One Week Down

Well, it's been 7 days on the elimination diet.  It's been a good week, filled with good food.  Well mostly good food.  Let me explain a little further.  Deb has been cooking up a storm and we've had great meals with lot's of quinoa, and brown rice and veggies.  There's been some good lean meats and some fish.  Breakfast of gluten free pancake without eggs - and I'd put them up against any taste test.  There is a least one junk food that still meets the criteria of this elimination diet though...

Utz Potato Chips.  While other manufacturers may have corn starch, or use soy bean oil, Utz has a recipe of just potatoes, some salt and no peanut nor soy oil (well at least some varieties) !  So, another convenient though not truly healthy food to add for the occasional indulgence (which I did with abandon over the past few days!)

I'd like to say the symptoms have gone away, but they haven't yet.  There may be some signs of minor improvement, so I'm still hopefully this is a path to healing.   Time will tell.

Now to week two.  Breakfast is cooking as I type.  Oatmeal is in the slow cooker and will be all ready in the morning.  Lunch will be some home made chicken soup with rice noodles and a burrito courtesy of "Amy's."  If you haven't tried the brand you're really missing out.  Many, if not most, of the brand is gluten free and meets even our criteria in some cases.  The taste is fabulous as well.  I don't remember what else Deb had on the menu for the week, but I can tell you she's bought a ton of food!

Peace and Blessings,
Brian

Elimination Diet

I know it's been too long since I've posted here.  But back and in keeping with "mixed dispatch" I have a few that will be coming in a bit of a different vane than my picture stories.

Many of you may know I have a few ailments that I plague me.  I'm battling back against one of my biggest foes - Colitis.  I've been on some meds that truthfully just aren't cutting it and the side effects are not favorable.  There's only one more med to try before the ultimate 'solution' of removing the colon becomes the only remaining 'option.'  It's not an option that I'm in favor of at all. So, it's time for a Rebellion.  It's time for unconventional warfare.

It's time for an Integrative Medicine approach to this body of mine.  I see many specialists that look at me through their soda straws and diagnose an particular issue or concern.  Diabetes. Colitis. Anemia. Osteoporosis.  From what I've been reading lately the common thread in all of this is inflammation.  And I am taking 'anti-inflammatory' meds like Prednisone and Mercaptopurine (6MP.)  But the typical doctor (mine included), don't seem to ask the basic question; what is the cause of the said inflammation?  They simply  treat the symptoms with a pill or possibly surgery.

My library now includes books like: Inflammation Nation, The Blood Sugar Solution, Self Healing Colitis and Crohn's, and Breaking the Vicious Cycle Intestinal Healing through Diet.  I've also been scouring the web and have been watching a video series called The Science of Natural Healing.  There's a common thread throughout these books.  Processed, white foods should be the first to be banned from the cupboard.  Sugary foods go too.  Then either eliminate or reduce the meat products.  And lastly, many times the inflammation is triggered by food sensitivities.  The six most common are  wheat (gluten), diary, corn, peanuts, eggs, and soy.

One way to see if a sensitivity is the issue is to go through an elimination diet.  For several weeks eliminate the top six foods causing issues.  That's exactly what Deb and I are doing.  We start today! No diary, gluten, corn, eggs, peanuts or soy for at least two weeks, and probably three.  The theory is that your ailments will subside or be gone by the end of the three weeks.  Though notably the symptoms are said to lilely be worse at day 7 to 8 as the body 'eliminates toxins.'  We'll see.  After the few weeks you add one of the six food at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You then stop that food and wait for several days to see what symptoms occur.  If none appear, that food is probably okay.  You then repeat with the other foods in a similar fashion.

To digress slightly, I have been trying to improve my diet and have seen mixed results.  I've tracked food for several months but  haven't put a direct correlation together.  I haven't been quite as rigorous as this elimination diet will force me to be though.  I'm hopeful that this change will get me on track for all my ailments. Time will tell.

For those of you local friends, I'm asking for your support and understanding if I'm a bit on edge during this diet.  It's going to require a lot of energy and discipline to maintain - at least initially.  I'm concerned I might be a bit irritable so I'm asking for your grace and patience in advance.

I'll keep you all posted as things go along.

