In Health and In Sickness...

I have been very silent on this blog for weeks because I was afflicted with a strange illness that we still don't really know it's source or even what it was. I had a fever for one day then two days later my ankles, wrists, knees and elbows began swelling painfully. They remained swollen for the next 6 weeks, and had doctors puzzled as to what this was. Some thought it was strep in my joints and there was concern of rheumatic fever, and astonishment because that is a rare find in this country anymore. A rheumatologist decided I do not have rheumatic fever and so, into week 10 of being sick (but so much better now!), I am happy to not be swollen or in pain, but I still am dealing with a deep exhaustion I cannot put into words.

I decided to write this as a thanksgiving post because thru all the changing scenes of life, God has been my provider and protector. He supplies every need.

My husband Lamar, and I just passed our 20th wedding anniversary last week. God has led us safely through rough roads and smooth and I am delighted to be more in love with my husband now than at any time of our love life. God has done amazing things in our hearts through the years as we sought to honor Him with our lives. This article sums up what our hearts have been in making our marriage one that brings glory to His name and tho we've struggled thru imperfection, God has sustained us and caused a beautiful thing to happen in our marriage.

Lamar was a real trooper through my illness this winter. I received tender loving care from him at every turn.

He held my hand the first time I swallowed the antibiotic that I wept over needing to take. To anyone who knows me, you know what a big deal that would have been as I've worked hard at keeping those kinds of things out of our life the past 20 years.


He faithfully drove me to the ER and sat in an uncomfortable chair for 8 hours of the night without one word of complaint.

He patiently paid the doctor bills and trusted God that we would have the money provided to cover the costs. We saw some amazing things happen through that as well, including the pharmacy deducting a huge amount from the prescriptions filled.

He gave me extra hugs and spent time just holding my  hand through those weary days and slept alone for 12 nights straight as I propped myself on the arm of the couch to sleep.

He took over my 'organizing of people' job one weekend when our house filled with beautiful youth, even tho that is not his field and he gladly gives it to me when I am well.

And last week he took me out for a one night honeymoon to celebrate 20 years, making sure the restaurant of choice had food for me since I made a personal choice to eat vegan for this year.

And then it was my turn to care for him when, on our little getaway, we made a stop by the Dr. for his blood pressure reading to determine if he will pass his DOT requirement. No one likes to have these things enter life, especially when we've worked hard to keep this one out of the picture but family heart history has caught up to him and adjustments need to be made. And it's my turn to love him in sickness.

on our 20th anniversary. And yes, I am well aware that we look like tired people
who are in the heat of the journey...

Whatever happens to us in life, whether it is satan angrily sending
stuff our way like he did to Job,
or whether it is consequences of life choices that catch up to us
that God merciful lightens even tho He could make them worse,
we know one thing:
God does not allow anything to come our way
 without His permission.

We are His.
He is ours.

We have committed to living our lives
for the praise of His name
by His power,
redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb.

We are committed to living and loving
each other
through health and in sickness,
prosperity and adversity
for life.

So my darling,
here's to living and loving
the next 20 years...
as God tarries!

(we were celebrated and sent off royally by our children,

and I wonder...how in the world did we get to this place

in life so fast????!!!!)

"Lazy" Sushi...and a Cookbook Announcement...

I'm excited to share that I have begun a project that, up until now, has been only in my dreams. Since I have discovered the joy and the benefits of eating plant-focused meals, I have dreamed of sharing my recipes with my people. My daughters keep asking me for recipes and, since I do not cook from recipes, this has been a 'back burner' (no pun intended!) project that, thanks to Dr. Scott Stoll and his lovely wife, Kristen (whom I had the privilege to meet in PA 2 weeks ago!), has become more of a reality than ever. They have asked me to help them to write a cook book that is plant-focused, specifically targeting PA Dutch flavors. Since I have had experience in that department, having had seven years of reworking heirloom recipes to bless my husband who likes his cultural flavors, I am excited to be getting to share the finished versions with the general public!

It's a daring adventure for me, tho. I confess that the Lord needs to continually flood my soul with peace about this because sometimes I face opposition. You see, we Dutch people (and I suspect every other culture as well!) don't want people messing with our comfort zones. We like what we like and we don't want someone coming in and changing it. But...after 7 years (so far) of trial and error, with a bit of success sprinkled in to keep me filled with the courage to move forward, I have come up with recipes that my family likes. I think our family's taste buds have adapted over the years to not eating much dairy, sugar, salt, oil and meat but even my staunchly Dutch friends who eat lots of those ingredients seem to enjoy sticking their feet under my table and eating the dishes I prepare for them. My family and friends have been (mostly) willing and gracious taste-testers.

Veggie Sushi Rice Balls

It is my hope that in doing this cookbook, I can show my friends and family and
people in my culture just how fun, filling and varied it can be to eat a plant-focused diet. I hope to share my story of what it has benefited me in health restored and in dollars and cents. I would like to share hope with my readers that most of our American diseases can reversed and prevented by eating plants as primary food and animal as secondary/flavor foods AND that you don't really need to give up every cultural taste to do it.

Dr Stoll and his wife prayed about many things with me before we parted ways, but one thing in particular stands out as I write: that I would have TIME to write. :-) That is a good thing to ask God for because it seems He always keeps my calendar full of serving opportunities. I'm looking forward to time this winter to write.

Today, I was inspired by this recipe and so I made my version of it because I love veggie sushi, but I don't like the work that goes into making it! I drizzled it with Sesame Garlic Sauce from my favorite local grocery store, Wegmans, instead of the sauce in the recipe.

I ate it as my breakfast, part of a 10 day 'veggies for breakfast' challenge I am participating in on Face book. I'm planning to eat some raw and some cooked veggies for my 10 days of breakfasts. Yesterday, on day 1, I had steamed broccoli topped with avocado and salsa, a similar version to what I threw together recently at a Chili's restaurant:

I would never have thought of pairing those things together, but 'desperate times call for desperate measures' and I needed a plate of good-for-me food that day. I am used to ordering from the sides these days, because I do not eat meat much in restaurants and little dairy at all, and most entrees on a menu include one and often both of these items. It was fairly easy, actually, to put this plate together and now I can recreate it at home!

Here's to thanking God for the joy of eating plants, and here's to hoping I have many more people joining me in discovering the blessing in this ancient way of eating. Feel free to join my 'veggies for breakfast' challenge. This is day 2 and we plan to go thru 10 mornings. If you do, I'd love if you could drop me a line in the comments, and even a picture of your creations, if you care to.

Of Dr. Stoll and Potato Soup...

On Saturday morning, as I leisurely went about my morning, 

the Lord 'dropped' a web link into my lap for a meeting 

that was going on in Lancaster County, PA, 

a meeting that was a call for revival. 

I scanned the program for the day, 

as I listened to the praise part of the service 

 live streaming from youtube, and out of curiousity, 

I decided to stay to hear what this preacher was going to say

 in the health message that was on the program.

I was in for a treat! 

Dr. Stoll, whom I had never heard of before, 

spoke kindly but with conviction on the simplicity of God's plan 

for us to be well from a daily diet of primarily plants and secondarily animal foods. 

He spoke of our bodies being the temple of the Lord and 

how we are given a plan to bless that temple kindly.

 I was so excited. I have waited 7 years for a preacher to say these things

 to Anabaptist people! 

And the message came so kindly and so respectfully

 that I was just blown away by how 'easily' it was delivered.

If you care to, go to Dr. Stoll's website and find out more of what he teaches. 

He quoted some of my favorite doctors and shared what I've been 

learning and employing the past 7 years 

(falteringly so at times as I struggled with food addictions and the devil).

 I know this message to be true because I live it 

and appreciate the blessings that come from 

honoring the Lord in this way.

Everything about the way we live matters.

 Including our health. 

Let's face it, friends...

the Christian world is not very strong on turning away 

from gluttony. I can say this because 

I too need a pep talk on this. 

We live in a land that has become obsessed 

with food and we are now seeing an epidemic 

of the diseases of kings and queens. 

