God's delicious feast!

You are what you eat, so eat well. A stupendous insight of civilizations past has now been confirmed by today's investigative, nutritional sciences. They have shown that what was once called "The Doctrine of Signatures" was astoundingly correct. It now contends that every whole food has a pattern that resembles a body organ or physiological function and that this pattern acts as a signal or sign as to the benefit the food provides the eater. Here is just a short list of examples of Whole Food Signatures.

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and science shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

More evidence of our Creator's wonderful wisdom!

Happy eating!

Arg.. the Watch Tower Dungeon!

I'm writing a scene in the first book of my Charleston series, Blossoms of Faith, and my heroine is imprisoned in the Watch Tower dungeon. It so happens that I've been to that very spot in my travels last year to Charleston, so it was especially real to me when I began to write the scene. I thought I'd post the picture of one of the prison cells that I took when I was down there. Obviously, they had just caught some pirates and had them chained up! But no worries, they were fairly subdued by the time we got there. Although they did make some rather crude propositions to my daughter. HA.

Being there really helped me to write the scene because I got a sense of the smells, feels, temperature, lighting..etc.. of the place. But you can be the judge when you read the book.

It so happens that I was reading today in Genesis the account of Joseph where he was thrown into the captain of the guard's prison for doing nothing wrong. And it appears from the text, that he may have spent at least 10 years there. What always astounds me about Joseph is that no matter what travesties befell him, he never turned away from God. He never got angry and bitter, never stopped praying or giving the glory to God. I believe this is one of the keys to living the full Christian life. You see, Joseph had a dream as a young man, a promise from God, and he never stopped believing it would come true. Because of that, it says in Genesis 39:21 that "The Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love.... and later in verse 23 "The Lord was with him and caused everthing he did to succeed."

And if you remember the story, you'll also remember that at God's appointed time, Joseph was freed from the prison and made ruler over all Egypt. All in one day! When God's time comes, He works very quickly!

The Red Pill of the Blue Pill?

I watched part of the movie, The Matrix, last night on TV. I've seen it a couple of times before, but it never ceases to affect me in a deeply spiritual way. I'm not a science fiction fan, but this movie is such a strong allegory for spritual warfare that it cannot be ignored. I have no idea if the writers of the movie intended it to be this way or not. If you haven't seen it, the storyline goes that mankind has been captured by an evil, intelligent computer system and is using us as food to power their machines. To keep mankind passive, they have created a virtual world much like our modern day life and they are feeding this illusion into our minds while in reality we exist in prison cells in a commotose state. Some humans have escaped from their prison and are fighting these machines while trying to awaken the other humans who go about their lives in this fake reality. There is a prophesied "messiah" who is supposed to come and save all of mankind (Sound familiar) and at the beginning of the story, the prophet offers him a choice. The blue pill or the red pill. If he takes the blue pill, he will go on with his life, living in blissful ignorance. If he takes the red pill, he will wake up and see the truth of where he truly is--in a prison cell and after escaping, he will face hardship and war. The disccusion between the prophet (Morpheus) and the messiah (Neo) when he offers this choice is quite astounding if you listen from a Christian Perspective. He tells Neo that he knows that Neo has "felt" that there is something wrong with the world. That things are not as they should be. Have you ever felt that way about our world? I have, and I did even before I got saved. Then he offers him the choice.

This world is just a shadow of reality. It is a nebulous haze that is ruled by an evil, intelligent being called Satan who enslaves everyone of us and then tries to trick us and deceive us into thinking everything is fine. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that we see now through a glass darkly, and in Ephesians that that there is a whole world we do not see filled with demons, and principalities and powers, and angels in the heavenly realms. There is a battle going on right over your head and even around you, but you can't see it. Paul tells us that this world is nothing compared to the glory that is to come and that we should keep our eyes not on what we see, but on what we do not see. For what we see is temporary, but what we do not see is eternal.

