Natural vs. Organic

Recently, my friend Corrie was excited to tell me that she found another grocery store that sold lots of organic products –
she knew this would thrill my socks right off!

So what’s the hype? Why organic?

And what if the label say’s “All Natural”?

Here’s the simple way I would explain:

ALL NATURAL – means that the product contains things that came from nature, i.e. fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, sugar, etc. And probably does NOT contain UN-natural ingredients, such as preservatives, partially hydrogenated oils, processed foods, artificial flavors, dyes, or chemicals. (Yes, many foods we consume actually contain all that other stuff!)

ORGANIC – on the other hand is of course, all natural, but does NOT contain natural products that have been enhanced. In other words, the fruits & veggies were grown without the use of pesticides. The meat came from animals not injected with growth hormones or antibiotics.

Make sense?

But it may be a bit overwhelming to empty our cupboards today and fill them up with only organic foods. My advice: baby steps. Start with fruits & veggies. Consumer Reports just published a list yesterday of the foods you should definitly buy organic. It's worth the read!

If you don't know how to find organic food, go to http://www.localharvest.org/ to enter your zip code and find the food grown closest to you.

You Never Know

You never know how much you’ll miss the internet until you don’t have it for a long time.

Nearly four months have passed since I last blogged. One would think I had so much to write about I’d be typing away like a mad woman. Problem is, I have so much to write about, I don’t know where to start!

So let me begin with an announcement that will come as no surprise to many of you. While Jeff and Tucker and I were toting our belongings around from place to place, dodging the wrath and aftermath of Rita, we found out that I’m pregnant!

And yesterday, I was surprised and totally elated to find out…

We’re having a GIRL!

Wow. You never know when God is up to something special. Last night, (Wednesday) I was leading a small group during our high-school youth meeting at church, and we talked about how

God is greater than any situation you will ever encounter.

On September 21st, we left our apartment thinking we’d only be evacuated for the weekend. The storm wasn’t supposed to be heading our direction. Now, just a few months later, our lives have completely changed.

During those first few weeks after returning to this area and witnessing the devastation, and finding a new place to live, and –for Jeff – a new job, I had a hard time looking around and saying “yep, it looks like God is up to something wonderful.”

But in hindsight, I can see that He was making some changes in our lives that would end up blessing us and helping us prepare for our little one coming in May.

And as I laid there yesterday, watching our little girl move around on the ultra-sound screen, and seeing Jeff grin from ear to ear – I thought,
“Wow, God was up to something wonderful!”