This must be about Day 4 of the shift to Paleo.
The books have arrived. First was "The Paleo Diet Cookbook", by Loren Cordain, Nell Stephenson and Lorrie Cordain. The authors are introduced, and then it goes into what you can and can't eat, what you need to chuck out of your kitchen, and the recipes. At the back is a two week meal plan. I'd got into the recipe section when the second book I ordered arrived.
"The Paleo Solution: the Original Human Diet" by Robb Wolf. This guy really rocks! He has a great writing style, and intersperses 'geek speak' with earthy humour. He's a 'research biochemist who traded in his lab coat and pocket protector ... to become one of the most sought after strength and conditioning coaches in the world.' He is ... 'one of the world's leading experts in Paleolithic nutrition.' For someone like me, who wants to know the science behind the blurb, this book is excellent. His website RobbWolf.com is a great resource. I sat at work yesterday, watching some of his video's explaining the work he has done with the Reno Police, Fire and Ambulance services, and how he has increased their overall wellness. Fascinating.
A 'real person' I found in the Paleo community goes by the name of 'Cavegirl', and her site, Cavegirl Cuisine. We had a conversation on her facebook page, when I asked about help with breakfast menus - because, at the moment, that's a biggie. We (my daughter Becca and I) have about 15 minutes to have breakfast, so it needs to be quick and easy. Cavegirl was able to make some 'cereal' suggestions. I need to get out and buy some more stuff.
There's already signs of weightloss - about 1 kg (2lbs), and clothes are starting to fit better (good grief!)
I'm trying to go for a 10 minute exercycle ride every night - about 3km/6 calories according to the little computer on the bike! David and I are also trying to take the dogs for a 30 minute walk every other night.
My blood sugars are consistent - not necessarily good, but consistent: averaging around 10 morning and evening, and dropping to around 6-7 before dinner.
Other interesting Paleo websites are:
The Paleo Diet - this is the original one with Dr Loren Cordain, who is the main man behind all the research, and Robb Wolf's mentor.
PaleoDietFoodlist - and it does contain foodlists, and has a really good downloadable Food/Shopping List. Recipes and cookbooks.
The Paleo Diet Solution - haven't actually looked thru this one yet.
And of course, on Facebook, my friend (heck it's only been about a week!) Rene's group: Primal Pals.
So, what have I been eating? Breakfasts have been scrambled eggs and grilled bacon. Lunch has been salads with either chicken or tinned salmon. Dinners have been chicken, steak, pork chops - all with extra fat removed ... well, maybe ... carrots, cauliflower, turnips, kumara (sweet potato), pumpkin. Not a heck of a lot of difference, really. But there's been no cereal grains (except for brown rice flakes one morning for breakfast), definitely NO gluten! No legumes. The only dairy I've had has been lactose free.
Yesterday's lunch wasn't a good thing. I couldn't bear the thought of tinned fish, and had no leftovers, so decided to get some fresh fish - salmon - from the fish shop up the road. BUT - they had smoked mussels. With large slices of garlic on them. (But what about the nice, healthy marinated in vinegar mussels beside them, you ask?) So, I bought a piece of fresh salmon, and a container of mussels. And ate all the mussels with the salad, and the leftover mashed pumpkin and stuff. Things were ok for about 30 minutes, then that choking feeling started, the stomach started churning. Garlic. It's on the 'eat in tiny amounts' list of not good foods. Actually, it's on the 'avoid' list, but I like it too much. Anyway, once I'd thrown up a couple of times, I felt much better!
The kefir made with coconut milk - out of a can (ideally you're meant to use actual young coconuts, lol) tastes AWESOME!!!! It's so nice!
Today was the hardest day so far. We went to a friend's 40th birthday party - 'Canadian Cowboy' theme. Bread rolls, Frankfurter hotdogs, puffed rice/wheat balls, toffee apples, 'smores', cake balls, salads with onion and apple, tiny pumpkin pies on a wheatflour base ... you're getting the idea, aren't you? Thank goodness there were a couple of plates of carrots/celery/cucumber with a very nice dip (yes, it was dairy-based). David had a hotdog, and brought a spare home for Becca.
On top of my normal diabetes meds (less the Omeprazole!) I'm taking some Digestive Enzymes, and Proteolytic Enzymes. They're definitely helping with the stomach acid/reflux/swallowing. I'm feeling really good.
