a new adventure

I had a lovely visit to my dietitian the other day. She's incredibly lovely, very upbeat and positive. I'm so grateful to the Lord for her; she listens carefully, takes detailed notes, and really involves you in the whole process. She's also down to earth, and very realistic. Her summery at my latest appointment was that I'm doing well with the dairy-free thing, but if I'm still feeling unwell, then I should try cutting out gluten.

What, I hear you say, as well as dairy? Are you sure that's really necessary?


yup, I thought that too.

She then listed all the stuff that contained it, said she'd send me some literature in the post about it, and that I'm to give it a go for three weeks; if it doesn't work, then that's just fine, but I should try. She also told me I'd lost quite a lot of weight, that I mustn't lose anymore, and that I should therefore snack more. The few minutes I spent with her contained a lot of information, and it has taken a while to process it.



I'm trying to think of it as a new adventure, but I confess I've felt a bit overwhelmed for the last few days. I've only just got to grips with avoiding dairy, which is awkward, but avoiding both is going to be very hard. I think I'm secretly hoping it makes no difference. Or lots of difference. If I could regain the energy I had once upon a time, it would be worthwhile. And I'll need it, because eating gluten free means either bankrupting yourself or cooking mainly from scratch. But I do love cooking. The next three weeks will be a challenge, but God is biggest to help me handle it, and he's set the challenge that I might look to him for his help.


I wonder if manna was gluten and dairy free?

"Come home son, it's supper time; come home."

The immortal words of Johnny Cash. In 'Supper time' he's reminisces about his mother calling him in for dinner from the back steps of their family home. He also comments that it reminds him that one day, another will call to him from above "Come home son, it's supper time; come home."

Every time we eat it's a great opportunity to look back to that last meal Jesus had with his disciples, and to look forward to the great wedding feast when he returns. Paul reminds us: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." An echo of God's mercy and love, on average three times a day! Isn't that fantastic?

God knows us so well, and has found a way to gently remind of His love for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Home making

Okay, so those of you who know me are thinking, "House work? Clare? Are you sure?? Isn't her bedroom usually littered with piles of clean and dirty laundry, washing up and paper work?"

And you'd be right.

I've spent some time recently thinking about the topic of 'home making'. One dictionary defines it as "[The management of] a household." It sounds kind of dull, doesn't it? I thought so until fairly recently, when I realised that looking after a home can be a great way of serving the Lord, learning new skills and having a little fun along the way.

As a single person, one of the reasons I struggle with keeping things spick and span is that I have only myself to please. Or at least, I thought I did. Actually, that's a rather selfish outlook, considering I share a house with four others and have friends over fairly regularly. Without a living room, they're forced to sit (and sleep!) in my room. I do move the dirty underwear for them, you understand.

"¹⁴ For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you." Deuteronomy 23:14

- Does that include dirty laundry? -eek! God isn't going to end his relationship with me because of the state of my house, but it is a way I can live to please him. Like a child and a parent, tidying my room won't make Him love me any more, but I think it would please Him.

I'm going post in chunks bits that I've been picking up that you might find helpful or just enjoy reading about. For me, it will be a way to spur me on. Procrastination is just poor discipline. Lack of discipline is just idleness by another name.

I leave you with this: If there was one thing you could change about the way you run your home, what would it be? This includes everything from finances, menu planning/shopping to laundry. Let me know.