From Carl Cornwall:
Hello,
I have read your 30-day Cure blog with interest. Like you I have tried to find every possible rationale for not giving up a favorite food - in my case chicken wings ("they're not breaded", "oh, just one or two won't hurt", etc), but whenever I give them up my progress resumes. In your case, I noted your fondness for breaded fish - it is fish after all. Have you read the nutrition label carefully? Do you favor one of the brands that contains up to 14 grams of fat and 24 grams of carbs? Even the most lightly breaded brands I'm familiar with have 9 grams of fat and 15 grams of carbs. The latter may be acceptable once in a while after you've gotten youself back on track, but for now you might want to think twice about other alternatives. Wishing you the best of luck, and glad to hear you haven't given up!
- Carl
P.S. Thanks for the pointer to http://www.diabeticconnect.com. Perhaps I'll see you there.
P.P.S. I haven't read Dr. Ripich's book, so I can't possibly be violating his "trust" if I share with you the following article that might be of interest to other readers of your blog, nor - I think - would you be doing so if you attributed the reference to "one of your readers" - http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/can_cinnamon_help_you_control_your_diabetes/.
Personally, I think that anyone who charges money for this publicly available tidbit of information (first published as the result of studies funded by the U.S. National Instituts of Health) and encouraging readers to treat it as a secret is walking on shaky ethical ground. Especially when it was our tax dollars that paid for the research! But, that's just my opinion. You're certainly entitled to yours.
I have read your 30-day Cure blog with interest. Like you I have tried to find every possible rationale for not giving up a favorite food - in my case chicken wings ("they're not breaded", "oh, just one or two won't hurt", etc), but whenever I give them up my progress resumes. In your case, I noted your fondness for breaded fish - it is fish after all. Have you read the nutrition label carefully? Do you favor one of the brands that contains up to 14 grams of fat and 24 grams of carbs? Even the most lightly breaded brands I'm familiar with have 9 grams of fat and 15 grams of carbs. The latter may be acceptable once in a while after you've gotten youself back on track, but for now you might want to think twice about other alternatives. Wishing you the best of luck, and glad to hear you haven't given up!
- Carl
P.S. Thanks for the pointer to http://www.diabeticconnect.com. Perhaps I'll see you there.
P.P.S. I haven't read Dr. Ripich's book, so I can't possibly be violating his "trust" if I share with you the following article that might be of interest to other readers of your blog, nor - I think - would you be doing so if you attributed the reference to "one of your readers" - http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Amy-Campbell/can_cinnamon_help_you_control_your_diabetes/.
Personally, I think that anyone who charges money for this publicly available tidbit of information (first published as the result of studies funded by the U.S. National Instituts of Health) and encouraging readers to treat it as a secret is walking on shaky ethical ground. Especially when it was our tax dollars that paid for the research! But, that's just my opinion. You're certainly entitled to yours.
My reply:
Hello Carl,
Glad to hear from you and you are right about the breaded fish, that was not one of my better decisions. I have since stopped doing that one, at least. It was good of you to point out the flaw in my thinking, I need that from time to time. I still struggle with the weight loss, but am, I feel, eating more proper foods now and will be going to see my personal doctor on Tuesday -- which I am not looking forward to.
I also struggled with the idea of revealing the program that Dr. Ripich and Jim Healthy worked so hard to assemble into an entire program, and while I wish it did not look like I was being secretive and also trying to sell the book, I also did not want to break my own integrity in that area. You are right that the information about the cinnamon, and many of the other things in the book, can be found for free anywhere, but what cannot be found everywhere is the complete day by day program that Dr. Ripich has put together. I wanted to share my experience of the program without making their book of less value by spewing information that I did not have permission to spew. If a person decides to purchase the book and do the program I believe they will receive benefit from it, as I did -- but, in all fairness, there are many programs out there that might work for many different individuals.
I have pointed out where this particular program failed me, in the area of weight loss, but it did reduce my blood pressure, and did lower my A1c which is a blessing. There are others who did successfully reduce their weight using the program. I can see that the flaw in my weight loss is mine, but I have still not found what my particular livable solution is. I am still searching and testing that one.
