It has been a long time since I’ve graced you with my presence, I know.  It is not due to a of lack of ideas, I assure you.  Truth is that the craziness of life & summer have taken over.

Although I once again have little time to write about anything in grand detail I will leave you with some awesomeness to check out today!

If you have ever had the desire to fundraise, volunteer or campaign for a good cause then Crowdrise is a website that can help you do just that.  I stumbled upon this website a couple of months back and it makes me smile every time I look at it.  Not only is the site full of great information and step-by-step guides but it is also filled with humor!  Like I said, I’m pressed for time so you should just go see for yourself!

Stay cool friends, it’s a scorcher today!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve often had that burning sensation in my nose while scrubbing the bathroom and wondered “could this be good for me?”

A few months back my friend Katie blogged a shout out to her neighbors who own a company called Better Life.  Turns out they are two local dads who wondered if you have to lock the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink so your kids don’t drink what’s under there… should you really be cleaning your house with that stuff?

All of Better Life’s products are made with natural elements from God’s own creation.  I’m positive that God knew what he was doing, so why try to make our own chemicals when we can use his stuff?  I like to try new things and take chances so I went up to my local grocery store and bought a bottle of Whatever.  It smells great!  It cleans wonderfully!  It is affordable!  It lasts a long time!  Oh, and the fact that the owners and creators live in a neighborhood so close by I can ride my bike to it, that’s extra-super-awesome!  Now I get to clean my kitchen and bathroom without  burning-nose-syndrome and I am also supporting a local business!  How cool is that?

Not to discourage you though if you don’t live in the St. Louis area.  I still think it is great to support a company that started with a couple of guys who love their families so much that they want the very best for them!  I’d rather put money in the pocket of a company like that then a mega-corporation, with a carbon footprint bigger than the Sasquatch’s, any day!

Happy cleaning, friends!!

*In addition:  I just recently I watched a video called A Wake-Up Story that I think everyone should see!

A few years back I was skiing with friends in the beautiful state of Colorado.  Since we don’t have mountains in St. Louis we cherished our time there and tried to soak up every second of powder we could!  So we all decided not to stop for lunch but eat energy bars instead.  On one of our lift ride/lunch breaks a friend of mine gave me my very first Clif Bar and it was super yummy!  The bar was soft and chewy and oh so peanut buttery!!

When I started this whole organic journey I was very excited to find out that the delish Clif Bar comes from a sustainable company that uses organic and natural ingredients.  The Clif Kid’s Z bar is USDA Organic and three of their other bars are 70% organic!

Clif bar also uses packages with non-toxic inks, recycled paper board, and no shrink-wrap.  It is a bit disappointing that Clif bar wrappers cannot be composted or recycled but they are partnered with Terracycle who recycles old wrappers into lunch bags, door mats, or backpacks, and donate $0.02 per wrapper to charity… which is pretty cool.

In particular, Boo and I LOVE the Clif Kids Z Bar’s and their price!  They tend to be $.99 each at Whole Foods and $.69 at Trader Joe’s.  This past weekend though, Whole Foods was having a sale!  Two boxes (6 in a box) for $5!!  If you’re going organic you know it costs more, which means when you see a good deal, stock up!  We of course bought 8 boxes.

While still on high from that money-saving purchase I happened to be on facebook and saw that a friend of mine just biked 5.5 miles in the 2 mile challenge.  Being the curious cat that I am I decided to click on his link.  Well looky there!  To my surprise the 2 mile challenge is a Clif bar thing!  What in the world is the 2 mile challenge, you may ask?  Here is a quote I took directly from their site:

“40% of all urban travel in the US happens within 2 miles, and 90% of that is by car. Fight climate change simply by riding your bike. Sure, we appreciate that long ago the automobile changed the way the world works; but like anything, it’s best in moderation.

So we, the employees of Clif Bar & Company, created a game to see how many car trips we could replace with a bike instead. Join the ride and take the 2 MILE CHALLENGE.”

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To top it all off the Clif Bar Company will be awarding $25,000 to each of three non-profit organizations that are working to reduce our carbon footprint.  Want to help them give away the money??  All you have to do is play the game!  Find out the details here!

