The Good News

I have good news to share! I am totally and completely healed from all the symptoms I was experiencing since June of ‘08 (the dizziness had been from August of ‘05). No more dizziness, no more hives, no more itching, no more dermatitis (see pictures), no more eczema, no more blues, no more exhaustion, no more headaches!  God is good!



Just looking at this photo makes me, 1)praise God for healing! and 2)cringe in memory of the pain.  This isn’t even at it’s height.  This dermatitis had spread to my ring finger knuckle and most days was cracked and bleeding.  (Sorry to gross you out.)  You have no idea how great it feels to not feel bad!

Before

After

I can not give you a list or formula for your healing or success.  You must seek God’s will for your life.  It may be that you need to change your diet.  It may be that you need to cut certain things out of your life.  It may be that you need to add more physical activity.  It may be that you need to do a study of His Word and find out what it says about healing.  It may be that you need a revelation of the authority and power that has been given to us as believers (that’s what I needed).  No one will know the answer but you.  And whatever it is that you need to be doing, you will know, because it will bring you great peace.  Being in the center of God’s will always brings you peace.



There is a time for change in your diet and a time for taking supplements, but that must be by the leading of God.  Don’t seek out a formula.  Don’t be motivated out of fear of sickness and disease.  Put your trust in God and seek His will above all else.



What if you are doing everything right?  What if you are eating an impeccable diet?



You see, I was doing everything “right.”  And I only saw little results, not full healing.  It wasn’t until I recognized that the fight is not always in this physical world, it goes deeper.  I emphasize physical health a great deal on this blog, but we must not forget that we are spiritual beings, these bodies are just temporary.



II Corinthians 10:3-4
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.



Though we walk in the flesh–this natural, physical world, we do not war against the flesh–there is a spiritual world, that we cannot see and there is an enemy out there that wants to destroy us. He wants to keep us from our purpose. He will hit you at your weak points. My weak point was thinking that I could solve any issue with my diet and not putting full trust in God to keep me healthy. But our weapons are not carnal (not fleshly, not of this world, are not our food and vitamins), but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds! I don’t know about you, but that excites me!  It means my health is not determined wholly by my environment (much of which I can’t control).



We live in a fallen world. There are so many things wrong with our environment and our food supply that it is practically impossible to keep in perfect health (on your own). But it is not God’s will for me to be sick. He has a purpose for me and I cannot accomplish it if I am constantly tending to myself and obsessing about myself and feeling terrible.



This is one of the reasons He sent His Son.  Most importantly so that we can have salvation, but also to give us an abundant life on the earth. (John 10:10) If you are wondering what the Bible has to say on healing, I encourage you to start a study. There are many, many cases, in the gospels, where Jesus healed the sick. He says in Mark 11:23-24 that if we say to a mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and do not doubt in our hearts, but believe that we receive those things we ask, we will have them.



Do you have a mountain weighing you down right now? A stronghold in your life? Speak to that mountain and have faith that God will remove it.  Step out of the physical realm and into the spiritual.



John 14:14
If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. God wants to heal you.






Click here for a great article on healing scriptures that will build up your faith.

Get To The Root

I have said it before and I will say it again–most of our health issues are rooted in our diets (and the diets of our mothers and grandmothers, certain things we were born with, were because of their diets, but most can be reversed).

 

I thought I had found the root of the dermatitis I was experiencing–stress, and I detailed that here.  But I removed sources of stress in my life and slowed things down and saw a little recovery, but not full.  Anytime something came up, EVEN just having to leave the house(!), I would experience a flare-up.  On top of a patch of dermatitis on my hand, I was also experiencing eczema and hives on most of the rest of my body.  Not fun!!!

 

Through all this, I have tried my best to put my trust in the Lord and NOT lean on my own understanding.  Sometimes this is difficult for me, since I have studied up on health so much!  I just had to get to the point where I turned it TOTALLY over to the Lord and didn’t worry or think about it anymore, including no more research.

 

I was constantly reminded of the verse that says, “God is not the author of confusion,” so anytime a solution came to my mind that brought anxiety, I knew it wasn’t from God.  I only followed leadings that brought peace.  (For instance, I had thoughts of trying the GAPS diet, where you eliminate all grains, all dairy, and all starchy vegetables and fruit, but that brought me great anxiety.  I think GAPS is wonderful, but it wasn’t the answer for me at this time.)

 

One day, I felt the need to research hives and adrenals glands and low and behold (!), I found information that matched what I had been experiencing, PLUS other issues, like the dizzy spells I detailed here, and low blood sugar issues, mentioned here, hay fever, and quite possible the irregular cycles I’ve always experienced.

 

So, it seems I WAS correct in saying that our diet is the root of our problems.  I was experiencing stress, but that was because my adrenal glands were fatigued and couldn’t handle the stress properly.  (When your adrenal glands are tired, everything stresses you out.)  I am now focusing on healing the adrenals and am seeing bigger recovery.  My hand is almost 100% clear and the rest of the skin issues are greatly diminished as well.  

 

Here are the articles that helped me so much:

Adrenals & Allergic Response (hives are an allergic response, as is eczema and dermatitis) by Dr. Thomas Cowan

Adrenal Fatigue & Your Diet by Dr. Marcelle Pick

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue (My craving for salt started years ago, I had no idea that was related to adrenals!)

 

This is part of the Real Food Wednesdays Blog Carnival hosted by Cheeseslave and Kelly the Kitchen Kop.  This week’s topic is Real Food Testimonials, check out the link to read many more inspiring stories of how diet has changed people’s lives!

Personal Care 101

Last time I gave you a healthy alternative to deodorant.  Today, the topic will be natural soap.

 

This is an area that I splurge a little on.  Natural soap will cost you more than the store-bought fare.  This is because the soap you buy at the store is made with cheap ingredients and chemicals.  (But you might save on lotion if you switch to natural soap, read on.)

 

The truth is that the soap you buy at the store isn’t really soap, it’s detergent–none of them, not Ivory, not Dove, none!  Detergent is much harsher on your skin.  It strips your skin of its natural oils.  This is why I pay more for natural soap now.  My skin would get so dry and itchy in the winter, but that changed when I switched to natural soap.

 

Detergent bars found in the local grocery store and drug stores are made from petroleum.  In the process, the glycerin is removed.  Glycerin is a humectant, meaning it will pull moisture from the air into your skin.  The detergent maker’s remove the glycerin to sell separately.  Without glycerin in the bar, your skin is much drier.

 

Detergent bars also contain sodium laureth sulfate and/or sodium lauryl sulfate.  They are added to make the bar lather well, but there is debate on whether they are safe.

 

Check out this article on chemical levels in our kids.

 

Natural soap will not lather as well as detergent bars, but they clean just as well.  And your skin will thank you.  Another benefit is that the ingredients are from renewable resources.  We can grow more coconut and olive trees to produce their oil, but we can’t create more petroleum.

 

Soap made with coconut oil will produce the best lather, but it can be a bit more drying to the skin (not as much as detergent bars, though).  Soap made with olive oil will moisturize the skin better, but it will hardly lather.  You just have to find a bar that you like and you may have to get used to the idea of less lather.

 

There are a lot of great natural soaps available, at your local health food store and online.  You can support your local economy by finding a soapmaker in your area.  (Just ask them if they make their soap or if they melt and pour–meaning they bought a pre-made soap base and just added color and fragrance.)  If you are in Oklahoma, you can buy a range of natural personal care items through the Oklahoma Food Coop.

 

I use Kiss My Face brand Olive and Aloe bar.  (I use it as a body bar.  I will detail what I use on my face in a later post.)  It is primarily made with olive oil, so it moisturizes, and it was the most economically priced bar at my health food store.  The price on this bar is almost the same at Whole Foods, here in Oklahoma, and on Vitamin Shoppe.com.

I have also used Dr. Bronner’s Lavender bar.  This is a bar made primarily of coconut oil and so it does lather better, but it doesn’t moisturize as well as the Kiss My Face bar.  And it is a little more expensive than the Kiss My Face bar.

I like to keep foam pump dispensers in my kitchen and bathrooms for hand washing.  I really like to use Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds.  Sal Suds is a super concentrated liquid soap.  It is all-natural–no harmful ingredients, fragrances, or colors.  It is gentle on your skin.  

 

I switched to the foam pump dispensers when I had cracks on my hands and dermatitis.  Turns out the dermatitis was caused by stress, but switching to foam soap also helped.  Washing with full-strength soap was too harsh and was stressing my skin by drying it out.  The foam pumps dilute the soap, saving you money in the long run.

 

When my kids were babies, I used Sal Suds to wash their laundry, instead of Dreft.

I would like to try my hand at making some soap this year.  If I do, I’ll let you know how it turns out.

 

Stay tuned for more personal care alternatives, coming soon!