Debunking Head Covering: It’s Just A Tradition

Some of you that have been reading my blog for quite some time, may remember that I started wearing a headcovering in 2007 per the instructions found in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.  I covered for 2 years and stopped in 2009 when my husband told me that he didn’t like it.

For me, it was a test, will I do what I want to do based upon my own limited knowledge and discernment of what the scriptures say or will I do what God through the Bible tells me to do??  That is “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto The Lord….as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” ~Ephesians 5:22, 24

For me, the choice was obvious.  I only wore the silly thing on my head because based upon my own understanding at the time I felt that is what the Bible said…that I should wear it as a symbol of submission to my husband.

But if my husband didn’t like it, then what was the point??  If I continued to wear it after he expressly said that he did not like it, it then became a symbol of rebellion and disobedience, did it not??

And this became my quandry…for a long time I was perplexed over this.  If this truly was a command of God, that women should cover their head with a piece of cloth, wouldn’t that be in direct opposition to what Jesus taught??

Jesus who said to the Pharisees (the religious establishment of his day, no different than the one of today…different time, same spirit) “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27)

OR “…Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)

And I believe that is what we have here, a tradition that makes the higher deeper spiritual teaching of authority within the family “of none effect” by having an outward show of obedience and submission yet being “full of dead men’s bones” meaning that the heart has not changed, and is as ever willful as Eve was in the garden….

Because when you look deeply into it, you realize that Paul WAS NOT talking about a piece of cloth on the head, but the foundational TRUTH of “Proper Authority” within the household…whitewashed and simplified, made of none effect for possibly thousands of years, by the “church tradition” of covering one’s head with a piece of cloth.

We shall put a little piece of cloth upon her head and that shall be the sign of her submission…she’s “covered” now, and it’s ALL GOOD!

NOT! 🙄

I understand that this may not make sense at first, but bear with me 🙂

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

2.  Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

3.  But I would have you know, that the Head (meaning authority, like the “head” of a company for example) of every man (husband) is Christ; and the Head of the woman (wife) is the man; and the Head of Christ is God.

4.  Every man praying or prophesying, having his Head (meaning his God-Given Authority) covered (by whom or what??), dishonoureth his Head (who is Christ).

5.  But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her Head uncovered (meaning not under the authority of her husband) dishonoureth her Head (her husband): for that is even all one as if she were shaven (here Paul is referring to the cultural norm of the time that women taken captive from vanquished enemies or caught in acts of adultery or harlotry often had their heads shaven…their “glory” stripped, so to speak).

6.  For if the woman be not covered (if she refuses to be under the spiritual authority that is her husband), let her also be shorn (let her be counted as a harlot, a woman “in rebellion” and treated as such): but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered (if it be improper for her to be treated as such then let her be under her husband’s authority…meaning let her husband deal with it as he sees fit for God has given him the authority to do so…it’s NOT the concern of the church).

7.  For a man indeed ought NOT to cover his Head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

8.  For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

9.  Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

Paul is, of course, referring back to The Garden Of Eden, the creation of both man and woman…man was created first in the glory and image of God, woman created in the image of man, from man’s “rib”and as a helper to man.

Woman of the man, for the man, as the “glory” of man…meaning that the full manisfestation of his God-Given Authority is made self-evident in his woman (and also his children) and he will answer to God for his care over them.  Just the same as Jesus’s full manifestation of his God-Given Authority is made self-evident in HIS woman…His Bride, The Church….she is His Glory, just the same as woman was made as “the glory” of man…

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church. (Ephesians 5:25-29)

The purpose of marriage is not just for procreation, honestly if God had wanted to he could have come up with a much more efficient means of reproduction…maybe like amoebas who are asexual and just replicate themselves, that would have been far easier!  But he didn’t, because marriage is symbolic of the relationship that is to exist between Christ and His Church, God and His People.  And from the beginning BOTH male and female FAILED to live up to their symbolic role…but that was already a given…

When Eve was tempted by the serpent Satan (a fallen angel) she failed to act in accordance with and under the authority of the husband whom God had given her as a protection for her.  The proper response would have been to go to Adam and say “There’s this snake over there whose trying to get me to eat of the tree that God said not to eat of.” and Adam would have killed that mean ol’ lying snake right on the spot!  THAT is how it should have happened.

Instead, Eve, desiring to have position and authority and power separate from that which God had given her as a helper to Adam, obeyed Satan over God and ate of the tree.  She then gave of the fruit to Adam who ate also.  And that was Adam’s part in the crime, in that he obeyed his wife over God….in that he was more worried about displeasing his wife than he was about displeasing God.

Going back to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 4…having his head covered by his wife he dishonored God…he passively submitted to his wife’s authority and in the process God was dishonored.  Adam failed to exercise his God-Given Authority over his wife in that he did not confront her concerning the eating of the fruit, he did not stand up to her and stand firm on The Law Of God.

