Allow me to introduce you…

…to a revolutionary concept.

You know how the hippies sang, “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…”

Well, there’s something I’d like to teach the world—or at least the part of the world I live in.

It’s a very deep concept, and lofty in every way, elusive to commonplace thought, yet surprisingly easy to grasp.

Are you ready?

Take a deep breath…

OK, here it is:

BEING HUNGRY WILL NOT KILL YOU.

Now before you get your panties in a bind, please take a moment to notice the difference between hunger and starvation. Actual starvation can kill you. Going 5 hours between meals will not.

I know, for many, this seems like a difficult concept to grasp, but it will help if you put down that soda and try to concentrate.

In this day and age, where satiating every slight twinge of hunger is merely a Snickers bar away, it is sometimes easy to forget that there was a time, not so long ago, when that was not the case. People gave thanks before meals in no small part because they were truly thankful to have enough to keep hunger at bay. They knew how fortunate they were just to have three squares a day, much less morning coffee and an afternoon snack and after dinner munchies and midnight snacks…

Meal preparation, from procurement to table, consumed a large majority of time in the life of all but the wealthiest. Anyone with enough free time to be sitting around blogging—or reading blogs—instead of hunting, fishing, gathering, herding, farming, slaughtering, harvesting, storing, cooking, serving and eating was either among a very fortunate few, or in danger of imminent starvation.

Of course, as with so many other things that seem so simple and easy and commonplace on the surface, the heart of the issue goes much, much deeper.

What we put into our mouths—and how—and where and with whom—all have a profound effect on our well-being. I tell you now that one of the easiest ways for Satan to reach straight into our hearts is through our mouths (and only in small part because of the corruptible nature of flesh). This phenomenon is due less to the forbidden fruit that caused the downfall of Adam than it is to the fact that feeding ourselves is such a natural, commonplace activity that it never occurs to us that we could be consuming evil as we feed ourselves.

Oh, there I go again! Why do I see evil in everything, and yet am always admonishing everyone to not be afraid? Well, it’s easier to fear an enemy you don’t know, isn’t it? So bear with me.

…with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs
of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou
return to the earth… (Genesis 3: 17-19)

It is God’s very first law for man in his earthly home. Only through toil and labor shall we eat. Just because we can obtain our nourishment through other means doesn’t make it acceptable in God’s eyes. In his wisdom he knew that we needed this labor. He did not fashion us to eat of the stones and dirt of the earth, dead and without need for cultivation. Likewise, he did not fashion us to eat food that has been altered to the point where it is no longer even able to rot.

God fashioned us to live through consuming other living things. This is a great mystery, but any that deny it fly to their own ruin. In order to properly achieve this, we must expend time, resources and effort in procuring these other living things. Thus there is a built-in control in the quantity of food we can consume. This is true in myriad ways; covering them is beyond my present scope.

We have become consumers not of other living things, but of things so far removed from life that they scarcely contain any trace of nutriment. Some are so adulterated as to even rob us of nutriment.

And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a
fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg,
will he reach him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11-12)

How can we expect to replace our bread with stones and be satisfied?

If thou didst know the gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee, Give
me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given
thee living water. (John 4:10)

Always His ways are best. If we ask Him, He will give us living water. Yet He has commanded us that we shall eat by our labor. So if we will be satisfied, we must submit with humility and continence. We ought to do what we can to procure at least a portion of our food from the earth rather than a store. We should labor to prepare our meals. We must practice self-control in how, when, where, and how much we eat. We should practice finishing our meals before we are filled, offering up the rest. Through labor and sacrifice, we acknowledge God’s natural wisdom for us, and our labor truly becomes a form of prayer, of obedience to His will, of ‘mortification of the flesh’. If we cannot manage this simple form of discipline, how will we manage when the steaks—er—stakes are higher?

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Fear of the Occult

(Now, those of you who know me can look at the first word of that title and know what I’m about to say…)

A very dear friend of mine is wrestling mightily with the idea of sending her children to a Montessori School. Her interest and struggle is in no small part due to my own influence, as my children have all attended Montessori school during their 2^nd through 6^th years. In addition to the benefit they gain in ordering their own minds, I have found that the peace I gain from having these 2 or 3 hours apart from them far outweighs the effect of the influences they are exposed to. Nevertheless, I am very aware and respectful of her concerns, as they form the heart of why we homeschool our children.

