Preface-
I have been told, for sometime and by many a friend, that I should start a blog. This has all been spurred on with a desire to write and a passion for words but, moreover, to put words to a process of health that I have been growing in over the past three years.
I have been on a journey. Growing up, I was raised in a Southern kitchen where I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. However, when I came into my twenties things in my health started to shift, and not for the good. I began to lose weight and almost anything I ate made me sick. I began going to doctors with the outcome of few answers and, instead, much debt. There were also external factors that swirled around me, making me feel as if my world was turning upside down. Fortunately, one day after a procedure I was told that I had a parasite.. dun dun dun...
Home girl say what?! This was an odd result to hear when the only time I had left the U.S. was probably five years prior to Venezuela. Maybe parasites sleep for a long time?...
Anywho, I was placed on all sorts of antibiotics and medicines to treat symptoms, rather than the source. I did approximately three rounds of treatment with little-to-no relief. That is when I was told about a doctor of Naturopathy from a family member that was going for the same issues and seeing drastic breakthrough. She gave me the contact information and I set up an appointment.
Now, I know that many times when one hears the word Natural or Herbal doctor, there is a hmmm that follows. However, to me this was nothing new being raised with a grandmother who believes strongly in the healing powers of natural supplements that have simply been given to us from God through His creation. What's more, I had seen medical doctors for over two years without relief and it was within three months that I started to see improvement with this new approach. More importantly, to me, was that this doctor was a Christian man who shared very similar beliefs with me and just desired to see people healed and gain health back in their lives. I go into this story, as an intro to my blogging adventures, because this has been a turning point in my life in which I was reminded of the power of Hope. I have been seeing this doctor for just over a year, now, and I am at a healthier place in my life that is quite alternative to what I knew in my adolescence, but I would not change a thing about it!
So, now, my hope is to share what I have learned, over a very gradual process in the past year, about nutrition and food (etc, etc, etc...) and to encourage any who have experienced a feeling of defeat that ALL things are made NEW and the first step to breakthrough is to believe in hope.
I do hope not to defer my new readers with this long first entry, but this is only the beginning of what I have come to realize as part of my story. We each have a story and I believe it is for us to share.
Part One-
Now, we're getting to the good stuff! My husband, Mike, and I have just moved to the small city of Redding in the "Golden State" of California. My purpose in writing, to you, on this 108 degree Thursday (yes, I am serious and that is Fahrenheit!) is to invite you into what has been a quite adventuresome journey. I have been born and raised my whole life in the dirty south of Georgia. My husband, on the other hand, was raised in the Great Lake State of Michigan so he only lived in Georgia for about 5 years, in which we met but we'll save that story for a rainy day.
Anywho, it was one Winter day over Christmas break, last year, that Mike and I had the word to move placed on our hearts. This happened individually and we prayed on it together. We knew, surely, that if God was going to such lengths to communicate this to us, then He must have a plan and we wanted to know what it was all about. Within the coming months, the Lord started leading us to California and, well I'm no Valley Girl, so we decided that somewhere up North would be a good fit. And, then, the purging process began. We had been living in a small and quaint house and settled quite nicely and, by that, I mean we had accumulated a good bit of this and thats and whatnots. We realized that we most definitely could not take all these things and decided to just sell it all- with the exception of basic essentials and sentimental things we had been given from our wedding and such. Let me tell ya, it really was a cleansing process. At that point, we decided we wanted to keep things simple and to not gather things simply to have them. So we had a HUGE yard sale and used our profits for travel money.
So, next leg meant moving out of our house and in with some dear friends of ours, during the transition time of our moving. We have been so blessed by sacred community in our lives and it is our desire to see this always grow. We were there for about a month when we took off one early Monday morning to head out West. Yes, you guessed it! We packed up our car and decided to take only what we could fit. No trailer. No moving truck. Just me and my love in our (loaded) CR-V. We decided to make it a road trip and stuck to our handy dandy atlas as our guide, of course Google was a travel companion, as well.
Along our journey, we saw the changing of landscape across the country with the ebb and flow of deserts to canyons. It was exciting, stressful at times, and a beautiful experience we wouldn't ever give up. A big part of this move, for us, is to be intentional people. By that, I mean to not simply say that we want to do or see something, yet not follow through. I have- occasionally... okay, maybe more frequently- been known to be a procrastinator. I am a very creative person who, often, sees art all around me. This can be a problem for me at times, because I tend to begin projects that get interrupted by others and then I end up with partially completed projects that I may only finish when put under a deadline. So....I am putting this out there as some sort of accountability... or maybe disclaimer...NO, a reminder to myself to be intentional and to do this thing! To write even when I don't feel like it, but I know that it will be worth it, because it always seems to be some sort of therapeutic experience for me.
So, now, I am sitting her at the dinner table at our place in Redding to share this account and, I guess, to get it out.
Again, I know this is a bit long, but this is our introduction. I guess I should have said this at the get go, but Hi, my name is Jessie. I love adventure. I am about community. I am about always growing. I love learning. I am a practicing vegetarian who is gluten free and dairy free, but, most importantly about health. I am about serving where you are planted and feeding the hungry. I hope to share with you what I have learned over a long process. I love to cook, so look out for hot recipes coming your way! Hence, my clever play on words with the web site name, "Anne of Green Tables." Okay, I didn't come up with that... it was actually my husband. :) But I hope that you pick up on my play of words and see that it is my desire to see community gather around the table and be nourished with food that feeds the heart, mind, soul, and of course belly! I hope you have enjoyed our quality time, via the virtual web, and that we get to hang out again soon! And just for your enduring patience, on this first date, I will give you a free recipe! Now, I did not come up with this one myself, unfortunately, but it is so good! I like to refer to this as my gateway meal to healthier and cleaner eating. I have made this for many friends and they always ask for the recipe, veggie and nonveggie people alike! If you are a mac n cheese kinda person, this is for you.
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/03/butternut-squash-mac-n-cheeze/
Thanks again for sticking with me and if you actually read this WHOLE thing, then you can leave me my very first comment with the code phrase: the fridge is on the floor. Just do it! And, of course, please leave me comments, questions, and anything helpful you have learned in your own journey. Word out.
