Thursday, January 23, 2014

2014 - THE YEAR OF THE "OPEN DOOR"

WOW! It's really been an entire year since I've posted on this blog?! Like I often say, "Time's sure fun when you're having flies!" LOL!

Okay, I don't make resolutions when the new year ring's in anymore. They mainly go uncompleted because like most folk's, they're really just good intentions, not true resolutions. They are, for the most part, things we "wish" we could, should, would get done. So, I figure, "What's the sense in that?"  However, I find that some fervent prayer works much better. There is no better way to focus your energy and efforts than through asking God to guide your steps for the rest of the year.


This year, a lot of my prayers concerned "Back to Basics", a project that I began in 2013. Back to Basics was borne out of a 6-year personal desire for my family to live a healthier life as I began to hear and learn of the results of eating the Standard American Diet (SAD, which it is indeed!). I did not want Bobby (my husband) nor myself to fall victim to the process of blindly buying food and personal products that most of us assume is safe to feed our families just because it comes from a grocery store or fast food restaurant. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I began to research every avenue of the growing, processing, packaging, and distribution of America's food supply. I became so focused in this area that some of my friends thought I was becoming fanatical. But when you learn something good, you always want to share it with others.

I also began to seek out and learn from those who believe and practice a more "sustainable" lifestyle - growing, buying organic foods, making more homemade products to eat and use, taking better care of the land, eschewing genetically modified (GMO) 'franken-foods' and livestock that have been treated with antibiotics, artificial growth hormones, and kept in filthy, over-crowded mobs that are fed GMOs, non-food fillers, and even other dead animals (chicken feathers, animals who died of diseases, etc.). These are but a few of the horrible "conventional" methods that affect the food we buy in our grocery stores without question, trusting that if it's in the store, it must be safe, right?" NOT!!!

Now this is just but the tip of the iceberg when it concerns to what we eat in America. I could get on my soapbox at this point and begin an entire diatribe about our food supply, how it's massaged with what would normally be called "disgusting" by the average person. Or where it comes from (not the U.S.!), how it affects our physical bodies, and so very much more. But I'll let you visit the Back to Basics site (www.backtobasicsfol.org) and learn for yourself. I hope you will.

Last year, I was a bit disappointed in the turnout for Back to Basics and the classes that were being taught. We began with about 25 folks interested in learning about sustainable living. However, as the months went by, we had fewer and fewer show up, in part (I believe) because there are no easy answers to the many effects caused by conventional living. Like I said above, it takes more than "wishful thinking" to make the changes necessary for a healthier life.

While I had a few faithful continue with Back to Basics, I wanted to reach the many out there who wanted and desired to know more, but just didn't have the means nor the first inkling of how and where to start. So, from October through the end of 2013, I began to really seek the Lord about how He wanted me to go about spreading my "food gospel".

Starting right after the first week of January this year, doors began to open and I knew God was answering my prayer. He DID want me to do this, but more in His power instead of my own puny efforts! What a concept!

Folks started coming to me saying, "Hey! There's someone you just HAVE to meet! They have the same heart as you and I gave them your phone number." Or, "Do you have free-range eggs for sale? I need 40 dozen per week." And suddenly, there were opportunities to connect to others who are leaders in their varied fields of sustainable living, such as David Marin who created Tendergrass Farms co-op, and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia. Picking their brains has been enlightening to say the least, and their encouragement invaluable. I feel like just a small part of this huge movement that's taken root throughout the entire country. My small part is for our local area and I'm finding there's a heck of whole lot more folks who really want to be informed about their food for their families as well as for themselves.

So, no resolutions here, just a lot more focus, determination, and action. I hope you'll do the same with whatever your passion happens to be. And don't forget, the very first thing you must do to be successful is seek God's help and let Him open the doors (Matthew 6:33)! As my pastor, Hans Hess, preached recently, 2014 is the Year of God's Open Doors.

And please . . . come and join our Back to Basics classes. There is so much we're offering and you'll want to stay informed as much as possible. Our class schedule, travel agenda, recipes, resources, and so much more is on our website, so check us out at www.backtobasicsfol.org. And have a blessed and prosperous 2014!

www.backtobasicsfol.org

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