Going through the Motions.......

Well, it looks like we are going to be remaining dairy free. Each time that we tried to add dairy back into our diet, we were unsuccessful. It is amazing all the new products that you find out exist, when you are faced with the challenge of dairy free. Life is such an exciting adventure with new challenges always around the corner. I am feeling extremely blessed these days that we were able to be able to figure out that dairy was causing a problem with our family. My original plan was to eliminate gluten, but I was told that it would be more difficult. I know this is probably true, but I guess maybe I wasn't ready to let go of dairy. I think that I am ready now. As we journey through this adventure of ELIMINATION....I continue to discover who is really in control. Although, I may think that I have control. I am constantly reminded that God is the one in control, not me. As scary as it, I find that as I let go of each thing.....it becomes less challenging to do so. God continues to show me where and how I am to move forward. He continues to be my strength everyday, without HIM...I would be nothing !

This year has gone by so quickly. It's hard to believe that we are nearly at Thanksgiving. A song comes to mind today, as I ponder what Thanksgiving really means to me. The song is by Matthew West and it is called Motions. In this song, he talks about how he doesn't want to just go through the motions in life. The song says, "I don't want to spend my whole life asking, what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?" The more I ponder this song, I believe it brings me back to the whole reason that I started this blog to begin with. I started this blog, because my desire is to be like the wild horses that run free and without fear. This is how I desire to live my life, free and without fear. I have always said you only get one chance at life, you might as well make it the best that you can. We only have one life to live, I don't want to live in fear of anything. I want to live my life fully engaged with my family, friends and God.

Thanksgiving is such an amazing time of the year. There are numerous gatherings for friends and family to relax and enjoy one another. The main idea behind Thanksgiving is that we remember all of those things that we have to be thankful for. God has blessed me so richly this year! I have been blessed with a wonderful family! God has renewed some old friendships and brought me many new friends. Without the unconditional love and prayers of these friends, I would be lost. I have even been fortunate enough to reconnect with my cousins that I haven't seen since I was a child. I also truly believe that our dairy allergy is a blessing in disguise! This new allergy has given us the opportunity to find new dishes that are fun and exciting. I guess you could say that we are learning how to cook a whole new way. We have found so many great new recipes that we wouldn't have found otherwise. Besides the new food aspect, it has been nice to see the changes in each of us. These changes have also strengthened our family bonds. Another blessing in disguise was having to put my schooling on hold, God has shown me the benefits of this change and multiplied the blessings from it. Sometimes, I really don't understand the things that God asks of me.....but I have just learned that it is easier to comply than to fight it. I am just so thankful that I have made it to yet another Thanksgiving and God has blessed us so greatly! I pray that God will bless each and every one of you throughout the next year...Happy Thanksgiving!!!