What He could do with a softened heart.

I was reading in Proverbs, Exodus and Mark this morning. What really sent me on a thought tangent was Mark 6:34-53.
Imagine this...
You've been told that you've worked hard and deserve some rest. You and your best friends will be going on a short but relaxing trip. Some R'n'R for a job well done and more to come.
You are all ecstatic! A sigh of relief and you all start walking towards the ship, everything is ready for your departure. (Of course I have to use a cruise to keep things comparable...)
That's when it happens, everyone and their dog come down the road cheering and hollering at your guide (maybe that is your husband). He is moved with compassion. He can't bare to leave all those people needing him to help them out. To them, he is their Saviour but to you, he's your friend (maybe "just" your husband). What's the big deal? Maybe you could go without him. He looks at all of you and needs your help; he wants you to tag along.
Can you imagine that??? OUmph! I can!
It was the disciples who were being sent for some R'n'R by Jesus. He saw that they had worked hard and they were tired. Just then, as they were about to leave... in a boat... 5000 men plus women and children come around the bend, if you will. They wanted to see and hear Jesus speak to them. They needed encouragement and to be ministered to.
Now I'm fleshly, I'd be thinking something like, "I know they've probably walked days to see you and are needing ministering to but, what about us? We've been working for you, doing our best to cast out evil spirits, we've walked for days too!!!! Ahhh come on?! Can't you meet us there? ... MAN!" If you find that sounds a lot like what I would say, it's because I've been practicing...LOL.
Anyways, time goes on, the people then get hungry. I can just see the disciples faces when Jesus asks for them to feed the people. Ha ha ha.... It would be that, "You've got to be kidding, right?!" look. They must of thought He was insane. Picture it, about 15 000 people to feed. A little boy appears and offers his lunch, five loaves (not our size loaves either) and two fish. Ahhhh... isn't that cute. Peter probably patted him on the head three times and winked at him. Jesus says, Great! Thanks! That will do. Ha ha ha.... Again, imagine the thoughts going through the disciples. "Man! We thought WE were tired."
Well, there was enough food for all the people and there were twelve baskets full of leftovers.
You would think that this would shake them up a bit or blow them away. They actually get to see this all happen yet they are unmoved. How do I know? This is what happens next.
Jesus tells them that they can now go for their R'n'R, straightway (right away) they split, Jesus didn't have to twist their arm.
It's the night, so, they leave via boat and Jesus heads out to the mountain to pray. While He's there, He sees the disciples struggling against the wind storm that is going on. (Talk about going from bad to worst, I think I'd be in a really bad mood by now.)
Jesus has compassion on them and heads down there. He casually walks in their direction and they are "freaking out!". They are yelling because they don't KNOW that it's Jesus. He walks over there and gets in the boat. Once in the boat, the winds stop its fuss. ... ... ... ... It went from absolute chaos and fright to calmness and awestruck.
The bible says that, "they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered."
It's hard to imagine that they would not be saying to themselves, "Well I suppose He can calm the storm since He DID just feed about 15,000 people with 5 little loaves of bread and 2 fish..."
The next verse says that they didn't think about the miracle of the loaves because their heart was hardened.
Sometimes, our heart is hardened towards our family. They are "just" our family. Sometimes our heart is hardened toward people who need to be encouraged or ministered to and yet most of the time, our heart is hardened toward God. We forget what God has done in our life and what He still can do.
I have found that once I realize that my heart is hardened toward God, I need to go back to the day that He saved my soul. Like King David of the old testament said in Psalm 55, "Restore the joy of my salvation". We forget the miracle He's done in our life, so our hearts are hardened to not be able to see the power our God has.
Think back on the moment you recognised that you were not perfect; a sinner and you had no hope of going to heaven. Because of this truth, you called out to God and acknowledge to Him that He alone is God and sent His Son to die on the cross for you. Remember that day? What a miracle that was! He reached down to you and you looked up, ... reached your hand out to Him. He forgave you your sins, brushed you off from the filth of this world, hugged you and made you His child. Since then, you've walked together, side by side. He's loved you, encouraged you, taught you things about life and probably, many times, picked you up from falling; messing up.
Maybe today, you're sitting in the middle of a storm, thinking all is lost, it's no use, maybe you're thinking of throwing in the towel. Don't!!! Just wait upon the Lord, He's right there watching you and waiting for you to recognise that you need Him.
Once the disciples KNEW Him, I mean REALLY KNEW who Jesus was, they were on the other shore. They ran all over the place bringing the sick to Jesus. They wanted to see over and over again the power Jesus had and the restoration he brought to people's lives.
I don,t always have the excitement. I sure do want to REALLY know Jesus so I can help others to have their own salvation.
Although funny at times, the Word of God is real and brings such comfort, encouragement and direction. I thank God for it.

Mmmmm Salsa!