It appears from your writing that you are counting grams like fat and carbs, which surely seems to work for most people. Perhaps I need to take another look at my fat numbers, because I believe my carb numbers to be realistically small, since I normally only eat vegetables and beans for carbs with only one starchy or whole grain carb per day. I did only yesterday purchase a loaf of Ezekial bread, to replace the popcorn carbs I was eating once a day. The portions will be much smaller with the bread, so that should head me in a better direction. I also threw out the popcorn when I found out how high it is on the glycemic index.
May I post your comment on my blog and use it as one of my daily blog entries? If you would prefer to be anonymous on the blog I will certainly make sure that happens. Please let me know if I may use it.
If you have other comments, I welcome them, and wish you good success.
Thanks and let me know how I can be of service to you in any way at all,
Kindest Regards,
Marcia
Glad to hear from you and you are right about the breaded fish, that was not one of my better decisions. I have since stopped doing that one, at least. It was good of you to point out the flaw in my thinking, I need that from time to time. I still struggle with the weight loss, but am, I feel, eating more proper foods now and will be going to see my personal doctor on Tuesday -- which I am not looking forward to.
I also struggled with the idea of revealing the program that Dr. Ripich and Jim Healthy worked so hard to assemble into an entire program, and while I wish it did not look like I was being secretive and also trying to sell the book, I also did not want to break my own integrity in that area. You are right that the information about the cinnamon, and many of the other things in the book, can be found for free anywhere, but what cannot be found everywhere is the complete day by day program that Dr. Ripich has put together. I wanted to share my experience of the program without making their book of less value by spewing information that I did not have permission to spew. If a person decides to purchase the book and do the program I believe they will receive benefit from it, as I did -- but, in all fairness, there are many programs out there that might work for many different individuals.
I have pointed out where this particular program failed me, in the area of weight loss, but it did reduce my blood pressure, and did lower my A1c which is a blessing. There are others who did successfully reduce their weight using the program. I can see that the flaw in my weight loss is mine, but I have still not found what my particular livable solution is. I am still searching and testing that one.
It appears from your writing that you are counting grams like fat and carbs, which surely seems to work for most people. Perhaps I need to take another look at my fat numbers, because I believe my carb numbers to be realistically small, since I normally only eat vegetables and beans for carbs with only one starchy or whole grain carb per day. I did only yesterday purchase a loaf of Ezekial bread, to replace the popcorn carbs I was eating once a day. The portions will be much smaller with the bread, so that should head me in a better direction. I also threw out the popcorn when I found out how high it is on the glycemic index.
May I post your comment on my blog and use it as one of my daily blog entries? If you would prefer to be anonymous on the blog I will certainly make sure that happens. Please let me know if I may use it.
If you have other comments, I welcome them, and wish you good success.
Thanks and let me know how I can be of service to you in any way at all,
Kindest Regards,
Marcia
Carl's further comment/reply:
Hello again, Marcia,
You may post anything that I share with you - with, or without attribution - unless I explicitly request that you don't. I only contacted you through this private channel because I could not find a way to comment directly on your blog site, and your struggle called out for a response (I must admit, I have not had time to read every one of your daily posts, so I may have missed where you dumped the breaded fillets). Anyway ...
Glad you came to your senses :-) but sorry to hear that hasn't been enough to kick-start your metabolic and endocrine systems. Hopefully your physician will take a holistic view, and if meds are suggested, they'll be considered as a temporary solution to help you establish a self-managed, natural regimen. In one of the more enlightening discussions I have had with my physician, he shared with me that "plan" physicians are encouraged to recommend various pharmaceuticals (such as Lipitor) to ALL patients even though they have no presenting symptoms that would justify the prescription. Fortunately, he is aware of my aversion to pharmaceutical treatments for conditions that can be managed without them, and he does not press the issue with me. Of course he DOES offer the gentle threat that "if my numbers get way out of line ..." he may have to reconsider.