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Now while I’m not so sure about the whole global warming thing after recent studies… I do agree that pollution is bad.  Research shows that people who live in the city and/or drive to and from work in traffic with the windows rolled down are at high risk for lung cancer… sometimes just as high as smokers!

Riding a bike or walking not only reduces air pollution but it has obvious health benefits! (um, cause you’re exercising!)  Another bonus is that you also get to spend time outside!  You also have a better chance to SEE the world around you, get to know your neighbors and take life a little slower.  PLUS it saves you money to use less gas… and saving money is definitely a good thing!

What do you say my friends?  Are you up for the challenge?

Have you ever been on a road trip and smelled something stinky?  First you blame it on someone else in the car and then you gaze out of the window to see cows grazing on a pasture.  Do you ever think about a big, juicy hamburger or steak when you look at those cows?  I know I sure do!

So when I found out that most of the beef I ate didn’t come from grazing cattle at all, I was shocked to say the least.

A few years back I developed a digestive problem.  I have seen 6 doctors in 2 countries and had more tests than I knew even existed.  No one knows what is wrong, they just call it IBS.  I know that is a bit personal and may gross you out to think about, but I’m going somewhere with this…

So I just started trying things on my own to fix my bowel troubles.  I tried all sorts of diets and tricks.  Just ask my Boo, he once had to help me drink a whole bottle of olive oil, no joke.  Eventually I gave up and instead tried avoiding foods that always made me sick.  Corn, beef and dairy being the three biggest culprits.

Did you know that God didn’t design cows to eat corn?  (my guess is that he didn’t design me to either)  Did you know that farmers feed cattle corn to fatten them up faster and get that marbling effect that is really just loads of saturated fat that is bad for you?  Did you know that ecoli in beef comes from cattle eating corn?  And that once they develop ecoli all they have to do is eat grass for a while and it heals up?  (just like when your dog eats grass to help its belly)  But instead they’re treated with antibiotics AND then at the manufacturing plants they “wash” the meat in chemicals like bleach to get rid of bacteria and you wind up eating those chemicals.  Can we say “ew!”?  Not to mention the fact that the corn they feed cattle is usually made from genetically modified organisms… but that is a whole other post!

Plus a lot of manufactured, mass-produced beef comes from cows that are locked up indoors, force-fed and treated really badly.  Don’t believe me?  Watch Meet Your Meat.  (You’ll need to keep a bucket handy for the barf!)

Also, when a large amount of animals are kept in a teeny, tiny space it fills up quickly with large amounts of poo.  Then, because it is so expensive to transport that manure it is usually dumped very close by.  So the nasty stuff that is filled with disease seeps into the soil where they grow our produce.  Have you noticed how many ecoli reports there have been recently on veggies??

Not only is all of this disgusting but the stress on the animal also creates beef and dairy with less nutritional value and the big time production of food hurts the small, family owned farms.

Freaked out yet?  Have no fear my friends!  There are grass-feeding farms out there that love their animals and treat them with respect.  There are also ones that are local in the area so you can support your local economy and cut down excess pollution from transporting the food!!

Pasture raised animals have a LOT of benefits for you, the animal, the farmer, the environment and the economy!  How can you not love that??  As if that is not bonus enough, grass-fed animals and products are healthier!  They have more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA.  They also tend to have less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories.

So what now?  I myself have started buying grass-fed and finished beef.  Whole Foods has recently decided to sell grass-fed beef at EVERY store across the nation.  You can also research to find a local farm near your home and either buy it directly from them, or stop by a farmer’s market.  If you live in the St. Louis area there is even one in North County!

My first grass-fed-burger-dinner I used organic whole-wheat buns, organic cheese, avocado, organic onion, organic spinach and organic tomatoes and I made organic sweet potato fries to compliment.  It was so delicious!

