A World Without Wheat

Imagine your world if you removed one of the most frequently used grains in all of modern times - wheat. Yes, I am talking about one of the most mass-produced bumper crops of all time. Wheat has, in fact, become so frequently used that the original crops were very, very distinctly different to today's genetically modified products.
It is that modification and 'purification' (to the point of too much refinement) that wages war against my stomach. No, I do not have celiacs disease (thankfully) but I do share a large variety of symptoms with sufferers. For simplicities sake, let's just say I cannot eat wheat at all. Gluten itself does not appear to be a major issue, as barley and oats (both containing this substance) do not affect me at all. As for wheat, well.
Oh - did I mention 95% of commercial foods found at Woolies contain wheat?! No kidding, it's scary once you start looking.

So, where does one go without wheat? Well, that's the incredible thing. There are so many other grains we rarely use because wheat takes centreplace. It is also important to note here that these other grains are not nearly as genetically modified as wheat crops, and therefore a lot better nutritionally. Also, I cannot eat these grains processed as it is that process (as well as addition of preservatives, etc) that affect my stomach.
These are some of the grains I have discovered (so far) that are not only beneficial to eat and stay in my stomach, but are also considerably nutritious and delicious!

Oats



Rolled, ground - as porridge or used as flour in baking, oats are high in fiber and contain some protein. I have found rolled oats particularly useful in a variety of cooking experiments, as a substitute for any of the gluten free flours containing various additives/grains I cannot eat, and therefore cannot use.







Pearl Barley

This beautiful grain is low GI (that means it digests slowly, and stabilised blood sugar levels) and very filling. Not to mention it tastes delicious and cooks up in a similar manner to rice - providing it is cooking for a long time. It is especially delicious as porridge.





Buckwheat

Ah, buckwheat. It has such a beautiful, nutty flavour. Well, I like it. It is especially wonderful in biscuits and does cook up like rice, however it does not expand.  I like eating it sprinkled, raw, on top of cooked porridge. Yum.







Brown & White Rice Varieties


Rice! No more needs saying, really. But, to be honest, I am not a huge fan of rice, especially as it is high GI and mostly starch. bleh. But, brown rice flour is especially useful in cooking. It has its place. Unfortunately though I cannot eat rice noodles as they contain corn.

The New Normal

(This is how my life has felt lately. Also my stomach, and, I'll admit, the emotions. Now it's beginning to look more like a Lake... with a few whirlpools ;) )

Finally, at last, this upside-down world of mine is beginning to find some sensible order.
I am finally regaining my sanity =P as well as discovering a new depth to many of the pre-existing things in my life.
It feels as though my entire world was shifted, and the course of my life altered - but why? This I cannot say, only that I know God has been and will continue to be sovereign over everything, and I certainly give Him permission to do so.
Oh, and did I also need to mention that, in the midst of these hard, trying months, I have not been dramatizing in order to make up a story, and certainly not for gaining sympathy. (I hate being pitied. yerch.)
It has been probably, if not definitely, the most difficult, growing experience I have yet... experienced. Perhaps that means it was pretty difficult, or perhaps that I am soft (both? ;) )... but in the end it doesn't really matter. What matters is the end result, and, well, I believe it is somewhat (rather, a lot) closer to completion (that is to say, this butterfly may finally have obtained its wings), although, as I am not God, I cannot entirely say, and therefore must leave it trustfully in His hands. His loving, caring Hands.

My New 'Normal' life includes the thrilling news of, well, recovery! I cannot believe that it has taken me so long, and it feels absolutely wonderful to be able to walk around, do 40 squats a day (hehe, building muscle) and begin to focus on 'normal' aspects of life again. Tafe can begin again (groan) and I have already been back to work.

So, what have I learnt through all this? A lot. Enough to fill the pages of many books. Perhaps someday that book I will write. Oh, and speaking of books, in the last few weeks I have been inspired (as occasionally and rarely happens) to write, and write I will. I have already begun the intricate research and yesterday began writing. What am I writing? Come back here to find out - something fictional, intriguing, and very relevant.

In the Midst of it All - To Soar on Eagle's Wings

"29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

What a well known verse. For some, it is simply something we have memorised time and time again from sunday school up. We know it, recite it, and use it, yes. But do we really know it? 
This verse has become very personal for me over the past few months. I am finally heading in a generally good direction - at last I can see that light at the end of this tunnel - but let me tell you, I still have difficult days. And it is because of this verse, and many others like it, that I still hold on in those difficult days. Hold on to the life in those verses. Hold on to the word of God. There is life in that word; at times it is the only thing keeping me alive. I can only say that I am grateful to know firsthand that those words are all true. All of them. 