Today's plan:
Breakfast:  Gluten Free Oatmeal (most oats are gluten free but are grown and processed along with wheat so when packaged they may not always be gluten free. you can find them that are marked gluten free.)
Clementine and a banana

Lunch:  Probably some beans and rice noodles

Dinner:  Whatever Deb brings home from the first big shopping trip with this diet in mind!

Prayers and well wishes in this venture are most welcome!!

Blessings,
Brian

Glowing Riots

In yet more unbelievable news, there were more riots yesterday over sneakers from Nike.  I just have a hard time comprehending this.  It starts with an overpriced limited edition shoe from Nike.  In this case it is the Air Galaxy Foamposite, which is said to glow in the dark.  It can be yours for the low, low price of $220.

The release of this new product, like all recently hyped commodities, went on sale at midnight.  A crowd gathered for this limited version shoe, waiting in line to get a first shot at a purchase .  So who was there?  Well at least one 14 year old was quoted.  Who else really wants glow in the dark shoes?  Maybe someone who is a serious walker or athlete that only walks and runs at night?  Well, at least in Orlando, there were on the order of 100 people waiting for this new sneaker and became unruly.  The police needed to be called in to keep the peace.

If this sounds familiar, you may remember the similar fiasco when Nike released a retro Air Jordan.  Same result, chaos in many malls at the larger cities.  It is not fair to blame Nike completely, though there must be some responsibility.  To their credit, Nike did cancel the release in certain cities in the interest of public safety. 

This is crazy.  I just cannot understand how a bunch of mostly teens can afford a pair of $220 sneakers!  I don't want to spend that kind of money on a pair of leather shoes that would last 10 times as long as some plasticy sneakers.  This shows how strong a desire there is to be seen with the 'latest' and 'greatest.'  I can understand that, and have to admit I can (and do) easily fall into the trap.  What saddens me though, is that this shoe must be targeted to the relatively young.  It sets up the failing notion that having overpriced stuff is what sets us apart from our peers.  It's the kind of marketing that sets the standard for a life of trying to be more than we are, because try as I might, I just don't think even the above middle class can readily afford $220 for shoes.  So it starts with sneakers, and escalates as we age.  Maybe it becomes other designer fashions and then rises to cars and homes or other luxuries.

I'm not sure what the solution is other than education.  I know when I went to High School there was no mandatory class that fully taught the fundamentals of saving and investing and what the real cost of living is.  There was no real education on the perils of easy credit - which is still far too easy to get.  We are living in a world that believes in instant gratification.  Yet, that same world is drowning in debt.  Our own lives mirror the trouble of our nations.  Spend now, whether we have the cash in hand or not.  Just borrow and buy.  Tomorrow will come though, and the bills will pile up.  If we only knew at an early age what the implications and consequences would be, perhaps, just maybe we could make a change in how society views credit and debt.  Maybe this small change would bring about a renewed sense that the nation cannot print money or borrow it in an unending venture.

I guess time will tell where society will end up.  I think we better buckle up... it's going to be a bumpy ride.

Blessings,
Brian

All the news that’s fit to …stay unnoticed

I use Yahoo as my launching pad to the world of current events.  It has the headlines, world, local, tech and science sections that I peruse for articles that might be of some interest.  I’ll find something that catches my eye and see what the details of the thumbnail captions bring.  

Today though, I was talking with my wife as she pointed out the fairly ridiculous nature of the news on Yahoo, and I suspect most everywhere else as well.  “US soccer star in body paint”; “Cities with most speed traps”; “wild singer cleans up”; “Outrageous couple pics”; “oddest Grammy hairstyles.” So, does anyone really care about this stuff?

I suppose we must, otherwise it wouldn’t be making the headlines, right?  I’m getting a bit tired of the over-the-top ads and photos too.  Everything is sold with “sex” or “sexy”  or something similar.  It’s bad enough that every issue of COSMO has the ever present sex tips, but it’s even hitting the cover of the Smithsonian.  Ready for this one?  “The World’s Sexiest Flower”  Really?  It is actually an article on orchids!  Attractive, sure, but sexy?  The article talks about the lengths that the botanists go to in creating hybrid flowers and how the showy flowers are competing to be pollinated. 

