Wait on the Lord

I know that I have said this many times before, but I just keep getting blessed over and over, so I'll say it again. The book MORNING AND EVENING is a must-read of you are REALLY serious about your walk with the Lord. I thank the Dagley family for blessing my life immensely with this gift! The daily writings are always a blessing, but some days it's like they were written just for me. I would like to share this morning's reading. Put it in the context of someone waiting for the day when the cancer will again be encapsulated and peace restored to my body. The Scripture verse which it is based on is Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord.

It may seem an easy thing to WAIT, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what part to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by fear, or rush forward in presumption? NO, but simply wait.

Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God.

But wait in FAITH. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him, for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keep you tarrying till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry.

Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, "Now, Lord, not my will, but Thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until Thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I WILL WAIT, if Thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon Thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for Thee in the full conviction that Thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.

PRAISE GOD THAT HE IS ALWAYS MY STRONG TOWER NO MATTER WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH--EVEN CANCER!!!!!!!!!!! And, "Oh Lord, teach me to wait."

Lighter side?

Usually after I post something "Heavy," like I posted yesterday, I like to post something light and cheerful so that you don't get all bogged down reading my thoughts. With this in mind, I headed to the Good Clean Funnies List located here:http://www.gcfl.net/

Being I am more aware of how cancer affects one's thinking now, I almost found it amusing that everything posted there seemed "Stupid" somehow. I was almost ready to give up, and pass on posting entirely now, when I found this "Funny." I guess, if it weren't so true, it would be funny.

As always, when the Lord brings me something to ponder, I must ask myself these questions. In what ways does this apply to me? Is it just possible that I, myself, am hanging on to a dead horse? If so, which thing is it in my life that the Lord is pointing at? And lastly, how can I get rid of it? After all--it's a DEAD HORSE!!!

Happy pondering and Happy Sabbath to you all!

Dawn

The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from one generation to the next, says that when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. However, in modern business, because of the heavy investment factors to be taken into consideration, often other strategies have been tried with dead horses, including the following:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Threatening the horse with termination.

4. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

5. Arranging to visit other sites to see how they ride dead horses.

6. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

7. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

8. Changing the form so that it reads: "This horse is not dead."

9. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

10. Harnessing several dead horses together for increased speed.

11. Donating the dead horse to a recognized charity, thereby deducting its full original cost.

12. Providing additional funding to increase the horse's performance.

13. Doing a time management study to see if lighter riders would improve productivity.

14. Declaring that a dead horse has lower overhead and therefore performs better.

15. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

*Received from the Funnies list.

Humor--health related

Dear friends,

I was thinking this morning about my post on humor. I was hoping that you all don't think I'm the biggest Scrooge in the world. You see, I really DO feel all of those things about people who mock others. I just can't stand it because I can't stand to think of anyone having hurt feelings. One can't live through all of the years of abuse that I endured and take things like that lightly.

Still, I wondered this morning if my comments may have seemed harsh to others? After all, I wasn't exactly kind to these car expert buffoons. I was a bit surprised, then, that my thoughts were much kinder towards them this morning. Pondering the change I suddenly hit on a wonderful thought.

You see, I have had cancer numerous times in the past. I always treat it with herbs and my zapper and lots of TLC. One of the symptoms of cancer, and usually the first red flag that I'm dealing with it again, is that one's thinking changes. When I have cancer, (I can't speak for others) my thinking gets extremely negative. EVERYBODY BUGS ME!!! Why can't they try and be a little quiet; or a little less wiggly; or a little bit more compassionate? WHY INDEED.

Don't they know that my pain level is out of the roof? Can't they see the pain on my face as shown in this picture? Doesn't anybody care that I have cancer? Why do they expect me to keep working the way I always do when I have cancer? Who cares if they eat when I'm hurting so badly? Why do I have to continually ask people to carry the laundry basket out to the wash line for me? I can hang up the wash but I'm too weak to carry the basket. I want to be useful but I have such little strength. I can snap beans but carrying the water to the canner hurts too much. EVERYTHING HURTS TOO MUCH!!! Car expert bozos hurt too much. Can you see my thought processes here?

I'm humbling myself now. I don't want to be weak. Nobody wants to be weak. Nobody wants to need others to do the little things for them that they normally can do for themselves. I'm aching now because I can see that God wants me to share these thoughts to help others who have cancer and my natural instinct (from growing up in an incestuous home) is to keep my mouth shut and suffer all alone.

Have you ever read the thoughts of someone who has cancer? Has anyone ever taken the time to write them out to try to make a dent in the ignorance all around them? I'm writing for you, dear cancer patient, to try to help you see the ray of hope that comes from tackling problems like cancer by working WITH the body, not by attacking the body. God WILL heal me, as He has done so many times before, but not by my running in to be burnt or cut open.

Do you remember when I said that my naturopath, Dr. Faye, told me to ponder what I am to learn when I have cancer. Well, I see that I just learned a biggie. I think that what God wants me to learn this time is to share my thoughts with the world so that people can see that cancer warps one's thinking. Cancer completely changes me from a confident person to a whiny little kid. Cancer makes me angry because I can't do the work that lies around me without pain, Pain, PAIN!!!!!

Some days I just give up and lie in bed and do BodyTalk on myself and sleep all day--or soak in the whirlpool for 3 hours and turn into a prune. Those are the bad days. I've had it 10 weeks now and most days I can keep plugging along at about 1/2 to 3/4 pace. Those are the good days. Well, you know what? I'm selfish enough to want EVERY day to be a GREAT day!!!!!!!!!!

Cora took this picture of me this Spring when I felt great. When I don't have cancer, I feel great and so alive and so excited about everything all around me. I can work all day without tiring; cook wonderful meals for my family; teach exciting lessons to my children; do the laundry; or drive tractor; or milk the goats all without pain. My face is calm and relaxed and I do not hurt.

I WANT TO LIVE when I don't have cancer and I WANT TO DIE when I do have cancer. It's that simple. Cancer makes you want to die. I suffer from suicidal thoughts often when I have cancer. It just doesn't seem like it is worth the effort of fighting my way through the pain to a pleasant thought when I have cancer. Many people kill themselves when they feel like this. I can understand why.

I write to you who love someone who has cancer. I write this so that you may catch a glimpse of their thought processes. I write this so that you can try to understand what they are going through. I write this so that you may search your heart for a way to show them that you love them even though they have cancer.

You may never know what a little, tiny, eensy teensy weensy effort to try to understand someone who has cancer can mean to them. You may not know that a simple, little gesture can give a cancer patient the will to fight to the end of that day. You may not know that your words, "I'm praying for your health needs," can touch the heart of a cancer patient with extreme joy. It is this joy, which the cancer patient needs more than anything, that will begin to bring the healing.