That's it for tonight, folks. I'll put the cereal recipes in a separate post, once I find them again!
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Wednesday, 7 November 2012
The Daily Paleo
Recipes, how I'm
doing with it, how I'm feeling and looking...
What is Paleo, and why go Paleo?
In September 2011 I was diagnosed with FODMAPS. To quote
Wikipedia:
“FODMAPs are short chain carbohydrates
and monosaccharides
which are poorly absorbed in the small
intestine, including fructans, galactans, fructose and polyols. The term is an acronym, deriving from "Fermentable, Oligo-,
Di-,
Mono-saccharides
and Polyols".
The restriction of FODMAPs from the diet has
been found to have a beneficial effect for sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome and other functional gut disorders. The low FODMAP diet
was developed at Monash University in Melbourne.”
I had been having increasing problems with my health, wind, indigestion, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. Months of it, getting worse all the time. It came to a head one Sunday, when we’d stayed after Church for a workshop. I’d had a couple of mouthfuls of Chinese takeaway, and within a couple of minutes, had to run to the ladies to throw up. One of the other guys noticed this, and when he told my husband, David said, “Oh, she does that all the time!”
Not long after that, there was an item on TV about FODMAPS. Was that what my problem was? I was finally able to make an appointment and go and see Jill Thomson. She asked me what I was eating. Fruit salad and porridge, or maybe Vogels toast for breakfast. A vogels sandwich for lunch. Apples. Oh, and I loved onions and mushrooms. I was put on an elimination diet. The symptoms rapidly reduced. Tried reintroducing some of the foods – like a piece of Vogels. Bad idea.
I also got a referral for an endoscopy – a camera down the throat to look at my oesophagus. I managed it without an anaesthetic, but it WAS NOT FUN. I have a hiatus hernia (where the top of the stomach/oesophagus comes up through the diaphragm, instead of being underneath it). I also had what’s called a “Schatzki ring”, where the oesophagus is squeezed and burnt by stomach acids, and the valve cannot close. Several levels of coolness!
Basically, I'm intolerant to gluten, lactose, legumes, pip fruit, stone fruit, everything in the onion family, fungi, some artifical sweeteners and a variety of other weird stuff.
This resulted in the first diet change. No more FODMAPS foods. Doctor gave me a proton pump inhibitor called Omeprazole. So for the past year, I’ve spent quality time avoiding the foods that aren’t good for me.
Then in October I was due for my Diabetes checkup. My HbA1c (again quoting Wiki):
“Glycated hemoglobin or glycosylated
hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, A1C, or Hb1c;
sometimes also HbA1c) is a form of hemoglobin
that is measured primarily to identify the average plasma
glucose concentration
over prolonged periods of time.”
came back at 14.5 – it should have been around 8! The locum’s reaction (she who had greeted me with; “you’re an apple”) – was to ask me if I was trying to kill myself. My own GP, when I got in to see him the following week, told me I wasn’t stupid, old, or trying to kill myself, but I was becoming increasingly insulin resistant, and my pancreas was starting to fail to make insulin at all.
We negotiated, and I got two more months to see if I could change my diet, lose some weight, and bring those levels down. I also now have to have an extra Gliclazide, to go with the 3000mg of Metformin I take daily, to make up for the lack of insulin.
Then, about a week ago, I came across a lady named Rene, who has a fb group called ‘Primal Pals’. And she was talking about something called the Paleo Diet. Of course, alarm bells rang. Oh no, not another fad diet. But ... it actually made sense. Some of their archaeology and anthropology is a bit dodgy – but nothing major – the premise is sound, as far as I’m concerned. So, lots of research and web pages later ...
During the research, I discovered that Omeprazol, which is the proton pump inhibitor, which reduces the amount of acid my stomach makes, is really bad. The FDA says to only take it for a maximum of 4 months - it's indicated in hip fractures, especially in women at an early age (ie 60's!!!) aargh!
So, I made the decision. I'm going Paleo because there's food lists, recipes and plans to follow, that take a lot of the bad stuff out - the rest will be trial and error, lol. I'm not going to be following what is called a 'strict' Paleo diet.
