Breathe

I live in the great city of Port Neches. What that means is, when I take my kids to play at the park about 2 miles from my house, this is what lurkes in the background. We reside in the foothills of the refineries - petro-chemical plants. Hey, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it right? But this plant serves not only as a looming eyesore. Here's a self-proclaimed description of what goes on there:

WE MAKE

• Gasoline: Regular, premium unleaded and low-sulfur gasoline. The refinery produces reformulated and conventional gasoline for domestic
• Jet Fuel : Commercial aviation fuel
• Diesel Fuel and Heating Oil: Low-sulfur diesel is used in the trucking industry and in heavy-duty machinery. Heating oil is used as fuel for furnaces primarily in the northeastern U.S.
• #6 Oil: Tanker fuel, power generation and locomotives
• Chemical Feedstocks: Ethane, propane and butane are used in the manufacture of ethylene, a major building block for chemical products. Other products include gas oils, naphtha and reformats
• Largest single lube plant in the US, producing lubricant base oils

Comforting.

I've read numerous times that indoor air is actually several times more polluted than outdoor air (because of our plastics, processed furniture, paint, etc.) But I really wonder if that's the case here in Port Neches. Think of all the off-gases that the refinery puts into our air on a daily basis.

Well, if you find yourself holding your breath, like I often want to, here's something I found helpful. There are actually houseplants that help purify the air in your home!



This is a schefflera I bought a few months ago. It was actually about twice this size, and I split it up into several different plants to put in different rooms throughout the apartment. These are very easy to care for, and pretty, too!




And this is an English Ivy. It also makes a very easy and pretty houseplant.

Note: if you have infants or toddlers, be sure to keep plants out of reach, and check the area daily for fallen leaves that little hands can find.

Other good air-purifying plants include peace lilies, bromeliads, and spider plants. So, make an inexpensive investment, bring the outdoors in, and breathe a little easier.

Beginning Again

Hey friends! For a while, life was so busy I had given up on the pursuit of this blog. (And so had you!) But you know that feeling when there's something just tugging at you, nagging at the back of your mind... something that won't let you leave it alone? Well, it's that something that has drawn me back here, to begin again.

In the almost 5 years since Jeff and I have been back in the country, it has certainly been busy! Just to review, we've been a part of several weddings and funerals. We helped victims of a hurricane, and then became victims of a hurricane. We moved 4 times, had several different jobs, have been through five different vehicles, visited over 30 countries with the Gospel message, and had 2 kids. Whew!

And in the midst of it all, I have continually felt God leading me not only to learn about health and wellness for the sake of myself and my family, but also to share liberally with those He has placed in my life. You.

I want to be obedient.

And so, if you will do me the honor of reading my ramblings, I will be as faithful as I know how in sharing what He is teaching me about life, about Himself, and about how to be fit and well, both physically and spiritually.

Ready to begin again?

Eat More Avacado!

Greetings! I know it's been a while. Since I last posted to this blog, we've endured a hurricane, moved twice, and had a baby. And it is baby Maggie who inspired me to write today.




















I read that avacados are one of the best first foods to feed to your baby. So I tried it a few days ago. She loved it!!

I know some of you are thinking "what a strange food!" But avacados are very nutritous! And fattening - in a good way. Avacados are full of the GOOD fats are bodies and brains need to function properly.

So eat some avacado today!!

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!”

Riding Out the Storm

Well, we evacuated the city a week ago. As far as we know, our apartment suffered minimal damage - we're hugely blessed! Jeff is back in the city this morning, helping to set up our church as a distribution center. Living as nomads since Wednesday night, we've been moving from place to place. I never appreciated home and privacy more than now! I'll update again soon and show pictures.

Katrina

I was going to write about another anchor point today, but something else was on my heart. Yesterday morning, as I struggled to wake up and have some quiet time in the Scriptures, one verse stood out like a candle in a dark room.

Who but God goes up to Heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in His fists? Who wraps up the oceans in His cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is His name - and His Son's name? Tell me if you know! ~Proverbs 30:4

My eyes fell on two lines... Who holds the wind in His fists... who wraps the oceans in His cloak.

For two days I've been watching the devastating footage of Katrina's aftermath, especially in New Orleans, where I use to live - where I still have so many friends - where my own sister lives and works. And this verse was comforting.



It is God who holds the wind in His fists and wraps the oceans in His cloak. Nothing happens that He doesn't know about.














New Orleans: Photo by Michael Ainsworth / DMN
(The home in the middle has "HELP" on the roof)

My family is fine, although we think my sister's apartment is completely underwater. I cringe when I think of the things she's likely lost.

Those winds and waters destroyed many homes, tooks many lives, and left many without jobs or much security to come back to. But if I turn an angry face towards God as the culprit...

then i've forgotten a very important thing about God :: HE IS GOD.

Instead, i'll choose to thank Him for sparing so many lives, and I'll look for Him to work His good into this tragedy. In the mean time, He is teaching me about how big He is... and how easily I become attached to my small material possesions that weren't really mine to begin with.