This is actually a very common problem in the mainstream Christian church here in America…one that I see repeated over and over and over again.  It usually goes something like this…the wife, tending to be the more “spiritually perceptive” one (but of what spirit? for good? or for ill??) as most women tend to be, gets “saved” at a church and comes home to her man talking about “church this or church that”…you should really come to church honey (you should really try some of this fruit honey…) and at her behest he does so and becomes ensnared by, and spiritually castrated by, the so-called “church” when in REALITY God has given each individual man the authority to be the personal prophet, priest, and king of the family that God has given him.

Could you imagine Jesus allowing The Church to direct and command Him!?  hahahahahahaha!  😆  I mean, the imposter “church” tries to, but he CANNOT be moved…he only does that which he sees his Father doing, likewise the husband should only do that which he is led of CHRIST to do…not his wife!  Will we never learn from our mistakes!?

Many men passively negate this authority by simply failing to care enough about  what their wives are believing, leaving it “up to them” and leaving their wives completely open to possibly being taken advantage of by the lies of the fallen angels….as Eve was deceived by Satan.

Any man who covers his Head with a “spiritual covering” — a human, surrogate, intermediary “head” — is bringing reproach, dishonor, and disgrace to his Head, because, as Paul indicates repeatedly in this text, the man’s Head is Christ Himself.  PERIOD.

The mainstream “church” here in America seeks to take the place of that Head and determine the hows and ways in which the man is to have spiritual authority over his family…in so doing the so-called “church” fulfills the will of it’s master, Satan.  It then becomes nothing more than The Garden Of Eden all over again.

10.  For this cause (reason) ought the woman to have power (authority) on her Head because of the (fallen) angels.  (the woman ought to be under the authority of a husband because he is her God-Given Protection against the lies of the fallen angels)

11.  Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

12.  For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. (Paul is here just reiterating the fact that man is not above woman nor woman above man, neither is better than the other…they are both different creatures, though also the same, with different roles to fulfill in bringing about The Kingdom of God on earth.)

13.  Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? (Decide for yourselves.  Do you think it is proper for a woman to pray to God when she is in rebellion to the authority that He gave to her?) 

14.  Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? (if a man has his God-Given Authority covered by another man or woman, it is a shame unto him)

15.  But if a woman have long hair (but if a woman strives to keep herself under the authority that God has given her…which is as easy to rebel against as it is to cut ones own hair off, and has hard to remain under as it is to grow and care for long hair), it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

16.  But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.  (if any man disagrees, the church has no such custom of usurping a man’s God-Given Authority over his own wife/household.)

And the reason the husband is to cover the wife goes back to the purpose of marriage on earth, to show forth in a symbolic way the relationship between Christ and His Church….The TRUE Church, ekklessia, the “called out ones”…covered and protected by the BLOOD of the Lamb.  Jesus is the only TRUE covering, and just like everything else in scripture these verses point to HIM…for that is the whole purpose of every instruction in the Bible, to make sure that we don’t miss HIM! 😀

~*Spiritual DeTox*~

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent..

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat…

But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul….

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed…

~~Going through a time of spiritual purging and a relearning of The Basics Of The Way…in preparation for Passover no doubt…here are some things that have been especially remedial as of late…

*broken links are now fixed*

End Cut Off – Audio By Zeph Daniel

Work In Inquity – Audio By Zeph Daniel

The Heresy of Freewill Theism – Audio By Michael Bunker

The 5 Stages of Prepper/Survivalist Maturity – Audio By Michael Bunker

Christendom – Audio Sermon By A.W. Tozer

A Mighty, Holy, Light Shield and Lance – Written Word Bro Thomas Blog

The Need To Succeed – Written Word Bro Thomas Blog

Rome Stoops To Conquer – Book By Dr. E. Boyd Barrett (found a paperback copy of this at the thrift store for 50 cents…you can read it for free online though…)

Wheat ~n~ Beet Chocolate Cake

My “Go-To” Birthday Cake …honestly, it’s as delicious as it is nutritious! 😀

The day BEFORE you plan to bake the cake,

Mix together in a LARGE bowl:

1/2 cup melted coconut oil or butter (NOT melted in the microwave!)

1 cup plain whole milk yogurt

6 eggs, well beaten

3 1/2 cups finely ground whole wheat flour (if you buy yours already ground, use whole wheat pastry flour)

Let this sit in a WARM place (at least 76 degrees, coconut oil hardens at temp. less than 76F, for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.)  This soaking/fermentation step is essential!  The probiotics (good bacteria) in the yogurt will partially digest the whole wheat flour and make the final result less dense and chewy and actually taste and feel more like a white flour cake but it’s actually WHOLE WHEAT.  This soaking also makes the nutrients in the whole wheat more bio-available and assimliable by the body (ie. more nutritious).

((I also find that it is easiest to bake, peel and blend your beets at this time.  SEE BELOW))

Then, when you are ready to bake the cake, add:

3 cups cooked blended beets (cooled)

6 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted (NOT in the microwave!)

