Unworthy Sabotage

Well, It's been a while, but not because I didn't want to, and not because I was hiding behind a mountain of shame. I've been busy. I am very grateful for my wonderful new jobs. This is even more than I wanted, but I love them all. The only problem is that having to go to bed because I have work in the morning puts a big damper on my writing time. Tonight I am making an exception. Surely I will get my routine down soon to make time for my very favorite hobby.

I figured out why I was in that food funk as I referred to in my last post. Things were/are going VERY well. So well, in fact, that deep down I feel I don't deserve it. I was actually eating even though I didn't want it as a form of sabotaging myself. Is that sick-weird or what?!?!?! After I unloaded a bit of ponder in my last post, I was able to hear clearly enough to diagnose the problem. Thank God there is a solution. The truth is that I AM enough, and none of us deserve anything, but we also deserve everything because we get what Jesus deserves. That can be a hard bite to swallow when we know ourselves, but it IS the truth. I just have to keep regaining my sight of who I am. I choose to believe the truth. Because of that I have not been eating like a crazy person this week.

Nutritional Nugget: More about critters....Botulism --- YIKES

I always have to laugh because I remember my very first lecture on this little guy. My professor said, "Little old farmer wives would open a can of her home-canned green beans. Taste it to see if it is good. Then be dead before supper."

Clostridium botulinum, (I like to say that name,) is an anaerobic bacteria. That means it thrives in areas with no air like in canned foods. As best as I can remember, it is tasteless and odorless. It is possible to kill with heat, but it needs to be pressurized heat like in a pressure cooker where the temperature gets to about 250 degrees. The best way to avoid botulism is to practice safe techniques. Dented cans should be avoided, especially if the can is bulging or dented on the seam. If you roll a can on the counter and there is no bump, that is, it rolls smoothly, then the can is probably okay, but I personally would not use it. Obviously, if you drop a can and it dents just before you are going to cook it, it is okay to use. But I always, always, always "fill-up" the cans twice at the grocery store before purchasing. Once when I put it in the cart, then again at check out.

Another classic way to prevent botulism is to avoid giving infants honey. No honey until age two. Age three in some circles.