9 of 2007
So back in South Africa again with no jetlag, so yes the fasting and BarleyLife and sunlight approach has been proven to work yet again. What did help me tremendously though this time was taking Composure to help me sleep and on an 11 hour trip I slept almost 8 hours and landing feeling quite refreshed.
I needed the Composure (a herbal combination from the Aim company) because there was a bomb scare in terminal 4 in Heathrow and all the flights scheduled to leave from there were cancelled. You can imagine the chaos! It felt like the end of the world had arrived with thousands of people pushing and pulling, luggage, babies, elderly people. No one knew what to do and no one at the British Airways counters could help except to give a number to phone British Airways! Go figure. It was as if people had lost their minds and could not function.
By shear trial and error, and direction I believe from God, we got onto an SAA flight and arrived in Cape Town 3 hours after our initial flight should have, but minus all our luggage, which was still at Heathrow airport. The last piece has just been retrieved and Mark is now sure God loves him, because his birthday golf clubs have arrived a week later intact! South African Airways have been very polite and efficient, but to date no explanation or apology or help from BA.
What did we learn?
- If this ever happens again know this, YOU can get on any other airline going to your destination and the original airline that has cancelled the flight will cover the costs. We were anticipating paying extra on another airline and neither the travel agent we booked with nor British Airways staff could or would tell us this. The staff at SAA told us it was standard procedure. So don’t push and shove, don’t panic just find another airline going your way and get out of there!
- Always take a picture of your luggage and make sure you have something unique that you can identify. Our bags had very distinct sky blue locks on them and arrived in a day. The golf bag had no markings and no name and arrived a week later. SAA staff (one lady named ‘Pinky’ in particular in Cape Town was extremely helpful and this while 7 months pregnant; she restored my faith in humanity!). Anyway tie a yellow ribbon around your luggage or have your name etched on the front, or choose a very different colour for your luggage like lime green or pink!
- Don’t travel without your BarleyLife or Composure. My mind was in an ‘state of emergency’and racing at a million miles a minute, certainly not conducive to sleep. 2 Composure tablets and 30 minutes later and I could not stay awake for the movies. The great thing about Composure is you never have any side effects. The BarleyLife is essential to keep my immune system and body in a place where I can defend myself from any strange bacteria and viruses from people coughing and snorting in a confined space with no real fresh air! (order it directly from Aim USA, UK, South Africa or OZ and New Zealand; contact any natural health consultant on our website for details)
Between landing in the USA with a recently discovered plot to blow up JFK airport in New York and bomb blasts and scares in London and then landing in Cape Town with the latest crime statistics screaming from the headlines, I began to wonder if there was one safe place in the world to live. I have realized in the last week since back here that without a strong belief in a ‘higher power’; namely God I don’t think I could make it in this world. Call me weak, but reading the Bible and spending time in prayer gives me a million times more security than hiding behind high walls, with security guards and guns. My favourite scripture is Philippians 4: vs6&7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. (This quote is from the new “The Women’s Spirit Filled Living Bible” which has some very inspiring and encouraging additions)
I cannot even begin to explain or describe the peace that God gives when you speak to Him in this way as it truly passes all understanding. So this newsletter I would like to encourage you to find the balance in your spiritual life and have extracted a section from our book “Take Control”.
This month’s DVD
This month we interview nutritionist Jeanne Redick from Virginia USA
I make a delicious potato casserole, gazpacho and sweet potato with coconut cream dessert, and we take a look at what is in your kitchen cupboards and how to make changes.
Order the DVD’s from Jason on dvd@mary-anns.com or by phoning 0218813624.
Interesting info and success stories
Achieving Spiritual Balance
I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.
Abraham Lincoln (President of the United States, 1861-1865)
For me, having a spiritual perspective on life is what got me through the tough times. When things became too much, it was my relationship with God that helped me to make sense of what was happening to our family and I honestly don’t know how I would have coped otherwise.
Spiritual balance is the third and very essential leg of our three-legged stool. As I explained earlier, a three-legged stool is the most stable; it can be placed on an uneven surface and does not wobble or tip over easily. With our healthy, natural diet, a daily exercise routine in place, and a spiritual perspective on life, Mark and I feel that we can take on almost anything without wobbling. These three form the foundation on which we have begun to take control of other areas in our lives. Even though things don’t always work out the way we would like, with these aspects in balance we find that we somehow always manage to stay on top of things. We are sure you too will find that by building on this solid base, everything else slots into place and you are able to take control of your of all facets of your life.
Scientists have now proved that faith in God results in longevity! The Sunday Times (1 August 1999) reported that, ‘Yes, God is good for you.’ A study conducted among 4 000 people found that those who went to church regularly had a 46 per cent less chance of dying over a six-year period than those who went less frequently or not at all. The study also showed that they had healthier immune systems, were less likely to suffer from depression, had lower blood pressure, and cost the health care system less than their non-believing counterparts.
In another study on spirituality Dr Verne Kallejian makes the following observations: ‘Accumulated evidence indicates that … an active spiritual life correlates well with several mental health criteria. North Americans who have a spiritual life are less likely to become delinquent, abuse drugs and alcohol, divorce and commit suicide. Thanks in part to lessened smoking and drinking, spiritually active people tend to be physically healthier and to live longer. In many surveys those people having high scores on a Spiritual Commitment Scale were twice as likely to declare themselves as “very happy” as those with low scores. It is a matter of personal choice whether one chooses an organised mainstream religion or some other pathway to a spiritual life.’