Recently (a few weeks ago) I was comissioned  by a friend to paint some worship banners. God led me to firstly paint the design onto paper, and then paint the finished product once the materials arrived. At the same time (I had forgotten about these banners) I ended up writing a 3:00am sermon on the very verses above. Turns out my paints arrived the same week and I literally ended up painting these eagle banners and writing my eagle sermon in the same week - I even finished them on the same day! Coincidence? Ah, no.

Sermon Notes - From Real Life Experience -Eagle's Wings

"I want to look at these few verses in a very detailed manner. I believe there is a great depth to this passage - a depth that can be easily missed if one skips through or lightly reads these few verses. Yes, it is fairly easy to grasp the main context of the verses, but I also believe that there is actually a lot more detail to each and every one.
To explore this possibility, I am going to pull apart each verse and in a variety of ways and translations. Today we will look at verse 31.
"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength."

The first thing that catches my attention is the fact that this sentence begins with 'but'. The use of this term states that a fact will follow. This fact states that despite everything (circumstance or otherwise), 'this is what is going to happen anyway.'
'Those who hope.' Looking at the word hope, we know this is the verb refferring to the action of believing in, waiting in expectation, and desiring with anticipation. The definition of the word 'hope' as found in the dictionary is described as such:
In use as a noun, the word hope is described as: noun. expectation - expectancy - expectance - trust.
In use as a verb, the word is described as: verb. trust - expect - anticipate.
In summary, hoping (or 'to hope') is the act of, or believing in a greater good regardless of the situation or the circumstances. This is more often than not very difficult thing to do and can oinly truly occur by the grace of God. Yet it is actively choosing to hope in spite of everything when we are truly hoping; even if we do not 'feel like it' or there is no immediate relief from a difficult situation. It is the hope in that situation which defines us.

'Those who hope - in the Lord' - The latter part of the verse explains to us where we are to place this hope. The only place for us to put our complete trust in, and to wait in expectation for and with anticipation is Christ. We hope in Him, that is to say, we believe that because the Bible declares it - and we choose to believe that the 'greater good' we seek and long for can only be found in Him.
This verse has no mention of placing our hope in people, places, items or circumstances. God is the only being who can do anything about changing our circumstances, and placing our hope in anything else (perhaps we are even doing so when we 'hope the clouds give us rain today' ) is completely pointless.
'Those who hope in the Lord' . We will return to this half of the verse in a moment. Now, let's look at the second half of the verse.


'will renew their strength.'
I'll begin with looking at the word 'will'. Simple though it is, this word describes to us a very strong action. The word in this form is expressed as a promise. When one reads this verse, the word 'will' stands out as something that we know to be an unquestionable fact.
Will is not 'maybe', or 'might', nor is it 'won't'. God is saying, very clearly, that he will do something - there is no possibility of Him doing otherwise. To me, that reads like a very strong promise. And we also know that:

"God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?Numbers 23:18-20"
This speaks very clearly of the fact that God keeps His promises. When He makes one (as above), He will (there is that word again) undoubtedly bring it to completion.

More often than not, the word 'will' preceedes another action word. In this case, it does.
'renew their strength.' The thing that I find interesting here is the use of the word 'renew' - and notice that wording used is not simply 'repair, replace' or even, 'give them strength'. Renew means to be made as new. And in reality, renewed cells are a whole lot better than the worn out originals, and will last a lot longer. Being made as new means the replacement of old - which results in a better outcome! God is not only doing something amazing here, but He is ensuring we don't settle for second best, but rather are made whole and completely renewed. Isn't that amazing?!

Let's put our verse together.
"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength."
Reading that slowly, it begins to make sense, doesn't it? But (the fact of the matter is) those (you and I) who hope (wait in anticipation, expectantly) in the Lord will (no question about it, no maybe) renew (be made as new, if not better) their strength. (Their strength being their source of ability, this being found in Christ.)


"They will soar on wings like eagles;"
I particularly want to focus on this verse. The eagle stands out to me the most - but we will come back to him in a moment.
Notice again the use of the word 'will'. Again, we read this like a promise. It states a following fact.
'soar on wings'. Notice that it does not merely say fly, or flap. Soaring is the expression of ultimate freedom that can only be found at great heights and where there are no forms of restraint. Soaring is the freedom to fly wherever and whenever - carried by the high winds with little effort or exhaustion. Wings are also an expression of freedom. They are strong, powerful, and defy the force of gravity.
Soaring means also to fly at a great height, freely, without fear. This absence of fear, as expressed by the eagle, if simply because the eagle is the largest predator in its habitat and the bird has no need to fear. There is nothing greater than the giant bird and it need not live in fear of its life, constantly checking over its shoulder or hiding at the slightest movement. Is this not how we are to be in Christ? Free from fear, or the restraint of living in constant fear. God intended us to soar - without worry, anxiety or fear.
'as eagles'

