Honey Bees and 3D Faith

In May of 2010, Jamie first wrote about Shay Kelly and Project 50/50 on her blog Whisper Creek.

Shay was attempting to travel to every state with only her camera, her dog Zu Zu and her truck Bubba.She was able to give the homeless a face and a name with her photography as she collected and distributed food and socks to them as she traveled.

It was, in many ways, a faith journey for Shay, and Jamie felt she was a lovely, living example of what she called 3D faith. 3D faith, Jamie defined, is the act of making a positive difference in the world as a result of one's faith. Instead of being a set of rules and regulations, 3D faith is inspiration to act to better the earth and the those you share it with.

Five years later, Shay is still trying to make a difference.

Shay and Zu Zu

Shay fell in love with an organic farm and beekeeper and now she is part of Bee Chama Honey, in  New Mexico. Shay also has her own skin care product line, Shea by Shay using Bee Chama Honey and other natural ingredients.

To get a good perspective on the importance of their work, keep in mind, without the honey bee, the human population would be in trouble. One-third of our food needs to be pollinated. Honey bees, do most of that work and they are now endangered.

According to a UN report: “The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.” 

So Bee Chama Honey, Shea by Shay and other organic beekeepers are doing a very important job.

Jamie and I had the opportunity to try several of their products and they were, in a word, divine. :)

In addition to the extra-virgin raw and ulfiltered honey (of which they sell 16 varieties), we tested Shay's Sun Spirit SPF 15 Organic Sunscreen, Spread the Love Spritzer, Lemongrass Good Morning Cream, Lavender and Tea Tree Honey Soap, and Carrot/Honey/Citrus Lip Balm.

The honey is considered a superfood because it still has all the natural enzymes and pollen that is processed out of store bought honey. It is also incredibly tasty. We usually add it to our hot teas.

Having an autoimmune disease that has triggered a long list of allergies, I avoid artificial chemicals at all costs. Particularly those I apply to my body. Shay's products are chemical free. As it says on the side of the Spritzer "no chemicals, no weirdness!"

The prices are surprising reasonable. Normally organic products are out of our reach unless we can find them at deeply discounted prices. Now we know just where to go.

In her blog in 2010, Jamie began with a quote from the Dalai Lama that I, as a Buddhist and human, find beautiful:

"I believe an important distinction can be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with faith in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another. Spirituality I take to be concerned with qualities of the human spirit, love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, that bring happiness both to self and others."

I can understand what Jamie meant by living a 3D faith, and I can see that type of faith in Shay, just as she did. Its refreshing to see a faith that considers saving the planet as important as saving souls.   





 

Note to Self: I am Enough

I have a secret. A secret inside a secret, I guess you could say and it is our secrets that keep us sick.

My secret begins with this confession.....I was obese.

One day I walked out of the convenience store. My clothes didn't fit, so my tummy was showing. Two teenage boys looked at me and said "Oh.... my.....God."  Its all they said, but what I heard was "Look at her belly. Look at that butt. She is so fat." I heard nothing but disgust.

I went home and determined that I was going to change.

I started out walking five minutes a day. I huffed and puffed my way through it. Not only was I obese, I was a smoker. I was an insulin-dependent diabetic. I was on cholesterol reducing medication. I needed a cpap at night to sleep. I was depressed. I was miserable.

Five minute walks became ten minute walks, and then fifteen minutes. I finally found the nerve to join Curves. I took the American Diabetes Association class and began their suggested diet. I lost 50 lbs. After those fifty pounds, I was able to get off the insulin.

By this time I was able to walk and work out for 30 minutes. My apartment complex had a treadmill and a recumbent bicycle. In addition to working out at Curves, I worked out on both of those and slowly continued to lose weight. I walked my dog, Abigail, twice a day through the neighborhood.

I  joined T.O.P.S. (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) which is a weight loss group that encourages healthy weight loss. There are weekly weigh-ins. I stopped smoking as well.

I lost a total of 140 lbs and won first place for the most weight loss in Tennessee in my weight loss category. I didn't go to Knoxville to pick up the award because I had another secret.

I was anorexic. 

Anorexia had been a part of my life since I was very young. It wasn't until after my mother died ten years ago that I began to gain weight.

As I began to approach my goal weight in T.O.P.S, I started once again to focus on the number on the scale, not on staying healthy. As my weight diminished, my physician became concerned. She employed the health of a board certified nutritionist that I saw on a weekly basis.

I joined the YMCA and began to exercise, I sought out personal training with Pam Archer.

