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Showing posts from 2017

How to make Kombucha (Kombucha 101)

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Several years ago I found a bottle of Kombucha in Whole Foods and decided to give it a try.  I took a sip and quickly handed it to my husband to finish.  I asked for one more taste but decided it tasted too much like vinegar for my tastebuds.  A few months later I found a different brand and decided to give it a taste.  I was delighted to find that I actually liked it.  I began buying kombucha on occasion after that and found that the cost of buying kombucha would make it something that would have to be more of a treat than something I consumed daily.   A couple of years ago I learned a friend of mine had a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) for making his own kombucha.  I was intrigued.  I started researching it and asked him if he had a SCOBY to spare.  He gladly shared one with me and I purchased all of the necessary supplies and began brewing my first batch.  To make a long story short, I wasn't successful.  It was actually very disappointing.  There were a lo

Will I Ever Be a Person of Value to You?

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What does it mean to place value on the lives of others?  What does that look like? Is it speaking to them when you see them, even if you don’t want to?   Is it more than just not ignoring them when you see them in the store? Is it asking them how they are really doing instead of just the trite question of, ‘how are you?’   What does it look like to place value on the life of another?   There are those in our lives we grew up with, or worked with, who have in one way or another made a negative impression on us.   Maybe they are loud when they talk, or when they laugh.   Maybe they present themselves as better than others, or maybe others would consider them an outcast.   Maybe you think they are just weird.   Their mannerisms or behaviors are just odd in your eye, or the eyes of others.   Maybe you witnessed them in a moment of weakness and their behavior was dramatic.   Maybe they appeared to be seeking attention.   Does any of that make them of any less value?   What does Go

Why should you drink Kombucha?

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We have been on a journey to better health for a long time now.  It started in 2007 when a psychologist wanted to diagnose our youngest child with a "disorder" by using medication.  His idea was, give him medication A, and when it doesn't work, we will diagnose him with another "disorder."  John and I weren't convinced by this suggestion.  The idea of using medication to diagnose a condition seemed far fetched to me.  I told the psychologist we were concerned about introducing medications like this to our then 5 year old.  He responded to me with a condemning tone and asked, "if he was diabetic you would give him insulin, right?"  We left that appointment with a new perspective.  John and I decided to research and find natural solutions for our son.  We were determined to find answers that didn't include a lifetime of pharmaceuticals for him. We stopped drinking milk or eating milk products.  We began eating organic food, which increased

Every Life Matters

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I learned in church this morning today is Sanctity of Life day.  A day when we celebrate life.  A day when we acknowledge that all life matters.  The lives of babies, born and unborn, those with special needs, those with disease, the aged, the outcast, the lovable and the unloveable.  They all matter to God and they should all matter to us, especially those who call themselves a Christian. Several years ago I was given the opportunity to share our story on this special day in our church services.  The story of one of our most precious gifts.  Our youngest son, Zachary.  His life matters.  It has for 15 years and God had a plan for him before he was even born. I thought today was a perfect opportunity to share that story again. Today is a day to celebrate life and we wanted to share the story of how we came to adopt our son Zachary.  He doesn't really like for us to talk about his adoption, but he gave us permission to today as long as we said all good things about him. When