I'm Back!

Wow! I can't believe its been 6 months since my last post. I didn't really intend for a six month lapse but my life took a bit of detour, and I did need to focus more on God and on my family.  And if I was being completely honest I didn't have many perky things to say.  My parents always taught me that if I didn't have anything good to say . . . well you know the rest.  And if I was being REALLY honest, I've been pretty mad at God.

The year two thousand eleven was a pretty yucky year.  Shortly after we rang in the new year, my father-in-law passed away.  Along with the obvious grief, we became part owners of a little restaurant (which thank goodness my husband's sister and his mom run ) and sole owner/worker of a 50 acre farm full of cattle. Add to that of course hubby's regular job which is our livelihood.  Stressful!!  We enlisted the help of a neighbor and his wife who are helping us run the farm, and we have settled pretty well.  About that time, I started having some health issues.  In September I was finally diagnosed with Celiac disease which began a whole new lifestyle for me.  Just to be safe, we thought we would have the kids tested, never thinking anything would come of it, and low and behold their tests come back with gluten issues as well!!  About this time Marty was full force into incorporating Electronic Medical Records at his office.  This was a very stressful time for his office.  Throughout the rest of the fall, we would go back and forth between doctors and trying to decide what we were going to do about the kids' diets.  To be honest, there are still questions.  So . .  . . a lot of stress at once sort of brought me to the breaking point.  I really wanted to know,"Why, God!?  Why is this happening? Don't we have ENOUGH to deal with right now?"  I started to detach.  I was angry.  But here's the thing. . . . .

Once you have experienced passion and love for our God, when you start to stray or detach there is this. . . . feeling.  This deep in your gut feeling that won't go away.  I was going through the bible study Living Free by Beth Moore, and she kept talking about our thought lives.  More importantly how our thought lives become our actions. I had been swimming in a sea of negativity and "why me?s"   I needed to be reminded of how much God loves me and how he will never let me go.  And here's another thing. . . 

Somehow I began to see how God "prepared" me for the journey I was on this year.
1) God gave Marty and I this "feeling" that I was never properly diagnosed in years past so this year I was still searching for an accurate diagnosis.  Had I let this go, I could have destroyed my small intestine by having Celiac and not knowing it. 
2) I read several books in the last year about not eating preservatives.  I am already into "Clean Eating" meaning that I rarely ate anything processed.  Clean Eating is basically eating things that either grow from the ground or have a "mother" =)  . . . .plants, dairy, meat.  This helped the transition to gluten free eating.
3) I had being seeing a nutritionist to lose weight.  Elimiating carbs are what started me down the celiac trail because my body changed without them.  This gradual change to low/no carbs helped me make the huge transition to no gluten.
4) my kids were diagnosed after me, and by then I had done so much research.  I really felt I had a good handle on the diet/lifestyle change.
5) my husband was so supportive the whole time, even offering to go gluten free himself to make it easier on cooking and easier for cross-contamination in our household.
6) My doctor's wife has Celiac disease and she has been a fountain of informaton along with so many people who have seemingly dropped out of nowhere to help me navigate this disease. 

You see, there is no Testimony without the Test.  I am finally back in love with God.  In fact I'm starting a study in the book of James tomorrow, and I can't hardly wait to crack it open in the AM.  I know God will be glorifed through our struggle, and maybe we can help others.  So farewell 2011. You have stretched and blessed us beyond measure.  Hello 2012!  May this be a year of total reliance on my Savior!