Happy Summer

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Haven’t updated in a while so wanted to fill everyone in on our going-ons (not really a word but who cares). I feel like not much has changed except just praying for different job opportunities for Bre than the last update. I (Bre) had some great opportunities and interviews but was not the right fit for those jobs. We know God is in control and will bring the right job along. I did get a call for an interview with the mothership (a.k.a. Apple) and hope to go in soon for that job. Jon is doing great at Kinetic and their clients are keeping them busy.

On the Dave Ramsey front, we’ve paid off our 2nd credit card last week! Woohoo!! We’ve still got a long way to go but we’re making progress! We found out our renter is moving out of the Keller house which is kind of a bummer but we’ll hopefully have a new tenant in there by Aug or Sept so please be praying for that. I (Bre) have started a bible study with my friend Sara and we are studying through the life of David (a study taught by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and (my personal fave!) Kay Arthur). Sweet!

My mom came in last weekend and we scored some free sweet suite tickets to the Rangers game which was awesome. Our friends, Amanda and Todd, joined us. Here’s some pics from that and the fun fireworks show.

How is everyone else doing??? Leave some comments! Share!!

Much love!

J + B

Eating for better health – The Sprouted Truth (part 2)

Before I begin, let me just say that there are many foods out there that can cause or contribute to bad health; refined sugars, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils to name a few. But you already know about the common culprits.  Let’s talk wheat.

How many items of food do you eat each day that contain wheat (of any kind)?  Chances are you eat wheat with all 3 meals plus a few snacks.  We eat a lot more of it than we think we do, and over time, it can really cause some problems.  But don’t take my word for it, I’m providing links to all of the articles that write about this stuff in great detail. (at the bottom)  There are also links to some great sprouted wheat and healthier wheat products.

The One-Two Punch

Unsprouted wheat, along with many beans and other grains contain two evils that are at the root of the issue.  Lectin and Phytase.  Both of these are in the grain to protect it from disease. God made it that way.  Once sprouted, both of them get reduced to almost zero.

The lectin in wheat is essentially a long chain protein that loves to bind to the cells that line the stomach and intestines and cause inflammation and destruction of the lining. It even gets past the intestine wall and enters the blood stream and creates havoc with your immune response.  Your ability to properly digest food is essential to your health.  Lectin also is usually able to bind to the insulin receptor, telling your body to store fat. This response along with the fact that wheat’s complex carb get’s converted to sugars in your stomach real fast means that your blood sugar is freaking out, and your body is mistakenly telling itself to “store fat”. Lectins, in general, are in us all, and in animals and plants, and many have a good role to play, but the lectins in unsprouted grains are not good for us.

Phytase, or phytic acid, is equally menacing.  Here’s a quote from Sue Gregg’s blog.

“Just because you’ve switched from white flour to whole grains does not mean that you are getting all the nutritional value. In fact you may also experience new problems with digestion and assimilation. That is because whole grains contain phytic acid in the bran of the grain. Phytic acid combines with key minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc and prevents their absorption in the intestinal tract.”

Phytase basically blocks your bodies ability to absorb the things it needs, even if you ate a healthy meal. This isn’t an immediate concern, but over time your body will begin to notice, and systems will start to falter.

So to summarize, wheat basically spikes your blood sugar, allows destructive lectins in, and blocks the absorption of many nutrients your body needs.  This process over time can lead to many health problems including inflammation disorders, diabetes, allergy, fatigue, osteoporosis, and even cancer..

Going Old School

Our ancestors had it all figured out.  The 3 ways to make grains and beans healthy for us are sprouting, soaking or fermenting.  Again, Sue Gregg says it best.

“Soaking, fermenting, or sprouting the grain before cooking or baking will neutralize a large portion of the phytic acid, releasing these nutrients for absorption. This process allows enzymes, lactobacilli, and other helpful organisms to not only neutralize the phytic acid, but also to break down complex starches, irritating tannins, and difficult-to-digest proteins including gluten. For many, this may lessen their sensitivity or allergic reactions to particular grains. Everyone will benefit, nevertheless, from the release of nutrients and greater ease of digestion.”

