spiphywarfare

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  • To Wheat or not to Wheat

    This article was originally published on November 26, 2013.

    There is plenty of disparaging information available about grains in general and wheat specifically. Some of the best arguments against grains one can find are from Mark Sisson. Of course, these are usually calls for complete cessation of grain consumption. It certainly seems that an all-out war against grain is going on. Much of the information is compelling and well-researched.

    I find it hard to beat that drum loudly here when “a land of wheat, barley” is part of the description of The Promised Land. Proverbs 11:26 promises blessings on the one who sells grain. Reconciling my personal results with these and many other references is something I felt the need to do.

    There are some who feel that wheat is bad for you not because it is a grain but because of what we’ve done to it. Wheat itself has been bred and modified to bring farmers the most money possible through high yields, and for properties that appeal to bakers. It’s never been modified for nutrition. Then there is the processing of the wheat into flour. It is ground, separated, bleached, enriched, and maybe recombined to make “whole wheat” in some cases. This is a far cry from the when the disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.

    I’ve therefore taken it upon myself to test this. I purchased some organic wheat and used the Vitamix to grind it into flour. It only takes about a minute per cup to get fairly fine flour. I started to consume a bit of this. Last week I had a little Irish Brown Bread made from this freshly ground wheat. Then one morning I had biscuits and gravy. The taste was fine in both bread and biscuits though the fluffiness found in highly processed wheat was lacking. I plan to change little else and see what happens with my health.

    I will carry this experiment on through the holidays and put the results out after the new year.

  • Help Me be Content

    I went to watch the sun come up at the local lake this morning. It seemed to take forever!

    I sat in the quiet truck. The only sound I could hear was the heater blowing. The warm air succeeded in tricking my mind into thinking it wasn’t actually close to freezing outside.

    The edge of light at the horizon turned into licks of brilliant orange flame as it reflected of the scattered high clouds. Watching this slow crawl of life into another day gave me plenty of time to think.

    As I sat there I thought of things that had been, could have been, and will never be. I allowed myself to get into quite the funk. I know nobody else ever starts looking around at things and thinking how easy it would be if… I was that person, I had a new (job, car, home, etc.). But I did. I saw a heron standing motionless in the water. That’s right, I started to think how much better it would be if I was a bird.

    Egret photo by Egret by Freeimages.com/BrendaDBaker

     

    That bird. Standing there in the water. Not a care in the world. Why couldn’t I be that bird.

    I turned off the truck. I rolled the window down so I could listen to the sounds of nature. What I heard was the brisk wind blowing across the lake as it removed the magic of the heater from the interior of the truck and my “poor me” brain.

    Suddenly that bird didn’t have it so well. It was cold. The wind was blowing. He was wet. The lake level was down. Seemed like sort of a miserable existence.

    Yet, still he stood there. Motionless. Waiting for some small fish to swim by at just the right distance so he could snag a meal. Just like he would on a beautiful day in late spring.

    It dawned on me I’d been pretty much being stupid. As the sun finally poked itself above the horizon I found myself asking God to give me contentment. Asking to be content whether my surroundings are meager and unpleasant, or pleasant and bountiful.

    Lord, let me be content.

    Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. 
    1 Timothy 6:6-8

  • Carried Away With Ourselves

    We’re all formed into unique individuals by our own personal experiences. Those experiences taint, or rather color, the way we perceive the world around us,. In doing so they remove the ability to correctly perceive reality. That’s one of the reasons eye-witness testimony is so terrible. Your brain will fill in missing details with what it expects they should be rather than what they are.

    This translates into relationships and beliefs as well. We think a certain person likes or dislikes us and so we translate their actions and words through that perception filter. We think a certain relationship is good or bad and it goes through the same process.

    Maybe something in the Bible doesn’t make sense or align with a tradition you’ve been taught. When it collides with your perceptions of how things ought to be, it gets filtered.

