Busy Busy Busy

So last week we had some fellows come over and help us with our back field. They helped to burn it and also disced and tilled it. We still have grass poking up but it will be easy to address with a mattock.

A few days ago Elizabeth and I planted 72 row feet of potatoes. I'm hoping our crop is productive enough that we can try "clamping" as a method of preserving. "Clamping" is where you harvest your crop and lay down straw, you place your crop ontop of it and then cover it up with more straw and earth. Supposedly it's what the Irish did/do I'm not sure how their variables are different.

I Finally finished clearing a 45x90' area of grass clods and rocks today. I'm still looking at doing that much, again. I've got a wheelbarrow now and things are going considerably faster. I had only been using a rake and fork.

Tomorrow's priority is to contact arborists in the area to see if they need to drop woodchips in our area.

This garden is making me feel younger, I'm so thankful for that. I couldn't find anything to shake me out of feeling double my age, even after having been home for nearly a year.

In other news, last night I took the opportunity to attempt adjusting the belt on the treadle sewing machine. I was quite discouraged at how loose it had "just" become, even though it had been left alone. So I clipped off a quarter of an inch from the end, pierced it with an icepick, attached the staple and checked the fit. It still wouldn't engage. After repeating the process three times I had perfection. I was so eager to see Elizabeth Ann try it out but something about waking her up at 2am just didn't seem wise. Needless to say, when she did try it out it took a little getting used to but now she can't wait to find time to use it. We have countless yards of material ready to be used : )

I've got machines!! A new Grizzly table saw and a Grizzly jointer. I'm ready to use them but the outlet are absent.

My neighbor has experience putting 220 electric outlets in his house. Pretty soon we'll be doing that for my machines. At the moment they are second in priority to the garden. I'm ready to build my planemaking bench but some dust needs to settle.

I'm very happy with where we are at, things feel correct. Occupationaly, spiritually, and just around the house.

We are getting ready to put some seeds in the garden : ) Beans, peas, onions, maybe leeks and shallots, and we are assessing when kale is ok to plant.

Monday and Tuesday we went to a local meeting where a Hebrew Roots speaker by the name of Brad Scott talked about a variety of topics but his emphasis was on unity in the movement. We were very happy to of gone, even if we were both exhausted from other activities.

I know I need a way to get more photos on here, they're important for context.

I think we will start posting content on the Sabbath since we find our hands empty only that day of the week.

Shalom,

Praying blessings for all of you in our Father's name.

Anabaptist Dancing! Part One



This posting is a posting of honesty, introspection, reflection, and redirection.

When I was young in the pentecostal church I rarely-if-ever hesitated to worship our Lord by dancing, leaping, or even running the aisles. I'm talking about when I was probably eighteen to the time I was twenty-three.

It was around the time I turned twenty-three that I began to have personal contentions with the way the church worshipped. I began to feel that there was an absent focus on preaching but a very present focus on active worship. There wasn't enough preaching and too much music and dance. I let my focus on this become a distraction and a roadblock to my personal walk with God.

After I was married the contrast to my former self was stark. I really didn't worship God in the same way. Even though I was fellowshipping with the same congregation I became stiff and uptight. I no longer sang aloud, I never danced, and certainly never ran the aisles anymore. I began to look down on those that did worship that way as disorderly and out of touch with what God expected from us as worship.

It's funny how my contention was with the fact that there wasn't enough preaching, but that my focus became rather the way in which we worshipped. So I guess in the absence of preaching, I became focused on the one thing that was truly present. Worship. The altruistic purpose for which we meet in fellowship. To give God the glory.

I want to be clear that this is all a recent revelation to me. My eyes are being opened to the deception I let myself believe. No one indoctrinated me with this back then. I guess it was partially my thoughts on becoming an adult and "acting" mature that also firmed up my new conviction.

The word of God says that we are to be like children. This is very true. It's not easy to let that guard down for everybody, but it is a commandment.

David's Wife, Michal, was made barren because she mocked David for worshiping by dance. We should follow his example, clearly it is Biblical. Furthermore it is evident that if we try to dissuade others from worshipping in this manner, that we are as guilty as Michal



Here are the two parts of 2nd Samuel chapter 6 that discuss the offense of Michal.

6:12-16

¹² And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness.
¹³ And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings.
¹⁴ And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
¹⁵ So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
¹⁶ And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart.

And here is 6:20-23

²⁰ Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
²¹ And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel: therefore will I play before the Lord.
²² And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
²³ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
The word "play" in verse 21 is referring to the instruments that David played, not the playing of a child. Nonetheless it would still be relevant even if it were misunderstood. Leaping and dancing before the Lord is a very shameless way of worshiping.

I honestly felt bad for David when I read this because for those that don't know, David was given Michal by Saul. The Bible says twice in 1st Samuel 18 that she loved him. I can only presume that the love was reciprocated because when Saul told David that in order to have her hand in marriage that he wanted one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, David came back with two-hundred. Seems to me that is a statement.

Well unfortunately for David, while he was away for a period, Saul took away his daughter as David's wife and gave her to another man. After a long while David was able to get her back. This scripture above transpired after he repossessed her. We can only infer that she no longer loves him.
That's sad. What's worse is that her own hatred that she cultivated in her heart caused her to become barren. Michal rebuked David for worshiping the Lord. It really is that simple.

That point aside, let's refocus on the overall point of this posting.

If we have the inclination to dance and leap before the Lord as a form of worship, we have the Word of God illustrating to us that it is holy and appreciated of the Lord. Also, the Word makes it clear that we are not to ridicule or persecute anyone for doing so. For me to observe this is a true exercise in humility. My pride is swallowed. I was wrong. However I am thankful for the experiences I had on my detour. It has made me the Christian I am today.