Her biggest concern at the moment is the fact that Yoga is strongly emphasized in the classroom. I am aware of the amount of ink that has been spilled on the subject. I am aware of the specific concerns. And I don’t pretend to be the expert on the subject, nor do I consider myself to be even approaching infallibility. Nevertheless, I will dare to give my opinion on the subject.

Here are the main points that I see at play:

1) Our Lord and God is King over all the universe, but scripture tells us that Satan is in fact prince of this temporal world we live in.

2) A great deal of our culture is either in thrall to his deceptions, or at the very least in ignorance or indifference to them.

3) A large part of the danger that exists in these deceptions stems from that ignorance or indifference, as his devices often seem quite harmless or innocuous, but they plant the seeds of great evil that only becomes clear much later, after a great deal of damage has been done.

4) One of these devices—and indeed, a favorite of his—is FEAR.

5) He is not ‘equal-yet-opposite’ to God. With the very rare exception of demonic possession (in which case the possessed is not held responsible for his actions in the eyes of God), Satan’s power over us is more or less confined to hindrance, however energetic.

6) This hindrance is truly effective only if it succeeds in accomplishing one of these goals:

· Creating potential sin—that is, fostering mental beliefs and/or physical conditions that are particularly conducive to the commission of sin.

· Causing actual commission of sin.

· Causing us to sin by omission or neglect.

7) In Genesis, we read that when God created the world and the things in it, He called them GOOD. Evil can only exist where there is a will divergent from God’s will. Therefore an inanimate object or a particular action can only become “evil” through association with some sort of intent. For example, stabbing with a knife becomes an evil act when it is associated with the intent of hurting someone or something.

(OK, it’s not an all-encompassing treatise, but this is a blog. If you need a deeper analysis, go snuggle up with your copy of City of God instead.)

Where the water gets muddy is when we combine #7 with #3. There is real danger here, and there are obviously blatant examples of these occasions of sin that surround us daily. These ought to be scrupulously avoided to the extent possible; however, in order to avoid the danger of #4, we must also analyze our actions and weigh them in the balance. What benefit do we gain by becoming obsessive and thereby creating an atmosphere of fear, anger, isolation and resentment in our homes, which instead ought to be a safe and peaceful refuge?

For example, in our society, fathers (and sometimes mothers) spend all day working outside the home. This is not inherently evil; yet it often leads to strife in the home: there is the physical separation which lends itself to spiritual separation; there is the lack of a constantly present role model for children; there is the shifting of priorities away from those of home and family…the list goes on. And yet it remains a necessary evil. We suffer it, and if we are wise, we attempt to counteract it to the greatest extent possible.

It is good to be aware of the subtle tricks that Satan uses to divide and conquer—but we must also be aware that division is the first step in that victory!!!

When we allow him to create divisions among us, we are already weakened. For if we close our hearts, how can even He enter within? At the risk of sounding ecumenical, it is our duty to seek out those things that we have in common, rather than dwelling on the differences.

Remember 'salt and light'?

Part of following Christ’s commandments consists in plotting our course through life with courage, hope and good will toward our fellow men. Sequestration and distrust cannot achieve this. An army of crusaders is useless if they sit fallow at home.

We must engage in battle!

Not in the sense that we consider the “other” as an enemy to be fought, but in the sense that Christ placed himself in the midst of those others and led them by example, by abundant love, by excessive forgiveness. When we agree to fight for Him, will He not supply our every need in that battle? Look at the quote in my sideline: The battle is His, not ours! He asks that we go out to meet the challenges of our day, with the promise that He will be with us.

Do not fear to engage. Do not fear the “other”. Do not fear even those tactics that are meant to ensnare us, for if we consecrate ourselves to His service, we make Him our rock and our shield. Consider first and foremost that we have a great thing in common: we are all sinners.

What we should fear most is that we should become so convinced that we are right, that we become like the Pharisees—the one group toward whom Jesus spoke most harshly.

And now there remain these three: Faith, Hope and Love; and the greatest of these is Love. (1 Corinthians 13: 13)

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Having your cake and eating it too...

Now that the word "cake" conjures up an image of a store-bought confection similar to quilt batting and covered in icing a mile thick, how does this ages-old expression for satisfaction then change?

