Food

Food for Life — The Rejected Health Message

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At last, this very unusual winter is over. At least we hope so! It is May once again, and the birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, and we are still alive, and have the great God to thank for all these varied and wonderful blessings. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Proverbs 17:22. Gratitude, rejoicing, benevolence, trusting in God’s love and care—these are health’s greatest safeguard. “Rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.” Deuteronomy 26:11.

“God gave to Israel instruction in all the principles essential to physical as well as to moral health, and it was concerning these principles no less than concerning those of the moral law that He commanded them: ‘These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.’ Deuteronomy 6:6–9.

” ‘And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, . . . The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.’ Verses 20–24.

“Had the Israelites obeyed the instruction they received, and profited by their advantages, they would have been the world’s object lesson of health and prosperity. If as a people they had lived according to God’s plan, they would have been preserved from the diseases that afflicted other nations. Above any other people they would have possessed physical strength and vigor of intellect. They would have been the mightiest nation on the earth.” The Ministry of Healing, 283.

Please read Deuteronomy and see the blessing affixed to God’s people had they remained true to His commandments, both in the spiritual world, and the physical world. What a standard for us as a people!

In 1863, God ordained that Ellen White, prophet to us as the remnant church, should hear His health message. The message of health reform swept our ranks, until in March 29, 1908, Mrs. White sent this testimony and pledge to the General Conference. The pledge read: “I solemnly promise, before God, to abstain from tobacco, spiritous liquors, snuff, tea, coffee, fleshmeats, a large amount of salt, and animal fat of all kinds, baking power, soda or saleratus (sodium bicarbonate) in any form, and cheese, and from all exciting articles of good, and to abstain from eating between meals, and to do all I can to induce others to do likewise.”

This testimony on health reform was sent directly to Elder Daniels, but it was withheld and not circulated because he said it would “split the church.” He evidently did not know that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” God’s true church. God’s true church is composed of “faithful souls” (Acts of the Apostles, 11), and those who are in a Laodicean condition are not “faithful souls.” Later when Elder Daniels wanted to see Sister White, she refused to see him saying, “I have nothing more for him.”

“God gave the light on health reform, and those who rejected it, rejected God.” Testimony, Series B, no. 6, 31. What a serious statement, which side do you stand on?

Sweet Potato Bread

1 1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

2 T. nut cream

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 T. warm water

1 T. yeast

1/2 t. sea salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water; add salt, nut cream, potatoes, and enough flour to make a smooth sponge; cover, and let rise. When light add the remainder of the flour or necessary amount to make a smooth, elastic dough. Cover and let rise till light. Form into loaves and when doubled in size, bake at 350° for 30–40 minutes. Rolls require about 20 minutes.

 

Food For Life — Impurities

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“Scrupulous cleanliness is essential to both physical and mental health.” Impurities are constantly thrown off from the body through the skin. Its millions of pores are quickly clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing, and the impurities which should pass off through the skin become an additional burden to the other eliminating organs.

“Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid bath every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing the liability to take cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies against cold, because it improves the circulation; the blood is brought to the surface, and a more easy and regular flow is obtained. The mind and the body are alike invigorated. The muscles become more flexible, the intellect is made brighter. The bath is a soother of the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels, the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to each, and it promotes digestion.

“It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The garments worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through the pores; if they are not frequently changed and washed, the impurities will be reabsorbed.

“Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease. Death-producing germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying refuse, in dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables or heaps of fallen leaves should be allowed to remain near the house to decay and poison the air. Nothing unclean or decaying should be tolerated within the home. In towns or cities regarded perfectly healthful, many an epidemic of fever has been traced to decaying matter about the dwelling of some careless householder.

“Perfect cleanliness, plenty of sunlight, careful attention to sanitation in every detail of the home life, are essential to freedom from disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the inmates of the home.

“In the teaching that God gave to Israel, the preservation of health received careful attention. The people who had come from slavery with the uncleanly and unhealthful habits which it engenders, were subjected to the strictest training in the wilderness before entering Canaan. Health principles were taught and sanitary laws enforced.

“Not only in their religious service, but in all the affairs of daily life was observed the distinction between clean and unclean. All who came in contact with contagious or contaminating diseases were isolated from the encampment, and they were not permitted to return without thorough cleansing of both the person and the clothing . . . No impurity was to be tolerated in the presence of God.” Ministry of Healing, 274–279.