Pam taught me about strength conditioning and always told me, "Moderation, Haseleah. Moderation."  My nutritionist, Amber Reynolds was saying "Moderation, Haseleah. Moderation." My primary care doctor was also saying "Moderation, Haseleah. Moderation."

It took me two years to listen. I worked out 7 days a week for several hours a day. I restricted my calories to dangerous levels. It wasn't until a reoccurance of my autoimmune disease knocked me to my knees, and put me on medical leave, that I fully understood what everyone was telling me.

Now, I am learning every day what moderation means. I eat a healthy balance of all food groups. I keep a food journal. I watch my fluid intake. I do my best not to over exercise. No longer will you find me in a gym 24 hours a day. You will find me there, but for an hour or two doing sensible workouts.

I am still under the care of my nutritionist and my autoimmune disease is being treated by one of the best immunologists in the country. I take injections each week to boost my immune system. 

I'm living now. Really living. I look healthier because I am healthier. I lost a few of the wrinkles on my face when I started focusing on health rather than numbers on a scale. I feel better than I ever have. I don't weigh anymore. We don't have a scale in the house. I've learned that a person's worth cannot be measure by a scale. I am already worthy. I am enough.

 When the journey seems too long Jamie and I remember this quote: "You must have one successful day before you can have two days, and you must have two successful days before you can have twenty. All you need to think about is today."

I have missed my job at the Greater YMCA of Kingsport. I miss the members, the staff, and all my friends. It is my hope to return to work the first week in June.
Teaching others about healthy living is my dream and the YMCA helps me fulfill that dream.

I am still gaining my strength and I am having more good days than bad. I am encouraged every day by my partner, Jamie, and my daughter, Amber. I'm able to look at pictures of myself for the first time and see myself the way they do.

My journey doesn't end here, but I have taken a different road. A healthier road.

Winston Churchill once said something that stays with me and I find very profound:

"Success isn't final, failure isn't fatal. Its the courage to continue that counts."

I failed. I succeeded. I failed again. Then I got up and tried once more.

You can do the same. You are worthy too. You are enough.

My daughter and I. Mother's Day 2015

 

Baking soda saved my sanity

Jamie here. Haseleah's life partner and hopefully soon, her spouse.

So I have a bit of a testimony. 

I would like to testify-ah to the power-ah of baking soda-ah.

If you understood that, you know it was in the voice of a good Baptist/Pentecostal hell-fire-and-damnation preacher. :) I'm a recovering Free Will Baptist but still appreciate the passion of it all. People listen when the preacher is excited enough to end all the important words with -ah.

Although this isn't going to save your soul, it could save your sanity.

BAKING SODA. Indeed.

So I have a history with poison oak and not a good one. It began as a teenager. I was very much focused on God, being the good Free Will Baptist, until ONE day.....

I was naughty. I went up into the hills with the preachers son and.....kissed. Yep. Kissed a lot. Next morning I was covered in poison oak. I decided it was God's punishment for my indiscretion and took the itching like the martyr I was.

To avoid a similar fate, dear reader, memorize the plants in the picture above, before venturing to the mountains for holy or sinful purposes.

Many times since that time, I have had poison oak, although I haven't been able to connect it to a particular sin.

Unless you call weed eating a sin.

Yes, indeed. Every time I weed eat, the next day I find my legs covered. Normal people would wear pants. I'm not normal. I'm convinced each time that I will overcome the demonic weed and triumph in the name of stubbornness.

Alas, I do not.

Last night I felt like a million bugs were underneath my skin. One Benadryl didn't help. Two Benadryl did nothing. Hydrocortisone cream was a failure. My itchy salvation was not even in Benadryl spray.

By this time Haseleah had fallen asleep. We had watched a British show called "Cranford" which felt like some kind of punishment from God in its own right, but it helped Haseleah sleep better. I was hoping for a temporary coma.

But I digress....back to the power-ah of baking soda-ah.

After Haseleah fell asleep, I recalled the use of baking soda for itching and decided to give it a try.

I put the soda in a bowl and added warm water. If the mixture was too runny, I added more baking soda until it was a thick paste. Once ready, I applied it to both my legs. INSTANT RELIEF-AH.

I kid you not. It was better than two Benadryl tablets, hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl spray combined. Within minutes, I was able to fall asleep. If only I had done it before turning on "Cranford", I could have slept through it.

So I hope you can learn from my itchy suffering.

Baking Soda-ah saved my sanity-ah.

Amen.