    This all occurs because there is entirely too much information available to us. Our minds can’t process the information so we tend to, unknowingly, seize the information that is comfortable and easily fits our views while we reject (filter out) those ideas that do not align with our idea of what reality is. Entertaining those particular bits of information would be too difficult. Especially as we get older and more set in our ways. While age does indeed bring wisdom, it should not bring the inability to introspectively consider the fact that maybe you got it wrong. For a long time.

    So many things to choose from. There are so many opportunities that come to us during the day which give us the chance to grow. They give us the chance to experience a new understanding. They might come as something someone says. They might come in something you read online. Maybe you’re driving down the road and see a sign or a bumper sticker that could challenge your views.

    These are chances to grow. Hopefully we are rarely wrong. Sometimes we grow by solidifying our position based on more information. Sometimes we grow by learning new ways to counter the worlds culture. Sometimes, once in a while, we might grow by coming to the realization that in our pride we’ve been rejecting God’s actual truth for so many years based on an errant teaching or tradition.

  • Let 2022 Begin

    Just a brief video update of how my year’s kicking off.

  • Coyote Keeth’s RV Park

    We had a chance to stay at Coyote Keeth’s RV Park just outside Clayton, NM recently. Here what I had to say on Google with some additional info:

    This little park is super easy to find, super easy to get into a spot (they’re all large pull throughs), and super easy to get out of when it’s time to go.

    Our 40′ trailer and pickup had no problem fitting in our site. I wish the hook-ups had been a little further back in the site but that is really a minor thing. We just parked the truck behind the trailer.

    For us, it was the perfect place to stop midway to our destination. The whole park, including their bathrooms were clean.

    The folks there seemed to be a mix of one night stays and people in the area to work. No junky trailers or sites were there. The New Mexico surise from our site was a beautiful way to start the day.

    I stayed at an RV Park once where there were some junky trailers and long timers that had beat up lawn furniture and grills at their site. When we left I was glad to be out of there without witnessing an act of domestic violence. Sure way to get a pass from us when we’re travelling.

    I’d give it a five (as an overnight stay) if not for the train tracks right across the street. I’d easily recommend it for people that just need to pull over for the night though.traveling.

    I liked the train tracks a bit. They took me back to my youth when we stayed in some places near tracks while the family traveled. I could have used fewer passing throughout the night though.

  • Smoked Mixed Peppers

    Smoked Mixed Peppers

    7 ounces of hot, smoky, powder.

    That represents an entire summer of growing and several pounds of peppers. A mix of jalapeño, poblano, and serrano peppers.

    It also represents 6 hours on the smoker followed by two days on the dehydrator at the lowest setting. That was followed by a morning of cleaning/sorting and grinding.

    It may seem like a lot of work for a small amount of spice but man, is it worth it! One small bit of this to anything adds a hint of smokiness and a bit of heat that comes on slow.

  • Living With Back Pain

    So… after being alive for over half a century, and being grateful that I didn’t have back issues like people around, and younger than, me. My turn has arrived. It is amazing how quickly one can still learn new things, even at my age.

    For instance, in the span of just two days I have learned, and will never forget, not to put anything I ever want to hold in my stubby little fingers again on the floor. If I do, it will lay there, out of reach taunting me. Much like the cord for charging my phone did for hours this morning until I figured out an alternate way to pick it up.

    Also, don’t sit down, or stand up, unless you will be in that position for a while. It just isn’t worth it. I say this as I sit outside (the weather is beautiful) eyeing my empty tea glass and wondering when getting up to get some more tea will be worth it.

    I have also learned that I always remove my eyeglasses with my left hand. Well, more honestly, I used to always remove my glasses with my left hand. Apparently, my back has suddenly decided I am not allowed to let my left hand approach my face anymore.

    Follow this post for more great learning experiences so you can learn from my mistakes instead doing something stupid like thinking you can put some socks on like you used to.

    Update 09.20.21

    Back pain can make you feel child-like. How? When I got out of bed this morning, very slowly, I couldn’t even recall the last time in my life I was happy to put socks on without any help. Now? I can. It was today. How strange to feel satisfaction over such a small feat.

