Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Women's Care

Yep, Bo really cares about women.

Unless they are over 70. Then their doctors may not be allowed to treat them in an emergency room (already being enacted).

Or they are women who think it's more important for their family to have food than health insurance.

Or they are women doctor or pharmacist who believe it is a sin to preform an abortion or hand out birth control.

Or, of course, if she is a woman who is not born yet. Than she doesn't even have the most basic right to life.

You know, actually, it looks like BO only really cares about women who want to kill their babies. Hmmm.






What socialized medicine actually is is telling one woman she has to pay for another woman's doctor and medicine.

I have a novel Idea: let's each ay for our own medical expenses.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Christianity isn't about Love

(Got your attention, didn't I? :-)

At least, that is not the whole story. In fact, it is just the last part of what Christianity is about.

Christianity is about the fact that you are a sinner and you are going to Hell....BUT God loves you so much He provided a way for you to go to heaven instead.

Leaving out the first part totally skews the last part.

Think about it.

Take your typical twenty or thirty something from America today. They were raised in an atheistic culture, taught at school to have high self esteem, told by the media that there is no right and wrong and the greatest "sin" is to be "intolerant" (meaning actually believing there is such a thing as sin).

 Now tell this person that God loves them. "Well, of course He does! Why wouldn't He?"

You see? It changes the whole message and the response to it.

I suspect if you were to ask most young adults today what a "sin" is they would list: polluting, not recycling, being "intolerant," wearing real fur, and not listening to their heart.

Here is what the Bible says sin is:
  1. Loving ANYTHING more than God, even your own life. [Exodus 20, Galatians 5]
  2. Disrespecting your parents.[Exodus 20, Ephesians 6, Romans 1]
  3. Lying, deceit (except to protect the life of innocents as in the case of those Christians who lied to protect Jews from Hitler during the Holocaust. The Bible gives examples of such lies being rewarded by God.)[Romans 1, 1 Timothy 1]
  4. Taking anything that is not yours.[Exodus 20, Ephesians 4]
  5. Murder [Romans 1, Exodus 20]
  6. Being mean, unmerciful, unloving, [Romans 1]
  7. Stirring up trouble. [Galatians 5]
  8. Hate (Jesus said hating someone is the same thing as murder)[Romans 1, 1 John 2, 3, 4]
  9. Adultery (two people who are not married to each other having sex) [Galatians 5, Romans 1, Exodus 20]
  10. Lust (Jesus said lust is the same thing as adultery. Lust is having sexual thoughts for anyone you are not married to.)[Matthew 5, Galatians 5]
  11. Fornication (the misuse of sex. Godly sex {and yes there is such a thing. It was His idea after all} is defined in the Bible as between one man and one woman who are married to each other.)[Galatians 5, Romans 1, 1 Timothy 1]
  12. Not forgiving someone who has wronged you.[Matthew 6]
  13. Gluttony / Greed [Galatians 5]
  14. Anger (for yourself. Being angry at injustice done to others is ok.) [Galatians 5]
  15. Being selfish (Thinking yourself better than others)[Galatians 5]
  16. Being prideful boasters (including trusting your own heart instead of God and His Word)[Romans 1, Jeremiah 17]
  17. Wanting to have something that belongs to someone else.[Galatians 5. Romans 1, Exodus 20]
  18. Cussing [Exodus 20]
  19. Not keeping your promises; being untrustworthy [Romans 1]
  20. Being violent, causing or enjoying strife [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
  21. Gossip [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
  22. Worry / Fear [2 Timothy 1]
  23. Devil worship (including horoscopes, Ouija boards, palm reading, etc. Anything classified as witchcraft.) [Galatians 5]
  24. Haters of god [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
  25. Undiscerning (unintelligent, without understanding, stupid- This speaks of those who choose to be stupid, not the mentally retarded.)[Romans 1]
  26. Evil mindedness, inventers of evil things, [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
  27. Seditions, [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
  28. Teaching others false doctrines.[Galatians 5]
  29. Drunkenness, partying [Galatians 5]
  30. Kidnapping [1 Timothy 1]
  31. Being happy when others do the above or when they are hurt; Approving of sin [Galatians 5, Romans 1]
(This is not an inclusive list of scriptures speaking against these things but just a sample)
If you have done ANY of these things ONCE you deserve to go to Hell.
(For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23) 

But

God loves you so much that "He gave His only physical Son" to die the most torturous method of execution invented by mankind to pay for YOUR sins so that you can go to heaven and live with Him forever. This is a free gift. However, a gift does not do any good if it is not excepted. If I put a million dollars in a box, wrapped it up and leave it on your porch, it won't do you a lick of good unless you pick it up and unwrap it. God's gift of salvation does no good if you don't except it. You will go to hell unless you except His gift.