I am not so much into carb and fat gram "counting" as I am into awareness of the nutritional content of the foods that I buy. Sure, I'd rather catch my own fish and grow my own vegetables, but that would not fit my current (suburban) lifestyle no matter how well it fits the one I grew up with in rural Pennsylvania. As for grass-fed vs corn-fed beef ... it's not like I eat steak every day ... more like once every week or two. With my luck, on the way home from an successful search for the healthiest steak on Earth I'll be hit by a speeding motorist who's distracted by the juice squirting out of a Wendy's Baconator.
It has been a tad over 10 years since I was introduced to the "low-carb" lifestyle - first through Atkins, who I thought was a bit extreme until I read past the media hype about "all the fat you can eat" - then through a "diabetes management" book based on the Protein Sparing Modified Fast (once, and maybe still, promoted by the Cleveland Clinic) along with Dr. Bernstein's original book which was recommended to me by my physician. I'll never forget how, once he realized I was serious about a lifestyle change, my "mainstream" doctor opened his desk reference and we spent the time required to calculate how to taper me off of the meds I had been taking in increasing doses for the previous 5 years (with each increase resulting in weight gain that required a higher dose ad infinitum ... except that I cried "UNCLE" when the scale tipped 255).
More recently, I was a total failure at Weight Watcher's style "tracking", but managed to attain my first 10% goal (dropping from 230 to 205 in 14 months) after several false starts by finding foods that fit my tastes and lifestyle, then walking 7 blocks to the grocery store nearly every day to purchase them. Unfortunately, work, travel and the onset of winter conspired to make that lifestyle change unsustainable. Seems to be a recurring theme .. on my previous excursion into the world of Dr's Atkins, Bernstein, Whitaker, et al I bottomed out at 180 before a lengthy series of field assignments shattered my resolve. I now hover around 210 ... 55 lbs above my ideal weight. But, I can't help remembering that I once got much closer ...
I try not to focus on the weight -- it really must be true that it is quality of life, not numbers, that matters. And if that is true, then it must be true that one must be clear about what makes one's life worth living in order to be able to "measure" the quality of one's life. For me, that means that I am able to walk to the top of a challenging trail to spend time listening to a silence broken only by birds chattering, the creaking of tree trunks and rustling of leaves in the wind, with a stream murmuring in the background; that I am able to continue to watch my children (20, 25 and 29) - and soon-to-be-1yr-old grandson - grow and to provide them with love, mutual entertainment, support and counsel. Looking at life through that lens gives me an entirely different perspective on those Buffalo Wings. When I consider that the price of "a wing a day" is leaving my family behind my response is markedly different from when I measure the cost in calories, grams, kilograms or mg/dl.
That, I suppose, is the benefit of daily prayer, or reflection, or meditation, or whatever one's faith calls for --- to remind us that it is not just about us, it is about all of the people whose lives touch ours, and through them all of the lives (of whose existence we may not even be aware) that prosper or suffer through our actions. Perhaps, that too, is incomprehensible, but I imagine it provides more food for thought than the question of which way the scale is going to move if we choose the cheesecake over the apple pie.
Regards,
- Carl
You may post anything that I share with you - with, or without attribution - unless I explicitly request that you don't. I only contacted you through this private channel because I could not find a way to comment directly on your blog site, and your struggle called out for a response (I must admit, I have not had time to read every one of your daily posts, so I may have missed where you dumped the breaded fillets). Anyway ...
Glad you came to your senses :-) but sorry to hear that hasn't been enough to kick-start your metabolic and endocrine systems. Hopefully your physician will take a holistic view, and if meds are suggested, they'll be considered as a temporary solution to help you establish a self-managed, natural regimen. In one of the more enlightening discussions I have had with my physician, he shared with me that "plan" physicians are encouraged to recommend various pharmaceuticals (such as Lipitor) to ALL patients even though they have no presenting symptoms that would justify the prescription. Fortunately, he is aware of my aversion to pharmaceutical treatments for conditions that can be managed without them, and he does not press the issue with me. Of course he DOES offer the gentle threat that "if my numbers get way out of line ..." he may have to reconsider.