A congregation of dancing anabaptist pentecostals, that would be beautiful.

Since I've had this revelation I've come to the conclusion that there is a time for worship and a time for preaching and if a balance isn't met, then the needs of the people and the needs of God are not being satisfied appropriately. I'd have no problem meeting with pentecostals if I knew in advance that it was going to be a worship meeting, but I would have a problem if it was conveyed that there would be preaching and there wasn't any.

Bear with me, I'm coming around to this myself.

I've been to pentecostal services that were three or more hours long, I loved them!
Sometimes it would be two hours of dancing and one hour of preaching and honestly I am fine with that, I truly feel like that gives God the glory he deserves. But I've also been to meetings where there was twenty minutes of preaching and an hour and forty minutes of music and dancing. That kinda bothers me. That happening once is tolerable, but it happened three consecutive weekends in a row.

I pray to meet like-minded saints.

I know there are other anabaptist pentecostals out there, but we are all on different levels. I truly wonder how they feel about these things.

I know how the Amish and Mennonites of today look at it, I'll be writing about that soon. It seems to be at contrast with the Amish and Mennonites of the 16th century.

Bless you in the name of Yeshua

When All Else Fails, Plant Roses!

 



See this beautiful rose?

When we first moved into our house we were forced to mow it to the ground because the grass was too high, the second time we mowed it because we decided that we didn't want flowers obstructing Elizabeth's view while she did her weaving. Then a span went by where we weren't able to mow the yard.

When we got back to it, there were THREE rose plants!

They won't die.

Apparently you can't go wrong with roses.

It's beautiful, healthy, and can stand being mowed over multiple times.

I'm not sure how tall it will get, but at this point we are done trying to kill it.
If it has this much will-power it deserves to liv.

It only stands about 6-8"s but that was still enough for one of the plants to put forth a flower.
It was a nice dash of color against our house.

A word of caution about roses. Plant them away from deer and horses, both think that roses are a tasty treat!

How Much Does It Cost?

Well I suppose for each person the answer to this question is different. I'll try my best to relate everything to our real life example as it in all reality is probably a typical situation for anyone seeking this life.

Elizabeth and I came from two different types of families but yet were brought together by a common love for God and an interest in homesteading. She had been raised in a family that gardened annually and that encouraged her activity in 4H. I on the other hand didn't become acquainted with providing for oneself till I was in my early twenties. I had a small collection of axes and saws that I had used to fell some trees on my fathers land in PA. I had truly expected that I'd be able to finish a cabin that I had started. We both brought different experiences and tools to the family.

Even with the tools that we brought into this marriage, we still find that a particularly large portion of our income is put towards homesteading tools and supplies, not to mention the space they take up. We have a room that is dedicated to crafts. It has two looms in it, one is full size and the other is about large enough to make things about the size of a place-mat. Both looms were gifts.

I encourage you to write down what direction you want to go in with regards to homesteading. It will greatly determine your budget. It will also determine what you do and don't need, and from that you will know what you will be purchasing in the future. I say the future because Elizabeth and I have been married for over six years and we are still acquiring the things we know we will need in the future (Like pressurized lamps and clothing material).

A lesson that many a homesteader learns the hard way is to buy the best quality that they can afford. Being cheap doesn't pay off in the end. We feel strongly that all homesteading tools should be heirlooms. The next generation does not need to struggle as much as we do. Not only that, but if you figure out how much money you spend replacing inferior tools annually, you quickly figure out that you could be greatly ahead had you simply purchased quality. The one exception to this that comes to mind is buying Snap-On Tools versus Craftsman. Unless you've got the money laying around, don't waste it.

The reality of the matter is that if you are going to liv this life of homesteading full-time, it will literally cost thousands of dollars. It's a life of passion that gives us much pleasure. So instead of spending a large sum of money on a TV, spend that money buying something you can use to make yourself money.

I know I've made it sound like alot of money, but when you consider the different directions in which one can go, the truth becomes evident. Many of us will acquire things for free and that furthers our ability all that much. It is quite possible in many places in the U.S. to find draft horses for free, people just can't afford the hay and feed, but then you have the cost of leathers and implements.
I by no means have gotten to that point, but I will admit I entertain the fantasy. This is a case where once you own land, the horse, and the items pertaining to the horse, you only really have to worry about the cost of the horse coming up again a dozen or so years down the road.

I'm struggling as it is to make my plane-making venture work. Machinery is not cheap. Yes you can buy a table saw used but you never know how the previous owner took care of it. With machines it's best to buy new and to try to get a warranty. That costs money. On the upside, it's probably a machine you will own the rest of your life. Don't buy cheap with the express intent of saving money. Buy quality with the intention of owning something for a lifetime. It may be uncomfortable at first, but the rewards will show themselves in time.

I'm not sure how well I helped you, my goal was to be honest. There is no way around the fact that any venture you take in life will cost money. Homesteading will be expensive. Plan ahead and use your money correctly.

I hope this helps.

Lord bless.

2 Gallons of Real Cow Milk!

 

This is what real cow's milk looks like. The stuff they sell at the store in no way resembles this. Once you have tasted and handled real milk it will anger you what they try to sell you. They exploit your lack of knowledge. Basically the milk they sell at the store is milk that has had all the cream taken out of it, they use it to make butter and other products. When you drink this at home you keep the cream in it, it is what gives it it's depth of taste and nutrition. Without the cream this milk is not appetizing, though I would still sooner drink it than what they sell at the store.

The arrow shows you where the division between the milk and the cream is.

 

Typically I shake the container before I pour a glass. Otherwise the first glass can taste like liquid butter, quiet a funny experience for a newbie. If you are a skinny guy like me and are trying to gain weight, this is the stuff you want to drink. It tastes great, is much cheaper than weight-gainer, and is also much much healthier for you.

