Why I Believe in Marriage Equality

I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, an imperfect woman overwhelmed by the grace and mercy of my Savior. I find myself unable to even begin to express my gratefulness for his unfathomable love, for answered prayers, for my anchor in the storms that life throws at me. I believe in Jesus and, yes, I believe in marriage equality.  Since I've had about a million messages after putting the equality symbol on my Facebook profile, I thought I'd share with you just a few of the reasons for my support of the reversal of DOMA.

#1--To me, this whole issue is a civil rights argument.  It is not a religious one. In the United States, we are free to express our opinions (yes, even Christians can express their opinions and believe me...they do!). We are free to worship or not worship. We are free to choose Jesus, Allah, Buddha, Atheism, Wicca, Agnosticism, indifference.  In this country, you have the right to have a religious belief that states that same-sex marriage is wrong. You also have the right to have a religious belief that states that it is not wrong. This to me is the foundation of religious freedom. We do not live in a theocracy.  (If perhaps you'd like to try living in one, there's always Iran.) Marriage equality in no way takes away your religious freedom or your right to interpret the Bible any way you see fit. It merely asks for freedom to believe a different way and to act on those beliefs.

#2--There are some serious lies and misconceptions out there about the gay community.  I don't know any other way to say this except to just say it...there is no radical gay agenda!!!!!  Gooooooood grief. Gay people don't want to destroy the institution of marriage or the family.  Really, they don't.  They are simply asking for the right to marry the person they love, to have rights under the law of the United States.  They aren't asking you to change your religious beliefs.  (***Reality check***Let's be honest, heterosexual couples, Christian or otherwise, have done a pretty good job of doing some damage to the institution of marriage. I'm pretty sure the divorce rate is over 50% now.)

#3--In the US, many things are legal that some religious people prefer to not engage or indulge in.  Take alcohol, for instance.  Everyone over the age of 21 can legally drink, but many religious people believe it is sinful.  That's ok...then don't drink.  The same could be said of dancing, pot smoking, divorce and many other things. Remember that whole freedom thing?  Yep, it applies here.

#4--Did I mention this is a civil rights issue and not a religious one?

There is so very much more to this issue, but I have nothing more to say today as I am feeling a bit weary. And sad. There is a lot of darkness in this world, full of child sex trafficking, victimization of women and children, crimes of racial prejudice, starving families, wars, famine. So much heartache and sadness, loneliness and grief. We like to talk a lot about the dark, about the enemy--Satan, about the evil abounding in the world. Well, I think we need to remember to not blame the dark for the absence of the light. We are the light in this world.  We are supposed to go in the dark places and bring with us the furious love of the Father. Don't blame the dark for the absence of the light.  Go be light.  Love like the Father. Love with ferocity.

"The Father’s love for the Prodigal was a furious love that was not moody or capricious; it knew no seasons of change. The Father’s love had a single relentless stance toward the prodigal: He loved him. He didn’t just love him a little – he loved him with ferocity." Brennen Manning

Take Heart--They are Listening!

To all of you out there raising kids, I'd like to offer some words of encouragement. As the mom of three teenagers, I've spent years doling out advice, suggestions and, yes, commands. There have been times when my words were met with eye rolls or a glazed expression that made me think that what they were hearing was, "Blah, blah, blah, blah." However, like all parents, I persevered and continued to dole it out.  It's just what we do.  I know you can relate. I know there are times when you feel like quitting, like they are never going to listen. I'm here to tell you that they do listen.  They do hear and believe it or not, they even believe you--mostly.

If you know me or have read other posts on here, you know that I believe in eating good, real food. Well, my kids have heard every possible health lecture there could be. Really, they have. They've heard it all.  I just never thought they were listening or that they gave a hoot.  Guess what?  They do give a hoot! I've noticed them making good food choices, especially as they get older and start to figure out that eating junk makes you feel like junk.

My 19 year old son just started a new job and has been traveling for the past couple of weeks. During the first week, he told me he was eating mostly "bar food" which isn't too surprising. When he got home last night from his second week of travel, he proudly showed me some of the foodstuffs he'd bought while he was away. He did quite well. He also informed me that eating restaurant food was grossing him out and making him feel less than stellar so he had been eating lots of salads and had even sought out and found the local natural foods market. I am a proud mama.  Love that boy.

These are the purchases he was so proud to show me. 

 So in the interest of full disclosure, I also want to add that he bought this to go with his organic tortilla chips...

 The good news here is that he knows this is NOT a healthy choice. Being me and all, I had him read the label and explained to him why yellow no5 and corn/canola oil are not good health choices. Of course, he ate it anyway, but I am confident that he is taking in the information I give him. 

So take heart all you mamas out there trying to get your kids to eat good food...they hear what you are saying and even though every choice won't be perfect, they know what's best.  You are teaching them well. Keep on  keepin' on.

Just Once More

A few weeks ago, I promised a post about clean skincare products.  Today I thought I should make good on that promise. I know how frustrating it can be trying to find beauty products that are non-toxic but don't cost so much that you want to barf when you see the price tag.

To begin, I'll show my own very simple, small stash of stuff. (Aaaaaaah...accidental alliteration :-) I warn you, my stash is quite uninteresting, but more than adequate for me. I'm fairly low maintenance, the kind of girl that every few weeks (ok, sometimes months) looks down at her nails and says, "Oh good heavens, that looks awful!"  After which I may or may not remember to clip and file them, much less bother to put polish on them. Anyhoo...this is a photo of everything I have that goes on my face...

The glass bottle on the right holds my oils for oil cleansing and the jar is coconut oil. I've used the Aztec Secret Clay for years.  I love it and, if I remembered, I would use it once a week.  Of course, I don't. I do try to use it at last a couple of times a month, though. Mixed with apple cider vinegar, it makes a nice green mask and leaves my skin really soft and clear. It's also a great thing to use on a zit, if you happen to get one. The closest thing to foundation that I use is 100% Pure's Tinted Moisturizer.  It is lovely and is really my one splurge.  Honestly, though, a bottle lasts me about 9 months or longer. I use a bit more once winter comes. In the summer, my makeup usually consists of coconut oil and lip balm with the occasional bit of mascara, so I end up barely using any of the tinted moisturizer. I do love it, though...it is fruit pigmented, no yucky chemical colors or fragrances. If I can afford it, I buy their mascara, too, but usually just end up buying Physician's Formula Organic Wear Mascara which isn't a totally clean product. It is better than most, however, and that is acceptable to me. The eyeliner and blush are both from 100% Pure and the lip balm is Alba Botanica.  I keep thinking I should make my own lip balm, but just haven't done it yet. Pinterest overflows with DIY lip balm ideas. Perhaps soon.

These are my hair products. At one time, I tried the No Poo Method, but discovered that it does not work well with hard water. The girls and I were quite delighted to discover the Shea Moisture products.  We can buy them at our local Co-op and also at Target for a reasonable price. Hold and Shine Moisture Mist has been a most wonderful addition for us. Static and fly away hair are a constant pain in our collective rear ends during cold, dry winters and this spray is fantastic for fighting the frizzies!  (Alliteration...again! :-)  Hair spray has been a tough one.  Many of the "natural" hair sprays are just terrible. I've found a couple that work for most things, Giovanni Hair Spritz and Andalou Naturals.  If for some reason, we need a hairspray that really holds, we just use the toxic stuff.  How's that for honesty.

Alrighty. That is pretty much it. If you are looking for products, the No More Dirty Looks Blog has about a gazillion product reviews.  Many of the products are spendy, but it is worth looking into.  It is just a great blog anyway, funny and full of info. Don't forget about the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database which you can use to check out products that you find. Last but not least...remember to not stress about any of this.  Change what you can and don't worry over the rest.  I love y'all.  Blessings.

Bit o' snark about The Bible

Now don't you worry, all you evangelical types.  I don't plan on getting snarky about THE Bible, so you can put that dander right back down. I just have to say a few things about "The Bible", the miniseries. Not The Bible, the novel based on the miniseries based on the Bible.  Try not to be confused.

So...we all love Jesus around here and once we heard that the History Channel was doing a miniseries that spanned the entire Bible, we thought, "Cool!"  We've all seen the Charlton Heston version with it's overly dramatic characters and 1950's special effects.  But this is 2013!  A modern movie about the Bible would have awesome effects, realistic dialog, and an accurate storyline...right?  Whew, exciting stuff!

Last weekend we had some friends over for dinner and the first episode.  It quickly became obvious that this was like nothing we'd ever seen.  Take Moses, for instance, one of the heroes of the faith who is typically known for his humble spirit while leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.  I never realized how wrong we were about him!  Wow, thanks Bible miniseries for showing us the real Moses...smug, attitude aplenty, creepy (the kind of creepy where he looks at you like you are a kid walking down the street and he is the guy in the 70's van who wants you to make a movie.  You know...Chester.)  I had no idea that when Mel Gibson yells, "Freedom!!!" in Braveheart, he is really just quoting Moses.  I also didn't realize that Moses had skulked around behind the bushes while performing miracles like turning the water to blood.  Silly me, I was under the impression that God would've wanted Ramses to know why these things were happening. Oh and speaking of Ramses, did you know that all he ever really did was yell, in a guttural sort of yell, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!  MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!" Well, now we know.

Some things were changed from the original story.  While it is true that many of these things are inconsequential, we all found it to be rather annoying. For instance, at one point we find Abraham and a much-too-young Isaac on Mt Moriah, awaiting the sacrifice that the Lord would provide. I'm preeeeeetttyyy sure that the Bible says a ram was caught in the bushes by it's horns, but in the movie version we see a tiny little lamb with it's foot stuck.  See what I mean???  Annoying. Why not just get it right?  Were there no rams with big cool horns to be found?  We have lots of them here in Montana, had they needed one.

Now about those awesome special effects....yeah...not so awesome effects would be more appropriate. Maybe they didn't want to upstage the effects in the Charlton Heston movie.  A bit of a bummer, I must say, and I am a huge fan of British television, a Whovian even!  I know my bad special effects.  Unfortunately, the makers of The Bible bring cheese to a whole new level.

I suppose I should say something nice about the show. We did kind of enjoy the kick-ass angels that helped Lot and his family leave Sodom.(There were no smart alecky sort of remarks made at all about how the angel that did all of the cool martial arts types of knife stunts was an Asian angel. Really, not one remark.) The consensus was that none of us had ever given thought to how Lot actually got out of Sodom without coming to harm. So thanks, Bible miniseries!

Ok, I'll stop now. The crazy thing?  We're watching it next week with the same friends. Thank goodness they are a smart aleck, snarky lot themselves. We choose our friends wisely. 

In case you've yet to see the novel based on the miniseries based on the book.

If you can't beat 'em...

As noted in previous posts, this is the preferred activity of the males in my household...

I have to admit, the view is lovely.

Winters are long around here, prompting them to even get out into the snow, those crazy guys.

Whatever. If it makes them happy and they enjoy it, I surely don't mind...though I can think of nothing that sounds less appealing to me than riding a dirtbike in the snow and getting cold and wet. I cheerfully leave that to the boys. Of course, there are many weeks where riding at all is just not possible. So how do they feed their obsession?  AMA Supercross--the dirt riding enthusiast's equivalent of Nascar. Pretty much consists of groups of guys riding and jumping, grasshopper like, around a dirt track. Jay and the Scoob watch the race series every year, following the successes and failures of their favorite riders.

Reigning champ, Ryan Villapoto. (pic via supercross.com)

So in the interest of familial solidarity, the girls and I joined in on the race fun this year. Yes, we did. Every Saturday night in the Pierson house is race night. We even joined the guys in a little contest to see who can make the best picks and get the most points by the end of the season. Every week we text Jay our picks for the top 3 finishers and he emails all of us his spreadsheet with the results on Sunday.  Jay is currently in first place, but Kyra is hot on his tail.  Me?  Well, I'm in last place.  Shocking, I know.  :)  I have to admit, it has been a really fun activity for us all to participate in together.

Not surprisingly, my main role in race night is food provider. I usually make something fun and appropriate, like homemade pizzas, before we commence the 3 hours of sitting on our butts on the couch.  This week, I decided to put together more of a snacky dinner with crackers, salami, cheese, apples, etc. Being me, I got the bright idea to make homemade crackers. Good grief....have you ever made them?  Seriously time consuming endeavor, at least it was for me. Perhaps next time I will make a half recipe so I won't be standing in the kitchen for hours rolling and cutting out little crackers. Thankfully, they were quite tasty and, I think, worth the effort.  I got the recipe from this blog post on Carpe Diem Acreage, in case you are feeling the need to stand in your kitchen for a few hours.

All in all, it is worth the work and the time spent on the couch just to hear my family laughing and yelling at the screen when something interesting happens during a race.  It is worth it to hear the trash talking that goes on when picks are made and points are totaled up.  Being a family is all about give and take. The guys go to Shakespeare in the Park with us. We watch Supercross with them. It's all good.

A Bit Wistful

I woke up long before the rest of my family this morning. My teenagers excel at sleeping in and Jay must be tired, as he is still in bed and it is currently 9am. Lazy Saturday morning...lovely.  Unfortunately, I awakened to a rather nasty scene outside--huge snowflakes and lots of wind to blow them around. It is a good day to stay inside, make a yummy brunch (when everyone decides to get out of bed), and dream of summer.  Yep, longing for summer today...green grass, bare feet, brown skin, fresh veggies, movie nights on the lawn, dinners on the deck, farmer's market, thunderstorms...ahhhhh....

Make Your Own Coconut Milk

I regret to inform you of yet another food additive to try to avoid.  Carrageenan. It is, unfortunately, found in many products like dairy, nut or soy milk, and kefir. From what I've read it seems carrageenan causes inflammation in the body and is also a carcinogen. Here are a few links for information...http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401181/Is-Carrageenan-Safe.html

                    http://www.cornucopia.org/carrageenan/

                    http://foodbabe.com/2012/05/22/watch-out-for-this-carcinogen-in-your-organic-food/
                    http://raypeat.com/articles/nutrition/carrageenan.shtml 

This is a link to a shopping list for organic products both with and without carrageenan...

http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/05/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/

Frustrating, isn't it?!  I know.  Sometimes it makes one rather weary. I realize it's impossible to avoid everything that is potentially harmful, but I do try to at least minimize exposure wherever it is possible.

Around here, we typically use coconut milk for things like smoothies.  Most of the coconut milk, like So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk, contains carrageenan. What to do????  Make your own, of course!  I found a recipe on Food Babe's Blog for making your own coconut milk out of either a fresh coconut or dried, shredded coconut. (Food Babe's blog is awesome! So much info!) Since good, fresh coconuts are difficult to come by in Montana, I used the shredded variety.  This is a crazy easy thing to do.  I'll show you in a few pictures. (I took the pics, not Kyra...sorry.  A photographer, I am not.)

In a bowl, mix 3 cups of very warm water and 2 cups of shredded coconut (not sweetened!).  Let it sit for a few minutes. I don't know how long I left it there, but it was long enough for me to fold a load of laundry. That is how I tell time...by tasks. :)

Next I put it in my Vitamix and blended it...ummmm....for a while. Maybe a minute or so. 

After it had blended, I put it through a sieve and then put it in a piece of fabric to squeeze out the remaining liquid.

I tried to get as much of the liquid out as possible, then put the milk in a Mason jar and stuck it in the fridge. I am keeping the coconut remains, but am not certain what I shall do with it.  I suppose I shall have to give it a Google. :-)

There you are...homemade coconut milk with no additives. This was so easy!