How does God see my obesity, & my ongoing journey back to health?

I just got a link to this article today in my inbox, someone had written Kimberly asking her if God cares about her weight, & I found her answer & the article about it very edifying & inspiring...
http://www.takebackyourtemple.com/christian-weight-loss-does-god-care-about-your-weight/comment-page-1/#comment-1096
(you can subscribe to her awesome newsletter on that page, with the little pop-up that comes up when you arrive at the page.)
...& it got me thinking more about my own health issues {some of which have been caused by my obesity, & some have just been greatly aggrevated by it}. I've been pondering for awhile now how God has been seeing these things in my life, not only in the past when I was too exhausted & in pain to do much of anything, but also lately, as I'm finally gaining some ground in regaining my health.
God's shown such mercy, compassion & grace towards me in my struggles with my health  & He's definately been the source of my strength, especially lately, as I've been learning how to push through my limitations without pushing so hard I wipe out & quit (which has been a regular occurance in the past, due to my fibromyalgia). I see now that the times in the past I've felt defeated, hopeless, unchangeable, & too far gone I've not been looking at my health from His perspective, but my own limited one.
One of the things I've been reminded of lately is that much as I know that God wants me free of the things that have hindered my health in the past, if Jesus returns or I leave this earth before this is complete, I will still be given a perfect & whole resurrected body to dwell in for eternity in His presence! How awesome is that!! & most awesome of all, we don't have to earn that incredible gift, He offers it freely to ALL!
And not only will we be completely free of the things that have caused us so much distress, pain, & frustration here on earth, they'll no longer even be remembered! Knowing that is part of what helps me get & maintain an eternal perspective about the physical realm we live in here, each with our own particular limitations, hinderances, & daily struggles & pain, & it helps me {even as I get more focussed on conquering my particular health challenges} to not get distracted from the eternal perspective He's been giving me more each day.
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ALL to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith."  Romans 1:3
I love that He tells us that He's given EACH ONE OF US a measure of faith! He knows how much faith we'll need, as individuals, first to come to Him, & then, as we grow in Him, to learn to be overcomers, & no longer be overcome!
 I'm praying for you to be enabled by the power of His Holy Spirit to get & keep things in an eternal perspective, too, even as your attention must be on the physical realm sometimes in order to get as healthy as possible in order to serve Him & others more effectively.
As I'm learning to surrender daily to only eating the things He created for food (& no longer the health-destroying man-made immitations) I think about what Manna must've tasted like, perfectly created to meet ALL the body's physical needs, & how much God loves us to create fruits & veggies & things that enable our immune system to operate as the self-healing health restorer it was created to be.
And as I work out each day, I sometimes find myself close my eyes & imagine what it'll be like to be in that heavenly body He'll give me when I finally get to see my Beloved Lord face to face, free to dance before Him with the joy He's filling me with, even now, as He heals me, free of pain & disease & the slow process of dying we undergo here on earth.
The Bible promises us that death is the last enemy to be conquered...as I think on these things, I'm so thankful for His incredible gift of eternal life that we can begin to walk in now as we're being prepared to enter into things we can't even really imagine!
The moment we're there, the light of the truth will expose all the fretting we do here about things that are irrelevant eternally for the foolishness that it really is.
As we're being given glimpes here of all that is to come, help us, Father, to keep our focus on You, & not on the things of this world, including these mortal bodies we put on for a season, until we're ready to put on immortality there by your side. Help our pursuit of health here be for your glory, to enable us to serve you more effectively, & especially help us not to use our victories & renewed health as occasions to live more in the flesh, but teach us to contually grow in our ability to crucify our flesh-nature daily, as You've asked those who love you to be willing to do.
~Amen~

Too Much Mucus! Detox is NOT fun!!!

I've been sick for over a week now, & have been coughing practically non-stop for days, & the last two nights, especially, it's been robbing me of sleep...I woke this morning about 6 (didn't get to bed until 1:30 am or so) & couldn't stop coughing up huge amounts of mucus, & am exhausted, but as soon as I lay down, it starts up again, so I guess I'm up now.
I've been thinking about the vast amounts of mucus leaving my body, & where it all came from...no more cheese for me again, ever! Or the other JUNK on this list!
http://www.detox.net.au/mucoid-plaque.html
I'm learning that mucus-forming foods are the ones that are acidic, & alkaline foods not only won't form new mucus, but also to clean up what's already built up in us. "To maintain health, the diet should consist of 60% alkaline forming foods and 40% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should consist of 80% alkaline forming foods and 20% acid forming foods.
Generally, alkaline forming foods include: most fruits, green vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, spices, herbs and seasonings, and seeds and nuts.
Generally, acid forming foods include: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, grains, and legumes."
From this site: http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm  This is obviously not a raw site, but if the average person followed these guidelines, they'd definately be healthier!
In the past, intense detox has made me stop being raw, & though it's slown the detox symptoms down to eat some cooked food, I see now it also just prolonged the healing process my body was undertaking, so this time, I'm pushing through, drinking lots of lemon water, juicing daily, resting even when I can't sleep, & pressing on. 2 days ago, I could only get in 20 minutes on the treadmill, & yesterday I barely managed 5, & it that was broken up...it sent me into major coughing fits for hours, & hurt my lungs (I used to have asthma, they still tend towards weakness when sick), so no more of that until this coughing & huge expelling of mucus is over. I'll just focus on stretching, & some light weights.
And though I'm staying 100% raw, the scale has stopped moving, so I've decided to not get on it again until the end of March (8 more days) to see if I meet my goal of 15 more pounds off since my last recorded weigh-in (over there on the right, under "What's Goin' Down on the Scale". I'm realizing that I may not be getting enough calories to keep shedding pounds, I just haven't had much appetite lately, with all this detox, but will try to get in a few more calories today than I have been...wish I could go for a walk, but my legs are too weak to go too far outside now from so little sleep lately.
 Off to try some of these home remedies for expelling/clearing mucus...please keep me in your prayers!
http://www.drjims-natural-cures.com/chest-congestion-remedies.html   

