain, pity, and blame. In yoga, all this negative chatter goes out the window as you create your own space. All the external voices dissipate, allowing you to communicate with your inner, most honest self. Yoga allows you to face fears, quell frustrations, and overcome worries - to welcome emotional self healing.

Miss disappointment showed up with her best friend heartache. Ever felt this way? What to do?

"And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5 (NASB)

As Christians we have hope. Like that sailor, we have an "anchor" for our lives that can help us stand fast through the storms of life. It's called hope. Romans 8:28). It is the conviction that no matter the circumstances, God's plans for our lives are "for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11b NLT).

To the Christian, hope is the knowledge that we are being changed for the better as we trust in God's promises.

Only when we look to the truly firm foundation for living -- Jesus Christ -- will we find a hope that can anchor our souls. It all begins with our relationship with God. If you have not been "born again," your hope is simply misplaced. If you are feeling hopeless right now, consider where your primary hope is grounded. If it's not in Jesus, come to Him now to find a hope unlike any other.

 Popping From The Soil

 Hyacinth

Lilly's

The Plants Are Starting To Reawaken

I do hope you're loving this new Spring weather - the sun is shining, the wild garlic and rhubarb are budding through the soil, and it just makes us all feel sooooo much better doesn't it?

Happy Sweet Saint Patrick's Day
As the saying goes, everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day! Whether you’re looking to be a part of the parades and shenanigans, or plan on enjoying a quiet evening home, I hope you’re as excited as I am for this green-themed holiday.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with recipes like Honey Do Fizz, Irish Coffee Cheesecake and a sweet twist on the traditional Mojito, our Honey Bee-jito.

We hope that honey can make this St. Patrick’s Day a little sweeter!

Honey Do Fizz

• 1-3/4 oz. - light rum
• 3/4 oz. - melon liqueur
• 2 teaspoons - honey
• Club soda
• 2 - lemon wedges

Fill a shaker with ice and add the rum, melon liqueur, honey and 2 lemon wedges, shake well. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice and fill with club soda.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/tCAffMSWSzY

 

Soup is a great way to prepare a quick and delicious meal. Unfortunately, most commercially-prepared soups contain ingredients that are harmful to your health. Luckily, when you're armed with healthy recipes like the one included here, you can make your own quick and easy soup out of simple, wholesome ingredients that actually contribute to your health.

Even when you purchase the most healthy-looking commercial soups, they often contain dangerous ingredients like MSG ("monosodium glutamate") or other tricky ingredient names that disguise MSG (e.g., "yeast extract" or "natural flavor").

MSG is a dangerous toxin that is associated with many health problems, such as anxiety, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome and heart attacks (to name a few).

You can avoid this dangerous hidden toxin by preparing meals at home from basic, whole food ingredients; minimizing your reliance on processed foods, reading every ingredient list, and avoiding any mysterious or vague ingredients listed on product labels.

Sure, it takes more time to prepare your own food. But try the recipe below, and you'll see that the taste and health benefits are well worth your time!
Cauliflower Soup

• 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil (or more if needed)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 16 ounces of frozen cauliflower
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 tsp sea salt, to taste
• 1/8 tsp ground white pepper (or 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper), to taste - white ground pepper is preferable because it gives a very distinct and tasty flavor
• Freshly ground black pepper (for garnish) - optional
• Extra virgin olive oil (for garnish) - optional\

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Add the diced onions and saute them until tender (but don't allow them to brown at all).
3. Add the cauliflower and saute 1-2 minutes.
4. Stir in the water and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes (until the cauliflower is tender).
5. Puree the soup until smooth. It's easiest to use a stick or immersion blender for this step, so you can puree the soup right in the pan. If you don't have one, you'll need to transfer the soup to a regular upright blender in batches small enough to fit in your blender, but it will work just as well.
6. NOTE: If the soup seems a bit "fuzzy," then you're not done blending! So just keep going until it's almost as smooth as milk. It takes a bit more blending than you'd think.
7. Season the soup, to taste, with sea salt and ground white pepper.
8. Serve garnished with freshly ground black pepper and a swirl of extra virgin olive oil on top if you'd like.