The switch to a (moderate) Paleo diet is now a happening
thing. Shopping today - got kefir grains, coconut and tapioca flours, swede and
parsnip. Microgreen seeds are on order, Digestive and proteolytic enzymes are
on order. No more grains in my diet (darn, except, maybe, for that gluten free
afghan I bought at the healthfood store!).
Glucose test strips and a new battery on order from somewhere deep in the South Island. Sod the doctor. How do I know if my bloodsugars are going down, if I don't test them? I'm darned if I'm going to hit 14.5 again!
Swigging down Apple Cider Vinegar, honey and sugar (hopefully the sugar will balance the fructose in the honey, and I won't react to this). Re-read the Glucose Revolution - a teaspoon of sugar has half the glucose a single date contains ... not that I can eat dates any more ... they're a stone fruit :(
Glucose test strips and a new battery on order from somewhere deep in the South Island. Sod the doctor. How do I know if my bloodsugars are going down, if I don't test them? I'm darned if I'm going to hit 14.5 again!
Swigging down Apple Cider Vinegar, honey and sugar (hopefully the sugar will balance the fructose in the honey, and I won't react to this). Re-read the Glucose Revolution - a teaspoon of sugar has half the glucose a single date contains ... not that I can eat dates any more ... they're a stone fruit :(
If I'm organised when I get home, I might make some
tapioca cheese buns for Jam tonight!
Ate (most of) a great big healthy salad, with healthy carbs (pumpkin), and a couple of chicken drumsticks for lunch.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs. (Becca had hers on Vogels toast!) That’s the next big issue to work out - still having Brown Rice Flakes. Can't eat vogels bread (nommy poison), rolled oats (nommy poison - if it's not gluten in it, there's something else that hurts!), can't have eggs every day (well, I could, but ...)
So that’s where we stand as of today, 7 November 2012.Ate (most of) a great big healthy salad, with healthy carbs (pumpkin), and a couple of chicken drumsticks for lunch.
Breakfast was scrambled eggs. (Becca had hers on Vogels toast!) That’s the next big issue to work out - still having Brown Rice Flakes. Can't eat vogels bread (nommy poison), rolled oats (nommy poison - if it's not gluten in it, there's something else that hurts!), can't have eggs every day (well, I could, but ...)
As I get into the swing of things, I’ll try and post recipes I’ve modified, photos and other interesting snippets. Oh, and maybe I’ll be able to do some art soon, once my exam is over on 12 November.
Have an awesome day, folks!
2000 update: 101/95/100 - 74kg or for the non-metric: 39/37/39 (ish) - 163lbs
12 minutes on the bike
30 minute walk with husband and dogs
Dinner: mashed yellow sweet potato, carrot & parsnip; pork chop, cauliflower.
After walkies will make some tapioca/coconut cheese buns
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Theological Definitions
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is a foundational concept in
Christianity. The Greek term Basileia
tou Theou is used in all four canonical
gospels and by Paul. Matthew also used the term Basileia tōn Ouranōn or Kingdom
of Heaven when writing to Jews.
Three
major doctrines are affirmed. The first is the belief in the parousia (appearance/coming) in which
Jesus will return to the earth. The second is that on this return Christ will
establish or completely manifest God’s rule and reign of love and justice. The
third is that God will create or renovate this creation into a new heaven and
new earth that will endure forever. While all Christians agree that resurrected
and redeemed humans will live with God, and he with them, there is disagreement
as to whether this will be an entirely new creation or one that is continuous
with the current creation. Our ultimate hope is because of ‘who is coming to
this world’, rather than what the world is coming to.
Jesus
believed in both a current heavenly rule and reign of God, and an
eschatological consummation and manifestation of that reign. This can be seen
in the Disciples prayer where he taught them to pray ‘Your kingdom [will] come’.[1]
Paul also referred to this now/already but not yet paradox in 1 Cor 15:24-28.
Imago Dei (Image of God)
Human beings, both male and
female, are created in the image and likeness of God. No other creatures were
created this way. In the New Testament the words eikon (image) and homoiosis
(likeness) are used to describe both Christ and humans as being in the image of
God. This is not a bodily likeness, or likeness of countenance, but rather a
multifaceted, diverse collection of Godlike qualities in humanity that together
may be called personhood, defined by our relations with God and others. The
identity of human beings can be seen as a gift from God, intrinsic to their
very being. God is creative,
creation-sharing and relational, and will be faithful to that way of relating
to those created in the divine image. As part of reflecting this image,
humanity was given three tasks: the God-given ability to multiply; to have
dominion over the creation in terms of care-giving and nurturing; and to subdue
the earth by bringing order out of disorder, drawing what is already good to
its fullest possible creational potential.