(read this wonderful article I came across last week. I was so blessed by it.) 

These diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and others) 

can largely be prevented and they can often be reversed 

just by changing from the Standard American Diet to the simple diet plan 

that Daniel followed, and that God laid out in Genesis 

to Adam and Eve and to Noah.

I am happy to eat "peasant food" and I am happy with how 

deliciously peasant food can be cooked, 

especially when I am not captive to food addictions of 

salt, sugar, oil, and animal foods. 

I walk in freedom today,  thanks to God and to my sister 

who encouraged me in my struggle. 

And I realize that I can easily slip back into my old  

habits if I am not being vigilant.

I thought I'd close this blog post with a recipe for the soup

that I made yesterday. It was both delicious and filling, 

the perfect dish for a gray fall day.

Love and blessings,

Marcia

Aunt Cia's Potato Soup

(makes approximately 6 quarts)

Saute in water or a little olive oil:

2 large onions, diced

4 links Italian chicken sausage

(a Costco find)

6 smallish stalks celery, diced

When vegetables are crisp/tender,

stir in 4 or 6 cloves pressed garlic

and 6 med carrots, peeled and diced.

After sauteing the carrots for 5(ish) minutes,

add 6 large potatoes, peeled and diced,

1 quart vegetable or chicken broth/stock,

2 cups water, and 1 T sea salt.

While the soup is simmering,

cook and mash 2 large potatoes.

After the veggies are soft in the soup,

add mashed potatoes,

1 tsp black pepper

and 2 T dried parsley flakes.

Serve with fresh veggies,

garlic bread sticks (if you wish)

and seasonal fruit.

"...whatever you do,

whether you eat or drink,

do all to the glory of God."

(1 Cor. 10:31)

A young man quoted this Scripture 

during our Bible memory time

on Sunday morning. I thought it

was very fitting for what I had just

heard the day before.

From My Kitchen...

I thought I'd add some homemaking touches to this blog, including recipes, gardening tips, etc from time to time, especially as I'm not doing much 'teaching writing' at this time.

A number of years ago as I faced multiple health issues that left me unable to take care of my home and family as well as I needed to, I went looking for answers. I know I've written about it on here before, but for the sake of a brief reason for why I cook the way I do, I summarize here again. I was first introduced to Hallelujah Acres, then to Dr Joel Fuhrman, then to his colleagues (Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, T. Colin Campbell, and others) who share many similar recommendations for healing and for preventing many of the diseases Americans struggle with (did you know that heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc are all preventable?). I became fascinated with how quickly I felt better when I started eating more plants and less animal/oil/sugar. I am not a vegan and probably won't be one as long as I live with my husband and children (; but I do realize that Americans are very overdosed in these foods. VERY. So we have adjusted our diet to eat more plants (for thousands of years plants have been the staple of the diets in many countries) and use home grown animals for flavoring many of our dishes, with the exception of the occasional grilled burger, or meatloaf meal. And we are happy with it.

That's a brief summary of why my recipes reflect this style of eating, and you can always adjust them to suit your style better, if you wish.

I have heard the hype on soy, and have tossed it around this way and that way untie, I have come to a conclusion for my own kitchen. I believe that non-gmo, organic whole soy is not only safe, since Asians have eaten it for generations with very little disease but it is also high in protein and very nutritious as well. I do not eat soy that has been isolated (some tofu has a small amount of this, but we do not eat fake meats, protein powders, etc made with soy proteins), because any food that you strip and eat mega portions of an isolated ingredient of it is not good for you in the long run. Foods have been created to be eaten whole so that your body can use the different parts of it together. So we do eat some soy and the following recipe reflects that.

Aunt Cia's Cream

1 box (12ish oz) extra firm silken tofu

1 cup almond or soy milk

1/4 c sugar 

(or experiment with sugar/stevia combo)

1 T vanilla extract

8 oz soy cream cheese

2 T lemon juice

Blend in a Ninja or Vitamix type blender until smooth.

Use with fresh fruit, or for the filling for fruit pizza,

or as a side 'frosting' for zucchini or carrot cake.