 

My Hives Are Alive And Well

Yesterday it was in the fifty's in South Central Kentucky. A regular heat wave.  I went out to feed my chickens scratch, and suddenly I heard this buzzing around my head. Is that one of my bees? I looked over at my two hives and there it was. They survived the winter! What a welcome site to see. Bees going in and out. Lots of activity. Way to go girls! Now it is time to organize my bee equipment. Time to repair and paint. Time to order frames. The new season is coming fast! 

1. Seasonal organic produce – Whether you are buying organic now or plan to, it is best to purchase your dirty dozen, organically and in season.  One way to save money throughout the year on these foods is to stock up during peak season and freeze half of your purchase.  This works really well with items such as strawberries in the summer and peaches in the fall.
2. Flax – I hadn’t thought about his until just recently.  We are new members at Costco and one of my first purchases was flax meal.  It is not a brand I had bought before, and since I use it a lot, I thought I would give it a try.  To my surprise it is an exact brand sold at our local Whole Foods Market for which they sell a much smaller bag at a much higher price.  So it could be worth a look around for comparisons if you are a flax consumer.
3. Organic dairy – Although we are not big dairy consumers, I do purchase organic when we include it in our meals and it is always less expensive for the brands I love when I purchase in the grocery store.  
4. Quinoa (unless you are buying in the bulk section) – For myself, since this is a staple in my home, I love to purchase this in a higher volume.   It is indeed a great find outside of the health food store for even my non GMO, organic quinoa.
5. Natural peanut butter – I am sure there is no argument here but if you have found a great brand at a less expensive cost in a health food store, please let me know.
6. Organic spinach – This is something that could easily be noted within the category above but I have yet to find a better price than my organic spinach found in Costco.
7. Hemp seeds – If you still have yet to try this amazing super-food, then yes, head to your health food store for a sample packet.  I first tried my hemp by purchasing  small sample-like packet at Whole Foods but now, I purchase the same non GMO, organic brand outside of this store.
8. Herbs – The most fun and economical way around herbs is to grow your own! If you are not so inclined, and depending on which ones you are in need of, this could go both ways.  I typically will buy them at my grocery store, the farmers market or grow them but when I am looking for something else, I will head to the health food store.
9. Organic eggs – I raise my own chickens, so I have plenty of fresh farm eggs.
10. Organic chicken breast –  I butcher my own roosters and hens. Talk about fresh!

A Daughter Is A Gift From Heaven

This is a picture of my daughter Jennifer. It is her birthday today. Isn't she beautiful?  Her father and I are very proud of her. She has accomplished so many things, and loves the Lord! Happy Birthday Sweetie. A daughter is a prized possession. 

"If you live your life animated by the flesh — namely, your fallen, corrupt nature — then your mind is focused on the matters of the flesh. But if you live your life animated by the Spirit — namely, God’s indwelling presence — then your focus is on the work of the Spirit" (Romans 8:5, The Voice).

Although it’s my heart’s desire to live by the Spirit, reflecting God’s indwelling presence to those around me, I allow my flesh to rise up. Instead of being fixated on the things of the Spirit, I focused on what my flesh wanted … a bargain on material things, a parking space and my own way.

Lord, my mind’s focus can stray so easily, leading me to live in the flesh instead of in the presence of Your Spirit. Help me start each day by gazing at You so I can live each moment setting my heart, soul and mind on You.

 Less than 18 days till Spring. But today, they are calling for sleet, mixed with snow and turning to all snow later this evening. Enjoy your time outside Bessie. She is sunning herself along with her brood. How precious is this?

Decided to clean out the chicken house. What a job! Since the flock has spent most of the last two weeks in the chicken house, I have my work cut out for me. There is layer upon layer of straw and poop. Sorry bloggers, but you have to call it like it is.

DEALING WITH FOOD BULLIES

1. Understand that the way you eat probably makes them realize that they need to work on their health as well. They subconsciously (or even consciously) know that the way they eat is probably not the healthiest and they need to make changes themselves. Their comments often stem from this feeling of inadequacy. Whether they know it or not. So if they are uncomfortable enough to comment, simply remind them that you are eating this way for your health. And if they’re comments are really snide, reassure them that THEY do not have to eat YOUR food.
2. People who assume you are “on a diet” assume two things. First, that the way you are eating is temporary and second, that you must not be enjoying what you are eating. So let them know you think your food is delicious! (Because it is!) Even offer to let them try some if you think it will help. But let them know that you truly enjoy your food.
3. For people that just won’t quit, it’s important to realize that the real issue might not be about food at all. But either way, it’s perfectly fine to let them know that when they are ready to eat a healthier diet, you would be happy to help them with that.