Some day soon, when I am completely well, I will write about the routine I use when I have cancer. I'm not strong enough now, but I will do it soon. Today I needed to share what I have shared so that everyone out there will pause just one moment to reach out to someone who has cancer. The cancer patient can't help that they have cancer, but it's so terrifying that people prefer to stay away from them, and that is what hurts the most. That means that when the patient needs love the most, they fight the biggest fight of their lives ALONE!!!

Thank you for listening to my thoughts. This morning I feel quite a bit stronger than I did when I wrote the humor post. This morning I had the strength to write and explain that I only want to bring joy and beauty to the whole world. This morning I count my blessings of almost having the cancer licked. Look at this little guy in my hands. He's a half grown goose by now and I am growing too. I'm picking up my courage to express my thoughts about having cancer. This has helped me to grow more than I can explain. God bless you for listening.

To conclude, I would say that it would be wise for all of us to look for personality changes in those we love. If they seem more snappy and weak, it may be that they just need more rest or better food or a shoulder to cry on. However, if this continues for weeks, perhaps the kindest thing to do would be to climb over the Mountain Denial, and face the possibility that cancer may have become active in the body.

Then you simply MUST run to the doctor, right? WRONG. I can see that I need to write my cancer procedural chart out ASAP. Let me rest now and I'll see if I can find the strength to do it later on today. In the meantime, check out Dr. Hulda Clark's recommendations listed on my sidebar.

Love always,

Dawn

Humor

Jacob and I are home together today while the others are out stacking bales about 15 miles from here. After doing my BodyTalk sessions and working on laundry, we began making a nice big batch of beef stock from boiling beef. We're trying to get the old beef used up in preparation for butchering in October. There's nothing like opening a jar of beef stock in the middle of winter to use as the base for soup. By making the stock as recommended in NOURISHING TRADITIONS, the gelatin comes out of the bones and soup made from this stock IS VERY NOURISHING and filling. I have not found any store bought soup broth or base which fills the tummies like this or that tastes so delicious.

While I work on a big project with the children in the kitchen, I like to let them choose a tape or video to listen to help pass the time more pleasantly in their opinion. Most often it makes it pleasant for me too. However, just now Jacob was telling me about a program he found online called "Car Talk."

"It's so great Mom, because they really help people solve their car problems AND they're so funny." "Why not", I thought and agreed to listen. I guess it's safe to say that Jacob's "Funny" and my "Funny" are 2 different things. This experience was anything from what I would term pleasant.

First of all, I do not consider everything that someone says as funny. Therefore I do not think it necessary to burst out laughing at every thing that a caller says. For instance, I don't think it was necessary to break into peals of laughter when one woman said that she had a car that was 20 years old. I happen to think that a man who keeps his older vehicle running well is wise and a good steward. Now take a look at Andrew's "New" pickup. This pickup is 11 years old and it looks almost new. It was proper care that kept it this way and that is not a laughing matter.

To be honest, these guys just really bugged me!!! It got me thinking about how humor can really take a turn for the worse. I guess I could probably write a book on this subject but I'll just throw this out for you to ponder.

I have heard it said that it isn't humor unless it's funny to both parties. These bozos insulted the one woman because her aunt GAVE her this 20 year old car. They mocked another woman because she wasn't sure if she'd need her block heater after just moving to a warmer climate. They also criticized a fellow who didn't know that in summer you should have less air pressure in the tires than in the winter--or at least that's what they said.

I can tell you, these guys would be the last people on earth that I'd ever ask for advice about one of my vehicles. How on earth did they get to be so popular? Are we, as a nation, so warped that we must mock everyone in order to elevate ourselves above them? That is really sick people, in my opinion anyway. So, as a general rule of thumb, remember that if it isn't funny to the person that you're talking to, IT ISN'T FUNNY. If they don't feel good after you said it, maybe you shouldn't have said it. Just maybe you should say, "I'm sorry." Wouldn't that be a nice change?

Any comments?

Perfect

This just came in from my friend, Carmen. It fits just perfectly with what I just wrote about the citizens of our country waking up and taking the responsibility which is ours. I just couldn't resist copying and pasting this in right here. Think about it.

Dawn


ONE OF THE BEST EXPLANATIONS

OF WHY OBAMA WON THE ELECTION

From a teacher in the Nashville area

"We are worried about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream"

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year.



The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest.

I decided we would have an election for a class president.

We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members.

We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have.

We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids.

I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support.

I had never seen Olivia's mother.

The day arrived when they were to make their speeches.

Jamie went first.

He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better

Place. He ended by promising to do his very best.

Everyone applauded and he sat down.



Now is was Olivia's turn to speak.

Her speech was concise.

She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream."

She sat down.

The class went wild. "Yes! Yes!

We want ice cream."

She surely would say more. She did not have to.

A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream?

She wasn't sure.

Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it.

She didn't know.

The class really didn't care.

All they were thinking about was ice cream.

Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.

Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and

52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds..

They want ice cream.

The other 48 percent know

They're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess."



Remember, the government cannot give anything to anyone ---

That they have not first taken away from someone else.

North Dakota's Second Appleseed Shoot

Well, my boys returned home safely from the second Appleseed Shoot held in North Dakota up at the Bartlett's farm. They looked pretty tired, when they got out of the pickup last night, but they didn't complain about doing chores as they knew it was time to get back to work after 6 chores off. Andrew said as he headed out to the barn after supper, "Vacation's over, Jacob." A groan, but no comment.

We did take time to look at the pictures of the shoot yet before bed and we showed the boys the pictures of our outing to the Dagleys. After a quick family prayer time, it was lights out. Feel free to check out Jonathan Bartlett's blog or "My"Andrew's blog (both listed on my sidebar) for more pictures and some intelligent comments.

Being I wasn't there, I can't rightly make any comments about that particular shoot but I thought that I'd share some pictures as I do believe in this project very much. I still plan to write a detailed post about why I believe that every man, woman, and child should know how to properly defend themselves with a firearm. I'll just briefly say here that, if I had not learned how to shoot well when I was 10 years old, I have every reason to believe that the incest would have continued for years yet. I knew how to shoot, and they knew it, and that made all of the difference in the world.

Isn't it terribly sad that an 11 year old girl had to defend herself with a rifle from her own brothers? I think so and thinking this has always motivated me to encourage self defense type thinking and actions and this is why I am 100% in support of the Appleseed Shoot Project. Perhaps these pictures seem gruesome to you, but incest is gruesome too. I wonder if I'd have survived without knowing how to shoot, as it was getting more violent as I aged, and I was protesting more. I thank God, then, for teaching me the skill of holding a rifle in my hand and knowing what to do with it in order to protect myself. THIS IS WHY I AM 100% SUPPORTIVE OF THE APPLESEED SHOOT PROJECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There, now it is out and I feel better.

I spoke with Lynn, Jonathan's mother, a bit about lining up a shoot here and she said that it will be imposable to do one here this fall yet, as it takes up to 3 months notice. I'm sure that absolutely nobody would come here to shoot for 2 days at the end of November. It'll have to wait until next year. We may just go ahead and line up a date so that we can get an instructor then, when the weather in North Dakota is more suited for laying on the ground for 2 days.

Here are some pictures that either Andrew or one of the Bartletts took. In this one, Andrew is checking to see that they have everything that they'll need. My sons were on the end of the line which makes it nice as they're easier to spot in the other pictures. The grass was very wet that morning so Andrew put on his barn boots.

Here the boys are firing in the prone position.

Here our friend, Christopher Scigliano who brought the Appleseed Project to North Dakota, is demonstrating the use of the hasty sling. Don't think that I knew what this was but I got it off of Jonathan's blog. Thanks for posting, Jonathan:)

Jonathan, by the way, is standing next to Chris with an orange hat on too. From my understanding, first a person must qualify at the Rifleman level in their shooting. Then, if they choose to proceed on to Shoot Boss, they have to assist the boss in teaching at 4 other shoots. Jonathan said to me at Prarie Days that it would be a blessing to the whole project if North Dakotans could have these 4 shoots. Then he, Chris, and his brother, Peter, would all be qualified for shoot boss and they wouldn't need to bring someone in from out of state. This time the shoot boss, Alex, came from Iowa.

Andrew Bornemann and Andrew Bartlett checking for progress. Everyone made progress, which is what matters!!! My Andrew did qualify, by the end of the shoot, for the "Marksmen" level of recognition with the Appleseed Shoot Project and Jacob got close. The next level higher is called "Sharpshooter" and the highest level is called the "Rifleman." I haven't heard the history lesson from the course, as the boys were too tired to share that last night. However, I do recall reading on the Appleseed site (also listed on my sidebar under self defense) that 200 years ago almost every man in the country could shoot at Rifleman level. How far we have slipped due to our complacency. This picture also shows Alex. The Shot boss wears a red cap and those in training wear orange caps.

The group resting in the shade and hearing the history of our great countries' battle for freedom. This is a picture that stirs my heart to joy for I see that God is calling others to wake up to the direction our freedoms are going in this country. We must shake off the complacency that threatens to choke us and rise up and be men and women of God fully capable of defending ourselves spiritually, mentally, AND physically.

I wish to publicly thank the Bartlett family for opening up their home to us in this way. Their acreage is absolutely beautiful in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota. Jim, Lynn, Jonathan, Peter, Andrew, and David I thank you all with a warm heart. May God continue to bless and to guide your family.

Please ponder reading up on this fine project. I'm sure we'll let you know when and if we set the date for our very own Appleseed Shoot Project. I'd like to make it available to people around here and I pray that your family will consider doing the same.

To our freedoms,

Dawn

THE LOSS OF ELEGANCE

THE LOSS OF ELEGANCE. Perhaps I will write a book about my feelings on this subject someday. For now, I share only a taste of my thoughts. You see, I have been accused of being melodramatic in my writings, although not recently. I have pondered this accusation seriously, not wishing to exaggerate the truth in any way. However, much of my life HAS indeed been on the dramatic side of things. For instance, it would be difficult for me to make a flippant comment about incest, or miscarriages, or cancer, or definitely not one about shingles.

Over this past weekend, while the boys were away, Cora wisely presented us with the choice of a movie, offered on U Tube, called EMMA. She thought that I would love it and she was right!!! Although Emma's lack of character on one occasion ended up causing her no small sorrow, truth wins out in the end; she confesses her sins; and is cleansed from their power over her. Furthermore, her humility wins her the love of her beloved Mr. Knightly but perhaps I should not have shared that part with you in case you are inclined to take 6 hours watching an old English movie. I cannot recommend it too highly for those who, like me, find yourselves in love with elegance of speech and manners.

Late last night then, as I sat down to send an email to Andrew, I found myself unwilling to part with the beautiful customs of those times. I knew that he would find me "Totally ridiculous" but I couldn't resist and so I sent him the following email.

To my fine young son, Andrew of Kintyre,

It would seem that I'm developing a habit of writing to you at midnight. :) Your family members stayed up and watched the last episode of "Emma" in which Mr. Knightly and Emma finally realize that they are in love with each other. OH HOW WONDERFUL!!! It did seem a bit of a surprise at first, because he is 16 years older than she is, but then one never can tell where love will come from. :) Can you have guessed that the play was written in old English, by any chaunce?

Oh, by the way, young man. Will you please remember to pick us some raspberries before you leave on your return trip? And, oh yes, you MUST remember to thank your good host and hostess immeasurably right before you leave.

I trust that your stay has been to your liking and that you will be refreshed upon your return to this place. I am most eager to see all of the photographs which you have acquired in your absence.

In fondness always,

Your maternal parent

Finding myself in continued good humor along these lines, I sent a copy of this to Cora with these words attached. The journey to which I was referring was, none other than, our trip to the Dagley farm which we both found exceedingly informational and enjoyable. I teased her that the weather was undesirable because Emma's father, in the movie, was constantly overestimating the negative affects of the weather. Yesterday, the weather was exceptionally perfect making the joke even more ridiculous. Cora found it all humorous because I have been somewhat overprotective of my offspring in a similar manner, although not so absurdly to his degrees.

Dear Miss Bornemann,

I thought that, perhaps, you would be entertained by the reading of the following correspondence which I just recently sent to your younger sibling.

I cannot overestimate the pleasure at the journey which we shared today, Miss Bornemann. I bless you immeasurably for being my lovely traveling companion on this outing. I trust that you were also joyful that we made the trip in such dire weather!

Affectionately,

Your maternal parent

This morning I was overjoyed to receive a reply to my correspondence from, none other than, my daughter. I could see that EMMA was still fresh in her memory as well as in mine. I post her reply for your reading enjoyment knowing full well that she would be delighted.

Dear mam,
Thank you very kindly for making the journey today, as I'm sure if you'd thought real hard, you could have come up with some reason why the weather was not absolutely favorable for an excursion. :) I'm glad you're not THAT concerned about the correlation between weather and health!!!!!!!!!!!!

