HeartofHome's Xanga

Can you believe it?

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:06:27 GMT

Natural News published a third article that I wrote.

I appreciate everyone's support and encouragement (and tolerance of my crowing lol).

Index

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:03:47 GMT

News!!! The manuscript now has its own blog. There, you find the story without interruption by my other musings.

Make sure to scroll down for my latest post: it may be related to the book -- or not. This note is for newbies so they can read the posts in order. You will find it useful also to see the latest versions of each chapter.

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I am posting excerpts from the manuscript of a book I am writing about my son's car accident -- six years ago -- and its aftermath. It is a labor of love, but also a very emotional venture. My entries may be sporadic. I appreciate your prayers, feedback, and encouragement. Please feel free to offer your suggestions and feedback.

For those who have not been along on this journey from the start: You want to go back in the archives and read from the beginning.

Song: Miracle Boy

Chapter One -- Into the Tunnel
Part 1 -- Eclipse
Part 2 -- Preparation

Chapter Two -- Getting There
Part 1 -- Is This Car Moving?
Part 2 -- The Great Physician
Part 3 -- Care for Everyone
Part 4 -- Birth Memories
Part 5 -- What's in a Name?
Part 6 -- Wisdom Beyond His Years
Part 7 -- A Message

Chapter Three -- Finding Out
Part 1 -- Extent of the Damage
Part 2 -- Our New Home
Part 3 -- Last box of Toothpicks
Part 4 -- Dispatch Scramble
Part 5 -- Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter Four -- Weekend of Waiting
Part 1 -- Good News and Bad News
Part 2 -- Blanket of Prayer
Part 3 -- Spike!
Part 4 -- Hospitality

Chapter Five -- A Little Hope?
Part 1 -- Numbers and More Numbers
Part 2 -- Sacrifice of Praise

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We invite you to pray with us for Arif's healing.

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I also entered a contest with this video.

After talking with Steve, I fiddled with the video some. This is the result. Which do you like better?

Update: I did not win anything in the contest, but it gave me the experience with the video editor. Pretty neat stuff -- maybe I will do some more with it.

More to Celebrate!!!

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:12:18 GMT

Natural News published yet another of my articles.

Miracle Boy -- Wisdom Beyond His Years

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:37:57 GMT

(note: for the latest revisions on the manuscript, check the book's own blog)

The fifth joyful event, from Jesus’ Childhood, brings us to meditation on His parents finding Jesus in the Temple after searching for Him for three days:

Each year, the Holy Family takes a trip to Jerusalem to celebrate the High Holy Days of the Passover. Their extended family and the people from their village go in a caravan.

When Jesus is 12 years old, they make the trip as usual. However, after traveling for a day on the trip home, His parents realize that Jesus is not with the group.

Imagine the panic that seizes them. They return to Jerusalem, looking everywhere for Him.

On the third day of their search, they find Him in the Temple. He is calmly and patiently speaking with the elders and the teachers. These holy, learned men are amazed at the Boy’s wisdom and knowledge. He asks them questions which lead them to think about the subject they know so well in an entirely different way.

In that day, a boy was considered a man when he reached twelve years old. He began training in earnest for his career, often apprenticing with a family member.

Jesus’ response, when His mother chides Him for causing so much worry, logically explains that this place – the Temple in Jerusalem – provides the background for His future mission. She probably recalls the message of Simeon.

Then, He returns home with them to fulfill His place in His family as an obedient and dutiful son.

The second chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel relates this story, and tells us that Mary pondered the events of His life. For this reason, we reflect with love on the mysteries and the details that the Bible gives us about the life of our Savior.

There was no question that Arif, and any other children we were graced with, would be brought up with faith in God.

One of the benefits of home schooling is that we can carry God throughout the curriculum. Arif and all his siblings were taught about their faith from their earliest years. We tried to instill in them a sense that they were created by God for a purpose. They each have a unique calling to do something that God planned for them from the very beginning.

Arif seemed to enjoy being in church and at Mass even when he was very small. At the Consecration, the highest point of the Mass, I directed his attention to the altar as soon as he was aware enough. He ooh-ed and ahh-ed. Later, he described ‘sparkles’ around the bread and wine at that moment.
As toddlers are wont to do, he got squirrelly after a certain time in the pew. I took him out of church and explained that he could go back in as soon as he calmed down. He calmed quickly and soon asked to return to the service. We only observed this ritual a handful of times.

Mom encouraged us to teach Arif his prayers starting quite young.

We moved to Virginia, Arif was 3.

The first time we attended our new church was Christmas Eve. The children were invited to come forward for the ‘children’s homily.’ Arif trotted right up there and plopped right into Father’s lap.