How do you except that gift? You quit sinning (repent=turn away from) and ask Jesus into your heart to be your Boss.

Yes, Christians have left out the essential first part of the message for much too long. They probably assume everyone knows that part and it is unpleasant to think about. But the fact is that we no longer live in a Christian society and most people don't know the first part.
It's our job to tell them.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Lord I Lift Your Name On High

God is so good! I just can't praise Him enough!

I love this song because it so simply expresses what Jesus did for each of us.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Daycare- Stay at Home Moms Links

One important decision (maybe the most important) in raising children, in shaping a family, is "who will care for the children."

Whose needs should be met first? A (supposedly) mature, competent woman or a helpless baby? Everything changes when you consider the baby's needs first instead of "all mighty mamma."

Parents Responsibility   
A good article detailing why it is so important for children to be raised by their own parents.

Daycares Don’t Care Dr Laura comments about a site I have refereed to many times in my writing. This site quotes many publications about daycare written over the last 40 years, including Dr Laura's book "Parenthood by Proxy." I have read many of the books quoted from on this site and they quote them accurately and in context. Please, Please Please, before you even think about putting your child in an institution, read this site. Go to my sidebar and click "Daycare." Your child's entire future depends on it.

Honestly, go look at a prison and a daycare and tell me the difference.

“Specifically, according to the study by the SP Swedish National Testing and Research Institute, children in daycare had an increased risk of 23 percent for asthma, 75 percent for hay fever, 33 percent for wheeze, and 27 percent for food allergy. In addition, daycare children showed a 56 percent increased risk for cough, 15 percent for rhinitis, and 49 percent for eczema. The study appears in the journal Allergy.”

Reason enough alone to keep your children far away.


(Disclaimer: I believe women who find themselves single moms through no fault of their own, or because they choose the hard path of single motherhood, instead of abortion, after a moment’s indiscretion (we all goof up sometimes) are given a special grace by God for their children. He becomes the Father to the fatherless. Nothing I say here is to these single moms. It is to the typical, married, American woman who “can’t afford to stay home” but can afford houses (as opposed to tiny apartments), cars, vacations, etc. in greater than bare poverty levels, or the “single woman” who is single because her hubby wouldn’t pick up his dirty socks. These children are not fatherless and their parents have no reason to expect God to fill in the gaps they choose to leave.)

Are other people better at raising our children than we are?

“… when children are born reality hits: Who will be this child's mother?
Not surprisingly the government's answer is more bureaucrats paid by more taxpayers, trained and certified by other bureaucrats. …
… Where is the mother who has found she's too bright for the task of honing her child's mind and nurturing his heart?”
An excellent article discussing the burden placed on women today to be both a man-type executive AND a mother; an impossible task.

Can’t Beat This Argument for Moms-At-Home

Is motherhood important? That is the real question. Does it matter that a mother cares for her own children or will any ole’ person do? Does a child NEED a mommy’s love or just dry diapers and warm bottles?

Most of our society looks at a baby as an empty vessel; something that needs filling and is waiting until they are old enough for anything that happens to them to make a difference or be important. They are not really viewed as human beings with their own thoughts and opinions much less needs.

No one argues that where an eight year old child is educated (read that “spends the majority of his waking hours”) is not important. Homeschoolers say he does best at home. The biggest union in the country (National Education Association) says he has to be in a government institution in order to grow up “normal.”

No one says it doesn’t really matter.

Yet when you read parenting books and magazines it actually sounds like the authors think it doesn’t much matter where a child spends his first three years.

 “It might be better for you to stay home with your baby because daycare children get sick more often but most people can’t (without lowering their standard of living, but of course they leave that part out,) and daycare kids are more independent anyway.”

Does this even make sense? The only issue is where he gets fewer sniffles?!?

A child’s personality is formed by the time they are five but where he spends the majority of his time won’t affect who he becomes? (The “independent” argument is so much none sense. No baby can learn to change his own diaper or warm his own bottle. Physical independence is impossible. They are talking about emotional independence and treating it like it was a good thing. It is not. These are the children that are mentally ill, learning disabled, angry kindergartners and become alcoholic gangsters and eventually divorcees.)