Sprouting converts the grain into a vegetable. It totally enhances it’s nutrition value, and makes it super easy to digest without the “high glycemic” factor.  And soaking – now we know why Grandma always had a big pot of beans soaking for a day in cold water.

Ideally, all breads everywhere would be made sprouted or at least “sour dough” which uses cultures to ferment it, but we are left to fend for ourselves. So what to do?  I have decided to do two things. One is to reduce the amount of grain products that I eat everyday, focusing on lean proteins, vegetables and good fruits.  The second is to use sprouted or old world grains when I do eat “grain products”.

What the heck is an old world grain?  We now know that modern wheat has been genetically engineered to get a more robust, and high gluten (more lectin) product.  But back when the earth was younger, we ate Kamut and Spelt, and Quinoa.  Kamut and Spelt are both wheat, but they are some of the earliest varieties of wheat on the earth. These grains are more nutrient rich and have lower natural levels of lectin and phytase.

So I eat sprouted for all my breads, and old world for all my pastas, since pastas are going to be soaking a bit in boiling water, and the phytase will be mostly removed since it is water soluble.  It just drains off in the pasta water.  Eden Organic has some amazing pastas made with Kamut, Spelt and Quinoa.

You can sprout your own wheat, but I prefer to buy sprouted wheat and spelt flour online. Bre and I buy Ezekial bread for most standard bread products, and I make the rest from scratch.  We make pizza crusts, cookies, pie crusts, biscuits and pancakes all from sprouted wheat or sprouted spelt.

Here’s a sprouted wheat crust for our Bacon, Swiss and Spinach Quiche.

If you decide to ditch the unsprouted grains, you’ll also want to try to buy chicken and beef that are organic and grass fed, since grain feed animals end up with lectin and phytase in their meat. And do your self a favor and get organic eggs if you can afford them.

It’s a tragedy that eating health has to cost so much and be a pain in the butt while eating poorly seems so cheap and easy.  But if eating poorly leads you to major health crisis in the future, you’ll be paying for it in other ways.  Think of eating well as insurance for your future health.

If you want to read up on the dangers of modern, unsprouted wheat (this includes whole wheat… pretty much everything at the grocery store in the bread isle), then check out these references.

http://www.vrp.com/articles.aspx?ProdID=2009

http://www.suegregg.com/about/c.htm

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/04/leptin-and-lectins-part-ii.html

http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html

http://www.medicinalfoodnews.com/vol09/issue2005/wheat

http://www.ctds.info/high_fiber_diets.html

http://www.sproutedgrainbread.com/

Here are the links to our favorite products or brands for sprouted grain products.

You can also find much of the commercial products at Whole Foods or Sprouts.

Ezekial Bread (Food for Life)

Alvarado Street Bread Co. (sprouted sourdough)

- they also have a sprouted hot dog bun.

Eden Organic 100% Whole Grain Pastas

Sprouted Flours (unsifted and/or sifted for finer baking)

You can use sprouted flour just like the usual unsprouted kind in any recipe in the same quantities.

I hope you find this info useful.

Eating for better health. (The Sprouted Truth)

Do you ever have one of those “Matrix” moments when you suddenly realize that you’ve been living in a false reality?  It’s the moment of awakening knowledge, that makes your brain say “ah-hah!”  It’s the sudden awareness that life can be better, and you’ve been taught all wrong.

Well, I’ve been having a Matrix moment for the last 6 months, and it all started when Bre and I visited a doctor in California. We were both sick of being sick, and tired of being tired, and needed some help.  I’ve lived long enough now to know that what I eat can really affect every part of me, so we decide to give this doctor a try since he has helped almost half of my family become much healthier than they had been.

At the end of our second appointment we were both told to stop eating wheat.  What? Stop eating wheat?  Are you crazy?  To be honest, I’ve been eating sprouted Ezekial bread for a few years (as toast in the morning), and I love it, but aside from that, I’m a wheat-a-holic, and Bre is no better.  Here is a doctor telling me that eating any kind of unsprouted wheat is a bad thing for us.  Wow.
So I started to ask the obvious question that anyone who believes that God is good would ask. If our Creator, who made the earth for us, and made us to prosper in it, and made the food for us to eat, is a good God and loves me, then why would eating wheat be a bad thing?  Something is wrong with this picture.  So I began to read up.