THE PUSHERS
There are always those that will try to push food on you. They will try to make you feel guilty for not having that piece of cake at the umpteenth office birthday celebration this week. They will try to push a cookie on you that they baked that morning, and there are a few ways to handle them as well.

1. You can, of course, take the food but not eat it. That’s always an option. Just don’t let them see you throw it away!
2. If they stand there waiting for you to take a bite so you can tell them how good it is, there is the option to take a bite and leave the rest.
3. If they are pushing you and you really don’t want it, simply tell them that you would love to have some but would like to have it later “if that’s okay“. Tell them you’re full…. tell them your stomach is unsettled…. tell them whatever you like. But postpone it. Tell them you’d love to but would prefer to eat it later if they don’t mind. “Asking their permission” in that way will make them feel like they are in control and will get them to back down, “allowing” you to have it later. Which of course, won’t happen unless you actually want it to. I’m no psychologist, but it’s worked really well for me.

Millions of people love pickles and their juice has been widely touted for many uses health benefits and remedies, including use as a post-workout drink and athletic performance enhancer, flavoring for foods, flavor enhancer in recipes and drinks, vinegar replacement, meat-tenderizer, hiccup stopper, PMS reliever, heartburn reliever and hangover remedy. If you are one of the many people who like pickles and/or pickle juice, you may want to think again after a look at the ingredients commonly found in commercial pickles and their juice.

In addition to water, cucumbers and distilled cucumbers, pickle juice typically contains:

Refined table salt: Table salt is used as a preservative. Unlike Himalayan or sea salt, which has natural salt and numerous beneficial minerals, refined salt has been chemically stripped of minerals and dried above 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit (which alters the natural chemical structure of the salt). The processed salt is not pure sodium chloride but is actually only 97.5 percent sodium chloride. The remaining 2.5 percent of refined salt is made up of anti-caking and flow agents. Often, such agents include dangerous chemicals like ferrocyanide and aluminosilicate.

Calcium chloride: : Though the FDA deems calcium chloride (CaCl2) to be "generally recognized as safe", in the UK it is listed as a hazardous irritant which "causes irritation to skin, eyes and respiratory organs" and it carries the warning "Harmful if inhaled or swallowed."

Sodium Benzoate: : Is a preservative which has been linked to cancer. See the first link below.

Polysorbate 80: Polysorbate 80 is used as an emulsifier in food items and is also a common ingredient in vaccines. According to the Polysorbate 80 Material Safety Data Sheet, it may be carcinogenic as well as mutagenic. When injected into prepubescent rats, polysorbate 80 caused abnormal growth of reproductive organs and made the rats sterile. Polysorbate 80 could also be harmful to people with Crohn's disease.

Natural Flavor: The term "natural flavoring" has been used to mask a number of unhealthy ingredients and there are over 1000 ingredients that fall under the U.S. FDA guidelines as "Natural Flavors".

Yellow #5: Yellow #5 is a food coloring agent which is also known as "Tartrazine" which belongs to the large class of food dyes known as "azo" dyes. Yellow 5 causes the most allergic reactions of all of the azo dyes on the market. It has been known to cause headaches, overheating, itching, blurred vision, and many other side-effects in people who are sensitive to the dye. In addition, the combination of Yellow #5 and sodium benzoate has been linked to hyperactivity. Due to its adverse effects in those who are sensitive to Yellow #5, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has called for a ban of the dye in the United States.

Safe pickles and safe uses for pickle juice

The good news is that when you can your own pickles at home and avoid using ingredients like the ones above you can enjoy the pickles and use the juice for the many benefits touted for pickle juice. And, homemade or not, you can also use pickle juice for non-edible uses such as using it as a cleaning agent and as a weed killer - just be sure to wear gloves if you use commercial pickle juice.
I keep telling you bloggers that canning is the way to go! Its the only way that you know what is in the product you are eating.