Living de Good Life – tales of our journey to live as natural and healthy a life as we can

My Journey with Intermittent Fasting

I would like to share with you my journey with intermittent fasting and a low carb lifestyle. First, I would like to share a little bit about my history and how I got here. Please understand that I have NO MEDICAL DEGREE; this is my story, my experience and I am not in any way advocating that you, my reader, embark on this journey without careful consideration.

My History

As far back as my twenties, I can remember experiencing lightheadedness, brain fog and “hanger” when I went too long without eating. Honestly, I can’t remember now who advised me to eat every three hours to keep my blood sugar steady, but someone did, and so I did. I still ate sugar and simple carbohydrates, but I ate some kind of protein every three hours. If I did not, I suffered the above consequences.

Then, in 2013, I was diagnosed with a sliding hiatal hernia that at times would cause “heart attack-like symptoms”. My stomach would slide up into that hernia and get stuck. I would then experience excruciating spasms that ended me with the squad being called when I was in Whole Foods with my kids. Talk about scary!

I couldn’t deal with that. I was going to Urgent Care frequently enough that they actually gave me an anti-spasmodic cocktail to keep with me. My doctor, Dr. Keith Lewis of Healthy Life Doctors https://healthylifedoctors.com/ helped me to understand that my digestive system was so inflamed that I had to give it a rest. He put me on an anti-inflammatory and alkaline diet.

After more than a year, my incidents were becoming less frequent, and I could tell that the inflammation was lessening! In the process of eating more whole foods, no sugar and no white flour or flour products, I dropped more than thirty pounds!

Now, keep in mind, this was in 2013. There weren’t a lot of sugar-free, low/no carb options in the stores. I had to order most of my ingredients online.

More Recent History

Maintaining that weight loss for several years, I was healthy and happy! I gained a few pounds here and there but lost them when I put my mind to what I was eating. I continued eating every three hours “to keep my blood sugar steady”. And then…

Covid-19

Last fall, I contracted Covid-19. I felt miserable. I didn’t lose my taste and smell right away but did eventually. Nothing sounded and tasted good. When something did sound good, I ate it! Mashed potatoes, gravy with beef from Culvers was the first thing that sounded AND tasted good! I felt like I was starving. I ate the same thing for 3 days in a row!

Needless to say, feeling sorry for myself, I started relaxing some of what I knew to be healthy for me. Now, I didn’t completely go crazy. I still stayed MOSTLY away from sugar and carbohydrates but allowed some leeway in my diet. Can you guess it? I started putting on the pounds.

Atrial Fibrillation

Meanwhile, after recovering from Covid, my heart started acting crazy. One morning, right before going out to milk and do chores, I knew my heart was POUNDING! As a result of Covid, I had purchased an oximeter to keep track of my oxygen levels. I was in the habit of checking my levels every morning. This particular morning, I could not register a rhythm of my heart rate. I asked my husband to check, and he couldn’t find a rhythm either.

So, I did a quick search online and found that exercise was one remedy for “A-fib”. Out I went to do chores as normal and amazingly, when I returned to the house, my heart was back in rhythm. “No big deal”, I thought!

The problem is though that this began happening more and more frequently. So, I scheduled an appointment with a local doctor I had never met. My appointment was for the end of January. When I arrived at that appointment, and blood pressure and EKGs were run, I was immediately sent to ER. “Which hospital do you want to go to?” was the question I was asked. I was in disbelief.

I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. My heart rate and blood pressure were so high upon arriving in the emergency department that they almost made me stay overnight! But that was just the beginning.

As I began to monitor my symptoms, I realized that my heart had a reaction to eating carbs…even healthy carbs like sprouted wheat bread! I tested the reaction a few times and realized I wasn’t just imagining it. So, I decided I would eat a ketogenic diet (which I was a bit familiar with because my son and his wife were eating that way). No sugar and no carbs for a week, was what I decided. Guess what? NO reaction! My heart definitely was steadier.

Excess Weight!

In March, I began to realize how much weight I had put on. I was afraid to get on the scale, so I began to do some research. I was already eating a ketogenic diet, but I was still eating every three hours “to keep my blood sugar steady”. Again, I began to do some research as well as talk to my Dr. Lewis!

He suggested intermittent fasting. I feel kind of bad at how quickly my response to him was “I can’t do that. I need to eat every 3 hours!” He also, after looking at some test results, said that my blood glucose was too high. He labeled it as “insulin resistance”. OUCH! Now I had something else to research!

You won’t believe what I found out! I did this to myself!! By eating every three hours for YEARS, I was dumping glucose and triggering an insulin response so frequently that I had overloaded my cells! And what is the ONLY remedy and means of reversal for insulin resistance (and even diabetes type 2)? Intermittent Fasting! At this point, I was motivated to try it. I read that it probably would take up to 8 or 9 months to reverse the insulin resistance, but that seemed doable to me since it had taken me years to get to this point!

During that visit with Dr. Lewis, he suggested I watch some of Dr. Fung’s YouTube videos on the subject. So, I did! Here is a link to the first one I watched. https://youtu.be/r0d5lJzMXnM. I also had followed Dr. Berg on YouTube and he was in agreement with Dr. Fung. Here is that link: https://youtu.be/pxl8hhyN6AQ. I watched every video the two of them had on the subject! I was on a mission!

Intermittent Fasting

Since both of these experts as well as my own expert, Dr. Lewis, agreed, I was convinced that this is what I had to do. I began my intermittent fasting journey in March with fasting twelve hours: from 6:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. Gradually I increased it on both ends to 14 hours fasting and a 10-hour eating window, then to 16:8 and then to 18:6. This has worked well for me. I have even completed a couple of twenty hour fasts with a four-hour eating window.

The Ketogenic Diet

There are many who lose weight with intermittent fasting without giving up sugar and other foods they want to eat. But since my main goal is to reverse my insulin resistance, I can’t eat sugar and simple carbohydrates, as these are the foods that cause an insulin response.

Results!

It is now the first of August. The change has been slow, but I am not worried. I can tell it’s working! I told you that in the beginning, I was afraid to weigh. After I could tell by my clothes and see in the mirror that I had lost some weight, I got on the scale. That was my “starting point”. I have now lost 6 pounds from that point and more than five inches off my waist. I know I have lost more since the beginning of this journey but have no way to measure it since I was afraid to know how much weight I had gained.

DISCLAIMER:

Again, I want to emphasize that I am not a doctor. I have no formal training! However, I DID follow the advice of Dr. Lewis! This is a simple documentation of my own journey with atrial fibrillation, insulin resistance and weight loss. Please do your own research!