The funny thing about truth is that it is usually already staring you in the face;  You just don’t have your eyes open to see it.  As I read about wheat and other grains, I began to find out that “earth” people used to eat a lot less grains, and when they did, they almost always allowed them to sprout first before grinding them up to make stuff. In fact, many cultures around the world still do this.  Only in Western societies do we grow and consume a “genetically enhanced” wheat that we process and over process and make into light, fluffy, sugary, yummy treats.  It’s not sprouted. It’s not even the ancient wheat that early cultures ate.  It’s mostly just crap in a loaf. And we’ve been taught, thanks to advertising, paid for by companies who push this stuff (well meaning or not), that we need whole grains to be healthy…  History tells us that this is not the case. And the science to back it up has been emerging for the last 125 years.  The problem is the Matrix has already been built, and the people are already happily living inside of it. And now they don’t want to change.

So why is this wheat so bad for me and my wife?  Well, it all has to do with a bit of chemistry and the way our body works. This is where it gets crazy, so hold on. I’m going to try to connect the dots, and provide some references in a second post (part 2 coming soon)..

Roastin’

Jon’s started roasting his own coffee beans inspired from his good friend Kyle. Hey’s going to jimmy-rig jerri-rig a popcorn maker into a roaster. (I misspoke and called it jimmy-rigging but Jon told me Jerry does it. Jimmy’s apparently not involved. ) Anyway, here’s some photos of the roasting. Pretty fun!

Pouring the beans into the "roaster"

Poppin' and Roastin'

Jon roastin' and havin' fun

They get super duper hot so Jon's cooling them down.

Beans - before

Beans - after

Yummy! Good job hon!

Gig’ em and go ROHO!

I’m becoming a once a month blogger which I don’t want to be…I’d like to update more but just get lazy about it. Sorry ’bout that. I think it’s b/c I feel like every post should have pictures and Jon and I don’t walk around taking pictures at every moment. Ok, we prob document life a little more than others but anyway. Last weekend, we went to visit my cousin, Payton, and watch her graduate from A&M. Whoop! She kicked butt and graduated with her Bachelor’s in 3 years. (whereas I took the more laxidasical approach of 5 years). We got to meet her beau, Travis, who officially rocks in our books and just hang out. It was splendiferous seeing Paytonia as I call her and we’re hoping to go back down this fall to attend a game as I’ve heard they’re mucho fun. And my cousin, Zachary, is about to graduate from Rider HS with honors and head out to Texas Tech this fall so make that two football game visits! We’re so proud of them both!

Jon’s doing his IT thing at Kinetic and I’m still working part-time. There’s a really good job prospect for a job right up my alley that I’m hoping to get but am still waiting for the next interview. So prayer requests for that! Some exciting news is that the Village is now launching a Dallas campus!! Woohoo! There are sooo many people that come from the Dallas area including ourselves now so it will be exciting to help alleviate the crowd at HV and to be a part of a new campus. I don’t think there’s any info on the website just yet but Matt Chandler has emailed out about it and if you don’t already get his emails, you should sign up. Just click on the campus you wish to receive email updates on and go to the bottom right part of the screen and sign up. Here’s a few photos from our weekend in College Station. We went and visited the Bonfire Memorial and it was a beautiful memorial that, I thought, paid tribute to those that died and really evoked the emotions you should feel while visiting. Very simple but meaninful memorial. I have some iPhone-camera photos of that too and a quote from one of the students that was very beautiful.

Check out those red shoes!

It’s halfway through April already!

Wow time flies when you’re havin’ fun. And yet I feel like it’s soooo slow when you’re unemployed although that’s about to change. I am starting a temp, part-time job on Monday which will be good.  We’re still praying for a full-time job to come my way. Jon’s been busy, busy with Kinetic since we got back which has been great. (Their website’s being worked on but it will be up soon)

I feel like we need to update but there’s just not been a ton going on. The insane pollen count has not been treating us well. I’ve been in bed a lot with sinus headaches but we’re finally starting to feel better. We’ve been spending time with my family here in Fort Worth and in WF and hope to start hanging out with more of our friends now that we’re settled in. Probably the main thing going on is just Jon working, me job-hunting, and us getting “gazelle intense” on the Dave Ramsey plan.