 

This is supposed to be a one gallon jar, but it turns out to be a full five quarts. A quart of cream and four quarts of milk. It's a real nice treat every week. We consume about two of these containers a week. If we had teenage sons there would be no way that I'd be caught without a milk cow!

 

I've personally met the cow that gives us our milk, sadly her owners haven't given her a name.

She gives about 3-4 gallons a day they say. That's enough to satisfy her owners needs and pay for herself. We are currently paying 5$ a gallon container. To us it is more than a reasonable deal, especially considering that the cow is a Guernsey and that she is grass-fed not grain-fed.

 

We currently liv in the state of Arkansas where it is legal to purchase cow's milk from off the farm. I will never again purchase milk from the grocery store if I can avoid it. It is immoral that they try to call it milk. It is not milk.

 

I strongly encourage you if you are able to, to get ahold of some real milk. I've only had store bought milk my entire life. I grew up in Houston Texas. Don't buy the lies from the milk companies and big government that tell you real milk will kill you. It won't. If you're worried about it, just check the farms facilities and make sure that they practice proper hygiene. Be cautioned, some places do not practice proper hygiene, the burden lies on you to validate.

 

We made butter from a gallon we purchased. We'll be posting that probably later this week. We have plenty of pictures!

 

By the way, this is only our third week having real milk. We are still very new to it.

 

This is milk the way God intended it to be, unadulterated by man.

 

 

 



Pastors Of the Porters-An Invitation

We know that there are like believers out there. I know this, because we have met them. Granted those meetings were before we had this blog and also only in passing. You meet a lot of people as a truck driver.

Well, we need an individual or individuals that are willing to be our preachers. At this time, I do not feel that it is the will of the Lord for me to establish a home church and to lead it. I simply am not learned enough nor do I have a sufficient memory to communicate adeptly the ideas and their foundations that I have gleaned from the Word of God. I may be eloquent, but I am not where I need to be yet. I feel secure that there will be that time, it's just not now.

If you are an anabaptist pentecostal and are interested in leadership, please email us. Even electronic pastorship is appreciated.

porterhomestead@gmail.com

Lord Bless.

Want To Join? What would your contribution be?

This posting is being written with the intention of provoking your interaction.
We'd like to hear what your contribution would be to the discussion of faith and culture.  

I think to this point Elizabeth and I have made a fairly clear point of where we stand on our theology and our convictions.

We are curious about where you are with your walk with God and what brought you to our blog?

At this point we do not have a plot of land that we can liv off of, that won't happen for five to ten years, but when it happens for us, We are curious. Would you like to join?

We'd prefer families to purchase at least 10-20 acres. We'll let you know "where" when the time gets closer. We'll let you know this, land is selling there for 2,000$ an acre, a fair price.

If enough families commit there would surely be enough "sub" groups that everyone's ideological differences would be satisfied.

At this point the binding factors of our "preferred" community would be
1. horse and buggy
2. No electricity in the house
3. Electricity in the shop is fine for working men
4. Bi-weekly fellowship with like-believers
     This means that every other week would be spent with a different community
5. Homeschooling for children
6. Men either work from home or with other men of the community
7. Higher education is not encouraged for women, unless they intend to remain unmarried
8. Higher education is only encouraged for men when there is no alternative.
9. Trades are encouraged above all else.
10. Women are encouraged to enjoy their life and to perfect the art of motherhood

Our Theological Establishment Is Founded On The Bible
the following statements are the theological foundation for our community

1. Weekly conversations on the Biblicality of our beliefs and convictions-this is a lot of fun to dive into, you learn so much that changes they way you look at the world.
2. We all believe in one God and that his name is Yeshua.
3. We are baptized in our Lord's name.
4.We Read from the Bible daily.
5. Legalism is heavily discouraged
6. We believe in water and spirit baptism
7. In situations where it is merited, we do believe in shunning.
8. There is to be MORE THAN one preacher.


There is more to the list than this, but that is why we need your input. This is only intended as a starting point.

I encourage you to contact me through email. I will respond.
And if you are comfortable with it, I would prefer to post your reply for others to read and comment on.

My email is Porterhomestead@gmail.com

Every individual brings a new and different dimension to a group. We all have different life experiences. We encourage discussion to move things forward. We are curious about what you would like to see in a community.

Having a community makes it much more simple for our children to find their future mate. Living states away makes things difficult for everyone, and many opportunities are lost as well. Not to mention the potential loss of a sense of identity.

Lord bless, We'll talk again later.

Grandparents, Be Thankful For Them

Everybody knows that parents are a necessary part of life for anyone growing up. Whether they be your birth-parents or even just legal-guardians. We've all had parental figures around us as we grew up instructing us as to what they thought we should do as life brought us a multitude of life-changing intersections.

Whether it be the decision of what occupation we should take up, or even, what do people do during their courtship years.

I grew up with two parents, my father is the quiet type and prefers to stick to his athletics and stock market interests. My mother on the other hand was a little more involved in my life. She would let me know when music I had purchased was too offensive for her to tolerate and when I should stay away from certain guys I had chosen as friends. She did what a mother was supposed to do. She made a delicious dinner every evening and we would all eat together, the entire family. She would clean the house and clean our laundry. She'd let us know if we let our room go too far and that we needed to clean it. I got my first job because of some stern encouragement from my mother. When she got a car to replace her van, she let me have the old car. I had a very fun youth because of it.

I like to think that I know my parents well. I know I don't know everything about them, or even a lot about them, but I like to think I know the things I should.