Everyone in this world is confronted with a choice. Will you receive the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for you and take the red pill and have your spiritual eyes opened? or you will reject the offer, take the bule pill and live out your days serving yourself and loving your own ignorance.

The choice is yours.

And like Mopheus said, if you take the red pill, you are in for the ride of your life!

Wrestling with God

Have you ever read the story in Genesis 32 where Jacob spent the night wrestling with God? I find that story so fasincating. It always stops me and gets me thinking. What started this holy wrestling match anyway? Did the Lord appear and Jacob started arguing with Him? Did he challenge God? Did he ask for something God refused to give him? Who jumped on who first? And why? Surely God could just have said a word and Jacob would have been frozen solid or disabled in some way. Why would the Lord spend an entire night wrestling with one of his creations? Absolutely fascinating.

Yet. . .

During your prayer time or Bible reading, have you ever felt as though you were wrestling? I have. Sometimes I feel as though I'm fighting my way through some thick wall or mass of sludge just to speak with God or hear His Words in return. Now, I know that most of that opposition is the enemy, for in Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that we wrestle against "against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

But let me suppose that some times God allows these battles--even participates in them perhaps. For what reason? To test us.

1. What are we willing to sacrifice to know Him?

2. How hard are we willing to work to do His will?

3. How important to us is His blessing, His favor, His salvation?

For Jacob, to know God and receive His blessing meant everything. We already know he held God's birthright, or salvation in High Esteem because he tricked his elder brother out of it when they were younger. Here, we see Jacob willing to lose a night's sleep, willing to exert himself to the fullest of his strength, and willing even after he was injured to NOT LET GO OF GOD, until He received all God came to give him.

This is why God chose Jacob over Esau and this is why we see his story written for so many generations to read.

How about you? Where is your heart? How much are you willing to sacrifice, how hard are you willing to struggle? How important is God's salvation to you?

Fool's Gold

Yesterday, in honor of President's day, my daughter and I went and saw the movie, Fool's Gold. Once I saw that the movie was set in the Caribbean and was about sunken treasure, I hoisted my sails and sped for the theaters. I mean, so what if it got terrible reviews? Well, I'm here to tell you that my daughter and I found the movie quite enjoyable. What's not to like about Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson sailing upon emerald waters surrounding glistening white sand searching for Spanish gold? So what if the plot wasn't all that intricate and the dialogue not all that riveting? I'm not looking for an award winning film when I go see a movie. I'm looking for entertainment. But I will give you a fair warning. There are a couple of spots in the film which I would consider quite racy and completely unnecessary. A flash of breasts and some cussing which added nothing to the story, but rather stole its dignity. I'm not sure why Hollywood sees it necessary to add offensive material that serves no purpose. But, I digress.

If, during this cold, long winter, you'd like to escape for a few hours of exquisite Caribbean scenery and a fun love story, complete with nasty villains and treasure chests filled with doubloons, then set sail for your nearest theater, grab some popcorn and enjoy.

What does God want from us?

I think the world often has the wrong idea about who God is and what exactly He wants from us. And for many years, I guess I did too. I thought He was this demanding, grumpy Father who just didn't want me to have any fun. I thought He was someone to fear, not in the reverential sense but in the go hide in the closet when I've done something wrong sense. Even after I developed a relationship with Him, I still trembled every time I made a mistake and did my best to keep all His rules. But recently, I've been reading through Genesis and an odd theme has jumped out at me. None of the "great" men of God, the "great heros" in God's eyes did everything right. In fact, most of them did lots of things wrong. But, I did notice certain traits in each that set them apart from others.

1. Abraham - Known for his extraordinary faith, lied twice to kings, telling them that his wife was his sister because he feared for his life. Why wasn't he trusting God? Then he went outside of God's will, lost patience for God's timing and plan and birthed a child with his wife's serving maid.

But you know what 2 qualities stood out to me about him. Humility and Obedience

2. Jacob - A swindler and a liar, he tricked his brother out of both his birthright and his blessing. But Jacob's redeeming qualities: Perserverence and a high regard for God. Remember Jacob was the one who wrestled with an angel of the Lord all night long and wouldn't let go until the angel blessed him.