The world is fueled on sensationalism; the weird and wacky, the bold and beautiful, the sleazy and flaunting, the rich the powerful all in the headlines.  If you can combine some of those traits it is even better.  Look at the cover of Outside.  A lovely young lady, Lolo Jones, who is training to make a comeback in the high hurdles, is posing.  She is not in a track suit as you would have first guessed.  She is in a sort of bathing suit.  I thought about posting the picture, but then I’d just be contributing to the madness.  The suit  is really more akin to what the character LeeLoo wore in the Fifth Element.  You may recall the suit that looks like strips of cloth tied together in certain places.  The fashion industry describes it as a suit with lots of ‘cutouts.’   I don’t find it that attractive; just more bizarre than your typical tight track outfit.  Then in the same issue there’s a photo of Lance Armstrong.  In this shot, Lance is shirtless and has his cycling shorts on.  That in itself is not such a big deal.  However, his shorts are scrunched down below his hips and if they were just the smallest amount lower we would all see for ourselves the surgery for his testicular cancer.  Of course he is wearing his crucifix on a long chain too.  Does this make sense to anyone?  Why do we see this?   Sensationalism. 

 

The world is hooked on the next big buzz.  We’re looking for the next provocative photo or video.  We’re searching for the next rant and tirade.  We’re hiding our eyes behind very openly laced hands to see the latest gore and gruesomeness in the recent murder, mayhem, heist and victim.

There may be a glimmer of hope.  There are the cute videos of animals and babies that make us laugh and smile.  There are a few inspirational stories that occasionally make the cut.  Does anyone find this all sad that the ‘normal’,nice and uplifting are so overshadowed by the next sensation?  We live in a brave new world where all the latest is available in minutes via Twitter and FaceBook and the latest headlines from around the globe.  Can’t we pick up on the meaningful and good that surely exists as well?  Can we do it without exploitation?  Can we be decent enough that we’ll buy a magazine for the actual content without the provocative photos?

I wish I had a sure and quick response to halt the current tide.  I don’t think there is a fast and easy way to ebb the flow, but I would suggest that following in the footsteps of Jesus might be a slow, steady and worthwhile start.

Blessings,

Brian

Bill and Pam Farrel

Another session we attended at the conference was on Conflict Resolution.  It was taught by the husband and wife team of Bill and Pam Farrel who have several good books on marriage.  As you might guess their focus was on marital conflict.  

There were some good take-aways from their session.  One was on how to prevent a needed discussion from escalating, and others described forgiveness and reconciliation. First, as you would expect, they did describe the typical differences in men and women that lead to conflict.  Men tend to bury issues, while women tend to confront issues.  The problem is that as their book title says; “Men are like Waffles and Women are like Spaghetti.”  Men compartmentalize and women make connections that men can barely fathom.

So, the result is that as women confront the problem they sound an alarm.  This is often a “test bomb”, and may not really get to the core issue.  If the man can wade through all the spaghetti (connections) with her, they can get to the root cause.  This is hard!  It’s hard for both.   Men want to put “the” issue in a box and solve it.  Meanwhile the woman is moving on to make all the connections.   So, the man is trying to fix the first bomb, but the woman is still trying to capture the entirety of the situation, believing that the man is just dense and not caring.  Simply put, men and women are wired differently.  By the way, they mentioned that studies show men take crisis stress more deeply than women but don’t tend to show it.  This is a heart attack waiting to happen.  

We need each other, and we need to work through all of these waffles and pasta together. The potential solution that they offered up is a Conflict Covenant.   Just as it sounds, the covenant specifies some ground rules for handling conflict before it gets out of hand.  We haven’t tried to construct one yet, but it sounds like a great idea.  

They actually suggested that conflicts be scheduled.   So an argument is starting, you take a time out, and set an appointment on the calendar to talk to that particular issue.  This gives time, especially for the men, to collect thoughts and to try to take the emotion out of things.  They said the thing that calms the conflict most is a decision.  Once you can decide to take action you have a plan you both can work to.  

They also spoke to forgiveness.  First forgiveness is NOT: just letting it go; saying it’s okay; Denial; Forgetting; Reconciliation.  Forgiveness is a decision you make to pardon the offense of another with God.  Reconciliation is the decision to restore the broken relationship.