    Update 10.05.21

    In the last two weeks I’ve learned I have a torn meniscus and some alignment issues. It’s amazing to me how well our bodies are actually designed to work. A small thing gets slightly out of whack and it leads to so many other, unrelated (to the untrained eye) issues. I’ve been to a chiropractor and have already noticed some improvement. So much better to be able to move slowly, and have little pain, than experience it all day long no matter what. I’m sure I look funny to anyone who happens to be watching though.

    Update 10.18.21

    Thank The Good Lord! Most of my back pain has subsided. I still have moments where I wince and am reminded sharply, “Don’t do that!” But, mostly, as long as I move deliberately I can get by without many issues.

    The past two months has given me new sympathy for those with chronic back pain issues. It is so debilitating to your routine and I never fully appreciated it. I’ve known a few folks over the years with long-term back issues and have a new respect for them pushing through their pain as they did.

  • Lunch

    Soup made from tomatoes, onion, basil, and serrano peppers straight from the garden. Keto-friendly grilled cheese had a total of two carbs.

  • Sometimes, Life Really Stinks

    I woke up this morning and immediately these thoughts came to me with the incredible urge make a post. Today. This morning. So here it is.

    There are times in life when it really stinks, sucks even. Time when we’re in constant, unbearable pain. Sometimes it is physical pain, sometimes it is emotional pain. People all over the planet are facing the loss of loved ones, in fear of losing their own lives, being abused, and generally having terrible things go on in their lives. Sometimes the trial we face is the result of a sudden tragic event out of the blue while others are long-term difficulties that drag on for years.

    We all know this, yet when were in the midst of our own storm, it doesn’t offer any comfort.

    If you are in one of those seasons right now, I hope with all my heart that you are a believer. If you are not, I hope that you are open to believing. You see, the knowledge of where and what our lives are in light of eternity brings comfort. It doesn’t lessen our suffering. In fact, when you read the Bible it indicates that faithful Christians will suffer more because of their faith.

    But… this life is fleeting, James 4:14 puts it best, “…You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Our trials and tribulations, if we are in Christ, cannot go on forever. An entire life of suffering, on Earth, though tragic, eventually ends. Eternity does not.

    IF you are a brother or sister in Christ I pray our eternal hope and eternal home can bring you comfort in trying times. If you are not, I pray that you would consider Christ, His free gift of life and His love for you. He laid His life down to pay for our sins, and lifted it back to give those who believe in, and confess Him, life eternal. 

  • Drowning in Sin – We Should not Forget

    The wife and I were sitting on the patio yesterday. She let out a slight exclamatory sound and then informed me there was a bird in our pool. I went over an look at this poor guy flapping like crazy to keep his head above water. 

    I got the net and scooped him out. I didn’t know if he was going to make it. He looked like a baby bird. Most of his skin was showing. He was weakened, visibly shivering, and mostly limp once he was out of the pool. In short, he looked pathetic.

    I just laid the net on some ground cover and left him there. As my wife and I continued our discussion, I would look over occasionally and comment about how he was still shivering and hadn’t moved.

    I went and picked him up again. I moved him to on top of a cloth shade we have hanging near the patio to keep out the summer sun. He was directly exposed to the sun and a little breeze. He shivered a while longer. He finally stopped shivering and I gave him a caterpillar to keep him company. 

    Shortly after I noticed the caterpillar was gone and he had moved a bit. Next thing I know he’s sitting on the roof tweeting away and looking fluffy, dry, and healthy. A moment later he flew away.

    I sat and wondered how often we do that spiritually. We get caught in sin and we’re literally on our way to dying in it. No amount of our own effort can free us. Struggling only makes us more tired and pathetic. God, with no obligation to, comes, frees us, puts us where we can be safe, and gives us what we need to be healthy again.

    How often does that happen? We feel like we finally got our life back in order and we fly off, never again to think of the great danger we were in. Forgetting, until next time, the God who rescued us.