3. What about Joseph? Talk about a spoiled rotten prideful kid. He taunted and bragged and flaunted his father's favoritism so much before his brothers that they wanted him dead. But if you look at his life, through all the temptations, the heartache and the long years in prison, he never compromised and he gave all the glory to God.

4. And don't even get me started on David. He was called by God "a man after My own heart" Yet, he murdered and committed adultery. Why did God say that about David? If you study his life, you'll see he loved God with all his heart, regardless of the sin in his life.

What is God looking for? A bunch of perfectionists and rule-following robots?

What I see in these great giants of faith is: Humility, Perseverance, and a Love for God that outweighed everything else.

"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" Micah 6:8

"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chron 16:9

Read a Chapter a Week from new Titles

The Whole Truth
by James Scott Bell
Zondervan

"The gritty tale will have readers cheering for Steve as he desperately tries to put the pieces of his life back together. The scenes and characters jump off the page to create a startling, emotionally stirring story." – Romantic Times

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Decked Out (#7 in the Yada Yada series)
By Neta Jackson

Turkey dinners, tree trimming, and decking the halls--it's that time of year again! And I, Jodi Baxter, can't wait to celebrate. My kids are coming home for the holidays, and then all of us Yadas are getting decked out for a big New Year's party.

But God's idea of "decked out" might just change the nature of our party plans. A perplexing encounter with a former student, a crime that literally knocks me off my feet, a hurry-up wedding, and a child who will forever change our family . . . it's times like these that I really need my prayer sisters.

This holiday season, we Yada Yadas are learning that no one can out-celebrate God. So let's get this party started!
To read excerpts from these great new title visit Chapter-a-Week

Ten minutes on stage

What if life is merely an act in a play? Behind the curtain to the right, your birth pushes you out onto the stage, and to the left, you exit in death. Beyond the curtain exists an eternal world that is beyond your comprehension. Because all you can see, all you can hear, and feel is the stage. Your alloted time before the audience is exactly 10 minutes. And during that 10 minutes, you are given a task to perform, a role to play, important things to do that impact lives and destinies of others either on the stage with you or who have not yet made their entrance. On the stage is everything you need to complete your task, to fulfill your destiny. What you do in that 10 minutes determines what you will be doing for all of eternity. Just 10 minutes. What will you do?

Will you, like most people on the stage, spend your time gathering arm loads of "things" that give you momentary happiness? Will you seek the comfort of the beds and chairs strewn about and spend your time napping and resting? Will you sit at the huge table centering the stage and feast on all the delights set upon it? Will you allow the other poeple on the stage to distract you or dissuade you from fulfilling your destiny?

What will you do?

All of eternity is waiting to find out.

"Will you set your mind on things above or will you remain double-minded and half-hearted and spend your God-given tenure on earth making no discernable difference?" Beth Moore.

Lost Sawyer fans - get your nickname

Okay, I admit it, I'm a die-hard LOST fan. I can't help it. The writers of that show are stupendous. I not only watch it because I enjoy the show tremendously, but because I hope to learn something about good writing. Put together fascinating characters with deep problems and intricate pasts, lots of edge-of-your-seat tension, conflict, romance, and tons of surprises that will make your head spin, and you've got a great show and great novel.

Anyway, I thought it might interest some of you who have read The Restitution, that I modeled the hero, Kent Carlton, on the character Sawyer from LOST, not only in looks but in personality. What do you think? Did I do a fair job?

If you know the show. Sawyer never calls anybody by their real names. He has a nickname for everyone. So, when a friend of mine told me about this website where you can ask Sawyer to generate a nickname for you...I couldn't resist.

I hope you can't either: Sawyer's Nickname Generator

By the way, mine was: MilqueToast. LOL

Leave me a comment and let me know what yours is too.

Trouble sleeping?

