Spreading Good Things?

Friends,

Do you have something that you are passionate about sharing with others? Is it food? Is it clothing you make at your home? Is it an encouraging smile to someone you think is having a rough day?

There is something to be said about consistency. About continuing to do good things even when it falls out of trendiness.

If you are really doing good things for God´s sake ...then you don´t really need to worry about the credit and whether anyone is noticing the good things you are doing for others. God sees all. He will give you credit in due time. Maybe your credit will come in a week, or in a year or in ten years. Maybe your credit will only come when you are in Heaven. 

The credit doesn´t matter. Doing good is good. Period. You don´t need to see your name in the paper or be trending on the latest popular social media app.

You don´t need to see your name in lights, to know in your heart that you are doing well by continuing to do good things for other human beings.

There is much to be said for doing things on the good weather days AND on the bad weather days.

So, I will keep this post short. Just know, my friends, both far and near....that if you are doing things for other people, you are doing good. You are sowing good deeds into the world. The world will be better off because of your good deeds. Some day you will be rewarded.

Peace and kindness,

Carla

The Two Dollar T-Shirt

As any proper frugalista would do....I swung my head around when I saw that sign ¨T-Shirts...$2.00¨

Say what? Can I actually be as frugal as this? What´s the catch? (Canada is not known for low cost clothing) 

So the catch is this....the men´s T-shirts with the guy-ish neckline.... was $2.....and the women´s t-shirts with the cute vneck line were thin as tissue paper and see through....and too short.

Yikes. I had been hearing lately about the ¨ pink tax¨ and for the most part I actually ignored it. But I guess I need to admit that it is real in some settings. 

And yes, you would be correct, by saying that I have no right to be demanding if I only want to pay 2$ for a tshirt. Ya ya.... hear ya. But it´s my blog and I´ll rant if I want to.

So back to that noted dollar store.The men´s t-shirts were of a quality well known sport brand name in the T-shirt world...the fabric thick enough so as not to be see-through and thoroughly washable. The women´s t-shirt was NOT made by that same brand name and was see-through, too short for normal length and would probably not survive well through a couple of washes and dryer rounds.

I get annoyed when people I hope are wrong....are absolutely right.

There is no logical reason why a men´s t-shirt should be stronger, better quality and of a better quality brand than a woman´s t-shirt.

We gals like cheap clothes too once in a while.

I happen to believe we shouldn´t have to go to thrift shops and buy used clothing just because we are trying to stay on budget. Brand new clothing should be available for all in this modern computerized age of manufacturing. Factories are constantly making improvements in robotics and now with AI, they can probably run a shirt factory with almost no labour costs. Am I wrong? ??

New Clothes should be getting cheaper, not lower quality.

Does this mean perhaps I must learn how to sew???.....then I could alter cheaper new men´s clothes into Women´s designs...and have the benefit of the low cost and still have good quality fabric. 

But I sooooo don´t want to learn how to sew.

How ´bout you? I know that environmental activists are horrified by statements about the right to ¨new¨ clothing. Fast fashion is not environmentally correct. Buying thrift store treasures is a big movement right now....and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. But there are other options.

If the fabric from used clothing can be sterilized and broken down and made into ¨new to you¨ clothing, that would be a more appealing third option. The worst part of thrift stores is that the lack of cleanliness and the fact that you just might be touching and buying someone´s unwashed clothing. There are risks, both emotional and otherwise, from wearing things that once were worn by other humans. They can have hidden contaminants, chemical residues or insect infestations that may not be obvious. 

Sorry, friends, I am not trying to gross you out. But let´s be a little realistic. Nobody knows what that second hand item has done before it wound up on a rack in a thrift store. It has an unknown history and therefore an unknown level of cleanliness. 

The hope with new clothing is that it has never been worn and therefore, there should be minimal risk of dirt, germs and insects.

A good quality clothing manufacturer and retailer is going to ensure that the clothing they sell is going to be a clean and nice smelling piece of clothing for the proud consumer. Good work leaves a good trail. We feel safe and confident buying from a brand we have come to trust and rely on.

Any thoughts friends?

Peace,

Carla

Your Prayers are Heard

No degree required. Heaven is not closed to you because you don´t have a degree. Or maybe you have 10 degrees and a Phd to boot.

It doesn´t have any impact on how accessible God is to you and your prayers.