1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa

2 1/2 cups Rapadura (Whole Cane Sugar) or Demerara Sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

3 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix into flour, oil, egg, and yogurt mixture (hence LARGE bowl) until well blended.

Butter and flour a 9X13″ pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour batter into the 9X13″ pan and bake for 35 minutes and set on a rack to cool.

Icing with any icing you desire.  I just use a regular ol’ fudge icing as I have yet to find a “healthy” icing that actually tastes good.

You may have leftover batter.  I usually just store it in the fridge and make a small “snack cake” later on in the week.

OR you could make a 3 layer cake and that would use up all the batter.

How to cook the beets.  

Cut off tops and roots and put in pan and bake in a 350 degree oven until very tender, 1-1 1/2 hours, just like you would a baked potato.  Peel the beets and then chop into small pieces and puree in the blender until smooth.  You may need to add a bit of water to thin it out enough so that it cooperates when going through the blender.

The Wife

Believe it or not, I read this classic short story when I was 14 years old.  I had just started 9th grade at a new school, I had abandoned “normal” public high school to attend a trade or “technical” school and (as usual for me) had a hard time fitting in.  So, during lunch in the cafeteria, instead of wasting my time trying to awkwardly socialize, I would quickly eat my lunch then run upstairs to the library and sit around and read until lunch break ended.

One time, while browsing through the shelves, I came across a book entitled The Short Stories Of Washington Iriving including “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow” which I had loved the Disney Movie Version of as a kid.  I also read a few of the other short stories, one of which was a very cute one entitled “The Wife”.  I still remember the first time I read it…the feeling and the image that it painted in my mind, because here you see something portrayed that is seldom found….never in movies or TV shows, sometimes in books, rarely in real life….it shows a young couple, and a young wife who actually really truly loves her husband.  It was an image that stayed with me even 5 years later when I myself got married…I wanted to be “The Wife”…that kind of wife…just like her 😀

This can also carry over into the spiritual life, as Paul compares our relationship to Jesus as that of a wife to her husband….this is really easy for women to relate to…having the attitude as portrayed by “The Wife” in our relationship with Jesus also, that no matter what may happen in life we should strive to have an attitude of service, and love, and reverence…for all that HE allows into our lives is for our GOOD…to mold us and shape us into a better reflection of Himself who is both Father and Husband.  Depression, sulking, “hurt feelings” and a “poor me” attitude all have their root in selfishness and help no one…tis’ better to learn to be content no matter what one’s outward state might be.

The Wife 

By Washington Irving  (Copyright 1819)

The treasures of the deep are not so precious
As are the concealed comforts of a man
Lock’d up in woman’s love.
I scent the air
Of blessings, when I came but near the house,
What a delicious breath marriage sends forth–
The violet bed’s no sweeter!

MIDDLETON.

I HAVE often had occasion to remark the fortitude with which women sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune. Those disasters which break down the spirit of a man, and prostrate him in the dust, seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, and give such intrepidity and elevation to their character, that at times it approaches to sublimity. Nothing can be more touching, than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every trivial roughness, while threading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental force to be the comforter and support of her husband under misfortune, and abiding with unshrinking firmness the bitterest blasts of adversity.

As the vine, which has long twined its graceful foliage about the oak, and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rifted by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs, so is it beautifully ordered by Providence, that woman, who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in his happier hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten with sudden calamity; winding herself into the rugged recesses of his nature, tenderly supporting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart.

I was once congratulating a friend, who had around him a blooming family, knit together in the strongest affection. “I can wish you no better lot,” said he, with enthusiasm, “than to have a wife and children. If you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you.” And, indeed, I have observed that a married man falling into misfortune, is more apt to retrieve his situation in the world than a single one; partly, because he is more stimulated to exertion by the necessities of the helpless and beloved beings who depend upon him for subsistence, but chiefly because his spirits are soothed and relieved by domestic endearments, and his self-respect kept alive by finding, that, though all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of love at home, of which he is the monarch. Whereas, a single man is apt to run to waste and self-neglect; to fancy himself lonely and abandoned, and his heart to fall to ruin, like some deserted mansion, for want of an inhabitant.

These observations call to mind a little domestic story, of which I was once a witness. My intimate friend, Leslie, had married a beautiful and accomplished girl, who had been brought up in the midst of fashionable life. She had, it is true, no fortune, but that of my friend was ample; and he delighted in the anticipation of indulging her in every elegant pursuit, and administering to those delicate tastes and fancies that spread a kind of witchery about the sex.

–“Her life,” said he, “shall be like a fairy tale.”

The very difference in their characters produced a harmonious combination; he was of a romantic, and somewhat serious cast; she was all life and gladness. I have often noticed the mute rapture with which he would gaze upon her in company, of which her sprightly powers made her the delight: and how, in the midst of applause, her eye would still turn to him, as if there alone she sought favor and acceptance. When leaning on his arm, her slender form contrasted finely with his tall, manly person. The fond, confiding air with which she looked up to him seemed to call forth a flush of triumphant pride and cherishing tenderness, as if he doted on his lovely burden from its very helplessness. Never did a couple set forward on the flowery path of early and well-suited marriage with a fairer prospect of felicity.

It was the misfortune of my friend, however, to have embarked his property in large speculations; and he had not been married many months, when, by a succession of sudden disasters, it was swept from him, and he found himself reduced to almost penury. For a time he kept his situation to himself, and went about with a haggard countenance, and a breaking heart. His life was but a protracted agony; and what rendered it more insupportable was the necessity of keeping up a smile in the presence of his wife; for he could not bring himself to overwhelm her with the news. She saw, however, with the quick eyes of affection, that all was not well with him. She marked his altered looks and stifled sighs, and was not to be deceived by his sickly and vapid attempts at cheerfulness. She tasked all her sprightly powers and tender blandishments to win him back to happiness; but she only drove the arrow deeper into his soul. The more he saw cause to love her, the more torturing was the thought that he was soon to make her wretched. A little while, thought he, and the smile will vanish from that cheek–the song will die away from those lips–the lustre of those eyes will be quenched with sorrow and the happy heart which now beats lightly in that bosom, will be weighed down, like mine, by the cares and miseries of the world.

At length he came to me one day, and related his whole situation in a tone of the deepest despair. When I had heard him through, I inquired: “Does your wife know all this?”–At the question he burst into an agony of tears. “For God’s sake!” cried he, “if you have any pity on me don’t mention my wife; it is the thought of her that drives me almost to madness!”

“And why not?” said I. “She must know it sooner or later: you cannot keep it long from her, and the intelligence may break upon her in a more startling manner than if imparted by yourself; for the accents of those we love soften the harshest tidings. Besides, you are depriving yourself of the comforts of her sympathy; and not merely that, but also endangering the only bond that can keep hearts together–an unreserved community of thought and feeling. She will soon perceive that something is secretly preying upon your mind; and true love will not brook reserve; it feels undervalued and outraged, when even the sorrows of those it loves are concealed from it.”

“Oh, but my friend! to think what a blow I am to give to all her future prospects,–how I am to strike her very soul to the earth, by telling her that her husband is a beggar! that she is to forego all the elegancies of life–all the pleasures of society–to shrink with me into indigence and obscurity! To tell her that I have dragged her down from the sphere in which she might have continued to move in constant brightness–the light of every eye–the admiration of every heart!–How can she bear poverty? She has been brought up in all the refinements of opulence. How can she bear neglect? She has been the idol of society. Oh, it will break her heart–it will break her heart!”

I saw his grief was eloquent, and I let it have its flow; for sorrow relieves itself by words. When his paroxysm had subsided, and he had relapsed into moody silence, I resumed the subject gently, and urged him to break his situation at once to his wife. He shook his head mournfully, but positively.

“But how are you to keep it from her? It is necessary she should know it, that you may take the steps proper to the alteration of your circumstances. You must change your style of living–nay,” observing a pang to pass across his countenance, “don’t let that afflict you. I am sure you have never placed your happiness in outward show–you have yet friends, warm friends, who will not think the worse of you for being less splendidly lodged: and surely it does not require a palace to be happy with Mary–“

“I could be happy with her,” cried he, convulsively, “in a hovel!–I could go down with her into poverty and the dust!–I could–I could–God bless her!–God bless her!” cried he, bursting into a transport of grief and tenderness.

“And believe me, my friend,” said I, stepping up, and grasping him warmly by the hand, “believe me, she can be the same with you. Aye, more; it will be a source of pride and triumph to her–it will call forth all the latent energies and fervent sympathies of her nature; for she will rejoice to prove that she loves you for yourself. There is in every true woman’s heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams, and blazes in the dark hour of adversity. No man knows what the wife of his bosom is–no man knows what a ministering angel she is–until he has gone with her through the fiery trials of this world.”

There was something in the earnestness of my manner, and the figurative style of my language, that caught the excited imagination of Leslie. I knew the auditor I had to deal with; and following up the impression I had made, I finished by persuading him to go home and unburden his sad heart to his wife.

I must confess, notwithstanding all I had said, I felt some little solicitude for the result. Who can calculate on the fortitude of one whose life has been a round of pleasures? Her gay spirits might revolt at the dark, downward path of low humility suddenly pointed out before her, and might cling to the sunny regions in which they had hitherto revelled. Besides, ruin in fashionable life is accompanied by so many galling mortifications, to which, in other ranks, it is a stranger. In short, I could not meet Leslie, the next morning, without trepidation. He had made the disclosure.

“And how did she bear it?”

“Like an angel! It seemed rather to be a relief to her mind, for she threw her arms around my neck, and asked if this was all that had lately made me unhappy.–But, poor girl,” added he, “she cannot realize the change we must undergo. She has no idea of poverty but in the abstract; she has only read of it in poetry, where it is allied to love. She feels as yet no privation; she suffers no loss of accustomed conveniences nor elegancies. When we come practically to experience its sordid cares, its paltry wants, its petty humiliations–then will be the real trial.”

“But,” said I, “now that you have got over the severest task, that of breaking it to her, the sooner you let the world into the secret the better. The disclosure may be mortifying; but then it is a single misery, and soon over: whereas you otherwise suffer it, in anticipation, every hour in the day. It is not poverty, so much as pretence, that harasses a ruined man–the struggle between a proud mind and an empty purse-the keeping up a hollow show that must soon come to an end. Have the courage to appear poor, and you disarm poverty of its sharpest sting.” On this point I found Leslie perfectly prepared. He had no false pride himself, and as to his wife, she was only anxious to conform to their altered fortunes.

Some days afterwards, he called upon me in the evening. He had disposed of his dwelling-house, and taken a small cottage in the country, a few miles from town. He had been busied all day in sending out furniture. The new establishment required few articles, and those of the simplest kind. All the splendid furniture of his late residence had been sold, excepting his wife’s harp. That, he said, was too closely associated with the idea of herself it belonged to the little story of their loves; for some of the sweetest moments of their courtship were those when he had leaned over that instrument, and listened to the melting tones of her voice.–I could not but smile at this instance of romantic gallantry in a doting husband.

He was now going out to the cottage, where his wife had been all day superintending its arrangement. My feelings had become strongly interested in the progress of his family story, and, as it was a fine evening, I offered to accompany him.

He was wearied with the fatigues of the day, and, as we walked out, fell into a fit of gloomy musing.

“Poor Mary!” at length broke, with a heavy sigh, from his lips.

“And what of her,” asked I, “has anything happened to her?”

“What,” said he, darting an impatient glance, is it nothing to be reduced to this paltry situation–to be caged in a miserable cottage–to be obliged to toil almost in the menial concerns of her wretched habitation?”

Has she then repined at the change?

“Repined! she has been nothing but sweetness and good-humor. Indeed, she seems in better spirits than I have ever known her; she has been to me all love, and tenderness, and comfort!”

“Admirable girl!” exclaimed I. “You call yourself poor, my friend; you never were so rich,–you never knew the boundless treasures of excellence you possessed in that woman.”

“Oh! but, my friend, if this first meeting at the cottage were over, I think I could then be comfortable. But this is her first day of real experience; she has been introduced into a humble dwelling,–she has been employed all day in arranging its miserable equipments,–she has, for the first time, known the fatigues of domestic employment,–she has, for the first time, looked around her on a home destitute of every thing elegant–almost of every thing convenient; and may now be sitting down, exhausted and spiritless, brooding over a prospect of future poverty.”

There was a degree of probability in this picture that I could not gainsay, so we walked on in silence.

After turning from the main road up a narrow lane, so thickly shaded with forest-trees as to give it a complete air of seclusion, we came in sight of the cottage. It was humble enough in its appearance for the most pastoral poet; and yet it had a pleasing rural look. A wild vine had overrun one end with a profusion of foliage; a few trees threw their branches gracefully over it; and I observed several pots of flowers tastefully disposed about the door, and on the grass-plot in front. A small wicket-gate opened upon a footpath that wound through some shrubbery to the door. Just as we approached, we heard the sound of music–Leslie grasped my arm; we paused and listened. It was Mary’s voice singing, in a style of the most touching simplicity, a little air of which her husband was peculiarly fond.

I felt Leslie’s hand tremble on my arm. He stepped forward, to hear more distinctly. His step made a noise on the gravel-walk. A bright beautiful face glanced out at the window, and vanished–a light footstep-was heard–and Mary came tripping forth to meet us. She was in a pretty rural dress of white; a few wild flowers were twisted in her fine hair; a fresh bloom was on her cheek; her whole countenance beamed with smiles–I had never seen her look so lovely.

“My dear George,” cried she, “I am so glad you are come; I have been watching and watching for you; and running down the lane, and looking out for you. I’ve set out a table under a beautiful tree behind the cottage; and I’ve been gathering some of the most delicious strawberries, for I know you are fond of them–and we have such excellent cream–and everything is so sweet and still here-Oh!”–said she, putting her arm within his, and looking up brightly in his face, “Oh, we shall be so happy!”

Poor Leslie was overcome.–He caught her to his bosom–he folded his arms round her–he kissed her again and again–he could not speak, but the tears gushed into his eyes; and he has often assured me, that though the world has since gone prosperously with him, and his life has, indeed, been a happy one, yet never has he experienced a moment of more exquisite felicity.

My Diet for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

It’s sometimes difficult to fathom that we were once nothing more than microscopic specks in our mother’s womb.  That tiny speck, which is our beginning, becomes alive through food.  It takes shelter, steady warmth, elimination of waste, and a healthy mother eating healthy foods to give an infant a proper start.

It just makes sense that if one hopes to be a successful gardener one soon learns in the garden the necessity of reinforcing the soil with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.  Nitrogen for leaf growth, Phosphorus to produce flowers, and Potassium for strength of root and stem.  In the proportion that any of these elements are left out, the plants will suffer.