Bill and Pam followed how Joseph  (of Genesis) forgives his brothers for selling him and then how they reach reconciliation.  The forgiveness needs to be specific; I forgive ___(who)____ for____(specific  offense)__  .  Second, you admit that what happened was wrong. Third, do not expect the person to make it up to you.  Fourth, do not allow what has happened to make you a victim.  Fifth, do not use the offense to manipulate the person who committed the offense. And lastly, do not allow it to stop your personal growth.  They did a nice job of walking through each of these steps reading about Joseph. If you want to try it for yourself, the story  runs from chapter 37 to 50 in Genesis.

So far I would say Bill and Pam's book is worth a read.  They keep things pretty light and straight forward, and if it helps just a little it will be well worth the time for any married folks as well as those getting engaged.

Blessings,

Brian

Cinderella Story?

This post was hiding in my "Drafts" , and I thought I'd share it...



While I'm a little behind on my photos, I had a passing thought that needs to be explored.  Not to worry about the photos though, I'm hoping to get out today, or most certainly this week.  So, back to the thought..

I was scanning through the Yahoo news feed and came across an article that shows some islands that are for sale.  These are estates that are in the millions of dollars, and span the globe from the coast of Maine to Italy and the Bahamas.  These are the luxurious of the luxury set.  One island has it's own airfield, another a 14,000 square foot mansion.  So my question is this:  Why would anyone other than a billionaire care at all that there is an opulent island for same with the low price of $8 M to over $200 M Dollars?

My only thought is that we all like a good fairytale.  You know the stories told to every generation of children, that there is a rich young prince living in a castle and the dream of every little girl is to become the princes and live like a queen.  The implied reality of the young boy is that the dream is to grow to become that young prince with a charm, good looks, bravery and unbounded wealth.  And the big finish to the story.. ALL in the kingdom loved them both.  Our fairytale continues as we age, so that even now it's still intriguing to see what the "castle" on our own islands might look like.

There is, however, a divide that seems to be forming.  There wealth curve is steepening with fewer people having greater wealth.  Many suggest there needs to be change to flatten the curve.  And if that's true,  I ask why do we keep showing Cinderella to our little girls?

Make a Joyful Noise

There are people who can really sing beautifully.  There are those that try their best to make a joyful noise.  No matter what category you may fall into, singing is freeing.  There is nothing like singing with just your own voice lifted high.  There's also nothing quite like singing in a small group or choir in harmony.  And, as I found in Canada, there's really nothing like singing in a congregation of 7400 a Capella

Most of the music was led by the bands with all instruments backing the song.  It was typically just loud enough that you could only hear a voice right next to yours -barely.  There were, though, times when the band dropped out on familiar songs.  Then the lead vocalist would pull back from the microphone, and all that was left was a large group of people lifting their voices high, and as I said, there really is nothing like it.  It was amazing.  I hope you all have a chance to sing in such a choir.

Marc Martel  - from Down Here - will also be touring in a Queen tribute band

A few highlights in photos of some of the bands from our trip:

Paul Baloche

a rockin' choir from a nearby Bible College

Audrey Assad - amazing voice

Third Day

Breton Brown - country twang from S. Africa

Third Day =  way too loud for me- and I'm pretty deaf!

Beauty and Creativity, with Erwin McManus

I was really encouraged in listening to Erwin McManus at Break Forth Canada.  He was the first main session speaker to kick things off.  His talk was as entertaining as always, but it resonated with me as well.  His focus was on beauty and creativity.  Specifically, how the church should be nurturing the beauty and creative potential of all of us.  His question: What would it look like if the church was the epicenter of art – beautiful art?

You may want to first ask: why does this matter?  Why is there any need to have beauty or art?  Erwin’s premise is that beauty is not supplemental, but rather essential to our being.  If you take the time to look around with the eyes of a child, you see beauty everywhere.  God has created a beautiful world.  Flowers, sun rises, sun sets, lakes, sea shores, blue skies, white clouds, aromas, tastes all create a collectively beautifully complex world.  If God was not interested in beauty, he could have cast everything in shades of gray, with one taste for all foods, and no aromas.  Since our living God is interested in beauty, and we were created as a reflection in his image, how would we not need beauty?  

