Bloody Diets!

From my kitchen of the recent (saturday) Point MacKenzie fire. This picture was taken while at 25 acres burning, jumped to 100 acres in one hour. Last I heard it was over 700 acres and still being fought. Thank the Lord for firefighters!

While listening to the radio we heard that if your diet corresponds to your blood type, you will lose weight easier and be healthier. I have never heard of that before, have you?

So I looked up the website, Point of View, for more information about that but I only found a book for sale. I am not ready to pay that much for it so I thought I would read about this idea online.

Supposedly, if you eat foods according to your blood type, you will lose weight and feel better. I am not even sure what my blood type is but I've also learned that you can buy a blood typing kit from the grocery/department stores (according to some websites). I may be AB. A universal receiver blood type. My husband is Type 'O', a universal giver blood type. (So like him!) Givers and takers. The blood banks always want his blood. Once when I was severely anemic, my doctor told me "even the blood banks would refuse your blood." More information on blood types.

This website dadamo.com lists bunches of foods and when you click on them says if it's neutral for your blood type or you should avoid it. I always thought chicken was good for me but if I am AB (not sure but I seem to remember being told that I was) I should not eat chicken. Beef is to be avoided. Lamb is partially beneficial. Oh my goodness! I am supposed to avoid salmon! Well, I think this needs much more evaluation.

Try this Blood Typing Game. Nobody will hire me. :-(

Nobel prize winner Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian Scientist, classified blood for the first time in the early 20th Century.

Our bodies are incredible! Just think what human bodies were like before sin came in and cursed everything up!

I like to read some NDE (Near Death Experience) stories. One NDE Website. They fill my mind with what it will be like when we die, but more importantly when God restores the world to the pre-fall condition it was meant to be in. I am longing for that day!

...The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

"You didn't close your eyes when I was praying!!"

"That means you didn't either, AJ!"

"I did too!
[closes one eye]
"I prayed like this and I saw your eyes were open!!" -A.J. (4 years old)

Joys & Jinxes of Spring

"All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever."
I Peter 1: 24-25

It has been so beautiful but dry. We have been in the low 80's for several days now. Hot for me! All the windows are open tonight and it feels good.

The pictures are of the Rose Trees of China. They bloom in the spring right along with another first flower of spring that Ashlee our granddaughter (number two) has picked---dandelions!

Lexie, Ashlee and AJ will be spending several nights here and tomorrow we plan to find all the big black beetles we can find and smoosh them! We are having an infestation. A plague. A pestilence.

This picture shows one already smooshed on the sidewalk. (bleah)

So Close...

And too close to be comfortable!

It was ten years ago when the Miller's Reach Fire went through this land we live on.

On June 2, 1996, a small wildfire ignited in the Miller's Reach, Alaska area. On June 7th the President signed a Disaster Declaration for the Miller's Reach Fire. By June 15th the fire was considered under control. Approximately 37,366 acres burned and 344 structures were destroyed. Luckily, there were no causalities. State of Alaska Website

I see they report that there was no casualties. I believe one firefighter fell into a fire hole(?) (She was burned but did not die.)

We had another cabin and a few other buildings here that were lost in that fire. Now, our home, cabin and shop are located here --so I am very relieved to see the smoke dwindling. At 7:25 PM it is just about completely out. (At least I do not see anymore black smoke.) Helicopters dropped buckets of water. I could not see the buckets as I have poor eyes, but Doug has better eyes and could see them.

This picture was taken about an hour after I first noticed the plume of smoke. It does not look so very big as it did from my point of view! :-) I wonder how many acres burned?

I've been working in the yard. I planted some gladiola's and begonia bulbs today. So nice to be outdoors again, but I did not like seeing the smoke and went to get a cold glass of water and sat on the deck and just watched until the smoke begin to be more white than black.

It was 75F today. I've been told that our summer is supposed to be dry and hot.

That does not sound comforting to me! I would love it if it would please rain.

Friendship

Awesome clouds in Wasilla, Alaska

Friendship

Oh, the comfort---the inexpressible comfort of
feeling safe with a person,
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words----but pouring them
All right out---just as they are-
Chaff and grain together--
Certain that a faithful hand will
Take and sift them---
Keep what is worth keeping---
And with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.
---Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

I have read this poem many times online and have always liked it. The first time I read it a friend named "Kitty**" shared it. It is the first poem in the new little poetry book my daughter Karla and her family gave to me for my birthday. "Treasury of Friendship Poems" Edited by Patricia S. Klein.

How many of us feel safe with a person? Most of us weigh our thoughts and words before we say anything to someone else. We have learned through time that when we blurt out our thoughts many times we are misunderstood and treated badly for it. How many of us have a friend that we can say whatever is on our mind to and he or she will know that we are speaking out of our hurt and our desires? Are we friends that will "blow the rest away" like the poem says?

I know Jesus Christ is such a friend. He knows my heart and I am thankful.

I have also been blessed with Doug's friendship. His friendship is such that I can say what I want, many times in anger ---he listens and understands.

I hope you all have friends or more importantly, I hope that you are friends such as this poem describes.

Hissy-Fit

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful Mom's. I stopped by to see my Mom after church and got a Momma-style hug before my family and I were all taking off on a Mother's Day 4 - Wheel ride in Eklutna Lake State Park. What a beautiful day! This is the first time I have used an ATV in a State Park and I loved it. Saw so many other Mom's out there enjoying their families on 4 wheelers and on bicycles.

I definitely felt the "cold shoulder" from bicycle riders in the park! Against my peaceful loving nature I decided I will make a comment about that. It is not only on the highways that bicyclists appear to claim more rights than they safely should but they appeared to have that same annoying attitude in the parks too.

My opinion of bicylists continues to plummet due to recent unsolicited blogger comments and by encountering bicyclists on the highways. (I was going to say, by running into them on the highways, but...) Nevertheless, while in the pursuit of having the best Mom's Day yet, I still waved and smiled at them while we passed each other on the ATV trail in the park. Yep, on the ATV trail, some of them were not even on their own bicycle trail there either!

Alaska should stop wasting money on paving over the ATV trails to make bike trails--we are willing to share our ATV trails! Bicylists need to be a little more thankful to your fellow trail riders. ATV's may be dusty but they are the reason there are even bike trails anywhere anyway! Besides all the now-paved ATV trails along the highways (complete with ATV's Not Allowed signs) we figure that the road into Eklutna Lake was probably blazed in by those daring ATV riders too! The only thing that makes seeing our ATV trails turned into paved bike paths agreeable is that joggers and Momma's pushing their sweet babies use them. I would pay for that willingly! But more bike paths? No, they have enough that they don't use!

There is so much driftwood on the beaches of Eklutna Lake. Wish I could bring all of it home with me! :-) We noticed that that water was so low! I know this lake supplies the Anchorage Bowl with water. While here during the summer with my daughter Marie, the lake was so high! This happens from melting snow, glaciers and rain during the summer. During the winter everything is frozen so the water level drops.

You can see the nice road in the park in this picture. I told my husband that of all the trails (deep-woods bogging trails) we have rode, I think this one is my favorite! It was pleasant. It is open all year and people can even use snowmachines during the winter! Very beautiful spot with all the mountains around and close up. I didn't do it yesterday, but there is a trail at the end of the road that one can walk to get close-up to a glacier.

While we slowly drove back out of the park, enjoying the scenery, we met the park ranger and he stopped to ask if we saw anyone racing up and down the river bed (illegal activity in a park). He said there was a report that two ATV's were seen racing on the river bed and when confronted about it they became "mouthy." We had not seen any racers out there but we definitely felt like we were guilty as charged just for being caught sitting on top of an ATV at the moment. Guilty until proven innocent. Another park ranger told us that he had our vehicle license numbers and we may be getting calls later in the week ---after they look at their cameras.

Whatever! Always someone somewhere trying to look bigger than they really are! I wonder if the tattletale was a disgruntled dusty bike rider?

We saw mountain sheep and I got this picture of a porcupine while we were up there as we drove out of the park. Doug stopped the truck at a safe place and I jumped out to get this picture. He was gently hissing at me. I wondered if that is what you call a having a hissy-fit.

Anyway, hope you had a great Mother's Day. I did!

Major...

Bloggers block!

YIPPEEE!

The ice is completely melted from the lake!