I simply don’t know how people cope with the pressures of everyday life without a sense of spirituality. In the past few years we have had many hurdles to overcome. Professionally, we have had to deal with the loss of our business and the public humiliation that went with it. This of course had an enormous impact on our family has we had to cope with the sudden loss of our income, our home and our cars. On top of that we had all the usual stresses and strains like our children’s adolescent rebelliousness (and everything that goes with that), an unmarried daughter arriving home pregnant, and the death of family members. Mark and I have no idea how we would have coped with all of this without being able to talk to God.
I have been asked before to defend my faith by proving that God exists. Well obviously nobody can ‘prove’ this. What I do know with absolute certainty is that God has answered countless prayers in our lives, and that is more than enough proof for me.
When I talk about having a spiritual perspective, I am not talking simply about following the tenets of an organised religion. I refer rather to a living, breathing, intimate relationship with God. This does not happen overnight. Mark and I became committed Christians about three months apart in 1974 and from that moment on I thought my life would be perfect. I had no doubt that everything would go according to my plan. Well, I was wrong.
At one point we found ourselves involved in a church that claimed that if your life is not perfect, it is because you do not have sufficient faith. So we asked God for faith, we used positive affirmations to increase our faith, but things got progressively worse. We grew very despondent as we tried even harder to earn God’s blessing in our lives.
Of course, we misunderstood the concept of blessing entirely – we thought it was about having lots of money in the bank, a beautiful home and a nice car in the driveway. It was only when we began to understand the concept of God’s sovereignty (which means that He is in full control) that things started making sense. It was when we came to the realisation that He uses the tough times in your life to get your attention and to help you grow spiritually, that our lives really started to get back on track. We have come to understand that God’s blessing is not about material possessions, but about having the reassurance that He is in control.
Knowing God does not mean that everything will suddenly go according to your plan. Far from it, but you will find, no matter what comes your way, that you will have a renewed sense of calm and peace which will help you to make sense of the tough times.
A spiritual perspective will help you see beyond the mess and muddle of everyday human experience. In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom relates her experiences during the Second World War. She and her family hid Jews in a secret room in their home in order to help them avoid capture. At one point in her story she relates how she felt that her life was becoming a mess; out of control. She then went on to relate how she felt that God was speaking to her. He was showing her that her life was like a tapestry - she saw only the messy back of the tapestry with all its loose threads, while He saw the front where a beautiful picture was developing.
To achieve a sense of spiritual well-being, you need to take time off from the hurly-burly of everyday matters and read something to inspire and uplift you on a daily basis. Mark and I found that the book of Proverbs is a great place to start as it has one chapter for each day of the month – we felt that we needed some of Solomon’s wisdom to rub off on us. And sure enough, it has provided guidelines to every area of our lives, even warning against getting into debt! Daily reading has made a huge difference to both of us.
It is also a good idea to start your day in quiet reflection and prayer. In his book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie states that the number one way to deal with worry is by praying. Set time aside first thing in the morning and, no matter what happens, spend that time in prayer, even if it is just for five minutes to start with. Just talk, as you would to someone you trust - you might feel very self-conscious at first, but keep at it. It is the best therapy ever and what’s more it’s free! I really battled with praying initially, especially in front of Mark, as I felt that I would be exposing my soul. But over the years I have found that praying with someone else can be extremely powerful and you will form a unique bond with that person.
It dawned on us a few years back that developing a relationship with God could be compared to a successful marriage. There has to be daily two-way communication; you praying and God speaking to you through the scriptures. If you were only ever speak to your spouse once a week and then you were to do all the talking, chances are your marriage would simply not even last a year. Yet in our spiritual lives we so often do all the talking and never any listening.
The relationship that you develop with God is a deeply personal one. Don’t let other people who claim to be spiritual put you off - your relationship is with Him, not with them.
Having a spiritual perspective on life is what helps me see the ‘sense’ in my life. If I have a problem and things don’t seem to be working out, I can now look at my situation and say, ‘What is God trying to teach me here?’ I am able to ask myself, ‘How can I grow and become a better person as a result of this problem’.
Remember our three-legged stool? I find that following a healthy diet and exercising regularly helps me communicate with God more easily. At the same time, having a relationship with God inspires me to look after my body. As a Christian I believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so I need to do my best to keep this temple in good repair. I found that when my diet was out of balance I was too depressed and self-absorbed to spend time in prayer, and when I did it felt as though my prayers where bouncing off the ceiling. Now that I take good care to ensure that my diet is natural and healthy, and that I make the time to exercise, I find that I want to communicate with God. Everything has somehow become a whole lot easier. By spending time daily in spiritual reflection and prayer, I find that I am able to make better choices about the many things that influence my life – from food, to friends to business.
I do not wish to dictate what you should believe – I am simply sharing with you the personal growth that I have experienced over the last thirty odd years as Christian. Your experience may be very different. But whatever your faith, it is important to realise that gaining a spiritual perspective is a life-long process through which you will grow and mature in time. And without this perspective it is virtually impossible to achieve the healing balance that will help you take control of your life.
Thought for the week
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs