Cleanse Update

Inquiring minds, like Dana, want to know! :)

I'm on day 5 of my cleanse and other than the obvious, like I can't eat food, it is going extremely well. I have lost 8.5 (I have a digital scale, ok? and every fraction of a pound matters) pounds and I am feeling great. I have followed the cleanse exactly as it is outlined in the book. I drink the tea at night, the salt water in the morning and my yummy lemonade ALL day long. The first three days of the cleanse I suffered headaches in the afternoon. I think they were from the lack of caffeine and the toxins that were being released in my body. I have been able to workout three times this week but due to the headaches I took it a little easy on things that would rattle my head. I noticed today that I became very fatigued while doing an exercise that involved a large muscle group (quads, hamstring and gluts). I don't think I have enough juice to work the large muscles.

One more thing I want to share....I have been known to take three Advil at a time to get rid of a bad headache (shameful, I know). The other day I was feeling discouraged about my headaches and knew it would be better to take an Advil than to give up the whole cleanse. So I took one Advil, it worked immediately and the headache was completely gone. I credit the cleanse for the effectiveness of the Advil. I have also heard of people who are on major meds being able to adjust the dosage or go off them completely. Amazing.

Another thing....my friend is doing this with me and having a buddy is making all the difference in the world. We are suffering together. ;-) She is losing as fast as I am, in fact, she thinks this is a competition. Bring it on, girl!!



CHEERS!

Spring

"Springtime" by Claude Monet



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring
by Robert McCracken

Today is the day when bold kites fly,
When cumulus clouds roar across the sky.
When robins return, when children cheer,
When light rain beckons spring to appear.

Today is the day when daffodils bloom,
Which children pick to fill the room,
Today is the day when grasses green,
When leaves burst forth for spring to be seen.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
~Margaret Atwood


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is lovely here in Arizona right now. I plan on taking the little girls to the park tomorrow. We are going to enjoy Spring! And they will smell like dirt!
:-)

Cleansing!

Have you ever read/tried The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs? I am giving it a try this week. I officially started last night.

Great website here. Purchase the book here.




According to Burroughs the purpose is:

"to dissolve and eliminate toxins and congestion that have formed in any part of the body.

to cleanse the kidneys and the digestive system.

to purify the glands and cells throughout the entire body.

the eliminate all unusable waste and hardened material in the joints and muscles.

to relieve pressure and irritation in the nerves, arteries and blood vessels.

to build a healthy blood stream.

and to keep youth and elasticity regardless of our years."

*****************

Janet's Top Ten Reasons to Cleanse

10. I eat way too much junk food
9. My joints ache
8. I am a Diet Coke addict
7. Therefore I am addicted to caffeine
6. My cholesterol is slightly over 200
5. I am over weight and hope to lose ALOT!
4. My digestive system is not what it ought to be, nuff said
3. Free and fresh lemons in the backyard
2. I enjoy torturing myself

and the number one reason for Janet to cleanse is "To keep youth and elasticity regardless of my years" Hey, I just turned forty!


******************

I will not share the gory details of this cleanse with you. If my husband had a blog he would and he would do so gladly. I will answer a few questions if asked and would love to hear from anyone who has tried this themselves. All I will say is that so far I feel great and empty. :)

PG-15

My daughter is almost 14 and her friend, Jessie, is 14 so I made this PG-15. Pass this one up girls or ask your parents and discuss it with them. :)

I really think this should be read by young people who have their parent's permission and are mature enough to handle this sort of information. Young people need to be told about the consequences of sin, not try to figure it out on their own. So, in our household this is PG-14/15. It may not be the case in yours but I wanted to give you fair warning.

Frank Turk aka CenturiOn aka a Pyromaniac team member linked to this article by Ann Coulter. She says some very bold things and I happen to think she is spot on.

She really should not refer to our Savior as "that Christ fellow" though. Otherwise, I agree with her wholeheartedly.

Puzzles!

You know what happens when you turn off the television and computer? Children begin to enjoy life. They sit together, talk and do a beautiful puzzle or two.

I bought these puzzles when I was at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art a couple of years ago. I was thrilled to find the gallery and more than thrilled to find Claude Monet was the featured artist. I also got to see a few Renoir paintings. It was amazing. I was alone at the gallery, Dave was in a meeting, so I grabbed the headset and enjoyed every single picture while listening intently. It was so much fun. There was also a lovely gift shop filled with everything art! Toys, puzzles, posters, t-shirts, games and so on...a home schooling/classical schooling mother's dream. I came home with these two puzzles. Aren't they lovely?

Piatnik is an Austrian company. The webpage is not easy to navigate, as I "no sprechen sie deutsch".
Unless of course you click on the 'English' button ;-)

You can purchase these puzzles here, if you are interested.

