Gluten, emotional eating, and receiving comfort from the Lord

It has been about a month since I started my gluten free diet. I have still occasionally eaten grains but they are few and far between. No gluten though. I think I've been pretty good about keeping down the cross contamination too. I have not noticed any difference in how I feel. I don't think that means anything necessarily but I think I was expecting to notice something. I have had about the same number of "crampy" days as usual, 2-3 a month. I have been strict too, no gluten at all. I read somewhere that if you are gluten sensitive that any amount of gluten is harmful, there is no such thing as a "low gluten" diet. I also read that for women with endometriosis who want to try gluten free to see if it helps relieve cramping, they should go gluten free for 2 months, then eat a piece of bread. If it makes them sick, then they are gluten sensitive and should continue on the gluten free diet. If it does not affect them at all, then they are probably not gluten sensitive and a gluten free diet is not likely to help their endo symptoms. Hmm. Maybe I will go another month and try the piece of bread and see how I react. I am curious.

During this last week or two, leading up to the 1 year anniversary of Silas' going home to Heaven, I have been more emotional than usual. There have been a few days that I could hardly get myself to do anything. Some days taking a walk is the only thing I get done. I have walked though. I have eaten healthy foods, but I have noticed that I am eating more than I need to. Even though the foods are healthy, doesn't mean I can stuff myself silly with them. I need to work on that. I need to be turning more to the Lord and not food, not even healthy food, for comfort.

The Lord is giving me comfort, He is strengthening me. I can feel His presence right now. I need to accept, lean into, and receive His comfort. I cannot get that kind of comfort anywhere else.

If you will, pray for us over the next few days. We miss Silas.

1 Chronicles 16

I have been reading the stories of David in my Bible readings over the past few weeks and what God said of David really has struck me...that David was a man after God's own heart. What exactly does that mean? David made a lot of mistakes, with Bathsheba, with his sons, surely many more things too, but what is it about him that made him a man after God's own heart?

Perhaps it was that he always turned back to the Lord after his failures? Perhaps it was his heart of worship that is so evident in the Psalms that he wrote? Whatever it was, I want to be a woman after God's own heart. I want to always turn back to Him when I fall, I want to always seek His will in my life, I want to have a heart of worship, and to bring honor and glory to His name with everything in my life.

When the Ark of God was put in the Tabernacle that David had built for it there was celebration and David blessed the people and gave them gifts of food. It was good for the Ark of God to be in that place and he rejoiced. The Psalm he wrote for this occasion really touched my heart today.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
10 Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
11 Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face evermore!
12 Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
13 O seed of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!

14 He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
17 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
18 Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
19 When you were few in number,
Indeed very few, and strangers in it.

20 When they went from one nation to another,
And from one kingdom to another people,
21 He permitted no man to do them wrong;
Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,
22 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”[a]

23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
24 Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.

25 For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is also to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
27 Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and gladness are in His place.

28 Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
29 Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come before Him.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth.
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved.

31 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
32 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it.
33 Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.[b]

34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.[c]
35 And say, “Save us, O God of our salvation;
Gather us together, and deliver us from the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.”

36 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting![d]

And all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

"Make known His deeds among the peoples", I should be telling everyone the wonderful things the Lord has done in my life. His wonderful works! He has done so many good things for me, for my family.

"Proclaim the good news of His salvation". What good news indeed! He has saved me from death and destruction, He has saved me for His glory and for an eternal home in Heaven with Him.

"For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised, He is also to be feared above all gods". There is no God but Him. There is nothing that can compare with Him, there is nothing more important than a relationship with Him.

All creation praises Him and declares His majesty. May I praise Him and declare His majesty all of my days! He is worth to be praised! I will give Him the glory due His name. As long as I live, His praise will be on my lips, and since He has saved me, I will live eternally with Him, so His praise will be on my lips for all eternity!

Love your brother!

Little brothers have a habit of annoying big brothers from time to time (and sometimes all the time), this has certainly been the case in our home! Jason seems to take great pleasure in annoying his brothers at times. Sometimes he does not like the results though.

The other day Gideon was really struggling with wanting to "whack" Jason as he put it, because he was "driving him crazy". So I said to Gideon, how about this, every time Jason annoys you, give him a big bear hug and say "I love you". He thought this was a great idea. Yesterday he started implementing it!

All day long I heard Gideon's voice "I love you Jason", over and over again. Jason seemed rather perplexed by all of this love. Later I overheard Gideon saying to Michael "you really should try this! It really works!". I was so proud of Gideon :)

I am not sure Gideon realizes yet that it is his own heart that is changing towards his brother, not necessarily his brother's behavior, although I think that will change too. A little positive attention from his big brother will encourage Jason a lot I think.

I have always told the boys, you could potentially be each others best friends for life. I have also told them that if they can learn to get along with each other, then they can learn to get along with anyone. Dealing with their brothers is preparing them for dealing with everyone else out there in the world. What a blessing to have brothers :)