When it comes to my grandparents, I never really got to know either pair. Both grandfathers passed before I was old enough to understand who they were. By the time my mothers mother lived near us her health was so feeble that she really wasn't cognizant of who I was, she passed when I was ten or eleven. My fathers mother I knew a little better but I tried to keep quiet and keep my distance. She was unaffectionate and irritable. I tried to work around her quirks. I remember one time she took me on a small car trip around her town and showed me a sheep farm, she showed me a spring where the townspeople would fill up jugs. I cherish the few but deep memories I have of being with her. She lived about 22 hours from where we liv nowadays, so I only saw her very few times. She's passed on as well. Her house went to my aunts family, a piece of land went to my father.

I've never really been around friends that lived with or around their grandparents. But as I get older I wish more and more deeply as I go on that I had a pair of grandparents to fill that elderly niche that only grandparents can fill. They give us a deeper understanding of our heritage. They help us to understand ourselves and why some of us are writers and others of us musicians. I never really knew my grandparents, but I can truly say that I miss them. I miss them.

If all I can do is encourage you to enjoy and appreciate your grandparents, then that's what I'm trying to do. Granted you have the opportunity.

Grandparents symbolize honesty, virtue, and stability-in my opinion.

Through the years I've tried to find replacements for the grandparents I didn't know. I never really did have success. There's just no substitute for your own original grandparents.

My prayer is that in the event the Lord tarries till after I pass, that I be able to liv in a home filled with my grandchildren. I know that could be twenty-plus years from now, but it would fill my heart with joy. Every member of a home has a niche, every child, every teen, every adult. And every lesson we learn as we go through life's lessons in each of these stages, prepares us to be the grandparents that the Lord intends for us to be.

The purpose of life is to raise a better generation.
The meaning of life is to become the person it takes to raise that better generation.

Let the Lord mould you into the grandparent he needs you to be, today's and tomorrow's generation need people aware of the importance of altruism. It takes a lifetime to become that person, that's not an accident. It's his design.

I pray this posting brought peace to you and left you feeling edified. I pray God's blessings on your house, friends, and family. In the name of Yeshua, bless you.

The Wisdom Of Attending College

I'll preface this post by saying that both Elizabeth and I have attended and graduated from college. In fact, she is currently finishing her MBA.

For us though, we view this as feeding the beast as a means to slay it. Elizabeth has many connections inside of her workplace that desire her to help. Her MBA will not only assist her in attaining these positions but also higher pay.

The higher pay is what is necessary to pay off the college she was expected to attend in the first place. College is the cure to the disease that it, itself creates-debt. This route does not and will not work for everyone. A lot of it goes down to where you liv, how your family supports you, who you know, and most importantly your organizational and work ethic. All of these have to work in just the right way. It's a very risk prone method of self-advancement.

I will not encourage my sons to attend college. I will however prepare them for life. Read THE TRADES OF MY SONS blog posting.

If Elizabeth and I had been raised in plain families, neither of us would have college debt at this point, and the both of us would be further advanced in our lives.



We have not always believed college to be a negative endeavor. It's only been with the current economic downturn that the negatives of college have become more and more obvious.

The only time I encourage college for an individual is when they have been guaranteed a job by someone they know very well, I.E. their father. Another stipulation that I encourage is that they know how the schooling will be paid for. And it's no shame to them if their father pays for it. And when I say "paid for", what I mean is, In-Full before the schooling is finished. NO debts or liabilities upon exciting the institution.

Here is a quote from a famous author.

"Students who acquire large debts putting
themselves through school are unlikely to think
about changing society. When you trap people in
a system of debt they can't afford the time to think.
Tuition fee increases are a disciplinary
technique, and by the time the students graduate,
They are not only loaded with debt,
but have also internalized the
disciplinarian culture. This makes
them efficient components of the
consumer economy."

-Noam Chomsky

I could continue on about how supposed "Christian" schools are teaching heretical ideologies and compromising the integrity of the family structure, but I trust that if you are reading this that you are already aware of that. It's a shame what state our educational system has found itself in from kindergarten to college.

I will say however that the college that Elizabeth is going to now, is actually worth it's name. They say they are Christian and they act and teach like it. I can't say the same for  the college she went to for her bachelors. Granted her current school charges for that type of environment.

We fully expect that ten years from now that Elizabeth will be a stay at home mom, and that our families income will be earned by me.

Upcoming Posts

We recently took a photo of our 5 quart jar of real cows milk and quart jar from that was almost all the way full of cream alone. I could talk about that for a while, but that will be it's own post.

The things we have learned to do with milk just completely change the way you look at milk products from your grocery store, it's all fake and it's a deep disappointment. If we ever run out of real milk I will not handle it very well. We currently use two gallons a week, we are seeing if we can increase it to three but that depends on the seller. Prayers to Yeshua about that.

Pretty soon Elizabeth will be trying to sew again. I'm eager to bring out her sewing machine and table.

I may try to get a video of my piano playing on here. Just for fun.

Our seed garlic came in the mail! Photos are in order. We still need to figure out where it is going!

Our craft room is getting organized! Our guest bathroom closet became an impromptu book case!
We've got a photo of that too, it actually looks nice!

Elizabeth also found a neat article about matching material for patterns involving plaids. I'm happy to hear this. I'm looking forward to seeing them on Abigail.

I Pray the Lord bless you and that you are found in the grace of our savior Yeshua.

Beef Heart, Liver And Raw Cow's Milk!



Last Saturday Elizabeth and I were able to take a trip to one of our local farmers markets. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures of it. We'll have to make a point of doing that next weekend.

For as long as I can remember Elizabeth and I have sought raw cow's milk. Only recently in the state of Arkansas has the sale of raw milk been legalized, as long as the milk is sold on the farm to the customer. This excites us for many reasons. Some of those reasons include the health benefits, the ability to make our own cheese, we'd like to make cottage cheese, and the fact that we just simply need to know how to handle it in general. I can't imagine getting to make real butter for the first time. I get excited just thinking about it.

Well much to our surprise when we arrived at the farmers market, one of the first booths we saw was of a grass fed beef operation. Further to our surprise they sold organ meats! The prices were very reasonable. We purchased a heart and a liver for less than ten dollars! We figure between the two, that there are probably somewhere between 3-5 meals. We'll see and I'll give an update when the time is due.

Above all, they sell raw cow's milk. I couldn't believe it. All of our beef issues had been settled! We had a source of organs, milk, and grass fed beef. What a weight off our shoulders. Now we just need to get a deep-freeze and another fridge.

If you are wondering why grass-fed organ meats would get us excited it is because of the tooth diet that we are on. They have a high amount of amount of phosphorous and that along with calcium is what is necessary for teeth to regenerate.

 

I'll admit up until this diet, I spent a great deal of time pondering how I would dodge out of a situation where someone expected me to eat liver. Well frankly although I'm honestly not expecting that I will like it, I am expecting it to help my teeth.

Indigenous people on an indigenous diet do not have tooth rot. They do not have cavities. Typically their tooth decay is 0.5 cavities per 100 people. The trick is to mimic their diets. It's not easy but fortunately the Lord has taken care of us with many regards regarding diet.

I'll admit that I don't think I'm eating enough. But at this point I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that we are having to figure out how to wiggle around this diet. For example, we can have sweet potatoes and they are supposed to be good for us. Well we need to find some sweet potatoes!
We've not had any yet. We are having to completely overhaul the way we look at our pantry and our fridge. I need to look at where Ramiel Nagel's book stands on tomatoes. I like them, I'm hoping they aren't an offender.

I just red that liver is high in copper, this really excites me. I'm so eager to watch this regrowth accelerate.

Well I've looked at my book again and only found one reference to tomatoes, I guess they are just in the middle. However here is a picture that may tell you what you don't want to know.

 

 

I'll let you know how the taste test goes. The liver I expect to be offensive, the heart I expect to be veiny but still tasty.

Pleasure aside, health gains will be made.

A last note for the night. Elizabeth and I both still don't understand how it's healthy to eat an organ that is commonly believed to be full of toxins. If you understand the science behind it all we'd be happy to listen.

Michael E. McCartan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Word of God Vs T.V.

I wanted to go back to people saying that they couldn't handle reading the word of God for an hour. Can you handle watching T.V. for an hour. Many television shows are a half-hour long, how many of them do you watch back to back? O.K., so you do have the time..... So then are you really afraid of what you'll find in The Word? It can be intimidating, knowing that you are holding a book that has in it the keys to salvation. It can be intimidating knowing that our Lord expects us to act on what we learn about him in his Word. It can also be intimidating to know what our family and friends will say about us when they have known us all our lives and then we begin to change, not only on the inside-but also on the outside. Pray, read, have faith and be of good cheer. The Lord is on your side and will protect you at all times. Call his name and he will answer.

Back to the T.V. , I would encourage you to throw it out. It sucks your time and money like a vacuum. First you have to earn the money to buy one, lets say it costs 500$ and from what I understand, that's a cheap one. So that is an entire weeks earnings gone to something that will not return on it's investment. Then you have to pay for either cable or satellite on a monthly basis, that's more of your time AND money! Then to add to that, you have all the time you sit in front of the T.V. doing nothing productive! The T.V. steals hours of your life in the forms of work, money, and inactivity. You only have one life, and only so many opportunities to spend it with the ones you love.
We here in the U.S. have been brought up in a generation that values material goods and entertainment more than we value our money in our bank account and our time we have to be productive.

 

This is a five dollar bill.

Multiply this by a hundred. Yes, you would have to multiply it by a hundred! To equal enough money to purchase that 500$ T.V. we discussed. Does it bring everything into greater perception? How many hours would you have to work at your job to earn enough money to buy that T.V. and still be able to afford housing, food, and transportation not to mention life's other necessities?

There is an expression I use, and that is: Be smarter than your body.

If we acted on all the things our flesh desired for us to do, we probably wouldn't have any friends for one and would probably be in jail for one reason or another for two. The Lord designed us to be creatures that work, both at home and at our occupations. It is not healthy to "relax" for three or more hours a night and to simultaneously be nonproductive. I relent.

If you need one, a tertiary reason to abstain from T.V. is the content. It is damnable! When I was a child there were channels dedicated to family values that made one believe that altruism wasn't dead. Today, bad is called good and good is called bad. There is no station that I would allow my daughter to watch if she were old enough to understand. I had a lot of respect for the T.V. show "The Waltons" till even they made a show about divorce. Our eyes need to be higher than a T.V. screen, we need to look on the Lord.

We only have one life to liv. Let's liv it for the Lord.

 

 

The word of God in Psalm 101:3 says "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:  I hate the work of them that turn aside;  it shall not cleave to me.

 

And if you need another verse, 1st Thessalonians 5:22 says, "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

 

God bless you, everyone. I pray for you and your families daily. It would be good for all of us saints to come together in fellowship.

My Teeth Are Growing!

My Teeth are growing!

Alright for as long as I can remember, I've had poor teeth. Every time I went to the dentist I knew I was going to get bad news about how I didn't take good enough care of my teeth, and the ever expected "did you floss?". 

Always thinking in my head," what do you mean, did I floss?!, you KNOW the answer to THAT!". 

Well for just as long, I've also always thought that teeth should be able to heal themselves. I never heard anyone espouse the same concept, but still always felt strongly that God would not give us teeth that he just expected to rot out of our mouth without any control about it and with no way to reverse it. 

When I began truck driving, my teeth were not terrible but they weren't excellent either.  

As time went by I could begin to tell that I was developing holes in my teeth. My gums never looked healthy no matter how much I brushed. 

I gave up on my teeth. I've not been to a dentist for a cleaning in probably 10 years. 

As I drove and went through the constant malnourishment and exhaustion of being on the road and also only having sugar drinks to keep me awake on my trips, the holes became worse and worse. Cream Soda was my favorite drink. I could drink three or four in a day easily.

Thankfully I never lost a tooth, although there was a tooth in the back of my mouth that was so bad I wouldn't even let Elizabeth see it for fear of her taking me to a dentist against my will. Thankfully we never could afford all the work I would have needed. 

I told Elizabeth about my ideology and how I always felt that teeth should be able to heal back like any other part of the body. I asked her if she could find anything on the Internet about my suspicions. 

It took her a little bit of hunting but she found what I was looking for. A diet solely intended to grow teeth back and to cure cavities. 

The author of the book we bought is Ramiel Nagel. The name of the book is "Cure Tooth Decay". 

I'm only writing this because after being on the diet and I mean that very loosely, my teeth are healing themselves. When your teeth first begin to show signs of healing, it's kind of creepy. It goes against everything we are told from dentist. If we have a cavity and they find it, the only solution is to get a filling. Well now we know better.

(We've not been as strict on the diet as we could have been.) but that will be changing. Now that we know it does in fact work, we now have so much motivation to go full steam ahead! 

I'll try to make this easy to understand, because it really is all new to me. 

OK, so if I were you, I'd be wanting to know what is different about this diet. 

The bottom line is this, no sugars or grains. This will not work for vegetarians and especially not vegans. Don't even waste your time with vain questions about "what-if's". 

I'll tell you about how things worked for me. I tried to be semi methodical about it. I've been doing this now for I'm guessing three serious weeks. It took us some time once I was home to really mentally adjust to this "new normal". It took a while to get used to no fruit juice. Although I have had pure cranberry juice (very very tart) and have seen no stalling or reversal of improvement. 

Ok, but first things first. I knew I had to start with my gums, and preferably the most natural way. Elizabeth had told me that I could use hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash. I was excited about that because it's natural tendency to fizz when it finds infection is an easy aid to let me know when I need to use more or less, or wash with it more than once. When I first started with it, I think I rinsed at least five times with it, and always before bed.  

It took two or three days but very quickly my gums became as pink as my inner lips. I felt great about that. Hydrogen peroxide is very good about cleaning your teeth of any films and food particles, which is great if like me you have holes in your teeth. 

And something I didn't know about hydrogen peroxide till even recently, the bottle actually says that you can use it as a mouthwash! When I started using it, I thought I was doing something untested with it, all I knew was that it worked. Then one day I noticed it right on the bottle, made me feel much safer about all the fizz I felt in my mouth. 

 We'll be trying to take pictures soon, because at the rate they are healing now people may think that I'm exaggerating. 

The other thing I've been doing is taking vitamins and supplements at night and always when my stomach is full. I take six different types. The ones that I can remember the names of are silica, a type of butter oil capsule, a multi vitamin, fermented cod liver oil, vitamin D, and brewers yeast.  The last one isn't necessary, I just added it because we had it in the house and it's cheap. Can't hurt right?  

I've written so much that I'll let you digest all this. Bottom line, I didn't like dentists before but now mine is really out of a job.

When your teeth begin to heal you will notice the dentin. Due to its color it is easy to mistake it for rot, however because it is growing back in a place where there was once a hole, you know that in fact your tooth is healing itself. It's exciting when you see the layers of your teeth regenerating.

Something else I've noticed is that now that I am doing this, some of my teeth feel a sort of soft pressure in my gums. What I think is happening, is increased blood flow not only due to increased health in my gums but it's also increased attention from my body trying to heal the teeth. It's no different than your body healing a skinned knee.

How My Teeth Are Changing

How My Teeth Are Changing

When I first started this tooth diet I knew that I should take photos of my teeth just for proof, but I didn't; why? Because I was scared that I would actually see them getting worse. 

Well I regret that now. Here's why. After I began the hydrogen peroxide routine, my gums became healthy. Then I tried to refine what I was eating. 

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to source raw goats milk, I know for a fact that the milk is part of what is really pushing my teeth ahead. Elizabeth has also gone through the trouble of making chicken broth for us to use in as many foods as we can and also to drink simply by itself. We don't like beef broth to drink, it's just too gritty-it seems almost dirty in your mouth. Chicken broth is perfect, it's enjoyable when heated. 

Broth from a can is insufficient, you have to make it yourself. 

Most importantly NO SUGARS of ANYKIND!!

 Through this diet there have been times when I treated myself to small batches of sugar, and I mean very small, like four teaspoons of ice cream. In the day following I saw no progress. Yes, if you keep to it you will see progress on a daily basis, I have. 

OK, so what will you notice after your gums are healed and you have kept your mouth clean for a while. 

First you will see a white line develop around your large cavities. It's enamel regrowing. 

The next step may take a while, with me I noticed it so suddenly that it caught me off guard. 

Every day I used the peroxide I appreciated how it got the food out of the holes. Well I became confused this week when I looked in a hole that concerns me particularly because its very obvious when I smile. 

The peroxide always, without fail, got every bit of food out of the holes. But for three consecutive days it looked like I had bread stuck in the hole. I knew this wasn't possible because it never moved, so it had to be something else. 

I looked closer

It was the dentin! It's growing in the hole! Depending on how the light hits it, it can look different colors. 

Sometimes it looks yellow, sometimes brown, sometimes pink, sometimes gray. 

It's a weird substance. It looks soft like its very porous. I don't care to find out if it is or isn't, I'm just going to let it continue to grow!