“Well, hello there! What is your name?” Father queried.

“Arif.” came the reply.

“Well hello, Reese.”

“No, Father, it is Arif: A, R, I, F.”

“Very well, then. Do you know what holiday comes tomorrow?”

“Yeah! It’s Christmas. It is Jesus’ birthday! Happy birthday to you....”

The parish offered ‘children’s church,’ taking the children into a classroom during the Bible readings and homily to instruct them at their developmental level. One day the following spring, the teacher of the preschool group called in the pastor. One of her pupils already knew the Lord’s Prayer. You guessed it. That child was Arif.

I never taught any of my children to read. They learned to read the same way they learned to talk. We read to them from the time they were babies. When they were ready, they picked up a book and read to themselves. Only then did I undertake to teach them phonics.

Joe read bedtime stories every night. As children were added to his audience, he read one story for each child. We used to tease him about getting taller: by the time Arif was in school, Joe was a ‘four story Papa.’

At a certain point, Joe switched to chapter books. His first venture was The Witch, the Lion, and the Wardrobe, first in C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series. Arif grew impatient with stopping at the end of each chapter, so picked up the book during the day to read on his own. He was seven at the time.

“So, do I need to skip ahead to where you read?” Papa inquired.

“No, it’s all right. I don’t mind hearing the story again.”

Arif decided, when he was eight years old, to read through the Bible. Several months later, he announced that he accomplished his goal.

When Arif was in fifth grade, I tired of fighting him to do writing assignments. So I hit upon the idea that he publish a newsletter. He loved telling stories and sharing what he knew about his faith.

For almost three years, he and his siblings put together “The Mustard Seed Press.” We built a subscription base of about a hundred and twenty five. The addresses on our list included not only people from thirty four states, but three foreign countries as well. One was a missionary in South America who visited our prayer group, read the Mustard Seed, and wanted to see more of it.

Our prayer group leaders, the Buttaccios, published a newsletter with a circulation of over two thousand. When they saw the first few issues of “The Mustard Seed Press,” they felt it would be a harmonious addition to their publication.

We received accolades from our subscribers. A number of people wrote to us requesting permission to use Arif’s writings in Sunday School classes.

The diocese of Knoxville planned a trip to Paris for World Youth Day. Those who were too young to go petitioned the bishop to make some concessions. The bishop organized a trip to Rome and Assisi for them. Arif was 13. His heart was set on going. We scraped, begged, and did fund raisers to make it possible.

The trip was all he hoped for and more. Arif admired St. Francis from the time he first heard of him. As it turned out, two weeks after the trip. Assisi was hit by a devastating earthquake which ravaged St. Francis’ church. Arif felt he was blessed to be there before the destruction.

On Wednesdays, the pope gives a general audience. He stands on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Pope John Paul II used these sessions to teach key concepts about the Bible and about the Christian life.

After the general audience, our bishop arranged for the youth to meet the pope on the steps of St. Peter’s Cathedral. The youngsters and their chaperones lined up for the greetings. The pope shook hands with each one of them.

Pope John Paul II gave Arif special attention by touching him on the cheek after the handshake.

At first we figured that he recognized Arif’s Polish heritage. Perhaps the holy man we called ‘Papa’ knew he would be in need of special graces.

I prayed again that each person who came into contact with Arif, in whatever lay ahead, be drawn closer to God. It would be something I knew Arif would want as well.

A Challenge that Will Improve Your Health

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:18:30 GMT

A Green Smoothie a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Whoo Hoo!

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:24:13 GMT

They finally published my article!

What TV shows have you been watching lately?

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 03:02:59 GMT

Who has time for TV? I'd rather be blogging!

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

What a Week!!!

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:45:12 GMT

I've been putting this off, although I really need to spill my heart here. You have to know that I will probably leave out more than I can actually put in words.

Micah made a trip to Missouri, partly as a disciplinary venture (another loooong story, that I can't go into right now--just know that it is a matter which requires abundant prayer and sacrifice) and partly to benefit his favorite sister with the fruits of his last year's labors.

Life has taken a toll on her body already. 3 years ago, she was rear ended while waiting to turn left on her way to work from college. 2 years ago, she crashed feet first into a solid ice covered bale of hay while tubing down a hill in northern New York. In addition, she often hauls heavy equipment to set up for her audio engineering gigs. In short, her neck, back, and legs are in rather painful condition.

Micah's massage training included some neuromuscular techniques that he felt could help her to find more ease in her movements. Apparently, he has spent a number of hours working on her over the past two weeks. I hope it has made a difference for her.

