“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
~Romans 8:28
Cloves
As we continue the series of what to have in your pantry, clove is another spice that is always in my kitchen. I love the smell of clove, but once again the most important about this food is the health benefits.
Health Benefits of Cloves:
Cloves contain an active compound called eugenol, which shows benefits on the prevention of digestive tract cancer; and treatment for joint inflammation.
It also helps with bad breath (Chew a couple of cloves for a fresh breath instead of chewing gum which damages your teeth
It has anesthetic and antibacterial properties.
This information about cloves is taken from: The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods, by Michael Murray N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno N.D.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!”
~Psalm 29:11
Anise seeds
Here is a thing about Anise. It helps expel gas (carminative effect). Anise has others health benefits such as antimicrobial properties, which help prevent the growth of fungi and bacteria.
***Very important: Anise seeds and Star Anise are not the same thing. Star Anise cannot be given to infants.
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
~Proverbs 17:17
This pic. was taken on February 22, 2020 ,on Isaac’s Birthday. The two people I’m pointing with the green arrows were of great support to me during my child’s pregnancy. I am forever grateful for their love and support when I was most vulnerable.
During this time of great distress for the world, there are many who need a supporting hand. I believe that God works thru us. I believe that God uses us to help others. Be a helping hand to someone in need or in distress if you are able to do so.
This COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people differently. If you are in a position where you feel mentally well and stable to be a support system to someone who is in a less desirable situation than you are, be that support system. It can be something as simple as doing daily check-in calls to check up on that one person. It doesn’t have to be a long lasting conversation. It can be a daily five to fifteen-minute call. Doing this, of course, should not create an unsafe situation for you.
So if you do it once and you think that it will not work for you, than don’t feel guilty. Maybe you can send a daily text message instead. Find something that works for you and that brings comfort to the other person. If you do decide to do the daily call, you can have supporting conversations, pray together (over the phone I mean), laugh, cry, empathized. Believe it or not, this may bring tremendous emotional comfort to the person in distress (and to YOU). They will feel the love, the compassion, and the push to keep on going. And that’s what God is all about.
If you are taking care of someone who is sick or in distress, THANK YOU, thank you for all you are doing. You are so amazing. You are not alone. Thank you for providing that emotional support and love. I’m with you. We are in this together. God bless you!
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”
~Proverbs 17:17
God bless you & with lots of love for you and for the whole world,
“For I know the plans I have for you, ‘declares the Lord’, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
~ Jeremiah 29:11
Yesterday I wrote about cayenne pepper. Today it’s about cinnamon. Cinnamon is one of the spices that, in my house, we cannot live without. We use it on hot chocolate and on tea as it enhances the taste. I personally love the cinnamon smell. But the best thing that cinnamon offers is not the taste or the nice aroma, it’s the health benefits that it provides.
These are some of the healthy benefits of Cinnamon:
A sedative for smooth muscle
Circulatory stimulant
Carminative (helps relive flatulence)
Digestant (aids digestion)
Anticonvulsant
Diaphoretic (helps induce perspiration)
Diuretic (helps increase the passing of urine)
Antibiotic (a natural antibiotic)
Anti-ulcerative
It’s pretty likely that you already have cinnamon in your pantry. If not, make sure you get it next time you go food shopping.
I took this information from the book that I’m currently re-studying called The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods by Michael Murray N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno N.D. I’ve had this book for a few years and I am revisiting it as it’s full of valuable information about healthy foods. I will be sharing healthy bite size information from this book with you.
“For I know the plans I have for you, ‘declares the Lord,’ plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;”
~ Isaiah 1:19
I have cayenne pepper in my kitchen and I admit that I barely use it. But after reading about some of the benefits of it, I will definitely be using it more often. Read below to know more…
Benefits of cayenne pepper:
Effective pain reliever
Digestive and anti-ulcer aid (stimulate and enhance digestion)
Cardiovascular benefits (reduces blood cloth, which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism).
It helps lower body temperature
Ability to increase basal metabolic rate and stimulate the burning of fat for energy
The capsaicin in cayenne pepper also has stimulating effect on the mucus membranes of the nose and sinuses. It stimulates the blood flow through the membranes and causes mucus secretions to be become thinner and more liquid. This helps fight common cold or sinus infections.