It was several months ago while reading a photography magazine that I saw an article by Dewitt Jones.  Dewitt is a former National Geographic photographer, who still takes amazing photographs.  In this article he said he was trying to take at least one photo each day that showed the beauty of the world.  He posts them to his FaceBook page.  It occurred to me that I simply look past the beauty of the world far too often.  I am too often in a hurry to get from one activity or place to another.  I was in the virtual world of living “head down” “nose to the grindstone.”   It’s a tiring existence.

I took a step back after reading that article.  I tried to emulate the practice in my own way.  Not necessarily a photo every day, but at least a few every week.  I started to post them to FB as well, and started a blog.  These exercises were just a way to show everyone that there is beauty right there in front of you to discover yourself.

Erwin captured this in his own way, and expanded upon it.  He argues that the church should be a place and catalyst for an environment that brings about beautiful art.  While art is born of the self, it is the God given talent, and it reflects the emotion and sentiment of the artist.  If the only art that is produced is provided by a world that is caught in fear, despair or hate, that will be reflected in the artwork.   Erwin tells us that the story of God must be shared, and a way to share it is through beautiful art.  This was a hallmark of the church through the centuries.   Da Vinci’s art on chapel walls and ceiling are a perfect example.  It is wondrous.  It is beautiful, and tells stories. 

Erwin is imploring us to capture the creativity and beauty in the world, that is also in us because we know the love of God through Christ, and share it with the world that God himself created.

My prayer is that we would all try to find the courage to share our story, our art, and the beauty we find right in front of us.

Blessings,

Brian

How are you seen?

I mentioned previously that I would share some more details of Break Forth Canada.  Here's the first installment.

Our first session was taught by Stuart Briscoe.  Born in England in 1930, Stuart was a bank inspector before coming to full time ministry.  In 1970 he took a full time pastoral position in Brookfield, Wisconsin at Elmbrook Church. where the congregation grew to 7000 strong.  He stepped down from the lead pastor's role to concentrate on global outreach.  He is a wonderful teacher with an amazing vocabulary and strong wit.

He basically asked if we were led by the Holy Spirit, and further how would the world know?  His analogy was quite simple, and regarded the observation of a drunk.  How do you know a drunk?  He(she) is captivated by the intoxicant.  The liquor seeps in and leads the person rather than the other way around.  A drunk person is moved to action by intoxicant, and he is activated by the intoxicant.  His example was of an encounter with a person at a wedding.  Stuart is a fairly tall, and of  medium build, and a rather smaller person staggering near him, bumped into him and wanted to start a fight.  How did he know this was a drunk?  The actions were a give away.  He staggered.  He smelled of liquor.  He acted like a drunk; he thought like a drunk - he wanted to fight, and fight someone who he was rather likely to be pummeled by.

So back to the question for us.  How are we seen?  Are we walking a life that would be in evidence of some greater guide than our own understanding? Are we motivated by our call to walk with God?  Are we peaceful, humble?  Are we speaking, thinking and acting like a people that are trying our best to be guided by God?  In Stuart's vernacular:  Are we captivated, motivated and activated by the Holy Spirit?

My synopsis does not do justice to the talk.  I wish you could hear the full discourse.  His careful choice of words, and the depth to his stories were fabulous.

Shoes

As I was waiting for many of the sessions to start, I noticed the range of expression of our Christian population.  Truthfully, this could be an experiment in observation anywhere, like at the mall or a restaurant, but I took it all in while at Break Forth.  There were, as you might imagine, people of many ages, from the minimum allowed of 14 to who knows.   Just as varied were the clothing styles.  The object of my study though, was shoes. Yes, shoes.

There were shoes of every shape, size and description.  Please remember that this was in Edmonton, and the temperatures while moderate, it is winter.  The morning was usually just below freezing, the days just above, maybe hitting mid 40 F on one afternoon.  There was just a little snow still around, so the streets were damp or wet in many areas.  So, keeping this in mind, what types of shoes would you expect to find?  For me, I would say boots of some sort, or something you would hike in.  While those examples were to be found so were many others.

You had the run of the mill sneakers and walking shoes, but there were you’re typical pumps, flats, even one pair of sandals, whose toes really should have been hidden in my opinion.  There were spike heels. There were bright  colors among the stylish blacks.  There was a whole world of expression.

I’m not sure why it caught my attention, but it did.  Then while we were walking around the arts district, I even found a pair of discarded hiking boots.  They were just tossed aside in the light snow.  How strange.

 Take a look: