Growing Up

I am constantly amazed at the development of our little Noah. He is truely a little man. Two nights ago when driving home in the car, he was being rather quite. Then we hear a loud giggle. When we turn around what do we see? Noah, who had managed to find his cowboy hat in the back of the car and put it on his head. He knew he was being silly and wanted to be seen in all of his silliness. We both got quite a laugh at the visual, especially becasue the hat is way too big!


Just the idea that he is now at the age where he is playing the jokes is funny. When you chase him, he now chases you and tries to get you. He knows the game, and he knows he likes it, and he knows he likes getting mommy or daddy more than he likes us getting him:)
Then there is beloved dinner time. The first real food word that Noah has said...Baked beans. Loud and clear...no question about it. My kid loves baked beans, and they love him. I can't make them fast enough....

He has also taken quite a liking to "grooving." I say grooving instead of dancing...because he has always liked to dance, but his dancing is now much more coordinated and sophisticated...okay, maybe sophisticated is the wrong word, but he can really move. He has some super stellar moves, and quite frankly, I think he could teach me a thing or two:) Here he is dancing away.

Let's do the math a little more carefully next time.

US health care fails it's test yet again this yeat, with the highest infant mortality rate among all civilized/developed countries, and the most likely to die from a preventable disease. Then I read the article about the new weightloss study...here , and I wonder why we have health care problems. Keep in mind that the study was done in isreal, but our US paper wrote the article. They touted that of the three weightloss options given to patients over two years they produced similar results. Similar, being the key word here. So, you can imagine that I was rather surprised to see the results were:

After two years, dieters lost an average of 7.3 pounds (3.3 kg) on the low-fat regimen, 10 pounds (4.6 kg) on the Mediterranean diet and 12 pounds (5.5 kg) on a mostly vegetarian version of the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday.

Now, I don't know who used the word similar, but those numbers aren't similar in my mind. The Mediterranean group lost aprox. 40% more weight than the "low fat" group. I wouldn't consider that similar. If you were dieting for two years and lost 40% more weight would you consider that similar?

Juice: Not a health food!

As I was reading the health section of Rueters today, I found myself thinking, "no duh?" This is in reference to a new study that they just concluded on type 2 diabetes. They have concluded that the consumption of juice is linked to an increase in type 2 diabetes, while the consumption of whole fruit was linked to a decrease. This news, of course, came as a surprise to the nurse's group that was performing the study. The conclusion: since the juice is liquid, it is absorbed quicker into the blood stream that the actual fruit. Wow, what a statement.
I'm not trying to bash the individuals who performed the study. I think it is great that they found a correlation to juice and diabetes, simply for the reason that maybe, just maybe, they might be willing to consider that juice is not a substitute for fruit.
Now I know some of you might be thinking, "but what about 100% fruit juice?" Well, the sad truth, in many ways, it is no better for you than pop or soda or whatever else you want to call it. I'll pause and let this information settle in. How did I come to this conclusion.
Click play for a video, or read on.


I used to be a juice-a-holic, true confession. I drank countless glasses a day. I encountered some health problems and had to go off all sugar, including fruit sugar just for a short while, and then the truth search began. When you eat a piece of fruit, there is fiber, vitamins and minerals in the skin and flesh. If you were to squeeze the fruit to make juice, it wouldn't be clear, it would be, chuddy, but it would still have all of it's fiber, vitamins, and minerals intact. When you buy juice at the store, it is clear, pasturized, and then bottled. Why does this matter?
Clear=strained and clarified=no fiber. No fiber=quick absorption of sugar uptake=insulin overload.
Pasturized=heating to a min of 180 degrees at least once and usually four times. Why? this kills any and everything in it, and I mean everything. Many vitamins and minerals are heat sensitive. Once they are heated they are killed, like vitamin "C."
The end product: Sugar water with the essence of the fruit devoid of nutritional value.
Then why does the label say "100% vitamin C in every serving?" That is a wonderful question, and I will get to it in another post:)

Assuming the Worst

I have found lately that I am always quick to assume the worst in the situation. Whether it be my husband asking me to get ready for bed, or the Lord giving us a circumstance that doesn't quite make sense. I always assume that it is because I have sinned, or we have sinned in some way and now we are being punished until we see the error of our ways. How messed up is that? I so often forget that, in the case of the Lord especially, that he isn't seeking the worst for us. My husband is just asking me to get ready for bed. He isn't telling me that I am taking forever, or that I just need to hurry up. He is just kindly reminding me that I take longer than him, and I need to get a head start on him if we are going to be in bed at the same time.

Assuming the worst in someone, is ultimately not trusting them I suppose. I don't trust that my husband is telling me something in love, rather than frustration, or that the Lord is giving us a blessing to see him or understand him more clearly, rather than a cursing and a sign to repent. My lack of trust, really does hinder my ability to love and not judge. After all, assuming the worst, is judging the circumstance I suppose.