Give this some serious thought as you enter the house of God each week to worship your Great Creator, and make sure that you meet His requirements physically as well as spiritually!

Nut, Lentil and Rice Loaf

 

1–2 T. water

2 cups steamed brown rice

1 cup mashed lentils

2 T. chopped onions

1 T. whole-wheat flour, browned

3 T. cashew milk

1/2 t. sage

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Salt to taste

 

Sauté onion and sage in a small pan with distilled water. Mix browned flour and milk, stirring until smooth. Add this to the onion. Add the remaining ingredients. Pack into a loaf pan and bake at 350° for 20–30 minutes.

 

Food For Life — Healthy Blood

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“The knowledge that man is to be a temple for God, a habitation for the revealing of His glory, should be the highest incentive to the care and development of our physical powers. Fearfully and wonderfully has the Creator wrought in the human frame, and He bids us make it our study, understand its needs, and act our part in preserving it from harm and defilement.

“In order to have good health, we must have good blood; for the blood is the current of life. It repairs waste and nourishes the body. When supplied with the proper food elements and when cleansed and vitalized by contact with pure air, it carries life and vigor to every part of the system. The more perfect the circulation, the better will this work be accomplished.

“At every pulsation of the heart the blood should make its way quickly and easily to all parts of the body. Its circulation should not be hindered by tight clothing or bands, or by insufficient clothing of the extremities. Whatever hinders the circulation forces the blood back to the vital organs, producing congestion. Headache, cough, palpitation of the heart, or indigestion is often the result.

“In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full, deep inspirations of pure air, which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the blood. They impart to it a bright color and send it, a life-giving current, to every part of the body. A good respiration soothes the nerves; it stimulates the appetite and renders digestion more perfect; and it induces sound, refreshing sleep.

“The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible. Their capacity is developed by free action; it diminishes if they are cramped and compressed. Hence the ill effects of the practice so common, especially in sedentary pursuits, of stooping at one’s work. In this position it is impossible to breathe deeply. Superficial breathing soon becomes a habit, and the lungs lose their power to expand . . .

“The lungs are constantly throwing off impurities, and they need to be constantly supplied with fresh air. Impure air does not afford the necessary supply of oxygen, and the blood passes to the brain and other organs without being vitalized.

Hence the necessity of thorough ventilation. To live in close, ill-ventilated rooms, where the air is dead and vitiated, weakens the entire system. It becomes peculiarly sensitive to the influence of cold, and a slight exposure induces disease . . .

“In the construction of buildings, whether for public purposes or as dwellings, care should be taken to provide for good ventilation and plenty of sunlight . . .

“So far as possible, all buildings intended for human habitation should be placed on high, well-drained ground. This will ensure a dry site and prevent the danger of disease from dampness and miasma. This matter is often too lightly regarded. Continuous ill-health, serious diseases, and many deaths result from the dampness and malaria of low-lying, ill-drained situations.” The Ministry of Healing, 271–274.

Isn’t God wonderful to have loved us, unworthy mortals though we be, and entrusted us with these Divine Love Letters to help us on our journey to the heavenly Canaan?

Oatmeal Pecan Crisps

 

2 c. oat flour

1 c. millet flour

1 c. chopped pecans

1/2 t. sea salt

1/2 c. Fruit Source

Nut milk for proper consistency

 

Spread out on cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 30–35 minutes. If you have no access to the Fruit Source, you may substitute date sugar.

 

Recipe – Quinoa Porridge with Warm Blueberry Sauce

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Ingredients

½ cup quinoa

½ cup water

½ cup dairy free milk

1 star anise or 1/2 tsp. anise seeds, crushed

3 green cardamom pods or 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

1 pinch salt

2 Tbsp. almonds, chopped

2 Tbsp. dried apricots, sliced

2/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

coconut flakes for garnish

Process

Rinse quinoa. Bring quinoa, water, and milk to a boil.

Add anise, cardamom, salt, almonds and apricots.

Simmer 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Remove pods and star (if using).

In separate pan, simmer blueberries until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Spoon quinoa into bowl or glass.

Pour on milk and blueberry sauce.

Sprinkle with more almonds and apricots; add coconut flakes.