Aren't a large majority of our common pleasures well described by the words above?

How many of the things we prize have more substance than fluff?

Our buildings are fluff covered with icing (or not...).

Our entertainment (TV, music, movies, computer games, etc.) is fluff covered with icing.

Our literature is fluff covered with icing.

Our food is fluff covered with icing.

Our health is fluff covered with icing.


And we're all eating it up in vast quantities.

Further, if we add that other favorite cliche, You are what you eat, doesn't that mean that we have made ourselves into fluff covered with icing?
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How strange...

...to feel a sort of...joy...while watching your child vomit.

There is no good way to explain such a feeling, except to those who have gone through this process before.

Today was day 2 of the SCD diet for us, and with perfect precision, the two people in the family who exhibit the greatest symptoms of behavioral disorder were the sickest, each in direct proportion to the severity of that disorder.

It is never easy--or gladdening--to watch your own children suffer.

But knowing that these die-off symptoms provide hope that they will soon join the ranks of normal, happy, robustly healthy people...I can only describe that feeling as pure joy.

And since you all know of my tender spot for the paradoxical, you may appreciate the wealth of irony in learning that even after feeding them the edible equivalent of pure gold, after looking upon them as the picture of health, we cannot be assured that our children truly are robustly healthy. Still these problems lurk beneath the surface, tormenting us as well as them. They are imprisoned by what lives inside them. To free them means to make them first a battleground. Thus, ironic as it appears, vomiting is a sign that their bodies are struggling mightily and prevailing.

God is good.

Aside from the general cloud that currently hangs over our house (one of grumpiness), our house has been relatively peaceful. Moreover, the grumpiness is more than understandable, if for no other reason than that we are all so hungry.

You see, it's one thing to get really tired of eating plain roasted or grilled meat, carrots cooked for 4 hours, eggs and apple or grape juice. It's another to eat them and never feel full. But having done a cleansing fast before, I embrace that feeling of hunger because I know what it will bring.

And above all, I pray that it will continue to bring peace to my family.


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Decadence...

The Chinese spent how much on this spectacle?

This, in a country that has, at various times, brutally suppressed most of the things the world tonight saw suddenly boasted of with cultural pride?

(I kept waiting for the part of the show that represented the Cultural Revolution...)

This, in a country where forced abortions still take place?

Where, even now, poor farmers live in medieval conditions?

Where pollution is such a problem that the biggest news for the past few weeks has been the smog?

I could go on, but the point makes itself.



File this one under: the pride that comes before the fall.

It's coming, folks. It's coming.
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And now...the SCD diet...

Well, as if our diet weren't already contorted enough, today we begin an entirely new level of culinary fun. It is called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or SCD for short.

Those who have read my prior posts about our diet will find no small amount of irony in what we are about to undertake.

We, who eat only whole grains and a significant portion of our foods raw, especially dairy, are going to spend the next several months--or years???--eating no grains at all, only well-cooked vegetables, and no dairy except homemade yogurt.

(Pause for effect...)

I can see that the burning question in your minds is why?????

Let me explain...no, there is too much...let me sum up: Humperdinck is-a marry Buttercup in little less than half an hour...

Can I sum it up in a few phrases? Probably not. But I'll do the best I can.

1. We are all born with a sterile gut, which is then populated by, first, our mother's colostrum and breastmilk (assuming you're lucky enough to be breastfed...), then all that dirt we eat as kids, etc. These organisms, called "gut flora" work symbiotically with our body's digestive system to keep it running smoothly...literally.

2. We use antibiotics or birth control pills or drink chlorinated water or eat garbage, etc., and they damage these gut flora. Other opportunistic bacteria and yeasts are happy to take their place, however, they are like your lazy cousin--they sit around all day, eat junk, get drunk and throw up on your couch, etc.

3. Once that lazy cousin moves in, trying to get him to move out is darn near impossible. You give up trying to scrub the vomit out of your carpet. (That is, your gut lining gets trashed by these tenacious and unwelcome squatters.)

4. Now that your gut lining is damaged, two things happen: a) you can't properly break down and absorb the nutrients in your food; b) it is easier for all this undigested stuff (and the dirty laundry and other niceties your lazy cousin leaves lying around) to get directly into your bloodstream, where it wreaks havoc with your immune system and your brain's delicate balance of chemicals.