I am not so much into carb and fat gram "counting" as I am into awareness of the nutritional content of the foods that I buy. Sure, I'd rather catch my own fish and grow my own vegetables, but that would not fit my current (suburban) lifestyle no matter how well it fits the one I grew up with in rural Pennsylvania. As for grass-fed vs corn-fed beef ... it's not like I eat steak every day ... more like once every week or two. With my luck, on the way home from an successful search for the healthiest steak on Earth I'll be hit by a speeding motorist who's distracted by the juice squirting out of a Wendy's Baconator.
It has been a tad over 10 years since I was introduced to the "low-carb" lifestyle - first through Atkins, who I thought was a bit extreme until I read past the media hype about "all the fat you can eat" - then through a "diabetes management" book based on the Protein Sparing Modified Fast (once, and maybe still, promoted by the Cleveland Clinic) along with Dr. Bernstein's original book which was recommended to me by my physician. I'll never forget how, once he realized I was serious about a lifestyle change, my "mainstream" doctor opened his desk reference and we spent the time required to calculate how to taper me off of the meds I had been taking in increasing doses for the previous 5 years (with each increase resulting in weight gain that required a higher dose ad infinitum ... except that I cried "UNCLE" when the scale tipped 255).
More recently, I was a total failure at Weight Watcher's style "tracking", but managed to attain my first 10% goal (dropping from 230 to 205 in 14 months) after several false starts by finding foods that fit my tastes and lifestyle, then walking 7 blocks to the grocery store nearly every day to purchase them. Unfortunately, work, travel and the onset of winter conspired to make that lifestyle change unsustainable. Seems to be a recurring theme .. on my previous excursion into the world of Dr's Atkins, Bernstein, Whitaker, et al I bottomed out at 180 before a lengthy series of field assignments shattered my resolve. I now hover around 210 ... 55 lbs above my ideal weight. But, I can't help remembering that I once got much closer ...
I try not to focus on the weight -- it really must be true that it is quality of life, not numbers, that matters. And if that is true, then it must be true that one must be clear about what makes one's life worth living in order to be able to "measure" the quality of one's life. For me, that means that I am able to walk to the top of a challenging trail to spend time listening to a silence broken only by birds chattering, the creaking of tree trunks and rustling of leaves in the wind, with a stream murmuring in the background; that I am able to continue to watch my children (20, 25 and 29) - and soon-to-be-1yr-old grandson - grow and to provide them with love, mutual entertainment, support and counsel. Looking at life through that lens gives me an entirely different perspective on those Buffalo Wings. When I consider that the price of "a wing a day" is leaving my family behind my response is markedly different from when I measure the cost in calories, grams, kilograms or mg/dl.
That, I suppose, is the benefit of daily prayer, or reflection, or meditation, or whatever one's faith calls for --- to remind us that it is not just about us, it is about all of the people whose lives touch ours, and through them all of the lives (of whose existence we may not even be aware) that prosper or suffer through our actions. Perhaps, that too, is incomprehensible, but I imagine it provides more food for thought than the question of which way the scale is going to move if we choose the cheesecake over the apple pie.
Regards,
- Carl
My reply:
Wow Carl, you are quite the moving writer.
I was really touched by your insights and am glad to share your comments as others may glean from your experience, too. I am posting all of our mutual comments in one post on my blog and hope that others are touched by not only what you had to say, but the way you said it, as I was. I loved your comment about the Baconator.
The main thing that really touched me in your letter was your sharing about your family and your grandbaby giving you a new perspective on "you" in their lives. That makes true sense and is of great value. I am sure that other readers may really relate to your conclusions here, too. I, on the other hand, have no children or grandchildren, or mate, so must look elsewhere for personal motivation and support.