Christianity has always viewed
humanity as having a paradoxical but not contradictory nature – humans are both
animal and spiritual; they are God’s special creatures who possess the gift of
God’s own image and likeness; but are damaged goods, being both corrupt and
condemned. We are only fulfilled through God’s saving grace.
The Church
For Paul and the apostles the
early church was seen as the corporate community of God's people, and although
made up of many individuals, is united, with Christ forming the cornerstone.[2]
The Nicene Creed refined these beliefs, declaring the church one, holy,
catholic and apostolic. The Christian consensus is that of a
divinely-instituted community where Christ is present by his spirit, which
cannot be divided. The critical and essential ideas of this unity with Christ
are those of one Lord, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism. It is the
‘indispensible vehicle of Christian spiritual life, the locus of Christ’s
special presence and the Spirit’s power.’[3]
While there are different interpretations between Roman Catholics, and
Protestants, both have a have a strong belief in the church as a sacred means
of grace.
Sectarianism is one of two main
alternatives to the Christian consensus, where the unity of the church is
unimportant and the practice of sacraments or ordinances are rejected.
Sectarianism can be seen in latter day prophets and self-proclaimed messiahs
such as Heaven’s Gate and David Koresh. The second alternative is the rejection
of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper by groups such as the Society of Friends
(Quakers) and the Salvation Army also go against the consensus of the Great
Tradition. Olson describes this as ‘a heresy of neglect’.[4]
Application
By dying on the cross and rising,
Jesus reconciled us to God so we can live forever in unbroken, creative
fellowship with him in the Kingdom of God. As creatures made in the image of
God, we can already begin to experience the new creation, even while we wait
for the complete renewal.[5]
There is a fundamental missional calling on the church as a whole, and every
individual member to fulfil God's mission right where we are, and in the global
mission field.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
TYLER - an obituary - November 2000-October 2012
We had Tyler put to sleep yesterday, Wednesday 10 October 2012, after 11 months with us.
Tyler was my mother's dog. Since she had suffered from series of massive strokes and a heart attack, and gone to live in Selwyn Village's hospital, he had been under the benign neglect of my father.
When dad broke his kneecap in December 2011, he and Tyler came to live with us while dad recuperated. Tyler was in a sorry state. The first thing we did was send him to the grooming parlour, and get rid of the 2" matt of fur and muck:
We took him to the vet and got him vaccinated for the first time in two years, and also got his diet changed to Hills Joint Diet. Tyler suffered from severe osteo-arthritis in his hind quarters, and the stairs he had been climbing up and down at Bill's house had not done him any good.
He thrived. He stopped barking incessantly - I think he had been bored senseless. He settled in, and once the cats had learned he couldn't catch them, they reached a state of truce. His weight dropped from 34kg down to 28kg - a huge strain taken off his bones.
By the middle of this year, however, his arthritis had got worse, and the vet put him on Pentosan (I think that's what it's called). It definitely seemed to help. But over the last couple of months, the pain got worse. Then he got a tummy-bug and a sky-high temperature. We had weeks of diahorrea. Change of diet to Intestinal biccies. Painkillers. More diahorrea. Tyler spending quality time outside. Because he slept very heavily, the pain in his back end, and his struggle to get to his feet when he realised he REALLY needed to go, his bowels and bladder would often start releasing before he got out the door.
He could no longer put any weight on his left rear leg, and his right rear leg wasn't much better. He would have to literally 'unwind' to lay down on the floor, and getting up was a real struggle. He could only curl up in one direction - hence nearly identical photos - onto his right side.
Then another tummy-bug struck a couple of weeks back. The final straw was coming home from work earlier this week, after Becca had done a wonderful job vacuuming the floor, to find Tyler had gone again. The following morning, following the sound of smashing crockery (the border), I came out to find her having walked thru Tyler-shit, tracking it thru the house.
Tuesday night dad came round to say goodbye. He'd grown more affectionate towards Tyler since he hadn't been looking after him, but there wasn't much love there.
