There is a reason ....

 .. that the word is "mold" and not "bend". 

We ask Jehovah God to mold us to his will. We ask this, because, we are promised it is a thing that can be done and we have a reason to believe it will be better than the world or even ourself shaping us to a different will. 

Jehovah could, by the strength of his power, bend everyone and everything to his will. It has been proven that he can do so and will do so, enough to protect his people when it is time for their protection. He does not do so at any other time, to any other degree. He does, however, mold his servants to his will, and they like it that way. 

What's the difference? 

Look at a tree that lived forever with harsh winds ripping through it. It is a testament to standing firm against brutality; misshapen where it had to yield, simply to survive the onslaught. Of course, the wind has no will, but it still gives a clue to what being bent versus molded is. 

Look at a metal worker, who takes a sheet of metal and cuts it, and with varied tools literally bends it to the desired shape to fit their purpose. Compare to a sculptor, who with loving hands strokes a little water onto clay and smooths more clay on here, gently removes an unneeded bit there, until the piece is beautiful and fit for best use. 

Either person gets what they desire from the process, if they are skillful. Yet, Jehovah is called the Great Potter, because, he is working with clay and he is more gentle with us, his clay that he formed into Man, than the Great Blacksmith would be with his metal. 

Now, when it comes to refining, we are compared to silver. That is not about being bent to someone's will, though. That is about a process that takes a long time and is repeated over and over, until every impurity possible is removed. A continual removal from the filth of its former environment. As far as working with metal goes, it is one of the nicer things done, too.

When we pray to Jehovah to be refined, we can expect it to be challenging, at times. It's not as easy as being molded. However, the more one is molded to his will, the less refining one needs and the easier the refining will become. 

These are just my morning thoughts, on a day after I looked at a big, huge problem in my life, defect in my personality, the trap of my flesh and other circumstances, and begged Jehovah that there is always supposed to be a way out, but where is mine, I can't see it. Then, ended up throwing away several things that were part of the trap and which.. hmm .. I probably should have seen as that, but did not. 

That part of the solution was simple. If it takes- as in, if I remember it and live with it- it will make my refining process so much easier. 

I hope you find your joy! 

JW.ORG 

What do I want out of life?

I want to be a person with such positivity - real, honest, very seldom met positivity- and equilibrium, such a state of health and fitness - not showy, bulging muscles or preening, overly-sexualized fitness -that it makes other people uncomfortable, while drawn to me in wonder.

This is not ego. This is not about building a fan base, or, feeling special. I have met a few persons who were healthy and calm individuals, of such a nature, and, I loved them. That's all. One of them was very inwardly shiny, to the point where the sister I was studying with, at the time, told me, preparing me to meet him soon, "And, no, he is not one of the annointed. People always think he is, because ... well, you'll see." 

He actually glowed with health. I am thinking, now, that he was someone who fasted. Yes, it could have been the holy spirit, but, I think, if so, it is more that the holy spirit encouraged him to fast, either directly or indirectly; because, I have seen some who are annointed, and, they do not glow like he did. And, because, I have seen people who had a very good bit of fasting, who were very calm and much shinier people than they used to be.

I want to be able to walk like I used to, but, with more enjoyment of the journey, instead of it being a way to do something other than sit or lay and moan in pain. Instead of it being a way to work out the stress built up by pain, physical and emotional, in the hopes of being able to sleep, at least a little.

I am writing this, because, somewhere, in one of the books I was reading on health, the subject of "Why are you fat?" was brought up again, but, in a different format. Instead of saying, "What is wrong with you?" it was more, "What do you want to be right with you?"  As in, "What is your motivation - the joy you will receive out of your efforts - to change your life for the better."

Because, whether you are talking about reading the Bible or attending meetings, or, eating more salads, or, breaking up with someone abusive, or, whatever it is, no matter how likely it is that it should make your life better, you have to know it will and feel it will. Because, fear motivates in sparse spurts, in-between bouts of depression, remorse, panic or other negatives. FInd your joy, and, you can work your change.

I want to walk to the grocery store, whether it is the one approximately 1 mile away or the one that is  more like 7 miles away, to get what fresh veggies and fruits (mainly) that I need for the next few days, and, come home feeling challenged, perhaps, but, not broken. Maybe making a meal afterward, or, maybe eating some of the fruits and veggies along the way. Or, both.

Doesn't matter.

I want to do the things that "weirdos" do. Like, long-term fasting. Mono-eating. Only eating one meal a day, or, one meal every three days. Just because.

I want to walk so much and work my feet into such a properly calloused state that I won't have to worry about if my hiking boots can last 1,000 miles - which, by the way, ALL hiking boots should be able to last walking at least 10 miles a day for at least 1.5 years, so, what's that about? - because, on most days, I won't be wearing them.

This is while I am walking some long trail, mind you, and, keeping my hiking boots near me, in case of ants or running into exceedingly cooler temperatures.

