Six Things I Learned AT THE TABLE as a Child Concerning Respect for Others

My Dad used to say to us kids (in support of my mom who cooked the meals), “You kids have two choices for dinner this evening: Take it or Leave it."

If we chose to “leave it”, we didn’t eat anything till the next meal was served. No snacking allowed! If we chose to “take it”, that meant that we ate everything on our plates. I don’t remember ever choosing the menu option to “leave it”.

Sitting at the table daily with my dad and mom, older sister and younger brother (yes, I was a middle child), profoundly influenced me for good.

There were important things I learned at the table, such as respect for God, for the various people and their functions in the family, as well as respect for the family unit in general. Looking back, I realize that eating family meals together taught me these six things (at least):

Respect for my mom who prepared three meals every day. Lunches were packed daily for Dad to eat at work and for us kids to eat at school. Breakfast and supper were eaten at the table. Now that I prepare meals for my own family, I realize what hard work it is just to get good food put on the table. 

For my mom, there was the added challenge of finances. At times Mom had few food supplies in her cupboard and refrigerator, yet she made due. We weren't wealthy by any means and we often had only beans for dinner. However, Mom always made it seem like a meal fit for a king as she worked her magic in the kitchen turning even that meager meal into a delicious gift to her husband and children. 

I stand in awe of my mom who committed to serve her family in this very basic but extremely important way. (Learn here how we can serve our husbands and children by providing nourishing meals as did my mom.)

Respect for my dad who went to work every day to bring home "the bacon" and insisted that we all spend time eating that bacon together around the table. My father had some priorities as the head of the home and seeing that we all came together for meals was one. He knew that it was important that we connect with one another and also that we commune with one another. He understood the value of family "community". He was a wise man and I thank God that he was my earthly father.

Respect for the way things were done in our home for the well-being of all in our family. I learned that a family functions together. My dad, a Christian man, was committed to leading the family, even in this seemingly minor way. He grew up on a farm and knew the importance of real food, ie, eggs for breakfast rather than sugary sweet breakfast cereals, etc. As a Christian husband, he took the lead in this and my mom, being his complimentary counterpart, made the meals happen three times each day, every day. They functioned like a left hand helping the right more dominant hand. The example of how a husband and wife can work together in the home was lived out daily for me.

Respect for the food itself, as it was real, nourishing and was provided by God’s creative and loving hand. I learned that one of the first gifts God gave to Adam and Eve was food - delicious, nutritious food. Food is God's love made edible. He gave plant foods to man in the garden of Eden before man chose to disregard God's one directive (Genesis 1:29-30). Later, after the flood, God also added animal foods to man's diet. This is what real food is and this is what we ate every day at the table. 

Respect and gratitude toward God for providing all of our needs. This was the most important truth of all that I learned as we ate together. We kids grew up knowing that trusting God meant that we would never go hungry. 

King David expressed this very thing in Psalm 37:25 when he proclaimed, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread." 

And it was at the table that we kids heard from Dad and Mom of the stories of God providing, when often there wasn't money to buy what Mom needed for our meals. These stories informed us kids that we ate three good and nourishing meals each day, not because we had the money to buy whatever we needed, but because someone, unbeknownst to us (moved by the Lord), had visited our front porch, leaving there bags of groceries that contained exactly what mom had needed to make the meals she had planned but did not have the resources for when the time came to buy them. We learned at the table that the Lord met all of our needs and that He knew exactly what those needs were. 

On one such occasion, Mom testified at the table, as we ate "Cabbage Patch Stew" that she had all she needed for this stew except the cabbage. But she didn't even have enough change in her purse to buy the cabbage for our supper. Dad may have had that little bit of money, but he was at work and not due home till later. 

Sometime between Mom's discovery that she either needed cabbage or she needed to "punt" and plan for beans instead (though by then, it would have been too late to soak and cook beans), she discovered a bag of groceries at the front door. To her delight that bag contained a nice big head of cabbage. 

This is the testimony of our God's goodness that we heard as we sat and ate Mom's Cabbage Patch Stew. To this day I continue to love and make Cabbage Patch Stew partly because it's delicious but mostly because I remember what the Lord did to make this meal possible (get the recipe here if you'd like to try it).

Respect for the health of my own body and the health of my future children. That may sound a little strange. But again, my dad had his priorities and he was wise. One of the reasons we always had breakfast around the table was Dad wanted us to start out the day by being nourished so that we would have the nutrients needed to excel in body and mind. He would tell us that it was important for our health individually and for the health of the next generation, "What you eat now will have an impact on the health of your children in the future." And he was right. 

It stands to reason that if a child eats densely nutritious food and avoids eating sugary cereals, fast food, faux foods that are laden with preservatives, etc., that she will herself be healthier than a child deprived of nutritious foods. So many of the degenerative diseases that much of our society deals with in this day and age point back to a poor diet. 

Considering that the health of a child can be impacted by what she eats or doesn't eat as she grows up, when she's of childbearing age, her developing child will be benefitted or harmed by her choice of diet. It really is true that you are what you eat and that includes what the health of future children will look like. If I am malnourished, how would I be able then to nourish the child in my womb? (For more info about how to nourish your future children follow this link to the Weston A. Price Foundation to listen to an interesting podcast.)

Is this something that you desire to implement in your home?

The benefits that I mentioned in this article that came my way as a result of eating meals together with my parents and siblings (and as a result of my parents priorities for doing that), I so desire to see implemented again in young families. 

 

How I’d love to see moms and dads cooperating like this again. But I fear that this simple, slow-paced, thoughtful way of living has been hijacked by the almighty dollar and a general busyness that is ultimately unproductive. It saddens me that we may never recover such wise and skilled parenting.

However, all it takes is a desire, decisiveness and a determination for parents to once again implement these priorities in the home. This requires a knowledge of how to do that and a commitment to remain faithful to it. (If you want to explore what a real nutrient rich diet is, visit the Weston A. Price  website at this link.

Thank you, Dad and Mom! I’m so glad that you taught me to respect others at the table. And I’m so thankful that there were only two options on the menu for each meal. Your hard work and dedication will never be forgotten.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Six Things I Learned AT THE TABLE as a Child Concerning Respect for Others

on April 21, 2021 0 comments

Childhood - It is A-Changing

In my growing up years, playing outdoors was the default-activity for kids.

In the current age of technology, a child's default-activity has changed dramatically.

This video is quite an eye-opener. Today's children are so challenged as are their parents to escape from the "norm" - this age of technology - which is taking its toll on all of us. This is not just important, it's a matter of life and death. Please take 5 minutes to view this very important message.

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Childhood - It is A-Changing

on January 13, 2011 1 comments

Hormone Imbalance - Naturally Resolved

Note: It is important to clarify that hormonal imbalance is not exclusive to older women. Even teenagers can be affected by it, PMS being one of the symptoms. Please keep reading.

Me, imbalanced?

A little over ten years ago, I encountered premenopausal problems that included, emotional ups and downs, sleepless nights, difficulties with my cycle, hot flashes and more. At one point I thought I might be pregnant. Being fifty at the time, after the shear panic wore off a little, I rushed to the drugstore, purchased for the first time in my life a pregnancy test kit, flew home and to my relief, tested negative. (It threw me off momentarily, but had I tested positive I would have happily accepted it as God's will.)

My 19 year-old daughter, the youngest child, came home shortly after this excitement and found the pregnancy-test package. In sheer disbelief that her aged mother could ever bear any more children and equally alarmed that she might be wrong about that, she came running out of the bathroom, box in hand, to investigate. Her single question, "Who was THIS for Mom!!!?", confirmed her suspicions that I was the "testee" and then she writhed in agony until I told her that the results were negative. (Now I'll vindicate my daughter. She absolutely adores children and, at the time, was only concerned because I'd had additional health problems.)

For six years I had followed a regimen of hormone replacement therapy which was supposed to have helped. But my cycle had gradually become quite unbearable with profuse bleeding and clotting. (Please bear with me. If you are suffering hormone imbalance, you need details so you can begin to heal.) As it turned out, I had uterine fibroid tumors, ovarian cysts and symptoms that mimicked ovarian cancer.

Natural progesterone is derived from the wild yam plant. Although processed in a lab, the resulting hormone is molecularly identical to what our bodies make and is used by our bodies in the same way.

Saved from an unnecessary surgery

Not yet aware that the typical processed American diet destroys health, I followed the herd, listening to the popular medical media concerning diet, nutrition and everything else. When my gynecologist recommended surgery, it was only by the grace of God (through a good friend) that I was prevented from getting a hysterectomy which would have further compromised my health.

My gynecologist had prescribed both estrogen and oral progesterone. Now, six years later, after growing progressively worse, it became apparent to me that  my symptoms escalated when I put on a new estrogen patch. That’s when my friend, Mary, being ten years older than me and informed about menopause, came to my rescue by giving me a book - What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause - Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifity, by John R. Lee and Jesse Hanley, both medical doctors.

Reeducating myself about hormonal imbalance

As I read, it became obvious that to me my symptoms were caused by an estrogen overload in my body, just the opposite of what I had been led to believe by doctors, magazine articles, and the popular media, etc.

Explaining that women of all ages suffer from estrogen dominance, the book revealed that our environment exposes us to estrogen through foods we eat, plastics, pesticides, car exhaust, soaps, carpeting, furniture, etc. But I read that estrogen dominance can even involve low estrogen levels. Basically, estrogen dominance “describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body” (p. 45), so estrogen dominates.

 Women of all ages suffer from hormone imbalance.

Now, you’d think that since I was taking progesterone that my hormones would have balanced out, but it was not so. I learned that the "hormone" that I had been taking wasn’t progesterone at all, but a chemical analog of progesterone, called a “progestin”, which is very different from the progesterone my body makes. In fact, it is not produced by nature anywhere - only in pharmaceutical laboratories. That is what I had been putting into my body for six years.

Reading further, I was stunned to discover that progestins are very different from the natural progesterone our bodies make. Dr. Lee explains, “…progestins inhibit normal progesterone production and compete for progesterone receptors, thus effectively blocking one’s own natural progesterone” (p. 71). Illustrating the dissimilarity between progesterone and progestins, Dr. Lee asks, “…why is it that an ample supply of progesterone is essential for a healthy pregnancy, while even tiny amounts of progestins are contraindicated during pregnancy because they cause birth defects?”. No wonder I'd had so many problems!

Resolving my hormone imbalance

Long story shorter...I began using natural progesterone cream to balance the estrogen overload (specifically Emerita brand; for a list of quality brands please visit Dr. Lee's website). Within two months, my cycle had ceased never to return, the fibroids began shrinking, the cysts disappeared, and all the symptoms vanished. I continued using the cream for several years until I began developing a progesterone dominance. Now, 10 years later, I am still symptom and problem-free.

Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance

Since women of all ages can develop estrogen dominance, it is important to know the symptoms, which include:

PMS, breast tenderness, decreased sex drive, fatigue, headaches, dry eyes, irritability, uterine fibroids, insomnia, breast tenderness, infertility, early onset of menstruation, depression, memory loss, foggy thinking, thyroid dysfunction, fat gain, mood swings, polycystic ovaries, water retention, gallbladder disease, hypoglycemia, irregular menstrual periods, hair loss, osteoporosis, magnesium deficiency, and more. (Go here for a comprehensive list of symptoms.)

A word of caution to the wise

If you suspect that you are suffering from a hormonal imbalance, please start by getting Dr. Lee's book, which lays out how you should use the cream. It is not just a matter of rubbing some on whenever you feel like it. The cream must be used very specifically to mimic your body's own production of progesterone (for instance, 3 weeks of the month using the cream, then one week off.) If the cream is misused, it can create more problems. To further educate yourself please refer to this website.

One last thing...

When you purchase natural progesterone cream, you may notice a warning about cancer on the label. This is required by law in the state of California because progesterone's chemical analog (progestin) actually does cause cancer. Since progestins are referred to as  "progesterone", natural progesterone was implicated also. To be assured that natural progesterone is a safe product to use, please go here to read more.

Are any of the estrogen-dominance symptoms familiar to you in your experience? How have you been treated for hormone imbalance?

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Hormone Imbalance - Naturally Resolved

on October 17, 2010 0 comments

Bee Well - A Safe, Simple, Inexpensive Cure for MRSA

Now, nearly four months after surgery and 3 1/2 months after having contracted a MRSA infection in the incision of my knee surgery, I can praise God for having healed me (of the infection).

For those of you who do not know about MRSA, it is a staph infection that is resistant to antibiotics. MRSA stands for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Staph infections, in the past, were treated with Methicillin. Now, however, if a staph infection is resistant to that drug, which was my case, Methicillin is no longer effective in killing the bacteria. In fact, MRSA has outsmarted nearly every antibiotic there is.

For over three months I struggled with MRSA and then, as quickly as it came on, it was a thing of the past. Here is how it happened:

First, you should know that the elders of our church came over and prayed for me about four weeks ago.

Now for some background about my infection:

It had started to worsen. The first site cleared with two rounds of Bactrim (sulfa antibiotic), but some staph bacteria mutated, survived and became resistant to Bactrim, which is how a second outbreak occurred. The second site had been lanced and a third and fourth site were beginning at the time that my pastors came over to pray for my healing.

