Come On Spring

Lately I have been dreaming of spring. Some daffodils have sprouted in the yard so I know that Spring is on its way. I am ready to start planning a garden! I plan to expand the garden this year and replant through the season to get more veggies for the family. I may need to purchase a freezer to hold my goodies. I am going to plant herbs to use for medicinal purposes. I am attending an herbal workshop at the Ozark Folk Center in Mtn. View Arkansas next month. It looks wonderful and I am excited. I hope thoughts of Spring is putting a smile on your face.

Laughter and Family

I hope you are all enjoying the snow. We have had a great weekend. We spent it with Jason's cousin on Saturday. It is always wonderful to catch up. Too bad it takes a snow storm to slow down enough to pause and take time to share the day. I spent Sunday at a friends house embroidering aprons. The aprons were for a chili cook off we had at Cowboy Church last night. I definitely want an embroidery machine!!! I loved it. Due to my friends hand surgery I was able to do all the work. Then the main event last night. It was our 2nd annual Chili Cook off and 5th Sunday sing. We had a variety of entertainment which included our Cowboy Pastor rapping "Pants on the Ground". He even break danced. After the rap he gave us his country version of the son which was just as hilarious. What a great time of fellowship.

I think we often take ourselves too serious. The fun we had at church last night would be unheard of in many churches. Laughter is healing. It brings us together, it lets us put our guards down for a little while as we laugh at others acting foolish and allows us to act foolish as well. It lowers our defenses so we can let others see our silly side. Once these defenses are lowered and others see us silly perhaps we can allow others to see us when we are vulnerable. If we do then we can be ministered to and minister to others as we bring down walls through laughter.

Progress

Here is my latest weight loss progress. I have lost 6 1/2 pound so far. I feel good. I abandoned the HCG diet. I like the diet but it is so restrictive that my family does not benefit. I decided to change our family's eating habits and added exercise to my day. Not too strenuous exercise. I have worked out to a few aerobic videos but mainly stepped on the wii and walked. Today we are going to go play some tennis. I am planning a trip to Tulsa in the near future. I will go to Whole Foods and stock up on items we don't get here in NW Arkansas. I will keep updating as the weeks go on. Have a great day and I hope your new years resolutions are coming along.

Fun Day

I had a great day today! I grew up with brothers. I can relate to boys much better than girls. My whole childhood I hung out with the guys. While girls were playing "secret club" and skipping rope on the playground I was playing soccer with the boys. In high school I had a best girlfriend and the rest were guys. I was not girly, didn't care about hair styles, nail polish or telling secrets. My best friend was wonderful. God sent her to me. Many years I prayed for a best friend and I am still thankful for her.

My little sister (born when I was 16) is getting married in May. My sister in law called yesterday and suggested we take my sister bridal gown shopping. I was excited about spending time with two great ladies but not so excited about the shopping part. Let me tell you-I WAS WRONG! It was fabulous-from the 2 hours of trying on dresses to the all girl lunch.

Being with girls ROCK. I am going to make an effort to nurture female relationships in my life. I think I have missed some beautiful blessings being too busy to take time to find female friends. Going shopping, having lunch, getting nails done with a lady or two is no longer frivolous to me. After today I think it may be necessary. Look out friends. Here I come.

Gates

Lately my attention has been drawn to gates.
For several weeks I have noticed gates and asked God what message He was trying to send me. Isn't it wonderful that He longs to show us things every day? I wonder how many messages I have missed.















As I pondered this while putting on my makeup I felt the answer come to me. Often I have been told that when God closes a door, He opens a window. The only problem is doors lead inside to confined places. He gently told me that He has new lands for me. Great things that can only be entered through gates.

















I pray that I have courage to enter through the gate Yahweh has for me.

Time to Get to Business

Christmas was merry at our home. I hope it was at yours also. We celebrated the birth of Jesus and enjoyed our family. Jason worked all night Christmas eve and made it home around 8 am to open gifts with the kids. He napped as much as work would allow him. He had to take phone calls all day. We managed to sneak out late afternoon and watch Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakel. It was cute and better than the first movie in my opinion. This morning he was called back to work and the kids and I are lounging at home. I started HCG yesterday. HCG is a homeopathic weight loss remedy. I know several people who have used it with great success! We offer it at Ozark Herb and Spice to our clients. Yesterday and today are my load days. This means that I eat what I like and tomorrow I start a low calorie diet. I will post my measurements and weight for you all to see how I progres over the next 4 weeks. If you would like more info go to my website www.michelleedwardsjoy.com and click on the link HCG. Have a great weekend!

New Book

I am reading a fascinating book called The Book of Herbal Wisdom by Matthew Wood. It is a wonderful book full of great herbs found in North America and Europe. I love the stories he adds that explain what the Native Americans believed about these herbs. Remarkably, the Europeans and Native Americans used the same herbs for the same ailments long before they were acquainted with each other. I think that God is gracious and showed these people through plant signatures what was needed to keep them healthy. I also enjoy the "magical" uses of herbs through the years. Why not stretch our thinking to consider that herbs may influence our mind and spirit along with our bodies. Did God not create us mind, body and spirit? This book has been enlightening and educational. I look forward to spring when I can look for these herbs in my backyard and make a few tinctures. I know that they will be a great addition to my remedy cabinet at home.