5. You develop all sorts of problems, from Irritable Bowel Syndrome to Allergies to Asthma to Autism to ADHD to Fibromyalgia to Chronic Fatigue to Schizophrenia...you get the idea.

6. Even the healthiest of diets is only able to help a little, since you are unable to take full advantage of the nutrients in those foods. Worse yet, some may even irritate the lining of your intestine further (like all that fiber they keep telling us to eat...).

7. The only way to finally get rid of this jerk is the way the Russians got rid of both Napoleon and Hitler. (OK, the Russian winter was a big help there, but I'm talking about Scorched Earth.) Yep. Leave no beer or twinkies around the house. Eventually he's gotta make a beer run, then you can have the locks changed.

8. Here's where the overcooked food comes in. Your poor gut wall is reduced to burnt stubble. Must not irritate it. Soft, wet, well-cooked and carefully chosen foods are what you need to eat so that your intestines can heal. Remember what you ate as a kid when you had the stomach flu? Broth, juice, applesauce, crackers...then you worked your way up to some plain broiled chicken and rice... (Except this time, starches are a big no-no...)

9. As you start to heal, your symptoms subside and you can slowly and carefully add more foods in, eventually including raw fruits and veggies. If you don't go carefully, your lazy cousin will find an open window and sneak back in for cable and internet access.

10. After a year or two (depending on how tenacious your cousin is, and how bad that carpet was when he left, and whether you're extra vigilant to keep those windows and doors locked...) you can start to eat some normal food again, because you're all better. You don't have to keep doing it forever and ever and ever to reap the benefits. (Of course, if you go on a binge for soda and brownies, don't be surprised if you wake up to find that vagabond back on the couch...)



Today will be our first full day of this new diet, and we are expecting lots of fun as those nasties die off. The burning question in my mind is this: since we are not transitioning from the SAD to the SCD, will it be easier for us? Will the benefits be as readily apparent? We are about to find out. I will be posting with any interesting results as time goes on, so check back for updates...

On Hobbits and Ivory Towers

In my last post, I made a brief reference to the trilogy The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I want to expand on that a bit. For those who know the story (and if you don’t, I highly recommend it…), a great battle looms throughout the tale—the ultimate confrontation between good and evil. The forces of evil, as often happens, appear stronger, more well-organized and in possession of a peculiar power over men’s hearts.

There is more than one main confrontation, however. There is a decisive battle that takes place at the stronghold of Minas Tirith--the “White Tower”--and there is a more subtle battle that involves the Ring of Power, forged by the evil Sauron himself to subjugate all the earth. Two of the most unlikely and humble creatures are charged with the sole means of destroying this ring: by taking it to the land of Mordor—Sauron’s stronghold—and casting it into the fires of Mount Doom. They must travel into the heart of that barren wasteland, guarded by foul creatures and constantly surveyed by the all-seeing eye of Sauron, searching for his Ring. If ever there were a hopeless task, this is it.

These battles represent the different facets of the struggle that mankind faces against the demon. We do battle with him daily, through brief sorties from our ivory towers. And we do battle with ourselves, with our doubt and fear and our sinful nature. We can only be victorious if we do enough of both.

For those sequestered in their ivory towers, their distant rustic shires and their enchanted wooded bowers, it is natural to wish to hide from the ravages of worldliness in the hopes that the storm will pass over, or at least do only minor damage. This is not the way God intended: merely saving ourselves is not sufficient. Hiding in the ivory tower may save our hides—for a time—but in the absence of active opposition, the power of evil is allowed to grow unchecked. Meanwhile, we abandon our fellow men to the fate of either constant battle or surrender through attrition. And so by seeking to insulate ourselves, we merely ensure our own ruin, though its coming may be long and protracted.

Constant battle, on the other hand, can wear us down and rob us of our prized possessions of faith, hope and love. And all of us are neither suited nor destined for the front lines. For some of us, our role is not unlike those on the “home front” during World War II, actively supporting their country through war bonds, rationing, scrap metal drives, victory gardens and even creating “Rosie the Riveter”. The supportive role is no less important than that carried by the broad shoulders of those God destined to lead the fight, though it often requires more discernment.