Never cooked grass-fed beef before? Grass-fed beef  does cook differently than what you may be used to and it smells and tastes a bit different too.  So here are a few tips I pulled off of the Whole Food’s website:

• Since it’s leaner than grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef usually takes about 30% less time to cook, so pay attention to make sure you don’t overdo it. You can test it with a meat thermometer.
• Make sure you aren’t starting with cold beef straight from the refrigerator. Starting ice-cold can result in poorly cooked meat.
• When using grass-fed beef in your favorite recipes, lower the cooking temperature of your oven by about 25°F. The cooking time will stay about the same.
• When cooking on the grill, let the flames burn down more than you do for other meat.
• Always use tongs, never a fork, to turn your beef. Piercing causes precious juices to be lost.
• Remember to let the meat rest to allow the juices to redistribute before slicing.

Due to the extended knowledge and skill it takes to raise animals on pasture instead of a feedlot, it can be more expensive.  I try to buy in bulk and separate into smaller amounts, freezing for a later date.

Happy eating my sweet friends!  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

The following are websites that I found particularly informative and helpful on this subject:

Eat wild, Food Revolution

A few years back I went on a trip to Vermont.  My first night there we walked down to the pier and watched the sun set over Lake Champlain.  At the time I was on a spiritual search, if you will, and had not yet become a Christian.  It was such a breathtaking site that a tear came to my eye and I turned to my friend and said “things like this convince me that there has to be a God.”

That week in Vermont I was opened up to a whole new world of things.  Not only is it beautiful there but people don’t liter because they love the Earth; there are LARGE vegan, organic and recycling sections in every grocery store; plenty of organic and local restaurants;  and it was the first place I’d ever visited that didn’t allow smoking at indoor public places.

I had always been sceptical of “granola” people.  I thought they were a bit silly and trying too hard to be different.  When I tasted the food though, I was convinced.

Then I got home, saw the price tag and gave up.

Recently I have become more and more aware of the sweat shop industry.  I then watched a t.v. short series called “Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts” and grew increasingly concerned about how my consumerism is effecting the human race.

Then Boo and I decided to watch Food Inc. together.  By the end of the film I knew that God was nudging me to make a huge change in my life.

Yes, it is difficult to read every label, research every company and restaurant and spend a little bit more money by eating all things organic, fair trade and/or local… but it is worth it to me and I love doing the research.  I have learned so much and have a great desire to share all of this info with you in future posts!

God has opened my heart to the possibility or worshiping him in everything I do.  From the money I spend and the food I eat to the way I pray… it can ALL be for his glory!

Alright, it’s confession time.  When I started my last blog I did it because it seemed like the cool thing to do.  However, I didn’t want my blog to be too opinionated.  I didn’t want it to be too personal.  I didn’t want to be judged.  I didn’t want to argue with people over anything I said.  I didn’t want to get hate mail.  I wanted everyone to like me.

It has been a huge problem of mine for as long as I can remember.  I want so hard to fit in that I compromise who I am in order to do so.  My true self and my real opinions always come out though.  I can only stay quiet for so long.  It is only a matter of time before I get too comfortable and slip up and say something I really mean.  Then it happens.  Someone tells me they don’t like me, something I did or something I said.  Then I tuck my tail between my legs and hide.

Well, you know what?  I have something to say.  I am passionate.  I am opinionated.  I cannot please everyone.  Not even you.

My God is real, he is alive and he is teaching me things that I cannot keep in any longer.  My intention for this blog is to share these things with you.  Recently I have had some amazing, mind altering, and life changing events in my life.  I have new clarity.

With that in mind let me give you a few bites to get your brain’s taste buds flowing!  Here is a list of just a few main points that I’ll be hitting in future posts.

- The Holy Spirit is powerful, he lives in me and he desires a physical and emotional relationship just as much as a theological and thought-provoking one.

- I believe in miracles and expect them.

- Eating healthy, exercising and being green is worship to God.

- I should not encourage companies to treat people, animals and our planet badly by purchasing their products.

- I need to support businesses in my local community as much as possible.

- I must always stand up for love, freedom and truth no matter how difficult or inconvenient it is.

- I have a voice, and it’s about time I became proud to use it.

I look forward to finally sharing these things with you!!  Stay tuned my dear friends and have a blessed 4 day week!