Similarly, when one or more of the nutritional elements that are needed by the infant are left out of the expectant mother’s daily food intake, the building of the infant’s body will suffer.  It is completely natural for the mother to wish for a strong, vigorous baby at the time of birth.  She also wishes for an easy, short labor, and quick recovery of strength following.  This is her natural primitive inheritance according to The Laws Of Nature and Nature’s God, if she lives her life in accordance with these laws it is likely that her baby will be born easily and healthily…but go against them and she opens herself up to all kinds of trouble.

When I became pregnant with my first child I asked myself “What is the optimal way to eat in order to grow the healthiest baby?” and I set about trying to answer that question.  Because I was young (only 19) and naive enough to believe and trust mainstream medical advice when it came to child care (that only lasted until right after he was born and I started researching vaccines however…) I followed the “accepted” nutritional recommendations for my first pregnancy and he was born just fine…I was lucky.   But with my second pregnancy and continuing research, I started to figure it out and developed this diet which I followed as closely as possible for that pregnancy and every pregnancy since then… and while breastfeeding too…

The one piece of “mainstream” nutritional advice that I take the biggest issue with is their caution against consuming more that 10,000 i.u. of Vitamin A daily as it may lead to fetal malformations….this is probably true of synthetic man-made Vitamin A synthesized in some laboratory somewheres and then put into your average pre-natal vitamin….however this is NOT AT ALL true of Vitamin A that is naturally occurring in the food that we eat, and it is the MOST IMPORTANT NUTRIENT (along with natural Vitamin D) when it comes to the proper development of your baby.

It is especially important to the proper development of your baby’s brain and I speculate that deficiencies in these 2 most important vitamins is the main reason we have such a rise in Autism and learning disabilities in the children of this country…without the proper pre-natal nutrition they start out life already on the loosing end of the bargain…and then add in things like continued improper nutrition from formula feeding and not breastfeeding, and shooting them up with toxic poisons like mercury and formaldehyde when they are not even a day old yet and well it’s no wonder the kids have issues!  It’s amazing they manage to live at all and a testament of The God who made our bodies and it’s amazing ability to adapt to and survive any number of “less than ideal” conditions!

The below diet is a culmination of my research and experience through 5 pregnancies and births and breastfeeding my 5 children.  I’m not a medical professional, although I am a Certified Nursing Assistant (instead of going to a regular high school I attended a “trade school” where I took nursing classes and became certified as a nursing assistant) but I AM NOT a Doctor….however YOU own your body, God gave the gift of your life to YOU, (NOT your doctor) therefore it is YOU and YOU ALONE who best knows how to care for it.  Don’t just unquestioningly accept what you are told, ask questions and do the research, search out the TRUTH in every and all situations.  For those who earnestly seek out the Truth, the Truth will be found by them…it’s like a Universal Law or something 😉

Now, without further adieu, here are my personal dietary recommendations for pregnancy and childbirth, gleaned from my own research and personal experience and is not only good for those already pregnant but also for those trying to get pregnant too!

1 tablespoon cod liver oil daily **Very important** make sure you at least take this, even if you do nothing else and the rest of your diet is awful the whole day.  (Vitamins A &D, Omega-3s, for optimal brain and dental development)

At least 2 servings, and preferably more, of high calcium foods daily: **All these foods contain at least 400 mg. calcium salts or more**….1 cup RAW cow or goat milk, 1 cup of organic whole milk yogurt/kefir, 4 oz. cheese (no lowfat or fat free, the fat in dairy products helps in the absorption of the calcium), 1 cup of steamed cultivated or wild greens eaten with plenty of butter, 1 cup herbal infusion (these contain highly absorbable calcium salts necessary to optimal skeletal and dental development)

4 tablespoons butter daily – preferably RAW and golden yellow in color.  Use it when cooking or to butter your bread, your veggies, or mixed into your oatmeal (saturated fat, cholesterol, butric acid and vitamins A & D)

2 or more high omega-3 eggs daily…preferably homegrown or from a local farmer who raises them free range on green pasture (These have too many nutrients to count!…what better for a growing baby than for it’s mother to eating another animal’s placenta, it’s the perfect pregnancy nutritional powerhouse!) —- Additional egg yolks daily (all the nutrients are in the yolks), added to smoothies, salad dressings, scrambled eggs, etc. **it’s OK to eat raw eggs as long as they are organic, and preferably free range, wash the egg and don’t let the egg come in contact with the outside of the shell since that is where the salmonella is…if it is there at all**

4 ounces fresh organic liver at least once a week (For Iron and Vitamin A&D) Remember, pregnancy is an extreme Iron-hungry state…be sure to get plenty of eggs, fish, liver, red meat, green leafy veggies and herbal infusions.