Food – July — National Blueberry Month

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July is National Blueberry Month. But by buying, picking, freezing, drying, every month can be Blueberry Month! These juicy, highly nutritious, delicious treasures can be enjoyed all through the year.

Members of the blueberry family are found throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, and Southern Canada, as well as England where are grown a distant cousin called bilberries. More than 40 varieties of blueberries are native to North America.

Among the first to appreciate these succulent fruits were Native Americans who consumed them fresh, cooked and dried, adding berries to winter soups and stews. In addition, they used them in dyes, food preservatives and medicines, made a tea from the leaves or bark to ease labor pains, as a tonic after miscarriage, or blueberry syrup as a remedy for coughs and diarrhea. They gave blueberries to the new settlers, enabling them to make it through their first winter. Indians held the blueberry sacred because of its five-pointed star-shaped crown. They believed blueberries were a gift of God to feed their starving children.

“Blueberries provide us with two unique anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients belonging to the group of compounds known as stilbenoids. These two members of the stilbenoid family are resveratrol and pterostilbene. … What has been most exciting in recent studies has been the discovery of better bioavailability of pterostilbene than resveratrol in some foods, including blueberries. One study has shown that once absorbed pterostilbene spends as much as five times longer in our body before being metabolized into other compounds. This longer-lasting nature of pterostilbene may give it more time to provide us with its many health benefits. And since few commonly eaten foods are as rich in pterostilbene as blueberries, we may be looking at a fruit that is even more unique than previously believed in terms of its ability to support our health.” www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8

 

Quinoa Porridge with Warm Blueberry Sauce

Ingredients

½ cup quinoa

½ cup water

½ cup dairy free milk

1 star anise or 1/2 tsp. anise seeds, crushed

3 green cardamom pods or 1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

1 pinch salt

2 Tbsp. almonds, chopped

2 Tbsp. dried apricots, sliced

2/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

coconut flakes for garnish

 

Process

Rinse quinoa. Bring quinoa, water, and milk to a boil.

Add anise, cardamom, salt, almonds and apricots.

Simmer 20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Remove pods and star (if using).

In separate pan, simmer blueberries until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Spoon quinoa into bowl or glass.

Pour on milk and blueberry sauce.

Sprinkle with more almonds and apricots; add coconut flakes.

 

Food For Life — Designer Surroundings

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The Creator chose for our first parents the surroundings best adapted for their health and happiness. He did not place them in a palace or surround them with the artificial adornments and luxuries that so many today are struggling to obtain. He placed them in close touch with nature and in close communion with the holy ones of heaven.

“In the garden that God prepared as a home for His children, graceful shrubs and delicate flowers greeted the eye at every turn. There were trees of every variety, many of them laden with fragrant and delicious fruit. On their branches the birds caroled their songs of praise. Under their shadow the creatures of the earth sported together without a fear.

“Adam and Eve, in their untainted purity, delighted in the sights and sounds of Eden. God appointed them their work in the garden, “to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15. Each day’s labor brought them health and gladness, and the happy pair greeted with joy the visits of their Creator, as in the cool of the day He walked and talked with them. Daily God taught them His lessons.

“The plan of life which God appointed for our first parents has lessons for us. Although sin has cast its shadow over the earth, God desires His children to find delight in the works of His hands. The more closely His plan of life is followed, the more wonderfully will He work to restore suffering humanity. The sick need to be brought into close touch with nature. An outdoor life amid natural surroundings would work wonders for many a helpless and almost hopeless invalid.

“The noise and excitement and confusion of the cities, their constrained and artificial life, are most wearisome and exhausting to the sick. The air, laden with smoke and dust, with poisonous gases, and with germs of disease, is a peril to life. The sick, for the most part shut within four walls, come almost to feel as if they were prisoners in their rooms. They look out on houses and pavements and hurrying crowds, with perhaps not even a glimpse of blue sky or sunshine, of grass or flower or tree. Shut up in this way, they brood over their suffering and sorrow, and become a prey to their own sad thoughts.

“And for those who are weak in moral power, the cities abound in dangers. In them, patients who have unnatural appetites to overcome are continually exposed to temptation. They need to be placed amid new surroundings where the current of their thoughts will be changed; they need to be placed under influences wholly different from those that have wrecked their lives. Let them for a season be removed from those influences that lead away from God, into a purer atmosphere . . .