Yesterday morning I took all three dogs for a final walk along the reserve. Tyler hop-skipped along, eating lots of catshit, and generally having a great time. On the way back (and this is only about a 200m walk) he fell over 3 times. He sat on the wet grass, looking a bit bewildered and embarrassed, before struggling to his feet and continuing.
When David and I got him down to the vet's, Gary was shocked at how bad Tyler's pain actually was, and put up no resistance to our request to have him put to sleep.
Once the drug was inserted in his vein, it was over very quickly.
We cried. He was a pain in the behind, and we never really loved him, but he had been part of our family for a year.
Rest in peace Tyler. No more pain buddy.
.JPG)
Friday, 5 October 2012
Swap One, Abandon 6
Why release only 1 ATC into the world, when you can release 6!
Tissue prints, stamps, inks, layers and layers and layers, washi tape, and text. The challenge was Swap One, Abandon 1, but it was so much fun to make a whole batch of them. When I work out how to up/download images from my phone, I'll put up the pix of the 'hides'. And when I get home, I'll put up a pic of the one that was swapped.
This is the 'official' abandoned card - put in the Asian Foods section of the supermarket:
And this is the 'swap' one that was sent overseas:
"That is an astonishingly beautiful card!" Thank you!
Tissue prints, stamps, inks, layers and layers and layers, washi tape, and text. The challenge was Swap One, Abandon 1, but it was so much fun to make a whole batch of them. When I work out how to up/download images from my phone, I'll put up the pix of the 'hides'. And when I get home, I'll put up a pic of the one that was swapped.
This is the 'official' abandoned card - put in the Asian Foods section of the supermarket:
And this is the 'swap' one that was sent overseas:
"That is an astonishingly beautiful card!" Thank you!
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
October Resolution
I'm feeling inspired to blog.
I don't do New Year's resolutions - I never keep them for a start. But I am making an October resolution.
When I started doing theological studies, I found out I had to learn a biblical language. I decided I should learn Hebrew. Looking back, I can see that it was probably as much to impress the new 'big people' in my life, as it was a desire to learn something new. And I've been trying, off and on, over the last two years, to learn it. Then at the beginning of this year, I found out about an on-line e-learning course from an Israeli university. But it was $900! American! But the characters just won't stick in my brain - it's just so different from any language I know, and I'm mono-lingual!
On the other hand, Greek characters do stick in my brain. Because they're so much closer to English characters, maybe? I can look at a greek word, and work out what the letters are, and sometimes, what the meaning is.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally came to my senses last month after a conversation with someone who I hope is a new friend (and counsellor). 'How often are you actually going to use it?!' Well, when you put it like that ... there's only 1 person in my life who speaks Hebrew, and he's withdrawn from church life, so ... yeah, put like that ...
So, on to the October Resolution. Instead of studying Hebrew (or Greek for that matter), I'm going to study ART. Yeah! Really! I've got all these e-learning art courses which I've bought, looked at, but NOT ACTUALLY DONE! Plaster, Encaustic, Acrylic Painting, backgrounds, mixed media techniques ... (There's probably more, but damned if I can remember them all).
I have one more written assignment, and then a Theology exam in November, plus the remaining 5 study modules. Once they're done, it's ART TIME!
It's time to stop talking about doing it, and start DOING IT!
I've joined two wonderful facebook groups recently, which have really stimulated my desire - and in some ways my opportunity to actually create. These are Artist Trading Cards and Magically Mixed Art Community. The other site I recently joined is Swap Bot, which is an exchange site. All three are wonderful communities of artists. I've got seriously into making ATC's (Artist Trading Cards), which are 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" cards that are only traded, never sold. The small size means they can be done relatively quickly, and there's something to show at the end of it. You are not limited to a particular style or medium, which makes them ideal for mixed media.
Let's see if I can find some pictures of what I've done recently ...
Bookmarks - Embossed and decorated.
So part of doing more art is also getting back into making the minibooks - it kind of fell by the wayside with everything else (particularly study) getting in the way.
ATC SWAPS COMING UP:
With Swap-Bot: Steam Punk; Victorian Mourning (3 cards); Christian Alphabet Letter D
With FB ATC group: Fall/Autumn; Coffee Lovers; Alternative Hello Kitty; October Lottery; NYC; George Tooker; Completely from a Magazine, book or newspaper; Carousel Animals; Tattooed Owls; Steampunk; That Jolly Old Elf.