The eagle. Picture a large bird, distinctly larger than all the other birds, flying high up in the sky. He is so large that, even at a far distance you can still see him very clearly. He is circling, hovering, and not once do you see the creature flap its wings or appear to be struggling. The great bird hovers way up there in the sky, slowly moving in the sky as it floats on the high wind currents majestically. Not only are you filled with terror (that is, if you take the form of a mouse or even a small dog) but you are also filled with a sense of awe. One can not help but stop, and admire this grand creation.
To truly appreciate what it means for us as Christians to 'soar as eagles', we must dig deeper into our knowledge of this symbolic animal.
The eagle is a majestic, powerful animal and has long been known as one of the grander creatures. It is strong, fierce, powerful and extremely intelligent, and each unique aspect of this creature has been carefully designed.
Take, for example, the bird's eyes. They have been designed in such a way as to allow to light to enter at a fast rate, enabling clear vision even at a remarkable distance. They sense movement immediately, enabling the bird to see prey from a great distance away.
The eagle derives its name from the words aquila (meaning agile), and aquilo (meanining north wind). While being known as a fiercesome bird of prey, one remarkable factor has been noted about how the eagle hunts. It has long been observed in all kinds of falcons and predatory birds that proir to making the attack, the birds look over their shoulder to ensure there is no danger of a predatory attack upon themselves before swooping. the eagle, however, is afraid of nothing, and it has been noted to be the only bird which does not do this.
All throughout history the eagle has been used as a symbol of stregth, majesty and boldness. It has been found on the flags, arms, and emblems of kings over many centuries and in a great number of nations. The wings were often used to represent flight, freedom and strength when added to a human form.
When we look more closely at this incredible creature, we can catch a glimpse of what God meant when He said we would 'soar as eagles'. He did not say we would waddle like ducks or flap like chickens - but rather, chose the most powerful and awed bird in the entire bird kingdom, and likened us to this creature - soaring freely in a way we certainly could not fly otherwise.
Other translations of this verse include the phrase 'mount up' instead of soar. This indicates that not only does the eagle soar once he is in the sky, he also rises above the rest in order to do so. He lives above the ground - living his full potential. He is blessed and living in his inheritance.
　
Thus, from this verse we have established the basis for some of these:

Promise.
Strength.
Purpose and direction.
Freedom.
Peace.
Joy in freedom.
No fear.
We should walk in these to the full, just as our Eagle 'soars' above all the other creatures with an effortless splendor.

~~~

And that - that has been my life over the past few weeks and months. Learning to rise above the pain, above the struggle, above the endlessness, and to soar - in the way that God would have one soar. The hardest part is getting beyond all that you know, and doing it afraid - regardless of the future. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Today. Flying today. For the now.
 

Updates on, well.... Updates

I am not sure just how much updating one can do without it becoming boring. For that I do apologise, and very sincerely. However there are some who want more current updates and so I must elaborate on the previous updatedness.
Yes, I am still keeping food down! Only the selective few non-allergenic food types as previously listed, though. Anything orange still really dislikes me - oh - and egg is a major 'bad' food right now. Swede works, although I have discovered it tastes like squished brussels sprouts - yuck!
I am learning how to cook with very little ingredients and attempting to make some kind of variety of the menu.... which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Soup'd on the menu more often than not.
Food aside, I have been making some incredible progress physically and am (finally) beginning to weigh more than 40kg. Yay! Also I have gained my appetite back! and have started 'molting' - and am getting a new layer of skin in. Interesting. And... my hair is no longer falling out. That's always a plus. haha.

Oh, also, did I mention it's cold? Very cold? And I have no fat. That makes being warm difficult. I feel the cold. brrr. At 20 degrees I am shivering. Cold freezing winter.

As this is a quick update before I go away, I do not really have the time to waffle on about the latest revelations of mine. But be assured there are many of these, and they certainly will be updated on here in the near future - especially those partaining to all the incredible things God has been doing in my life latey. He's pretty awesome, and always has a greater good intended - even if we do not always see it, or agree with that plan.

Oh, and I finally returned to work after about 6 months away.... and it felt amazing! 4 hours was all I could manage but I was finally able to go back! They were all very welcoming and it felt so good to be back where I love doing what I do.

And as for Kaelen - well, apart from being a confused dog and thinking a pile of poo is a tennis ball.... yep, he's doing real well. Once I get back its serious training time.

~Anna