Busy Binoculars

I pick up the binoculars.
I see...
There are no flowers yet.
There is no snow on the ground!
There is snow on the mountains.
The magpies left?
The nest looks abandoned.
Maybe they got scared off by the big dog?
Maybe they got scared off by the big bonfire?
Maybe they got scared off by Grammaloo and all her many, many Grandkids!
I see swans.
I see the muskrats eating on top of the melting ice.
I see a hawk eating on top of the melting ice.
What is he eating? A magpie?
One duck with a pointy bill.
Only one loon?
Black and white merganzers.
Mallards.
Brown ducks, one, two, three... four, five... oh, lots of them!
Squawking late at night.
Squawking early in the morning!
Beautiful white swans dip their heads and glide.
Lots of noisy cranes paired up on Mont's airstrip.
The eagles come and go.
Perching high up in the trees.
Spring has come.
The ice is going.

Spots, Moisture or Angels?

This picture is from Saturday when we all took a 4-wheel ride out back. We rode for a long way, not sure the exact miles but I would guess 4 miles one way through a lot of spring-melt-muck. It was fun!

It took many retries and a long time to upload this picture but I wanted you to see something. See the bit of spots in the picture? Not spots on my camera! My daughter Marie tells me "it is moisture in the air!" I prefer to call them "Our Angels!" Angels that are all around us, caring for God's children and keeping them from harm. :-) For those that would try to persuade me that they are not, even if proven, I will consider them reminders of the Angel's God sends for protection anyway!

"Are they not all ministering spirts sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

I am still reading "The Biblical Foundations of Freedom, Destroying Satan's Lies with God's Truth" by Art Mathias. I am in chapter six, "The Principality of Self-Bitterness: Unloving Spirits". We purchased this book in February after attending the Native Leadership Gathering where Art Mathias taught us a shortened version of the "I Found Freedom" seminar. Here is more about what I have been reading and thinking about.

His teaching that all bad feelings are actually evil spirits, makes sense to me. I have been thinking that if we can have these spirits about us that are busy causing turmoil in our worlds--- spirit of anger, spirit of jealousy, spirit of resentment, spirit of retaliation, lying spirits we must also have the otherside of the spirit world, the spirits from God---spirit of love, spirit of mercy, spirit of self-control, spirit of kindness, spirit of worship, spirit of truthfulness. All of these spirits play a major part in controlling our thoughts and ultimately our actions and reactions.

We choose to "listen" to spirits attempting to sway our lives making us conform to a life deprived of faith in the God that created us or a life conformed to living in communion with God. Most of the time we never once realize that the enemy of mankind's Creator wins a spiritual battle everytime we live without acknowledging the awesome power and never-ending presence of God!

Life will be more fun without God seems to be a prevalent and unsaid lie whispered in our ears by the enemy of God. This enemy convinced Adam and Eve that God was keeping something wonderful from them by keeping a forbidden to touch tree in the Garden. This tree was there to allow mankind a choice. A choice to believe God's wisdom or to choose to believe their own wisdom (or what they thought was their own wisdom). Their choice to go their own way was made together and we all have been living with the results of to this day. Loss of our freedom and Death. He even convinced 1/3 of heavenly angels (also created with a free-will) that they could be better than God Himself.

When you compare a life time lived acknowledging God to one that believes there is no God, no hope of Heaven, each respective lifestyle is different as night and day.

The choice to know God brings freedom; choosing to allow evil spirits to sway lifestyle develops into a life controlled by chaos and broken relationships. I have seen it in my short ----almost 52 years!

Think about this. Is there freedom in smoking? When a smoker first chose to smoke, he knew Mom and Dad said, "don't smoke" but he/she decides that it's my choice... "I will smoke if I want to!" So they smoke. Now they smoke because they can't stop smoking. Are they free?

I will drink alcohol if I want to drink! Alcoholic. Are they free?

I deserve happiness - I am not happy with my spouse. Adultery. Resulting home life is miserable with suspicious accusations every time they are apart. Are they free? Is the offender even happy?

We can go on and on and on and on and on talking about all the lies we have believed throughout the years here on Earth. Evil spirits do not want you to be free! God made you to be free. God gives freedom. Don't you believe the lie that He takes away our freedoms when we learn about Him! He created freedom! This is the truth.

Life apart from God is not filled with freedom! It is filled with chains. Chains of depression. Anger. Dissatisfaction. No gratitude. Always searching for that missing something! Alcoholism. Nicotine addiction. Bulimia. At the end of it all and in too many lives --- the ultimate loss of freedoms, prison and suicide.

Yep, we all have a right to make our choices and to live as we have chosen. Be certain that you know which spirits have been convincing you. Choices made now will lead to eternal death or life eternal.