What do you think? Did God create a redundancy? Did He rob Israel of prosperity by not having the Levite women raise, errrr, babysit, everyone else’s children so moms could accomplish more? Did He mess up by making babies need to nurse so often and for so long? Why didn’t He allow Israel to invent formula or at least bottles? Are children ok spending the majority of their time- having the greatest influence in their lives- be someone who can’t get a better job than minimum wage for changing dirty diapers?
No one can do a better job with your child than the mommy God gave him.

Studies have shown that unless you are druggy, negligent, irresponsible people, your children will do better academically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually being cared for at home by someone who will be in their life forever and who actually loves them (otherwise known as parents).

God designed little kids to need their mother for physical survival until at least one if not three or so (everyone but us nurses their babies until well into toddlerhood.) This, however, requires sacrifices on the part of parents (standard of living issues) to achieve. They must be willing to live in lesser housing, drive lesser cars, wear lesser clothes, and take lesser vacations and put at least one career on hold. Some believe this is too much to ask of parents.

Now, single parents don’t have a lot of choice (and my heart bleeds for them:-(. This is the fault of the church. The Bible says it is our job to care for the widow and fatherless. We, the church, should be paying the single mom’s rent and food bill so she can raise her children according to God’s design (Hey, breastfeeding wasn’t MY idea!)

Europe obviously values this important time of motherhood much more than we do. We mandate six weeks to three months of UNPAID maternity leave and will give financial support only to extremely poor moms and then at the price of being labeled a charity case and a leach on society. European countries range from three months to three YEARS of PAID maternity leave for EVERYONE!

Now, I am very against such government “daddy” programs (this is the family and church’s job and the government has no business meddling in it), but I do believe it demonstrates a far greater valuing of mother’s importance in a child’s life. We American’s seem to think a generic, minimum wage worker is just as good as mommy; in other words, we don’t think mommies are important.

Let's Not Institutionalize 3, 4, and 5 Year Olds

It doesn't have to be this way. You afford what ever is important to you. How you spend your time and money tells what that is.

Two different posts along the same line.

http://restoringtheyears.blogspot.com/2008/01/lock-step.html (and No, it doesn't have to be that way)

http://ccostello.blogspot.com/2008/02/woman-who-has-it-all.html
This is what modern life has brought us; children raised by strangers and parents too exhausted to care.

"Rubies, Silk and Chocolate Covered Peanuts."Rubies, Silk, and Chocolate Covered PeanutsAn exert from my book,

"What I see when I see an “independent child“ is someone who knows they can't depend on anyone else; that they must care for themselves because no one else will. I don't think that is the lesson I want my child to learn.

Though nannies and hired babysitters would have better numbers (fewer cases of mental illness and learning disabilities as well as physical illness) than daycares, they still would not be able to give a child the love and attention his own mommy would; they are still hirelings.

A child equates time with love. If they love someone they want to be with them. Period. They do not understand economics and "Fulfillment." So, in their way of thinking, if you are spending nine to 12 hours (remember to figure commute time) away from them you must not love them very much. No amount of arguing on your part will ever change that.

Instead of a child being taught at the feet of their mother, who has known him since birth; he is educated at the government schools by some one who doesn't know him from Adam and won't know him a few months from now. He is given a government regulated, factory run, one size fits all schooling. No one really cares in a school what the child thinks; only what he can regurgitate onto the test.

There was a time in this country when each child received a tailor made education designed by their parents, consisting of what their parents knew they would need in the future. This time period, 1776 to the late 1800's, had the highest literacy rate in America’s history. Why?

“But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them (the sheep), and scattereth the sheep.” (John 10:12)

What does a stay-at-home-woman do all day?
1. The childcare you pay the sitter to do.
2. The teaching the sitter doesn’t have time to do. (Common manners, common sense, thinking skills, a work ethic, self worth, self control, discipline, etc).
3. The housework and errands that a dual job family does in the evening and on weekends.
4. The housework and errands that just don’t get done because there is no time and everyone is too tired.
5. Cook meals from scratch (cheaper and healthier!)
6. Plant a garden.
7. Minister to the community (weed the elderly neighbor’s garden, paint the invalid’s house, take them shopping, bring them food, visit the rest homes, etc. SAHW have to be careful not to get too much going though. There is so much that is not being done it is too easy to neglect your family trying to fix it all.)
8. Better yourself (Learn art, music, nursing, history, science, etc. The library is free. Use it!).

Our families need us, as women, not paychecks. And we will not regret spending time with our children when we are old. We WILL regret wasting time earning mere money."

Young moms work for free. An all to frequent occurrence.