Recipes and Websites

My “PART TWO” of this post will include websites of “ketogenic cooks” and their recipes that I have found to be reliable. There are definitely some unreliable sites out there that have resulted in wasted ingredients and nothing edible for dinner, so I hope to be able to prevent you wasting your time if you choose to try a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting to regain your health and bring your blood sugar levels into control!

Thank you for reading!

Please contact me if this has been a help or encouragement to you, or if you have questions that perhaps I can answer!

Through What Window are You Looking?

Viewpoint

It’s a fairly well-known fact that how we handle what comes our way in life is largely dependent upon our viewpoint. It affects how we see the past. It also affects how we see the present and the future.

The antique window pictured above is hanging in my living room. I can change the background. Therefore, I can change what I see through my window. For the Christmas holidays, I stapled a holiday scene to the back. But we cannot so easily change our viewpoint on life.

I always get pensive at this time of year. I suppose looking back at the year ending and seeing it with 20/20 vision gives perspective. But, when looking forward to the new year beginning, we can see nothing for certain. We may make resolutions of one kind or another or we may make plans to do something we want or need to do. But the truth is that we don’t know what lies ahead. What is also true is that we have no control over what lies ahead!

Looking Back

There is no doubt that this has been a tough year for many, including me, my family and many people that I know and love. I think back to when the year began and all the hope that we held for a better year than 2020 had proven to be. However, that’s not exactly how it seemed to go in many cases.

Many people have had tragic losses this year. Some losses were due to catastrophic weather events or devastating illness. Some losses were the unexpected deaths of loved ones. And still other losses were the emotional kind – hidden so that other people can’t see. How we navigate the hard things about 2021 depends on our viewpoint: what we see through our “window”.

Looking Forward

So how do we navigate an unknown 2022? How do we process the losses we have endured in 2021? How do we incorporate the lessons learned from the past into our daily living of the present and the future? I suppose it will be different for each person. Here are some of the ways I will incorporate a positive viewpoint into my life.

Walk with Jesus

First, I have already begun to be more deliberate in walking with Jesus. It’s so easy to put my focus on the problems and worries around me. But I have found that if I can carve out a regular time each day, preferably in the morning, to spend with Him in prayer and reading His Word, it affects my “window”. It allows me to begin my day with the perspective that I am not alone and that He is in control and will walk with me. It puts my mind where it needs to be.

Choose Love

Secondly, as admittedly difficult as it is sometime, I must choose love: love in my thoughts, love in my words, love in my actions and love in my choices. What makes it difficult is that it is so easy to focus on me…what hurts me, what affects me, what’s good for me, etc. It is also easy to focus on others…but not in a good way. Focusing on their faults, their failures to live up to expectations, and their unkind words and choices only derails my viewpoint! But, when I focus on love: showing love to others and saying loving things in a loving tone, it IS good for me and keeps my focus where it should be!

Be Determined

As a person who has dealt with the trappings of perfectionism most of my life, it’s so easy to focus on the details that drive us crazy. But, when we can rise above the messy details and see the big picture, we can make choices that say, “I love you anyway.” I will tell you that it is not easy! I will also tell you that it takes determination. It also takes practice!

Choose Your Viewpoint

Do we have a choice what we will see when we look through our window as I do with my antique window? No, unfortunately, we do not. However, we do have the choice HOW we look through our window! Our viewpoint, whether selfish, critical and frightened or loving, peaceful and hopeful, will determine how what we see affects us!

I have no idea what lies ahead in your 2022, just as I have no idea what lies ahead in mine. I want to live each day making each moment count. My goal is to make sure every person in my life knows how special they are to me. At the end of 2022 I want to look back and know that I didn’t miss opportunities to show love and compassion. I want to know that I showed Jesus’ love to those around me, even to those who are unlovely or unlovable. What will your viewpoint be going forward?

This is a good guideline: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A8&version=ESV. You can’t go wrong if you keep your thoughts on these things!

I wish for you a peaceful and happy 2022! May God bless you!

Saying Good-bye

Saying good-bye is difficult, whether it is expected or suddenly unexpected. As I have written in a few previous posts, we have dealt with many unexpected deaths here on de Good Life Farm. Of course, we raise cattle and chickens for meat, so those are planned and expected good-byes, but even so, are difficult. Life is precious, whether it is a meat chicken you have raised from “chickhood” or a steer you have loved and raised from birth. We take caring for our animals very seriously and thus, the loss of life is painful, regardless of whose life it is.

As I sat on the bucket milking Mocha this morning, I was very sad knowing that the events of the day would be very hard–hard on her and on me. If you have read My Name is Mocha, you know that Mocha left her mama behind when she came to our farm almost seven years ago, and it was very traumatic for her. She was fifteen months old and pregnant with her first calf. She cried the whole trip through town to our farm and for days after. I later found out Jersey cried for Mocha as we pulled away.

Mocha and Jersey playing around in the pasture after days in the barn

THE WHO?

Jersey is Mocha’s mama. Jersey is also the cow I learned to milk on! I am thankful that she and Ralph, her farmer, were patient teachers. I had such untrained, fumble fingers.

Ralph, Jersey’s former owner, visiting to say goodbye

Jersey has been mama to Coco (Mocha’s older sister), Mocha, Billy (Coco and Billy were both born while still at Ralphs’ farm), our sweet Oreo and our sweet Herbie. She has also been grandma to Mocha’s girls: Cocoa (named after her aunt), Caramel, Truffle, Hazel, Elsie and Daisy and great grandma to Snickers, Caramel’s daughter. Needless to say, without Jersey, there wouldn’t be a “de Good Life Farm”.

Jersey’s milk wasn’t the first fresh milk I had tasted, but I and my family, as well as a host of other families who are part of our herd share program have enjoyed her rich creamy milk for a grand total of about eight years! Our vet lovingly calls her “a lean, mean milking machine”. She’s not really mean. She is stubborn and will bully Mocha if she has the chance to get to fresh hay, water, feed or mineral first. I guess maybe she figures she is the matron and deserves to be first!

THE “WHY”

Jersey doesn’t “show” her heats at all (other than occasionally trying to “ride” Jeff) This makes getting her bred a challenge. When she came to our farm in 2016, we thought she was pregnant, but soon found out she wasn’t. Eventually we were able to get her successfully bred and in 2018 she gave us our precious Oreo! What a sweet boy he was! Then in 2019, she gave us our sweet Herbie! She is two for two on sweet boys for us. The problem is that in five years, trying a number of protocols, we have only been successful at getting her pregnant twice. Two calves when she “should/could” have given us five is fairly significant.

THE “NOW WHAT?”

Unfortunately, there aren’t many options when you have an eleven-year-old cow who can’t be bred. And it is also unfortunate that we cannot afford to feed and bed a cow who cannot be bred. Together, Jeff and I prayed that God would show us what to do.

Eventually, I made an appointment to have her sold at auction. It broke my heart but sometimes being a “farmer” means making very difficult decisions with something other than your heart. Then on Monday, I placed a call to our vet’s office to see if they knew of any other options. They said we could try to sell her on a local site as a “pet” cow who is still lactating. So, I placed an ad.

Within an hour or so, I received a response from a guy who has a cow who is getting ready to be dry in preparation for calving and he was interested in Jersey. So, today, he is coming to take a look at her. It would thrill me if she could continue to provide her rich milk to another family and live a little longer. We will see, but we definitely felt this was a sign from God that we were on the right track.

Mocha (l.) and Jersey (r.) in their barn stalls

THE “KNOWING”

So, as I was saying earlier, it hurts me for Mocha, knowing what I know: that she will again have to say “good-bye” to her mama and this time there will be no happy reunion as there was in her book. She will cry and she will mourn and that will break my heart. It may affect her milk production for a few days and I am prepared for that. However, the wonderful thing about cows is that they are very adaptive and eventually she will become accustomed to a new normal.

THE “NEW”

What Mocha doesn’t know is that rather than keeping the stall next to her empty which will be a constant reminder of what she has lost, tonight or this weekend, we will attempt to bring in her daughter, Elsie. Elsie should be coming into heat soon and we will try to get her bred. She’s a bit of a wild child…”Diva” like her mama, with a little wild thrown in since she has been pretty much free in the pasture since she was four months old. Getting a lead rope on her will be challenging. Eventually, we will succeed!

Elsie (Mocha’s daughter from 2019) and Herbie are buddies and have been since she was born in December two years ago. They are the “queen” and “king” of the calves’ pasture. They actually are more like brother and sister than uncle and niece. We won’t take her away from him for good until March–just long enough to settle her down and get her bred and hopefully in the process, ease the pain for Mocha.

THE GOODBYE

You know, it’s so good when you ask God for guidance and then you look back and see His hand. Jersey just left for her new home. It’s even better than we had hoped for her.

The guy I mentioned above came with his daughter and after looking her over and asking the questions he needed answers to, he decided she is what he was looking for!

She dutifully followed me out the front door with only one quick backwards glance toward the back of the barn where she usually exits. She followed me through the back yard to the waiting trailer. I stepped up into the trailer and she followed me without hesitation except for the step up into the trailer. That hesitation wasn’t surprising as cows do not like to step up into anything!

Herbie was obviously bothered and because he was bothered, so were Elsie and the calves. Anything to do with his mama is always of concern to him! Last year when she passed by him on the way to the barn, he ran to meet her. Jersey? Well, let’s just say she hardly gave him a sidewards glance!

Herbie and Elsie upset and confused as they see Jersey get on the trailer

THE FUTURE

Now, not only will Jersey provide milk for a family during the dry period of their regular milk cow, she may actually have the opportunity to get bred! They have a yearling bull that will run with her. That is like the icing on the cake for me and makes this post so much more happy and hopeful! Jersey has a new home, so this is just the next chapter in her life! I think that means it’s time for a new farm book!

Thanks for reading! If you are interested in my children’s books about the farm, you may check out my website http://www.dianeorrauthor.com and click on the “Books” page.

Farm Funnies – More Stories of Odin and Merlin

If you have animals, whether they are in-house pets or farm animals, you will agree that they can be so silly. Watching them can bring waves of laughter and lighten your countenance. So it is for me. Here are some farm funnies that hopefully will make you chuckle.

Odin – King of the Pasture

So, if you have been following me for awhile, you know that Odin is already the star of two of my farm books: My Name is Odin https://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Odin-Good-Life/dp/1952894980/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+name+is+odin&qid=1636402786&sr=8-1 and Odin and Merlin: The Amazing Team at de Good Life Farm https://www.amazon.com/Odin-Merlin-Amazing-Team-Good/dp/1639840745/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=odin+and+merlin+the+amazing+team&qid=1636402872&sr=8-1. He continues to earn top billing here at the farm.

His most important title is “Livestock Guardian” and he performs it so well! We have not lost a chicken to a predator since his arrival at the farm! He OWNS the pasture! He always has his eye to the sky.

The other day I saw him flying from one side of the pasture to the other barking his loudest and fiercest bark. I followed him and couldn’t figure out what he was so upset about. Jeff was out there and I asked…he pointed up. A JET! Odin saw the jet as a predator from the sky!

He has learned to protect the chickens from whatever may pose as a danger to them, even if that “danger” is Freya. She is going to be a great teammate for him someday, but she can’t yet be trusted with the chickens off-cable. He is so serious about his duties, whether the perceived danger is a flock of geese, a jet, or even a hot air balloon! The important thing is that he pays attention and does his job!

Anyway, back to my farm funnies! You know that I love writing stories about my animals. Their antics delight me! Last night, while I was in the barn, their entertainment was no exception. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take many pictures. I am hoping that my story-telling abilities will be descriptive enough that you will feel like you are watching them from wherever you are reading this blog post.

Get Out of My Space!

While I was milking Mocha, I heard a chicken squawking. That typically means one (or more) chicken has been dumb enough to go into Odin’s kennel. I heard Merlin quite upset as well.

When I had a chance to get up and look, my suspicious were confirmed. There was a chicken in Odin’s kennel and bless his heart, Odin was being as careful and as gentle as a 140ish-pound dog can be with a creature approximately three per cent of its body weight.

And Merlin? He was talking up a storm in a reprimanding tone, but not at Odin…at the chicken! It was almost like he was saying “You stupid chicken! I have told you time and time again not to go in there!”

The Backstory

(NOTE: This is not the first time I have seen this scenario! Several weeks ago when I was on the tractor and we were moving the meat chickens, I could tell Odin had his mouth on a chicken inside his kennel. I instinctively yelled “No!” to try and stop him. Then I watched. His intentions obviously weren’t malicious! He was trying to get that chicken out of his kennel. I continued to watch and he was using his paws and his mouth trying to get it out.

Finally, in amazement, I watched him PICK UP THAT CHICKEN and carry it out of his kennel just like a mama dog would carry her pup! Then he literally spat it out of his mouth! The chicken ran away and I looked back at Odin and he didn’t seem real pleased with what was left in his mouth! You know how you stick your tongue out and try to scrape out a nasty taste or sensation? That is EXACTLY what he was doing!! I absolutely howled…then praised him for being such a good boy!) Now, back to present…

Back to the Story

As I continued to watch, he tried to pick her up by her neck (like he had done with that chicken before — same one?? Who knows!) but he couldn’t get a good grasp, even using his big paws to try and hold her! I wondered what he would do. I stared in amazement as I watched him catch her by her tail and literally push and shove her out of his kennel. When she was clearly outside of it, he released her and she ran away! I laughed out loud and praised him for being such a good boy!

Do-Over! Really?

Soon after finishing milking, I heard the scenario repeating itself. I watched Odin trying to get that “stupid chicken” out of his kennel AGAIN but he didn’t seem to be making any progress. I went over and tried to help, but every time we (yes, Odin and I were working together as a team) got her near the door and I thought she would make a run for it, she headed back into the kennel!

Since I didn’t seem to be helping the situation, I went back into the barn. Odin, however, did NOT give up. As I heard her squawking again, I turned to see him with his mouth on her tail again! Only, this time, he picked her up by her tail and walked her right out of his kennel! He took her as far as his cable would allow (we cable him during chores to keep him from causing havoc in the barn with the cows going back and forth) and then dropped her. I absolutely howled with laughter!

Odin’s intelligence continues to amaze me and his understanding that 1) he is their protector, but 2) his kennel is his space and he has a right to protect it! Again, I praised him over and over and told him what a good boy he is! Of course, he LOVED that!

Merlin’s Territorial Battles

Merlin, who also is the star of two of my farm books, My Name is Merlin https://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Merlin-Good-Life/dp/195045472X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=my+name+is+merlin&qid=1636402959&sr=8-1, and Odin and Merlin: The Amazing Team (referenced above), is an amazing creature! He is now in the process of training his fourth flock of hens and he, too, takes his job here at the farm very seriously!

We had a totally unexpected upset to Merlin’s world when I stupidly accepted three “free” chicks in June when I picked up this batch of layer chicks…and of course (I later I was told by a friend that if you are offered “free” chicks from a hatchery…they are almost assuredly going to be ROOSTERS!). Anyway, I digress… we discovered a few weeks ago that they were, IN FACT, roosters!

They didn’t seem to upset the balance of power too badly until this past week. Evidently, they matured and that fact made them decide to claim some of Merlin’s hens for themselves. Actually, it seems it was only ONE of the roosters that decided to help himself to the hens and Merlin was well-aware of which one it was!

Get Away from My Hen!

One evening, I heard Merlin carrying on something fierce and I looked out from the barn just in time to see Merlin running his fastest…wish I had a picture…in attack mode, toward that rooster who was with one of Merlin’s hens. The rooster saw him coming and ran away, but Merlin didn’t stop the chase! He chased after him all over the pasture till he was far away from the hen.

Merlin’s House…Merlin’s Rules

So, that evening, as is our usual practice, after milking and chores I checked to make sure all of the chickens were safely in the coop. I saw one of the roosters hanging around, so I walked slowly behind it, which normally will encourage it to go in the coop. It tried to go in! As it began to enter the door of the coop, Merlin came FLYING out of the coop door, yelling and screaming at this rooster. I don’t know what words he used, but there was no doubt in that roosters mind that he wasn’t allowed in the coop.

I told Jeff what I had witnessed and we agreed that we respect Merlin enough that we would allow his rule to stand. We weren’t sure whether he was disciplining that rooster or banning him, but Merlin is too important to this farm to upset him, so we did nothing. We were unsure what would happen to the rooster for the night with Odin and Freya both loose at night.

Another Day…Same Story

However, the next evening, I witnessed the same thing. This time, Merlin was obviously QUITE upset and frustrated and not only did he run after the rooster, he attacked him and kept at it until that rooster decided the hen wasn’t worth it and ran away. So, I thought that was the end of it!

Nope! Later on, that rooster was at it AGAIN! This time, what I witnessed amazed me! Not only was Merlin carrying on as he went after the rooster, but he was so loud and upset that Odin, who was investigating something way in the back of the pasture, came running full-stride and barking to see what was wrong. Odin came to Merlin’s rescue and helped him get that rooster away from the hen. I stood there in total amazement! They truly are a team!

Banished From the Coop!

That evening, again after chores, that lone rooster was left outside the coop. Again, I walked behind it trying to get it go into the coop, thinking that perhaps Merlin was just teaching it who was BOSS! The rooster seemed hesitant and was kind of like “don’t force me to do this!”

As he was loitering outside the door of the chicken coop, Merlin was inside reprimanding him and whatever Merlin was saying, that rooster understood that he was not permitted to enter. I decided not to force the issue, hoping it would find shelter for the night. It did, under a board leaning up against the barn.

Peace Reigns Again

Yesterday afternoon, Jeff caught the three roosters and put them in a cage. I transported them to a local guy who has chickens and roosters and sells them to people who need or want them. It’s funny how the removal of these three roosters have restored peace in Merlin’s world…and therefore, peace in the pasture!

These animals are absolutely amazing to me! I wish I knew their language, but I can read their behavior enough to guess what they are saying. The balance is perfect: Merlin owns his hens and Odin owns the pasture and whenever there is anything that upsets the balance, they are still an amazing team. They work together to protect the pasture and its inhabitants from predators and to restore peace!

Non-fiction Children’s Picture Books

If you enjoyed these stories and you haven’t read any of my published books about the animals here on the farm, please check them out on the “Books” tab of my website: https://dianeorrauthor.com/books/ Each book is described on that page as well as upcoming soon-to-be-released works. I hope you enjoy them!

Farm Life Is a Good Life!

Farm life is a good life but a hard life! We have lived here on de Good Life Farm for almost seven years! It hardly seems possible! I still remember dreaming about the days from our home in a nearby subdivision. We talked for years about what it would be like, what animals we would raise, and I did a LOT of research! However, no amount of dreaming or research prepared me for the constant ups and downs!

We Must Replace the Poly Tape Electric Fence – Escapee #1

We began talking about replacing the electric poly tape with field/cattle fence after taking our last batch of meat chickens to the processor. It was that week in June that Odin decided he was going to take a vacation. I guess he missed the chickens or didn’t feel needed? Who can know, but three nights in a week, he escaped the back pasture. One of those nights it took us an hour and a half to find him. From that night, we knew we had to cable him for his own protection until we could figure out a way to keep him from escaping.

Thank goodness for good friends!

We made plans to purchase field fence and on the hottest day of the summer, two friends came to help Jeff get that big job started! Brutal was the weather but our friends’ desire to help was just as strong! The three of them worked for hours on that extremely hot 90 degree Sunday to get two parts of the fence put up! Their help was amazing and gave us the momentum we needed to get the job done!

Escapee #2

Then another animal decided to taste freedom — Fred, a 9-month old Jersey/Hereford cross steer. I don’t know what it is about the number THREE, but he also escaped three times in one week! After the third time when someone had to call and let us know he was out, we decided we had to contain him in the barn until the fence was completed.

This however was difficult to execute! When we found out he had escaped, he was down by the road trying to get into the pasture with Mocha, Jersey and Daisy. I’m sure he just wanted to play but his entrance to that pasture would have created a whole new set of problems!

I have to say my husband’s years of being on his dad’s farm definitely have come in handy for many situations here at de Good Life Farm! He stayed calm. Me? I wanted to run around behind that steer and chase him, yell or cry…SOMETHING! but Jeff wisely told me to calm down or go in the house. Needless to say, I chose to calm down!

Gradually, Jeff worked Fred toward the house and we got him cornered between the milk room and the propane. “Now what?” I asked. Jeff told me to go to the barn and get the lead rope, which I did…running!

Jeff did an amazing job getting the lead rope around Fred’s head but I have to admit I thought it was a lost cause. Amazingly, Jeff’s patience and methodical tenacity won out! Again, I thought, “Now what?”

One Against Two

We began the trek through the gate and across the back yard toward the barn. I wish I could have taken a picture of the process, but honestly, we had our hands full! Jeff is a strong man, raised on a farm with steers. He instinctively wrapped that lead rope around his waist and started to walk. He COULDN’T MOVE! That steer was STRONG and he had NO INTENTION of moving!

Here I am, standing behind the steer, and I decide to push on his behind to help Jeff gain some momentum! HAHA! My 125 pounds made NOT ONE IOTA of difference in the distance between us and the barn! So, being rather resourceful, what did I do?

I began putting my boot on the back of Fred’s leg which forced him to take a step. So we began our trek to the barn, literally ONE STEP AT A TIME! But, we made it!

We got him into Jersey’s stall, and made sure there was hay and water and walked out. He wasn’t happy but I breathed a sigh of relief! He couldn’t escape from there even though his head-banging indicated he thought he could!

Chain Reaction

milking Jersey in the middle of the barn

As is true in life, for every action, there is a reaction. The reaction to the fact that Escapee #2 was now residing in Jersey’s stall meant that everything had to change when milking time came! This really wasn’t an issue for me. It gave me access to the cross breeze and I didn’t have to sit lopsided in the straw! However, it did impede traffic in the barn while she was there.

Fred looking out the crack in the barn door between head-banging episodes

Meanwhile, we realized that until the rest of the field fence was put up and whatever was making the electric poly tape lack in charge was figured out, Fred had to remain in the barn. That gave us the necessary motivation to work tirelessly (that’s a weird word, because we were exhausted and muscles we had never heard from before were screaming) to accomplish the task at hand.

Git-R-Done!

So, back to getting the fence done. We worked on the back fence which was easier in some ways and harder in some ways. Rather than pounding fence staples into wood posts, we had to connect the fence to metal t-posts which meant taking a weird little metal apparatus and affixing it around the t-post to the fence. Not as easy as it sounds! While working on the corral fence, I had become efficient at being the “fence stretcher”. However, now I was the “apparatus attach-er” and Jeff was the “fence stretcher”! We completed that side of the pasture in one day.

The next morning, when I tried to get out of bed, I couldn’t. I could barely ROLL out of bed. But, one thing farm life has taught me is that it doesn’t really matter whether you FEEL like it, what has to be done, HAS TO BE DONE!

So, I took it easy for awhile that morning, rested my back and took Tylenol (something I don’t take very often at all). By noon, I felt that I could again be the fence stretcher. So we began again and completed what was necessary that day to enclose the back pasture. This meant we could set Escapee #1 free. It thrilled me to see Odin’s happy face and watch him once again bound across the pasture!

The amazing thing that has happened is that by putting up the field fence and taking down three of the four strands of electric poly tape, and replacing one strand of worn poly tape, the electric current on the fence through which Fred had escaped suddenly jumped to 7,000 volts! He will certainly feel that if he attempts another escape!

Inmate Released Back into Society

Fred returned to the pasture with his family

To date, no one has escaped again…and so I can definitely breathe a little easier.

Confused Chickens

Chickens wondering how they USED to get through but no longer can!

The last phase of the pasture transformation was putting hard cloth on all the gates to prevent the chickens from leaving the pasture. This accomplishes two things. First, they now have to remain in the back pasture where they can be protected 24/7 by their capable livestock guardian, Odin. Secondly, they can no longer get into the back yard to eat my grapes and flowers, as well as they can no longer get into the neighbors’ yards.

They have tried every which way they can to get through, but they are now truly “pastured chickens” and not “backyard chickens”. This makes me very happy. If you haven’t read my most recent de Good Life Farm book Odin and Merlin: The Amazing Team at de Good Life Farm, you may buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Odin-Merlin-Amazing-Team-Good/dp/1639840745/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Odin+and+Merlin%3A+The+Amazing+Team&qid=1631722987&sr=8-1. After reading this book, you will understand how important it is for the chickens to remain in an area where Odin can protect them.

The End….??

Daisy with her new friends Merlin and his hens

So, this is the end of this very long post. But, it is definitely NOT the end of the tales of the tails, trials and ticklers here on de Good Life Farm! I hope you have enjoyed reading. If so, check out the Books page and see which stories you would like to read…and you may subscribe to this blog. You will find a variety of topics to interest and amuse you! Thanks for visiting! Enjoy your day! I’ll leave you with a sweet picture.

Author Diane Orr Attends Marysville, Ohio Festifair!

Diane Orr, Author at Marysville, Ohio 40th Annual Festifair

Here We Go!

So, I did something I have never done before: attended a local street fair as a vendor…Author Diane Orr! After days and weeks of thinking and preparing, finally it was time to load my books into boxes, and along with tables, canopy, crayons, coloring pages drawn by an amazing young artist, filled up my new-to-me Honda Pilot (exactly WHY I wanted the Pilot when I totaled my car!). Additionally, I packed a host of other things I thought I might need and we off we went!

I was so nervous…kind of like a “first day of school” nervous. Having done all the preparation I could think of (of course, never having participated in a street fair before, I really had no idea what I was doing!) I didn’t really know what to expect. Set-up went very well, thanks to my husband. I was also blessed to have very friendly vendors on either side of me!

Here They Come!

Slowly, people began trickling through the streets. Gradually, the trickle became a steady stream and at times like a rushing brook! I sold quite a few books, although not nearly what I had in stock, but the most fun thing for me was interacting with the people who stopped at my tables (wish I had pictures!).

I enjoyed giving flyers to teachers who teach in area schools that I have not visited. An Art teacher from the school I did a virtual visit showed me pictures the children drew of some of my animals! There were absolutely adorable!

But, the icing on the cake were the children! One girl said I had visited her school when she was in fourth grade. She remembered that I read my first book My Name is Mocha (I believe that would have been fall of 2019). A little boy said he watched the video of my farm (that would have been my first virtual author visit this past spring). Some children said they already had purchased some of my books from one of my author visits and were deciding which they wanted next.

It was also wonderful for people who had never heard of me to stop by my booth and look at my comments. I really enjoyed talking to them. One family stopped by and their male Great Pyrenees’ name is Odin and their female’s name is Freya!!! There were so many wonderful comments and interactions!

Here is An Amazing Artist!

I was thrilled and blessed to have an amazing young artist, Corinne Blamer, draw color pages of Mocha and her calf, Odin guarding some chickens and Merlin with some of his hens. I have known Corinne since she was just a baby and it’s so hard for me to believe that at her young age, she has been gifted with such talent! But, the evidence is clear when you look at her drawings! With each color page, I gave a free pack of crayons. And, of course, FREE CANDY, which attracted kids of all ages! I just have to share these amazing drawings for those of you who didn’t get a chance to see them!

Here Comes the Wind!

The most disappointing thing of the day was the wind! Of course, I had purchased a tent that I thought would help protect me and my book display from weather. However, because the wind was so strong, it nearly lifted me into the air with the tent a couple of times! So, after several times of thinking I was going to look like Mary Poppins flying across the sky holding onto my tent, I took it down!

Here is to the Future!

All in all, not discounting the stress and intense preparation, I really enjoyed participating in the @MarysvilleFestifair! I loved talking to the teachers, parents and most of all the children. We talked about my author visits, my books and the animals here at de Good Life Farm! I definitely think I will plan to participate next year if at all possible! Thank you @MarysvilleFestifair attenders for being kind to a newbie vendor and making it a good day for Author Diane Orr.

Here is a Chance to Win a Free Book!

Attenders and book purchasers @MarysvilleFestifair were given the opportunity to enter a drawing for a free book. Local entries will also have a chance to visit de Good Life Farm and have their picture taken with Mocha! If you are reading this blog and would like to enter the drawing, I will hold off drawing winners for one week. Please comment on this post with your email address or go to the Contact page at http://www.dianeorrauthor.com. Send me an email providing your name and email address with “entry” in the subject line. Next Monday, I will add these entries to the entries received at the street fair and do the drawing! There will be more than one winner…SO ENTER!

An Attitude of Gratitude

Do you have an attitude of gratitude?

Definition of Gratitude

What is gratitude? Dictionary.com defines gratitude as “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful”. The quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful. So let’s dive a little deeper. What is a quality? Again quoting dictionary.com: quality is an essential or distinctive characteristic, property or attribute. And by the same token: a feeling is described as the general state of consciousness considered independently of particular sensations, thoughts, etc.

So, gratitude is a distinctive characteristic or attribute of thankfulness. It is also a general state of consciousness. So you can have gratitude as a characteristic with which you live your life, or you can feel gratitude as a state of your every day consciousness. Basically, when you combine these two definitions, you encompass both the physical and the emotional sides of yourself. You feel thankful and that translates into a gratuitous outlook. Or, you could look at it another way: You have an gratuitous outlook and it affects how you feel!

Does an Attitude of Gratitude Come Naturally?

Whether you realize it or not, gratitude is worn as a visible inner/outer garment! I don’t know if you like to people watch, but when I have the time and find myself in the right place, I find it interesting to watch people going about their day unaware that they are being watched. For instance, sitting on a bench in the mall, sitting in an airport, or even just sitting in a restaurant having a meal…people watching is fascinating. Have you ever watched people as you are stopped at a traffic light and looked over into the car next to you or those turning across from you? You can probably point out the people who have gratitude as a conscious state of their being. You can also probably point out those who don’t!

Think about yourself. How often do you feel grateful? Or do you find it easier to say “the glass is half empty”? I think for some people, gratitude DOES come naturally. Perhaps they have had an easy life (would that make you grateful?) or maybe they’ve had a difficult way to go (would that make you more grateful?). Are “you” more prone to be grateful if you have been abundantly blessed, or if your blessings have been more sparse, from your point of view?

How To Develop an Attitude of Gratitude in Your Life

There have been seasons of my life where it was difficult to remember to cultivate gratitude. Perhaps you have felt the same way. And then, there are seasons when despite trouble, you can find the blessings for which you can be grateful. I believe there are some exercises you can do on a daily basis that will help you to develop gratitude.

1. Make a Gratitude/Blessings List Each Day

One way I have found to help me focus on being thankful is to list the the blessings in my life. I think it’s a good practice to do this each day because over time, you will have a much more comprehensive list. For instance, today, I may feel gratitude for specific things related to TODAY. Tomorrow, other blessings may be more in the forefront of my mind.

2. Let Your Mind Dwell on the Good Things

We all have good and bad in our lives. There will always be positive and negative people to deal with. There will always be days of rain and days of sunshine…days of winter and days of summer. But just as the verse in Philippians 4:8 states, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things.” Wherever we allow our mind to dwell, affects our ability to be thankful or bitter.

3. Do Something Kind for Someone Else

It is so much easier to be thankful if we get our minds off our ourselves and find a way to bless someone else. I’m not talking about pity. I am just talking about realizing that in some way, we have all been blessed, and by spreading that blessing around to others, it in someway, enhances that blessing in our own hearts and lives.

When we focus on ourselves, our woes, our needs and what makes us gloomy, not only does it negatively affect those around us, it prevents us from experiencing gratitude for our blessings. You may say “I have nothing to be grateful for.” However, if you think about–truly think about it in front of a piece of paper with a pen in your hand, you will find things for which to be grateful!

4. Teach Others to Have an Attitude of Gratitude

You can teach gratitude to yourself, your children and other people in your life! “How?” you might ask! A Gratitude Jar (or Blessings Jar) is a great way to incorporate gratitude into your heart, life and home!

What is a “Gratitude Jar”? It’s easy to make and it can and probably should involve the whole family! Take a mason jar of any size and decorate it with a label made from construction paper and markers. You can be as creative as you want to be! This is a great way to involve your children.

When the label is made, tape it on the outside of the jar. Leave the jar in a prominent place so that it doesn’t get forgotten. Then, as you find things to be thankful for, write them down (or small children can draw pictures) and put them inside the jar. You can even date them, if you’d like.

At some designated time in the future, whether it is a week, a month or a year from now, sit down and go through each paper in the jar, one by one, read it, and reminisce about each blessing. I think you will find that as you get in the habit of contributing papers of gratitude to the jar, your heart will be learning to be grateful.

All Good Gifts Come From Above

I believe that all good gifts come from God. When I focus on His blessings each day in my life, it draws me into a closer relationship with Him and reminds me how much He loves me! Gratitude is a powerful thing!

Focusing on my blessings helps my mind as well as my body be healthier. Even this Mayo Clinic article agrees: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950

Do You Have an Attitude of Gratitude? It’s Your Choice!

What will you do with what you’ve read today? Take steps to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, showing gratitude for your blessings and reap the benefits? Or, perhaps you will just proceed through life as you always have and forget about this article as well as your blessings! It’s definitely your choice. What will you choose? As for me? I choose Gratitude!

She’s Here! Introducing “Daisy”! I Love Calves!

“Daisy”, Mocha’s 6th calf born on 7/24/21

WAITING…

Waiting for the expected birth of calves always is difficult. And, it feels like we waited an eternity for the arrival of this precious little heifer! Due on July 22nd, the sixth calf of Mocha (and the sixth heifer), she finally made her arrival in the predawn hours of July 24th with a full moon illuminating the dark sky and the earth below!

As is my practice, at the first sign of the impending birth, I usually put the mama in the barn with fresh straw and clean water, with lots of hay, to ensure the new arrival has a fresh place to be born. I saw the first sign (mucus strand) of the impending birth of Mocha’s new calf on the morning of July 21. Although Mocha is usually uncannily “on time” with her deliveries, I didn’t want to take any chances that this calf might come early, so I put Mocha in the barn. Much to my disappointment, the 21st came and went with no calf. She really wanted to be back in the pasture with Jersey, so we put them in a pasture in the back near the barn so that in case her calf was born during the night, we wouldn’t have far to get them to the barn.

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK!

On the morning of her due date, she was SLOWLY progressing, so I put her back in the barn for the day. I checked on her several times throughout the day…running errands and running back home to check on her several times!

The night of the 22nd, I set my alarm and checked on Mocha every couple of hours. STILL NOTHING! The day came and went with no baby! That night, again, I set multiple alarms and checked on Mocha every couple of hours, just feeling for sure that the calf would arrive in the wee hours. But, NOPE!

Duplicate the previous paragraph for the 23rd! Checking on her every couple of hours…still thinking the birth was imminent! The night of the 23rd was also a duplicate of the previous night. Alarms were set every couple of hours and I went out to the barn, half asleep, hoping to find her in full, active labor. But no! Each time I was disappointed.

More than a little bit discouraged, and totally exhausted, I hit “snooze” on that last alarm…just for a few more minutes. However, at 4:30 am, I threw on my clothes and made which seemed like my hundredth trip to the barn. But, my heart quickened as I got closer to the barn! I knew halfway there that she had made her arrival.

She’s Finally Here!

Mocha (and I guess other mama cows do too) has this “sweet lowing” sound she makes for her calf (read my first book My Name is Mocha). It is how she communicates love, care and instructions to her calf. I heard it before I was even halfway to the barn…and as I did, my steps quickened. I KNEW she was here!

And, yes! sure enough, there she was, standing by her mama with milk bubbles on her mouth indicating she had already had her first drink of the the nutritious colostrum. Newborn calves need about five percent of their body weight in their first six hours in order to get the necessary antibodies and nutrients to avoid scours and respiratory problems. This is one reason I typically leave mama and new calf in the barn for the first couple of days…to monitor milk intake and to verify first the first bowel movement (an indication of their gut health and that they are getting enough milk.

“Mama Time”

As with each previous calf, when Mocha feels the calf is stabilized, and all is well, she lets me know she is ready to have some time away from her calf…which means time in the pasture eating the fresh grass. She was ready for her “mama time” last night after chores. Daisy was contented and I led Mocha to the pasture.

She had her head down eating grass for nearly two hours. I kept an eye on her, knowing that she was finished and ready to return to her baby, she would come and stand by the gate. She did and I led her back to the barn.

Daisy was still in the same place, same position as she had been when Mocha left the barn, totally unconcerned that her mama was gone for awhile. This is another indication of a healthy calf. (We have had calves that literally mooed the entire time them moms were away from them.)

As Mocha reentered the barn, she spoke to Daisy with her sweet “lowing” voice and she must have told her to get up and have a drink…because Daisy did just that! Witnessing the instinct that the Creator gave these amazing animals to care and provide for their young is and amazing and wonderful gift!

Healthy Calf

Another sign of a healthy calf is that not only does she eat regularly, but she eats plenty when she eats. This morning, after I gave Mocha her “snack” consisting of oats, barley, molasses, etc. which is the routine before milking, Daisy decided to have her own breakfast. She went and lay down in her favorite spot in the corner of the stall, out of the way. I tied Mocha up to milk whatever was left and there wasn’t even one-half cup to be milked out! She is an efficient drinker…which gives her an excellent chance of staying healthy.

Calves — The Icing on the Cake

If you know me or if you’ve read my books https://dianeorrauthor.com/590-2/ you know how much I love my cows, and the other critters here on the farm…but to me, the calves are so sweet, they are just the icing on the cake! I love the hands on time I get with them in their first four months before they are weaned!

New Book?

I have been asked if Daisy will have her own book. My answer was “Yeah, probably!” Our last calf, Elsie, was included in the last book at the calves We Are Mocha’s Family. There are some special things about Daisy’s birth here on the farm: she is the TENTH calf to be born here; she is the first not to be either Jersey or Jersey/Angus mix (her breed is Jersey/Limousin, check out this link to see what her daddy may have looked like: https://www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/beef/39/limousin/.

I am eager to see what her personality is. So far, she reminds me of Hazel and of Herbie, who were both very contented and even-keeled! So watch for news. SUBSCRIBE to stay updated on lots of topics!

What’s Behind the Barn Door?

I headed to the barn this morning to milk Mocha. (I am milking her at scheduled later and later times of the day in an attempt to slowly move her to an evening-only milking so by next week she will be dry for a couple of months prior to her calf being born. We do “normal chores” in the morning, everything except milking Mocha. Then, I go out later to milk Mocha.)

Anyway, back to the story…You NEVER know what lies behind closed doors and today I couldn’t have guessed what I would find when I opened the door!

There was Mocha, all pregnant 950 pounds of her, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BARN…NOT IN HER STALL…happily munching on the stack of hay that Jeff had just unloaded from the hay wagon last night! She acted as if she was parking herself next to the smorgasbord at the neighborhood restaurant!

I exclaimed loudly, “Mocha! What are you doing?” She immediately turned toward me, and I could almost hear her say “Uh-oh! Now what do I do? I can’t hide! Where do I go?”

