Watch and Pray

I suppose it's been a while and a lot has happened in the couple of years since I last posted. I won't get into it all, but I'll give you small update on what's happening in my life right now. Through the course of events this summer, I have gone from full time to part time employment, and because of this, I reviewed some options and have decided to go back to school. I will be attending Georgian College this fall to take 3 part time courses. I will be taking College Communications (a requirement for most programs) as well as Abnormal Psychology and Family Sociology, which are both General Education courses and can be transferred into most programs. I have not decided which program to take yet. I was looking at Child and Youth Worker, but it is a 3 year program and I'm not sure I like the outline of the program. I am also looking at Social Service Worker, which would have a broader range of jobs available once I'm done, because it's not geared specifically towards youth, and it's only a 2 year program. I've toyed with the idea of Veterinary Assistant or Veterinary Technician, but I'm not sure if that's really where I want to go. Too many decisions. I'll see if I like the Psych and Sociology courses over the next few weeks and go from there. It'll be interesting to be going back to school again, but also a little scary. I struggle HUGELY with time management, and I really want to keep on top of that this semester. I think that's about the biggest change in my life right now.

Most of you who would end up reading this, have probably already met my new "baby", Dozer. He's an English Mastiff who has just turned 6 months and is over 90 lbs.

This is him at 10 weeks on the day I got him.

This is him last weekend, at 6 months and 90 lbs, attempting to play soccer with the youth group kids.

He's a huge suck, and he loves me the most. I can't go anywhere without him on my heels. I'm lucky that he is so good natured. I expect him to weigh around 180 - 200 lbs when he's full grown. If at all possible, I would love to make a saddle for him for the nieces and nephews to ride him! If a saddle won't work, then I'll definitely have to get a nice cart for him to pull them around in.

This week mom and I started the Maker's Diet again. We've done it in the past, but haven't stuck with it as a continued way of eating. We've always managed to slide back into old, unhealthy eating habits, and sadly, I'm the worse for it. Over the past eight or nine years I have learned of many chronic illness that I have, that continue to get worse and cause strange health issues, even if some are just temporary. There's a continuous feeling of being unwell, a lack of energy, continuous exhaustion, as well as all the bodily effects from these illnesses. While I have recently been referred to a specialist for my newer most prominent symptoms (appointment for the end of September), I'm so tired of always feeling sick and having the doctors tell me that it will just keep getting worse and I can only take medications to help slow it down and relieve the symptoms. If you haven't heard about the Maker's Diet, it was put together by a gentleman who had a severe case of Chron's Disease. After many, many attempts at trying to gain some relief from the disease, both by medications and natural methods, he finally started eating based on the Bible. It was a lot of research for him, but he ate the way that God told the Israelites to eat in the Old Testament. The results were almost immediate after the initial "cleanse" of toxins from his body over the first few weeks. Within a year or so he was completely cured from the disease and was as healthy as he had ever been. Ever since then he has put together a book for others to follow the dietary measures that he followed and has helped so many people kick these illness that have so violently plagued them, cancer included. With that little bit of background info, this is what I'm attempting to do. I'm more determined than ever to stick with it, as I've seen a huge decline in my health over the past two to three years. The first four weeks of this diet are difficult because there are many restrictions on what you can and cannot eat. It's partly a mental thing, but the lack of refined foods and sugars make the cravings that much worse for the first couple of weeks. That's where I am now. I really appreciate fresh produce, and many of the other things we're eating, but goodness...it's so hard to resist some of those other foods. I'll keep updating on the diet as I am determined to stick to it, and hopefully start showing some results. I know I can't do this on my own and I'm going to be relying heavily on strength from the Lord to stick to this diet, and not make exceptions for myself (especially two months down the road after the initial cleansing is done). Your prayers would be appreciated as I attempt this. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." -Matthew 26:41 Hmmm...how true is that! I know that Jesus spoke this to the disciples when he was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and they kept falling asleep, but I think it applies to so many aspects of our lives. I desire so strongly to get rid of these illnesses, and I have the key! But no matter how willing my spirit is, somehow the flesh seems to always win and I slide right on back to the old habits and desires. Prayer is so important, and yet it can be so easily overlooked. I need to trust God FULLY to heal me and help me each step of the way to cling to Him through these trials.