That is the beauty of spirituality, of knowing the God of the Bible.

People, in their humanity and ¨unique" status in life, may take great pains to exclude some folks, to build fences and complex alarm systems to make sure only those they choose ....to have access to their lives.

Take heart, my friends, my brother and sisters in the Lord. Be good to all, no matter what their station in life, as much as you can, with the energy and the motivation and power that God gives you.

You think that nobody is watching? There is always someone watching....and usually someone listening too.

God knows your heart. His Word says in James Chapter 5:16b ¨The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.¨

What does that mean? It means...if God considers you a righteous person and you take the time to pray in earnest and with perseverance, that you are going to accomplish a lot with these prayers.

Why? Because God answers prayer.

Don´t waste time wondering if He hears. Keep moving forward. Don´t second yourself. Never question if the time you are spending in prayer is wasted time. NEVER. Prayer time is an excellent expenditure of your time on this earth. Period.

Prayer time is golden time, platinum time, angelic time and miracle time.

You are not missing out on anything that you have sacrificed in order to spend time in prayer. God will, in his timing and wisdom, reward you accordingly, of that I am certain.

Are you asking....well Carla, if prayer is so important .....what should I be praying about? 

Well, I would start by looking at how Jesus addressed his Father in the Lord´s prayer( see Matthew 6:9)....

Jesus said we should pray like Him...... And He addressed His Father in prayer like this....using the plural ¨Our Father which art in Heaven¨

Prayer builds community. We are a ¨WE¨ congregation. We have a mutual father, who is Father God.

We pray  as community minded Believers when we state ¨Our¨

Father in heaven. 

Sometimes, I am grieved by all the individualization that has occurred in the modern church. Instead of thinking communally, we have talked about our own individual testimony and our ¨personal¨ relationship with God. But my understanding of the scriptures leads us to OUR, not to my. We are an interconnected Body. WE are a WE body. Many parts of one whole.

This is why prayer is so deeply important. Pray for your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Pray for those who are rich and those who are poor. Pray confidentially. No one needs to know who you are praying for.

Pray for those who are old and those who are young. Pray for those who are succeeding in life and those who are struggling. Pray for those

 who are hurting and those who are healing.

Your prayers are powerful. Your words matter.

Would you allow me to thank you? Thank you for praying for me. I am deeply grateful.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you.

Peace,

Carla.

Be Strong Today Friends

Be strong today my friends. This is not the time to be anxious and to fret.

Allow God´s peace to inhabit your day...to inhabit your mind.

Be gracious to yourself and to those around you. Know that what you do today plants seeds into your life tomorrow and next year and beyond.

Forgiving someone today plants favor into your life for years to come.

Remember what God said when He wrote what is now known as the ¨Lord´s Prayer¨

Matthew 6:12 Kjv And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Some folks think that only refers to money.....but it doesn´t.

Someone can treat you harshly for whatever reason, whether real or a silly excuse, but you still have a choice. First of all, you don´t take an offense personally.... if at all possible. 

You don´t know what someone may be going through privately, that it started overflowing into how they are interacting with you.

Also, just based on my background studying psychology, you learn about how humans can react to someone just based upon how they remind you of someone who offended them decades ago.

For example, if someone with a red streak in their hair was very mean to them when they were 12 years old in elementary school, they may keep within their heart an unspoken fear of people with red streaks in their hair. They may unconsciously think that anyone who has a red streak in their hair is not a nice person. It may be illogical and invalid, but realize that the human heart is often irrational and illogical.

These kind of associations happen without us even realizing it. That´s why we need to develop a greater maturity, that we can rise above the petty resentments we may sense around us.

Don´t allow small things to deter you from  doing what your goals leads you to. You are still in the driver´s seat of your life, no matter what everyone is doing or saying. Learn to build yourself up in prayer and time in the scriptures. Listen to speeches and lectures that build up your ability to live with clarity on your goals and peacefulness in your heart.

Surround yourself with good music. If you find that hearing lyrics and humans singing is distracting, then find some good instrumental tracks to which you can work. Great music builds up your peace reservoir and allow you to still concentrate on tasks at hand.

White noise.....what a great invention. Loads of them are available for free on youtube.

You listen to hazy background anonymous sounds like ocean waves or bird chirping and it allows your mind to focus on your task at hand rather than trying to sort through the meanings and nuances of songs and lyrics.