You are not alone. Over 70 million Americans report having insomnia from time to time. If you're like me, I've battled this problem all my life. Part of it is just having a nervous disposition, part of it is this darn creative brain of mine won't shut down! But I think part of it is the stressful world we live in. For us Christians, I could also include a demonic influence that disturbs our sleep. After all, the Devil would love nothing more than have us walking around like zombies, unable to do God's work. Don't you think he'd assign some nasty demon to try and keep us up all night? Paul tells us in Ephesians that we do not battle against flesh and blood.

There's a couple of things I would suggest and that have worked for me, by experience.

1. Read the word of God out loud before going to bed
2. If possible, fill your house with praise music as often as you can (demons hate this!)
3. Write out your favorite verse, one that gives you peace, and put it close to your bed.
4. Pray as you are falling asleep.
5. Recite and remember the following scriptures on sleep:

"You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." Psalm 4: 7-8

"You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap." Proverbs 3: 24-26

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat for he grants sleep to those he loves. " Psalm 127:1-3

If you read the entire chapters associated with these scripture, you'll find the key to being able to claim these promises. You must be fully committed to God. You must fear God. You must allow Him to be the one building the house of your soul.

Sweet dreams!

Chapter a Week!

Here's some new titles that may interest you!

Learning to Fly by Roxanne Henke
New mom, Susan Schaffer, looks down at her newborn daughter, Lily, and wonders if she has what it takes to be a great mom. Each stage seems to bring a new challenge and Susan is filled with doubt. A chance meeting with former classmate, JoJo Nash, also a new mom, gives the two mothers a friendship to help each other, and their daughters, learn and grow. As the girls approach high school graduation their mothers are faced with the question: Are the girls ready to `fly' on their own? Learning to Fly is a novel about living, loving and letting go.
Andrea Sisco of Armchair Interviews writes: "All the self-help books or parenting classes in the world will not score a direct hit like Henke's message...a must read for all mothers and mothers-to-be. "

Forty to Life by Dave Jackson

"He came to pay a debt he didn't owe
Because I owed a debt I couldn't pay."
Murderer. It's a word few people ever expect to apply to them. But for fourteen-year- old Ray, it's suddenly a reality. Provoked by a gang leader into the random shooting of an innocent guy, Ray now faces a forty-year sentence in Chicago's infamous prison system. As far as Ray is concerned, it might as well be for life.
In prison, Ray finds his gangbanger ties difficult to escape and even necessary for survival. Just when he's resigned himself to this new existence, though, Ray receives an unexpected gift--forgiveness. Even as he learns that the source of this forgiveness is God, Ray struggles with accepting it. And then the ultimate test comes: When faced with the man who ruined his life, can Ray extend the same forgiveness that has been handed to him?
Reviews:
Forty to Life reads ... like a documentary account ... taking you into life on the mean streets of Chicago." --Randy Brandt, contend4thefaith. org
To read excerpts from these interesting new titles go to Chapter-a-Week

The Rainbow - God's convenant

In Genesis 9, after Noah and his family survive the flood and walk out of the ark onto dry land, God makes a covenant with them, but not only with them but with every living creature. Did you know that? I never realized that. Now, a covenant is a promise, a vow, or a pledge, sort of like a legal binding contract, and it's important to note that God never breaks His convenant.

Here it is in verse 9-11

"I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

God always uses something as a symbol or sign of a convenant He is making. In the covenant He made with the Israelites, it was circumcism. In the new covenant He made with all who believe in His son, Jesus, it is water Baptism. In this covenant, it was a rainbow.

What I found interesting was in verse 14-15: "Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind."

I always thought that the rainbow was for us to remember God's promise, but in truth, God says it's so He will remember. Then I wondered why God would need to remember anything. He's God after all. Then it dawned on me. God knew that in the distant future, He would once again look upon the earth and see nothing but violence and evil and be sorry once again that He made man. When in his anguish He would desire to wipe us out with a flood, He would pull from the heavenly files, the contract he made with Noah and fling it into the sky so that He wouldn't follow through with his desire.

So, the next time you see a rainbow, don't just stop and admire it's beauty, stop and consider that God put it there to stay His Almighty hand from wiping us out because I have a feeling things are far worse today than they were in Noah's Day.

The winner of Lady of Milkweed Manor is....

Tracee! Please send your address to my email. You can contact me from my website. And I'll send the book to you asap! And thanks to everyone who entered!

Arg, me Flintlock pistol

I just had to share. I'm so excited! Sunday was my birthday and my wonderful, incredible husband got me the greatest gift ever. A 17th Century replica of a Flintlock pistol! I know most women like flowers or a new dress or jewelry, but my husband has learned to deal with my oddities quite well. In fact, he doesn't even flinch when he asks me what I want for my birthday or our anniversary and I say a cutlass, a cannon ball, an old ship compass, a bicorn or better yet, a treasure map! (In fact, I think he quite enjoys it) Anyway, see how great the pistol looks on my writing desk? Perfect.

You and your household

Another thing about Noah that struck me was that in Genesis 6:8, right after God was declaring how wicked people were and how grieved He was that he made them, it says: But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. It doesn't say that Noah and his wife and sons found favor in the eyes of the Lord, does it? Only Noah. The very next verse says this: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. I'm going to assume here that Noah's wife and son's were not as righteous and blameless as he was. The next chapter repeats this The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation.

This is my question: Why did the Lord allow Noah's family to be saved even though only Noah was righteous? I believe because as you read and search scriptures, you will see that God is a God of families. He created families. He is the ultimate Father. He understands the intense love that exists (or should exist) in families. He saves whole families. Now, I'm not saying that members of a family are automatically saved by the belief of one member. I'm saying that if one member is a solid Christian who loves the Lord, who serves the Lord and who is fervently praying for his or her family to be saved, they will be. They will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at some point. The Bible is filled with passages about God blessing and saving families because of one righteous member.

Consider Lot (who was a pretty sorry dude). Over and over God rescues him for Abraham's sake. So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived. Genesis 19:29

In Joshua, the prostitute Rahab was saved along with her entire family because of her faith in the God of Israel.

And don't forget the jailer who asked Peter after Peter was miraculously delivered out of prison:

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

So, don't be disheartened. Search the scriptures for other instances where God saves families and descendants of the righteous. And pray, pray, pray and fast for your lost loved ones! Don't give up. God is a Father and He understands your love as well as your fears.

Lady of Milkweed Manor

As most of you know, I don't do reviews. I read books, and if I like them, I give away my used copy. Plus I give you a general idea of the story and a splattering of my opinion. I wanted to read Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen, mainly because it is a Regency and I just finished writing a Regency. Regencies are quite popular in the secular market and I think they might be finding a market in the Christian market.

I have to admit, this story took me by surprise from the very beginning. The premise is most unusual for the Christian market. It's about a young lady, the daughter of a vicar, who becomes pregnant outside of marriage (An incredible scandal in those days!) She is sent to a Home for such women by her angry and unloving father. The manor she is sent to is for women of lower birth than Charlotte, so not only is she lonely and frightened, but she feels completely out of place once she gets there. As the story progresses, we find out the circumstances surrounding her condition, the sad tale of her unloving family, the men who have loved her, and we feel a strong affection for Charlotte and her unfortunate situation.

The story had a dark, almost depressing feel to it, and it seemed to me that the heroine, Charlotte just allowed life to happen to her, she just swayed one way or the other driven by circumstance and never really stood up for herself. All in all, I enjoyed the story and obviously felt an attachment to the characters. (to the credit of Ms. Klassen) There's a wonderful twist at the end that is well worth reading to the last page to discover.

If you'd like to win this free copy of The Lady of Milkweed Manor, leave me a comment and I'll enter your name for a drawing...TBA next Wednesday, Feb 6th.