However, I recall that, it is good for ones' health to meet with your pillow at an early hour, so I must truly be going, although early it most definitely is not.

I agree, today was truly excellent.

Farewell~

Signed--Miss Bornemann

Some small part of me will ALWAYS long for the romantic period when men were gentlemen and women were ladies and you could easily tell the two apart. If I may make one small dent in the world with my existence, I would have it be that the sexes would again draw their distinctions and find the joy in the obvious differences. For in only this fashion, have all of the needs been met and all of the hearts found their joy in a simple walk with a friend.

I will add that I had such a joy yesterday afternoon as I found myself helped over the rocks in the Dagley stream by my old friend, Steven Schadler. It was MOST agreeable to me and he didn't seem to mind in the least. So I see, therefore, that my desire is not only for a return of refinement in manners and speech between spouses, but between ALL gentlemen and ladies whenever and wherever they should happen to meet. AS IT WAS ONCE, MAY IT BE SO AGAIN UPON THE EARTH.

My son, Jacob

*Note* Please read what I wrote about Jacob below the pictures. I usually drag them all down when they pop up here, but that is a lot of work and it's the Sabbath today.

Jacob is always thinking about airplanes and built this one out of Light brights.

Jacob sanding the boards for the big swing set.

Jacob enjoying the works of his labors.

Always an avid reader since age 4, Jacob reads in the van while waiting for me at the chiropractor's office in Bismarck. Here he was reading to Cora one of our family favorites, IRMA'S BIG LIE. If you have any children with this problem, THIS is the book for you!

Jacob naturally is a health nut. He hardly ever eats desserts/sugar and likes to help us prepare healthy meals. Here he is helping to make sauerkraut out of cabbage for this winter.

My son, Jacob, is "Different" from his papa and his brother. My son, Jacob, is more like me. How wonderful to have a child who is like me, especially since Cora is a lot like her papa and Andrew is just like him. This is fine, as people are supposed to be whom God made them to be. It's just that it's wonderful to have someone in the world who is a lot like me!!!! How grand it is to say something and have it understood immediately!

When I was on my deathbed in 2006, it was Jacob's gentle nature that carried me through the low times emotionally. It still was Cora who had the guts to give me over 700 bee stings that saved my life, but it was Jacob who would come up to me and gently put his arms around me or softly rub my back and ask, "How are you, Mom?"

My son, Jacob, knew that I was having a hard time yesterday with letting Andrew and he go away for the weekend. I have a strong bond with all of my children, and normally miss them a lot when they're gone from home, but with being sick now it just seemed loathsome to let them go. ):

It wasn't surprising then, that it was Jacob who comforted me, when I called the boys on their way up to Bartlett's yesterday afternoon. "Hey," Jacob said to me, "why don't you take this time to just relax a little? Maybe you should watch 3 Bonanzas; about 5 Roy Roger's; 10 Andy Griffeth's; and about a hundred Popeye's? That ought to cheer you up."

I laughed so hard and WAS cheered up to realize that Jacob really wants me to be happy! It's interesting watching the change in a person as they switch from the "Always-taking" mode of the child to the give-and-take mode of an adult. Although I always will miss my little people's ways, now that those days are over, it is nice now to be receiving back some of the love which I poured into their lives throughout all of those early years. How sweet are the rewards of a stay-at-home mom when she wisely builds the love of God and others into those young souls around her table! Amen?

Anyway, late last night I received an email from Jacob (sent from his Ipod) from up at our friends, the Bartletts, farm. It sent me to bed laughing and that's a good way to go to bed. Here is what he said, "Hi, We R Here now & having a good time. Don't worry about us. Have fun there. See You, Jacob"

So I have decided to take Jacob's advice and not worry about them up there with their 22s. I trust that these people in charge take every precaution necessary to protect everyone or the Bartletts would not be hosting the shoot. Therefore I'm going to have fun today, just like Jacob advised me to do. :) I'm not sure if I'll get 100 Popeyes watched before the boys return on Monday, but there are more ways to have fun than just watching movies. Actually, I'm off to exercise now. Although this isn't exactly what I'd call "Fun", it does help to keep the pain level down in my neck and shoulders. Everything else is more fun when the pain is down, so off I go.

I hope that you enjoyed this tribute to my son, Jacob Austin Bornemann. What an intriguing young man he has turned into. Thanks, Lord, for this youngest child who managed to survive the epidemic of miscarriages we endured here. Thanks, Lord, for Jacob's life. Thanks, Lord, for ALL LIFE!!!!! What a pricelss gift it is!

LADIES ONLY PLEASE--MIRACLE WORKING ONIONS

Well ladies, this post is not very pleasant, but then life isn't always pleasant. I haven't said anything about this up until now, because I don't like pulling my friends down, and it's mostly my friends who read this. Still I have made a discovery worthy of sharing, so share it I will.

I've been dealing with cancer again for about 5 weeks now. No, it has not been confirmed by an earthly doctor as my Heavenly Father is my great physician. I've been through it enough times to know that when I have pain like THAT, plus lumps growing on my body, that it's cancer. As I learned in the book THE CURE FOR ALL CANCERS, many people cure the cancer frequently only to have it come back again. It's the coming back part that is most troublesome to me.

Well, I've been using Dr. Clark's herbal remedy since I first felt it in my neck and it's been almost gone several times. I'm almost positive that I know the source of the trouble now, and have eliminated it, so the worst should be over. However, yesterday my chest hurt terribly so I did an examination yesterday afternoon and found a lump the size of a pea in my left breast.

OH MY--THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I HAVE DREADED EVER SINCE MY GRANDMOTHER LOST HER BREAST TO CANCER OVER 40 YEARS AGO. Since then 4 aunts have lost their breasts to that beast. What to do?

First of all, calm down and pray for guidance. Second of all, do a BodyTalk session. The session revealed all sorts of links to my grandmother's cancer. I didn't realize until that session how I was shaped by that visit as a child to the hospital where I saw her lying there almost dead after chemotherapy and radiation. In fact, I realized yesterday that this was when I first became interested in becoming a natural healer. I learned young to desire alternative ways to burning and cutting the human body. That desire has only GROWN since then and that is why I long to share what I learn as I go along. That is why I've named my blog A RAY OF HOPE as sometimes a ray is all that we have. Perhaps that one ray of hope will encourage another searching soul to try something natural that worked for me and they'll get helped too. That is my prayer as I write this!

Well, last night I learned something wonderful about dealing with cancer. My naturopath said to me once, "Every time you go through cancer or some other awful thing ask God, "What am I supposed to be learning here?" So that's what I did last night as the pain spread through the left side of my chest into my armpit. Suddenly I knew what I was supposed to do.

I recalled that, when I had gotten mastitis years ago, I cut an onion thin and put it on my breast to suck out the poison. YUP that's just what I did last night. It's a simple process but it needs to be done correctly so here are the steps to follow.

You clean a large onion; slice it thin; and warm it up in a frying pan on very low heat. When it is shiny, you go to bed and put the onion slices on your breast. Cover it up with a towel and go to sleep. That's what I did and this morning almost all of the pain was gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS A MIRACLE IN MY OPINION.

I am excited about the possibilities for helping people when my dream of a health center becomes a reality. I never knew that it would work for cancer, but now I do. :) I imagine that we'll probably grow lots of onions in those days.

So today I've been up and about until now--3:00 PM. Yesterday I lay in bed in agony all day and the only thing that I changed was I let some onions draw out the poison. COOL! Now I do have some pain there, so I'm warming myself another onion and I'm off for a rest. This sure beats yesterday's fear and agony of dreading the most dreadful thing that I've ever dreaded and finding it true.

The point that I'm trying to make here is this. For every one of man's/woman's woes, our Creator HAS made a remedy in nature. We just need to find them, don't' we? I'm sharing this with the hopes that, if someone searches here, they will find the same help that I found yesterday.

Please help pray me out of the woods as I am convinced that prayer is another one of the Creator's healing miracles. I bless you all with a great big hug from a heart full of joy at being alive. God preserved me through all of the times I found lumps growing on my body before this and I have every confidence that HE WILL DO SO AGAIN!!!!!!!!

PRAISE THE LORD AND HAVE A BLESSED SABBATH REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boy's trip

The big day has arrived. The boys have been wanting to attend an Appleseed Shoot since May. As you may recall, they were registered to go to the first ever shoot in North Dakota but then a nasty little bug kept them from going. Well, they're going now--in fact they're gone and this mama had to post to keep from missing them so much. They'll be home for chores on Monday night so that's 3 whole days that we won't hear Andrew's whistling or Jacob's whistle blowing. Cora tried to comfort me with, "Just think that's 3 whole days without all of that noise!" I guess she's got a point there.

Andrew has been trying to get his things ready as he'll be the man in charge of this trip. Here you can see his new license plates he got on Wednesday for his new pickup. There's just something about a young man buying his first wheels that is soooo special. This trip up to his best friend, Jonathan Bartlett's house, is his first trip with his new wheels so excitement has been running high all week.

To make it an even more exciting day for Andrew, his new cell phone arrived this morning. While he was in showering, Andrew was a little disappointed because he had seen the Fed Ex truck go by already this morning. However a second one pulled in just then delivering his and Robert's new cell phones. Robert's is just tired so it was time for a new one for dad too!

Well, I had a list for the boys this week, and they worked hard to complete it in time. Being they had packed most of their things in the pickup yesterday, they were ready to take off right after lunch. Here they are carrying out their food as the weekend is all sack lunch. Cora and I packed plenty so I hope they'll be ok.

The Bartletts are thinking of buying our chicken plucker so that went on the back along with the coolers full of food.

Loaded and ready to leave the yard.

OOPS, they forgot their rain gear so they stopped and went back in for those things as you never can tell what the weather will be like.

Last minute advice from dad.

Finally everything was loaded; all parental advice given; and our young men Andrew (18) and Jacob (13) headed up north to see their friends, the Bartlett boys. Robert, Cora, and I waved our farewells and they were off. I should add here that Andrew earned that pickup by running our portable grain cleaning unit this Spring. Long hours and scratchy eyes brought him to this reward and I am VERY happy for him!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, MY SONS!!!!!

Tempted for a few hours

A friend sent this forward out the other night. I laughed and agreed wholeheartedly--at first. Why, caring too much about what other people think of me is exactly how I came to have shingles on my brain in the first place. "WHO CARES WHAT PEOPLE THINK IF I'M OLD AND FAT???" I rebelliously agreed with the forward.


For a few hours I really enjoyed thinking this way. Why, it WAS a wonderful treat last night to eat TWO carmel rolls with the rest of the family at the end of our wonderful meal of fresh-from-the-garden veggie pizza we had made. I even balanced myself to the thought out in the barn so that the stress from such an extravagance wouldn't do more harm than the rolls did. Oh, life is good when you don't care about your health and your weight--until it isn't! I'll let you read the forward now but beg you to read my concluding thoughts of how I won the battle over my complacency regarding the pattern of gluttony which has afflicted me most of my life.

I would never trade my amazing friends; my wonderful life; my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie; or for not making
my bed; or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat; to be messy; to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old some day.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one; or when a child suffers; or even when some body's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old.. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.. And I shall eat dessert every single day(if I feel like it).

So, can you see now how I could so easily be tempted to "Just temporarily" lay aside my goal of reaching my ideal weight by the New Year? After all, the author of this forward DID make some very valid points about cherishing life and not being ashamed of who I am right now. However, does that mean that I am doomed to live the rest of my life in a fat, stiff, painful body that won't do what I want it to do and that can't keep up with my family? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I SIMPLY REFUSE TO THINK THAT WAY FOR ONE MORE SECOND!!!

So, how did I motivate myself to keep on cleansing and exercising? Well, I'll show you what I did. I went into the boxes with our old pictures and found lots of pictures of me when I was skinny 20 years ago. I took pictures of 3 of them and am sharing them with you all so that you can see that I DID IT BEFORE AND I WILL DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!!! Here's that story in a nutshell.

Shortly after we married, I started eating "An extra cookie" every chance I got. Moving back to the town where the incest had taken place was setting me up for failure. How I wish that I had gotten some counseling before Robert and I married so that my failures didn't have to hurt him so much! By our 3rd anniversary, I had gained almost 100 pounds. How's that for freedom? Sure I was free to eat extra cookies any time I wanted to but, as every reasoning mind knows, for every cause there is an affect. In essence then, I was free to push the scale up to 220 pounds every time that I stood on it. ):

Praise God that He brought Shaklee into my life then as it gave me something new to focus on. In no time at all I was building my Shaklee business and I could see that the excess weight was bad for my business AND bad for my health. Soon I was resisting those second cookies and moving a little bit more and soon the weight started coming off.

After I had lost 60 pounds, Shaklee offered a 3 day class called called, SLIM UP AND LIVE in Omaha, Nebraska. Soon I was on my way with other Shaklee friends to become a SLIM UP & LIVE counsellor. When I got home all fired up to help people to lose weight, Robert and I rented a little abandoned church in Eureka so I could teach the class and I began leading exercise classes there too. Within a year from the time that had I decided that I was worth fighting for, I had lost 90 pounds and weighed in at 130 pounds. How I wish I had known then how stress affects weight and I could have kept it off.