I am wondering if my doctor may attempt to provide meds of some kind on Tuesday when I go to see her. I am leary of meds and often have bad reactions to them, so, I too would prefer something natural -- but have not found the solution yet. My doctor is an internist with a holistic side, and I have no idea what she will say when I show up weighing about the same as last time. At least I hope I will not have gained anything by her scale. (I have not by mine.)
I am going to continue with the Move it! Move it! flexing/exercising that I spoke of in my previous blog. I shall also continue the Aerofit for my 12 to 15 minutes before the pain gets too bad. A little more exercise should not hurt and might actually help. I know from past experience that exercising usually reduces the pain in my back if I am diligent about continuing with it, and am hoping that will happen this time, too. Of course, I was also seeing a chiropractor back then, which may have been the thing that made the difference. I shall see.
I can also see the Ezekial bread purchase must have been part of my "magical thinking" because I cannot control that carb either, so must throw the loaf out before I go bonkers with it. I have a fridge full of veggies and dairy products (cheeses, Greek yogurt) and need to AGAIN get back on track. I am thinking this may affect my numbers at the doctor's office on Tuesday, so will have to be extra careful tomorrow and Tuesday.
Weight is the one mountain in my life that I have not conquered and I have often become "accepting of the way things are" in this department for long periods of time. I guess the diet monster got waked up when I shared with my doctor. After some of the research I have been doing, I can see where my giving up the fight -- which I have done in the past -- seems tempting again, based on the "virus" that causes obesity, and after watching the thin people put on a few pounds by force eating, and then going back to normal when they were done without making any change except to go back to what they were doing before. That is exactly what happens for me in the opposite direction. I can diet all I want -- and even if I am successful for a time, it all comes back on. Like them, I return to what my body was and there seems no good way to change how I am. I keep turning this over to God and then taking it back again. I am not sure how to completely turn it over, so will ask Him about that.
Good luck and many blessings to you and yours and let me hear how you are doing from time to time, I really enjoyed your style.
Kindest Regards,
Marcia
I was really touched by your insights and am glad to share your comments as others may glean from your experience, too. I am posting all of our mutual comments in one post on my blog and hope that others are touched by not only what you had to say, but the way you said it, as I was. I loved your comment about the Baconator.
The main thing that really touched me in your letter was your sharing about your family and your grandbaby giving you a new perspective on "you" in their lives. That makes true sense and is of great value. I am sure that other readers may really relate to your conclusions here, too. I, on the other hand, have no children or grandchildren, or mate, so must look elsewhere for personal motivation and support.
I am wondering if my doctor may attempt to provide meds of some kind on Tuesday when I go to see her. I am leary of meds and often have bad reactions to them, so, I too would prefer something natural -- but have not found the solution yet. My doctor is an internist with a holistic side, and I have no idea what she will say when I show up weighing about the same as last time. At least I hope I will not have gained anything by her scale. (I have not by mine.)
I am going to continue with the Move it! Move it! flexing/exercising that I spoke of in my previous blog. I shall also continue the Aerofit for my 12 to 15 minutes before the pain gets too bad. A little more exercise should not hurt and might actually help. I know from past experience that exercising usually reduces the pain in my back if I am diligent about continuing with it, and am hoping that will happen this time, too. Of course, I was also seeing a chiropractor back then, which may have been the thing that made the difference. I shall see.
I can also see the Ezekial bread purchase must have been part of my "magical thinking" because I cannot control that carb either, so must throw the loaf out before I go bonkers with it. I have a fridge full of veggies and dairy products (cheeses, Greek yogurt) and need to AGAIN get back on track. I am thinking this may affect my numbers at the doctor's office on Tuesday, so will have to be extra careful tomorrow and Tuesday.
Weight is the one mountain in my life that I have not conquered and I have often become "accepting of the way things are" in this department for long periods of time. I guess the diet monster got waked up when I shared with my doctor. After some of the research I have been doing, I can see where my giving up the fight -- which I have done in the past -- seems tempting again, based on the "virus" that causes obesity, and after watching the thin people put on a few pounds by force eating, and then going back to normal when they were done without making any change except to go back to what they were doing before. That is exactly what happens for me in the opposite direction. I can diet all I want -- and even if I am successful for a time, it all comes back on. Like them, I return to what my body was and there seems no good way to change how I am. I keep turning this over to God and then taking it back again. I am not sure how to completely turn it over, so will ask Him about that.
