How Firm a Foundation

In my shower I used to have a nice decal that my friend Janine made on her sticker-making machine that started a prayer for each time I took a shower or bath. I repainted this summer so it had to be removed to paint and so I was looking for something to replace it with, to encourage and refresh me.  I ended up finding a "Keep Calm and Carry On" plaque at Ross which is a saying that is highly overused, but I love it anyways.  It happened to be turquoise, so that helped as well (my favorite color).

I was trying to think what Bible verse would go with the saying, and these ones came to mind.  They happen to be some of my favorite verses, and the hymn that goes with it is equally as beautiful.  Here's the verses that the hymn is taken from.

I first heard this hymn at our church's Bible Study back in 2001.  An older lady chose it out of our hymnal and I loved it although I had never heard it before.  It was only a few days later that 9/11 happened, and President George W. Bush used the same verses when giving his first public address.  These verses and the hymn have come to mind so many times over the years, always bringing comfort and peace.

Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isaiah 43:2When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

2 Corinthians 12: And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Hebrews 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

1	How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2	“Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
3	“When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”
4	“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.”
5	“E’en down to old age all My people shall prove My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love; And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn, Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.”
6	“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

Here's one of my favorite versions of the hymn on YouTube.  Fernando Ortega has another good one.

Chelsea Moon- How Firm A Foundation

Iron Primer

Here's a quick lesson to pass on of what I've learned about iron.  Why it goes low, what to do about it, how it works.

First of all, iron is what your body uses to produce red blood cells.  And, red blood cells are what your body uses to carry oxygen to all the cells.  Your body stores this iron in your liver, and uses it as needed, rebuilding stores as needed.  You also need vitamin B12 and folate to produce red blood cells, so ensuring you are getting enough of those is important as well.

One of the reasons that women get low in iron is due to monthly cycles, but also due to having numerous babies who use iron faster than it can be replaced.  During pregnancy, a woman's blood volume expands by 40-50% but that volume increase is only plasma, not red or white blood cells.  Those take time for the body to build up to meet the volume levels.  Often the plasma increases in the first trimester, and then the red and white blood cells catch up in the second trimester (which is often when the women notice symptoms of anemia because their stores have been depleted).  The baby is also taking its share of iron, as he/she is building their own stores of iron for the first 6 months of life until solid foods are added.  Breast milk has no iron itself, so letting babies play in the dirt once they are able to sit is also very helpful in a baby getting its daily doses of iron (if it's warm enough, of course).  There are many good baby foods that are high in iron as well, which I'll list below.

Complications that can arise from low iron are mainly fatigue (not a sleepy tired, but a physical exhaustion), mental confusion/instability, dizziness, lightheadedness, constipation, headaches.  Established anemia (you've had it for a while) can produce weakness, fatigue, coldness of extremities, depression, overall pallor, pale and brittle nails, lips and eyelids, soreness in mouth and cessation of menstruation.  Children can also be affected.

There are two forms of iron to increase levels in our body.  Heme and non-heme.  Basically heme is meat based iron sources, and non-heme is plant sources.  Heme is absorbed easily and quickly and is your best bet for bringing up levels of iron.  Non-heme is not as well absorbed, so is best taken with heme iron for best absorption.  Vitamin C and vitamin B12 also enhance iron absorption; and calcium, vitamin E, zinc and antacids hinder it (compete with it) so keeping this in mind is important as well.  Try to take them at different times of the day.

Sources

-Liver is the best, but other red meat comes next.  Clams and oysters are also great (the little smoked ones in a can have the highest levels)

-Blackstrap molasses

-Dried fruits such as apricots, dates, figs, raisins, prunes (plus they are high in fiber)

-Chlorophyll

-Herbs such as nettles, alfalfa, dandelion, red raspberry are also great.  Make them into an infusion for best results (tea that is steeped a minimum of 4 hours, overnight even)

-Elemental iron supplements (can cause constipation, so add in extra fiber such as apples or psyllium husks if you take this kind)

Lab tests

• Serum iron measures the level of iron in the liquid portion of the blood. 
• TIBC (total iron-binding capacity) measures all of the proteins in the blood that are available to bind with iron, including transferrin. 
• UIBC (unsaturated iron-binding capacity) measures the portion of transferrin that has not yet been saturated. UIBC also reflects transferrin levels. 
• Transferrin saturation is a calculation that reflects the percentage of transferrin that is saturated with iron. 
• Serum ferritin reflects the amount of stored iron in the body.
• Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels measure red blood cell levels

So, there it is.  I've been doing as many of those things as I can handle, and am finally starting to feel "normal" again.  It's taken about a month.  My ferritin levels were 13 when they tested them this fall, and normal levels are 10-250.  My Naturopath said I won't feel good unless they are over 50, and that is my goal.  She also said that I can take in up to 120mg per day without trouble.  My iron/hemoglobin levels have been fine with all the other pregnancies, so I'm guessing my ferritin has just been dropping lower and lower with each baby but this is the first time they've ever checked it.  It was down to 7 last spring at my Naturopathic appt., so I've brought them up a bit since then, but obviously not enough.

Peanut Butter Fudge

This is one of those yummy snacks that is good for either a dessert or a post-exercise snack.  Not that I exercise, but if I did...  I got it from my neighbor Paula.  Our boys just started their wrestling season, so I made some for them after practice.  And of course, Mama needs some too.

