Live Probiotic . . . Kambucha

I have the best neighbor that shares and loves living healthy! She knows that I have been changing my lifestyle for breast cancer survivorship, and I am always looking for ways to stay healthy. 

I love her texts with new ideas. The text asking me if I had ever had kambucha kind of threw me off. I had to google and find out what she was talking about. She explained the health benefits and told me I could get the drink at our local grocery store that is by our house. 

I started digging in and researching because I really want to know what I'm putting in my body. I'm allergic to several medicines and some things can make me jittery, so I have always been a little cautious of the unknowns. So here are my notes on kambucha:

Health Starts with PREVENTION and EDUCATION

Kambucha

Fermented black tea

Ancient beliefs = “Immortal Health Elixir”

Benefits: (no medical claims just findings from researching)

v  Immune Builder

Ø  Fights off bad bacteria that makes you sick and develop infections

§  Natural alternative to antibiotics

Ø Helps good bad survive and thrive for your overall health

v  Antioxidants

Ø  Reduces toxicity

§  Free radicals oxidize causing cell damage

·         Age faster

·         Get sick

§  Fights free radicals that oxidize in our bodies

v  Helps Prevent Cancer

Ø  Glucaric Acid – active ingredient in black tea

§  Fights cancer

·         Breast

·         Pancreatic

v  Reduces Stress

Ø  Root of anxiety and depression

Ø  Stress causes cell damage

Ø  Vitamins to help fight stress

§  Vitamin C

§  B Vitamins

v  Overall Health

Ø  Minerals

Ø  Enzymes

Ø  B Vitamins

Ø  Vitamin C

Ø  Gluconic Acid -  fights cancer

Ø  Acetic Acid – large amounts of antioxidants

v  Arthritis Relief and Prevention

Ø  Contains glucosamine

§  Lubricates joints
·  Stronger and more elastic

I liked what the research findings told me, so the next time I went grocery shopping I picked up a couple of the kambucha drinks. It wasn't what I was expecting, but I am so use to drinking and eating for my health now that taste is not necessarily the one and only factor I consider. But I actually liked it and have continued to drink it daily. However, it can get kind of expensive, so I am making it myself now.

My awesome neighbor also gave me my starter scoby. 

What is a Scoby?

"Scoby" is actually an acronym: Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast. And that's exactly what it is! A scoby is the living home for the bacteria and yeast that transform sweet tea into tangy, fizzy kombucha — think of the scoby as the coral reef of the bacteria and yeast world. It a rubbery raft that floats on the surface of the kombucha. Aside from being a home for yeast and good bacteria, the scoby seals off the fermenting kombucha from the air and protects it from outside, undesirable bacterias while it's fermenting. You'll also sometimes hear scobys referred to as "kombucha mothers" or "kombcha mushrooms." 

I have never been one to eat leftovers after a day. Food going bad makes me a little anxious. So this whole process has taken my husband by surprise. But this is healthy "sitting around for awhile" kind of beverage. So I'm all into it! 

Here is an interview I did about Kambucha . . .

Here is my scoby and the fermented tea that is ready for its second fermentation process. 

I am going to make mango and ginger kambucha. I love ginger! I love the smell and the benefits for your gut. Ginger can also help with car sickness. Go google ginger and benefits Mango provides a natural source of sweetness to the kambucha. 

I put the mango in the food processor to mush it up so it dissolves in the kambucha. The ginger chunks dissolves easily  I used one of the boys old baby spoons to put it in my bottles.

I saved the glass bottles from my store bought kambucha to use for the second fermentation and to store my kambucha in to drink. You need to use glass when fermenting and making kambucha. 

I poured the kambucha over the mango and ginger and then sealed the bottles tight with the lids that came with the bottles.

The second fermentation will take place for three days. Each day I will burp the bottles by gently twisting the lids. After three days, I will place the bottles in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process and begin drinking my mange ginger kambucha. 

You can choose to use whatever fruit you want or other healthy foods you want to flavor you kambucha with. 

Here is how to begin your first fermentation process of kambucha: 

Gallon Batch:

• 10 organic black tea bags
• 1 1/2 cup sugar (don't worry keto friends the scoby will absorb the sugar) 
• Gallon of water
• 2 cups started fermented tea and scoby (I got mine from my neighbor - there are kits or find a friend that will gift you a starter scoby. For my local friends I would love to gift you a scoby)

1. Combine hot water and sugar in a glass jar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. The water should be hot enough to steep the tea but does not have to be boiling.   
2. Place the tea or tea bags in the sugar water to steep. 

3. Cool the mixture to 68-85ºF. The tea may be left in the liquid as it cools or removed after the first 10-15 minutes. The longer the tea is left in the liquid, the stronger the tea will be. 
4. Remove the tea bags or completely strain the loose tea leaves from the liquid.
5. Add starter tea from a previous batch or that was gifted to you to the liquid. .
6. Add an active kombucha SCOBY. Make sure the tea is cool before adding to the scoby. 
7. Cover the jar with a tight-weave towel or coffee filter and secure with a rubber band.
8. Allow the mixture to sit undisturbed at 68-85°F, out of direct sunlight, for 7-30 days, or to taste. The longer the kombucha ferments, the less sweet and more vinegary it will taste. I let mine sit for 11 days. I'm still playing with the perfect fermentation amount of days. 
9. Pour kombucha off the top of the jar for consuming. Retain the SCOBY and enough liquid from the bottom of the jar to use as starter tea for the next batch.
10. The finished kombucha can be flavored and bottled, if desired, or enjoyed plain. As you saw above, I chose to use mango and ginger for the second fermentation and flavoring. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me through the comments of this blog post. I am not an expert, but I am on a journey of finding the best version of myself and living abundantly! 

Sharing is caring! If you have ideas or advice for my kambucha journey, please share in the comments! 

#girltalk #liveabundantly #kambucha #healthyliving

Finding Joy in Household Chores

Deuteronomy 15:10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

It is the start of spring break and time to sleep in . . . but my dog wants to know where everyone is at . . . my dog must be thinking the sun has come up and it is time to go outside. My dog did not get the memo that it is spring break and time to sleep in. 

After the initial madness because I wanted to sleep in, I was actually glad to be up earlier than everyone in my house. I was able to take my time drinking coffee and having some quiet time with God before everyone woke up. 

I then started trying to get this house clean from the crazy busy start of baseball season for all three boys. I have been able to get clothes washed, for the most part, but getting them folded is another story. So today, I am conquering the piles of clean clothes and trying to stay up on washing the newly dirty clothes. Are we really ever caught up on the laundry? 

It is a little frustrating when the clothes and dishes continue to pile up over and over. I am actually having my family use paper plates during the spring break to avoid PILES of dishes . . . it I don't I will be in the kitchen constantly instead of enjoying them at home. But as the negative thoughts pile up in my head, like the laundry and dishes, I am trying to change my negative thoughts into a pile of positive thoughts . . . a mindset that will allow me to give generously of myself instead of holding grudges for having to clean up a mess that is not mine. 

There are many reasons to be joyful when I am constantly having to do household chores. I just have to remind myself of the joy and the privilege in cleaning. When I choose to concentrate on the blessings of household chores, it is easier for me to find PILES of blessings through the mess. 

This is what came to my mind and what God reminded me of when I continued with my household chores. . . 

• Be glad my family has clothes to get dirty
• A sink full of soaking dirty baseball pants means that I have healthy boys that are able to play a sport they love
• Making beds means we have a place to lay our head at night and that they are safely tucked in our home
• Dirty bathrooms means that my boys are home and we have running water to bath with, brush our teeth with, and yes use the toilet with . . . when we had to turn the water off for a busted pipe, this was a huge problem . . . we definitely learned to appreciate our running water. 
• Dirty dishes means we were able to eat and that we have food to eat to nourish our bodies
• Grocery shopping means God has provided a means of buying items we need, and those items we sometimes just want
• Vacuuming means that we have electricity to plug the vacuum cleaner into
• The biggest blessing that God reminded me of . . .  I have a family that needs me, and I should unconditionally clean for them and love them just as God loves me and cleans up after my messes in life. 

Joyful Cleaning Mindset

During this spring break, I am going to choose to be blessed by my household chores and the noise and extra mess in my house. This means that my home is full of love, and God has provided for us to meet our needs and wants. I will organize and clean even though I know it will not last long. All these piled up chores means we are living abundantly together and signs of a home building memories and enjoying what God has abundantly provided for us. 

Join me for #girltalk at Pam's Color Zone

Live Out Loud and be UNASHAMED

Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. Psalm 25:20

I am UNASHAMED to live my life out loud. 

I have not always lived out loud. In fact, there was a point in my adult life that I put a wall up and did not let others in except for my family. My husband and I had been hurt by people very close to us; we had been hurt by friends that we considered family. The slander and the decisions made by these friends hurt deeper than they will ever know. Their decisions negatively impacted our finances and our family. My wall went up because I did not trust to let others in my personal space. If I lived out loud, the enemy knew where to attack. 

It was when my mom died that God helped me break down that wall I was hiding behind. When the Body of Christ showed up at the hospital and my house to literally hold my hand and love on my family, God showed me that I needed His people. I needed to live out loud and be transparent in order to be loved on and prayed for. God showed me that He would be my guard instead of the wall of isolation. 

As a Christian, we often hide the struggles and the pain because we believe that it might show lack of faith or people might think that we are not living the "good" life. 

Or we might be afraid of the shame we will feel from our friends and society. 

I believe that being transparent and showing that Christians struggle is important for several reasons:

1. When we are transparent, we show others that just because we accept Jesus it doesn't mean that we are exempt from struggles and hardships. In fact, one might find that they are attack by spiritual warfare more often when they live out loud. The devil does not like it when God's army proclaims the good news of salvation. But the advantage of being a Christian in the middle of a storm is that you learn you are not alone and have faith that God is going to fight for you. God's Word tells us we can take refuge in Him. We should not be ashamed to live out loud because we have God to guard us and rescue us. We can be UNASHAMED of hardships because God will use those hard times to teach us lessons and witness to others. 
2. Living out loud puts us in the middle of the bulls-eye for the devil to attack. So why live out loud if we are wide open for attack? Living out loud helps others see how Christians take on spiritual warfare. It allows those looking for answers to their struggles to see how God can work in their situation just like He is working in ours. Even though you are putting yourself out there for attack, Psalm 25:20 tells us that we are covered by God and will not be put to shame. 
3. As a Christian, we need to be transparent to allow others to pray for us. If we hide our struggles and pain, we are not allowing others to pray for our specific needs. Many pray for "unspoken" prayers request. I personally want to tell exactly what I need prayer for. This allows the body of Christ to lift detailed prayers up to our Heavenly Father. When I know the specifics of a person's needs, I can call them by name and concentrate on that specific need. I also know how to specifically love on that person. Being transparent allows the Body of Christ to be God's hands and feet on earth. God uses the Body of Christ to be His hands and feet to help rescue those experiencing pain and struggling. 

I chose to concentrate on Psalm 25:20 when I think of UNASHAMED because we have to have faith that God is going to protect us from being put to shame when we live out loud. Being transparent makes us vulnerable in a society that is quick to judge and put us to shame. But oh well . . . as a Christian, we know that God has already won the battle of the enemy putting Christians to shame. 

Faith not Fear! 

Jesus was crucified for living out loud. He was the ultimate example of being put to shame but not to death! He rose on the third day and proved to the world that the battle has been won! 

The Cross had the final word! 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10

The devil wants to make you think that it is not good to be transparent and real in front of others. The devil, the thief, wants to keep you from spreading the good news and being a witness of salvation. 

The thief wants to dim your light!

In our current society of social media and technology, we are living in a world of filters and fake reality. We are scared for people to see the reality of pain and struggles and imperfections.

What are we afraid of? Why do we want people to believe we live a life that we really do not? 

Being ashamed does not allow us to be all that God created us to be . . . UNASHAMED allows us to find the blessings and joy in the trials. 

Are you ashamed or unashamed? 

We all have a story that needs to be told or allowed to unfold in front of others. 

Are you ready to be transparent and live out loud? 

Fear of what is holding you back from living out loud? 

Would you like a FREE Unashamed t-shirt or hat? 

Comment here and share this blog post to be entered in a drawing for an UNASHAMED tshirt or hat. (I must have a minimum of 10 different people commenting and sharing to have a drawing)

I will draw live on April 1, 2018 in Pam's Color Zone group 

To see the different colors and styles please visit the Live Abundantly Collection website. 

The Abundance of a Balanced Life

The Abundance of a Balanced Life 

I was restless, often feeling hopeless, and in my eyes failing at life.

I wanted to grow in my intimacy with God, I wanted to be there for my family and friends, and I wanted to find myself. . . the girl inside of me. . .  somewhere in the mix of it all. . . I was drowning in self-doubt and trying to balance it on my own. . . but I was so out of balance.

I came across Romans 8:28-39, and I realized so much about living abundantly through the balancing act with Jesus. . . I was enough because He was enough.

Read and think about these verses in Romans 8. . . what does God speak to you about your balancing act of life? 

Romans 8:28-39 (NIV) 

28 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. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

I love the Lord, and I also love my family with all my heart. If you follow me on any of my social media platforms, there is no question that I live out loud with my love of the Lord and my family. I have not always lived out loud . . . I did not feel that I was enough. Who was I to speak up about God . . . who would want to listen to me. I was feeling like I was just surviving at this mom and wife thing. But once I became closer to God and felt his amazing grace during the death of three immediate family members and my breast cancer journey, I found out that I was enough with all my brokenness because I did not have to do this life thing perfectly. God was sufficient and picked up the pieces that I could not.

What I have questioned in the past was how to make it all work. . . how do I get it all done? How do I keep the house clean, help provide financially for my family, cheer all my boys on at their school and athletic events, and spend quality time with my husband and put the Lord first.

Over the years, I have pushed myself to the back of the equation. God often got pushed to the side also, at least for a little while until I needed some strength and wisdom for the circumstances that were drowning me. I know the order of priority, but as a mom and wife that wants to be that “I’m always here for you” person, I found that I was not doing a very good job with the balancing act. When I was diagnosed with cancer, God made my life take a pause and slow down. It’s like God put a magnify glass on my life, and I saw how clearly unbalanced my life was. When my life is out of balance, I feel defeated, restless, and sometimes really hopeless. When I slow down and get my priorities straight, I figure out that God has something far better in mind for me . . . for all of us.

 According to Romans 8:37, we are conquerors of our daily schedule through Jesus. God wants us to plan our schedule with an open mind because He has plans too. When we consult God with our plans and put God first, the balance begins to happen. When God is in the middle of my schedule planning, I seem to get more done and stay in balance.

But here is what I realized and that gave me freedom from feeling guilty for not being that “I’m always here for you” person:

• I cannot do everything 
• I cannot be everything to everybody 
• I will stop trying to do it all 
• I will stop trying to be it all 

God never meant for me to handle everyone’s problems and take care of every situation that landed before me. It was unhealthy to be this kind of person. It was stressful and taking a toll on my mind, body, and spirit. Why do we do this to ourselves? Women seem to put it on themselves to juggle too many roles and find themselves feeling insufficient and failing at their life. . . it’s that hopeless, defeated, and restless feeling that takes over. When I am out of balance, I feel like I am failing at being a mom and wife and also a friend.

In Romans 8:34, Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God and interceding for YOU and me. He’s praying for us to have a life that is balanced, healthy, and joyful . . . He came so we could live a life of abundance. I am living out loud and writing this message with confidence because God has helped me restore the joy of a balanced life and added an abundance of life to my schedule.

I hope this message finds its way to women who need to hear that they are enough! They are enough, they just need to balance out their schedule WITH Jesus. They do not need to do more to be fulfilled or feel that they are enough. They will actually being doing less because God will take on the scheduling and planning for them and with them, when they put Him first.

Today’s Journaling Thoughts: 

• What is God revealing to you? Are you living a balanced life? What steps do you feel He is calling you to take to bring balance to your life? 
• Reflect and dig deeper into the commitment God wants you to make by reading Malachi 3:1-10.