I am having a good Saturday. A little on the tired side but otherwise feeling good. My eldest daughter, 10, and I, canned homemade salsa with ingredients from our garden.
What a blessing it was.
Only one bottle did not seal but hee hee hee, that only gives me an excuse to have some tonight. ohhhh I can't wait!
Since we didn't have enough red tomatoes, we decided to put green tomatoes too. One tomatoe, that I was cutting the stem from, was green with a slight hue of red piercing through. When I cut out the stem, the inside was already red. It surprised me because I never realized that the fruit ripes from the inside out. The Lord reminded me that, like a Christian, a true child of God, the Holy Spirit changes us from the inside out. Sometimes, what's happening inside of us is not obvious to others.
Spending time with others and allowing them to get to know us, will make it easier to see the colors that are already inside, which to others, is only a slight hue piercing through on the outside.
God is so patient with us.
We had to change recipes for our salsa since we lost the one we used previously. I must say that this one is scrumptious and on the hot side... YUM! It's a keeper, so I thought I'd share it with you.
Salsa (makes 10 pints)
22 med. tomatoes (twice as many if they're on the small to med. side, we used 12 large red ones and about 6 large green ones)
4 bell peppers, coarsly chopped
3 onions, coarsly chopped
1 cup vinegar
3/4-1 cup jalepeno peppers, chopped finely (put less if you want mild salsa)
1/2 cup sugar (I put brown since I was out of white)
1/4 cup salt
1 cup (12 oz) tomato paste (we put 2 small tiny cans 5.? oz)
Cilantro to taste (optional)
3 cloves garlic minced

After getting skin off tomatoes, (dip in boiling water 20 secs., then into cold- skin falls off), chop them into bite size. Put all the ingredients into a large pot, bring to a boil and then simmer for 25 min.
In another large pot, bring water to a boil (to cover 1 pint bottles by 2 inches, at least), and place bottles gently. Place sealing covers in another pot half full of boiling water.
Use a ladle and funnel to fill hot jars with salsa, leaving 1 inch headspace. Slip a plastic knife or other non-metal straight object along sides of jar to release any bubbles. Wipe jar rim with clean washcloth for a good seal. Apply lid and ring and return into large pot of water. Water bathe pints for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!

What's the verdict?

I've decided to bring to those who have been wondering, an update, via my blog since many are wondering how I am doing and telling the story over and over is draining. I don't like "sharing my problems" on this because I want it to be reserved for edifying my Christian sisters and to draw people to a relationship with Christ through sharing things I've learnt in God's word but, what I might not see, is how God can work in others through my trial so... here we go. Most of you know that I have been sick for the past couple of months. For those who did not know, it's nothing personal, I just did not want to alarm anyone or for people to make a big deal of something that probably isn't. Basically, on August 5th, I had what is called a Vagal. What is it? It can be brought on by stressed over a long period of time or anything that stimulates the Vagus nerve. Or it can be when something that goes, or should go, through your digestive system but something goes wrong. It sends an alarm (if you will) to your Vagus nerve, which is attached to all your organs including the heart. This nerve, in my case, sends a message to my heart. My blood pressure drops very low and to compensate, my heart beats really fast. With this, you vomit... nice eh? hmmm..... I also get VERY weak where I'm not able to stand or even sit; I just lay there, hardly able to talk and it's laborious to open my eyes. It's as if my brain can't communicate with my body. It is normal to have 1 Vagal in one's lifetime, I'm told. In 36 days, I had 5 Vagals... that is not normal. My body was trying to tell me that something was wrong but I did not understand it's language. (I speak 3 languages but this one, I did not understand) I have had MANY blood tests, that I was able to pass to Mr. Ford, from Ford's Apothecary, today. Until today, everything was a mystery. What was making my body react this way?
My husband was really worried that one of these Vagals would be my last; that I would die. Although this has not been the greatest experience for me nor for my family and friends, God has shown himself powerful and has done in miracle in my marriage through this. My advice to you would be, don't take each other for granted, you never know when you'll loose them. So, having said all that. I met with Mr. Peter Ford today. He is a well known Pharmacist throughout the world but mostly in North America, for his knowledge of the body, it's needs, and how it works. I filled out a LONGGGG form and gave him copies of my recent blood work, including the one done during my first Vagal and some that were just after and some on a normal day. He was able to see that my iron, magnesium, potassium and iodine are all low. (still in the normal range but on the lowest side of it) He explained to me that this is not a diagnosis, only a doctor can do that but from what he could see from my blood is that I am mineral deficient. These are important because this is what helps the electrical current in our system which affects the heart especially. When the minerals are low, we can expect very crazy things but in my case it was Vagals. He suggested to take mineral vitamins, since it is very difficult to find them in foods these days, unless you eat like a Japanese person.... LOL (Japanese have a high "sea vegetable" diet... Okeedokey...) (this is the part that my son Samuel will be envious of) Mr. Ford suggested I also drink half a bottle of Gatorade every day for 30 days. This will replenish my electrolytes. Sea salt is also recommended since in regular table salt, there are 2 minerals; sodium and (?) where as sea salt has 80 minerals! A hint was given to me. When I feel a lack of energy, to take 1/2 cup of water with a pinch of sea salt, within 10 min. I will feel re-energized. "It's better than a cup of coffee!" He also suggested that I still take every test that the doctors will send me to and to be ready for many of them. If they do find something concrete, I am to call him to let him know. I need to see him in 4 weeks to see how it's going. Time will tell. I am hoping that this is what was causing the Vagals although, I can't help but be overly thankful for them. I have gained an amazing relationship with my husband, new understanding of my body and probably prevented more serious damage, and I lost over 10 lbs(!!!!), and the list goes on. God IS good!
Now, I hope to be able to start running regularly again and feel capable of doing the tasks I used to do. I hope that wasn't too confusing, for those who have been praying for me, thank you and don't quit on my now. ;)

OH! I almost forgot! I'm also pre-menopausing.... (you can't hear me but I'm cracked up laughing!) Oh the joy of growing old... and shorter. lol