The benefits of cayenne pepper that I’m sharing here are from the book The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno N.D.
“If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;”
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial Because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
~James 1:12
At home, we’ve been trying different things to keep Isaac engaged in different activities. Yes that is him, my three-year-old operating my camera. I hope my camera survives this quarantine. What are some things that you are doing to make it thru this quarantine sane and safe?
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial Because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
~2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Take the time to give comfort to others. Pray, pray and do not cease to pray. We need God in this. We cannot do it alone, but with God, we are more than conquerors. You are not alone. We are in this together.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
~ Proverbs 3:24
My child taking a nap
For the past week or so, I had been going to sleep pretty late. I was doing the opposite of what I wanted. I was going to sleep late every night and as a result, I was waking up late. Two days ago, I decided to change that. I went to sleep still somewhat late but I set my alarm to wake up at 7:00 am. I was a little tired but I still did wake up. At around 5:00 pm, I started feeling a slight headache. I was feeling a little tired but I decided that I was not going to take a nap at that time, otherwise I would not be able to go to sleep early. So I stayed Up and by 9:00 pm I was so sleepy I could no longer keep my eyelids open. The nice thing is that my child also fell asleep with me. I was able to reset my sleeping time, although I had to force myself to stay up when I wanted to take a nap.
I understand some people are night owls while others are early risers. For me waking up early works best. I get more things done and I enjoy the first hours of the morning to myself before the sun rises. My goal is to go to bed by 9:00 pm and wake up at 5:00 am. This will allow me to have the first couple of hours of the morning to myself and to do my writing.
Why I’m I writing about sleeping well? Because sleeping well is essential for your health. Years ago, I used to think that sleeping was not that important. I used to cut on sleep all the time so that I could have time to do other things. I even used to think that sleeping for eight hours was a sign of laziness. So whenever I would sleep eight hours or more, my body felt physically good, but I felt guilty for sleeping that many hours.
Little did I know at the time, that sleeping as much as your body needs, would make you a better performer at everything you do during the hours that you are awake. Then I came across Arianna Huffington’s book called Thrive. In her book she talks about the importance of sleeping and what being sleep deprived did to her. She also shared stories of top CEOs and high performers who were getting sick due to being sleep deprived. This was not only eye opening to me, but it made perfect sense. How the heck did I think I could go on sleeping only 2, 3, 4 hours a day. It was only a matter of time before my body gave up just like it happened to Arianna when she collapsed while working at her desk and broke her jaw. I was already giving major signs of being super sleep deprived. I would fall asleep when watching a movie. I would fall asleep on the bus. Even on the subway train, I would fall asleep and if you are a New Yorker, you know you should not fall asleep on the subway train.
As I started feeling my energy level go down, I still was not associating that it could be due not sleeping enough hours for my body to restore, detoxify and to regenerate its cells. Yes, eating well is very important, but sleeping well is also very important. Lately, there are a lot of studies being done about the importance of sleeping well. As I started to listen to my body, I started paying attention to my sleeping habits. They were horrible. I knew that sleeping well was something I needed to work on.
It improved and then when I had my child and I went back to work, my sleeping patterns got messy again. At the time, I was in a job where my schedule used to rotate every three months. Before, having a child, I used to pay little attention to my schedule, but when I became a parent, time really became of the essence.
I decided that I would not longer continue a rotational schedule where three months I would go to bed about two or three in the morning and three months I would have to wake up at 4:00 in the morning. That was not conducive for my health and my family. So I made the decision to leave that job. Fast forward, I work only the morning shift. My sleeping habits have improved tremendously but I had to make a conscious decision to make sleeping-well a priority.
Now, this is not to say that my sleep is perfect all the time. I have mad tremendous improvement to my sleep but it is not perfect. During this time that we are in quarantine at home, to my surprise, my sleep got disrupted for the first week that I have been at home. However, I was able to recognize that and I decided to course correct. I was falling on the trap of going to sleep very late at night and waking up late. Sleeping late and waking up late doesn’t work for me. I want to be up before my child is up. I also want do my writing early in the morning. And once the quarantine is over and I have to go back to work, I will just continue waking up early to go to work.