“The pure air, the glad sunshine, the flowers and trees, the orchards and vineyards, and outdoor exercise amid these surroundings, are health-giving, life-giving . . .

“It has a wonderful power to heal diseases caused by the excitements and excesses of fashionable life, a life that weakens and destroys the powers of body, mind, and soul . . .

“Out of doors, amid the things that God has made, breathing the fresh, health-giving air, the sick can best be told of the new life in Christ. Here God’s word can be read. Here the light of Christ’s righteousness can shine into hearts darkened by sin.” Ministry of Healing, 261–266.

Basic Nut Milks

1 c. nuts (almonds or cashews)

4 c. distilled water

1/2 t. sea salt

1/2 c. date pieces

1 t. vanilla

Whiz in blender until creamy and smooth. For thicker milk, increase the nuts.

 

Food for Life — Exercise and it’s Benefits

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Happy New Year! How was 1997 for you? Were you proud of everything you accomplished, or are there some dark pages in your past? Have you decided to observe all the health habits that God has so graciously given you, or are you “tempting God” to let you go on as you have in the past, trusting that He will overlook your small mistakes and rebellious hearts and still grant you Eternal Life? Oh how far we do go when we tempt God. It is a very dangerous pathway to be following, and one that eventually will prove ruin to your soul if you do not confess your wrong habits and reform. So let us endeavor this new year to give God a year of perfect obedience to all His laws, that we may reap the many benefits of this program in this life and then be found faultless before His throne in the hereafter.

Exercise and its benefits are in so many of the modern health journals. I am reminded of the statement in the Spirit of Prophecy, “There is no exercise that will prove as beneficial to every part of the body as walking.” Healthful Living, 130. Action is the law of our being. Every organ of the body has its appointed work, upon the performance of which its development and strength depend. The normal action of all the organs gives strength and vigor, while the disuse leads toward decay and death. Bind up an arm, even for a few weeks, then free it from its bands, and you will see that it is weaker than the one you have been using moderately during the same time. Inactivity produces the same effect upon the whole muscular system.

“Inactivity is a fruitful cause of disease. Exercise quickens and equalizes the circulation of the blood, but in idleness the blood does not circulate freely, and the changes in it, so necessary to life and health, do not take place. The skin, too, becomes inactive. Impurities are not expelled as they would be if the circulation had been quickened by vigorous exercise, the skin kept in a healthy condition, and the lungs fed with plenty of pure, fresh air. This state of the system throws a double burden on the excretory organs, and disease is the result . . .

“Exercise aids the dyspeptic by giving the digestive organs a healthy tone. To engage in severe study or violent physical exercise immediately after eating, hinders the work of digestion; but a short walk after a meal, with the head erect and the shoulders back, is a great benefit.

“Notwithstanding all that is said and written concerning its importance, there are still many who neglect physical exercise. Some grow corpulent because the system is clogged; others become thin and feeble because their vital powers are exhausted in disposing of an excess of food. The liver is burdened in its effort to cleanse the blood of impurities, and illness is the result.

“Those whose habits are sedentary should, when the weather will permit, exercise in the open air every day, summer or winter. Walking is preferable to riding or driving, for it brings more of the muscles into exercise. The lungs are forced into healthy action, since it is impossible to walk briskly without inflating them.

“Such exercise would in many cases be better for the health than medicine” Ministry of Healing, 238.

This New Year let us make a new resolution—EXERCISE.

 

Corn Pones

1/2 c. date sugar

1/2 t. sea salt

1 c. flour

1 T. soy flour

3 c. corn meal

2 T. nut butter

1 1/3 c. nut or soy milk

Mix, beat well, and drop batter from spoon into flat cakes. Bake in hot oven at 400° for about 25 minutes. This recipe may also be used as the crust for Pizza, just reduce the date sugar and press into a Pizza pan. Do not pre-bake.

 

Food for Life — Christmas Season

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“’Christmas is coming,’ is the note that is sounded throughout our world from east to west and from north to south. With youth, those of mature age, and even the aged, it is a period of general rejoicing, of great gladness. But what is Christmas, that it should demand so much attention?