Fresh seafood, 2-4 times per week (not to exceed 12 oz. a week because of mercury…contains omega –3s, protein, minerals, Vitamins A & D…esp. in the fish eggs) particularly wild salmon, sardines, oysters,  fish eggs/roe…sushi is good too, I CRAVE it when I am pregnant..especially seaweed salad!

4-6 oz. Fresh beef or lamb daily (protein, iron, all the essential amino acids, fat) preferably organic and/or pasture raised.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin coconut oil daily, used in cooking or smoothies, etc. (saturated fat and lauric acid for baby’s brain development) Lauric acid is not found in many foods, but it is found in high amounts in coconut oil and it’s one of the fatty acids unique to human breastmilk…it has anti-microbal and anti-fungal properties.

Lacto-Fermented Foods-esp. sauerkraut, fermented sweet potato, beet kvass, homemade ginger ale, and kombucha (Probiotics, trace minerals, lactic acid…all help digestion and the proper assimilation of other nutrients)

Homemade bone broth: Chicken, Beef, Lamb, Fish broth used in soups, stews and sauces (calcium, trace minerals, protein, gelatin, iron)…for more information, check out my post “The Beauty Of Broth”…

Soaked/ Sprouted whole grains and legumes…oatmeal, sprouted whole grain bread, wild rice, brown rice, lentils, etc. (properly prepared whole grains contain a lot of trace minerals and B vitamins…esp. if you buy organic.)

At least 1 cup. (preferably more) of dark leafy greens daily, steamed, raw or stirfry with coconut oil or in soups. **Cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, brussel sprouts all needed to be eaten cooked (or fermented) as they contain certain chemicals that can harm the body if eaten raw. They contain Goitrogens that interfere with thyroid function and oxalic acid which blocks calcium absorption.** Proper thyroid functioning and calcium are both very important during pregnancy.

Fresh vegetables and fruits-preferably raw/sprouted, lightly steamed or cooked with meat. Esp. good ideas for pregnancy are: Pineapple, all berries, dark purple plums and prunes, dark purple grapes and raisins, bananas, broccoli, sweet potatoes, garlic, zucchini, peppers (hot and sweet)

Use high quality moist grey celtic sea salt to taste on food (salt is very important for baby’s development…esp. the brain, contains many trace minerals, nutrients, and natural iodine)

1 Tbsp. RAW Apple Cider Vinegar taken daily.  I usually take this mixed with about 2-3 tbsp. water in the evening before bed, it is high in potassium which helps with muscle spasms from overworked and overstretched pregnant mama muscles.  The increased acidity also helps in the digestion of food, reduced stomach size and slowed digestion (because of the growing infant taking all the space) leads to heartburn because instead of quickly and efficiently moving through the stomach as it should it instead just sort of “sits there” backing up into the esophagus and causing tremendous heartburn.

6-8 cups of filtered water daily. **Very important since the amniotic fluid is entirely replaced every three hours, dehydration is also one of the main causes of miscarriage** Try to drink natural sparkling high mineral water for extra minerals, it’s great with dinner, iced with a slice of lime or lemon added, or half and half with concord grape juice (high in antioxidants).

Things to be AVOIDED while pregnant: Trans fatty acids (e.g., hydrogenated oils), junk foods, commercial fried foods, caffeine, white sugar, white flour, soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco products, pharmaceuticals….

If you crave chocolate, it’s a sure sign of Magnesium deficiency…drink lots of beef/fish broth, herbal infusions esp. nettles, and high mineral water as they are all excellent sources of usable magnesium.

Try to buy Organic food where your budget permits, if you can do nothing else at least buy high omega-3 eggs…nothing can beat them for nutrition.

Herbs For Pregnancy

(all pregnancy herbs are also good for breastfeeding and infertility)
–Red Raspberry Leaf infusion: strengthens uterus so that contractions are more productive at the time of labor and delivery, increases milk production
–Stinging Nettle infusion: an excellent nutritive tonic, esp. for iron, magnesium, calcium and vitamin K and for increasing breastmilk
–Red Clover infusion: eases constipation, strengthens liver, and keeps breast milk rich, is also complimentary to Red Raspberry leaf
–Fresh Dandelion Root Tincture: supports liver function, which is very important during pregnancy since the liver has a lot of extra work to do in supporting the baby. Morning sickness is a typical sign that the liver may not be up to par, so is itchy sensitive skin (not just on the belly) and heartburn before the 3rd trimester begins.

I usually drink 1c. of red raspberry mixed with red clover infusion, and 1 cup of nettle infusion on most days (4-5 days a week)…you should drink up to 5 cups of red raspberry infusion daily from week 37 of pregnancy till delivery. Check your local natural foods store or shop online for herbs in bulk (www.bulkherbstore.com)

Basic Infusion Recipe: 1 Qt. of boiling water added to 1 oz. of dried herb, allow to steep for at least 4 hours, store in fridge.  However I usually just leave the herbs in there and strain the liquid as I drink it. 2 qt. mason jars work really well for making these infusions.