Anyway, here are the pictures taken of me during that time. The first is Robert and I at my parent's house. He was so proud of me and I felt like a million bucks--not only because I was nice and trim but because I could move so much freer from the strong, healthy body I was building in my aerobics classes. Do you think I was feeling sorry for myself then that I had had to "GIVE UP" all of those extra cookies to get rid of the weight? NNNNNOOOOOPPPPPEEEEE! That's one NOPE for every member of my family.

I regret that this picture is so fuzzy as it was a major highlight in my life. This was after the 12 weeks of class. We had a graduation night and every member weighed in 20 or more less pounds than they had been before the class. I think the highest was 27 pounds less. I'm in the green dress and Robert is with me as I gave his mother her graduation certificate. It was a wonderful night for all of us!!!

This was another fantastic night in our lives. We had left the farm and moved to Bismarck. Robert and I got involved with an insurance company which was trying to help people to see what a rip-off whole life insurance is. Just in case you've never pondered this, life insurance companies are getting mega rich off of the people by selling them whole life insuarance. We got them to buy 10 times the amount of term insurance so they'd have adequate coverage. The rest we had them invest in mutual funds so that they, NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, made the big money. The people that we dealt with then are still thanking us for helping them to see this light.

The night that this picture was taken, Robert had just gotten promoted to the position of Regional Vice President. It was a big deal and I felt so proud to be so nice and thin standing beside him as he received his promotion. Would all of the cookies in the world have made up for it if I had been fat that night? NOPE!!!!!!!

So, now I'm older and wiser and I realize that when you deprive yourself of food you shut down your metabolism and you go into starvation mode which makes you put fat on no matter what you do. One of my friends was so shut down that she was gaining weight at 200 calories per day.

What to do? Well, I have found that the Master Cleanse IS a great way to lose weight although I mostly did that to cleanse my body so that I can get well. In other words, I did it for my health and have been amply repaid with improved brain function AND the loss of 30 pounds.

Still, just as I was tempted to go back to the second cookie philosophy espoused in this forward, I became aware of another option. It was posted on my blog list under the Master Cleanse blog link. Feel free to read up on it and, if you'd like to join me, I'd be so happy and honored. The post title was, "Lose 20 pounds in 30 days." NOW THAT'S THE WAY TO THINK!!!

So I'm off and running again and I know that by focusing on the rewards of success, rather than the penalty of failure, I WILL SUCCEED. That's a quote from Dennis Waitley's THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING, but that's a whole another story.

Please keep me in your prayers for, even though I feel quite confident now, I know that there is the possibility that just around the corner the "Second cookie" philosophy is bound to raise it's ugly head. You thief, you can just go away and make somebody else fat--that's what I say. AMEN?

TO YOUR HEALTH!!!

(Revised) Restful but still painful--with pictures added

I am in posting on Andrew's computer as I was exercising and missed the first part of Sunday night Bonanza at the Bornemanns. It's hard to pick up in the middle of something that's already begun--especially a love story which it sounds like it is tonight. I expect Jacob to show up in here at any minute, as he just can't stand the love scenes. "YUK", he says. Anyway, I will have to add the pictures of yesterday tomorrow when I can get back on my computer.

It's been a couple of restful days, but I'm still finding myself in pain today. You see, I am learning that even fun days can be stressful. STRESS EQUALS PAIN TO ONE WHO HAS HAD SEVERE NERVE DAMAGE LIKE I HAD IN 2006-2007. Even being overjoyed to have friends come, if it leads me to neglect my daily health care schedule, will cause me pain. Live and learn.

It was soooooooooooo nice, though, to have Lynette Dagley and her son, Ben, plus Hannah Stover come to visit us yesterday morning for our first ever swing set party. By the way, I said to Robert last night that our swing set party was a BIG success. He said, "It better be, it's a BIG swing set." :)

Everyone seemed to gravitate to the swing set and it was occupied all day except during meals. Jonathan and Jaidra Dagley came up from Mobridge for the day too, and brought Amanda with them, so she could catch a ride home with Ben after spending a week with the South Dakota Dagleys. Eli Dagley was also returning home from there--he's one of Lynette's grandsons.

Here is a picture of my long time friend (14 years) Lynette and I on the swings. I so admire how slim and trim Lynette keeps herself. You inspire me to keep working on my weight, Lynette!!! Thank you!! I feel kind of silly as I had just gotten out of the shower right before they got here and my hair is wet on the pictures. Lovely hairdo, Dawn! Oh well, as Robert likes to point out, "It's your smile that draws me to you, Dawn!" The wind was blowing up our skirts so it was nice and cool as I posed with my friend. :)

Cora and Hannah on the double swing--a little blurry so sorry.

Across the road, where I want to have my health center someday, there is this gorgeous tree that Cora just loves. We all stopped underneath it to have our pictures taken with our dear friends. Lynette and I enjoying the beautiful summer morning and each other. :)

Andrew crawled up the big stack of big bales to "Spy" on us ladies. Cora got him at it here, but not before he caught some pictures of us ladies down below him. :)

Shortly after this our friend, Chuck, stopped by to drop off a CD full of Andrew's graduation pictures. He took the pictures at the graduation but has been too busy to get them to us. He had just come back from the Steele vet clinic where he had taken his dog, Jack. Jack got in the way of the sickle mower and had gotten his foot cut off.

It was amazing how I was drawn to go do some AnimalTalk on Jack--Chuck didn't mind my taking the opportunity to expand my knowledge of working with animals. A lot of links came up to the foot and guess what? Jack needed to be balanced to the mower that took off his foot. Are you shocked? I'm not. :) This is a picture of Chuck and Jacob who are great pals--it looks as though Jacob had his mind on swinging instead of visiting though.

Anyway, we spent yesterday morning looking at the garden; the yards; and Andrew's graduation pictures . Then we had lunch together and while we were eating, Lynette leaned over and asked if I would teach my, "Voice lessons 101" class at the home school convention next year. Nothing like dropping a bomb--although it was a bomb with exciting possibilities. A few years ago I had shared the basics of good singing at the Dagley's music day in a little class I had called "Voice lessons 101". Lynette said that it was very helpful to her and she would like the information to be available to all home schooled students. I told her that I'd think about it.

After dishes were finished, we looked at the wedding pictures of friends and Lynette brought out Polly for a quick lesson in puppetry. I was trying to get her granddaughter, Valerie, to warm up to Polly but no such luck.

