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Year Three, Day 79: Vitamin P

I am pet sitting for my roommates. So this morning I hooped on the deck with Squire the Dog!  He video bombed me...most adorable!

It was nice and cool and overcast this morning. But I knew not to get too comfortable. We've got a killer heat wave coming to Portland this week.  I've heard forecasts of 104 to 111 for Wednesday!

I woke up a little late. But my cough was a bit better. I minced fresh garlic root into a paste and took a tablespoon of it with a bit of honey before bed. And I made some sage tea. I've been reading on the internet that sage tea has many healing properties, especially effective in treating lung conditions and sinusitis.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/277301-what-are-the-benefits-of-sage-tea-for-lung-problems/

I had a moment where I thought, "Dang, now I am going to have to cancel my doctor appointment".

I am such a silly goose. I would be happy to be rid of this cough through natural measures and would gladly suffer the inconvenience of a cancelled appointment!

Anyway, since I woke up late, I had to rush to make it to church on time. But I was determined.  I was still feeling so tickled that the pastor and his wife had noticed my absence and called to check on me! But I was worried about him. He has heart issues, and he said he was having a bad day.

It turns out his blood pressure had risen to the point where he didn't feel up to preaching. We had a guest pastor.

I am so happy I attended church today!

I love our regular pastor. He translates the Bible word by word from Greek and Hebrew. I take notes like mad. He and his wife are simply delightful. What I aspire to be like as a Christian. Kind, humble, but serious students of the Word.

Our guest pastor did not disappoint! In fact, I shed a few tears during his message. And was most inspired after church. I spent the next few hours in prayer, bible study and journaling.

He spoke about prayer.  But in a way that made a huge impact. First he read the scripture in Mark 9:14-29. Jesus is called to heal a man's son with an "unclean spirit" after his disciples fail.  After Jesus heals the young man, the disciples ask why they were unable to. Jesus told them that that kind can only be cure by "prayer and fasting".  He talked extensively how we try to live in this world by our own might, rather than depending on God. I am finally starting to really understand this.

his goes much deeper, but to keep this short and simple, our guest pastor then compared prayer to water skiing of all things. In a nutshell, he said he never got the hang of water skiing. His friends would yell at him to "Bend his knees, stretch out his arms, and let the power of the boat lift him up". But he always did something wrong, and never trusted that the boat would lift him. So he always ended up in the water. Much to the amusement of his friends.

You can probably guess the analogy.  He talked extensively about his own prayer life and encouraged us to spend more time with our knees bent, our arms stretched out and trusting in the power of God to lift us up.

At the end of the service, the pastor got on his knees and extended his hands.  He was so sincere, humble and charismatic. I felt the tears roll down my cheek.

It seems simplistic, but sometimes the simplest images stay with me the longest.

He also shared quotes with us from pastors about prayer.  And he mentioned one pastor who would spend several hours in prayer every morning, when he got up at 4:00 a.m.

I felt a lightbulb go on in my head.  My insomnia! I often find my eyes popping open at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Wide awake. I spend the next few hours fitfully tossing and turning, or worse yet, looking at Facebook until I drift back to sleep. Inevitably, I wake up groggy and grumpy and too late.

I am instead, going to pray! I have a yoga mat by the side of my bed, just waiting for me!

I have so many more thoughts, but it is getting late.  I still need to let my doggie friend out one more time.  And brew a cup of sage tea. And take my vitamins.

But one vitamin I need to increase that I cannot live without is Vitamin P.

P as in prayer.

On that note, I wish you a happy Sunday!

I leave you with a picture of my wonderful grain free dinner:

A turkey patty topped with blue cheese, a spinach salad topped chopped black olives, walnuts and dressed with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and sprinkled with oregano. And orange slices.  And a cup of tea.


I had a few moments at my daughter's baby shower yesterday, where I almost succombed to temptation. In the form of crackers and pie!  But I overcame! Believe it or not, this is getting easier.

Talk to you tomorrow!


Love,

Zita

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