And that is where the other track of the narrative comes in—the story of the unlikely hobbits and their unlikelier guide, Smeagol, seeking to accomplish the most thankless task—and yet the one without which the others are doomed to fail. For only when we accept the dangerous quest to vanquish our own personal demons through patient suffering, ineffable cheerfulness, and steadfast forgiveness are we assured of lasting success.

By surrendering our own will, we clear away the obstacles that stand between us and discernment of our role in this adventure. We must be prepared to begin our journey of faith--as Frodo did in leaving his comfortable, sequestered life in the Shire--though we do not yet know where—or how far—it will take us. It is most often this first step that proves hardest.

Those who have previously begun their journey may already sit in the council at Rivendell, debating the wisest course of action with heavy hearts. There will be those who can offer sage advice. Others will be needed to bear a sword, ax or bow. For some, the greatest contribution will be companionship, hospitality or supplies for those in need. And of course, for a few, a profound depth of character, determination and self-sacrifice will be required.

The good news is that we need not rack our brains deciding which course to take, for God knows just what He will need us for in the battle to come, and if we are prepared to hear His call, we will know when the time is right. Here I am reminded of a story from Corrie Ten Boom. In response to her fear about death, Corrie’s father asked her about the times when she went with him on the train:

“Corrie, when you and I go to Amsterdam—when do I give you your ticket?”

“Why, just before we get on the train.”

“Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things, too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.”

These resounding words of wisdom are equally applicable as we wring our hands over the state of the world, and find ourselves wanting to rush in and just do something, even if it is just to escape. All God asks of us is that we put our lives in His hands. In return, we have the assurance that when the time comes, he will abundantly supply us in our need.

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Feeling confused? You may be on the right track.

Our God is a god of apparent contradictions. (I say apparent, of course, because in Him there are no contradictions, though to us it may appear so…)

It seems that as soon as we think we have learned our lesson well, and that we understand what we must do, it becomes clear that we must travel in the opposite direction for a time. Those who are extroverts are asked to become hermits, and the hermits are asked to welcome thousands. God sets before us his law, and then He sends His son to teach us that there is something more important than the law. This exalted Saviour, the crown prince of heaven, entered our world in the lowliest of circumstances, kept company with the lowliest of people, and died a lowly death on the cross like a common criminal. He is asked by his disciples to dismiss the crowds that they may seek food, and He tells them instead to feed the crowd themselves. Our Lady appears to a young girl at the city dump, and asks her to drink from a nonexistent spring.

At each turn, we are confounded, forced to rethink our advances or even retreat. Yet in truth, there is no contradiction in these commands—it is merely our pride, our certainty—however justified—in being right, that makes it appear so. Are we truly being thwarted, or merely asked to achieve our ends in a way we cannot possibly have thought of ourselves, but one that is in every way superior in the end? At the outset, there seems no point in journeying deep into Mordor, yet to Mordor we are sent.

For example, we live in a world where sequestration seems the only viable option in offering our children a chance to escape the cesspool of unchecked wickedness. If not far from the tastes, sights, sounds and entertainments offered us by the petty pushers of filth, where else can we find the strength to achieve sainthood? What chance has the tender plant of survival, immersed in these poisons?

But how can we be salt and light to the world, if our light is under a bushel? How can we follow Christ’s command to Peter to feed His sheep, when we have a hard enough time feeding ourselves? Indeed, how can we be expected to feed five thousand with five loaves and two fishes?

…Amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

(Matthew 17:19)

We daily prevent ourselves from working miracles through our own disbelief in our ability to do so. We fail to do what we ought, not for lack of wanting to, but for fear that we will fail. His sheep have become so poor and sickly that they no longer even cry out for help, and we fail to feed them lest we too become diseased. So easily we forget that even our humblest offerings on the altar of the Lord, if offered with a pure heart, are blessed and multiplied many times over, just like those five loaves and two fishes!

But where to begin? How can one, who has always sought to heed His voice, go from seeking protection from the hurricane blast, to suddenly casting our fear to the same wind? What is the answer, O Lord?

No doubt for each of us the answer is subtly different, and we will receive it in our own due time. But I take hope in the choice of words our Lord used: he spoke of faith as a grain of mustard seed. The tiniest seed, entrusted to the earth, may grow and multiply beyond our wildest dreams. We cannot bring forth a full grown tree overnight. We must plant our seed, and we must nurture it. The rest is in God’s hands.

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