Eventually she got her big self turned around and with some encouragement from me, put herself back in her stall (because YOU don’t put a 950-pound pregnant cow ANYWHERE…you have to encourage HER to move herself!). Upon re-entering the stall, she immediately positioned herself in front of the water tank and DRANK, AND DRANK AND DRANK!

I shut her stall door and walked around the barn surveying the damage. I could see her footprints all over the floor. She had knocked off a stack of empty water bowls that were stacked on an upturned five-gallon bucket. She had evidently either stepped in the cat water bowl or had tried to drink from it with her BIG nose! I didn’t see anything disturbed in the stall where the meat chickens are, and for that I am thankful!

Then I began to survey the hay bales. Now, I’ll be honest…I don’t know what it looked like when Jeff left the barn this morning…but I suspect there had been nearly an entire bale of hay laying on the floor. It now looked like this:

When I went back into her stall, she had PLENTY of hay left in her bin which was EXACTLY THE SAME HAY she was feasting on “at the table”!

She is and always has been a DIVA. She know what she wants and she will get it if at all within her power to do so! And, the stall door being left un-shut and unsecured was just the opportunity she was looking for.

I again looked around the barn and realized that now the cats, who were virtually invisible when she was out in the middle…were now showing up and appeared to be quite traumatized!

However, not to worry…it doesn’t appear she ate anything she shouldn’t have eaten (except possibly to clean out any feed that might have been left in Jersey’s pan from the morning)…and nothing was destroyed or harmed. All order is once again restored in the barn (except for the mess she left on the floor)!

Cows are like children in many ways. They KNOW what they want. They will find a way to get what they want if left to their own devices. They are typically NOT remorseful! One huge difference, though, is that it is impossible for me to put her in time-out, or to make her do anything without convincing her there is no other option! And yes! I am still #CRAZYABOUTCOWS! She just gives me “that look” and because I love her, she knows I’ll forgive her and tell her how beautiful she is!

Hope this has given you a chuckle and a little insight into the unexpected things that can come from gates and stall doors, etc., being left open!! Glad I can laugh about it and thankful no permanent damage was done! After all, she’s a pregnant girl and she has CRAVINGS!

#dianeorrauthor

#penitpublications

#mynameismocha

About Faith

“The just shall live by faith.” “For we walk by faith, not sight.” “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” “And without faith it is impossible to please him.” “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things we cannot see.” This biblical definition of faith is found in Hebrews 11:1.

Faith, according to dictionary.com, is: “confidence or trust in a person or thing; belief that is not based on proof.”

I have been a believer for many, many years, based on having asked Jesus to forgive my sins and asking Him to be my Savior and Leader. Faith comes in believing that if you repent and ask for forgiveness, He grants forgiveness (1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”). But, is that enough? Is that all there is?

Truly living the life of a believer is living in faith and trust of the One who has forgiven you. That first step of faith is all-important, but it is just THE FIRST STEP! You must then learn to trust Him (Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”).

TRUST HIM! Well, if I am trusting Him to save me from Hell and take me to Heaven, that’s a BIG trust, right? Yes, but sometimes we find it more difficult to trust in the day-t0-day things that we encounter than in our eternal destination. Why is that?

Can I trust Him when people in my life disappoint me? Can I trust Him when I am afraid? Can I trust Him when I get bad news? Can I trust Him with my earthly future? “Just have faith”, they say. I say, “it is not that easy”, even though it should be.

We must learn to trust Him with the daily things. How do we do that? Well, I am going to share with you what I am learning, so come along on my journey!

Proverbs 3:5-6 is pretty clear when it says “Trust in the LORD with ALL your heart.” Trusting with all your heart leaves no room for doubt. When you sit on your dining room chair, do you have any doubt at all that it will not collapse? When you go out to start your car, do you have any doubt that when you put the key into the ignition and turn, that it will start? This NO DOUBTING is what this means. ALL YOUR HEART!

Then, there is the go-with phrase “and do not lean on your own understanding”. This is a tough one for me. I am an analyzer. I am a thinker and I like to think that I am reasonably intelligent. But, the Lord has been showing me in recent days and weeks that I cannot trust my own understanding. This is really a difficult lesson for me. But you see, if I trust my own understanding, that means I am not trusting God with my WHOLE heart! Deductively, if I trust God with ALL my heart, that doesn’t leave room for trusting anything or anyone else and it definitely doesn’t leave room for fear or the “what ifs”.

So, I began looking back at my life…years of looking back. I see two basic avenues: He has been faithful and good to me; and, many, many times I have been anything but faithful. He has been faithful when I wasn’t faithful. He has blessed me even though I didn’t deserve blessing. And the trouble in my life has largely been brought on by the times that I “leaned on my own understanding”.

So, if these are the two choices: Trust Him with ALL my heart, OR, lean on my own understanding…and I don’t want history to repeat itself, I will NOT lean on my own understanding, right? So let’s look at the day-to-day issues. We all have areas of our life that make us wonder what God is doing. We want to see the future. We want to see that it all turns out o.k. But, look back at the biblical definition as well as the dictionary.com definition: what is the common theme? Faith is having confidence in what we hope for without sight and not based on proof. There is no fear in confidence.

Dwelling on fear and the “what ifs” is a detriment to a life of faith (I am currently working on a post about the “what ifs”). It is impossible to say you trust God if you are concerning yourself about the “what ifs”. Remember, your WHOLE HEART!

My best advice to you is to make two lists: first, remembrances of God’s faithfulness to you in the past. There are several times in the Old Testament that God’s people set up “altars of remembrance” so that they could remind themselves and their children of God’s faithfulness.

Philippians 4:8-9 says “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” The second list is truths from God’s Word. A list of Who and what is TRUE, HONEST, JUST, PURE, LOVELY, of GOOD REPORT, VIRTUOUS, and PRAISEWORTHY will crowd out any room for doubt and worry!

Preparing both of these lists will take time, but it will be time well spent and an investment into your faith journey and your mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. I am going to commit to sit down and write down my own “altar of remembrances”. This will be a list that when I am struggling, I can go to and remind myself of the times in my life that He has been faithful, even though I didn’t know at the time what He was doing.

Secondly, I am going to sit down and make a list of Truths on which to meditate…mostly about the Truth of Who God is. These lists will be readily available to me when I need to fill my mind with truth and to crowd out the doubt and fear and the “what ifs”.

In closing, I leave you this: He is the One Who knows the future. I can’t see even one moment ahead of the one I am presently living. Doesn’t it make sense to trust the One Who is already there and knows what it holds? Doesn’t it make sense to fill our minds with Truth and crowd out the fear and the “what-ifs”?

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