Category Archives: Random but important

What are we feeding our children?

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA As we face another in the seemingly endless stream of holidays that seem more like excuses for marketing exercises and enhancing bottom lines, I am struck by the fact that:

Even when we give our children poison without realizing it, the result is the same.

In Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children, Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff give a detailed analysis of several communities that experienced extreme toxic exposure due to negligence in environmental waste disposal.  Parents and children were drinking toxic water and breathing toxic air without knowing it – and the children suffered.  They recount high cases of birth defects and serious illness among children exposed to toxins whose parents had no idea that the location of the home they were providing for their children, was poisoning them.

As you face the onslaught of very creative marketing, ‘food’ industry giants and peer (and kid) pressure tempting you to buy delicious ‘treats’ for your kids, do you ask yourself any questions?

  • What is in this?
  • Is it good for my kids?
  • What is the long-term impact it could have on their health?

Dr Mark Hyman explains that excess consumption of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and/or sugar are causing an epidemic of illness and obesity – especially among children.

He sums up his concerns regarding the extraordinary amounts consumed in the USA.

  • We are consuming HFCS and sugar in pharmacologic quantities never before experienced in human history–140 pounds a year versus 20 teaspoons a year 10,000 years ago.

  • High fructose corn syrup is always found in very poor-quality foods that are nutritionally vacuous and filled with all sorts of other disease promoting compounds, fats, salt, chemicals, and even mercury.  5 Reasons…

As parents we face decisions about what is best for our children on a regular basis.  We are the guardians of their health.  The food industry is concerned about one thing – their bottom lines and their continued success.  They are not concerned about your child’s health and well-being.  Don’t let them call the shots in your home.  Protect your children and give them natural, safe foods.  You can make family memories without having to resort to purchasing processed food-like products loaded with sugar or HFCS.  You do not have to participate in organized events which promote highly processed treats for your children.

You are not being a ‘mean mom’ when you choose to limit your child’s exposure to poison.  You are being smart.  Find other moms who desire to protect their children and brainstorm together about how you can model safe food choices.

Healthy moms unite!  This is a war and the target is your children.  It is your job to protect them.  Don’t think that just because “everyone else is doing it” it is safe.  Don’t think that just because it is for sale in your local supermarket it is safe.

Protect your child from greed. You’ll be glad you did.

I’m just a mom, but I love to see healthy children and my heart aches with every account of illness, especially serious unnecessary illness caused by longterm toxic exposure, in children.  I just witnessed, with shock and horror, a group of moms setting up an Easter Egg hunt for a large group of pre-school children.  I watched as loving moms, dads and grandparents accompanied their children to experience the fun and excitement of filling their baskets with Easter Eggs – at a church.

What ways do you protect your family from the media onslaught?
What special things do you do at  holidays that give lasting healthy memories?

Hope in the midst of corruption

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Hope StreetIt is amazing how relevant the words of a man who lived 2000 years ago can seem for today!

Wake up! See what you have become! Woe to you; you’re like a field full of unmarked graves. People walk on the field and have no idea of the corruption that is a few inches beneath their feet. (Jesus, Luke 11, The Voice)

These words of Jesus were addressed to the religious leaders of His day, who also happened to have a great deal of political power.  They remind me a lot of the medical authorities and the power they have over ordinary people. People view medical ‘experts’ as priests and many strictly follow their advice.

Sometimes Christians are offended by criticisms against a medical system or political system they esteem to be the best in the world.  Like the scholar who was sitting with Jesus who made this remark,

Rabbi, if You insult the Pharisees, then You insult us too.

Jesus answered with a rather harsh and game-changing response.  In fact, that was the last invitation he received to a dinner party by a Pharisee or religious leader! This is just part of His response found in Luke 11:

So, religious scholars, judgement will come on you! You’re supposed to be teachers, unlocking the door of knowledge and guiding people through it. But the fact is, you’ve never even passed through the doorway yourselves. You’ve taken the key, left the door locked tight, and stood in the way of everyone who sought entry.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWhen it comes to knowledge about health – true health – as in how to get healthy, stay healthy, feel good and live well until it is your time to die, the medical profession is not my first go-to source.  Their track record does not boast of the results I want for myself and my loved ones. I have learned a lot from many enlightened medical professionals and have received excellent care from many doctors over the years. However, I have the greatest respect for doctors who do not stay in the confines of their medical training, but through independent research, listening to their patients, and a pursuit of truth, have found keys to health they did not learn in their medical training.  However, there remain many strong voices in the medical and pharmaceutical professions who seem unconcerned about true health and, like the Pharisees Jesus harshly criticized, have not figured it out for themselves, and have wanted to take the key away from anyone else who wants to find the truth.

Be that as it may, I have hope.  Like Paul, and the early followers of Jesus, I have hope because that is exactly what Jesus came to give us.

The hope I have is rooted in the promises of God. It was predicted that Jesus would suffer, but He would rise from the dead, so that through Him everyone could have hope and light to live by.

So, in a crazy world that seems to keep going crazier, I continue to find my daily hope as I seek to grasp more of

God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ Himself. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Paul, Colossians 2)

The rules and medical recommendations pushed on us by the world system/culture/government

are merely human teaching.  They may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial [so-called ‘herd immunity’ proponents?] and severe bodily discipline [ask any parent with an autistic child what is required]

but [these rules] provide no help in conquering our basic problems. (Paul, Colossians 2)

The human condition is complex.  But one basic fact has been evident from the beginning of time – man’s desire for more (greed) and his desire for esteem (pride).  These desires are the root of much of the corruption in the current medical system and the ‘science’ that they like to say supports everything they do.  Of course, the patients have to share in the blame because we like quick easy fixes to solve our problems or alleviate our symptoms. The combination of our desire to avoid suffering, the machinery of greed, and a system of hierarchy and control by ‘experts’ has become the foundation of an enormous industry which brings extreme rewards to a few and great suffering to many.

Unfortunately the losers don’t really understand how many ways they are losing and how to get out of this win-lose situation.

sunriseI cling to Jesus and the hope He provides and seek to share truth and help the innocents who suffer.  Jesus said we need to petition God with brash persistence.  He loves us. He wants to open our eyes, reveal Himself to us and relieve us of our suffering so that we can help others.

What are you petitioning the God of the universe for?  Where is your hope? What do you know about Jesus?

Scientific Ideas

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DSC_0075I came across this quote from a book written in 1972 describing a situation in the 1940s, but it rings just as true, if not more, today:

Yet the established virologists still clung to the idea that polio was a disease of the nervous system only, pointing out that to find actual polio virus in the blood of polio victims was a very rare thing. The tenacity of the old-liners was understandable. It was hard to part with ideas that had been companions for as long as half a century. Aaron E. Klein, Trial By Fury

Scientists generally have a hard time getting their mind around a new way of looking at things.   Funding plays a role, but even the wiring of their brains has been to follow certain types of logical sequences, so that when a new idea is presented, their brain automatically kicks it out.  Many times people get angry at these scientists and can accuse them of all sorts of evil motivation.  I’m not saying there is no greed or corruption in science, but when we start to understand the huge mental shift a scientist must embrace to accept a new way of thinking about a subject he is well versed in, we might find better and faster ways of helping them see and accept the truth.

When we strongly attack a closely held opinion held by someone who perceives themselves to be an expert, we can cause them to hold even more tightly – no matter how illogical that position seems to be.

Attacking someone rarely works in getting them to change their mind-set.  How can we help parents, doctors, educators, policy makers and government officials learn the truth and change their ideas, especially in areas that could be causing severe harm to our children and our health?

1:68 demands we figure this out.

Exercise Boosts your Brain!

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brainEveryone can find some sort of exercise they enjoy doing!  If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.  There is some way for you to move your body and enjoy it – and it is really really important for your brain that you do so!

How Exercise helps brain short

from talk by Dr John Bergman

I don’t know about you – but I don’t want my brain to shrink as I get older!  So, everywhere I go, I think about having time and ways to move.  I might look odd now, but it will save me from being very odd later!  Some ways I move:

  • when standing in a line: balance on one leg, do toe-rises
  • dance whenever I can!
  • park further away from the entrance to where I am going.
  • Stand at my counter-height desk to work, and keep moving!
  • instead of meeting friends for a meal or coffee, asking them to meet for a walk.
  • look for opportunities to do pull-ups or walk on walls!
  • got roller blades for Mother’s Day!
  • decide that exercise is fun, so I skip, hop or gallop! Running is boring.
  • go up and down stairs when there are no mountains to climb!

What do you do to keep your brain growing while you are growing older?  What is your biggest obstacle to regular exercise?

 

Bullies

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWe all see a lot on the subject of bullies and bullying.  There are billboards, advertisements, stories, even curricula for school children covering the topic of bullying.  Bullying is real and we need to teach our children effective ways of handling bullies. But in the midst of all this bully education, it seems almost too obvious to mention:

Corporate bullies are perhaps the worst kind of bullies.

I’m certainly no expert on corporations, but it seems that many that are involved in very questionable practises are able to hold great power over people.  As someone who has lived outside the USA for over 30 years and recently returned to live in the USA, it seems that Americans in general have become immune to corporate bullies.

The toxification of the environment by industrial and commercial activity has been a fact of modern life for decades. But this plague of pollution is so insidious, like the slowly heating pot of water that boils the unsuspecting frog, that its true dimensions have crept up on us largely unheeded.  So has its impact on the health of our children.

 

Poisoned Profits: The Toxic Assault on Our Children,  Philip Shabecoff and Alice Shabecoff

In the rest of the book the authors painstakingly document how our environment is being degraded and the health of our children is being put at risk all in the name of profit.  Dangerous environmental pollution is happening in many areas of our country with reckless abandon.  Many of the offending institutions are revered in their communities because of the jobs they create and the benefits they may bring, yet they neglect to implement basic safety practices and their toxic presence can result in serious birth defects and illness to children.  Most of the offenders are not held accountable and are actually rewarded through increased profit margins and higher salaries for executives. They are powerful and have enough money to buy whatever they need – including scientific studies proving their points – for their success.

Robyn O’Brien describes her awakening to discover the truth about the toxic impact of American food, government, and culture in her book, The Unhealthy Truth. She reveals the alarming decision-making process that enables harmful additives, many of which are banned in other countries, to be included in the United States food supply.  Her book is a personal account in which she shares her daughter’s severe allergic reaction to what she thought was just ‘normal food’.  She thought she was safe in shopping in her local grocery store and feeding her children the food she found readily available on the shelves.  As she began her research into the relationship between the manipulation of our food and the increase in diseases in our children, Robyn O’Brien experienced personal attacks from these same corporate bullies.

Some notable corporate bullies habitually attack those who oppose them.  One large offender spends millions on bringing honest farmers to court simply because their continued differing farming practice is not agreeable to them.

Corporate Bullies.  What are we going to do about it?

 

Trail Blazer

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trailDear Mrs Gianelloni,

I share much of your heart and passion for Jesus, motherhood and health.  I also share your seemingly insatiable desire to know the truth and share it with others.  Thanks for leading the way in such an exemplary manner.  You inspire so many people and we all gain wisdom and confidence through your writing and thinking. I especially loved your recent blog written to the bullies.

As I was reading Ephesians chapter 3 this morning, I thought of you and wanted to encourage you in your passion and mission:

It is God’s purpose to use us as instruments to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  

Thank you for being an instrument of God in our world.

Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. So please don’t lose heart because of [any] trials [you might face] here.

I pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth, that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit… 

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

You have been at this for a long time and maybe you don’t get discouraged, but I wanted you to know that there is an army of people who are right with you.  Sometimes I get a bit discouraged when I see the current state of the world: toxic environmental pollution, GMO food, roundup in our bodies, vaccine injuries and deniers, rampant auto-immune illness and cancer in young and old, Alzheimer’s, chem-trails, human trafficking – did I cover everything?  Oh yeah, and missing jumbo jets, corrupt politicians and the trillion dollar debt we will leave for our children’s children’s children.

So in the midst of all the craziness of our modern world I check-in daily with my Creator through the Bible and find hope, comfort and direction. I believe the power of God as seen in the life and resurrection of Jesus is truly our only hope.  God wants to give everyone the opportunity to re-think their lives, turn to God and gain a new life (Paul, 60 AD).

Again, thanks for blazing this trail and being an instrument of God in our world, a tool to bring justice to the oppressed, and a light shining to those who are in darkness. You are a great inspiration and encouragement!

 

The Good News: This Autism Therapy is Free…And Good For the Whole Family

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Guest Post by The Thinking Moms Revolution whose book and writings have contributed hugely to the awareness of the reality of autism and the possibilities for full recovery.  I am so glad they found each other and that they have joined together to write so that they can extend their blessing far and wide. I have been blessed many times over by their struggles. This piece is really for all parents and helps us to understand the power of our role in our children’s lives.

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Thinking Moms’ Revolution

Luv BugMoments that bring me to my knees, I love them.  Well, I should clarify. I love the ones that bring me to my knees with gratitude – like that guy bursting out of the sewer pipe in Shawshank Redemption, glad to be alive. That is good stuff.  But when you are a parent of a kid with challenges – be it social, academic, physical, or all challenges rolled into one – it can be something like noticing a bug on the sidewalk and stepping on it that channels that inner Shawshank. “YESsssssssss – he noticed a BUG. Damn straight, my man – high five! OH, SNAP – he stepped on it!!! How APPROPRIATE was that?!?!”

You KNOW you know what I’m talking about.

There are also those milestones that everyone would agree are definitely fall-to-your-knees worthy. Learning to walk (at any age), talking (again at any age), peeing and pooping in the potty, staying dry through the night, etc. My latest “on my knees” moment was brought to me courtesy of the YMCA. We have a network of awesome YMCAs around us, and my son LOVES the indoor rock-climbing walls. He’s tried all the rock walls at all the YMCAs that are nearby. He has a body size that is not ideal for rock climbing. His low muscle strength, poor motor planning and general inability to focus provide additional challenges. But about a year after he discovered indoor rock climbing – he got to the top!

rockclimbing2

It was so sweet because it was something typical. And kid-like. And just about age appropriate. We weren’t congratulating him for regaining his composure after a cherished plan was cancelled, or celebrating his first words four years after he lost the ability to speak. This was different. And he was SO PROUD. SO. PROUD. The really sweet thing to me was the reminder to NOT GIVE UP. I didn’t realize it, but I had been going through the motions while taking him to the different rock-climbing facilities during the past year. I didn’t realize that, in my head, I had written it off as something it would be unlikely that he could accomplish.

Then one night, when he was particularly down about not making progress on the wall, he asked, “When will I get to the top?” It hit me that he had a goal of making it to the top, and he said “WHEN,” not “IF.” He had a goal, and he believed he would reach it; it was just a matter of when.

So then it hit me, this child of mine senses when I’m in a crappy mood when he gets home from school. He looks at me more, tells me he loves me and actually starts having a bad day. Just because he is catching my snarky need-more-sleep/coffee/yoga vibe. So if he’s picking up on that so easily, what’s he picking up when I “go through the motions” at the YMCA climbing wall?

So I said to him – answering the question as to WHEN he’d be getting to the top – “Probably this summer. It will take some work, and you might feel frustrated sometimes, but you will get to the top this summer.” Shit. What did I just do? Promise something I can’t deliver?

Around the same time, an awesome a local friend showed me some cool sensory integration techniques for a separate issue my son was having. I started with the easiest techniques that focused on fingers and arms and did them at bedtime a couple times a week, but not regularly.  So when my son scooted up that rock wall, and I thought ‘What the heck has changed that this is now possible?’ I thought immediately of the sensory integration therapy. Of course, that had to be it.

Then I saw this:

hateLoveRice

Dr.  Masaru Emoto has done experiments exploring the power of thoughts on the physical world. This image is from someone recreating his Rice Experiment. He filled three glass jars with rice, covered with water. Jar A he said “thank you” to everyday. Jar B he said “you idiot” to everyday.  Jar C he simply ignored. After thirty days Jar A was fermenting nicely. Jar B was black. Jar C was rotting. This image is a simplified version where one jar is labeled “love” and sent loving thoughts and words. The second jar is labeled “hate” and sent hateful thoughts and words. You can see the results. Several people I know have tried this experiment at home with similar results.

Between the rice experiment and my children’s negative behavior when I am off, I couldn’t help but wonder about the power of my mental shift about the rock wall.

So . . . I guess that this is my thought for today.

change your thoughts

I know, I know, sometimes your thoughts are your only refuge. But lately, I see my less-than-positive thoughts as my prison. The more “negative” I fill my head with, the more “negative” that is drawn into my physical world. But simple shifts in my thinking – recognizing negative self-talk, obstacles I create, expectations of failure – have created corrections to my path. And now, my son’s path. Perhaps my daughter’s path.opportunities

No sugar coating here: it requires a goodly amount of attention to your thoughts (okay, constant attention). And at first it feels fake (“I’m grateful I have food to cook, again, for my constantly hungry family who don’t show an ounce of appreciation”), but just like everything that takes practice, it becomes part of your routine, and then very, very authentic (“I’m so grateful for our warm home and a toilet that flushes”).

I initially believed that I could not control what popped into my head. Over time, what I’ve found is that your thought process is a habit as much as anything else. Of course, when you stub your toe, you’re going to think “Ouch – dang it,” but you don’t need to go into the worm hole of “Again? Another crappy thing? Why today? I need today to be good!!” And when you do start slipping into that worm hole, if you are paying attention, you can stop yourself and say, “That hurt.  Let’s carry on with my bruised, yet unbroken toe.”  When it comes down to it, I’ve spent most of my life trying to control my outside environment. Which means trying to control other people, events beyond my control. What I haven’t realized is that the thing that could make the most difference in my life is the one thing I can control: my thoughts.

~ LuvBug

Hope in the midst of Cancer

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According to current statistics nearly 1 out of every 2 people in the USA will wind up hearing the dreaded words, cancer.  Despite all the money contributed to cancer research over the past 50 years, and all the money insurance companies pay for cancer treatments, the rate of cancer and the survival statistics have never been worse.

Every time I see an appeal for help to a cancer patient or help to find the cure, I want to shout – THERE ARE MANY CURES ALREADY!  It’s just that they don’t make the headline news.  They are happening though – without a doubt.  If you, or a loved one, has heard those dreaded words, don’t believe the standard rhetoric.  Look for all the cures.  Here is one great story by a 26 year old that was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer and decided not to go with his oncologists treatment plan. Today, nearly 10 years later, he is completely cancer free and speaks, coaches and encourages others to pursue healing.  I love the fact that he is unashamedly a follower of Jesus Christ.

I also encourage everyone who does not have a cancer diagnosis to watch this 4 minute video in advance.  You need to know all the options before you ever hear the dreaded words.  If you follow the same health plan outlined by Chris, you need never hear them!

 

Overcoming Evil With Good

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shattered glassMy friend shared a very powerful story that more people need to hear.  We’ve all faced situations where we feel unjustly attacked, or that the reaction we receive is totally over the top.  These attacks can cause a physical stress response in our body and leave us reeling for days!  We feel shattered.  Have you ever felt assaulted by words? Like you’ve been punched in the stomach?  Read about Kristin’s experience and how she responded.  Just a beautiful story!  These are her words, which she has given me permission to share:

Today, a simple trip to the “financial vortex” we like to call Target, ended up being an experience that God would use in my and my son’s life for quite some time. It is NOT a story about me. It is a story about the God that I serve and His infinite ability to make beauty from ashes.

As Luke and I turned off of North Point Parkway and into the strip mall that boasts the big red ball of happy, I noticed that there was a terribly obnoxious amount of traffic. I felt rather sorry for the cars that were trying to exit, (they had a yield sign to us) and so I (not noticing the “keep moving” sign) stopped to let a car squeak by. It was at this point I heard the BLAST of a horn – and when I say blast, I mean it sounded as if the driver had climbed out of his seat and was sitting on his steering wheel. And he didn’t let up. He followed me into the Target parking lot, and followed my minivan until I turned into a parking space. It was at that point that I realized we were going to have to exchange words… because he had intentionally stopped his car right behind mine so that I could not get out. Gulp.

I took a deep breath, I knew I was not dealing with a rational, good spirited person. Nope, this was an angry middle aged horn happy man who was severely enraged by my choice to let a car through traffic. Dear Lord.

FlamesMy feet had not even hit the pavement before a barrage of arrows came flying from his mouth. This man, I did not know, was screaming at me in the Target parking lot. I watched his mouth moving, his forehead squinched, his cheeks bright red with anger. I heard the words. “Idiot” “You should learn how to drive” “can’t you read?” “It’s people like you who cause accidents.” I stood in disbelief. Was this happening? All I could think was “Why is he so angry?” So, that’s what I asked him In the gentlest tone I possess. “Sir, why are you so angry?” He was so taken aback by my response that he stumbled over the next few words, scoffed a little, and then carried on with more arrows. Ugly arrows. Flaming arrows. Hurtful, sharp and wicked arrows… and then… he was gone.

Luke and I stood in the parking lot hand in hand with our mouths gapping, our hearts pounding, and our spirits completely stomped on. We had just been harassed by a perfect stranger, for being kind to another stranger. (And I admit that technically I had made a traffic mistake, but I am fairly certain that my abuser has made at least one of those in his life time? Just a guess.)

After I collected myself, (and sucked any tears that threatened to fall out – back into my eyeballs) I leaned down and looked into my son’s eyes. “Son, I am really sorry that that happened. You know that we NEVER – no matter how mad we are – we NEVER treat another person like he just treated Mommy, right?” “Yes ma’am” “And son, the Bible says to love our enemies and so I think we really need to pray for that man.” “I do too mommy.” “Alright, I love you so much” “I love you too momma.” “You ok?” “Yup”

And although I had resolved it with my son, I could not quite resolve it with myself. As we got our items from inside the store, a trail of “poor me” thoughts like “How could a person who does not know me or who I am, attack me like that? I’m like the nicest person ever, that wasn’t fair, my saturday is ruined, that was so mean, I’m so sad, tears… uh oh, tears… here they come..” And I burst into pitiful self pitying tears, right there in the happiest store on earth. I was letting that man crush my spirit. I was swimming in the ugliness that he had thrown on me and I was so close to MISSING the beauty that God was, in that very moment, effortlessly replacing it with.

As we walked to the car, I believe God spoke to me. “That man put something ugly into the world, now GO and put something beautiful in its place. I am God – and I turn ashes to beauty, evil to good, hurt to healing… Go and be my light. Go and bless someone.”

So friends, here’s where it gets GOOD. Luke and I prayed right there in the car. Where do we go? What do we do? Who do we bless? I felt the urge to drive across town to the Kroger near my house and so I took that as part of our answer. We prayed on the drive over that HE would lead us, show us who to bless and how to do it. I suspected we would be paying for someones groceries and so I immediately started to plan “Operation Bless A Stranger” Actually, it was more like “Operation bless a stranger who looks sad or down trodden with just a grocery basket, not a whole cart cause we can’t afford it if they’re not in the ten items or less lane.”

God had something else in mind.

After grabbing a very schizophrenic assortment of unnecessary items that I absolutely did not need, we neared the check outs. I started to question what I had heard. I felt nervous and embarrassed. What if this didn’t go down well. Who is it Lord? What if I…

And there she was.

A nicely dressed 50 something. Well put together, a typical southern lady, with a very substantial amount of groceries. Really Lord? She does not look like she needs me to buy her groceries…ALL millions of them. But I knew. The holy spirit was pushing my heart toward this woman, this perfect stranger.

I watched the grocery bill climb higher and higher, a bead of sweat flew off of my forehead, I felt a little nauseous. It was now or never. Her last item had crossed the finish. It was time to pay. “Ma’am?” I said. “My son and I would like to pay for your groceries.” She looked at me like I had just said “My son and I would like to eat your groceries.” Adamant, she replied. “No. You can not buy my groceries, there are way too many here. Someone did this for my mother. No, I can’t let you buy my groceries.” To which I replied “Ma’am, my son and I had a horrible experience today, and we prayed a lot about this, and you, and well, we’re going to buy your groceries.” At this point the woman realized that I was going to buy her groceries. There was no talking me out of it. She grabbed me. She literally wrapped her arms around me and began to sob. I sobbed too. Then she pulled away from me and looked me in my eyes and said this: “My husband is terminally ill, you just, you just have no idea… thank you.” And off she went, pushing her millions of groceries that God had just paid for, out the door.

Faith surrenderAt this point everyone was crying. The people in line behind us, the checkout girl, the tough guy one isle over “had something in his eye”… (he totally cried). The check out girl looked down at Luke and said “you have a great mom” to which I say this: This is not about me. This is about the God that I serve. This was FOR me from Him. He turns ashes to beauty, evil to good, hurt to healing, pain to laughter, and traffic violations to stories of His immense love – from one perfect stranger to another.

So my challenge? When someone is terribly unkind to you, GO do something for someone else. He has given us the power to replace the bad with something good.

My God is an awesome God. That is all.

[ME}: Hey Kristin I’d love to share your story. It is so profound and illustrates some practical steps for healing and forgiveness. I can share with or without your name – whichever you prefer. Also, I was wondering if after the big hug by the lady and all the tears, if you felt an emotional cleansing? It is amazing how an assault of words can actually have a physical impact on our body – almost as if we had been physically punched all over. I think your Holy Spirit guided response was absolutely beautiful and must have brought such healing and a sense of physical peace.
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  • Kristin Birkeli Grunewald Becky Hastings, you absolutely may share it with whomever you’d like! And YES re the emotional cleansing. I absolutely did feel that way! And HE knew I would. I’m feeling so incredibly blessed to be the daughter of a king, who cares so greatly for his children!

    Share away! Start a movement! #killitwithkindness!