Good luck and many blessings to you and yours and let me hear how you are doing from time to time, I really enjoyed your style.
Kindest Regards,
Marcia
Note: If you click on the word "comments" below that will open up a space to make a comment.
Hi Marcia,
ReplyDeleteYou know, after I sent that, I realized how insensitive such a commentary might seem to a solitary individual. (All the more so because I have had regrettable moments in which - before I came to my senses - I have wished that my life was unencumbered by such relationships). I am sorry if my oversight detracted from my closing thought, which was not so much about family as it was about ANYONE whose lives come into contact with our own.
Surely, unless you are a hermit (in which case I digress) you come into contact with others with some, however infrequent, regularity? With each contact (be it in person, by telephone, in traffic, by email, or in your blog postings or other means) you leave an impression, and with that impression - however fleeting it may seem to you - don't you influence the course of another's life? Isn't such daily person-to-person interaction the way in which God would prefer - through his servants - to make His presence known on this Earth? What can you do except live the life that was given to you according to the principles in which you believe? Methinks that giving our burdens over to the Lord is but a temporary expedient ... a respite that He gives us so that we can strengthen our resolve before taking those burdens back and assuming full ownership of them. For, in the end, it is we who are the masters of our destiny. He is only there to guide us.
- Carl
Hi Carl,
ReplyDeleteI too had second thoughts about my comment relating to your warm family feelings. I did, and do, understand that you are blessed and am grateful God has blessed you so much. I think it is truly wonderful. Thank you for sharing that precious part of your life.
I realized that I focused on that one area and did not look at the bigger picture you were actually talking about, for which, I apologize to you.
As far as giving my burdens to the Lord, I have a purely Christian view of that, and do trust that if I do give Him my burdens He knows what the solution is and will either guide me to what I need, or will bring to me what I need so that I will have His rest and not my burden to focus on -- as I believe it states in the following Bible verse:
Matthew 11:28-30 (Jesus says) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
I will be sharing in my next post about the wonderful thing the Lord did for me today. I am all excited about having new hope after having been so burdened and ashamed of my lack before that. God is so good to me -- and all of us!
Keep on keeping on.
Your friend,
Marcia
I am not even about to get into a detailed discussion of scriptural references with you, because you have obviously spent more time with them in the past hour than I have in more years than I care to admit. I respect that. My father, though not a "devout" Christian. He could never reconcile the gospel (which, like you, he could recite chapter and verse) with the slavery from which our people have emerged. As far as I can tell he suspended his disbelief enough to accept Christ as his Savior. I wasn't there on the day his heart just decided to stop beating while he was resting after taking my mom to the hospital for a test that couldn't be done 'cause she had a half an English Muffin an hour before, so I can't attest to his final thoughts on that matter.
ReplyDeleteHe did not encourage me to accept his beliefs, so you and I will have to agree to be bound by nothing more than this tenuous thread of caring that we each find a measure of balance in our lives that allows us to continue singing praises to our respective Lords.
- Best regards,
Carl
Dear Carl,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry to hear of your experience with the loss of your father. I can see that that still affects your heart deeply. There are just some memories we must set aside, and let life go on and the loss of our parents is certainly one of those things. I miss my mother, especially, and would love to hear my father's voice. Perhaps I shall when I pass to the other side, too.
As I think about how to reply to your comment I am reminded that loving and caring for one another means seeing who they are and loving them, either because of it or in spite of it. True love and respect does not treat those who are different from itself (in philosophy, or religion, or nationality, or history, or color or anything) differently than it would like to be treated.
From my own experience I know first hand that we humans are naturally so self centered, we often simply do not understand that our behavior really does affect others. It is not all about the self -- as you pointed out in one of your comments, we affect others just by breathing near them -- although that is my own oversimplified interpretation of your statement, which is, I hope, OK with you.
You are correct in thinking that I spend a lot of time in the scriptures. I read my Bible often, go to church, and teach a couple of different kinds of Bible studies for women. I also believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Redeemer -- and understand that you have chosen not to believe in Him. Choice is a personal thing and each one must make that decision and live with the effect, results, or consequences on our own.
The thing, of which I must remind myself, is that the actual gospel of Jesus Christ may differ from some people's beliefs about the gospel of Jesus Christ and there are many different degrees of practicing any religion from beginner to martyr.
There are folks who say they believe in Jesus, but never have a kind word for anyone. In a case like that it makes me wonder if they have really read their Bible, or sought the face of the Lord. I wonder if they have repented of their sins and found the solace and joy that is available in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is so very personal, yet there is a public "persona" called "Christianity" which does not always live up to Him. The only thing I can say about the slavery that many people have come out of, is that it was also ended because of the Christian groups and individuals who fought to end it.
My own family was part of an historical group that was beaten, burned out of their homes, killed, and chased across many geographical boundaries by "good Christian folk" over a period of many years. I was raised in that group (which still exists) and practiced the beliefs until it no longer made sense to me. When I began looking for the truth -- a journey that took many years -- I ended up with Jesus and am happy to have the previous hole in my heart mended because of Him.
If I speak of my God, and praise Him, it is because I trust Him and am grateful for what He has done for me. I believe it is my duty to be and to speak openly of His love and who He is and of the good things He has done for me -- and for all others. What another person chooses to worship is strictly up to them, but as for me and my house, I shall serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a servant of the Lord.
Please do not let the fact that I am a true believing Christian hinder you from... anything. Between you and me, our beliefs are different and that is simply a statement of fact. It is hard to find duplicate individuals anywhere. The variety of life comes from our differences. If we respect each other, does that not solve the problem of differing beliefs? I have appreciated your comments here and hope that you will continue to support other diabetics in finding the solution to the problem. Now that, you and I have in common.
Wishing you well,
Marcia
In the overall scheme of things the differences in our beliefs are the very differences which led to the founding of this nation. At some point science may or may not come into play, but until it does so in a definitive fashion, there we will stand holding our beliefs like candles, hoping that the wind doesn't get too strong.
ReplyDelete- Love,
C
Hello C,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your love and taking the time to comment here. I appreciate you.
I was struck by how fragile that you felt beliefs were -- waiting to be blown out by the wind -- of science -- if I have interpreted your statement correctly.
Many people have died for their beliefs, the Apostles of Jesus Christ being among them. Men do not die for falsehoods, if they know them to be false. Men only die for what they know is the absolute truth. The Apostles believed in Jesus Christ fully. They had walked with Him, seen His miracles being performed, witnessed His crucifixion and His amazing resurrection to new life. They stood and watched as He ascended into heaven and heard the angels next to them telling them that He would return in like manner.
The Apostles were eye witnesses and their testimonies, nor their torches, did not falter or get blown out through beatings, and imprisonment, and eventually death. Their testimonies never wavered and did not fail. I have put my trust in the testimony of these witnesses. And while I might fail, they did not.
God does not quit either. He does not change. Jesus still loves us as strong as He ever did and He is my candle which does not waver in the wind.
There are people who don't understand that faith can only be based on fact. Why would you put your faith in something that has never delivered? How could you trust something that changes when the wind blows? We need a firm foundation to stand on. Jesus is my rock. What others believe in is up to them.
We, especially in this country, have the freedom to choose in what and in whom we will place our trust and to speak freely of it. Those are basic tenets of our nation and I thank God for the freedom under which we all live.
May you be blessed this day to know that what you believe in is the absolute truth and that it won't be blown out with the next gust of wind -- from anywhere. Truth never changes and will stand the test of time. May you never need to fear that what you stand on could be pulled out from underneath you. If you choose the rock, Jesus Christ, you won't have to.
Love you, too,
Marcia