If you haven’t heard about it already, you should definitely learn about AND ATTEND the Town Hall for Hope going on this Thursday night at a location near you.

“What is it?” I’m glad you asked.

Town Hall for Hope is your opportunity to sit down with people in your community for a nationwide town hall meeting led by Dave Ramsey. Thousands of venues across the country will host the event, broadcasting Dave’s live presentation. In the opening half hour, Dave will offer straight talk about the economy, recession, foreclosures and more. He’ll carefully explain where we’ve come from, where we are now, and what we should be doing with our money during this time. Then, Dave will spend an hour answering your questions live!

For more information, visit this link:  www.townhallforhope.com

Old Age Begins at 27? Bring it!

Well, we are back in Texas and it is feeling good! Actually, it’s really windy and cold but it’s good to be home. We are missing our family in CA though but are hoping to visit again by the summer. But before I share our ridiculously fun trip to Disneyland, I had to share this news story from the UK’s Daily Mail that I saw the other day right before my, gasp, 27th birthday.

Old age begins at 27: Scientists reveal new research into ageing

By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER
Last updated at 1:14 AM on 15th March 2009Old age is often blamed for causing us to misplace car keys, forget a word or lose our train of thought.

But new research shows that many well-known effects of ageing may start decades before our twilight years.

According to scientists, our mental abilities begin to decline from the age of 27 after reaching a peak at 22.

The researchers studied 2,000 men and women aged 18 to 60 over seven years. The people involved – who were mostly in good health and well-educated – had to solve visual puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols.

Similar tests are often used to diagnose mental disabilities and declines, including dementia.

The research at the University of Virginia, reported in the academic journal Neurobiology Of Aging, found that in nine out of 12 tests the average age at which the top performance was achieved was 22.

The first age at which performance was significantly lower than the peak scores was 27 – for three tests of reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualisation. Memory was shown to decline from the average age of 37. In the other tests, poorer results were shown by the age of 42.

Professor Timothy Salthouse said the results suggested that therapies designed to prevent or reverse age-related conditions may need to start earlier, long before people become pensioners.

He wrote: ‘Results converge on a conclusion that some aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy, educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s.’

There is some good news, though. The report states that abilities based on accumulated knowledge, such as performance on tests of vocabulary or generalinformation, increase until at least the age of 60

I say, “Bring it old age!” Ever since I was, well, younger than I am now, I have vowed to not get upset/mad/irritated/bummed/or any other negative feeling about getting older. I just really refuse. I’ve watched too many people dread their birthday and getting older and I just don’t think it’s healthy. Shouldn’t we be thrilled to be living another year?! Shouldn’t we be thankful that God has granted us another day of breath to honor and glorify Him?! Sure, I don’t always think that every morning I get up…or when things are stressful or tough but I really want to make it a point to be grateful every day and especially on my birthday. So, anyway, that’s my birthday soap box. On to Disney!!!

We had a lot of fun. I mean, hello, it’s Disneyland! Jon and I drove down to L.A. as mom flew into LAX. We met up at our hotel, the beautiful Hyatt where butter-ific chef Paula Dean happened to be staying as well. Then we proceeded to Disney our little hearts out Wed through Friday. We decided to get there early, then take a nap break in the afternoon, and then head back around dinner time until the park closed. It worked out pretty well I must say. It was of course a lot easier not having any kiddos to worry about just yet but it will still be fun to do family trips in the future. So, anyway, mom was excited that she had a roller-coaster/scary ride buddy with Jon and I was perfectly content to take their pictures on said ridiculously scary rides. We ate expensive food (not meaning they were delicious just expensive b/c we were in the park) and saw some of the shows and the Pixar parade. It was a lot of fun and pictures are below!

After that, we headed back to Texas in both cars and my mom was kind enough to help us with the drive. (Thanks mom!) We made it back to Dallas in about 2 and a half days which was a good mix of long driving days with enough rest in between. Jon has already started work with Kinetic and is loving every minute of it. I have been sending resumes galore and just praying for a good job to come my way. Not much else to report…just glad to be back and looking forward to hanging out with family and friends.

Much love!

J+B

Jon and I at my bday breakfast

We got to ride in the front of the monorail!