So since I found myself getting sidetracked with my sleep, I made a conscious assessment about it. Going to bed early and waking up early is sustainable for me; going to bed late and waking up late is not.
What works for you? If going to bed early is what works then you know what to do. If going to bed late is what works, you know what to do. If you do not know what works best for you, do your own experiment. Test out going to bed early and waking up early, and going to bed late and waking up late. Make an assessment of how you feel on either case, then decide which one works best for you.
This is not about being perfect but about making progress. My goal is to go to bed by 9:00 pm every night. I know that being in bed by 9:00 pm every single night may not happen every single night. But being aware that this is my goal will allow me to make yes or no decisions about events that may have to keep me up past 9:00 pm. Are they that important that the sleeping pattern that I am creating may be disrupted? And think about it, it’s not just about a sleeping pattern; this is about living as healthy and well as we can.
I understand that sometimes we have schedules that don’t go in line with our ideal sleeping patterns. For example when I used to work a rotational schedule, I used to crave a regular day schedule. As much as I wanted to go to bed early and wake up early consistently, I could not because of my working schedule. I did not beat myself over it and I did not do anything about it until I had my child. If I new better at the time, I would not have waited until having my child to make sleeping-well a priority.
When I had my child, I left my rotational schedule because it was not working with my new lifestyle. Before my baby, I could sleep until late. When I had my baby even if I went to sleep late, I had to be up by a certain time; so it’s needless to say that I felt tired when I was supposed to be fully present and energized for my child and my family.
Find what works for you and adjust your time to it. If you are in a position that you cannot adjust your time to sleep during the hours that will work best for you, make a plan to change that. If you have people in your life that play an active and important role in your lifestyle, talk to them about how important sleeping well is for you and share all the benefits that sleeping well will produce in your life (your own life as an individual and your own life as a group). Do some research of the benefits of sleeping well and have a list of all the benefits to share with the people in your life who will also be impacted by your sleep. So here is to sleeping well and staying well.
Sleeping well is not a luxury; it’s a must, if you want to thrive in life. Don’t worry about being perfect on this, focus on making progress on this. Find what works for you.
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”
“Be Kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.”
~Ephesians 4:32
My mom and niece Mia (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – Nov. 4th 2019)
Hello there…so today, we will focus on kindness. Kind people are the coolest people. You want to work with them. You want to be friends with them. They help you become better people. And the fact that you acknowledge kind people and appreciate them means you too are kind.
Now, I’m not sure if there is a kindness quotient like there is an emotional intelligent quotient. But there are people whose kindness is constantly overflowing. Do you feel you are kind most of the time or do you have times that your kindness got to its pick? As you reflect on this, consider that being kind is also an every day decision. We can choose to be kind over being rude.
Kindness and compassion go hand in hand. Kindness shows in the way you speak and treat others, and the way you speak and treat yourself . Therefore being kind to oneself is just as important. Continue to be kind to others and continue to be kind to yourself. Let’s continue to support one another. We are in this together.
“Be Kind to one another, tenderhearted forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave us.”
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” ~Colossians 3:13 (NIV)
At one point or another in time, someone has hurt your feelings or you may have hurt someone’s. In either case, when such thing happens, something is damaged even if just a little. But when the person hurting finds in their heart the courage to forgive, something miraculous happens. The healing process is activated.
Depending on the situation, it may be hard to forgive. If someone you use to trust betrays you, the trust, not just in that person is damaged, but sometimes even trusting others is damaged. We then have two choices: to forgive or not to forgive. My friend, I say to you, even if it’s super hard, for your own sake, choose to forgive.
When you forgive, you do an act of kindness to someone who may not deserve it. But here is the thing. When you forgive, you are freeing yourself from resentment. Resentment is poison to one’s body; so do whatever you can to let go of it. Choose to forgive, even if it’s hard, and that includes forgiving yourself, which can be the hardest to do. No one is perfect. People make mistakes. Choose to forgive and forgiveness will set you free.
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” ~Colossians 3:13
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