The value of time

Today’s link is LAF- Ladies Against Feminism. I have found many of my other links through this site. It is a site to support women in their traditional roles of wife and mother and homemaker. It is worth the time to check in here every so often to read the new stuff they post occasionally. It is refreshing to not be being told how much happier I would be running a cash register at wal-mart than caring for my own babies; to be encouraged that I am not the only one who thinks making a home is important.

Remember Paul tells women not to teach men, and Titus 2 tells older women to teach younger women to be “love their hubbys, love their children, be keepers at home.” This is a ministry. One not being done in way too many homes (even ones with stay at home moms often don’t see it as a ministry.) :-(

This is not to say I don’t see a place for women in the church leadership. Our own church has a “women’s pastor.” She is a woman responsible for shepherding the females in our church, something not appropriate for our senior pastor to do directly (The “women’s pastor” is the senior pastor’s wife.) There are other places a woman can work also. But I whole heartedly believe that the most important thing a woman can do for God is minister ato her family; show God’s love to her children and hubby by providing a little bit of heaven on earth for them. If we don’t, who will?

http://www.daycaresdontcare.org/Web/WebArticles_1997/WebArticles_1997_page_4.htm

Friday, October 25, 2013

Food Stamps and School

It is that time again when anti-food stamps posts circulate around facebook. I find this very annoying. Let me ask you, what is the difference between food stamps and public school, social security, farm subsidies, medicare, business bailouts, medicaid, etc? I literally see no difference. Oh, I agree we need to get rid of charity programs, but let's start with the oldest biggest give-away programs and apply all the rules the same. (50% of EVERY state's budget goes to public school.) Before you can enroll your child in public school you must:
  • Submit proof of your income to prove you can't afford to educate your child yourself.
  • List all your household expenses such as utilities and give that list to a total stranger.
  • Pass a drug test to prove your inability to afford private education is not because you are a doper.
  • Repeat this list twice a year.

Before you receive Social Security you must:

  • Submit proof of your income to prove you can't afford to support yourself.
  • List all your household expenses such as utilities and give that list to a total stranger.
  • Pass a drug test to prove your inability to afford to support yourself is not because you are a doper.
  • Repeat this list twice a year.
What? You don't think we should do this? As a tax payer, I would much rather buy a little kid food than pay from some middle class parent's vacation by reliving their education expenses. I would rather pay for a child's breakfast than some rich person's fancy house. We need to get rid of ALL government charity programs. It is not the place of government to provide charity. That is the place of the family and church. But let's start with the least necessary, most expensive, most damaging programs first.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Quest and I kissed Dating Goodbye


"Quest for the High Places"****

This was recommended to me by a Sister at church. It is about dealing with heart issues while waiting for God's time to enter into courtship. It is aimed at the late teens/early twentys crowd of girls. i found it very good for the crowd it is aimed at. I can imagine it being very helpful. It Would have helped me at that age, for sure.

For the general population of singles (males and older women) I recommend Josh Harris's "I Kissed Dating Goodby."***** It really spoke to my heart and I had been married more than ten years when I read it. The main theme is that life isn't about you. It is about serving God and others. As such, your time as a single should be spent in seeking out service opportunities, not chasing the opposite sex. Very good.

I will have my girls read both books when they are that age and my boys will read "I kissed dating."

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Heart ad Health



There are several books about health I recommend everyone to read.

One of them is "The Cholesterol Myth." No new conclusions for me, but lots of supporting evidence for things I have heard before and that are only logical.

How to prevent a heart attack:
· Exercise More
· Loose Weight
· LOWER YOUR STRESS In Life
· Avoid Sugar And Polyunsaturated Fats, Especially Margarine.
· Enjoy Your Butter And Red Meat. Leaving Them Out Will NOT Reduce Your Risk Of Heart Attack Nor Lower Your Cholesterol.

Taking drugs to lower your LDL is a gamble. First of all, lower cholesterol has NOT been shown to affect the rates of CHD (Cardiac Heart Disorder). High LDL is often associated with CHD, but excessive bleeding is associated with cutting your wrists, too. That doesn't mean that bleeding causes gashes in your wrist. Cholesterol drugs do reduce the risk of CHD, though they don't always reduce Cholesterol levels. However, the rates of cancer in those who take the anti- Cholesterol Drugs is significantly higher. So choose your poison; heart disease (maybe) or cancer.

Nourishing Traditions
This book is full of interesting facts on how healthy it is to eat natural (God made) foods, especially meat, cultured foods and butter.

Yes, butter is GOOD for you. it is anti-bacterial and choke full of vitamins. The type of saturated fats in it are easily digested, not easily stored as body fat, and is the substance used to build arteries out of.