“The twenty-fifth of December is supposed to be the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, and its observance has become customary and popular. But yet there is no certainty that we are keeping the veritable day of our Saviour’s birth. History gives us no certain assurance of this. The Bible does not give us the precise time. Had the Lord deemed this knowledge essential to our salvation, He would have spoken through His prophets and apostles, that we might know all about the matter. But the silence of the Scriptures upon this point evidences to us that it is hidden from us for the wisest purposes.

“In His wisdom the Lord . . . concealed the precise day of Christ’s birth, that the day should not receive the honor that should be given to Christ as the Redeemer of the world—one to be received, to be trusted, to be relied on as He who could save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. The soul’s adoration should be given to Jesus as the Son of the infinite God.

“The youth should be treated very carefully. They should not be left on Christmas to find their own amusement in vanity and pleasure seeking, in amusements which will be detrimental to their spirituality. Parents can control this matter by turning the minds and the offerings of their children to God and His cause and the salvation of souls.

“Their desire to make gifts may be turned into pure and holy channels and made to result in good to our fellow men by supplying the treasury in the great, grand work for which Christ came into our world. Self-denial and self-sacrifice marked His course of action. Let it mark ours who profess to love Jesus because in Him is centered our hope of eternal life . . .

“The (Christmas) season is fast approaching with its interchange of gifts, and old and young are intently studying what they can bestow upon their friends as a token of affectionate remembrance. It is pleasant to receive a gift, however small, from those we love. It is an assurance that we are not forgotten, and seems to bind us to them a little closer.

“It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver. I would recommend such books as will be an aid in understanding the word of God or that will increase our love for its precepts. Provide something to be read during these long winter evenings.

“Brethren and sisters, while you are devising gifts for one another, I would remind you of our heavenly Friend, lest you should be unmindful of His claims. Will He not be pleased if we show that we have not forgotten Him? Jesus, the Prince of life, gave all to bring salvation within our reach. . . . He suffered even unto death, that He might give us eternal life.

“It is through Christ that we receive every blessing. . . . Shall not our heavenly Benefactor share in the tokens of our gratitude and love? Come, brethren and sisters, come with your children, even the babes in your arms, and bring your offerings to God according to your ability. Make melody to Him in your hearts, and let His praise be upon your lips.” The Adventist Home, 477–479.

Sunflower-Date Balls

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup date rolls or pieces

1/4cup Fruit Source syrup

In blender whiz seeds to a fine flour and pour into mixing bowl. Dice dates fine and mix with seed flour. Now add Fruit Source syrup and mix until well blended. Roll into 1″ balls—may coat with finely chopped nuts, your choice, and refrigerate.

 

Food For Life — Thanksgiving

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Our Thanksgiving is approaching. Will it be, as it has been in many instances, a thanksgiving to ourselves? Or will it be a thanksgiving to God? Our Thanksgivings may be made seasons of great profit to our own souls as well as to others if we improve this opportunity to remember the poor among us . . .

“There are a hundred ways that can be devised to help the poor in so delicate a manner as to make them feel that they are doing us a favor by receiving our gifts and sympathy. We are to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The attentions of our brethren are most liberal to those whom they wish to honor, and whose respect they desire, but who do not need their help at all. Custom and fashion say, Give to those who will give to you; but this is not the Bible rule of giving. The word of God declares against this way of gratifying self in thus bestowing our gifts, and says, ‘He that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.’

“Now a season is coming when we shall have our principles tested. Let us begin to think what we can do for God’s needy ones. We can make them through ourselves the recipients of God’s blessings. Think what widow, what orphan, what poor family you can relieve, not in a way to make a great parade about the matter, but be as a channel through which the Lord’s substance shall flow as a blessing to His poor . . .

“But this does not embrace all your duty. Make an offering to your best Friend; acknowledge His bounties; show your gratitude for His favors; bring a thank offering to God. . . . Brethren and sisters, eat a plain dinner on Thanksgiving Day, and with the money you would spend in extras with which to indulge the appetite, make a thank offering to God.

“Let not any more Thanksgiving days be observed to please and gratify the appetite and glorify self. We have reason for coming into the courts of the Lord with offerings of gratitude that He has preserved our lives another year . . . If a feast is to be made, let it be for those who are in need.

“I think we have something to be thankful for. We ought to be glad and rejoice in God, for He has given us many mercies . . . We want this Thanksgiving to be all that it implies. Do not let it be perverted, mingled with dross; but let it be what its name implies—giving thanks. Let our voices ascend in praise.” Adventist Home, 474, 475.