You don't get much cuter than that!

Me and the Dapper Dans (I love barbershop quartets!!!)

My princess birthday cake!

the Pixar parade that came right by our dinner table!

Thanks mom for a great birthday at Disney!

Texas, here we come! (back)

Dear friends and family,

  Hmm, this sounds familiar, uh? Bre and I wanted to update all of you on our journey so far in our life together. We’ve been spending some time evaluating our priorities and talking through what excites us about life and where we want to go. Last summer, all we wanted to do was move to California. There were many reasons for this, and they are all great reasons. We know that God brought us out here because our hearts were at peace with it, and He really provided in some amazing ways. Since December, we have been in and out of being sick, starting Jon’s business and acclimating to life in Folsom. I (Jon) knew it would be hard, and it’s been a little bit hard, but I’m a determined person who, for better or for worse, tends to be less sensitive to my environment, more focused on the job at hand. For Bre, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride, but the outcome of which was the realization that we both needed to sit and talk and truly distill our highest priorities for living life.

   So for the last month now, we have been asking ourselves the tough questions, and trying to determine the complex answers. What we have realized that is so very important to us is the value of our friendships and the desire to “do life” with our friends in Dallas. We have both been missing everyone a lot, not that our family means less to us than our friends. We do love all of you very much.  We have been praying hard again, asking the Lord “Why”. Why bring us to CA, and then turn our hearts around toward TX? Why break us away from steady jobs, and place us into the uncertainty that we find ourselves in now? Something Matt Chandler often asks is “What stirs your affection for Christ?” And what we have been seeing is how God is growing our hearts and focusing them on Him, and on Godly principles, and on people, instead of ourselves. We’ve decided that being in Dallas, with all of our friends from The Village, IBC, and Kinetic is, in reality, an extremely important part of who we are, and our future.

So we are moving back to Dallas. We are praying and looking for good friends or maybe an older couple from the Village who would be willing to house us for a while as we get back on our feet. We are both super excited about it all.  Jon will be rejoining Jim, Marcus and Kyle at Kinetic Technology Group to continue building the company and continue doing great work. And, before we move, we expect God will be leading Bre to a new job that will fit her perfectly. George called and is excited we’re joining him and Laura in Dallas…just wanted to do a shout-out toW.

 

Us with W last time we visited

 

 

Anyway, , we ask for your prayers and continued encouragement during this time.

 

Thank you for your patience and support!

Much love!

Jon and Bre

If Jesus had had a dog, it would’ve been the Bloodhound

 So I was watching the Westminster Dog Show. It’s one of those shows that you are a little embarrassed when you realize just how long you’ve been sitting there watching it. Anyway, it’s funny to hear the commentators talk about all the dogs. This one was my favorite:

“The bloodhound is known for saving little children, campers, hikers, & other lost people.”

It totally would’ve been Jesus’ dog! Am I right or am I right?

 

Anyway, life is good in Cali. I’m still having some sad moments but I would worry if I wasn’t. Jon’s feeling a little under the weather. Chris was sick all weekend so I think Jon may have caught his cold and cough. But he’s been resting up and, of course, putting the oil of oregano drops under his tongue. He swears by that stuff and I’m starting to as well. Speaking of herbs and all that, Jon and I have made some appointments with a doctor here in town. He is a natural health doctor that does muscle testing. It’s really cool. We went to a seminar a few weeks ago and he offers free assessments and the thing I need to start working on was my kidneys. So I’m taking Cataplex B which Jon and I affectionately call “kitty-plex”. Jon is taking two supplements – one to help with his sinuses and another for his liver.  So we go back next week for our full appointments. 

My mom teased me before we moved saying I was going to go all hippy on her. This probably seems more hippy-ish but it’s really not. It just makes sense. Our bodies are electrical and, although surgery can be good when needed, there are often many more healthier, natural ways to  handle problems. They are: rest, exercise, good food and nutrients. You’re saying, “uh, hello Bre, we’ve been telling you this for years.” 

I know, I know. I’m not eating all spinach and berries just yet but I’m definitely eating more veggies and fruits and cutting back on sugars. Gasp. Jon’s a good support for me and keeps me in check while still allowing some ben & jerry’s every now and then. We’re still not there with the exercise…as in, not exercising at all. And we don’t have an excuse. Chris and Janelle have a treadmill and a bowflex in the garage…we just need to get off our tails and get going. If any of you have some tips or suggestions, let me know!