However, when Grandma Lynette put Polly on her hand and started talking, Valarie warmed right up and went over to meet Polly. I guess it matters who the puppeteer is when not working behind a screen and when working with children. Valarie and Polly became fast friends under Lynette's charming influence!

At one point in the afternoon I was looking for Cora. Guess where I found her? On the double swing with her dear friend, Amanda Dagley. I got this picture of them from the deck without them knowing that I took it. I think it's so awesome that, as Lynette and I treasure each other, so do our daughters.

Lest you think that the swing set was enjoyed only by the females, you are wrong. Robert and Jonathan were here most of the afternoon--to the point that Robert sun burnt his head. These 2 men have been friends for a long time and it was so great that they got to get caught up on their farming techniques. Robert has such a nice way of sharing with young men that really endears him to those who are seeking organic farming answers. :) Perhaps you can see Jonathan holding his daughter as he swang?

After dishes were finished, we visited and then Andrew worked with the Dagleys on their Prairie Days DVD project. During that time I wrote up a short overview of my lifetime vocal music experiences. They needed the writeup last week, as they are already beginning work on next year's convention. I was surprised to see how much singing I actually have done as I'd forgotten many things.

Lynette also shared with me that our friends, Steve Schadler and Christopher Scigliano, are working together on a project that will be introduced at the home school convention called the Dakota Survival Challenge. Both of these men have lived in survival situations in North Dakota successfully and they have much to share with us as we ponder an uncertain future. Then, next year at Prairie Days, those people who have signed up for the Dakota Survival Challenge at the convention, will share what they learned about surviving in emergency situations. It sounds like a very worthy project.

Ben, Lynette, Hannah, Eli, and Amanda left around 4:00. I got to know Jaidra better then and they accepted our invitation to stay for supper too. It was so nice to get to know Jonathan's family! They left for their home in Mobridge around 7:30 and we did chores and headed for bed.

It was such a lovely summer Sabbath day. However, I neglected my health care yesterday and I woke up at 3:30 this morning in terrible pain in my neck and head. I zapped; took a bunch of clove capsules; did some basic BodyTalk procedures and finally fell asleep around 5:00 this morning.

It's been a pretty quiet day here today as I'm taking it easy and Cora is too. We watched the movie, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. I recommend this movie wholeheartedly as a sample of the power of truth and perseverance. We had a strange experience when it was over though. It didn't seem like the movie would end there and we couldn't find the next part on U Tube. Finally Andrew found it on his computer and it said, THE END, where the other one had ended. I certainly wouldn't have written it to end with the hero in a state of exhaustion and he not in his sweetheart's arms. What a hopeless romantic I am and, come to think of it, Jacob never did show up in here. Maybe he's getting over the "Romance is rubbish" stage a little bit?

Well, Bonanza just ended and it's time for family prayer so I'll close for now. Check for pictures tomorrow.

Bad news; Good news; GREAT NEWS

I have only a few moments as I need to scrub the floor yet and clean the whole bathroom before sunset. Still, I thought that I'd share the news of the day as I just can't keep it in.

First of all for the bad news. Our neighbor Leo called around 4:30 and said that his wife, who is my friend Gladys, suffered from another stroke this morning. I couldn't believe it as we just talked yesterday on the phone and her lungs were sounding so much better. She had even walked out to the garden. Now Gladys is in the hospital in Bismarck again, for a different reason, and she can use your prayers.

You may recall that Gladys was just in the hospital in Bismarck for her asthma. I had visited her in the hospital at that time and she had consented to allowing me to do a BodyTalk session on her that day. She told me yesterday that it helped her so much. I hope that she'll consent to let me work on her again as BT works so good on reestablishing communication in the body and a stroke is a MAJOR shutdown of communication lines. Her left side is numb.

Well, the good news is that the Dagleys are coming for a visit tomorrow. Earlier in the day it seemed doubtful that they could come but Ben just called and said that a few of them will be able to come. Andrew needs to go over the Prairie Days DVD with them that he is putting together for them. Also, we want to have A SWING SET PARTY. The children were all mowing this morning in preparation for company, so I'm glad that they're coming. :)

Does anybody know what you officially do at a swing set dedication? All I know for sure is that I've dedicated it to the work of the Lord to bring joy into our family and those of all whom HE brings here. Here are a few pictures that I took earlier today as the children tied and burnt the ends of the ropes. Part of me was suffering as they told me that their plan was to tie the boards at different lengths so that people of different sizes can all swing at the same time. I had been seeing them all lined up perfectly exactly 34.29873 inches from the ground. I should have done my deep breathing technique, for it wasn't worth THAT much stress. After I pondered the situation a little, I came to see that their plan was "Just Perfect." Really, as if everybody in the world has the same lenghth of legs!!! :)

Here I am checking out the yellow swing. IT WORKS! :)

Now for the great news. THE LORD WORKED OUT THE FINANCING AND THE GUYS BROUGHT THE OTHER 9030 HOME AN HOUR AGO!!! You may recall, from the bale stacking pictures post, that we were trying to get another 9030. Our major crop is alfalfa and the one we had handles the hay like nothing else. NOW WE HAVE TWO!!! We traded in the fancy swather that we'd bought when we were focusing more on small grains. They're willing to finance the rest so the Bornemann men's hearts are full of joy tonight. You know what they say about the difference between the men and the boys, don't you? Let's see if I can recall it now.

The difference between the men and boys is the size and the PRICE of their toys.

Here our guys are playing with their new toy. :)

Back to cleaning.

Dawn

God bless Dr. Mercola

If you have never gone to Dr. Joseph Mercola's website, you probably should. He has the world's largest alternative health center in the world. I rarely buy a product which he doesn't sell or endorse. If I read something, I compare it with what I've read on his site. This is a source of information which could save your life. Here's the link to his website: mercola.com.

Well, today he had an article on some new cancer research which shows that Vitamin D is saving many people's lives once they're diagnosed with cancer. Here's the link to the article:http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ articles/archive/2009/08/13/New-Model-for-Cancer--Dynamite.aspx

They were asking for some volunteers to be a part of a 5 year study involving Vitamin D and, without a moment's hesitation, I signed up. I've had cancer several times and I am VERY interested in preventing repeat occurrences. If such a simple, inexpensive vitamin supplement and/or safe sunshine exposure is saving thousands of lives, I WANT IN ON IT. I need all the help I can get.

I'll let you know, as I get involved with this study, what I'm learning. The study is called THE D*ACTION PROJECT. Please, if you know of anyone who has cancer, send them to this article. I've also posted the project at the top of the list on my sidebar. Cancer prevention is a big thing to me and, I would think, to everybody.