Peanut Butter Fudge

2 c. Almond meal (or 2 c. Ground nuts/flour)

1 c. Flax seed meal

1/2 c. Xylitol or equivalent sweetener

3 scoops (Tbsp.) protein powder

1 T. Vanilla

3/4 c. Melted butter

1 c. Peanut butter

Mix all above together (in food processor or by hand) and pat into 8x8 pan.  Chill in fridge.  Cut into 1-2" squares and enjoy.

Topping

4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

1/4 c. Xylitol

1/4 c. Melted butter

Mix all and pour over fudge.  I also make a batch of Skinny Chocolate instead and pour it over the fudge as I usually don't have unsweetened chocolate on hand.

Skinny Chocolate

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 1/2 Tbsp Xylitol or Truvia, powdered fine (in coffee grinder)

Melt together, mix well and pour over fudge.

Somehow the almond flour I was supposed to buy the other day didn't get bought.  It must have gotten left on the bulk bins at the store or fell out of the cart somewhere, so I made it with ground up cashews and hemp seeds and it turned out fine.  So good!

On expecting a new baby

My older sister recently sent me a text saying something to the effect of, "saying you are pro-life is one thing, actually living pro-life is completely another".  She has birthed 11 children and has had some pretty rough challenges along the way.  She went on to say how in the Bible, child bearing is never portrayed as easy or to be taken lightly.  Sometimes, it's just hard.  I have not experienced some of the many other difficult challenges that pregnancy has to offer, but it's definitely not been easy either.

With our first baby, I had what the ultrasound people called an "incompetent cervix", and was scared by them into thinking that my baby could just fall out at any given time and die.  Thankfully my doctor was more reasonable and reassured me, but did advise me of all the things that could happen with such a condition.  Nothing ever came of it, but it did cause me to worry needlessly.  With baby #2 I was in neck pain continually, which meant I never got decent rest.   With baby #3 my adrenal fatigue was at its peak, so my energy was low and non-existent, plus I was still dealing with/trying to figure out what was going on with baby #2.  Baby #4, things were getting better, but I still had bursitis in my hip (and had had it for the past 2 babies as well), so I had hip pain with every step I took and every time I laid on my left side (which all the experts tell you you're supposed to do!). He also dropped down into position 6 weeks early, so I basically couldn't walk more than a few steps at a time for those last 6 weeks.  Baby #5 I was just plain tired all. the. time.  More than your average tiredness.  I did learn a few things with her, and that was to take enough magnesium to combat the morning sickness, and later about Green Vibrance to give my energy a boost.   She was also breech which caused some stress until she got turned.

Now with baby #6, it's low iron that is giving me a challenge and my tiredness has reached an all-time new low level.  I didn't even know that was possible, until here it is.  I'm glad I have been able to figure out what it is so that I can work on bringing it up, but it still is a long haul.  I can't exercise or even go for a walk because the energy just isn't there.  I even get lightheaded in the shower as that is too much exertion.  Just not enough red blood cells present, so sucking it up isn't even an option.  Christmas left me on the couch for 3 days after.  So did Thanksgiving.  I'm learning a new level of taking it easy.  I can slowly feel my levels coming back up, so will get them tested again to see where I'm at, but it's a long haul.  When my physical energy is so low, then my mental and emotional energy are too.  My fears (real and imagined) overwhelm me, my neediness does too (a problem I've never dealt with).  My insufficiencies blatantly stare me in the face and mock me while I lay on the couch and do nothing.  

But, the "nothing" I do is doing something.  It's growing a whole new person.  It's organizing (mentally) my family of 7 and striving to meet their needs.  It's reading many more books to my kids than I ever  imagined I'd have time for.  It's helped me read my Bible more, talk with my husband more and cuddle on the couch with whoever needs one.  It's made me pray more and seek God's strength more when my own is so weak.  It's made me call on others for help as well, which is hard for my pride to do.

For the past week I've been feeling far better than I have this whole pregnancy, so this is also a praise report.  God is faithful at carrying me (us) through the low times, and I know He will give me strength for the challenges yet to come.  I still need to stay home as much as I can, pace myself for each day (I'm experimenting with using a day timer and so far it's working well) and still trying to keep school, church and family priorities in line.  I hope to start exercising a bit now that my energy is starting to come up so that I can get stronger for labor and birth, as a weak wimp trying to deliver a baby is kind of a disaster waiting to happen.  So far it's been 5 months of no exercise.  Ugh!

Because of the baby kicking me, hiccuping, tossing and turning, and the plain old uncomfortableness of pregnancy itself, it's hard to forget about him/her for even more than a minute.  This also leads to continuous thoughts of the future of awaiting their arrival (fearing labor once again), wondering how the family dynamics will change, and also the logistics of a larger family.  I have a hard time seeing above and beyond all these realities to see the poetry and beauty in it all.  I know all of it in the big picture and the whole life scheme of things, I just can't see it for myself very often.  More often than not, the negatives get me down.  My faith just isn't very big these days.  I wish it was, but it just isn't.

Living pro-life just isn't all that easy.  For me anyhow.

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ my rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:  for when I am weak, then am I strong."  2 Cor. 12: 9,10