Hannah's Goin' Raw With Me Again!!!

My 14 year old budding raw chef been in the kitchen most of the day, making a bunch of raw yummies! I just had a big platter of veggies & dip, & she's been juicing LOTS, & we're going to make some raw fudge here pretty quick, too! I'm still sick, so have been starting my day with echinacea tea with a whole lemon in it, to break up all the mucus trying to escape my body!
I want to exercise, my body's craving movement, but I'm still so exhausted & weak, so I'm focussing on just a few minutes at a time, stretching here & there, & a little treadmill time, but not pushing too hard...
...it's so exciting to have my raw recipe inventor back! She comes up with the most wonderful recipes! We may even get the dehydrator going, too! I have some sweet potatoes just callin' out to be made into chips!
(Except she just tried to get me to drink kale juice straight! Stronger than wheatgrass (which I love, & can handle!) so we're gonna mix it with the other stuff...)
  I've been able to spend a little time online again today, & was led to check in with RawFu & share my progress, & will begin making YouTube videos again to share the changes that are happening, though I won't be making them public until I've made a little more progress...gotta take some more full-body pictures soon!
Suddenly, I'm excited about summer, rather than dreading it! I can handle the heat sooooo much better the more of my fat suit I shed!!!
  God has been SOOOOOO good to me lately, blessing me from every direction! Hope that's true for you, too!
Spring has definately sprung!!!

Swanson Vitamins Shopping Spree Giveaway!

Here's another awesome contest, for a $50 ahopping spress at an amazing company I've just learned about with a HUGE variety of natural products! This one ends on Saturday March 27th! Here's the link to the contest:
http://thevegster.wordpress.com/2010/03/18/swanson-vitamins-giveaway/#comment-1089
& here's the link to their site:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/
Check it out! I'm off to check on their shipping policy to Canada!
   

A wonderful contest for Coconut lovers like me!

Check it out....but hurry, it ends at Midnight tonight! The prize is one GALLON of organic shredded coconut! {Their site has many wonderful recipes, too!}
http://homestead.delightfullearning.com/2010/03/homemade-coconut-milk-macaroons-and-a-tt-giveaway/#newcomment

PROGRESS! CHANGE! HEALING FINALLY UNFOLDING!

Things are FINALLY starting to fall into place, & I'm beginning to feel better, move better, sleep better (& even be able to pray more, & more effectively! & even fast a little, as the Lord has led, as my blood sugars have been getting much more stable!) & all because I'm eating better! I still haven't been 100% raw every single day, but definately a LOT more than I have been, & as the pounds are coming off, & I can do more, I'm wanting to do more every day! It's amazing how that works, huh?
God's really been giving me so much more strength & peace about following through on the things I've known for years to do but haven't been consistant with....love is such a great motivator! I've been seeing that in order to be there for those I love, I NEED to get a LOT healthier! It's grieved me for years that I have been hindered from serving others, from fully participating in my life (& especially in my daughter's life!) but I've received God's forgiveness, & He's enabled me to forgive myself & press on towards the goal, remembering that "His mercies are new every morning!"        
A deep level of determination & readiness, with my eye on all the things He's showing me are about to happen (& change!) in my life have infused me with such commitment to do all I know to do, even when the yucky detox stuff starts (as I'm in the throes of right now!)
Since returning from my trip (Feb 12th) I've shed 9 or 10 more pounds, & though it's definately slower than I would like, I'm actually starting to feel a difference, & be able to accomplish more each day.
I know if I'd been 100% raw, & pushing myself to exercise more, it'd be coming off much faster, especially for how much I still have to lose, but I let myself rest as I need to, & needed to let myself ease back into 100% raw...but now, here I go again, ready to push through everything that has slown me down in the past, & pick up the pace!
 I'm even getting my glow & my dimples back (& finally losing my double chin!) & I'm ready to start juicing again daily, (after dropping in at Booster juice & remembering how instantly better I feel when I drink juice!& though I've had an elbow injury that's hurt sinse before my trip (over 6 weeks now) I'm trying to up my level of exercise again (& am finally going to go to a doctor about my elbow *sigh*)
I'll post some before & after pics next time! I've barely been online lately, have been led to pull away from the computer to get EVERY area of my life back on track, but will be back in touch soon, if there's anyone out there still following, still wondering how I'm doing...I'm seeing some little-yet-growing results now! Thank-you, Jesus!                
(& thank YOU, too, for your prayers, encouragement, & support...)
"The Lord is my strength, & my song, & He has become my salvation!"