23 March
I have been reading a wonderful book called The Mindful Catholic by Dr. Gregory Bottaro.
It would be a good book for any Christian believer to read. It doesn't apply strictly to
Catholics. There are mindfulness exercises at the end of each chapter and I have been
practicing those weekly. It talks about clearing our thoughts to make more room
for God to be present in them.
Here in New England we had a winter that was much like spring and we are
having a spring that is much like winter. We've had winter storm after
winter storm. This past one though, turned out to be rain and what a relief. It actually
melted some of the snow that was on the ground from the last storm!
My daughter sent me a sweet picture of a St. Patrick's day card that I had mailed last week
and some beautiful yellow daffodils she picked up at the market.
They looked so pretty next to each other. She's been texting me a lot this week.
It makes my mother's (and grandmother's) heart happy to hear from her.
I have made it to church every Sunday this month and I have set aside time for
daily devotions and prayer every morning. I can't say I'm where I want to be yet as
I really want to have a time during the evening for prayer as well. But, I have
begun to develop the habits that I have been working toward.
I can't say that all of my prayers have been answered...
what I can say, is that when things get chaotic or I come up against
difficult situations, I am able to find recollect my thoughts and find peace
again very quickly. I am the one who finds the calm and the path for my family
and the way to do that most effectively is to find Jesus where ever I happen to be.
My husband and I have adjusted our diets considerably in the past 6 months.
We started out following the Paleo diet and have slowly introduced
foods that were forbidden...mostly grains.
I have figured out which grains agree with me and which don't and it's been so helpful.
I've lost almost 20 pounds but that was an unexpected surprise!
I feel better!
Wow 20 pounds. Well done - especially if it's been without much of a struggle. We've also had more wintry weather recently but this week it has warmed up and today we have had spells of sunshine. I think it might actually be spring!
ReplyDeleteI think the daffodils and card look very well together!
ReplyDeleteI believe we're all searching for more "whitespace" to spend more time with our Father. I do believe you can experience His presence where you are.
Congratulations on doing well with your food changes. It's a challenge to make changes, and it's great that you and your husband did it together. The book sounds interesting, I'm going to jot down the title. Like anything else, prayer habits take time to gel. It sounds like you're on the path to success!
ReplyDeleteGood job on the weight loss! We need to make some changes here - I just read an article about the negative effects of sugar. Very eye-opening!
ReplyDeleteSuch a blessing that we have access to Jesus wherever we are.
Good for you! Wow 20 lbs!!! We gave up all beef and pork about 3 years ago and i gave up dairy 2 years ago. Except i occasionally stillness have cheddar or Parmesan cheese. I have to figure out which grains don't agree with me, i do know when i eat gluten free pasta i feel great and when i eat regular pasta i get that stuffed tummy/bloated feeling. Ugh. I think it's because so many chemicals are being used on the wheat in this country.
ReplyDeleteYeah for more prayer time. I could not live my life without my Redeemer!
I am so happy that you are feeling better! I follow a whole food plant based diet about 95%. I have so much energy. And yes, the weight loss is a happy 'side effect'.
ReplyDeleteHurray on changing your habits and including the most important time in your day--time with our Lord.