A Daunting List

In my pursuit of New Year's resolution #2, I have slowly begun the snowballing effort of evaluating our food, home, resources, habits, and life. It seems that I can't zone in on one area, eating organic, for example, without several others popping up: green living, local eating, hormone free, grass fed, raw, etc.

Here is a recent list of things that I have learned about and am now trying to muster up an opinion.

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Pesticides are bad for you. Poison for bugs becomes poison for humans when it soaks into the plants we eat.

Hormones in meat and dairy are bad for you. They lead to premature development in girls and have been linked to female cancers.

MSG (called many things including natural flavors) is bad for you. It can cause seizures, brain damage, and eye damage, and has been shown to promote obesity and diabetes in lab rats.

High fructose corn syrup (HSFC) is bad for you. An unnatural sweetener that isn't processed well by the body and leads to obesity.

Aspartame is bad for you. Studies have shown that it is stored in our bodies and turns into a formaldehyde type preservative.

Hydrogenated oils are bad for you. A cheap alternative to butter, they are heated oils that don't meet your bodies' need for fats and just get stored.

Most cooking oils (except for olive, coconut, and cold pressed) are bad for you and all go rancid quickly outside of the refrigerator. Corn oil is used to cause tumors when experimenting on rats and can impair immune function, soy wrecks havoc with the thyroid, and so on.

Homogenized and pasteurized dairy is bad for you. Although if it it is free of growth hormones it is slightly better for you, the homogenization and pasteurization process robs milk of it's natural, healthy properties (sometimes still found in yogurts, etc.). Raw milk is so much better for you.

White flour is bad for you. At least it contains nothing good in it and sometimes has harmful additives.

White sugar is bad for you. When honey and maple syrup are available full of natural minerals, overly processed sugar is an empty alternative.

Aluminum in food (baking power, salt, etc.), cans, deodorant, and cooking tools (pans, foil, etc.) is bad for you. Aluminum has been linked to Alzheimer's and other brain disorders.

Teflon non-stick cook wear is bad for you. Well, it's fine until it's heated. The fumes of the chemical breakdown can cause cancer and organ damage.

Plastics 1 (soft drink bottles, etc.), 3 (cling wrap, peanut butter jars, etc.), 6 (Styrofoam), and some 7s (polycarbonates [BPA]: sports bottles, baby bottles) are bad for you especially when heated up and/or combined with liquids. These chemicals are linked to brain dysfunctions, infertility, miscarriage, cancers, and a whole slew of harmful effects.

Microwaves are bad for you. Recently, scientists have learned that baby formula changes composition when heated by a microwave. What is it doing to the rest of our food and the area in which it operates?

Fluoride is bad for you. Found in drinking water, toothpaste, and at the dentist office, fluoride builds up in the body and harms internal organs and can also harm fertility and pre-natal development.

Parabeans (a preservative in most lotions and soaps) are bad for you. Parabeans from these products have been found in cancerous tumors in the body.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP, plasticizers, butyl ester, or fragrance) is bad for you. These are plastic additives to toiletries that can leach through the skin.

Benzophenone-3 (found in sunscreen) is bad for you. Another plastic type chemical that has been shown to be excreted in the urine of the users of those sunscreens even five days after the user has stopped wearing the lotion.

Talcum powder is bad for you. It has substances similar to asbestos in it and has been shown to cause cancer. That's a nice after shower treat!

Flame retardant chemicals (in mattresses, pillows, children's pajamas) are bad for you. These are breathed in by sleeping adults and children and can be absorbed through the skin. They also do not flame up, but they can melt onto the skin.

Many synthetic clothes (made with plastics) are bad for you. Similar to those that are flame retardant, they often contain unhealthy chemicals and will still melt onto you.

Paraffin (in candles and wicks) is bad for you. The fumes from paraffin wax candles is similar to the fumes of burnt diesel fuel.

Many cleaning products are dangerous to handle and breathe. Inadvertently combining them could cause death.