So this tooth I'm telling you about had me distracted for the last three weeks, for the reason I told you. It's up front on my K9's, can't miss it. I smile alot. 

Well anyway I always look at every tooth that has a cavity just out of habit to make sure it doesn't have any soars and that no food is stuck in the hole of the tooth. 

Today I looked at one of my rear molars and once again I got confused. When your teeth have deterioration, you get used to them reflecting light back certain ways due to either enamel or saliva in the cavity. 

Well today I looked at that molar and it didn't reflect the light like it has for the last two years or more. The dentin had gotten so thick, in what must have been one night, that my eyes couldn't even focus on it. I kept tilting my head in the light to be able to see it right until I realized that the color of the tooth and the texture had changed. The tooth grew so much dentin that I seriously expect some very serious enamel growth in the coming weeks. Of course I could be wrong as this is my first time, perhaps it will take a month or more. But at this rate I can't believe it will take that long. 

I'd like to know what else is happening in my mouth that I can't see. I seriously must have dozens of cavities of varying sizes. I look forward to the day I feel confident that they are all healed and visit a dentist for an x-ray just to tell them how my teeth fixed themselves. This is seriously saving thousands of dollars and has to be healthy for my entire body. 

I'm really wondering what will happen two or three years down the road with my fillings. I'm really wondering if my teeth will pop them out. That would be great, I really don't feel safe knowing there is mercury in my head.

When my teeth are done healing, all the glory will truly go to God! I thank Yeshua genuinely for bringing this knowledge to our eyes. I knew he designed our bodies to heal themselves. I just needed to know how he designed it to work.

Thank you for reading and please if you have any questions just ask me!!

Michael E. McCartan

Christian Family Traditions

Elizabeth and I have now been in our modest home now for a little over three months. We have since been blessed with an adorable daughter that we love from the very depths of our hearts.

 Elizabeth has posted on her HOMEBIRTH EXPERIENCE. If you have any questions about it she will be happy to answer your questions. You can either post your questions under that blog entry or you can email us directly : )



Now that we seem to be finally settling in to our house, my question to you is this, What are your family's Christian traditions? With this I'm not talking about holyday traditions, but rather the day to day traditions. For example praying before a meal as you give thanks to the Lord for providing and blessing you. That is just one example.

I was not raised in a home where we belonged to a fellowship. I can remember going to church when I was very young, but I think we stopped going on a once-every-now-and-then basis once I was about eight. That being said, I can still remember us giving thanks at the dinner table. My family still does this, but only on holydays at formal family dinners.

As the head of my household it is my responsibility to set the standard for my family. Having not been raised by a godly father, nor having been raised around one, I am desireful of examples of how to be one. I know that it is my responsibility to instill in my children habits that will lead them in a
healthy relationship with our heavenly father.



Personally I try to maintain a personal tradition of reading ten chapters a day from the word of God, sometimes I don't succeed, but the wealth of learning is rewarding daily. I'd prefer to read five in the morning and five in the evening, but I usually have to read them all in the evening. Being a stay at home father has changed my schedule significantly. It typically takes about an hour, but sometimes less to read my quota.

Some people say they couldn't do that or that they don't have the attention span for it. I'll admit there are times I have to read a verse three or four times before I really begin to understand what it says. It's easy to skim over verses just doing a cursory reading, because in reality we don't really understand what is being said. I am guilty of this when it comes to books that have a long line of genealogy or even the book of Romans for example. The way that Paul phrases so many of his ideas in that book just leads me to scratch my head. I will admit there are times where I have read entire passages in that book several times, just to be left with a vague idea of what he was trying to convey.

This struggle to understand is worth it when I consider an eternity with our heavenly Father.

It also feeds my brain for a day of pondering the Word of our Lord!

So help me out, what did your family do on a day to day basis when you were growing up? What does your family do today?

What are ways that a father can build up his family on a daily basis? Did your father do something special?

I am asking you to respond. Write as much as you choose. It is all for edification. Glory be to our Lord, our Savior.

 

A petition from the McCartan family

 

 

Here is a photo of us just weeks before Abigail was born.

Be productive in reading the Word of God. It will make you wealthy, healthy, and wise.

The Blessings of New Life

The Blessings of New Life

 

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” John 16:21

 

I must start this posting by stating I had a very easy pregnancy. The morning sickness was mostly isolated to a few weeks in August as we traveled to Colonial Williamsburg and back. I did have lots of swelling despite being on the Brewer Diet. My only other complaint would be the emergence of the dreaded PUPPS rash all over my stomach during the last two months; the intense itching was terrible. My only forms of relief were using black tar pine soap and drinking dandelion root tea. The tea helped the most. 

 

As my estimated due date approached, many people started asking if I was afraid of giving birth naturally. Most of the people I worked with were very uneducated about homebirths and many made predictions that I would ultimately beg to go to the hospital. To be quite honest, I was not afraid. I had stayed away from the “What to Expect” books (don’t ever buy these as a gift) and had focused on reading positive homebirth stories and hypnobirthing methods. Ultimately, the hypnobirthing was thrown out the window as it promised that I would not be in pain. I was in ALOT of pain.

 

I went into labor on Sunday with irregular contractions which I misinterpreted as Braxton Hicks; they soon escalated into 10 minute apart contractions the next day. By 8 pm on Monday night, the contractions were under five minutes apart. Unfortunately, it was excruciating back labor as the baby was trying to turn. She had been in the correct position (head down, face down) for the last three months but had turned during the last week (head down, face up). I took multiple showers and had Michael rub my back during each contraction just trying to get a bit of relief. My midwife checked me around 11:00 pm and I was only dilated to 3. She left around 2:00 that morning to get some sleep but the baby had other plans. My water broke at 5:30 am in a big gush and I told Michael to fill up the birthing pool.