High cholesterol is caused not by eating cholesterol, but by eating sugar and trans-fats (man made fats). Not eating Natural cholesterol to lower your blood cholesterol count is like firing your police force in order to lower your crime rate. The body produces cholesterol in order to repair the damage done by sugars and man made fats. Get rid of your sugar and hydrogenated fats and your cholesterol will drop. 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Hell Is the Wrath of God in Effect (Luke #68 Special Preview)

What kind of God do we serve? We better get this right.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

I'm Saved by Grace

and not by anything I have ever done. I rebelled. The punishment for rebellion is eternal death. God loved me enough to provide a way to eternal life. All I have to do is to put my faith in His Way instead of my own efforts.


Saturday, October 19, 2013

"I Can't Afford to Homeschool"

ImageImagine for a moment that, (if you work for the school system in any way), you are offered a job paying exactly what you earn now.

Now imagine that the Supreme Court came to its senses and declared that public school was unconstitutional (which it is).

All Public schools will be closed, completely unavailable come January 1st!

What happens to your children? Will they really not receive any more education from that point on?

Or would you, as a loving, competent parent, find something, somewhere, somehow to educate your Babies?
  • Private, brick and mortar school
  • Virtual school
  • Co-op with other parents
  • Correspondence schools
  • And of course, Homeschool in its many, various forms
And I will bet, those who claim to be Christians will make sure that education is Christ based.

If, under the imaginary circumstances above, you could privately educate your child, why can't you now?

Because you see public school as a viable option.

The fact is, until you no longer see government schools as an option, you won't be able to afford private education in any form.

My Hubby and I decided when our oldest was a toddler that our children would always have a God-infused education, making government school simply not an option. Living in the richest, free-est country the world has ever seen, and being servants of our God, we could do no less. Yes, this has required sacrifice. We live under the poverty level and struggle from paycheck to paycheck. But now that we have two grown children we can see that it has very much been worth it. They are strong warriors for our King and have never been through rebellion. All of our younger children are following in their path, too.

Obedience is worth the sacrifice. Our children deserve a godly education.
And Our King deserves our children.

Friday, October 18, 2013

A warning

Read this to Hubby the other night in our normal nighttime reading. WAY too close for comfort if I was a politician!Josh
Luke 11:37-54
1Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees (Lawyers and Politicians) sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne (Obamacare), and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers (they exempt themselves).
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of (the media): they (wear fancy clothes and build fancy houses)
6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
...
12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

How to Safeguard a Marriage

Do Christians really have the same divorce rate as non-Christians? The good news is "no, they don't." There are things the Christian couple can do that makes it highly unlikely they will ever divorce.



Wednesday, October 16, 2013

syria

Oh, OK. I'll chime in here, though I don't really have much to say.
It seems to me there is no possible way to win whether we go to war or not.
If my 6'3" hubby sees a man beating a woman, doesn't he, as someone with the power to stop evil, have the moral responsibility to act?
If we, the USA have the power to stop genocide don't we have the responsibility to act? To do nothing is to condone the actions of tyrants; it is to ignore the pleas of the weak. It makes us evil.
On the other hand...
If we go in it will be another mess with no clear aim and no exit point. We will be sacrificing our sons (and I mean that literally. I have an 18yo who is considering the military) for a mess that has been going on for hundreds, or even thousands of years without solving anything.
I rather like Hubby's answer when I asked him about it:
"We should not go in until we have an over-all plan. Sit down with a map of the middle east with all the different factions and figure out a solution, a long term strategy that will eventually make everyone happy. Until then we are wasting our breath and we should stay out."
Tell me what you think?

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Book Review: Health at Every Size

The information in this book can be life changing. I highly recommend it to everyone of every weight. The best way to tell you about it is from exerts from the book itself:

"THE HAES MANIFESTO Health at Every Size: The New Peace Movement We’re losing the war on obesity. Fighting fat has not made the fat go away. However, extensive “collateral damage” has resulted: Food and body preoccupation, self-hatred, eating disorders, weight cycling, weight discrimination, poor health. . . . Few of us are at peace with our bodies, whether because we’re fat or because we fear becoming fat. It’s time to withdraw the troops. There is a compassionate alternative to the war—Health at Every Size—which has proven to be much more successful at health improvement—and without the unwanted side effects. The scientific research consistently shows that common assumptions underlying the war on obesity just don’t stand up to the evidence.