The Thursday after he arrived in Missouri the bunch of them went to the County Fair. Boy! Talk about lots of memories and anchors! They were going to work up a few songs to play for the Open Mike. Somehow, they never followed through with the performance. But, it resulted in Micah hooking up with one of his best friends from the homeschool group. Unfortunately, that particular friend was part of the problem for which he was supposed to be on disciplinary measures.

So, to get around the breach issue, Micah brought his friend back to Honnah's house. They spent the next 4 days together. Micah says that the friend knew that he needed to turn his life around and Micah was helping to support that (don't ask me if I buy that--I have been around too much of this stuff to trust anyone any more). Finally, Micah brought the friend home on Monday.

Monday night, the girlfriend read the riot act to said friend. After she hung up, she called him back a few minutes later with some devastating news (more on that in a moment). Micah felt it was imperative that he run back to said friend's house to 'hold on to his heels.' What you don't know is that it is about 50 miles between the towns. By this time, Micah was down to $20 in his account. He put that in his tank on the way that night. For the next 5 days, the two were inseparable, driving back and forth numerous times. Several other friends accompanied them from time to time as well. Micah ended up borrowing money from another friend because, of course, none of the people he transported had any money.

Tuesday morning at 2 AM, my cell phone rang. I bolted out of bed and searched my purse for the elusive item. When I punched the little green button, I heard these words spilling out in Micah's voice:

"Kelsey just called to tell me that Matthew was hit by a car. He was walking across the street in front of Taco Bell and a car hit him. When the ambulance came, they found he was already dead. She had the talk I told you about with [said friend], then she had to call him back with the news. I am going to his house to make sure he is all right." Then we lost signal because he was already on the road and the cell signal is very spotty through there.

Matthew's family joined the homeschool group about the same time we did after we first moved to Missouri. He was a year and a half younger than Steve. Over the years, the two boys spent many an hour on the phone discussing Matthew's writings, Steve's projects, various spiritual topics, and all sorts of other things.

Matthew's family operated n restaurant, Dairy Twist, in Goodman, just yards from Arif's accident. The trucker that Arif hit spent a good part of the day at Dairy Twist, waiting for the tow truck. Matthew's father sold Arif the car that he was driving at the time. We often said that the car saved Arif's life. He would likely have been unrecognizable had he been driving the S10.

It took several days for the story of Matthew's tragedy to come together. I am still not sure I have all the details right, but as far as I know:

Just past midnight, Matthew got off work. He and a friend were crossing the street. There was a good bit of construction in the area, so it was not well lit. The friend turned around to say something to Matthew, and as she did, he was struck. I can't imagine the turmoil she must be experiencing. It is a scene she will never forget, I am sure. I pray Vicky finds peace with it soon.

Apparently a couple guys were traveling from one party to another, and goofing around in the car. There was some talk of an illegal turn, but I don't know for sure. They heard a thump, and thought they hit a traffic cone. Matthew must have hit their car and been thrown in the road, where he may have been hit by another car. Mercifully, the medical people tell us, he was killed instantly. Thank God he did not have to suffer for long.

When the guys arrived at their destination, they noticed a big dent in the hood of their car. After some discussion, they headed back to see what exactly they hit. Upon their return, the driver was arrested. He will probably spend the next 12 years in jail for vehicular homicide. I am sure he will have scars for the rest of his life, too. He is only 20 years old. I pray that he finds saving grace in this experience.

As you can imagine, the reverberations were felt far and wide. Matthew had friends and family far and wide. Some of those friends were not the most honorable. Apparently, Matthew had more than flirted with some very dark issues. Over the past couple of weeks, however, his family saw their 'old Matthew' returning. He was making an effort to get things right. He re-connected with his pastor and asked for prayers and advice for his friends. He began talking with his friends about God and about salvation.

Matthew's parents have found comfort in this.

Once again, God has seen the Prodigal Son, returning over the hill and ran to greet him. He took Matthew home while Matthew was still within His grasp. God's mercy is overwhelming, even though we may find it hard to endure. It is so difficult to lose a loved one through someone else's carelessness. But we have hope. God's mercy endures. We must cling to the knowlege, as today's Epistle reading reminded us: "All things work together for good for those who love God."

Here is my list of prayers:

Please pray for Matthew's repose.
Pray that his family and friends find peace.
Pray that his friends come to Christ through the experience.
Pray especially for Vicky, who witnessed the whole thing. She is understandably very disturbed and at some point was talking about fleeing Monett after the funeral....
Pray for the guys in the cars that hit Matthew that they seek and find God's forgiveness and be brought to fullness of faith.
And on a selfish note: please pray for my Micah.

On a more positive note: I am told that Micah held everyone up over the past 5 days. He visited with Matthew's family and shared some of his better memories with them--things that they knew nothing about. He spent a great deal of time with Matthew's friends of all descriptions. He held them together and offered what comfort he could. That is one of his gifts, consoling people in times of difficulty. He tells me that although he was sorely tempted, he felt that to give in to that temptation only would serve to make matters more difficult in the long run.

I want with all my heart to believe him.

16 Quotes on Pharmaceutical Drugs from M.D.’s

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:53:33 GMT

1. “The cause of most disease is in the poisonous drugs physicians superstitiously give in order to effect a cure.”
–Charles E. Page, M.D.

2. “Medicines are of subordinate importance because of their very nature, they can only work symptomatically.”
–Hans Kusche, M.D.

3. “If all the medicine in the world were thrown into the sea, it would be bad for the fish and good for humanity”
–O.W. Holmes, (Prof. of Med. Harvard University)

4. “Drug medications consists in employing, as remedies for disease, those things which produce disease in well persons. Its materia medica is simply a lot of drugs or chemicals or dye-stuffs in a word poisons. All are incompatible with vital matter; all produce disease when brought in contact in any manner with the living; all are poisons.”
–R.T. TraIl, M.D., in a two and one half hour lecture to members of congress and the medical profession, delivered at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

5. “Every drug increases and complicates the patients condition.”
–Robert Henderson, M.D.

6. “Drugs never cure disease. They merely hush the voice of nature’s protest, and pull down the danger signals she erects along the pathway of transgression. Any poison taken into the system has to be reckoned with later on even though it palliates present symptoms. Pain may disappear, but the patient is left in a worse condition, though unconscious of it at the time.”
–Daniel. H. Kress, M.D.

7. “The greatest part of all chronic disease is created by the suppression of acute disease by drug poisoning.”
–Henry Lindlahr, M.D.

8. “Every educated physician knows that most diseases are not appreciably helped by medicine.”
–Richard C. Cabot, M.D. (Mass. Gen. Hospital)

9. “Medicine is only palliative, for back of disease lies the cause, and this cause no drug can reach.”
–Wier Mitchel, M.D.

10. “The person who takes medicine must recover twice, once from the disease and once from the medicine.”
–William Osler, M.D.

11. “Medical practice has neither philosophy nor common sense to recommend it. In sickness the body is already loaded with impurities. By taking drug - medicines more impurities are added, thereby the case is further embarrassed and harder to cure.”
–Elmer Lee, M.D., Past Vice President, Academy of Medicine.

12. “Our figures show approximately four and one half million hospital admissions annually due to the adverse reactions to drugs. Further, the average hospital patient has as much as thirty percent chance, depending how long he is in, of doubling his stay due to adverse drug reactions.”
–Milton Silverman, M.D. (Professor of Pharmacology, University of California)

13. “Why would a patient swallow a poison because he is ill, or take that which would make a well man sick.”
–L.F. Kebler, M.D.

14. “What hope is there for medical science to ever become a true science when the entire structure of medical knowledge is built around the idea that there is an entity called disease which can be expelled when the right drug is found?”
–John H. Tilden, M.D.

15. “The necessity of teaching mankind not to take drugs and medicines, is a duty incumbent upon all who know their uncertainty and injurious effects; and the time is not far distant when the drug system will be abandoned.”
–Charles Armbruster, M. D.

16. “We are prone to thinking of drug abuse in terms of the male population and illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and marijuana. It may surprise you to learn that a greater problem exists with millions of women dependent on legal prescription drugs.”
–Robert Mendelsohn, M.D

The Best Egg?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:29:00 GMT

Mother Earth News conducted an egg-testing project, confirming their 2005 test results that showed true free-range eggs are far more nutritious than commercially raised eggs.

Compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture may contain:

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
7 times more beta carotene

These dramatically differing nutrient levels are most likely the result of the differences in diet between free-range pastured hens, vs. commercially farmed hens.

Without citing any research of their own, most egg industry advocates hold fast to their claim that commercially farmed eggs are no different from pastured eggs, and that hens’ diets do not alter their eggs nutritional value in any significant way.

Mother Earth News points out the flawed and downright fraudulent definitions of “true free-range.” The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines “free-range” as chickens that have “access to the outside.” However, it does not define their diets, nor whether or not the “outside access” is to a cement courtyard or a field fit for foraging.

Sources:

Mother Earth News October/November 2007

Dr. Mercola posted this video about not peeling eggs (parental discretion advised: he does use mild profanity):