I, also, would like to give my testimony of thanksgiving to God for His unfathomable, unmeasurable gift of paternal love, in sending His only begotten Son into this ignominious world of shame and heartache, crime and death, to pay the ransom for me. And thank you Jesus, for being willing to come and take all the cruelty and pain that You bore for me, and for shedding Your life blood on Calvary for my sins. Oh God, please, after such a great sacrifice, don’t let me fail to accept the eternal life that was purchased at such an infinite cost by You and Your Son!

 

Holiday Nut Roll

1 c. walnuts, ground

1 c. almonds, ground

1 c. dates, ground

1 c. fine macaroon coconut

3 T. Carob powder

Mix the above together and set aside in a bowl. Put the following in a sauce pan:

1/2 c. orange juice

1/2 c. date sugar

2 T. Tapioca (soak for 1/2 hour in hot water)

Cook till clear and then add 1 teaspoon vanilla and a dash of salt. Let cool and then pour over nut mixture and knead well. Make into long rolls and then roll each in more ground nuts. Refrigerate to chill. When chilled, cut in slices. Delicious!

 

Food For Life — October 1997

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October—what does this month of the year make you think of? The hastening of our Lord’s return? Surely this is a most thought-provoking time of the year. The time when we need to look deep into our innermost souls to see if these thoughts brings to our hearts thoughts of terror or peace! Are we ready to meet our Lord when He comes or are we not?

“It is not wise to look to ourselves and study our emotions. If we do this, the enemy will present difficulties and temptations that weaken faith and destroy courage. Closely to study our emotions and give way to our feelings is to entertain doubt and entangle ourselves in perplexity. We are to look away from self to Jesus.

“When temptations assail you, when care, perplexity, and darkness seem to surround your soul, look to the place where you last saw the light. Rest in Christ’s love and under His protecting care. When sin struggles for the mastery in the heart, when guilt oppresses the soul and burdens the conscience, when unbelief clouds the mind, remember that Christ’s grace is sufficient to subdue sin and banish the darkness. Entering into communion with the Saviour, we enter the region of peace . . .

“Nothing tends more to promote health of body and of soul than does a spirit of gratitude and praise. It is a positive duty to resist melancholy, discontented thoughts and feelings—as much a duty as it is to pray. If we are heaven-bound, how can we go as a band of mourners, groaning and complaining all along the way to our Father’s house?

“Those professed Christians who are constantly complaining, and who seem to think cheerfulness and happiness a sin, have not genuine religion. Those who take a mournful pleasure in all that is melancholy in the natural world, who choose to look upon dead leaves rather than to gather the beautiful living flowers, who see no beauty in grand mountain heights and in valleys clothed with living green, who close their senses to the joyful voice which speaks to them in nature, and which is sweet and musical to the listening ear—these are not in Christ. They are gathering to themselves gloom and darkness, when they might have brightness, even the Sun of Righteousness arising in their hearts with healing in His beams.

“Often your mind may be clouded because of pain. Then do not try to think. You know that Jesus loves you. He understands your weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms.

“It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance. While words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow words. If we would give more expression to our faith, rejoice more in the blessings that we know we have,—the great mercy and love of God,—we should have more faith and greater joy. No tongue can express, no finite mind can conceive, the blessing that results from appreciating the goodness and love of God. Even on earth we may have joy as a wellspring, never failing, because fed by the streams that flow from the throne of God.

“Then let us educate our hearts and lips to speak the praise of God for His matchless love. Let us educate our souls to be hopeful and to abide in the light shining from the cross of Calvary. Never should we forget that we are children of the heavenly King, sons and daughters of the Lord of hosts. It is our privilege to maintain a calm repose in God.” Ministry of Healing, 249–253.

Fruit Leather

1 cup strawberries (frozen or fresh)

1 cup crushed pineapple (in its own juice)

1 cup diced bananas

2 Tbsps. Lemon juice

1 cup date pieces

Place above ingredients in blender and liquefy. Place on 2 trays with Saran Wrap underneath in your food dehydrator or cookies sheets in the oven for 8–10 hours, until leather pulls away from the Saran Wrap. Set the dehydrator at 125° or your oven on the lowest setting. Have the oven door open a crack for air circulation.