"Assumption: “Overweight” and “obese” people die sooner than leaner people.
False! Almost all epidemiologic studies indicate people in the overweight or moderately obese categories live at least as long—or longer—than people in the normal weight category. The most comprehensive review of the research pooled data from 26 studies and found overweight to be associated with greater longevity than normal weight. Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys I, II, and III, which followed the largest nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults, also determined that the “ideal” weight for longevity was in the “overweight” category.

"Assumption: Being “overweight” or “obese” puts people at significant health risk.
False! Epidemiological studies rarely acknowledge factors like fitness, activity, nutrient intake, weight cycling, or socioeconomic status when considering connections between weight and disease. Yet all play a role. When studies do control for these factors, increased risk of disease disappears or is significantly reduced.5 What’s likely going on here is that these other factors increase disease risk at the same time they increase the risk of weight gain. Assumption: Anyone who is determined can lose weight and keep it off. False! The vast majority of people who try to lose weight regain it, regardless of whether they maintain their diet or exercise program.67 This occurs in all studies, no matter how many calories or what proportions of fat, protein or carbohydrates are used in the diet, or what types of exercise programs are pursued. Many studies also show that dieting is a strong predictor of future weight gain.


"Assumption: Weight loss will prolong life.
False! No one has ever shown that losing weight prolongs life. Some studies actually indicate that intentional weight loss increases the risk of dying early from certain diseases.

"Assumption: The only way for “overweight” people to improve health is to lose weight.
False! Most health indicators can be improved through changing health behaviors, regardless of whether weight is lost. For example, lifestyle changes can reduce blood pressure, largely or completely independent of changes in body weight. The same can be said for blood lipids. Improvements in insulin sensitivity and blood lipids as a result of aerobic exercise training have been documented even in persons who actually gained body fat while participating in the intervention.

Assumption: Health is declining as a result of an “obesity epidemic.”
False! While it’s true that we’re moderately fatter than we used to be, life expectancy has increased dramatically during the same time period in which our weight rose (from 70.8 years in 1970 to 77.8 years in 2005). That’s right, government statistics predict that the average kid can now expect to live almost eight years longer than his or her parents! Not only are we living longer than ever before, but we’re healthier than ever and chronic disease is appearing much later in life. Death rates attributed to heart disease have steadily declined throughout the entire spike in obesity. Both the World Health Organization and the Social Security Administration project life expectancy to continue to rise in coming decades.

Blame Economics
Why do these faulty assumptions continue to proliferate and why isn’t the reality more widely known? There can only be one explanation when science so blatantly contradicts popular thought: economics. There is a huge industry that benefits from widening the boundaries of what is considered a problematic weight, including weight loss centers, supplement makers, drug companies, physicians, and Even scientists benefit by getting research grants and serving as consultants, or by running weight loss centers at universities...

Trust yourself.
We all have internal systems designed to keep us healthy—and at a healthy weight.

Support your body in naturally finding its appropriate weight by honoring its signals of hunger, fullness, and appetite.  

Adopt healthy lifestyle habits.

Develop and nurture connections with others and look for purpose and meaning in your life. Fulfilling your social, emotional, and spiritual needs restores food to its rightful place as a source of nourishment and pleasure.

Find the joy in moving your body and becoming more physically vital in your everyday life. 

Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and seek out pleasurable and satisfying foods.

Tailor your tastes so that you enjoy more nutritious foods, staying mindful that there is plenty of room for less nutritious choices in the context of an overall healthy diet and

Embrace size diversity.
Humans come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Open to the beauty found across the spectrum and support others in recognizing their unique attractiveness."


Bacon, Linda (2010-02-02). Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight (p. 278). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.



(BettySue again) Diets are unhealthy. God put hunger in our bodies for a reason. Hunger signals us that our bodies need food. Learn to eat healthy. Learn to enjoy moving. Learn to love the life and the body that God gave you. This is the way to health.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Episode 33 - Dinosaurs and Humans

Episode 33 - Dinosaurs and Humans.   The evidence is overwhelming:   Dinos have lived with humans!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

▶ God's Got an Army - Carman - YouTube

Powerful!



"4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)"

2 Corinthians 10:4(KJV)

We are at war. Not physical war with bombs and guns, but spiritual war. Our weapons are Prayer, Praise, Love and the Bible. We should each consider ourselves a warrior fitting himself for service to our King by constantly training and improving ourselves in the use of these weapons. “Spiritual warfare is very real. There is a furious, fierce, and ferocious battle raging in the realm of the spirit between the forces of God and the forces of evil. Warfare happens every day, all the time. Whether you believe it or not, you are in a battlefield. You are in warfare.” Pedro Okoro

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Who's Needs Rule?