I urge you to take a few moments to watch the video on Dr. Mercola's site!!!!!!!!

Grateful

I am so grateful to belong to such a wonderful group as the International BodyTalk Association which has become a "Parent". I just found this video on the "Child" Association which has been founded with the plan of bringing health care to the world.

You see, by taking the BodyTalk Access class, a person can learn the basics of BodyTalk. This will enable him/her to take care of 60% of the health care needs of their family. All for only $100 and 8 hours on a Sunday, a person can remarkably change their health for the better. It saved my life completely when I was reacting to the bee venom.

What about the vast numbers of people, though, who live in third world nations who can't afford $100 for a class because they only earn $5 a month? This is why the International BodyTalk Foundation has been formed. I can give my tithe money to God's work here. The money goes to pay teachers (who go to these countries and live like the natives) who volunteer their time to teach the people these basic health care skills. It also buys books for the students so that anyone can have the opportunity to learn these techniques.

Here's the link to the video that I watched. I pray that the Lord will move many hearts to give to this noble project of sharing this natural healing approach with many who would not be able to afford the training any other way. https://www.bodytalksystem.com/ibf/ It's underneath the dandelions and the video is called, "Access and the IBF".

I say, "God bless Dr. John Veltheim." He's got plenty of money, I'm sure, and most in his shoes spend their time thinking of luxurious vacations and fancy houses. Not this leader!!! He's using his genius to spare the world needless suffering. I praise God for him for, had he not been doing his research before my illness, I WOULD HAVE DIED IN 2007.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's up

After a busy day in Bismarck, I finally got my first swing ride on our dreamed-of-for-6-years swing set. Cora and I went on the double swing and it was wonderful. Then Jacob came on with me and I wasn't sure that he didn't undo what Dr. Steve did this afternoon in his chiropractic adjustment. I just love boys but, when I'm hurting, it's not always fun to be in close proximity of one of the wiggly, jumpy creatures.

Anyway, here are a few of the pictures that Cora took this morning so you can get a glimpse of the hair-raising experience of setting it in the holes. I videod the whole thing so hopefully one of us can post that just as soon as Andrew has time to put it on U Tube.

If you're ever in our neighborhood, feel free to come over and give it a try. We'd love to share it with you all.

Tired and sore,

Dawn

PS. Andrew is in the blue tractor and Robert in the red.

We passed!

I just got these pictures this morning so I'm adding them at the top of last night's post as it's such a pain to drag them down to the bottom. Anyway, Cora snapped this of me last night while I was cleaning the grill in preparation for the steaks without me knowing it. Note the "New" deck which I just love!!!

Poor Millie. She sat in the patio door and looked at us while we were feasting. Robert felt sorry for her. He cut the meat off of his Porterhouse bone and took her the bone so she could feast with us. It's a dog's life, you know. :)

Well, it's over. In many ways it's the worst day of the year as the inspector comes out and analyzes everything that we are doing here on our farm, SEEDS OF HONOR. If he/she puts too many red marks on her report, we get a letter from our certifying agency, INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION SERVICES, saying that we had better shape up or they'll pull our certification. This has never happened to us.

If that would ever happen to a farmer, he no longer can claim to be a certified organic farmer. This hurts big time as most buyers will not buy your crops unless you have the paperwork proving that you have been inspected by a reputable inspecting firm. So far, we only know of one farmer who didn't pass his inspection and that was because he planted GM corn in one of his fields on his 3rd year. How very sad that made us as he was so close to getting the premiums for his 3 years of transitioning away from chemical use. Instead of working with the agency, he just gave up on organics which made us even more sad. I guess that old saying is true, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

Over the years, we've gotten a few "B" report cards but nothing that a little more attention to paperwork won't fix. It was that way today but we also got much praise for the cleanliness of our fields. Liz, the inspector we got today, said that our fields are very clean compared to a lot of organic fields. She praised our heavy use of alfalfa to squeeze out the noxious weeds which plague all farmers to some degree. Yes, chemical farmers have problems with noxious weeds too--just ask them. :)

I really liked Liz and wished that she lived closer. She's from up in the Carrington area. Being we had a 30 mile drive to our fields by Hazelton, I went along to visit with her. Liz understands that all plants (people and animals too) have their own frequency. I mentioned BodyTalk and she thought it was cool as she understands that microbes all have frequencies too and that they can be killed by strengthening the body to fight against their frequency. I told her about Radionics as she has a section of ground that she's in charge of and wants to take care of weeds without toxic chemicals too.

Liz shared with us about bio dynamic farming. She said to goggle it and study what the rest of the world already knows about nurturing the soil naturally. Liz said that in Germany ALL farming is done bio dynamically which builds the soil to produce healthy plants which makes a healthy populace. It's so interesting to learn that God IS working all around the world to bring healing to His people--we just don't hear about it. Thanks, Liz, for broadening our horizons once again. :)

After Liz left, Jacob and I hopped in the van and headed for Napoleon to pick up longer bolts for the swing set. We all know that tomorrow Robert will be back hauling again and we want to "Use" his strength and know-how as much as possible. We also needed some orange and yellow paint for the seats as we decided to do the colors of the rainbow.

Scottie, in Napoleon Cenex, is a gem beyond measure. He is such an awesome handy man. We watched him mix up the paint and, on the way home Jacob said to me, "I think that Scottie is their biggest asset in there." Isn't that great coming out of a 13-year-old boy?

Well, we got home, after searching Napoleon for a 7th bolt, and Robert located one down in Kintyre. GOOD GRIEF. Jacob and I jumped in the van AGAIN and drove the 1 1/2 miles down to the Titan dealer in Kintyre and got the last missing bolt. That makes 3 trips in the van that I took this afternoon--it just isn't done. I'm a home body. :)

So, after I delivered the paint to Cora so that she could finish painting the seats and the bolts to the guys, I headed out to the garden for some beets. My plan was to make a special feast in honor of our inspection being over and it was a success. The beets were wonderful (the first this year) plus I grilled Porterhouse and T-Bone steaks on the grill. We always save the porterhouse steaks for special occasions and passing our organic inspection is something to celebrate. We also had fresh lacto-fermented bread and chocolate, zucchini cake, so it was definitely a feast.

Well, I need to go wash up the calf bottles for chores so I don't have time to post the pictures of the swing set, but I'll do so tomorrow. Suffice it to say that the swing set is currently laying across the driveway, thus blocking it, so I'm sure it'll be a late night. Robert needs to get out of here in the morning with the truck so that thing has to go in the holes TONIGHT. You can check Cora's post from this morning to see all of the wonderful pictures she's taken so far.

Out to the barn,

Dawn