Wow! 13 Swaps - most are 3 card swap - I have to make 3 of each theme. That will get me working, won't it!
So the intention is to blog about each ATC as I do it. I'd also like to try to put up some tutorials of stuff I've learned, that others might be interested in. Maybe I'll get more followers - who knows! It's all about me on this one!
I don't do New Year's resolutions - I never keep them for a start. But I am making an October resolution.
When I started doing theological studies, I found out I had to learn a biblical language. I decided I should learn Hebrew. Looking back, I can see that it was probably as much to impress the new 'big people' in my life, as it was a desire to learn something new. And I've been trying, off and on, over the last two years, to learn it. Then at the beginning of this year, I found out about an on-line e-learning course from an Israeli university. But it was $900! American! But the characters just won't stick in my brain - it's just so different from any language I know, and I'm mono-lingual!
On the other hand, Greek characters do stick in my brain. Because they're so much closer to English characters, maybe? I can look at a greek word, and work out what the letters are, and sometimes, what the meaning is.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I finally came to my senses last month after a conversation with someone who I hope is a new friend (and counsellor). 'How often are you actually going to use it?!' Well, when you put it like that ... there's only 1 person in my life who speaks Hebrew, and he's withdrawn from church life, so ... yeah, put like that ...
So, on to the October Resolution. Instead of studying Hebrew (or Greek for that matter), I'm going to study ART. Yeah! Really! I've got all these e-learning art courses which I've bought, looked at, but NOT ACTUALLY DONE! Plaster, Encaustic, Acrylic Painting, backgrounds, mixed media techniques ... (There's probably more, but damned if I can remember them all).
I have one more written assignment, and then a Theology exam in November, plus the remaining 5 study modules. Once they're done, it's ART TIME!
It's time to stop talking about doing it, and start DOING IT!
I've joined two wonderful facebook groups recently, which have really stimulated my desire - and in some ways my opportunity to actually create. These are Artist Trading Cards and Magically Mixed Art Community. The other site I recently joined is Swap Bot, which is an exchange site. All three are wonderful communities of artists. I've got seriously into making ATC's (Artist Trading Cards), which are 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" cards that are only traded, never sold. The small size means they can be done relatively quickly, and there's something to show at the end of it. You are not limited to a particular style or medium, which makes them ideal for mixed media.
Let's see if I can find some pictures of what I've done recently ...
Bookmarks - Embossed and decorated.
ATC Swap - Christian Letter C: Illuminated Chi-Rho. Metallic paints, gel pens.
ATC Swap - Pop-Up Card: Forgotten Memories. This one and Guadelupe (below) took about 10 hours + to do. The Swap Coordinator had a link to a You-Tube clip showing how to make this pop-up, but it was at least postcard sized, if not bigger. I had to reduce all the parts in size to fit the 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 ATC format (and I can't do maths!). I made a couple of dummy attempts before making the real ones. Then creating the 3D front decorations was another time-consuming effort - but so much fun! You hold the red part of the base, while sliding the pink striped wrapper either backwards to make it stand up, or forwards to make it lay down. The keys and clock are from cardstock. There's a little metal clasp from a fishing swivel attached to the fibres, clock and keys.
Guadelupe or Coatlaxopeuh.
The frame is made from corrugated cardboard, with diamantes and silver glitter glue blobs. The saint herself is cut in 4 layers, each piece separated by sticky-dots.
ATC Swap - Paper Free: acrylic 'skin' heart with metallic paints in the skin; held on to plastic sheet (from a notebook) by heart brads; polymer clay 'love' stamp held on by copper wire. Embellished with lace.
ATC Swap - Book Page and Stamp: This was taken from 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame. I cut out the text on that page and used a selection to make a poem. The stamp is a New Zealand one from the 1920's. It's actually reversed, as I was intending to use it as an image transfer.
ATC Swap - Summer: 3D pohutukawa tree, beach and sky. 'Summer' rub on transfer. Not happy with the word, but never mind. Added 3 fluffy red balls - meant to be pohutukawa flowers! I think this was one of the first ones I did!
Work in progress - minibook - skewered pages. Really need to get this finished.
So part of doing more art is also getting back into making the minibooks - it kind of fell by the wayside with everything else (particularly study) getting in the way.
ATC SWAPS COMING UP:
With Swap-Bot: Steam Punk; Victorian Mourning (3 cards); Christian Alphabet Letter D
With FB ATC group: Fall/Autumn; Coffee Lovers; Alternative Hello Kitty; October Lottery; NYC; George Tooker; Completely from a Magazine, book or newspaper; Carousel Animals; Tattooed Owls; Steampunk; That Jolly Old Elf.
Wow! 13 Swaps - most are 3 card swap - I have to make 3 of each theme. That will get me working, won't it!
So the intention is to blog about each ATC as I do it. I'd also like to try to put up some tutorials of stuff I've learned, that others might be interested in. Maybe I'll get more followers - who knows! It's all about me on this one!
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
Environmental Stewardship is Good Theology
Link to Russell Article
I think Russell is correct in his reasoning. His theology is contextual and correlational in that it is Christian faith trying to understand the things of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. All humans share this same creation. Scripture is at the very centre of God's instructions to rule over, work and steward His ‘good’ and ‘very good’ earth and creatures. (Genesis 1:26; 2:15) There is a clear industrial and caretaking responsibility for Christian environmental stewardship of nature.
As Russell says, God delights in us enjoying his gifts. Genesis 1:28 commands us to create community and steward creation. John 14:21 calls us to obey – love for Father and Son cannot be separated – by respecting his good creation. Through Christ we have guidelines for properly handling and interacting with the environment that will prevent us from pantheistic thinking, and falling into heresy.
The sin of Adam changed nature from working in perfect harmony to a struggle and toil (Gen 3:17), and Paul affirms this (Romans 8:22). Genesis 1:27 shows there is an unequal relationship between man and nature – we have God-given souls, and are created in His image, separate from all other living things. We can act on this truth now, in the tension of now but not yet, and ease the pain of a groaning creation.
God will redeem the physical and spiritual, and that salvation is for all creation, which needs supernatural healing, reconciliation of all things – redemption. (Romans 8:5, 21; Coll 1:19-20) It is dualistic thinking to say that the world is evil or irredeemable. We can express our concern for creation as a gift from God, and desire for non-Christians to understand the infinite fullness of the Creator through our work and our love of Jesus Christ.
Teacher's Response:
Sue
And your post is another possible response to this article !
Thanks for building on the content and offering some further theological remarks
I think you are on the right track regarding Russell: that he is opening up soem of the characteristics of Christian living in the light of what Scripture tells us of God's character
One does not have to agree with all Russell's suggestions or find all of them equally well founded
thanks
Judith
I think Russell is correct in his reasoning. His theology is contextual and correlational in that it is Christian faith trying to understand the things of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. All humans share this same creation. Scripture is at the very centre of God's instructions to rule over, work and steward His ‘good’ and ‘very good’ earth and creatures. (Genesis 1:26; 2:15) There is a clear industrial and caretaking responsibility for Christian environmental stewardship of nature.
As Russell says, God delights in us enjoying his gifts. Genesis 1:28 commands us to create community and steward creation. John 14:21 calls us to obey – love for Father and Son cannot be separated – by respecting his good creation. Through Christ we have guidelines for properly handling and interacting with the environment that will prevent us from pantheistic thinking, and falling into heresy.
The sin of Adam changed nature from working in perfect harmony to a struggle and toil (Gen 3:17), and Paul affirms this (Romans 8:22). Genesis 1:27 shows there is an unequal relationship between man and nature – we have God-given souls, and are created in His image, separate from all other living things. We can act on this truth now, in the tension of now but not yet, and ease the pain of a groaning creation.
God will redeem the physical and spiritual, and that salvation is for all creation, which needs supernatural healing, reconciliation of all things – redemption. (Romans 8:5, 21; Coll 1:19-20) It is dualistic thinking to say that the world is evil or irredeemable. We can express our concern for creation as a gift from God, and desire for non-Christians to understand the infinite fullness of the Creator through our work and our love of Jesus Christ.
Teacher's Response:
Sue
And your post is another possible response to this article !
I think you are on the right track regarding Russell: that he is opening up soem of the characteristics of Christian living in the light of what Scripture tells us of God's character
One does not have to agree with all Russell's suggestions or find all of them equally well founded
thanks
Judith
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)