JoshLet’s put aside all the financial, societal and fulfillment issues for a moment. What is the absolute perfect place for a six week old baby to be? Three month old? Year old? Can anyone really say that it doesn’t matter? Or that a baby is better off in the care of an overworked, underpaid babysitter? I don’t think anyone who honestly looks at baby’s needs would say that at all. We should all be able to agree that baby is best off at home nestled to mommy’s breast. In fact, my experience and research says home with mommy, surrounded by big brothers and sisters all day. This is where baby will get the comfort, stimulation, and love he needs to grow up mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually sound. If we acknowledge this, where than does the decision for mom to work or not come in? Who’s needs should come first? Mom’s need for some mythical “fulfillment”? (and, ladies, it is a myth. Fulfillment comes from Jesus and a choice to be content no matter what circumstances you find yourself in.) Dad’s need for a bigger house or fancier car? Or baby’s need for his mommy’s arms? The Bible commands us to put the needs of others before our own; to treat others as we would want to be treated ourselves. If you were a little baby, who would you want taking care of you? Yeah, yeah, I know. You went to college and now have so much debt you can’t stay home. You married a jerk and now are a single mom. You have some other obligation that you can’t get out of that keeps you in the working world. You can’t unscramble the egg. Deal with what you can do and don’t worry about the rest. God will supply and children know the difference between a true need to work and being dumped because mom can’t be bothered. But the fact is that most moms actually do have a choice. They could cut their expenses down and afford to stay home if they really wanted to (especially if you figure the cost of daycare, commute expenses, lunch out while at work, more convenience foods, and more expensive clothes and beauty salon treatments necessary for the working world plus the higher tax bracket). Some might need to downsize their house or trade a new car in for a used, but it could be done way more than it is. The problem is the number of people who worship the god Self. It is the American God. Self demands our own desires come before anyone else’s. But no matter how hard we try, self will never be satisfied. As Christians, we must denounce Self and worship only the One True God. This means following His commands, including “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” We must treat our neighbors, including those living in the next room of our homes, as ourselves. This means we must put our baby’s needs above our own.

New Name

I've been doing some research on blogging in general and some contemplating of the way God is leading me in my writing and have decided my title here is not accurate. The new name more completely reflects my current mission.

BeST is my actual initials. I used to sign my name BS, but Hubby objected to that for some reason:-D (Though sometimes I wonder if that isn't the more accurate signature:-P) And BettySue is actually quite common on the internet. So I have gone to BeST (Be from my first name, the rest my other initials. I will be buying a domain name to match it (probably at tax time). It will be along the lines of BeSTandTheBible.com, but I will keep you updated. Depends on what is available.

Anyway, I am a homschooling HomeMaker mom of 9 children, ages 2-21. I've been married to Hubby for 27 years (High School Sweet Hearts :-))

Hubby is the Assistant Pastor of our church, which is tiny and so doesn't pay anything. He also has a full time + job as a manager.

I am the assistant Woman's pastor of our church and Secretary of the Internet (mostly meaning I run the Church's web site and get to order it's stuff from Amazon).

My Dad is pastor and Mom is Woman's Pastor. Oldest Daughter Joy is Worship Leader/Pianist (depending on if she or Mom is playing). Oldest son Jim is Sound Booth Operator.

God has blessed me with the skills to study, the time to do it (between changing diapers, teaching phonics, and cooking supper), and the resources to find stuff out. Most are not so blessed, so I have a burden to share what God has given me with others. I hope you share your giftings and unique perspectives with me:-)

I am also studying (in my spare time, lol) to be an herbalist and midwife.


And everything I believe I try to base on the Bible. It truly has all the answers for life.

I intend to start posting on a daily basis (or nearly so). My intended schedule is:

  • Sunday: God is Good (Worship, encouragement)
  • Monday: The Bible (apologetic, commentaries, doctrines, etc)
  • Tuesday: Health (nutrition, herbs, birth, etc)
  • Wednesday: Homemaking (couponing, organization, cleaning, coping)
  • Thursday: Marriage
  • Friday: Culture (Government, politics, current events)
  • Saturday: Family (raising children, homeschooling, vacations, etc)

Hope to see you around:-)