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Phew, I feel a mixture of catharsis to have written all these things down publicly and panic from the somewhat drastic life changes these dangers could merit. Probably there are items on this list that are dramatically more dangerous than others and I know I probably omitted items that are either unknown by me or the public. As I imagine life without these things, I see a fairly bare existance. Kitchen cupboards would be purged of foods, pans, containers, and utensils. Bathroom cupboards would be emptied. The linen and clothes closets might look a little sparse. But it makes me think of a kitchen and home a hundred or even just sixty years ago before all of our "conviniences" robbed us of our health and well being. How I would love to learn how to feed my family whole foods, make my own bread and yogurt, grow and raise basic staples of our diets in our own back yard. But I'll save all that for a later post.

I resolve . . .

So I know it's a little late for New Year's Resolutions, but I've been thinking about things recently.

Now, I love the holiday season. It is such a cheerful thing in the midst of a dreary, cold season. Families carve out time to all gather together. Friends dust off address books and send cards over the miles. Neighbors give each other cookie plates. Strangers smile and offer holiday greetings. It is a time of connection, relaxation, and fun. For all the work and time that goes into decorating, shopping, wrapping, writing, baking, cooking, cleaning, planning, and so on, it provides a special blessing to all involved in serving and giving to others.

BUT, it does tend to lead to a sort of Mardi Gras atmosphere of grab-all-the-gusto. We eat more than we should, spend more than we should, work less than we should (I would say "sleep more than we should", but I really think we are sleep deprived most of the time), and all our good habits and intentions go flying out the window, for a week or so. Okay, if this doesn't speak for you, then let it speak for me!

Then comes New Years: a refreshing re-start button on our calendar, and thus our lives. A time to make promises to do better with the time, things, people, mind, heart, and body that God has given us. So, I will try to make a fresh start while keeping these two things in mind:

1. God does not need us to wait for a calendar date or time of day to repent and do better. In fact, He wants us to turn as soon as we see what we have been doing is futile and not glorifying to Him. To follow His will, we will probably have to do quite a lot of turning over the course of a year!

2. It is impossible to achieve anything worthwhile without God's strength and guidance each step of the way. Perfection is vain (both impossible and self-glorifying) and should not be attempted, except in the step-by-step shadowing of what we see God's will leading us to do.

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Resolution #1: To grow in a passionate and dependant relationship with God. I want to crave His word, ache for time with Him in prayer, and savor His presence, guidance, wisdom, and working in my life, and to do so with my husband.

Proverbs 31: 10-12

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

How: This resolution is probably the hardest, most essential, least concrete, and most long lasting (meaning it will probably be a goal for the rest of my life). It will require a commitment to make time with God a priority, both alone and with James. I find that when I surround myself by books, songs, lessons, and people that will encourage me in this, I can light my fire with their passion. My problem is lack of fuel to keep the fire burning after my fire is lit! This, I think, will come from harder work and more diligence to my first commitment - and prayer for continued passion! Anyone wanting to volunteer for the job of holding me accountable is welcome to apply!

Resolution #2: To move my family towards better health by providing wholesome foods and encouraging activity.

Proverbs 31: 15, 17

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

How: I plan to get back into the habit of planning my weekly meals, adding additional habits of eating healthier replacement foods (7-grain oatmeal granola from scratch rather than the store-bought bars, etc.), staying committed to going to Curves, taking longer walks with Titus, and finding activities that we enjoy that will keep us moving (much easier to do in the summer).

Resolution #3: To reevaluate the stuff in our life once again and give away, throw away, or sell our excess (I've actually made a little progress on this one in the first 11 days of the year!).

Proverbs 31: 18, 20

She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

How: I have divided our home and things into zones: books, clothes, cupboards, storage, papers, closets, etc. And I have decided to tackle each zone or sub-zone (textbooks, clothes in the dresser) one at a time, in small, finishable projects. This one should be satisfying!

Resolution #4: To prepare for the future by getting insured, saving, investing, and assembling an emergency kit.

Proverbs 31: 21

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

How: Similar to #3, I plan to do one thing at a time, even buying an item for the emergency kit with each grocery list, and making a budget and sticking to it!

Resolution #5: To make at least one scrapbook page of pictures each week and finish my wedding album!

Proverbs 31:13

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

How: I will use the one night that James will have a late class to claim the dining room table. I will try to keep ahead of myself by printing and gathering photos ahead of time and jotting down future ideas for my pages.