GMO's And Other (Somewhat) Unrelated Topics

Ok. You guys are really lucky. I'm working on another post, and its not even December. Actually,  I have a lot of thoughts here. Hopefully it will all make sense, because they are all rather unrelated to eachother. So, here goes.

Most of you know I'm a little bit of a weirdo when it comes to food. Call me a hippie. I blame it on my own personal health issues, and those of my sweet, hyperactive Sarah. If I am not extra careful, it makes me physically ill. So, I eat mostly vegetarian, preferably vegan... although I won't refuse a nice hunk of flesh every now and then. And seriously, who doesn't like cheese? So, maybe I don't do so well with the vegan thing. But I try really hard, because thats when I feel my best. And Sarah... When we finally took her to the doctor to get an official ADHD diagnoses we also considered getting her tested for tourettes. She had some pretty strange ticks. Eyes blinking, noise making, arms and legs twitching. If I'm not careful she gets ticks again, and they last awhile. So, we try to keep her as dairy free as possible, though I can admit that I also fail at keeping her away from that stuff. But additives, preservatives, artificial everything has been eliminated from our every day. Even when I bake I avoid all that crap. Exept for I also have a penchant for documentaries, and I'm working on one about GMO's... (Just so you know, a GMO is a Genetically Modified Organism... a living thing that has been altered from the very building block of its life to do something it could never do on its own. Goats that lactate spider silk protein... corn to produce a type of pesticide when eaten by a bug...)

Yeah. I'm going there. But only for a minute, and not to lecture you. Because I will be the first to admit that we've got a bunch of genetically altered food in our fridge. Remember the vegetarian thing? Yeah. A lot of fruits and veggies have been altered in a lab. The only way one can be guaranteed to have a completely GMO free product is to buy organic. I have heard many people tell me that its not more expensive to buy organic... but I know first hand that it is. So, when I buy organic food it has to be cheaper, if not the same as the "regular" stuff I get. Which rarely happens. And I've made peace with myself for that. Plus I have some opinions about organically grown stuff too... this isn't really a food blog. I just want ya'll to know what I've been up to, and in this case, GMO, organic, non-organic, non-GMO... I'm still learning. The point I'm trying to make is that these laboratories that are creating these seeds  are becoming a threat to me. They scare me. Why? Because in the process of attempting to make a "more sustainable future" (I don't know... the verdict is still out on that one...) they are taking away my choice. If its not an organic food, then I can't be guaranteed that the product I'm buying is not altered. And you know what else? Every State is the U.S. that has tried to create policies requiring companies to label a GMO has been threatened with a law suit. Thats right. And it scares me, because it seems to me that its less about making a better future, and more about making money... gambling with my health, and not allowing me to make the best, most informed decision possible. I view these companies as oppressors, making my life more difficult. And, I am currently reading through Isaiah. Its a heavy book. Yeah. I've been busy. I've been working on this book for about 2 months, and have only reached Chapter 9... But this chapter is one of my favorites! Isaiah, written in the 700's B.C. has predicted the birth of Christ! Which some scholars THINK happened around 6-4 B.C. You do the math. It was predicted a really long time before it even happened.

Ok. My brain is kind of twisty. All of this stuff is connected in my head. I had a great convo with Peter about it on Saturday. It made sense to me, out loud. On paper? You'll have to let me know. So, Isaiah is talking to Jerusalem, because they have been involved in some pretty disobedient things. They are corrupt, and are coming upon judgement from God. Isaiah is just the messenger telling them what God says.But here's some good news, even just in Chapter 1. God says "I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. I will restore your judges as in the days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. AFTERWARD you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. (1:25-26) Even after the destruction God will make them better. Jerusalem was also accused of these things, according to Chapter 5: Taking advantage of others, drunkenness, disregarding the consequences of sin, confusing moral standards, Pride, and Injustice. Sound like anyone you know? Hello America. And even though I know this is everywhere... in government, and in things even as small as our everyday lives... how small businesses are run and how people make their own personal choices, I can't help  but draw a direct connection to the food I am eating with these sinful actions. We, as Americans, are making it okay for these companies to pretend to be God, and destroy the very things we were commissioned with protecting at the beginning of time. When I go to the store, I choose to be alright with GMO's, because I feel helpless to stop it. Sitting on my couch, watching a movie highlighting the "evils" of this practice, and near tears because "I can't do anything about it."

But in the middle of all of my feelings I read this, Isaiah 9:4... For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have SHATTERED the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Verse  6, just in time for Christmas: To us a child is born... he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be NO END! Read chapter 9. I paraphrased and picked... read it all. Whatever has got you thinking, struggling, crying... feeling helpless and hopeless, the answer is Jesus. Maybe right now we are in the middle of our own sin, our flesh warring against our spirit... and worried about the choices more powerful people are making... but just like so, so long ago... they were waiting for Jesus, now we are too! And there is hope.

Which brings me to my next thought. Haiti. Sometimes its funny how God works. This documentary I am watching (Going on 4 days now. It takes me awhile to finish a movie. Blame it on a short attention span. I can do 20 minute increments.) lists a lot of the countries that have refused GMO seeds and food products. Remember when Haiti went through all those devastating natural disasters? A GMO seed lab sent a bunch of seeds to them, so that they could rebuild. You know what the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere did? They burned the seeds. Those that did plant them ended up ripping them out of the ground, because they looked sickly and "unnatural." And do you know what else? You can't use seeds from a GMO plant the following year. You have to buy them all over again. Helpful. That was a little random. I'm still stuck on lab created food. Moving on, April... you made your point with that. I think I just wanted you to know how it was connected in my head. The funny thing about how God works is that not too long ago, guess what I decided? Its going to be legendary... Seriously. I'M GOING TO HAITI!!! In March, for a week! Hey, people. I'm terrified. I mean, scared you-know-what-less. But my church is organizing a trip, and even though my prayer was "You probably won't let me, God... but I am willing to go." He is letting me. Even though I made excuses, like, "I can help sponsor someone else to go, because I have my things here to take care of..." He is sending me. I am selfish and broken in so many ways, but he seems to think he can use me. Along with 9 other broken, imperfect people. Except here's the thing. I need some money. Oh... yeah. I'm also pretty shameless when it comes to this sort of thing. He is letting me be a part of SOMETHING. I don't know what. Maybe I won't change somebody else's life in a week. I can't help but think that its impossible for me to have an impact in such a short amount of time... maybe its for me... maybe God is going to change me. And you know what? He is letting you too! If you can send me money... please, please do. I am going to set up an online account recommended by my church for fundraising. You'll see links for that on fb. We are doing EVERYTHING possible to cut out all of our extras, and we have a significant amount already saved in a short amount of time. If you have zero dollars in your bank account at the end of the month... then you can pray, pray, pray. This is proving to be harder for me than I thought. My issues (we all have some weird quirks...) are definitely trying to take over. Control, fear, control, control, control... its all there. Pray for me, and lucky you guys are going to get ANOTHER awesome update from me with everything about Haiti I can find.