I am also a fan of Ravensburger puzzles.

I guess you could say I'm a puzzle snob.

The Germans (and Austrians) have a way with puzzles, don't you think?

Have you done a puzzle lately?

Resurrection Sunday

Luke 24

He Is Risen

1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them,[a] came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3 Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it happened, as they were greatly[b] perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5 Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”
8 And they remembered His words. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles. 11 And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying[c] by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

***************

I hope you will go to the Spurgeon Archive Webpage and read this amazing sermon by Charles S. Spurgeon preached on April 8, 1855.

At the end of the sermon he is gives three doctrines that are taught relating to the empty tomb.
Here is the second one:

"A second doctrine here taught well may charm thee, if the Holy Spirit apply it with power. Behold his empty tomb, O true believer: it is a sign of thine acquittal, and thy full discharge. If Jesus had not paid the debt, he ne'er had risen from the grave. He would have lain there till this moment if he had not cancelled the entire debt, by satisfying eternal vengeance. O beloved, is not that an overwhelming thought?"

***************

And here is one of my favorite Resurrection hymns found at The Cyber Hymnal

Low in the Grave He Lay
by Robert Lowry

Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,Waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior;Vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Death cannot keep its Prey, Jesus my Savior;He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!

Up from the grave He arose,With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,He arose a Victor from the dark domain,And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.He arose! He arose!Hallelujah! Christ arose!


**************

My prayer for you is that you celebrate the risen Lord every day of your life.

Love Janet.

The Lily

I am going to Costco tomorrow morning to buy two Easter Lilies, one for my mother-in-law and one for Dave's grandmother. The lilies are very big (Costco style) and beautiful.



Here is a webpage with some information on the Easter Lily.

This poem came from that webpage.

Enjoy.


Easter morn with lilies fair
Fills the church with perfumes rare,
As their clouds of incense rise,
Sweetest offerings to the skies.
Stately lilies pure and white
Flooding darkness with their light,
Bloom and sorrow drifts away,
On this holy hallow’d day.
Easter Lilies bending low
in the golden afterglow,
Bear a message from the sod
To the heavenly towers of God.

-Louise Lewin Matthews

Esther Jean

I absolutely love this picture of me and my mom. It has a special place on my refrigerator. I see it every day. I look for it every day.

This is how I remember my mother. Tender, loving, beautiful and kind.



Today would be her 72nd birthday. I wanted to post this picture to honor my mom and so my sisters could see it. It has probably been a long time since they've seen this picture.

It sure would be fun to celebrate this birthday with my mother but God in His infinite wisdom had other plans for Esther Jean. His plans are not always completely understood but they are always perfect.

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

I Wish That Mockingbird Wouldn't Sing

at night....

My sick, three-year-old daughter was not nearly as annoying as this little guy last night.

The weather is perfect at night right now and my husband loves to sleep with the windows open. I am, however, a very light sleeper. The mockingbird was making the funniest sounds last night around 10:30. I was grumbling and complaining and my husband was chuckling. He thought it was hilarious. More than anything, he thought it was funny that I was letting a little bird annoy me and keep me up.

********

Southern Lullaby
Written By: Unknown
Copyright Unknown

Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.

And if that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.

And if that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.

And if that looking glass gets broke,
Mama's going to buy you a billy goat.

And if that billy goat won't pull,
Mama's going to buy you a cart and bull.

And if that cart and bull turn over,
Mama's going to buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,
Mama's going to buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,
You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

******

Here's Carly Simon's version

Lauren and Libman

I just finished mopping the kitchen, something I don't do nearly enough!

Lauren walked up to me while I was mopping and with a little whine said

"Mama, my body hurts".

I am suspicious because she happens to love the taste of medicine and vitamins. I am just sure she is indirectly asking for one or the other.

I respond "ok baby, tell me how it hurts".

she says "well, my body hurts inside my head".

I say with a giggle "Oh really, your body hurts inside you head, that's interesting, do you think you are a little hungry, would you like a yogurt?"

She decides a key lime yogurt sounds delicious and I continue my mopping. About 10 minutes pass and she comes back to me crying and says:

"Mama, will you make me a bed on the couch?"

ding.ding.ding. light bulb now on. finally looking up from the mop.

I go to her and kiss her forehead. She's burning up and her body inside her head still hurts. Bravo Mama! :(














About the mop. Have you ever tried one of these?

It is indeed a Wonder!

Charles Wesley

I love the hymns of Charles Wesley.

A few of my favorites include:

* And Can It Be That I Should Gain
* Christ the Lord is Risen Today
* Come, Thou Almighty King
* Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
* Jesus, Lover of my Soul

Read about him here

and here

Are you familiar with the beautiful hymns of Charles Wesley?

Do you have a favorite?