This morning, I woke up after a restless night’s sleep – a rough start to my day. I began my day in prayer, actually more like crying out in prayer. I feel so weak where food is concerned, and I need to be strong! My prayer time was rejuvenating. My good friend Kathy sent me a text and it simply read “Daniel 1: 8-21.” I read these verses and was strengthened for this task. Yesterday I read Genesis 1: 29-31 to Tiff as a reminder that when mankind began he only ate plants, even the newly created animals only ate plants. So we can certainly only eat plant food for now in order to get healthy again.
We went to Hannah’s church this morning. It’s called Desert City Church. Both the message and the music were very good. The people were friendly. I find God’s Word to be a vital part of my life. The encouragement and truths that it contains are unmatched by any other writings on earth. The message compared/contrasted the 12-year-old girl who died and the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. He spoke of both females who had loving fathers who sacrificed for them to help them. The pastor did a good job.
After church we drove around some neighborhoods looking at the unique architecture that this city has. My brother, who is an architect, would really like all of the different styles and colors used. We saw a house that Hannah calls the Cactus house. There are so many cacti growing on this lot you can’t see the house. I also didn’t realize how many different types of cacti that there are. I have never been a fan of the southwest landscape but did see a beauty in it today that I hadn’t seen before. Even in this harsh environment, life still blossoms. Many cacti produce beautiful flowers. Many different styles, shapes and colors to these plants.
We went out to lunch to a vegan restaurant called The Giving Tree. It was very good. My food had a bite to it, well, a bite by my standards. We all were satisfied, and Hannah and I brought home some leftovers. We were contrasting how we feel after eating our old ways verses after eating a meal that is completely good for our bodies. It’s different! The old way causes you to feel full, bloated, tired and a bit uncomfortable. Eating only food that our body needs gives you a feeling of satiety and comfort. No bloating or feeling full. We are making an effort to look at the positives that come with making these diet and lifestyle choices.
Tiff appears to be showing some subtle improvements. She continues to have spells of lightheadedness off and on throughout the day. I feel that they are lessening in severity and occurrence. Her blood sugars continue to have some fairly large spikes, but overall are staying in the low to mid 100s. She sleeps a bit more than the “normal person.” She lays down at least once daily for about an hour to rest. I’m encouraging this as the goal is to strengthen her heart which requires that it also gets rest. Her ability to be active is also improving slightly. This next week we begin daily exercise. The plan is to do two 10-minute daily walks initially and then increase as she is able to tolerate.
We had a group discussion with my sister-in-law, who is a physician. She is one of only a handful of people that I know who have overcome addictive behavior successfully and for the long term. She was a wealth of encouragement and guidance for us. She gave good advice on stretching and its benefits, the benefits of using Overeaters Anonymous meetings for support, how to look for hidden sugars in food and a good type of healthy bread to buy. She also recommended some good information that is in the book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” – that was unexpected 😊.
Day 5 is done, day 6 is on the way. In the words of the Apostle Paul “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 4:13