My surgeon did not want to put me back on antibiotics, because the MRSA would mutate again and get stronger. I had tried 4 or 5 remedies that I had researched online, and also some complimentary treatments suggested by a naturapathic doctor, including tea tree and lavender oils, colloidal silver, mega doses of vitamin C, golden seal, coconut oil, Purification from Young Living Essential Oils, etc. These had kept the infection from becoming full-blown but nothing would kill it. Meanwhile, with all the clinic co-pays and money put out for complimentary treatments and prescriptions, we had spent a small fortune.

After the pastors come to my home to pray for me, I went online again and typed in "what kills mrsa". Bottom line - it seems that all the articles that came up heralded the wonder of something called Manuka Honey from Australia and New Zealand. I found articles about twenty years worth of studies that had been done with the remarkable results published in medical journals. And the FDA here in the U.S. has actually approved a calcium alginate wound dressing (derived from sea algae) with Manuka Honey incorporated into it.

Seems this honey kills the protein in the bacterial cell wall, therefore killing the bacteria. Also, when it comes into contact with a draining wound, the bodily fluid contacting the honey stimulates the honey to make its own hydrogen peroxide, The sugar in the honey, being hygroscopic, also acts to kill the infection by drawing out its fluid, basically dehydrating the bacteria. Futhermore, the honey contains powerful pathogenic bacteria-fighting phytochemicals from the the pollen of the plants gathered by the honeybees. And manuka works on any type of infection, not just MRSA.

So I plunked down some more money and within a few days had my liquid gold. I put the honey directly on my knee and covered it with a dressing. It changed dramatically within hours the first time I used it. It took only days before the MRSA was gone. My doctor cleared me of the infection last Wednesday.

Now I keep not only Manuka honey on hand, but also the calcium alginate wound dressing mentioned above with the honey incorporated in it. I plan to treat any infection from now on with Manuka.

Since doctors can use anything that is FDA approved, it wouldn't be out of line to ask your doctor to check it out if need be.

Click here for a link to the article about the product that has been approved for medical use called "Medihoney". (This is the information you would want to give to your doctor if you contracted MRSA.)

Go here for a site that sells Medihoney.

Go here for another article about Manuka Honey.

Finally this link will take you to the site where I bought Manuka.

Prayerfully, you will never have a need for treating an infection of this type (or any for that matter). But it is good to know that even the worst types of infection can be easily cured and inexpensively at that.

But behind this wonderful cure was God's providential hand. Not only did He bring my attention to this resource, but He created it to begin with. And, it was only after the pastors came over and prayed for me that things changed for the better. I had run out of options but God intervened.

Though I had done much research into MRSA and tried many supposed cures, the infection would not relent. In the Old Testament there is a story about a king named Asa. He had turned away from the Lord in his advanced years and then he contracted a foot disease. Second Chronicles 16:12-13 reveals Asa's self-reliance: "In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians."

God directs us in James 5:14-15 to call on the elders of the church when we're sick: "Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up."

But I had not done that. After reading about Asa, I was convicted about all the research, doctor's visits, complimentary and conventional treatments, etc. that I had so rigorously pursued but had never complied with God's directive to call on my pastors. Though I had prayed that the Lord would heal me, I had not sought Him as James says to.

God honors His Word. He is faithful to do so, though I know this action on the part of the elders does not always result in physical healing for varied reasons. God could have allowed my infection to continue. Sometimes He allows the affliction to remain because He will receive more glory. I think of Joni Eareckson Tada, who God did not heal even after her elders prayed for her. But as a result, Joni has brought God much glory during the course of her lifetime in a wheel chair. And God's grace has definitely been sufficient for her.

There are also people who ask for this intervention of God through the elders who have motives that are centered on self. Or perhaps they refuse to repent of sin. God does not hear that prayer. James 5 even addresses the issue of repenting so that healing may take place.

But there are those times when God does heal. In so doing, He confirms, supports and establishes esteem for the leadership of the church. One of the elders told me, "There is nothing magical about our prayers." But there is something more than magical about God's ability to either heal or provide strength and grace amidst our disabilities and weaknesses .

He is my Jehova Rophe (healer). But had He chosen not to heal me, the Lord Jesus would have made His grace sufficient for my affliction, as He did when He told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And like Paul, I would also have been able to say, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Posted by Sharon Kaufman

Bee Well - A Safe, Simple, Inexpensive Cure for MRSA

on October 28, 2009 1 comments