As We Grow Green

2008-09-01T20:11:00.000-07:00

I have a huge prayer request for myself.

I have a really big social anxiety problem. It is one of those things that I think holds me back from living my life to the fullest and I'm so tired of it. I have so much love to give and so much to pass on to others, but whenever I can barely open up to those who are close to me, I'm realizing that maybe it will be a much more difficult problem to speak to strangers about the important things.

Please pray for the strength to give in to the power God and let it really control me. I need this. We need this.

Turning Over a New Leaf or Two

2008-08-26T23:03:00.001-07:00

Today has been a day of interesting events and revelations.

Andrew was finally hired on last month after being nervous of lay-offs of temps. Well this morning he came home and informed me of some really crazy news. Even though he was just hired on, he is now getting laid off. He cried, I cried, and lots of tears were released and covered our pillows as we lay in our beds pondering our situation.

A reality was brought forth that I'm not going to make completely public quite yet, but I just want to ask that those of you who are reading this keep us in your prayers and thoughts as our journey begins once again.

Anyways, Friday we are going to this event called Tribal Fest. They are going to have a bunch of interesting bands that I've never heard of there. Pray that we have fun as this will be a huge release from the stresses of normal life.

Green Smoothie Video

2008-08-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Learning to Reuse

2008-08-19T15:39:00.001-07:00

Today I proudly display my newest creation! My own Reused Fruit/Veggie Hanger! Materials I used were scrap fabric, yarn, and that plastic netting that is found around bundled fruits! This is kind of a tacky-first-attempt version, but I just wanted to find some place for my fruits that isn't taking up so much unnecessary space!

What do you think?

Where'd the Spinach Go?

2008-08-19T11:15:00.000-07:00

So I had my first green smoothie today! It is absolutely delicious! I used probably 3-4 cups of spinach, and I can't even taste it over the fruity flavors! It is actually a much deeper purple than what you see in the picture -- sorry I have a crap camera =-]

First Green Smoothie
1/2 cup water
3-4 cups fresh spinach
small handfuls of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries
1 whole banana

Blend water, banana, then each different berry, then spinach.

Grocery List and Costs
1/2 gallon skim milk -- 2.09
Gallon orange juice -- 3.89
Silk choco soymilk -- 3.99
Silk vanilla soymilk -- 3.99
Frozen cherries -- 3.09
Frozen raspberries -- 4.49
Frozen blueberries -- 4.87
Frozen whole strawberries -- 5.79
Dried plums -- 4.99
Honey -- 6.77
2 limes -- 1.00 @ 2for1
.84 lb kale greens -- 1.17 @ 1.39/lb
2 lemons -- 1.78 @ .89for1
Broccoli -- 2.49
Packaged spinach -- 2.89
4.76 lb Banana -- 3.28 @ .69/lb
2.15 lb red apples -- 4.06 @ 1.89/lb
Bag of Valencia Oranges -- 4.88
TOTAL -- 65.51

Where can this list improve? Comments appreciate! note: I'm trying to not shop at Wal-Mart!

NEEDS
Drying Rack! We've seen some in the stores around here, but I would really like to try and get it from someone else. Do you have one and not use it? I'd pay a few bucks for it too!

Fasting for Hunger

2008-08-18T17:07:00.000-07:00

For the past two days I've been doing something absolutely crazy to me. Yesterday, I went twenty hours without eating and then when I finally did eat I did not gorge myself. This morning, for one of the first times I can truly remember, I felt hunger. I ate a small amount and then went to work. When I was at work, I felt pangs of hunger!

For a country with one of the highest and fastest growing obesity rates, I think it has become an all too often problem to forget what it is like to be hungry. How can we truly help those who are hungry if we have no idea what they are going through?

I believe that fasting should be done purely for spiritual reasons and so here I am explaining the my answered prayers and hoping to encourage others to take a step back from your plate. When's the last time you were hungry? Don't think about your weight, what others will think, or anything except for how God can use your hunger.

Enough on that!

Today I was reading a food journal at Raw Delight, owner of Walk Slowly, Live Wildly and I was delighted to find a piece where she spoke on this issue. She didn't necessarily bring up fasting, but she said what I felt differently I think:

I’ve found that if I can keep busy during the day with activity, I am much less likely to feel like I “need” to snack snack snack. When I am in the RV doing whatever I am doing for longer periods of time….it’s like the fridge just calls my name. I’m never eating non-raw snacks, but I’m usually eating when I already feel hungry. Just eating out of habit.

There have been a few days this week where I’ve out and about for a good chunk of the day, and I purposely didn’t bring any extra snacks along. I felt really good and didn’t even feel like I needed to snack. On those days, I enjoyed my meal so much more because I was truly hungry for it.

I want to focus on learning when my body is truly hungry and also when it is truly full. It’s such a foreign concept in our society where everything is supersized. We dutifully eat “everything on our plate”. We don’t even know what normal portion sizes are anymore. Even the fact that some days I wake up without the typical hunger pangs…feels odd to me. I could probably go until 10:00 a.m. and not eat, but many days I have my smoothie earlier just out of habit.

I love eating raw food because I feel so much more in touch with my body’s signals. I’m able to discern what is ailing me so much easier and it’s wonderful!

Walking!

2008-08-18T09:27:00.001-07:00

Today is my first day walking to work. I will confess to being nervous, excited, and completely bent out of shape about it! So today I'm going to post reasons why walking is beneficial and just an overall great thing to do!

It's a great way to be healthy!
It gives the opportunity for a slow down and soak up moment!
You know whenever life just seems to go so fast? Well don't you think that the fact that we currently spend a majority of our lives probably going more than an average of 35-40 MPH that we are missing out?
It's a much more environmentally friendly way to travel!

I know I could probably find more, but if I don't get going soon, I'll never make it!

UPDATE: Well I've been at work for about an hour and a half and I'm proud to say I walked 2.25ish miles today!

Things I need to take note of though:

I need a new pair of undershorts.
I need to make sure I keep my water cold before I leave for the walk.
Sew a new bag to take with me.
Make a longer and less fitted skirt to wear overshorts.
STRETCH! STRETCH! STRETCH!

Testimony

2008-08-18T01:27:00.000-07:00

About three years ago I started on my journey into discovering a Christ-like way of life that was a lot less like what I'd always been told and much more like what Christ preached and what was taught in the Bible.

A lot of what I am looking into being involved in is related to activism in it's many forms and with it's many faces. I believe that there is a better way of living than the world tells us is acceptable.

Christianity -- It is a lot more than just church on Sunday and bible study on Wednesday. It needs to be more about a personal relationship with Christ and not with the worldly and easily modifiable Jesus Christ we've almost always been taught of.

Work -- Near the end of April, I was finishing my fourth month of working at Payless Shoesource. I had been praying again about what to do with my choices and how I love Jesus. I'd decided to work on ending my spending habit and to try and deal with my materialistic desires. I started crying nightly at the thought of going back to a job where I was encouraged to promote spending and material wealth. So Andrew told me to start praying about a new job or at least what I should do, and I did. I started praying nightly, daily, hourly, sometimes for hours at a time. I would be praying while I was working at Payless even, and on multiple occasions I'd burst into tears after convincing someone to buy a nice pair of shoes or multiple pairs. One night I went to the restroom and checked my messages and there was one from my mom. A job had opened up at one of my churches for a secretary position. Needless to say, I have been working at Calvary Baptist making a mere $60-$80 a week and I couldn't be more blessed. It is definitely a learning experience, but I whole-heartedly belief that God Himself picked this out for me at this moment in my life!

Future -- I tend to talk about "we" alot, and I will admit that not all things we talk about are completely set in stone, because truthfully, the only One guiding this ship isn't a man or a woman, but our Father in Heaven. It isn't easy, because He tends to have a wild streak and likes to spring some pretty crazy stuff on us, but it's always worth it. As for our future together, we have lots of plans and know certain things that we have been called to do and we know that God will probably mold those things and change them, sometimes even daily, so just bare with us as we travel down this bumpy road of life.

One of the most important things that I have to give though is love. We probably don't agree on a lot of things. We probably don't have the same life goals. We probably don't even have the same ideas about household products. Even if we aren't alike in any possible way, I still will love you!

An Intro of Sorts

2008-08-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is a brand new blog for me!

I am a married nineteen year old from Southern Indiana. My husband and I have been learning about lots of things that we want to do in an effort to change and also to become better by not other people's standards, but by our own.

Things that are peaking our interest include simplistic living, green living, spiritual living, Christian living, and a more aware lifestyle. My goal is to chronicle this journey here and thus encourage us to not give up on this. That is where my friends and family are extremely important to me on here!

So your responses are obviously exceptionally important and helpful to us!