Breastfeeding

– A porridge made from soaked (see book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, for more info.) Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa), an ancient grain, is excellent for increasing breastmilk, eat it with a little raw honey and lots of butter.
– A tea made from crushed fennel seeds (1 tsp-1 tbsp. seeds to 1c. hot water) is also great for increasing breastmilk…drink 2-3 c. a day until it increases.
Fenugreek is also great for improving a lagging milk supply (and great for breast health in general). The general rule of thumb is to take 2-4 580-610mg capsules 3 times a day until your milk supply improves…if your sweat and/or urine smells like maple syrup it’s a good indication that you have reached the right dosage (taken from http://www.breastfeedingonline.com)
– Don’t eat Trans fats, it lowers the nutritional quality and quantity of breastmilk and make sure to get plenty of rest and plenty of protein and fat, making breastmilk is hard work.
– Make sure to continue taking your cod liver oil so baby gets those all important Omega 3 fatty acids and adequate levels of vitamin A & D.
– To establish a good supply of milk (esp. in the first couple months) make sure the baby is feeding at least every 3 hours or more often whether he is hungry or not. Milk supply is based upon the laws of supply and demand, the more often he eats the more milk there will be, so long as you are getting adequate nutrition, calories and rest.  There is no problem with breastfeeding for comfort, breastfed babies will not get fat. The sucking reflex is very soothing to all babies and the breast is made especially for sucking and is a much more natural than a pacifier or baby’s thumbs/fingers.
– Makes sure baby is getting a full meal while at the breast!  If the meal takes 20 minutes or less than he probably isn’t getting a full meal, esp. in the early months. But as the breastfeeding relationship is established most babies eventually become very proficient feeders (at around 6 mo.) and can finish a meal in about 20 minutes. Relaxing enough to allow the “letdown” reflex is of vital importance as this is where the fatty milk is that will satisfy your baby’s hunger and help him gain weight. (see my post “Breastfeeding Advice: When nothing else seems to work”)

Information taken from:

The Brewer Diet (www.blueribbonbaby.com)
The Weston A. Price Foundation (www.westonaprice.org)
Nourishing Traditions by: Sally Fallon
Wise Woman Herbal For The Childbearing Year by: Susun Weed
Dr. Joseph Mercola (www.mercola.com)

The Chore Chart

By nature, I am a very visual person, I like to have things out in the open where I can see them…I also have issues with clutter, a cluttered environment = a cluttered mind. I also get distracted easily, mostly because I simply do not care about most things…so everything sort of superficially holds my attention for a short time and then I flutter along to something else…sort of like a butterfly. Unless it’s something that I do care about or regard as important, when that happens NOTHING…not even death…can sway me. Like a pit bull I latch on and never let go. Ever.

I also hate wasting my time, especially on mundane and illusory things like cleaning…I’d much rather be digging in my garden or tending to/hanging out with my animals or going on sunset hikes in the woods with my family or rockin’ my babies while they sleep or playing video games with my husband and children or…well, pretty much anything else! I mean it’s just going to get dirty all over again anyways…I especially hate cleaning according to a schedule, especially when that schedule has appointed for me to clean something that isn’t even all that dirty. I want to clean what needs to be cleaned and only when it needs to be cleaned and then get on with my life!

That is why I developed this chart 😀

Along the left hand side, in the first column, is listed, what I refer to as, my “Core Chores”…the main ones that must get done most often, once a month at the very least. Along the top is numbers 1-31…the days of the month…and it’s laminated so that I can use dry erase markers on it. I developed this chart so that I can figure out how often things actually require cleaning…when I see that something requires cleaning I clean it and then mark it on the chart what day I did it on.

Then at the end of the month I record all of this into my spreadsheet and save the data for each month as a “log” of sorts of the work done. Then I go back and see how often things required cleaning…for example, I now know with certainty that my toilet needs cleaning every other day and that my kitchen needs to be swept everyday, sometimes twice. I know that the bedsheets require washing every other week and that my lower kitchen cabinets need to be wiped down once a week (I’m a bit klutzy and tend to absentmindedly drip food during meal preparation). With a bit of planning and foresight I no longer feel as if I am wasting my time cleaning what does not require cleaning but instead make a “surgical strike” at the right time and moment, doing exactly what needs to be done and nothing more.

Furthermore I love having the “Core Chores” on a poster out in the open for the whole family to see because then the children read it and become familiar with what needs to be done and…gasp!…actually do things without me even asking, just so they can mark it off on the chart. And because the work needing done is plainly evident, written on the wall, my husband also helps out with the things that he reads on there. This was actually a happy unintended coincidence, but I am so grateful for it!

Things can get pretty hectic and messy in this little cottage with 7 people all day long…living and loving and learning…but thanks to this chart I am able to efficiently and easily focus my attention on what is most needful and then get back to what is most important…LIVING life! NOT cleaning it 😉

Click the link to download my “Chore Chart” spreadsheet 😀

ChoreChart

Awesome Video About Nutrition

It’s rare that I ever say this…about anything, but I 100% agree with everything she says on this video 😀