But, mostly, the reason I want to be like this is so that I can get up every morning, get cleaned up, exercised, write some on my blog or book, or, paint, and, all that sort of thing; and, get my studying done, go out in service, even if it means walking to some place a good clip away; get home, get dressed, do my wage work or more studying, and/or get ready and go to the meeting. Or, maybe even walk to the meeting, throughout the day, being out in service along the way. Coming home. Going to bed at a reasonable hour of 10 p.m. or so, and, joyfully, energetically, doing it all again, the next day and the next day and every other day, until we have a different life to live.

Serving Jehovah is the greatest joy, most important work, highest motivator for change. But, it still helps to focus on the particulars of what I want out of life, how life would work, with that in mind.

What about you?

What do you want out of life? What would make you happy? Not giddy, lustful, satisfied for the moment, less sad; but, truly happy. Why don't you have it? And, how are you going to get it?

It's been a while ....

I went off and learned more, experimented and studied. Came right back to the basics, straight from the Bible.

Fruit is food. Next comes leafy greens.
Meat is edible, but, if you need it at all that need is seldom.
Grains can be good, but, not strictly necessary, if you have other things to eat.

The worse off you are, the more you need vegetables and fruit to be the main foods.

I have been listening to Loren Lockman and some other guy whose name I can never remember correctly.  Still listening to A Healthy Alternative and Dr. Berg, some.

The upshot is that I am now in a much more stable mindset and stage of health than I was in, the last time I was here and writing about it. 

Today is my 13th day of intermittent dry fasting. I've been doing it very simply, by stopping eating and drinking (not necessarily at the same point) at whatever time of day or night I am done and then continuing to not do so for at least 12 hours. Which means, if I stop eating earlier than I stop drinking, then I will be fasting from food longer than from drink, because, it is pretty hard to eat without water getting involved in some capacity and I don't want to eat anything that is 100 percent dry!

I am not measuring myself all the time. I do know, though, that I had lost 3" on my waist and then had a bad episode of allergic reaction and bloating, a few days later, which resulted in my waist only being 2" smaller than it was before I started. Last I checked, it was 4" smaller. Also, I have definitely gained muscle.

It is my intention to start block fasting on Feb. 5. Part of this is on the advice of that guy whose name I can never remember, who was talking about block fasting. He said that 5 days is optimal for healing, because, on the 4th day you get a surge of growth hormone, on the fifth day you get a surge of new stem cells, and, on the 6th day you eat healthy foods and feed your new stem cells. He did not say how long to wait in-between jumping back into another fast.  Enter two other sources.

Back when I was working on getting baptized, praying about both my health and serving Jehovah (which hasn't changed, except, now I am baptized) I was talking to a brother who said something about fasting for five days and eating for two.  Quite a bit later on, I talked to him about it again and he, apparently, had meant to say the exact opposite (fast for 2 days, eat for five). But, I have reason to believe he said it right the first time, because, you know, that's when I was praying for guidance from Jehovah about it and he actually repeated it more than once.

Plus, A Healthy Alternative has vids wherein people say they did block fasting, of varying sorts, where they would refeed for a short duration and then jump back into the fast. One guy said he used to do 5/2 and then he changed it up to longer and longer stretches and went, if I remember correctly, about a year of mostly fasting.

Anyway, one of the things the guy I can't remember the name of said, which made sense to me (especially as I tested it out and paid attention) was that when the moon is waxing, you have more control than the parasites in your body do. When the moon is full, though, the parasites have more control and that's why people tend to act crazier. Well, I know a few things about the affect of the moon on plants and on hair growth, too; so, it may sound magical, but, it's no more magical than knowing that putting on a sweater helps you stay warm when seasons change and it gets colder.

I started my intermittent dry fasting when the moon was waxing, but, near full. The first day or two was so easy and it was the first time, in a long time, that I was ready and able to get going again. I didn't hesitate. I just prayed and jumped right in. It got much harder for a while and now it is back to being easier, but, not super easy like it was at the start. So, I believe the moon cycles are relevant to the process of making it easier to get started.

Feb. 5th is when the moon is waxing again and that's the beginning. My plan is to use that period of time, when the moon is waxing, to jump into an extended water fast (possibly still with intermittent dry fasting) and ride that wave for all it's worth. At least the 5 days of fasting and refeeding on the 6th day. But, I am not limiting myself to only 5 days, if I feel like I can go longer.

For now, my new rule is that I am going to be eating one good sized meal -if I am inclined to - sometime between noon and 2 p.m. It will start with fruit. If I want to eat at any other part of the day, it will be fruit. There are no other limitations, outside of maintaining at least 12 hours of intermittent dry fasting.

Oh! I just looked him up. It's Dr. Cassar. He's the one who remains nameless. There is also a Dr. Pompas. I get them confused with each other and I am not sure why.

This is the video about block fasting that I have seen and listened to the most.  Pretty sure he says things that I do not agree with, maybe in this video, definitely somewhere. Most people who are into fasting and running clinics, etc. do. We are not of the same religious beliefs is why. Nevertheless, they also tend to say some very good and helpful things. Just don't you be watching the videos I share and thinking I am off on some breatharian, we are our own gods, miracle jaunt. I'm not.

But, I am off on some I want to be more useful to Jehovah and gee, it would be nice to get other things done, too, hike.