Okay, I am officially sick of people who call themselves Christians, but who are so selfish about money. These people see money as something they earn, something that belongs to them, something they have a right to. And anyone who wants some of the money that belongs to them is in the wrong. I cannot imagine Christ saying, “Well, people are selfish, so you gotta be selfish, too.” If Christ were to have a problem with someone like a tax collector or a thief, it wouldn’t be because he wanted to guard his own possessions. It would be because those people were being greedy or were obsessed with material wealth.
I think about myself and how, in America, I am not particularly wealthy. I don’t splurge on that many things. I don’t bring in a ton of money. I certainly don’t have any savings, and the only asset I can think of is my 2001 Toyota. But, looking at the world in general, I have so much. I always have enough food to eat (and lots of different options). I have a temperature-controlled house that keeps me safe from the elements. I have clean water, and I am very healthy. I have an education, access to technology and so much information is immediately available to me. I can spend several hours a day pursing hobbies or other areas of leisure. How did I earn that? What did I do to make it so that I have those things and so many other people in the world do not.
I understand that many people can see the logic of that, but don’t agree with giving their money to taxes, because it supports things they don’t believe in. I can understand that, since I am basically a non-interventionist, and a large percentage of my taxes go to something I don’t believe in. The problem is with the idea that the money is yours to begin with. Money is a contract between the people about the value of goods or services. It only has meaning in the transactions. It doesn’t belong to anyone.
Yes, you earn money, but does that mean that you deserve it? I contend that anyone who believes that he deserves everything he has is not a Christian. No, I don’t donate everything I own to others. No, I don’t go and serve others in a third world country. I’m not really saying I’m awesome, but, at least I know that what I have is due to a small amount of smarts and hard work and a whole hell of a lot of luck.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Fish Milk
So, apparently blogs are passe now. I mean for regular people, because news and weird pictures of things on blogs are still going strong. But regular people don't seem to be posting on their blogs. Now, you just post your thoughts on Facebook, or rant on Youtube. But, I'm a classic kinda gal, so I like to write a post once a year or so.
So, I'm just coming off of The UltraMind Solution, which I know sounds like a cult, but is actually not. Basically, you cut out caffeine, alcohol, dairy, gluten, and sugar. You eat more vegetables and you try to keep your blood sugar even throughout the day. At the end of 6 weeks, you reintroduce dairy and gluten and see if you have any issues.
I quickly lost about 10 pounds, then stabilized. I felt pretty good, like my memory was better, my head was clearer, and I felt happier. I waited until I was almost done with the 6 weeks before I read about how to reintroduce food. It said to have the food (dairy or gluten) 3 times a day for 3 days.
I was diagnosed with IBS years ago, so I haven't had milk in years. I had read that people with IBS could handle hard rind cheeses, so I had been eating cheddar cheese, etc. and avoiding milk, ice cream, sour cream and other such monstrosities. As I thought about reintroducing dairy, I knew I couldn't have cheese 3 times a day. Part of me thought that I was just being a hypochondriac by not having milk all these years. So, I went out on a limb. Unfortunately, I bought Omega enriched milk, which, unlike Omega eggs, doesn't involve feeding the cow flax seed. Apparently, it is milk with added fish oil. I used to eat fish once in awhile and had been contemplating taking fish oil, anyway, so I forged ahead. I had a small amount on my cereal. It didn't taste fishy at all. I felt okay. And then I felt not okay. Very not okay. I could blame it on the fish, but I'm sure I get that much fish particles just eating out. Milk is not my friend.
So, back to the UltraMind I went, waiting to feel good again before I tried anything else. Last night I had gluten for the first time. So far, I don't feel like a monster is eating me from the inside out, so that's good. If I handle gluten okay, I'm going to try for hard rind cheeses.
In other news, I got into grad school. I'll be going to UGA for Speech Language Pathology. So excited! I'm really interested in it, and it just feels like a good fit for me. Hooray!
So, I'm just coming off of The UltraMind Solution, which I know sounds like a cult, but is actually not. Basically, you cut out caffeine, alcohol, dairy, gluten, and sugar. You eat more vegetables and you try to keep your blood sugar even throughout the day. At the end of 6 weeks, you reintroduce dairy and gluten and see if you have any issues.
I quickly lost about 10 pounds, then stabilized. I felt pretty good, like my memory was better, my head was clearer, and I felt happier. I waited until I was almost done with the 6 weeks before I read about how to reintroduce food. It said to have the food (dairy or gluten) 3 times a day for 3 days.
I was diagnosed with IBS years ago, so I haven't had milk in years. I had read that people with IBS could handle hard rind cheeses, so I had been eating cheddar cheese, etc. and avoiding milk, ice cream, sour cream and other such monstrosities. As I thought about reintroducing dairy, I knew I couldn't have cheese 3 times a day. Part of me thought that I was just being a hypochondriac by not having milk all these years. So, I went out on a limb. Unfortunately, I bought Omega enriched milk, which, unlike Omega eggs, doesn't involve feeding the cow flax seed. Apparently, it is milk with added fish oil. I used to eat fish once in awhile and had been contemplating taking fish oil, anyway, so I forged ahead. I had a small amount on my cereal. It didn't taste fishy at all. I felt okay. And then I felt not okay. Very not okay. I could blame it on the fish, but I'm sure I get that much fish particles just eating out. Milk is not my friend.
So, back to the UltraMind I went, waiting to feel good again before I tried anything else. Last night I had gluten for the first time. So far, I don't feel like a monster is eating me from the inside out, so that's good. If I handle gluten okay, I'm going to try for hard rind cheeses.
In other news, I got into grad school. I'll be going to UGA for Speech Language Pathology. So excited! I'm really interested in it, and it just feels like a good fit for me. Hooray!
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