Revelation

I had a dream a week or two back. In the dream I was in a home that I knew was mine, but in real life I've never seen before. I walked into my bedroom and found a large translucent orange and pink striped rattle snake. I was so scared of it, I ran downstairs to alert Tony about the invader. It was odd that when I told him about the snake, I was not screaming scared as I would be in real life. I calmly explained to him that there is a very large rattle snake in our bedroom. It was as though I was more frustrated than scared to do anything about it. I remember distinctly that it was as though the snake was tormenting me by its very presence. Tony went upstairs to the bedroom, took the snake by the tail and the neck, and tried to ax through its neck. The snake never resisted or lashed out, but simply allowed Tony to try to kill it. No matter how hard Tony tried, he simply could not kill the snake. The very skin of the snake defied physics and would not break. Finally Tony gave up, realized that this snake apparently could not be killed. We were resigned to have to deal with this snake in our bedroom for a while longer.

(At this point, I need to mention that my father died when I was three years old. He had drug and alcohol problems before I was born but was a devoted and loving father to me until he died.)

When Tony and I came back downstairs, my father and one of his friends (whose face was blurred out so I couldn't see it) we in the hall to visit us. I remember casually speaking to him, as though we were friends from long ago just catching up. I didn't really dwell on the fact that my dead father was visiting me with one of his buddies. Finally I mentioned to him about our snake problem upstairs in the bedroom. All he said was simply, "Oh, I can fix that for you."

That was pretty much it, though I didn't see him kill the snake, I knew that he could and I was relieved it would be handled.


It wasn't until I was telling Tony about my dream the next day that I realized it was more than just a really odd dream. As I was recalling and describing the events of the dream to Tony, I realized that my father looked just like Jesus...he was Jesus.

Not only did the affection I had for my father in that dream as his long lost daughter translate to an affection/relationship I should have with Jesus...but it also let me know that the problems in our lives are being handled. All we had to do was ask and he can, will, and wants to take care of it--no problem.

It's not often we think of Jesus as the father figure, but when we go into the relationship with that mindset, He becomes more real. It makes you want to seek Him out even more.

New Discovery! Creativity!

For most of my life, I've always considered myself as not one of the 'creative ones'. I don't know how I made that conclusion; was it a single failed try or a lifetime of no effort? Whenever it was, I began to just write off my ability to do or create anything artistic. So when the opportunity arose to paint miniature figurines, I approached the project skeptically. If it weren't for most of the supplies already being purchased for me, and the rest of the house doing it, I would never have even thought of painting a miniature...or anything! I have to admit, as soon as I started painting my little fighting woman I became enraptured. Literally hours flew by in minutes. I think at one point I threatened my husband with some sort of bodily harm for getting in my light. We were 20 minutes late to having dinner with friends because I just had to get her belt just right. When we finally got to dinner, all I could do was tell them everything about how I painted my miniature and how awesome it looked. Any other conversation that was going on, I was back home painting my miniature.

When we did get back home, the first thing I did was change her belt. I wasn't happy with the way I left it. When I had done all I could do with her, I began painting my miniature unicorn. I may have literally spent four hours doing nothing but painting yesterday! Me! The anti-artist!

Well anyway, Tony says I need a hobby, we have most of the paints already, and brushes are cheap. What's to come of this? Maybe a houseful of sparkly green miniatures? There could be worse things...


(I did try to take pictures to show everyone-you know to print out and put on your fridge- but I couldn't get the lighting right and it didn't do justice to the colors)

Procrastination at Its Best

Well, I'm sitting at my computer, freshly showered, towel-on-head. What am I supposed to be doing? Getting ready to go grocery shopping. But nooo...just had to check my facebook one more time before I could dry my hair. And oh look! One of my friends has a blog! I had one before...it would sure be nice to do one again. Besides, I am infinitely amused by my own nonsensical ramblings. Surely everyone else will be too, right? Right...?

So here we are.

I do have something to say. You didn't think I created this just to tell you about my wet hair and how easily distracted I am, did you? Of course not!

For centuries, people have used turmeric as a natural remedy for, well...just about everything. I began using it within the past year and was surprised at the results. It began with a tea that I bought for joint pain. Some of you may know that I've been in physical therapy for -what seems like- eons. I was surprised at how well this tea actually worked. It didn't cure me, it didn't take the pain away permanently, but it just made me feel overall better. Turns out the main ingredient was turmeric; where painkillers and muscle relaxers failed, turmeric won.

After doing a little more research, I've learned that turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory. It contains several antioxidants that protect cells from free radicals that damage DNA (helps prevent cancer) and inhibits further cancer cell growth. It improves the function of your liver (which is vital for overall heath), protects your cardiovascular system by preventing oxidation of cholesterol, and has shown a positive marked effect in Alzheimer's patients.

Its easy to read all that and just shrug it off as another part of the 'natural' fad...but I'm telling you the truth: this has helped me in ways over the counter medications never have.
-Having chronic sinusitis, I'm easily susceptible to sinus infections-usually starting with post-nasal drip. At the first sign of a sore throat, I put some turmeric in my tea. By drinking it, it's directly touching my swollen throat. Within ten minutes my throat is no longer swollen and my sore throat is mostly gone.
-Any time I have sinus pressure/pain, I use turmeric. Again, it almost instantly removes the pressure and relieves the inflammation.
-I don't even bother buying my joint tea anymore. I just put some turmeric in my regular tea. My stiffness and pain is gone almost immediately. Sometimes when I'm just stiff, not even sore, and it helps me loosen up my joints.

Anytime you feel achy, sore, stiff...or you notice swelling anywhere, you should really give it a try. I put some of the powdered form (from the spice isle) in my tea. Yes it makes it slushy, but stir it around and you won't really notice. It has a very mild flavor, so put it in whatever you cook. It won't affect the taste, and it will give your food a pleasant golden color.

When we find something great, we usually want to tell the world about it so they can share in its greatness, too! The problem is though, that sometimes the great new thing is too weird, too 'outside the box', and people miss out on a great thing. So knowing this, have an open mind. Take me at my word and try it out...I promise you won't be disappointed by the results.