 

After my midwife arrived, I was only at a 5. At that point, I started to get pretty discouraged. I was still experiencing back labor and by the time 9:00 rolled around, I was spent. I dozed between the contractions. Sometimes, there was enough of a lull that I could fall asleep but then the contraction would be twice as long and twice as hard. I was exhausted and needed relief. The midwife checked me again around 9:30 and I was only at a 7. I wanted to cry at that point.

 

She did give me some hope, though. If I could keep from pushing for the next half an hour, she would help thin my cervix manually or use some evening primrose oil. I clutched to that hope and ran with it. After what seemed like hours of contractions, I asked “How much longer?” It had only been 10 minutes. That was disappointing but I knew the end was near. The apprentice and my husband offered some much needed encouragement.

 

At this point, I asked my husband to pray over us once more as we began the final legs of our journey. It was such a special moment for me to have my husband there to not only offer encouragement but spiritual guidance as well.

 

Around 10:00, she manually pushed the rolled lip of my cervix back during several contractions and immediately, there was relief. I could feel the baby start to go down the birthing canal! Each contraction was bringing me closer to seeing my child! I found new energy and was very excited. Another eternity went by but soon I felt a very bad burning sensation and my midwife told me to reach down to feel the baby’s head. I remember saying that I didn’t want to (mostly because I was so focused on getting it out!) but she convinced me to take a break and let my body stretch. I reached down in the water and felt an immense amount of hair waving back and forth in the pool. Like seaweed in the ocean….

 

I joked that if the baby had that much hair, think of the beard it must have!

 

We were certain we were having a son,

 

A few more big pushes and I felt a huge gush! The baby was out! The midwife caught the baby and handed it to me. Michael and my mother-in-law gathered behind me and we all just couldn’t believe there was this crying, slippery baby with tons of hair. It was such an amazing feeling of relief. I remember saying over and over “Hi baby, it’s okay!” After a few minutes, the midwives were asking me to check on the gender of the baby and to our surprise it was a girl! What a wonderful gift from God.

 

The next few hours were a blur. I remember taking some Hem Halt, being lifted out of the pool, and placed next to the fireplace while we waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsing, the placenta to deliver and stitching up a small tear. Various members of Michael’s family stopped by to see the baby and soon the midwives and my mother-in-law packed up their bags. Our little family was alone for the first time.

 

 

 

 

Takeaways for first time moms:

• When shopping for a midwife, think about what you need from her on your birthing journey. Are you one of those who ask lots of questions and want scientific answers? Do you need a cheerleader when that day comes? Ask for a client list. Call some of those clients and ask questions about the midwife – not their birth story. Everyone I talked to said the midwife I used was great and amazing but she wasn’t what I needed when that day came. I needed a cheerleader offering encouragement during every contraction and I was left discouraged more than once when I saw my midwife ignoring my pleas. I am thankful that I had a husband who stepped into that role.
• Ask about her methods for turning babies, dietary recommendations, and exercise regimens. My midwife did not know of any ways to turn a baby – others can. It may not have worked but we could have at least tried them. Having a child is comparable to running a marathon – you need to train for the big day. I wish I would have done more exercise than walking.
• Childbirth does hurt but there is a quote that I clung to: “The power and intensity of your contractions cannot be stronger than you, because it is you. - Unknown” Each contraction is one closer to bringing you to your baby. Embrace them and celebrate the end of each one.
• Don’t starve yourself during the birth. I did because I wasn’t hungry and have had a hard recovery. Force yourself to eat. Make smoothie ice cubes with a bit of avocado to keep up your energy. Drink chlorophyll water.
• Educate yourself. Do you want the Vitamin K shot and the eye drops for your child? We chose not to do either. Even if you have a hospital birth, you can opt out of these things. Let the placenta completely quit pulsing before the cord is severed. Newborns need this extra blood in their system. If you test positive for Group B strep, there are natural ways of combating this. Look for natural alternatives in everything you do – your baby will thank you for it.

 

Tips for newborns:

• Be sure to wake them up to eat in the beginning. Abigail wanted to sleep a lot and I thought it was just because of having a hard labor. She actually had jaundice and that can cause them to sleep too much.
• Co-sleeping has been the best thing for us. No blankets on the bed for the first few months. After that, be sure to have separate blankets for you and your spouse. Abigail always snuggles up underneath my arm and I have a light blanket covering the two of us.
• Clean around the umbilical cord during each diaper change with a Q-tip and water. Dry it with the other end. Continue after the cord falls off. If it starts looking reddish after the cord falls off, clean and slather with antibacterial ointment.
• Do not clean your child during the first week. Let the vernix soak into the skin. After that, you can wash the baby twice a week with a mild soap like Dr. Bronners. Be sure to get into the rolls around their neck and open their hands…it is a hiding spot for lint. If you cannot get them to open their hands, try stroking the back of the hand.
• Use reusable diapers to save money and as a healthy alternative for your child. We have not had a single case of irritation or diaper rash. There are many reviews out there and find what works best for your family. I currently use Diaper Safaris with Organic Indian pre-folds (Diaper Safari’s inserts are too bulky for daytime use) and Lalabye Baby diapers. I bought them from http://www.ecobabybuys.com/. They send daily emails with featured products at huge discounts. You may not get to choose from many colors or styles, but you can save a lot of money this way on baby products.

 

I will be posting a list of baby essentials for new moms/baby shower gift ideas as well as useful home remedies later. At this point, Abigail wears store-bought onesies and hand-me-down clothes. Soon, I will be making plain dresses for the upcoming bigger sizes and plan to post sewing tutorials. Please let me know if you have any other topics you would like for me to post on!