Well, friends, that was all I wanted to give you today....a  word of encouragement. I want to encourage you to rise above the minor irritations of the day and focus on the greater good. You have so much strength....so much possibility. You are alive. You have time left on this earth.

Use it my friends, to forgive and move on to the goals you have set this day.

Peace,

Carla

Tweet

Life with Gluten Sensitivity

I admit it....I indulged.

Family brought over some Popeyes Fried chicken.

Oh the beauty of the perfectly fried battered chicken....hot and crispy golden yum.

Little did I know I would regret my indulgence for the next 3 days.

This is normal for my life as someone who is sensitive to gluten.

Sometimes I seem to be able to handle small amounts of gluten and sometimes it´s like my body almost shuts down completely in an extreme reaction to whatever gluten I may have consumed.

Getting out of the funk that my body goes into...... takes some patience and tried and true methods that I know work well for me.

So, you may be asking...what helped you Carla in recovering from binging on gluten?

Well, let me spell out what worked for me.

• First of all, I stopped shaming myself for eating the gluten that hit me so hard.
• Secondly, I was patient with the process of gradually restoring my body AFTER the indulgence.
• Thirdly, I drank TONS of water...probably at least 1.5 liters of purified water per day at room temperature.
• Fourthly, I put up with the belly ache that was almost non stop for 3 days.
• I went back to consuming the Webber branded probiotics that have proven to work well for me, by taking extra doses to get the inner biome back to functioning...... Remembering that 

probiotics take time to work. They are not a quick fix. 

Accepted the intestinal discomfort and irritable bowels for 3 days, which included belching and bloating. Yikes!

Continued with my regular vitamin intake of Vit C and Vit D and small bits of raw garlic once every one or two days.

Soothed my own abdominal muscles by squeezing them and testing their sensitivity to touch.

Drinking strong hot coffee every morning....one large mugful per morning.

Stayed calm and stayed hydrated, and limited sports activities while my body worked itself out.

Slept more....naps and at nighttime.

Ate some good healthy protein rich foods including fish and gluten free chicken and veggies.

Finally some relief on the 4th day. Thanks God.

Bowel started working more normally and I felt like I could walk more uprightly without thinking constantly about my gut.

So, for the record I am not a celiac, but am definitely sensitive to gluten. 

Sometimes it seems that I can handle consuming small amounts of gluten and other times, my body can not handle it at all.

It is a constant challenge, not knowing how my body will react to such a common ingredient.

I have discovered that taking probiotic supplements is very helpful as well as probiotic foods such as Activia yoghurt.

What is your story regarding gluten? Are you sensitive to gluten? Gluten Intolerant? Or full on allergic to gluten? Do Tell...Looking forward to your comments.

Peace,

Carla

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is not intended as medical advice. This blog post is intended as entertainment only. Please obtain medical advice from your licensed medical provider.

The blog author and publisher is not liable for any ideas discussed in this blog post or any other blog post on this blog.

Tweet

The Gables .....Spring Forest...Wind and Waves

Love to hike? Been to Ontario Canada in search of some great wilderness?

This wee gem of a park in Barrie, Ontario, Canada is a hidden haven of dense forest pathways leading to the Bay. It has steep winding paths through a forest canopy which winds finally down to a rugged shoreline of Kempenfelt Bay. Rocks and wind and crashing surf.

Tourists don´t really hang out here perhaps because there isn´t really a beach to speak of. Lots of rocks and tons of fallen trees, some arching into the lake. The fallen trees in the forest provide an ideal nursery for lichens, mosses and fungi.

So many hints of wild life... The more time one spends in this natural haven, the more wild life you can spot.

In just my brief visit, I spotted chipmunk, squirrels and heard unusual bird calls that felt as if my presence was being announced to the herd.

I spotted brown and grey assorted fungi, and purple flowers poking through the early spring forest floor. The nurture of the fallen greenery provides an ecosystem that is rare to enjoy in a rather suburban city.

I know if I come back to this oasis in the forest, during the warmer months, there will be tons more to see......more fungi, more birds and lots more gorgeous plants, trees and native flowers. 

The wind whips hard near the lake this time of year, so bring a good windbreaker if you visit.

Peace be the journey.

https://www.barrie.ca/community-recreation-environment/parks-trails-waterfront/parks-amenities/gables-park