Friday, October 11, 2013

The Government Shut Down

I have definit opinions on this whole issue, but sometimes it seems pointless to put in enough effort to put it in words. But I guess I'll give it a go....Tahoe I once looked up a graph of what the feds spend their money on. Then I looked up a graph of where their money comes from. If we eliminated all the programs and departments that are unconstitutional we could easily eliminate all the unconstitutional taxes. Imagine that!? Government, like fire, is essintial to life. But just like fire, we need to keep it as small and controled as possible to get the job done. If it is possible to do the job without fire OR government, we definitly should. For example, you could cut the wood to build a house with fire, but it would much more efficint as well as safer to use a saw. Yes, we could pay everyone's doctor bill with the government. But it would be much better (and safer!) to institute tort reform and some other simple measures that would allow the private sector to take care of it. So, in all, I think the Tea Party represenatives should have shut the government down more than a year ago. They should have held their ground then. Yes, some people would have suffered, but the over-all suffering would have been far less than what our kids will have to go through to pay for our extravegance. But now? I think it's really too late. It may very well be time to just step back and let it all go down. Right now the shut down is taking attention away from the implimentation of Obamacare. We need to clear the way so there is no excuse for the media to not cover this disaster. Now, before you begin to scream about me being some rich person who has their own insurance and doesn't care for the poor, let me clue you in; I haven't had insurance for 13 years but now qualify for medicaid due to ObamaCare. My oldest child too (the others were already covered). So we actually benefit with OC. But I would give it up in a moment for the betterment of my country and the future of my kids. The government should provide military protection and punish wrong-doers. Everything else should be taken care of through families, churches, communities and charities. I like Dr Ben Carson's sugestion to just begin cutting all government 10% across the board every year. It would be a start. But ultimatly we need to shut down many, many programs. Yes, some people will loose their jobs. I am sorry for that. But as the government shrinks, so do the taxes. This allows businesses to put money into hiring more people, even more than would loose their jobs through government trim down. It's a hard prescription, but our children need us to do it.

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Episode 33 – Dinosaurs and Humans | That's a Fact

.5% of people who try to lose weight loose it and keep it off for five years or more.

Half a percent.Jess This includes those who have weight loss surgery, join a gym, etc.

Do you know what this means?

It's not your fault. You are not weak. You are not lazy. You haven't failed.

You've been lied to.

For all practical purposes, it is impossible to loose weight.

So does this mean that a fat person is doomed to an early death?

Not at all. If you remove all the studies paid for by people who make money from weight loss (drugs, diets, gyms, diet foods, etc) the evidence associating obesity and illness practically goes away. And if you control the remaining studies for the affects of poverty, the rest of the ill-health of being fat disappears. In fact, there are a few illnesses the being fat protects you from (i.e. Tuberculosis). There is absolutly NO evidense that loosing weight improves anyone's health. None. We know for a fact, however, that dieting will kill you.

So where does this leave us?

We need to be healthy. Starving ourselves is not healthy. Limiting our foods to just a few food groups is not healthy. Thinking like an anorexic is not healthy. You know what? Denying ourselves desert is not mentally healthy!

So what does the human body need?

  1. Exercise. Not "go out and exhaust yourself once a month" exercise, but a general "be active." find something fun to do where you move your body (dance class, softball team, buy a horse, plant a garden, etc) and do that. If you get discouraged because you exercised and stepped on the scale and it hadn't moved, you are exercising for the wrong reasons.

In fact, throw you scales away! I MEAN IT!

Move because it makes you feel good.

What do you eat?

Whatever you want. Just honor your body by quitting when you are physically AND mentally satisfied. Eat slowly and enjoy your food like God meant you to when He designed your taste-buds. Seriously, trust your God-given instincts. Trust that He designed your body to be healthy. Good article on stereotyping foods: Here

Monday, October 07, 2013

Episode 28 - Missing in Action

Episode 28 - Missing in Action.   You call something scientific fact when you either have:
  1. A reliable eyewitness (only Creation claims this- the Lord God Creator Himself) or
  2. A repeatable event; something that can be reproduced in a laboratory by other scientists. Neither Creation or Evolution can satisfy this requirement. You just can't reproduce the beginning of the Universe in a lab!
BOTH Creationism and Evolution qualify as beliefs. Both have evidence to support them. Neither is provable. Fact is, there is increasing proof that Young Earth Creationism is true and Evolution just a myth. Honestly, I simply don't have enough faith to believe Evolution.  

Sunday, October 06, 2013

God Isn't an Option, He's a Necessity!

God Isn't an Option, He's a Necessity!

But as for me, I am poor and needy; please hurry to my aid, O God. You are my helper and my savior; O LORD, do not delay. Psalm 70:5 Is God Part of Your Story? Or are you part of His?