 

Well, Jon’s home from a job so we’re going to eat some dinner and watch the new CSI: NY. Yes!!!

 

Much love!

J + B

So I’m having some “I miss my girlfriends” moments so allow me a little shout-out to some sweet ladies that I love:

 

my mentor, Cindy and me

Amanda and I

 

 

The entitarah (don't ask)

 

 

 

My divas: Paytonia, Valentine, Cassie, and Alli

And my rock:

 

My beautiful mom

My first California cry

So, it finally happened…I had my first “I miss home” crying session. Last Saturday night, Jon and I watched the kids (my 2 nieces and 2 nephews that we live with) and we took them to church since they weren’t going to be able to go on Sunday. We haven’t found our new church home yet but have enjoyed visiting this church with Jon’s brother Chris and Janelle so we were more than happy to take the kids and attend. Once Jon and I got all 4 checked in (which was a feat all in itself (and should be an olympic sport), we headed into service. The worship got started and, overall, it was a very good worship service. After a few songs in, I leaned over to Jon and said, “I keep wanting to see Bleecker and the usual gang up there”. My mind just starting thinking more about The Village and the dear friends, family, and coworkers we had left and I just couldn’t help it. The tears started slowly and I whispered to Jon, “I can’t stay in here” so he paved a way through the row and we went to the little cafe they have.  I think I just finally let the stresses of the move and the new job and Jon’s new business and just everything come out. Then I did a throwback to my childhood days and said, “…and I miss my mom!”  ”I know sweetie,” Jon said, just letting me cry into his arms as he rubbed my back like the amazing husband that he is. It felt good though. I knew it was coming. And although I do miss home and family very much, I know the Lord has us here. It just doesn’t necessarily make it any easier. 

Something else that surprised me was how I felt in the church service. I compared it to going through a hard break up, you know…those break ups where it ended on good terms and you still have huge respect for that person, etc. And it felt like sitting in that different worship center, being handed a different bulletin, hearing a different worship leader and pastor….that I was dating again too soon. I wasn’t ready for this. Doesn’t that sound crazy?! It’s just that I have been so invested at The Village for so long…since Matt came and it’s where I have really only attended since being saved. The Village is the community God used to heal me from some deep wounds, to minister to me to a healthier place, to love on me through thick and thin, to laugh with me and to cry with me, to teach me what it is to be authentically and solely His bride. It has been very difficult at times to not put the village on a pedestal. The other day, a guy was in town from Dallas (where he recently relocated to from Florida) to help train some coworkers on some technologies and asked me what churches I recommend. “The Village,” came out of my mouth within .25 seconds. The man said, “Oh yes, we’ve visited there but we’ve also visited such-and-such church and really that like that too. I think we’ll prob go to such-and-such church because…” and then listed his reasons. I wanted to scream out and say, “No, The Village is better and here’s why……” and I could just hear the Lord say, “Bre, I work differently in each person’s heart and what may seem right to you may not be right for them.” Doh. It’s so true though. Those people at such-and-such church are seeking His face just like those at The Village. That doesn’t make them better or worse, just different. This move has helped me to not keep The Village on a pedestal and to further show how I have done it in the past. I’m learning more and more to keep God on that pedestal. I know He will provide us to the right church home, the right community for Jon and I to invest in and serve. So, I felt I should share my struggles lately and ask for your prayers for both Jon and I.

We covet your thoughts and prayers. Thank you to those that are praying for Jon’s business. He has already received a few referrals from the local Apple store and we are hoping there will be more to come. Work for me is going well and I hope to go full-time really soon. In the meantime, I’ve been taking a portraits photography class here in Folsom and have really been enjoying it. I’m continuing to work on my photography site and have been meeting more and more photographers in the area. My class has a field trip soon so I’ll post some of my photos from that.  

Here’s some photos of our life lately: 

 

cameron's crazy cups everywhere!!

Mickey with the cups

 

Breah, Jamie the puppet, and Hastin

Mickey, me, and Sumi

 

 

 

Much love!

 J + B